Another Step Forward

I highlight earlier a letter to the editor of The New York Times today regarding a recent article that was in err with regard to the development of the constitution of the Kurdistan Region. General Jay Garner, who I’ve mentioned before and who led Operation Provide Comfort, wrote his response today.

The gist of the letter is clear; however, I think it’s important to reiterate that the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has worked for decades to draft a regional constitution—one that is intended to serve as a model for tolerance, civil society and democracy in the Middle East. This document is sanctioned under the Federal Permanent Constitution of Iraq, will be passed by the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region.

Everyone involved has worked to maintain a transparent and open process. While we’ve been formally framing the constitution since 2006, the document itself is based upon an evolving draft that was first conceived in 1974!

In the process, we’ve consulted with all major constituencies in the Kurdistan Region, as well as international experts and democratic governments throughout the world. We’ve studied numerous existing constitutions—including those of Canada, Germany and several U.S. states. Moreover, as an addition step, we intend to print approximately 800,000 copies of the latest draft and distribute them to every household in the Region.

Now it appears that the referendum on the constitution will be delayed until later this year. This gives an opportunity for the authors of the constitution, and other members of Kurdistan’s parliament to follow up on the distribution of the constitution and go around the Region and hold town hall style meetings to discuss in greater detail the contents of the constitution with our public. It will be great to see a thorough public debate on another major milestone of Kurdistan’s.