Sistani office hails interim charter non-inclusion in UN resolution

By: Nabil Raza/ Karim Tellawi

UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT: An aide to Iraq’s Ayatullah Ali Al-Husseini As-Sistani has welcomed as “positive development” the non-inclusion of an interim constitution in a new United Nations resolution on Iraqi sovereignty that was unanimously passed on Tuesday in New York.

Speaking to newsmen, director of Ayatullah As-Sistani office in Lebanon Hamid Al-Khaffaf said that any resolution that does not give Iraqis full sovereignty is impossible to be accepted by the Marjaiyah.

Diplomats said reference to the interim constitution was omitted because of opposition by Ayatullah As-Sistani who, in a statement addressed to the UN Security Council, had rejected any mention of the interim charter in the resolution warning that it would be “an act against the will of the Iraqi people and will have dangerous results.”

Iraqi and UN officials sought to reassure Kurd parties - who warned Wednesday they might leave the new government if the Shiite majority gains too much power - that the UN resolution included the “spirit” of an interim constitution that would have given them more power, even though no direct mention is made.

Kurdish fears of Shiite domination rose after the Americans and British turned down their request to have a reference to the interim constitution — which enshrines Kurdish federalism — included in the UN resolution approved Tuesday.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, the first Kurd to hold the post, said he had lobbied unsuccessfully for the interim constitution to be acknowledged in the resolution during his meetings with the Security Council last week. But he said he was satisfied that the “spirit of the Transitional Administrative Law” was there.

Council diplomats said that Zebari was told that a reference to the interim constitution would not be included because it would almost certainly lead Ayatullah As-Sistani to rescind his support for the resolution.

The new UN resolution affirmed international support for the new Iraqi government. The measure authorizes the US-led multinational force for Iraq, but says the mandate will end when a constitutionally elected government takes power, expected by early 2006, or if the Iraqi government requests it. It also gives the Iraqi government control over its oil revenues.

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