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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (21294)	6/29/2003 8:29:43 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Presidential Predictions siliconinvestor.com

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (21294)	6/30/2003 2:25:50 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Iraq cleric condemns US plans _________________________________ Iraq's most senior Shia cleric has issued a religious ruling, or fatwa, opposing US plans to set up a council of Iraqis to draft a new constitution. Ayatollah Ali Sistani called for general elections in the country to choose representatives of the Iraqi people instead. The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, plans to set up a new political council as the next step towards a future Iraqi government. But BBC regional analyst Sadeq Saba says Ayatollah Sistani's ruling is a serious blow to the American plans to establish a new Iraqi government. Ayatollah Sistani is Iraq's highest religious authority and his fatwas are followed by many Shia Muslims, who are in the majority in Iraq. The American forces in Iraq have repeatedly praised him for his moderate views as he believes in the separation of religion and state and he rarely makes political statements. 'Key advisers' Significantly, several Iraqi groups have already opposed his call for a fatwa. But in his latest edict, Ayatollah Sistani says it is totally unacceptable for the occupation authorities in Iraq to appoint members of a political council to draft a new constitution. There is no guarantee that such a convention will draft a constitution upholding the Iraqi people's interests Ayatollah Ali Sistani "The (occupation) authorities are not entitled to name the members of the assembly charged with drafting the constitution," he said. "There is no guarantee that such a convention will draft a constitution upholding the Iraqi people's interests and expressing their national identity, founded on Islam and lofty social values." Ayatollah Sistani suggested that the Iraqi people should elect their own representatives to such a council and then the people should finally approve it in a referendum. Mr Bremer told Iraqi political groups at the beginning of June that a future Iraqi interim administration, to be set up by mid-July, would be led by a 25-30-strong political council that would name "key advisors" to government ministries. The interim body would work in parallel with a separate, much larger convention that would draw up a new Iraqi constitution. Ayatollah Sistani is based in the Shia holy city of Najaf, 130 km (80 miles) south of Baghdad. Uneasy Shias His representative in Baghdad, Ayatollah Hussein al-Sadr, told French news agency AFP that the senior cleric's view was shared by the Hawza, the foremost Shia religious establishment. "The Hawza and Ayatollah Sistani believe that those who will draft the nation's constitution must be elected - and this is also the view of the people," he said. But Ayatollah al-Sadr stressed that differences over Iraq's political future should be resolved by dialogue not by attacks against US forces which had "rid the Iraqis of a regime that oppressed them for 35 years". Our correspondent says the fatwa shows that there is great unease among the Iraqi Shias about US objectives in Iraq. Ayatollah Sistani has been under pressure to break his silence and to tell his followers what to do about their future government. Some of his moderate followers are surprised that he has issued such a strong statement. But others say he had to react in this way in order to sideline some of the militant Iraqi Shia leaders, who have been calling for an Islamic government in Iraq. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk Published: 2003/06/30 17:00:15 GMT