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Iraqi Parliament delays meeting on oil law
11.7.2007
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July
11, 2007
BAGHDAD, -- Iraq's Parliament will wait
a week to hold sessions that could tackle
controversial issues such as the proposed oil law.
The Chairmanship of Iraqi Parliament decided to
adjourn the House’s sessions till next Monday to
give a chance for blocs boycotting sessions to
return, a media source from the Parliament said on
Tuesday.
"The House sets to debate next week a number of
crucial draft laws such as the Oil and Gas,
Accountability and Justice, and Regions bill, if
quorum was met in case the boycotting blocs resumed
attending sessions," the source said.
Meanwhile, Kurds say the current version must be
changed and Sunnis are calling for a vote of the
citizens to make the law official.
Al-Sharqiyah TV reports in Arabic the Parliament
postponed work until next Monday as chronic
absenteeism and boycotts have plagued the
legislative body. Although there is general
dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's
government, the latest backlash is regarding the oil
law.
The law has been negotiated for nearly a year and
was approved suddenly last week by the Council of
Ministers. But numerous roadblocks remain for the
law, which will govern exploration and development
of the third-largest reserves in the world.
The Kurds are against a law that gives too much
control to the federal government and the Iraq
National Oil Co. Voices of Iraq reports the Kurdish
Coalition wants the draft passed by the ministers
altered to reflect their concerns.
Mahmoud Othman, whose political bloc holds 55 seats
in Parliament, the second largest, said, "The draft
referred to the Iraqi Parliament for debate and
approval is not the one agreed on with Kurdish
leaders."
Sunnis, with little oil land, fear a decentralized
oil sector will hurt their share of income and
investment. Hussein al-Falluji, a parliamentarian
from the Tawafuq Party, which has boycotted
Parliament, called for a national referendum to
weigh the oil law.
Meanwhile, Maliki's government is urging the law is
passed soon, pressed by the Bush administration for
signs of progress.
The law, in its current form, is opposed by oil
technocrats for being too weak for the federal
government and by the unions for giving too much to
foreign oil companies.
UPI | VOI
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