MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ CONSTITUTION TERRORISM;

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002403 SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/PPD, NEA/PPA, NEA/AGS, INR/IZ, INR/P E.0. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO IZ SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ CONSTITUTION TERRORISM; BAGHDAD ¶1. SUMMARY: The major themes in the daily newspapers on June 6 were the development of the political and security situations. END SUMMARY. -------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS -------------- ¶A. "The constitution and the final date" (Ad-Dustoor, June 6) ¶B. "New page and an honest line" (Al-Adala, June 6) -------------- SELECTED COMMENTARIES -------------- ¶A. "The constitution and the final date" (June 6) Ad-Dustoor (independent) published a front-page editorial by Bassem Al-Sheikh about the upcoming constitution: "Day by day we are approaching the deadline for completing the first draft of the constitution-August 15. The Transitional Administrative law (TAL) determined that date and all the political groups that participated in the process ratified it. The Constitutional committee wants to convince the representatives of Sunni groups to participate in the drafting process so that nobody can refute the document's validity. We must ensue that all Iraqi sects are represented in the constitutional committee. Some groups have begun to demand that the constitutional committee be given more time. This is to ensure that all Iraqi sects are represented. These groups call for postponement because they claim that it will ensure a wider representation in the constitutional committee. We are going through an important and sensitive stage in our country's development. We must have a wise vision. We must be thoughtful and practice self-denial because we are drafting the future for upcoming Iraqi generations." ¶B. "New page and an honest line" (June 6) Al-Adala (affiliated with SCIRI) published a fourth-page editorial by Ali Khalif about terrorism in Iraq: "The terrorist operations in Iraq are criminal and brutal. We feel surprised when some groups try to call these operations the actions of a resistance. These groups claim that they are resistance fighters. They accuse the groups that disagree with them of distorting their honorable resistance. If these groups are so honorable, why don't they appear in public and explain their actions to the Iraqi people? The truth is that what happens in Iraq is terrorism and those who perpetrate these operations are terrorists. There are attempts in Iraq to call this terrorism a national resistance. These groups contradict themselves because they say that attacking a U.S. military convoy is a patriotic deed. However, if they deliberately target civilians, they tell everybody that they didn't do it. There is an important truth that everybody must realize. What happens in Iraq is terrorism and it is against the political process. These terrorists don't want Iraq to move into the future. There are patriotic people who wanted to participate in the political process and vote in the elections but they could not because terrorist groups threatened them. Hence, every Iraqi must call for unity. There is no way to move backwards because Iraq has opened a new page and everybody must draw an honest line in that page in order to build our new Iraq." SATTERFIELD