Iraqi parliament agrees to Sunni constitution committee members concerns
Iraq, Politics, 7/26/2005

The Iraqi parliament issued an official statement in which it announced consent to accept conditions set by the Sunni members of the constitution writing committee who suspended had their membership after the killing of two Sunni members by gunmen.

In the statement, the Iraqi National Assembly ( parliament) on behalf of the Iraqi government and cabinet said it had agreed to the demands of the Sunnis. The statement which was read by the chairman of the parliament Hajem Hosni said that "the parliament agreed to all demands set by our Sunni brothers to end their boycott of the meetings of the Iraq's constitution writing committee."

The Sunni member in the committee for the Iraqi Islamic party, Salim Abdullah, said that the Sunni members in the committee met on Monday with the chairman of the parliamentary committee in charge of writing the constitution, Sheikh Humam Hammoudi, and the chairman of the parliament, and presented conditions for resuming their participation in the committee.

He stressed that the committee agreed to all conditions they had proposed, including the problematic issue on opening an investigation into the killing of two Sunni members in the committee last week.

Last Saturday, the Iraqi President Jalal al-Talibani agreed to meet all demands set by the Sunnis. He said in conclusion of a meeting with the American ambassador in Iraq, Zalmai Khalil Zada, that he had taken measures accommodating to the Sunnis. He also announced enhancing security measures to protect members of the committee.

The Sunni representatives had laid conditions for their participation including opening an international investigation and killing of the two Sunni members of the committee Damer Hassan al-Obeidi and Mujbil al-Sheikh Issa, and improving security measures provided for protecting members of the committee and reviewing articles pertinent to the federal rule system.

The state's administrative law for the provisional phase, which was adopted by the Interim rule council, states that ratification of the constitution should be at a great majority but under the condition that it not be rejected by three of the 18 governorates in the countries who have to approve it by a two third majority. The Sunnis constitute a majority in the governorates of al- Anbar, Salah Eddine and Musil.

Previous Stories:
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  Iraqi, American women discuss constitution, women's rights   (7/23/2005)
  New York Times: Kurdish call for bigger territorial map   (7/23/2005)
  Iraqi women alarmed by reversal of rights gains in draft constitution, UNIFEM says   (7/23/2005)
  A constitution for Iraq   (7/2/2005)

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