Iraqi Sunnis Want Referendum on Pact
By VOA News
25 November 2008
A key group of Sunni lawmakers in Iraq says it will only support a security agreement with the United States if the proposed pact is put to a national referendum.
Members of the Accordance Front said Tuesday they also want a series of political reforms that would give their group a greater voice in political decisions.
Their demands come one day before parliament is set to vote on the pact, which would extend the U.S. military presence in Iraq for another three years.
In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said U.S. officials hope the pact will be approved. She pointed to violence in Baghdad Monday as showing that while "the Iraqis have come a long way" they are "not quite there yet" and still need U.S. support.
Without the Sunni group's support, the Shi'ite majority likely would pass the measure only by a narrow margin. Supporters of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr oppose it. They have denounced it as a humiliation.
Sunni lawmakers want a guarantee the pact would be put before a national vote within six months. As for the reforms, Sunni members, who enjoyed favor under Saddam Hussein, are trying to ensure they are not marginalized by the Shi'ite majority.
Criticism of the security pact continued from Iraq's neighbor Iran, with Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani saying it violates Iraqi sovereignty.
Iraq's ruling coalition has urged passage of the pact, saying a precipitous U.S. troop withdrawal could destabilize the country. The pact would replace the U.N. mandate for a U.S. presence, which expires at the end of next month.
The new security agreement calls for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June, and from the country by the end of 2011. Both sides have said the deal signals a firm commitment but that it could be renegotiated.
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