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Iraqi Parliament indirectly rejects US
Congress resolution
3.10.2007
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October
3, 2007
Baghdad,-- The Iraqi Parliament on Tuesday
unanimously voted to issue a statement condemning
the US Congress' 'non-binding' resolution calling
for the division of Iraq along ethnic lines.
"Iraq is not a U.S. property…The parliament has to
show its unity to the whole world," stated MP
Mustafa al-Haiti, who is also a member of the Sunni
National Dialogue Front (NDF), adding, "Despite
disagreements between political blocs over some
articles in the constitution, they can reach a
solution that is acceptable to all."
MP Abdul Bari Zebari of the Kurdistan Coalition (KC)
said in statements that the U.S. draft resolution
suggested "establishing," not "dividing" Iraqi
regions along ethnic lines. "There is a reference to
the establishment of Iraqi provinces in article 119
of the Iraqi Constitution, which stipulates that
provinces are entitled to set up regions of their
own. This was misinterpreted by some
parliamentarians as the coalition’s approval to
divide Iraq, which is not true," Zebari explained.
"The constitution voted upon by the Iraqi people
defines a federal system of government for Iraq," a
spokesman for the Iraqi government, Ali al-Dabbagh,
said in a press release.
Last Wednesday, the US Senate approved, with 75
votes for and 23 against, a draft resolution
envisaging the division of Iraq into Kurdish, Shiite
and Sunni entities, with a federal government in
Baghdad undertaking border security and management
of oil profits.
The resolution met with severe criticism and
rejection by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as
well as many Sunni and Shiite leaders and
politicians, while Kurds welcomed it.
'The decision is in harmony with the foundations of
the Iraqi constitution,' a statement from the
Kurdish regional government said. Kurds have always
sought to be independent of the Iraqi state. The
Kurdish region has been autonomous since 1991.
DPA | VOI
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