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Qubad Talabani - interview: Reaction to
federal Iraq mixed
3.2.2007
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February 3, 2007
Reaction to federal Iraq mixed
Washington, Feb 2., -- Feedback from Iraq's Sunnis
and Shiites on a federal structure has been mixed,
the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative
in Washington said Friday.
"Shiites largely support it," Qubad Jalal Talabani
told United Press International in an interview
Friday. "The Sunnis are largely against because of
the oil issue."
Talabani said, however, that there were splits even
within the Shiite and Sunni populations on the
issue, however.
Among the Shiites, the backers of Moqtada al-Sadr
oppose federalism while those of the Supreme Council
for Islamic Revolution in Iraq support it; Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in the middle. And some
Sunnis are now realizing that federalism may be the
way to go.
The Kurds actively back a federal Iraq because they
have enjoyed autonomy and relative prosperity ever
since the first Gulf War. |
Qubad J. Talabani, representative of Kurdistan's
government to the U.S. |
A federal structure will also give the Kurdistan
Regional Government a greater say in negotiations
over the sharing of oil revenue - a key sticking
point in discussions among the three sides.
"The Kurds remain willing to participate in Iraqi
state building but reluctant to surrender any of the
gains in autonomy they have achieved," said
unclassified portions of key judgments of the U.S.
National Intelligence Estimate released Friday.
The Kurds and Shiites control the bulk of Iraq's 115
billion barrels of proven reserves
Fuel shortage Baghdad's fault
The top Kurdistan envoy to the United States says
the fuel shortage in the relatively safe Iraq region
is the fault of Baghdad and could lead to
instability.
"It's huge," Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional
Government's representative to the United States,
told UPI. "We're in winter. People need fuel for
heat. Vehicles are parked for hours, days sometimes,
to get gas."
Kurdistan has been semi-autonomous since 1991 and
developed and prospered since, even during the past
four years of war. It relies on its fuels supplies
from the central government, a body that can barely
function. Baghdad itself is choked from heating and
transportation fuels because of refinery issues,
insurgent attacks and oil product smuggling.
This is unacceptable, Talabani said, in a country
with as much resources as Iraq. It sits on 115
billion barrels of proven reserves and the Kurds
control roughly 40 billion.
It "absolutely" falls on Baghdad's shoulders, he
said. "We are still dependent on fuel and goodwill
from Baghdad."
The central government this week authorized the KRG
to purchase oil products from Turkish companies
because of Baghdad's inability to ship fuel north.
Talabani said the longer Kurdistan is deprived of
fuel for basic needs, the more it slows development
and increases unrest.
"What people are saying is 'why didn't we have this
problem during Saddam's days,'" he said. "How can
this government in Baghdad ... be treating us
worse?"
Economic, political space needed
Economic and political progress can help improve the
security situation in Iraq, he Kurdistan Regional
Government's representative in Washington said
Friday.
"Getting the politics and economy going can create
space," Qubad Talabani told United Press
International in an interview Friday.
Iraqi factions are tying to hammer out an agreement
on a hydrocarbons law and legislation dealing with
how oil revenues will be split. On the one hand they
face U.S. pressure to finalize a deal, and on the
other there is the worsening security situation that
has engulfed much of Iraq. The oil-rich KRG has been
immune from the violence thus far, but Talabani said
he feared it might spread.
"We're afraid the instability of Iraq could
jeopardize the stability of the Kurdistan region,"
he said.
The Kurds back a federal Iraq because they have
enjoyed autonomy and relative prosperity ever since
the first Gulf War. A federal structure will also
give the KRG a greater say in negotiations over the
sharing of oil revenue -- a key sticking point in
discussions among the three sides.
The Kurds and Shiites control the bulk of Iraq's 115
billion barrels of proven reserves.
UPI
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