London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Dr Fouad Masum, a
central figure in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
led by President Jalal Talabani, expressed his
optimism that matters in Iraq will improve noting
that, "If we as Iraqis and Iraqi political
components care for the country, agree amongst
ourselves, and forbid any foreign interference, then
who can interfere?"
Masum, who heads the Kurdistan Alliance bloc in the
Iraqi Council of Representatives, recently visited
Asharq al-Awsat's offices while in London and spoke
about the current political climate in Iraq,
starting with the National Dialogue Initiative
proposed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, on which
he said, "The parties opposed to the democratic
process thought the government would maintain its
firm approach towards them and would never agree to
talk to them, but the dialogue has now been proposed
and its provisions accepted by all parties involved
in the political process even though there may be
some observations that seek to enrich the
initiative." |
Dr.fuad Masoum |
|
"The dialogue will involve any party that agrees to
enter the political process. Dialogue has been
initiated with many groups, a number of which
contacted President Talabani, while others contacted
the US Embassy in Baghdad, before finally contacting
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The dialogue is
supposed to be held with any party willing to enter
the political process, and this party will have to
agree to dialogue with the government. The parties
refusing to do so cannot be dealt with, and any
party that retracts its position and wants to enter
the dialogue may do so." Ma'sum added,.
Masum feels that the federation experience would
help rectify the current situation saying "With the
exception of the Kurdistan Region, the government is
perceived across the country as a decentralized
government. The governorates do whatever they want,
and they constantly refuse to implement ministerial
decisions, but if a number of these governorates
turn into regions, then these regions would put
their affairs in order. This would help end the
unnatural state in Iraq, and everyone would share
security and administrative responsibilities, hence
easing the state's burden by ridding it of its daily
problems and freeing it for strategic matters. If we
cannot organize Iraq in is current form, then we
should partition it, not cut it up, meaning that
each part would organize its own affairs, and we
would then find that regions have organized
themselves. In the Kurdistan Region, for example, no
efforts are required to keep security and
administrative affairs in order. The same thing
would apply to the remaining regions if they are
formed and manage to organize their affairs, be they
in the south or center of the country. However, a
federation must not be forced on the people, but
should meet the approval of the majority of its
population."
Commenting on remarks that Iraq should be divided
into three regions, one Shiite, one Sunni, and one
Kurdish, Masum said," The term federation is new to
Iraq. Those who understand a federation to be the
equivalent of partitioning are mistaken, for there
are successful federations in our third world, like
those in India, Pakistan, and Nigeria, and even in
the Arabian Gulf, where there is a modern version of
the federation in the form of the United Arab
Emirates, which is an extremely successful
experience."
As for regional interferences in Iraq, Masum stated
that, "Regional countries must be dealt with as
neighboring countries, and we must view them in a
positive light and preserve our common interests
with them. We ourselves are the source of the
dangers in Iraq - if we as Iraqis and Iraqi
political components care for the country, agree
among ourselves, and forbid any foreign
interference, then who can interfere? But the
problem is that a certain party might contact a
foreign party in hopes of strengthening itself and
its position, all while other parties contact
different foreign parties and so on. We Iraqis are
therefore solely responsible for what is happening
in Iraq. We must not accuse any foreign party of
interfering, and we must not facilitate any
interference."
Turning to the Kirkuk issue, Masum said: "What
worries citizens in Kurdistan is that the government
has not activated the Kirkuk issue. There used to be
a Kirkuk Committee chaired by Hamid Majid Musa
(secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party), but a new
committee chairman is being sought out to oversee
this process. The search is on for a person who is
acceptable to all -- provided they not be a member
of parliament - to supervise the activation of the
normalization process in Kirkuk and the subsequent
referendum and census. Kirkuk will not be an Iraqi
problem if the constitution is observed, and we will
accept the results of the referendum whatever they
may be."
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