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Iraq Law on Late Constitution Changes
By The Associated Press
08/30/05 "AP" -- -- Iraq's interim law says the version of the proposed constitution signed off on by Iraq's parliament on Sunday cannot be amended. Yet the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Tuesday he believes there still may be further changes made to the draft constitution in order to try to win Sunni Arab approval.
Khalilzad said a ``final, final draft'' had not yet been presented and ``edits'' might be made.
How is that possible, when Iraq's current binding law, called the Transitional Administrative Law, forbids changes in the draft constitution at this point?
Simply put, the stakes are so high that if a deal can be struck that satisfies all parties, no group will insist on finer legal points when the future of the nation is at stake.
Thus, as the U.S. ambassador made clear, those who hold political power in Iraq are free to widely interpret the law. And the United States, which championed the legal rules the Iraqis are operating under, is unlikely to stand in the way.
It was not clear if actual negotiations were under way to make changes, and Shiite officials did not say whether they might agree to any substantive changes.
Khalilzad made clear the situation is fluid: ``If Iraqis among themselves, in the assembly and those from outside, decide to make some adjustments compared to the draft that was presented three four days ago, it's entirely up to them.''
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
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