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CommitteemembersaysIraqiconstitutioncannotberushed
BBC Monitoring Middle East; London[London] 01 Aug 2005: 1.

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Asked if there were alternatives to bridge the gap on disputed issues , he said: "The crux of the dispute relates
to issues like the mechanism of implementing federalism and the type of federalism to be implemented. Some
fear federalism and view it as a prelude to division. Others believe that federalism bolsters national unity. There are
mechanisms for implementing this federalism . There is disagreement with regard to these mechanisms and
disagreement in understanding them. On religion, there are some formulas and understandings. But, there is also
the issue of natural resources and means of distributing these resources as well as issues of Iraq's identity and
having dual citizenship.

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Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 31 July carried live a ve- minute telephone interview with Abbas al-Bayyati, United
Iraqi Alliance representative in the Constitution Drafting Committee, in Baghdad, by presenter Abd-al-Qadir Ayyad, in
the studio.

Asked about progress so far in drafting the constitution, Al- Bayyati said: "So far, we have nalized six of the eight
chapters of the constitution. However, there are still disputed issues that require more consultations with political
authorities and leaders in order to settle them. Accordingly, I believe that tomorrow we will determine our position on
whether to extend the date for preparing the draft constitution for two weeks or abide by the time frame set in the
Iraqi State Administration Law."

Asked if there were alternatives to bridge the gap on disputed issues , he said: "The crux of the dispute relates
to issues like the mechanism of implementing federalism and the type of federalism to be implemented. Some
fear federalism and view it as a prelude to division. Others believe that federalism bolsters national unity. There are
mechanisms for implementing this federalism . There is disagreement with regard to these mechanisms and
disagreement in understanding them. On religion, there are some formulas and understandings. But, there is also
the issue of natural resources and means of distributing these resources as well as issues of Iraq's identity and
having dual citizenship. There are several options for addressing these issues . But, some of these issues still require
more discussion including federalism and the distribution of national resources."

Asked if work of the committee was affected by Rumsfeld's statements that the draft constitution should be nalized
before the middle of August, Al-Bayyati said: "Drafting the constitution is subject to a national agenda".

He added: "The United States might have its own agenda and wants to expedite nalizing the draft constitution, but
we don't want to cook a constitution quickly that might not receive positive results in the referendum which would
cause a setback to the entire political process."

Credit: Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1307 31 Jul 05

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