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The
KRG representative for European affairs attended the
last plenary session of the European Parliament in
Strasbourg, France this month.. Members of the
European parliament discussed and voted for the
so-called Dimitrakopoulos Report "EU and Iraq - a
framework for engagement".
The KRG Mission to the EU expressed its concern to
the MEPs on three issues that the report was not
taking into consideration:
I. the report makes no reference to the elections in
the Iraqi Kurdistan of the Kurdistan National
Assembly (KNA), of a new Government and of an elect
President of the Kurdistan federal region;
II. the phrasing on the Assyrians and Turkmens
prevented from voting is not clear and misleading.
Also Kurds did not have the chance from voting since
the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission did not
deliver sufficient ballot papers;
III. there is a difference in treatment between
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): Marsh Arabs are
mentioned while Kurdish IDPs are not considered.
[For more details please refer to the article
“Damaging omissions in the Report on the European
Union and Iraq - a framework for engagement”
published on the KRG webiste]
Many MEPs were interested and concerned about the
above KRG remarks. However, they did not endorse KRG
proposals since they revealed to be struggling for a
final compromise on the report, that in the end
could not be reached. As a result, the final text
has been approved with the abstention of the
Socialist, Green and Communist groups.
Specific amendments presented by the Left groups
such as the weapons of mass destruction, the
presence of the international troops and the
handling of the post-war planning – have been
rejected.
Such a significant abstention has weakened a highly
sensitive report that should have been bipartisan.
The EU is keen to show the international community
its political support of the government of Iraq.
Furthermore, the day before the voting, the KRG
representative participated in a public hearing on
“the other Iraq: the role of civil society in
rebuilding Iraq”, organised by the Communist Group
at the European Parliament.
The KRG intervention stressed the absence of any
Kurdish representation on the panel. “No discussion
on civil society dialogue and political
reconstruction can seriously be achieved by
excluding the Kurds who consitute more than 25% of
the total population of Iraq. Kurdistan is
distinctively the only region in Iraq where human
rights are respected and the rule of law and order
is well established.” Said the KRG-EU
representative.
The KRG-EU representative reminded the meeting that
the KRG-EU Mission function is not only for
representation purposes but also as a proactive
partner for political discussions or facilitator for
targeting the best representative from the civil
society for such panels.
In response to KRG representatve’s rematks, the
organisers of the public hearing admitted it’s
failure to include a Kurdish representative on it’s
panel and added that there was no political
intention of excluding the Kurds and that more
attention will be given to the Kurdish issue in the
future, and strengthen its relationship with the KRG
representation office in Brussels.
www.krg.org
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