Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE= 10/14/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / GOVERNING COUNCIL (L-O)

NUMBER=2-308568

BYLINE=GREG LAMOTTE

DATELINE=BAGHDAD

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Some members of Iraq's Governing Council say it is going to be difficult, if not downright impossible, to meet the goals of Washington's latest draft U-N resolution. V-O-A's Greg LaMotte reports from the Iraqi capital.

TEXT: The U-S latest draft would give the Iraqi Council until December 15th to draw-up a timetable for holding national elections and drafting the country's constitution.

But some Council members tell V-O-A that, while drafting a timetable might not be difficult, meeting the deadlines might not be achievable. Writing the constitution, they say, may prove to be almost impossible.

Samir Shattar Mahmud el-Sumaidy is one of the 25 members of the Iraqi Governing Council. He told V-O-A Iraq might have to settle for a temporary constitution until a permanent one can be agreed on.

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If it proves too complicated to agree on writing a permanent constitution I have a feeling we might go for the temporary constitution. If a permanent constitution becomes impossible to achieve then we will have to think of the alternative.

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Mr. el-Sumaidy said it might take at least a year to write a constitution.

Speaking last Thursday in Baghdad, U-S administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer said an interim constitution is not an alternative.

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On the question of a provisional constitution there is virtually no support for that that I have found among any Iraqis. We do not support it and I have met no one on the Governing Council, or among the ministers, who supports it. We believe there must be a permanent, stable constitution that provides the broad political framework for democratic and stable life in Iraq.

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According to the head of Baghdad University's Center for International Studies, Mohammed Jawad Ali, the greatest difficulty in writing a constitution will be addressing the needs of an ethnically and religiously diverse Iraqi population.

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Mr. Ali says the main problem will be deciding whether the constitution will be secular or based on the Islamic faith. Resolving that issue alone, he says, will take more than a year. He notes that even in countries like France or India, it took two-to-three years to write the constitution.

Mr. Ali says the public will not readily accept a constitution written by the Governing Council, a body appointed by the United States, rather than elected by the Iraqi people.

He says the tough part for the Council is to set a timetable that will satisfy the Iraqis' wish to hold elections as soon as possible. (SIGNED)

NEB/GL/MAR/RAE