BAGHDAD, July 24: Sunni leaders said on Sunday they were considering ending their boycott of the debate on Iraq’s new constitution triggered by a double murder last week.

The boycott, called in the wake of Tuesday’s murder of two Sunni members of the committee drafting the constitution, threatened to derail efforts to meet an August 15 deadline for parliament to approve the basic law.

“Today we are holding meetings amongst ourselves to reach a joint decision on whether to resume our work in the committee,” Ayad Al-Sammarai, number two in the Sunni-based Islamic Party, told AFP.

“Circumstances forced us to suspend our participation, but this is a very delicate time and we must participate and give our opinion on the constitution,” he said.

“We might rejoin the committee as early as tomorrow (Monday),” he added.

The leader of the Sunni Waqf, a religious endowment body, said the boycott was only meant to be a temporary protest at the murders.

“Sunni Arabs must have a say in drawing up the country’s constitution,” said Adnan Al-Dulaimi.

The government was responding positively to several of their demands, including one for better security for committee members, the officials said.

“Taking part in drafting the constitution is very important because it’s a long-term strategic decision,” said Sheikh Zakaria Al-Tamimi, another Sunni leader.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Saturday had assured complete support to the Sunnis while drafting the charter.

“No constitution will be written without the participation of all the communities of Iraq, especially that of Sunni Arabs,” he said. “I have taken measures which I hope will satisfy them.”

Sunnis account for a fifth of the country’s population, but are currently under-represented in parliament because much of the community boycotted the January general elections.

The government recently increased Sunni representation on the committee set up to draft the constitution in a bid to broaden support for the basic law whose adoption, in a referendum set for October 15, is considered crucial to maintaining political momentum towards reform.—AFP