That link goes to the article: "At Least 17 Bodies Found in Iraqi Town."
I suppose if you were an insurgent - or a sympathizer - this would be a positive development.
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*To elaborate on the above theme:
Shi’ites Offer Sunnis Bigger Role in Iraq Constitution
26/05/2005
By Diala Saadeh
BAGHDAD, May 26 (Reuters) - Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government is reaching out to Sunni Arabs to ensure they play a bigger role in writing a new constitution, but this will not delay the process, the head of parliament’s constitutional committee said.
Humam al-Hamoudi told Reuters in an interview the constitution would be ready by an Aug. 15 deadline even if Sunni Arabs were given time to choose representatives to help draft the document.
"We are very determined to finish drawing up the constitution before the deadline," Hamoudi said.
Iraq’s parliament has appointed a 55-member committee to oversee the writing of the document, but it contains only two Sunni Arabs.
Although they make up around 20 percent of the population and dominated Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein, Sunni Arabs have been left with minimal representation in parliament because many of them boycotted the Jan. 30 elections. There are 17 Sunni Arab lawmakers in Iraq’s 275-member parliament.
But leading Sunni Arab groups said this month they wanted a greater role in parliament, and Washington has urged Iraq’s government to reach out to Sunnis to help defuse sectarian tension and undermine the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency.
Hamoudi said he had talked to Sunni Arab groups and they would select representatives to serve on the expanded commission.
"They are likely to hold partial elections within the Sunni provinces to pick their representatives for the committee," he said.
"We need to discuss with the Sunnis what they demand for better participation. We will continue meeting them until we strike an agreement for the sake of the nation."
Under Iraq’s political timetable, once a constitution is written it must be approved by a referendum. If it is approved, new general elections will be held by the end of the year.
The rules of the referendum state that if a majority of voters in three provinces reject the constitution, it will be vetoed even if an overall majority of Iraqis approves the document.
The clause was inserted at the insistence of the Kurds, who want to ensure the constitution does not encroach upon their autonomy in northern Iraq, but it could give Sunni Arabs the chance to reject the document if they feel they have not been given adequate participation in drafting it.
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