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Kurdistan: Halabja governor says not to
allow US "Military" airport to be built
27.8.2008
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August 27, 2008
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region "Iraq", —
The governor of Kurdistan's Halabja in northern Iraq
has said that "we will not allow a military airport
to be constructed in our city", adding: Halabja is a
war-torn Kurdish city and is a victim of the war.
How can we allow it to become a victim of war again?
Fu'ad Salih, who was speaking to the Fars
correspondent in Kurdistan region,www.ekurd.net
Iraq, on the most recent
developments regarding the construction of an
American airport in the city,
said: America is providing the budget needed for
constructing this airport but we hereby strongly
deny the fact that this airport is a military
airport. This is because we will never allow the
Americans to do such a thing and such a measure is
not in our list of priorities.
He said: Even if we are paid to construct this
airport, the money will not be given to us by the
Americans directly. We will receive the money from
Kurdistan regional government (KRG).
Speaking to Fars yesterday, Salih had disclosed: The
American forces have asked us to give them a piece
of land for building an airport in Halabja.
Therefore, the regional government of Kurdistan has
offered them 750 hectares of land in the east of the
city for the construction of a big airport at their
own expense.
The Halabja governor added: Of course the idea of
building an airport for Halabja is just a plan and
has not yet been implemented. We have however
reviewed the issue and have almost determined the
location of the airport. As I said, this is still a
plan and we are waiting to see how it goes.
Commander Ali Hasan al-Majid of the Ba'thist regime
destroyed the city of Halabja by chemical bombs in
the year 1987. The city still needs reconstruction
and many houses are still destroyed there.
At this juncture,www.ekurd.net
the people of Halabja
wonder if it is necessary to have such an expensive
airport when there is an urgent need for facilities
such as well-equipped hospitals, training centres,
economic and leisure centres in the city. They
wonder whether Halabja needs an airport more than
reconstruction.
In response to the question above, Salih said:
"Although the city is a war-hit zone and is in need
of reconstruction, it also needs an airport because
it has foreign visitors on a yearly basis."
This is while a member of the Halabja City Council,
who asked to remain anonymous, told Fars: "Halabja
does not need an airport because we have many other
problems. For example, Halabja still doesn't have a
modern hospital. We should ask why, under these
circumstances, the Americas want to build an airport
there?"
He said: "We are certain that the Americans have no
good-will since with such expenses, they can
transform the city into one of the world's most
modern cities."
Originally published by Fars News Agency website,
Tehran, in Persian August 226, 008.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, Fars
News Agency | BBC Monitoring
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