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BAGHDAD, May 4 (AFP) - 16h34 - Kurdish leaders
fumed Wednesday over the removal of a reference to
Iraqi federalism in the oath sworn by the country's
new cabinet members a day earlier, and they want to
know why,
"I swear before God the Almighty to do my utmost to
carry out my duties and responsibilities and to
preserve Iraq's independence and sovereignty," the
ministers read from a piece of paper presented to
them Tuesday when they were sworn in.
The original text read: "... preserve Iraq's
independence, sovereignty and its federal and
democratic regime."
Fuad Massum, an MP and a senior member of President
Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party,
said "the Kurdish coalition wants to know who was
behind the omission."
The principle of federalism is of paramount
importance to the Kurds, who already enjoy a high
level of autonomy in northern Iraq and want to see
it enshrined in the permanent constitution, which is
to be drafted this year.
"The parliament presidency board will talk to the
cabinet to know what happened," said Hussein
Shahrastani, deputy speaker of the national
assembly, and a leading member of the Shiite United
Iraqi Alliance.
AFP
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