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Iraq's Talabani, Barzani agree to one
Kurdistan government
22.1.2006
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ERBIL,
Kurdistan-Iraq, Jan 21, 2006 (AFP) - 19h15 - Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani and Kurdish regional
president Massoud Barzani on Saturday signed an
agreement that paves the way for a single
administration to run their autonomous northern
region.
Until now Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party was
solely responsible for running Erbil and Dohuk,
while Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan ran
Sulaimaniyah province.
However the agreement does not merge the PUK's and
KDP's departments of interior, finance, justice or
peshmerga forces.
"This is an important development which will protect
Kurdistan which has become a solid base for
democracy, unity and national accord," Talabani
said.
Barzani said a sole administration would "help
reclaim other parts of Kurdistan," in a reference to
the ethnically mixed oil-hub of Kirkuk that Kurds
consider their own, located just south of their
autonomous region.
Since 1998, rivalries between the two formerly
warring Kurdish factions have prevented repeated
attempts to set up a joint administration. |
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (L) and Kurdistan
regional president Massoud Barzani
Photo: Archive |
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The move, originally announced on January 7, was
approved by the Kurdish regional parliament after an
extraordinary session in Erbil.
The naming of an executive chief was put off until
next week. The two parties also decided that a
Kurdistan vice president to act as Barzani's deputy
should come from the PUK.
US ambassador to Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad was among
the diplomats who attended the parliamentary
session.
AFP
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