A tiff has erupted
between Iraq's Kurdish president and Shia prime
minister over who will head Iraq's delegation to the
annual UN summit next month, Iraqi officials from
both camps say.
The four officials said President Jalal Talabani was
displeased by Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's
insistence that he should lead the country's
delegation at the General Assembly session in New
York and a meeting with US President George Bush.
None of the four would allow their names to be
published because the issue is sensitive at a time
when the Shia and Kurds are trying to maintain unity
to promote the new constitution in a 15 October
referendum.
According to all four officials, the dispute began
when Talabani sent a letter to al-Jaafari declaring
that as Iraq's titular head of state, he would be
representing the country at the annual UN session.
Al-Jaafari replied by saying that since he runs the
government, he should head the delegation; the prime
minister suggested that both he and Talabani could
deliver General Assembly speeches but the president
refused. |
President : Jalal Talabani
(Mam Jalal)
Ibrahim Al-Jaafari Iraqi PM |
|
Two
speeches
On Saturday, Talabani's spokesman, Kamran Qaradaghi,
issued a statement saying the president would
deliver two speeches at the UN summit on 15 and 17
September.
He added that Talabani would be heading a high-level
delegation that would meet Bush and other senior
official earlier in the month.
A Shia politician, who also refused to be
identified, said al-Jaafari decided that unless he
could make a speech too, he would stay home.
Under Iraq's interim constitution, Talabani leads a
three-member council that serves collectively as a
head of state.
But al-Jaafari runs the government, similar to
Germany which has a president with few powers and a
chancellor who governs.
In May, Talabani represented Iraq in the Summit of
South American-Arab in Brazil, which took place less
than two weeks after al-Jaafari's government took
power.
AP
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