In Iraq, Varied Views on New Draft

There were street bands in Basra and fireworks in Baghdad. In Kirkuk, some sneered at it. And in Samawa, some saw relief in it.

Across the country Sunday, Iraqis greeted news of a draft constitution with the same divergent opinions their leaders had shown while wrestling for months over the charter’s wording.

For Hassan Ali Hussein, a 28-year-old resident of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq, it was a day of hope.

“This means the end of terrorism and the building of a new Iraq that will be a great example for countries in search of freedom,” said Hussein, one of dozens of Iraqis interviewed around the nation.

And for 46-year-old Mosul resident Ahmed Jaboori, it was a day to be proud.

“This proves the water in Iraq is not stagnant. It is flowing, and we are progressing to a brighter future,” he said.

Al Iraqiya, the state-funded news channel, broadcast scenes of revelers across the country all Sunday evening, featuring dozens of Iraqis congratulating the constitution’s framers for completing the draft, which will be submitted to voters in an October referendum.

But there were ominous voices too, reinforcing the warnings from some opponents of the bitterly debated document that it could further divide Iraq.

In Kirkuk, an oil-rich northern city that some fear will be a focus of conflict between Kurds and Sunni Muslim Arabs, Ahmed Abdullah, who belongs to the latter group, angrily denounced the draft charter Sunday.

“The new constitution does not represent all Iraqis,” said Abdullah, a retired army general. “The Shiites and the Kurds wrote it for their own interests and to distribute wealth among themselves, with no consideration for Sunni opinions.”

Abdullah predicted that Sunni Arabs, who make up 20% of the country’s population but virtually controlled the state under Saddam Hussein, would boycott the constitutional referendum Oct. 15, as many of them did the parliamentary election in January. Many other Sunnis, however, have said they would be deeply involved in a campaign to defeat the draft charter at the polls.

To the south, in the Shiite stronghold of Basra, Luay Ahmed Amir, a 46-year-old Shiite printer, also viewed the proposed constitution in bleak terms.

“This constitution has been written to divide the nation,” he said. “It is an Iranian American project.... These dangerous political tricks will not pass on us.”

Samawa resident Ali Tayhour, a 44-year-old attorney, said he hoped the constitution would bring Iraqis together.

“I hope they will vote for it,” he said.

“We do not want any differences, no distinguishing between different sects. After all we went through, we would like Iraqis to be able to point at the constitution with pride.”

But 51-year-old Abu Salam said a vote for or against the document would be immaterial.

“There are many things that are more important to us than the constitution,” the Basra shop owner said. He cited the persistent lack of electricity, water and other services that makes life for many Iraqis nearly unbearable.

“Services should be provided first, and then we’ll write a constitution,” he said.

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Times special correspondents Othman Ghanim in Basra, Hassan Halawa in Samawa, Saad Fakhrildeen in Najaf, Ali Windawi in Kirkuk and a special correspondent in Mosul contributed to this report.