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"The removal of the reference to a federal Iraq is a
violation of the law and a serious threat for our
alliance," Barzani was quoted as saying in Friday's
Kurdish newspapers.
"I can only hope it was not intentional and that
this will be corrected as soon as possible," said
Barzani, who heads the powerful Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP).
"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 the text presented to them
Tuesday when they were sworn in.
The original text read: "... preserve Iraq's
independence, sovereignty and its federal and
democratic regime."
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.
Barzani is the son of historic Kurdish leader
Mustafa Barzani and his KDP joined forces with the
rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani in the run-up to the
January 30 elections.
The winning Shiite alliance headed by Prime Minister
Ibrahim Jaafari holds more than half of the seats in
parliament but needs the support of the 77 Kurdish
MP's to secure the two-thirds majority required for
important decisions.
Kurdish MP Fuad Massum, a senior PUK member, was the
first to raise the issue and demanded explanations.
Hussein Shahrastani, deputy speaker of the national
assembly, and a leading member of the Shiite United
Iraqi Alliance, had promised to investigate the
issue.
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