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Iraq: Kurds taking hard-line stance on
constitution
9.8.2005
Kathleen Ridolfo 8.Aug
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Kurdish leaders in Iraq
have called for all of their demands to be met in
the draft constitution, threatening that otherwise
they will encourage voters in the three Kurdish
provinces to vote down the document in October.
Kurdistan Regional Government [Kurdistan Region]
President Mas'ud Barzani has led the call and has
become increasingly vocal in recent weeks, even
contending on 1 August that Kurds have the right to
establish their own state. Therefore, he concluded,
the other parties to the draft should be grateful
that Kurds have not demanded more.
"What we are demanding is the least of rights, as
our rights are more than this. There are [important]
issues that cannot be negotiated, including the
Kirkuk issue, natural resources, federalism, the
peshmergas, and the right of the Kurdistan
parliament to legislate," Baghdad's "Al-Dustur" on 3
August quoted Barzani as saying.
Barzani has kept a close watch on all Iraqi
parliamentary proceedings and recalled Kurdish
[Kurdistan] delegates on 1 August after the Shi'ite-led
United Iraqi Alliance attempted to push through
legislation on 30 July without allowing members time
to review and discuss it. Shi'ite parliamentarian
Sa'd Qandil reportedly submitted the legislation,
which proposed dividing Iraq into electoral
constituencies rather than regarding the entire
country as one constituency as it was in the January
election.
Barzani has also alleged that the Iraqi Independent
Election Commission intends to somehow harm the
Kurds, who, along with large numbers of Chaldo-Assyrians
and Turkomans, were denied the opportunity to vote
in some areas west of Mosul in January because
ballots were never delivered (see "RFE/RL Iraq
Report," 21 February 2005).
Among the initiatives recently undertaken by Kurds
is the inclusion of a clause in the constitution
that would allow Kurds to vote on independence in
eight years. Sunni drafters in particular have
objected to the clause. The issue is compounded for
the Sunnis by the insistence of Shi'ite drafters on
a clause that would allow for several governorates
to unite as regions. Under the Transitional
Administrative Law -- the interim constitution for
Iraq drafted by the Coalition Provisional Authority
-- no more than three governorates may form a
region.
The Kurdistan Region currently comprises three
governorates, but Kurds are seeking to redraw the
boundaries of the region to include the oil-rich
Kirkuk Governorate, a move opposed by Sunni Arabs
and Turkomans who also live in Kirkuk. Shi'ite
parliamentarian Husayn Shahristani told "Al-Hayat"
on 31 July that Arabs would also oppose including
Kirkuk in the Kurdistan region, saying they have
only agreed on normalizing the security situation in
Kirkuk.
Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) submitted
a redrawn map to the Iraqi National Assembly for
consideration in the new constitution in late July.
The map includes Kirkuk and the towns of Badra and
Jassan, located east of Al-Suwayrah (which is south
of Baghdad) close to the Iranian border. KDP member
Mullah Bakhtiyar told reporters that the map "is
based on historical and geographical facts," adding,
"We are determined to stick to this map," AP
reported on 22 July.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its head,
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, back the KDP's
demands. PUK member and Iraqi Planning Minister
Barham Salih said last week that he supports a
boycott of the draft constitution should it fail to
respect Kurdish basic rights.
The Kurds had objected to a Shi'ite proposal that
would make Shari'a law the basic source of
legislation in the new Iraq. That issue appears to
have been resolved in recent days, with Shari'a
being identified merely as "a" source of
legislation.
But Talabani has taken a more diplomatic approach to
resolving the issues. He told Al-Arabiyah television
in a 25 July interview that Kurds might be willing
to give up control of Kirkuk's oil to the federal
government in exchange for normalization in the city
(see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 1 March 2005). The Iraqi
president has also said that other issues, including
the insistence of the Shi'ite-led United Iraqi
Alliance that Iraq be officially renamed the Islamic
Federal Iraqi Republic, would not be a sticking
point in negotiations for the draft constitution.
Shi'ite Government Criticized For Lack of
Progress
Talabani has taken a stronger approach, however, to
what he sees as an attempt by the Shi'ite-led
administration to monopolize power. Talabani has
been equally vocal in criticizing Prime Minister
Ibrahim al-Ja'fari's government for not moving
forward on certain issues, most notably implementing
change in Kirkuk.
Kurds also oppose attempts by the Shi'a to dissolve
the peshmerga. Husayn Shahristani, deputy speaker of
the Iraqi parliament, told "Al-Hayat" on 31 July
that the peshmerga forces "cannot stay just like
that" and must be dissolved or integrated into the
Iraqi Army. Peshmerga forces are currently active
outside the Kurdistan region in cities such as Mosul,
Kirkuk, and Khanaqin.
But Kurds are not the only ones criticizing the al-Ja'fari's
government. Iraqi Shi'ite leaders observing the
developments from abroad have been equally critical.
A group of Shi'ite leaders in London told the "Al-Sharq
al-Awsat" on 30 July that they hold al-Ja'fari's
government responsible for the deterioration of
security, services, and financial corruption. The
leaders contended that al-Ja'fari's administration
does not have the experience and has no connection
to the streets of Iraq.
One leader, Abd al-Husayn al-Mu'mini, contended that
Baghdad has no control over the majority of state
affairs. "The majority of cities in southern and
central Iraq, apart from Baghdad, are under the
control of the political parties and ruled by the
militia of these parties," al-Mu'mini said. In
northern Iraq, Kurdistan is under the control of the
Kurds who are enjoying an almost independent rule,
and their peshmerga militias are in control of the
security situation there. Whatever else is left of
al-Ja'fari's control is actually mostly under the
control of U.S. forces.
Shi'ite political activist and Islamic scholar Iyad
Jamal al-Din criticized what he viewed as the
Shi'ite religious authorities' interference in
politics in an interview with the daily published on
28 July, calling it dangerous to exploit religious
legitimacy in politics. He said he hoped that the
constitution would support a secular state. "A
secular regime is a guarantee of the freedom of the
religious establishment and other institutions. It
is a guarantee of the freedom of political parties
and individuals," al-Din said.
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