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Kurdistan presidency responds to Iraqi
PM's allegation in NRT interview
25.5.2012 |
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May 25, 2012
ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', —
Kurdistan Region presidential website published
today a statement in response to allegations the
Iraqi Prime Minister attributed to Kurdistan during
an interview with the private Nalia Radio and TV on
May 13.
The statement refuted the allegations one by one,
documenting evidence in form of speeches,
statements, letters and statistics and accusing
Maliki of violating the constitution and agreements.
Disbelief in Iraqi
Constitution
The statement said that on Dec. 12, 2010 when Maliki
read the program of his cabinet he said that he will
protect the Iraqi constitution and comply with all
its articles "especially article 140."
However, in the interview with NRT the PM said the
article was either written by an "ignorant" person
or he inserted the article for no reason or use.
Article 140 sets a roadmap for settling the dispute
between Erbil and Baghdad over the tenure of some
multiethnic provinces including Kirkuk and Nineveh.
The statement said Maliki's remarks and positions
prove that "he did not believe in the constitution
in the first place."
It further said that in Aug. 2011 during the
conference of the talented and intellectual elite,www.ekurd.net
Maliki described the articles in the constitution as
not rights but "bombs..… which exploded day by day."
The statement also documented Malikis' response to
the regional autonomy demand issued by Salahaddin
Provincial Council as another proof that he does not
believe in the constitution.
The PM said that though the government supports
federalism but granting regional autonomy to
Salahaddin will result in an "unconstitutional
division, therefore it's our right to stand against
it, because these are all is a start for
separation."
The statement thus accused the PM of standing
against the identity of the country, "the Iraqi
Republic a federal united independent fully
sovereign state" as set in the first article of the
Iraqi permanent constitution.
According to the second constitutional article Iraq
should recognize the new regions formed under the
regulations.
"But under what principles Maliki has authorized
himself to reject such demand [regional autonomy by
Diyala, Salahaddin…]," the statement wrote.
Peshmarga (Kurdistan Border
Guards] Issue
The statement said in 2007 Maliki signed the budget
law and the Council of Ministers ratified it, too.
Now after six years the PM is criticizing the fifth
paragraph of the law for funding and empowering
peshmarga forces as "unconstitutional".
The same article was repeated in the 2009 budget
law, in ninth paragraph; "the PM and Kurdistan's
president will agree on expenses [the salaries,
armament and empowering] of Kurdistan border
guards."
The statement also said Maliki promised the Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani to fund the salaries of
70,000 peshmarga individuals and the US Vice
President Joe Biden and Kurdistan President Massoud
Barzani were informed about the content of such
promise which was never fulfilled.
The presidential office accused Maliki of violating
what he signed and promised by refusing to fund
peshmarga and insisting that the force should be
funded from the 17% of the budget Kurdistan shares
from Iraqi government's total budget.
It also accused Maliki of pretending that the
peshamrga' forces are funded by his government.
In a letter to a US high commander in Iraq on April
16, 2010, Maliki thanked the Americans for training
peshmarga forces "so that they can protect the
security of the region on behalf of the federal
government. I support your work for training these
forces and for their provision with the US military
equipments."
According to the statement 2007 through 2010 the
Iraqi Ministry of Defense was allocated some
36،549،066,000,000 IQD from the presidential
expenses and the share of Kurdistan peshamrga from
this fund equals 6,131,314,000,000 IQD which it has
never received.
Presidential office also accused Baghdad of
withholding in Taji Base the American military
equipments which are intended for Kurdistan.
The statement also criticized the fact that there is
no ethnic balance within the ranks of the Iraqi
army. The PM, according to the statement, is also
trying the impede the formation of two military
divisions in Kurdistan.
In response to Maliki's statements in the NRT
interview when he said he will not allow for
breaking out war in Kurdistan and will safeguard the
Kurdish region, the presidential office statement
said Maliki is pretending to be more "companionate
than Kurdistan leadership" for the Kurdish public.
It reminded the readers that during his visit to
Kirkuk on May 8 Maliki issued an alert state for the
military divisions in Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk,
Erbil and Mosul and stationed two cannon regiments
and a military division in southern Kirkuk.
Allegedly the PM also divided these forces on two
fronts and ordered to hand over ammunition to the
second front.
"He had provided ammunitions for both fronts," the
presidential office statement said, wondering if
such a move is not war-mongering what else it can be
called.
The statement said even the US confirmed that the
cannons were directed at Kurdistan Region.
Barzani's office also accused Maliki of behaving
"illegally" and running "illegal" constitutions as
the suspended Ministry of Defense and the Counter
Terrorism institution which Maliki is trying to
annex to the domain of his authorities.
Maliki cannot order a policeman in Kurdistan?!
During the interview with the NRT Maliki said that
he cannot order to deploy a single policeman in
Kurdistan.
Barzani's office refuted the word, saying three
peshmarga brigades in three major cities of
Kurdistan which comprise 15,000 policemen receive
instructions from the PM office and their salaries
from Baghdad.
There are also 20,000 additional employees and staff
of the Iraqi intelligence and defense ministry in
Kurdistan.
The other points of accusation against Maliki in the
statement concern his "unilateral" authority in
assigning new top military officers, annexing the
independent boards to the Council of Ministers, and
evading the enforcement of article 140.
In another section the statement expands on the
corruption cases conducted in his government as the
expensive electricity contracts signed with fake
companies.
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