Sunnis woo fiery Shiite cleric to defeat Iraq charter

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/August/focusoniraq_August201.xml§ion=focusoniraq&col=

BAGHDAD - Iraq’s agitated Sunni Arabs are going all out to win the support of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr in defeating the newly drafted constitution during the October referendum, a top Sunni leader said on Tuesday.

“We would like to cooperate with Moqtada al-Sadr and very soon we will start negotiations with him,” Saleh al-Motlag, a top Sunni negotiator told AFP.

Sunni Arabs aiming to defeat the charter politically are preparing for a national conference to generate public support against the Shiite-Kurdish crafted constitution.

Sadr, a young firebrand cleric who led one of post-war Iraq’s fiercest rebellions against US-led forces, has refused to accept any constitution drafted under the coalition occupation.