The sectarian forces drafting the new Iraqi constitution do not reflect grassroots sentiment, writes Hana Al-Bayaty* The drafting of a permanent constitution is meant to lay down the principles and mechanisms for people to live together in peace. It will have to deal with sensitive issues, such as the nature of the Iraqi state, whether it will be centralised, federal, or perhaps confederal; the basis of legislation, secular or religious; individual liberties; and the limits of the private and public spheres. The forces which today form the third interim Iraqi government and participate in the drafting process agree on one point: They accept the partition of Iraq along sectarian lines. Indeed, whether it is the Shia-led religious government, which mainly represents the Shia bourgeoisie, or the Kurdish movement, both support the concept of Iraqi federalism even if each has a singular understanding of it. The Kurdish concept of federalism is closer to the idea of confederalism. Through this political process, the Kurdish movement hopes to constitutionally annex Kirkuk and declare its future independence. The Shia leaders believe that their new status as the governing majority will allow them to impose a religious state similar to and allied with Iran. As the Kurdish movement is secular, these two forces are involved in bitter disputes over the legal basis of the constitution. Condoleezza Rice's latest surprise visit to Baghdad was meant to persuade the new Iraqi government to include more "Sunni" representatives in the drafting committee of the constitution. Ironically, the Sunni community refuses to take part in this political process because it refuses the sectarian formula being applied. Simultaneously with Rice's visit, occupation forces launched a large operation in Baghdad designed to subjugate the Iraqi population, dubbed "Operation Lightning". It relied upon the sectarian- based 40,000 strong, newly trained Iraqi army. These "new" forces are mainly composed of the former Badr militias, trained in Iran, and of Kurdish peshmerga, trained in Kurdistan, who have no roots in the capital and are considered to be the repressive hand of the occupation rather than part of a legitimate national army. They each have particular agendas and give no allegiance to the central state. The result of "Operation Lightning" was a calculated, deliberate assault on the Sunni community. Even the leader of the Sunni Islamic Party was arrested "mistakenly", ostensibly for being Sunni, even though he has been generally cooperative with the Americans. This repression makes it even more difficult for self-proclaimed "Sunni" representatives to negotiate with the occupation. The difficulty facing the occupation is that, as stated in the transitional administrative law (TAL), if three Iraqi provinces vote to reject the constitution in the coming referendum, it becomes illegitimate. Nearly half of the Iraqi population lives in and around Baghdad, has a long history of national struggle and is opposed to sectarianism as a basis for governance, and is hostile to the idea of partition. The political forces which have boycotted the writing of a new Iraqi constitution are against sectarian-based federalism and attached to the Arab and Muslim identity of Iraq. They oppose the normalisation of the TAL and see it as the legitimisation of the occupation. They call for a timetable for the complete and unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops before any political process leading to the election of a sovereign constituent assembly can take place. Of course they may differ on many other issues, but they have aligned in order to resist and reclaim Iraqi sovereignty. Obviously the military resistance has refused any mediation or negotiation. The civil resistance, organised into various political groups, including but not exclusive to, the Association of Muslim Scholars, the Iraqi National Foundation Congress (an umbrella organisation of various anti-occupation political groups) and the Sadr movement (very popular in poorer segments of the Shia community), all condemn the currently constituted mechanism through which the Iraqi constitution is being written. When one looks at what the occupation has brought to Iraq, it is easy to understand why much of the population is in solidarity, if not actively complicit with, the resistance. Current unemployment in Iraq is estimated at 70 per cent, nine million Iraqis live under the poverty line, Iraqis have approximately two to three hours of electricity each day, clean water supplies are unavailable for most Iraqis, medical supplies and facilities are targeted by the military itself, and the security situation is appalling. In addition to the great number of detained and disappeared Iraqis, there have already been, according to the Lancet medical journal, more than 100,000 civilian casualties since the invasion, with 85 per cent of them due to coalition-related attacks. By destroying the Iraqi state, the occupation has erased any potential intermediary with the Iraqi people and has had to face them directly. As a result of this indiscriminate aggression, the great majority of the Iraqi population supports the resistance and chooses different means to express it. One should not forget that Iraq, primarily Baghdad, is composed of a well-educated middle class who recall the time when Iraq was praised for its health and education systems throughout the Middle East, and when the nationalisation of its oil and natural resources were used to benefit the majority. Prior to the US-UK-sponsored sanctions, the Iraqi state provided its citizens with a wide range of social welfare benefits and programmes. The Iraqi people consider these achievements theirs, and it is through their work and commitment to a strong, independent, united Iraq that they experienced social progress. Today, these same Iraqis witness a concerted attempt by the occupation to undermine and destroy the very institutions that are a part of Iraq's social history. Iraqis cannot and will not support US plans. The occupation will also fail to seduce Iraqi youth, who grew up under the US-UK-sponsored sanctions and are reaching adulthood under the repressive occupation. Iraqi youth are fully aware of the resources and potential of their country. Why would they support a plan that will benefit a few hundred corrupt officials ready to sell off the nation's natural resources to a few, greedy multi- nationals? * The writer is a member of the Organising Committee of the Brussels Tribunal on Iraq.
