Iraq Kurd leader seeks right to self-determination

ERBIL, Iraq (Agencies) - Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani on Saturday called for the right to self-determination for the northern Iraqi region, a move that could lead to a break-up of the country, Agence-France Presse reported.

His remarks come as Prime Minister-designate Nouri Maliki attempts to form a Cabinet, with Barzani's bloc expected to obtain several ministries, and the Kurdistan region mired in disputes with the Baghdad government over land and oil.

Speaking at a congress of his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Barzani said "the issue of self-determination," which was considered "a right", would be presented to those attending the conference "to be studied and discussed".

His comments mark the first time Barzani has officially presented the issue to the KDP's congress, with the proposal set to be voted on during the weeklong meeting that opened on Saturday.

The audience included President Jalal Talabani, a fellow Kurd; Maliki; parliament speaker Osama Nujaifi and Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc won the most seats in March elections.

The first gathering of its kind since 1999 is to see more than 1,000 delegates elect around 50 new members to the KDP's top leadership committee.

Maliki, who was awarded the premiership on November 25, has two more weeks in which to form a Cabinet. Iraq has been without a new government since elections in March.

The KDP is a key member of Maliki's governing coalition, and the Kurdish leader played a major role in bringing Iraq's divided political factions together to agree a power-sharing deal.

The party, which is part of a joint slate with Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), controls a substantial majority of seats in the Kurdish parliament and jointly holds 43 seats in Baghdad's assembly with the PUK.

Iraq's Kurdish north, made up of three provinces, exerts control over all areas of policy except for national defense and foreign affairs.

It is currently in dispute with Baghdad over two main issues: A land dispute centered on the ethnically mixed oil-rich city of Kirkuk and the distribution of revenues from the region's energy reserves.

Erbil claims Kirkuk and parts of three neighboring provinces and has signed its own deals with international energy firms without consulting Baghdad, both of which central government authorities contest.

On the subject of Kirkuk, Barzani pointedly told the audience that "when it returns to the region... we will make Kirkuk an example of coexistence, forgiveness and joint administration, but we cannot bargain on its identity."

The region first attained a modicum of autonomy in 1974, but Barzani’s father and then-leader of the KDP, Mulla Mustafa Barzani, returned to war with the Baghdad government rather than accept that limited autonomy.

Kurdistan won greater freedom after the 1991 Gulf War, but Barzani and Talabani, the region’s other dominant political leader, waged war for control of smuggling routes that provided valuable tariff revenue while former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was still in power.

A power-sharing deal was eventually struck between their two blocs and today, Barzani is seen as the dominant part of the pair.

New Cabinet delayed

Also yesterday, Iraq’s prime minister said he was still seeking Cabinet nominations from the country’s top politicians, signaling the improbability of forming a new government earlier than the December 25 deadline, the Associate Press reported.

Nouri Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, had pledged to announce his new government by December 15 and end the political deadlock that began after parliamentary elections in March failed to produce a clear winner.

The delay announced Saturday reflects Maliki’s struggle to cobble together an inclusive government.

But he assured political leaders that he remains committed to meeting a 30-day constitutional deadline - ending December 25 - to bring together Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions in a government that can overcome enduring sectarian tensions, and appealed for their help to do so.

“I call upon all blocs to quickly present their candidates,” the Iraqi leader said during the KDP meeting, promising to announce Iraq’s new leadership by December 25.

He also warned politicians not to get distracted with “marginal issues” since the clock is ticking. “We are facing a constitutional deadline and we will not tolerate exceeding it,” he said.

Saturday’s meeting in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq’s north, was also attended by Sunni and Shiite Arab politicians with whom Maliki has had to create uneasy alliances after his political party fell short of winning a majority of seats in parliament.

The new government is expected to include all the major factions, including the Kurds, Shiite political parties aligned with Iran and a Sunni-backed bloc that narrowly won the election.

It will have a slew of issues to tackle, including developing the struggling economy and preventing a resurgence of violence as the last American troops leave by the end of next year.

12 December 2010

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=32552.