 BAGHDAD: Political leaders of Iraq''s Sunni minority rejected a compromise offer on giving them more say in the drafting of a constitution on Friday, reports Reuters.
| Oh well. Guess they'll just have to be marginalized for a while. Insh'allan. |
Scattered violence, including the discovery of 16 victims of execution-style killings and a gun attack on a Shi''ite mosque in Baghdad, highlighted the dangers if growing friction among Iraq''s religious and ethnic communities. The identities of the dead found at two spots near the Syrian border were unclear. But there were fears for the lives of 20 or more soldiers from the mainly Shi''ite south who were kidnapped nearby, apparently by Sunni al Qaeda fighters.
| There is no excuse for soldiers being kidnapped. Our guys walk around with their weapons, armor and a full ammo load at all times. Iraqi soldiers should do the same. If an al-Q fighter tries to kidnap you, grease them. They'll get the idea. |
It was not clear how the Shi''ite-dominated National Assembly and government would react to the rejection by the main Sunni political group of an offer of more seats on the parliamentary committee charged with drafting a constitution by Aug. 15. Further wrangling could jeopardize that deadline.
A spokesman for the Gathering of the Sunni People said they would hold out for 25 seats against the 15 on offer. He said they would boycott negotiations if arbitration by a three-person panel consisting of a Sunni, a parliamentary representative and a United Nations official failed to settle the matter. "We will not agree and will not concede any seat," spokesman Adnan al-Dulaimi said. "If they refuse our demand we will resort to arbitration. If they insist then we will suspend our participation."
| I smell a compromise at around 18 to 21 seats. |
Calls for a boycott and insurgent violence in Sunni areas meant few of the formerly dominant 20-percent minority took part in the Jan. 30 election. Only 17 Sunnis sit in parliament and only two are now on the 55-seat constitutional committee. |