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ARBIL,
Mar 1 (IPS) - Two years and three elections after
the fall of the Saddam regime, Kurdistan is taking
shape as a nation within a nation.
Kurds voted Jan. 30 for the Iraqi National Assembly,
for a Kurdish parliament, and for local government
through the governorate councils. That does not all
add up to independence, but it does amount to an
independence-like autonomy.
The two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdish Democratic
Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
won 75 seats through a common slate in the
275-member Iraqi National Assembly. The Kurdish
parties could be a part of a new Iraqi government
but will have an influential voice within it in any
case.
Kurds also elected a Kurdish Parliament, that has
been given authority by the Transitional
Administrative Law (TAL) to rule on the internal
affairs of Kurdistan. The Kurdish Parliament will
rule on all matters except foreign policy and
diplomatic representation, security and defence, and
fiscal matters including currency.
The governorate councils elected through the third
simultaneous election will handle all local matters.
The three taken together give Kurds jurisdiction on
all domestic matters, and a strong say in defence
and in foreign policy and financial matters.
The KDP and the PUK will have decisive say within
the Kurdish parliament given their overwhelming
majority, even though both have said they will rule
by the ”consensus principle” rather than through
majority decisions.
The Kurdish parliament will have the power to resist
any domestic policies coming from Baghdad. Central
government decisions will apply to Kurdistan only if
they are ratified by the Kurdistan parliament. The
TAL that was passed by the now defunct Iraqi
Governing Council sought to remove Kurd fears of an
Arab dominated government in Baghdad.
Many Kurds see this as the beginning of their golden
age.
”We have suffered a lot, let's hope everything will
get better,” said Nariman Assad, 41, a businessman
from Sulaimaniya. ”This time we have risen to get
what we deserve.”
Kurds have enjoyed effective autonomy since the
first Gulf War in 1991. But that was after they paid
a heavy price for rising against the regime of
Saddam Hussein.
The United Nations Security Council passed
resolution 688 in 1991 to establish a safe haven for
Kurds under international protection. Kurds strongly
supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq two years
back.
The elections now have formalised their freedom, and
new democratic rights are in the air. ”Voting is a
right because it has to do with the future of every
single individual and your country,” says university
student Mahdi Hassan, 22.
Kurds had voted in May 1992 for a Kurdish
parliament. That election brought the two main
Kurdish parties to the fore. The new parliament is
now legitimised from Baghdad, apart from giving
Kurds voice within Baghdad itself.
The dominance of the Kurdish parliament by the two
parties has led to some criticism that this would
lead to a democratic set-up without significant
opposition. But supporters of the unified list say
the move will help Kurds given the instability in
Iraq. It will also give Kurds more strength to face
future developments, they say.
”The formation of the unified list is a positive
move forward and a pragmatic preference of security
over chaotic democracy,” a commentator wrote in a
local newspaper.
The two parties themselves have called their coming
together a historic step. ”We must put the strategic
interests of Kurdistan people above all party
interests,” KDP leader Massoud Barzani had said
earlier after a meeting with PUK leader Jalal
Talabani. ”When it comes to decisive issues and
moments we will put aside all our differences and
work as one team.”
Population figures are disputed but by several
estimated Kurds number about 3.5 million in an Iraqi
population of 26 million. No one can now think of
Iraq without thinking also of a Kurdistan within it
- and in many ways separate from it.
http://www.ipsnews.net
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