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Kurdish Leaders Denounce Former Iraqi PM's
New Political Front
5.6.2007
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June 5, 2007
The two major Kurdish leaders in Iraq, Jalal
Talabani –- also the president of the country -- and
Massoud Barazani –- president of the Kurdistan
Region -- held a joint press conference to criticize
the latest political alliances of Iyad 'Allawi and
the (Sunni) Islamic Party.
A new political front was recently announced,
joining Iyad 'Allawi’s parliamentary list with the
Islamic Party, the “Iraqi National Dialogue” front
and the Kurdistan Islamic Party, which opposes the
two main parties of the Kurdish coalition.
Al-Jazeera and al-Hayat reported that Talabani and
Barzani released a statement accusing the new
coalition of being designed by “foreign intelligence
services.” The statement expressed dismay that the
Islamic Party and 'Allawi’s list decided to ally
themselves with “notorious traitors of the Kurdish
people, orphans of the butcher Saddam, and
chauvinistic elements who are opposed to the rights
and aspirations of the Iraqi people with its two
main nationalities, Arab and Kurdish.”
The two leaders also said that the coalition exists
only “to oppose al-Maliki’s government,” and aims at
executing a “coup” against the “political process in
Iraq,” adding that the new front “opposes the
democratic march of the Iraqi people and seeks to
undermine its constitutional achievements.”
Al-Hayat said that the statement elicited sharp
responses from the groups mentioned by the two
Kurdish leaders. A spokesman of 'Allawi’s coalition
said that Talabani and Barazani’s words “is mere
provocation and reflects a wish to monopolize
power.”
A leader in the Islamic Party commented that the
statement should not have borne the name of the
President of Iraq (Talabani) “who represents a
political symbol.”
Kurdish leaders charge that some of 'Allawi’s
Kurdish allies have a history of collaboration with
Saddam Hussein, and that some of the Arab members of
the new alliance hold anti-Kurdish “racist” beliefs.
But aside from the war of words, the latest
political tensions between 'Allawi and the Kurdish
bloc carry serious political implications. 'Allawi
has been trying for months to create and expand an
alliance that could challenge, and eventually
replace, al-Maliki’s government. Gaining the support
of the powerful Kurdish bloc was one of 'Allawi’s
main objectives from the outset, and numerous talks
were held between representatives of 'Allawi’s
“'Iraqyia” list and officials from the major Kurdish
parties. The large number of Kurdish deputies means
that Talabani and Barzani’s bloc could sway the
balance if al-Maliki’s cabinet is submitted to a
parliamentary confidence vote.
The fact that 'Allawi has decided to ally himself
with the enemies of the mainstream Kurdish parties
signifies that the ex-prime minister and his allies
have despaired of making a pact with the Kurdish
bloc, and are now trying to field a front made up of
independent deputies, smaller parties and, possibly,
Shi'a parties who are disgruntled by the Maliki
government and the two ruling Shi'a factions: The
Da'wa party and al-Hakeem’s SIIC, in addition to 'Allawi’s
list and the Sunni Tawafuq bloc.
Yesterday’s political cross-fire also indicated that
the Kurdish leaders, who have consistently expressed
their support for Maliki and his cabinet, have opted
to remain loyal to their Shi'a ally and to oppose
radical changes to the current ruling establishment.
Several days ago, Iraqi papers reported that Maliki
visited Kurdistan, held a joint press conference
with Barzani and announced his support for the
Kurdish position on the issue of Kirkuk, asking for
the application of the 140th constitutional article,
which Kurds believe will lead to Kirkuk being
officially annexed to Kurdistan. Maliki also
supported the Kurdish parties against the latest
threats by Turkey, affirming that the government
opposes any Turkish incursions into Kurdistan. Was
Maliki’s performance in Kurdistan meant to
reciprocate for the Kurdish support of his cabinet?
In other news, al-Mada reported that a major
conference was held in Baghdad yesterday, joining
Muslim clerics, both Sunni and Shi'a, to affirm
“Islamic Unity” against sectarianism, and to call
for a unified front for moderate Islamic clerics who
oppose sectarian hatred.
Lastly, Az-Zaman and al-Mada relayed rumors
regarding a possible release of prisoners who are
currently held by the Coalition Forces, the
objective of the amnesty, al-Mada said, would be to
cement “national reconciliation.” A spokesman of the
ruling Da'wa party said that the amnesty will be
conditional, and will not include “Saddamists” and
al-Qa'ida sympathizers.
Nevertheless, the release of thousands of arrested
individuals, many of whom belonging to armed
factions, is facing several complications,
newspapers reported. An Iraqi politician from the
ruling coalition told al-Hayat that the government
“does not have the right to grant amnesty to those
accused of spilling Iraqi blood.”
On the other hand, the US-led Multinational
Coalition may reject the release of individuals
accused of attacking Coalition forces. An unnamed
government source told al-Hayat that the Coalition
has “vetoed” a request by the government to release
prisoners who participated in the fighting against
al-Qa'ida, because they are accused of waging
attacks against Coalition forces.
The newspaper added that over 17 000 Iraqis are in
the the Coalition's custody, most of whom have not
been officially charged or submitted to a legal
process before Iraqi courts.
iraqslogger com
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