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Iraq's Kurdistan Blocs Coalition KBC
reject proposal of Kurdish state
24.10.2011 |
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October 24, 2011
BAGHDAD, —
The Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) rejected the
proposal of Izzat Shabandar, a leader in the ruling
State of Law Coalition (SLC), who called on the
Kurds to found their own state.
KBC spokesman Muayyid Tayyeb said that these
statements aim to put pressure on the Kurds and
affect the bilateral relationship between the
Kurdistan region and Baghdad.
"The Kurdish leaders are not thinking now of this
issue and we chose to stay within a federal unified
Iraq and we are very keen to implement the
Constitution and respect the unity and sovereignty
of Iraq," Tayyeb said.
On Saturday, Shabandar had suggested to found an
independent Kurdish state and to put disputed areas
under national control since "no satisfactory
decision for both parties can be reached as far as
the disputed areas are concerned."
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Muayyed Tayyeb, the spokesman for the
Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) to the Iraqi
parliament |
The fate of the disputed areas -- cities and areas
along the border between the Republic of Iraq and
the Kurdistan Region -- is one of the main reasons
for an ongoing argument between Erbil and Baghdad.
The debate about independence coincided with the
arrival of a new delegation of Kurdish politicians
in Baghdad for talks about outstanding issues
between the federal government and the Kurdistan
Region government (KRG) today.
Besides that, the tensions between Baghdad and Erbil
are sparked by a list of demands that the Kurds
believe they are entitled to after they lent their
support to Prime Minister al-Maliki after the last
election: the integration of the Kurdish defense
forces (the Peshmarga) into the Iraqi army,www.ekurd.net
paid for by the Iraqi government; drafting a new
hydrocarbon law; and the implementation of Article
140 into the Iraqi constitution -- which authorizes
payments to Kurds who were forced from their homes
under Saddam Hussein, a comprehensive census of
ethnic groups and a referendum to decide if disputed
areas should fall under the control of Kurdistan
Regional Government.
Especially the recent incident, known as "Khanaqin
flag order", sparked Kurdish-federal animosities.
Khanaqin administer Mohammed Mala Hassan, a Kurd,
claimed that he had been handed a written order from
Maliki to raise only Iraqi flags on government
buildings and lower the Kurdish flag, the official
flag of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) supported
Hassan when he refused the order and referred to a
previous agreement between Baghdad and Erbil after
the U.S. invasion in 2003.
Government Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh tried to deny
responsibility, saying the order was "carried out by
the local government at an inappropriate time" and
the dispute was sparked by "external political
parties and powers".
KRG and Baghdad also fight over a new oil and gas
law. The Kurds accused the federal government of
passing a draft law without taking the Kurdish
opinion into consideration.
On the other hand, Baghdad criticized Erbil for
signing contracts with international oil companies
without the consent of the federal Oil Ministry.
Last month, Maliki supposedly gave his approval for
all Kurdish demands, except one to finance the
Kurdish Army, or Peshmarga, as part of the federal
defense budget, according to Aref Tayfur, second
deputy speaker of parliament and member of the
Kurdish Blocs Coalition.
However, this was not the long awaited solution for
the dispute, since Tayfur also claimed that Maliki's
only condition was that the demands were not
contrary to the constitution. This has always been
Maliki's standpoint.
Reported by Hussam Ali
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