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Sunnis say they've been left out of talks
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Arabs complained Saturday they were being sidelined in
talks on the new constitution only two days before the deadline and warned that
their community will reject the document if it is submitted to parliament
without Sunni consent. But a Shiite politician, Khaled al-Attiyah, was upbeat and said the negotiations were in the final stage. He said the Shiites submitted a new proposal on the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, one of the remaining obstacles to a deal by the Monday night deadline. Sunni Arabs also object to demands by Kurds and the largest Shiite party for a federal state, and oppose a major role for Shiite clergy in Najaf. On Saturday, it appeared that only Kurds and Shiites were negotiating. Sunni Arabs were not present at the deliberations and al-Mutlaq said "things are not good." Another principal Sunni negotiator, Ayad al-Samarai, said Sunnis agreed with the Kurds and Shiites on some unspecified points. He added: "Concerning federalism, we are still holding to our position, which is that it be postponed until after the general elections, and we refused to accept it in the constitution at this time." Al-Samarai said the Sunnis accepted the existence of the Kurdish self-ruled
region, established in 1991, but did not want the system duplicated elsewhere as
long as U.S. and other foreign troops remain in Iraq.
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