Iraq draft constitution expected today

BAGHDAD - A draft of Iraq's new constitution is expected to be ready on Sunday even though some crucial issues are still unresolved, members of the panel writing the document said.

"We are still holding discussions on four points but the draft will be finished," Saad Jawad Qindeel, a Shi'ite member of the committee, said.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who has brought Iraqi leaders together this week in a bid to meet an August 15 deadline for presenting the charter to parliament, had earlier expressed optimism the document would be finished by Sunday. But members of the panel had sent mixed signals.

The Iraqi government and its US backers hope the constitution will set Iraq on a political path that takes the sting out of the Sunni insurgency and allows Washington to bring many if not all of its troops home.

Saleh Mutlaq, a Sunni member of the committee, was confident of a deal on Sunday but said decisions on some thorny issues were likely to be postponed.

Under intense pressure from the United States, Iraqi politicians have been racing to tackle sticking points that cross sectarian and ethnic lines.

Though US and Iraqi officials are likely to describe finishing the charter on time as a victory for democracy, some lawmakers say postponing sensitive issues could backfire.

"If God is willing, tomorrow it will be ready," Talabani told a news conference in Baghdad on Saturday, although he said two major issues remained under negotiation.

"There are no obstacles but discussions on federalism in the south and the relation between religion and state."

Hardcore insurgents have warned Iraqis not to take part in politics and they show no signs of softening their position. One committee member and an adviser to the panel were shot dead in Baghdad last month.

An Islamic militant group issued a statement on the internet on Saturday threatening to kill any Sunni prayer leader who voiced or encouraged support for the constitution.

Talabani's spokesman Kamran Qaradaghi hinted later the talks were heading towards accepting a softer federalism that still gave Kurds autonomy guarantees and powers to the provinces.

"There is an opinion favouring decentralisation, with wide powers for the provinces and an assurance of the special nature of the Kurdish region," he said in a statement.

Qaradaghi said Kurdish and Shi'ite politicians would continue talking late into Saturday night.

US President George W. Bush cited the constitution in his weekly radio address, describing it as a "critical step on the path to Iraqi self-reliance". He said Iraq's insurgency would not cause US troops to withdraw prematurely.

Some drafters in the 71-member committee have suggested postponing discussion of the most contentious issues in order to make the self-imposed deadline, but Talabani said that would not happen.

After a referendum on the constitution in October, a new general election is scheduled for December.

DEADLINE

One source close to the negotiations said Shi'ite Islamists, who lead the interim coalition government, were pushing for a clause saying all laws passed by parliament must be compatible with Islam -- a proposal most other participants were opposing.

It is unclear what will happen if the deadline, set down in an interim basic law agreed last year, is missed.

Some foreign diplomats working with the drafters have said a delay of one or two days might be permissible but Washington has said it expects the document to be done on time.

One of the hoped-for benefits of the constitution is that it will sap strength from the insurgency by showing the Arab Sunni community that it can be part of a peaceful political process.

But there appears to have been little peace dividend so far, with attacks continuing throughout the country.

Residents near Ramadi, west of Baghdad, said 15 people, including eight children, were killed when US forces opened fire after an attack on their convoy on Friday, but the US military said it was not responsible for the deaths.

The incident occurred as people were emerging from prayers in a mosque in the town of Nasaf, residents said.

But the US military said its troops had not been involved.

"US forces were not involved in any shooting incident in eastern Ramadi or anywhere near a mosque," said Captain Jeffrey Pool, a spokesman for the Marines in Ramadi.

- REUTERS