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| Tuesday, 9 March 2004 |
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Rockets hit as Iraqi leaders move closer to interim constitution BAGHDAD, Monday (AFP) A rocket attack on the US-coalition headquarters in Baghdad late Sunday sent a chilling reminder to Iraq's leaders as they moved closer to signing a long-delayed interim constitution. At least five rockets were fired at the headquarters, where the signing could take place Monday, from a makeshift launching pad set up on an offroad vehicle. Three of them hit the landmark al-Rashid hotel, injuring a contractor, and starting a fire, Brigadier General Mark Kimmit told AFP. While attacks on the sprawling grounds are regular - the previous one as recent as Wednesday - this strike comes as Iraq's Shiite Muslim leaders were voicing optimism about finally putting pen to paper on the original basic law. Insurgents in Iraq have previously timed attacks on politically or culturally sensitive dates, including last Tuesday's suicide attacks at Shiite Muslim shrines in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala that killed more than 170 people. "You will hear very good news, very soon, the signing will take place Monday," a jubilant Governing Council member Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said. He said an agreement had been reached after talks with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the revered Shiite cleric who holds a virtual veto over the text. Council member Mahmud Othman said the attack would not deter the leaders. "If everyone wants to sign, then the signing will go according to schedule. We have got to get on with what we want to do, we can't let these people disrupt our work," he said. Iraqi Shiite leaders have been working since Saturday to resolve disputes over certain clauses in the basic law, which prompted them to withdraw their endorsement of the crucial text, a major step toward a handover of sovereignty. By late Sunday, it appeared that Sistani had been convinced that the document should be signed as it stands, without any changes being made. "There is no change of wording. There is an understanding on what it will do," said Entifidh Qanbar, a spokesman for Shiite council member Ahmad Chalabi. Council spokesman Hamid Kifaieh said the 25 members would meet at 10:00 am (0700 GMT) Monday at their headquarters in Baghdad before setting a time to sign the document later in the day. Insiders to talks on the basic law blamed Sistani, who is based in the holy city of Najaf, for the delay, the third time a signing had been pushed back. "I was so embarrassed and upset,"said Rajaa Habib al-Khuzai, a Shiite councilor, but she said she was confident of a signing Monday. "I received a phone call an hour ago from Najaf and was told that the agreement has been done and everyone accepts," she said. US overseer in Iraq Paul Bremer also expressed hope of a happy ending. "We hope the signing ceremony will happen tomorrow," he said on Fox News. In a blow to the US-led coalition, five Shiite councilors withdrew their support for the text after voicing objections to a clause in the basic law that gave what they felt to be unfair power to the Kurdish north. The five also wanted a greater presence in Iraq's next executive and indicated concern about Kurdish becoming an official state language, a source close to the negotiations told AFP. The unravelling of what appeared to be a done deal was a twist that angered other leaders in a week marked by constant political wrangling and Tuesday's worst attacks in Iraq since former leader Saddam Hussein was ousted in April. The basic law has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the Middle East, laying the foundations for direct elections before the end of January 2005. It provides for a federal state with two official languages, where Islam will be a source of legislation but not the basis for it. Iraq's Shiites make up at least 60 percent of the population and have been oppressed for decades, notably under Saddam, and the delay is yet another sign that they plan to use their new-found political weight to the full. |
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