Iraq's council split over constitution

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi leaders were unable Friday to agree on an interim constitution as they tried to bridge wide differences over major issues, including the shape of the role of Islam and Kurdish autonomy, a day before the U.S.-set deadline for finishing.

The interim constitution is supposed to serve as the foundation of the Iraqi government until a permanent charter can be completed next year. It will serve as the basis of the legal system after the U.S.-led coalition returns sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30.

Members of the drafting committee held talks for several hours late in the evening in a bid to meet today's deadline. The top U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, must approve the final version.

But a "significant number" of members walked out during the session, and the meeting had to end because a quorum was lost, an official said.

More time probably needed

Asked if the constitution would be completed by the deadline, Feisal Istrabadi, an adviser to council member Adnan Pachachi said, "I hope so," adding that talks would continue today.

Ahead of the evening session, council member Mahmoud Othman said it was likely the drafters will need more time.

Missing today's deadline by a few days would not set back U.S. plans to transfer power on June 30. But Othman and other council members said this week that some of the most controversial issues may be not be resolved in the interim constitution -- and could be held over until work starts on a permanent one next year.

Putting off central issues would highlight the divisions on the U.S.-picked council, already criticized by many Iraqis as ineffective.

Major differences among the drafters include the role of Islam and the extent of Kurdish autonomy in the north, Othman said. Also undecided is the structure of a collective presidency -- whether the body should have three or five members and whether the chairmanship should rotate, said a spokesman for council member Waeil Abdel-Latif.

Islamic conservatives on the council want the constitution to state that Islam is the main source of legislation and no law should be passed if it is contrary to Islamic values, Othman said.

Bremer has suggested he might veto such language. The U.S.-favored text would enshrine Islam as one of the sources of law -- but not the only one.

The constitution will create a federal system to decentralize power after a long history of Baghdad's keeping a strict hold on Iraq's disparate regions.

Beyond the constitution, the occupation authority and the Iraqi leadership must decide how to pick the new government due to take power on June 30 -- an undertaking both sides say will need the United Nations' help.

The process of establishing such a government overcame a major hurdle Thursday when Iraq's most prominent Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, dropped his objection to an unelected administration's taking power on June 30.

Al-Sistani said he would accept a weak, unelected government if elections are scheduled as soon as possible thereafter and the United Nations guarantees no more postponements.

In the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, meanwhile, tens of thousands of Shiite men, including many Iranian pilgrims, performed traditional self-flagellation rituals Friday as part of the feast of Ashoura, which marks the killing of the Shiite saint, Imam Hussein.

This year's feast, which continues into next week, is the first Ashoura commemoration since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Security is tight in the holy cities to prevent sectarian attacks.

In other developments:

-- Militants plastered a mosque in the city of Ramadi, west of the capital, with leaflets claiming responsibility for the killing of seven Iraqis suspected of giving information to U.S. troops, warning, "This is the fate of all informers."

-- Some 130 Japanese soldiers arrived in Samawah, about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad to join another 100 already there. The soldiers are working to supply Iraqis with clean water, rebuild schools and bolster local hospitals. Their number is expected to increase to 1,000 ground, air and naval forces.