Solution to Kurdish Problem: a Kurdistan for Iraq, Democracy for Turkey (1)
How the Kurdish question needs to be resolved has been discussed for many years. In addition to the fact that no agreement has emerged on the definition of this problem, no reconciliation has been reached, either.
In Turkey, a substantial segment still wants the continuation of the current policies of denial, repression and assimilation. Those who see the Kurdish problem as a "separatist" terrorism issue alone are reluctant to rely on an approach based on military measures only. Any demands in regards to Kurdish identity are labeled as separatism. The paranoia that even the smallest democratic progress will be followed by other demands and that the individual cultural rights will transform into group rights, a federation and ultimately an independent Kurdish state makes these circles lose sleep over this. Fear is constantly generated by those who favor the status quo and are alienated from the people, the culture and the history of the Middle East as well as the media which supports them.
It is possible to categorize the views of those intellectuals, parties and organizations who support the resolution of the Kurdish issue but hold different ideologies and worldviews on the resolution of the problem as follows:
These categories are:
* Kurdish nationalists (Those who promote the idea of an independent Kurdish state)
* Supporters of an ethnic federation
* Those who promote the project of coexistence
Kurdish nationalists
Kurdish nationalism emerged in the early 20th century. The idea of a nation state arrived as an ideology of the bourgeoisie after the French Revolution and influenced some Kurdish intellectuals.
Nationalist thoughts non-Muslim peoples of the Ottoman state -- Serbs, Greeks, Romanians, Bulgarians and Armenians -- had embraced also impressed the Muslim groups as well. Following the Albanians and the Arabs, some Kurdish intellectuals joined this movement.
The above-mentioned peoples other than the Kurds revolted against the Ottoman state and gained independence, whereas only the Armenian uprising failed. A political uprising contrary to the interests of the Armenian people who suffered a lot resulted in a disaster. As opposed to the Muslim Albanians and Arabs, the Kurds did not part ways with the Ottoman state. The Kurds dealt with the pains and turmoil of World War I together with the Turks. The Kurdish people and leaders viewed their fates connected to the fates of the Turks because of the idea of Islamic brotherhood and unity. Currently, with the exception of a small number of intellectuals, the vast majority of Kurds in Turkey promote coexistence in a just and democratic republic instead of founding an independent Kurdish state.
There are two reasons why a Kurdish state was not created in the Middle East in the 20th century:
1- The Western imperialists did not see an independent Kurdish state as compatible with their interests. There are several reasons for this.
2- The Kurds did not want to part ways with the Turks, with whom they have lived together for centuries.
The vast majority of Kurds still object to the idea of a nation-state and a separate Kurdish state from Turkey. These objections may be divided into two parts:
1- The idea of a nation-state and the nation-state model was fashionable in the 19th century. The nation-state became outdated in the 21st century. A wave of globalization has swept through the world. Information and culture recognize no boundaries, and the movement of goods cannot be prevented. All values generated in the fields of sports, fashion, cinema and music are disseminated instantly; likewise, information and technology transcend boundaries. A commodity produced in China is marketed in another part of the world in a few days. The Internet has almost become the common memory of all of humanity. Marriages between people of different religions, languages and ethnicities are on the rise; local languages are disappearing and being replaced by English, which is increasingly becoming the official language of the world. In such a world, national boundaries become insignificant in economic and cultural terms; the bourgeoisie, which promoted nationalism and national boundaries in the 19th and 20th centuries for the sake of its interests, now seeks to lift the boundaries, considering that they are contrary to its interests.
Instead of nation-states, regional unions and political and economic organizations like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union gain importance. In the current form of the world, it is commonly held that a delayed Kurdish nationalism would bring harm to Kurds rather than benefits. The Kurds desire to remain within a political organization consistent with the new global tendencies rather than trying a non-functional and outdated model.
2. The nation-state model does not fit the Middle East. The nation-state brought irresolution rather than solution to Middle Eastern communities because of the following reasons:
a. The Middle East does not have a social structure similar to that of Europe; the two have undergone different historical processes. The Middle East did not experience historical turning points that made Europe the current Europe, including the Reformation, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and democratic revolutions. There have been no bourgeoisie and labor classes in the Middle East in the Western sense. The feudality of Europe and feudality of the Middle East do not overlap. To this end, the lord of Europe is not equal to the ağa of the Middle East; likewise, the church and priest of Christianity are not the proper matches of mosque and imam of the Islamic world.
b. Ethnic, religious and sectarian differences are not separated via visible lines in the Middle East; instead, they are intertwined. Kurd-Turk-Arab, Muslim-Christian, Sunni-Shiite mostly live in the same city, in the same neighborhood. Likewise, the Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks have lived together in this land. The social structure has been based on conciliation and coexistence rather than conflict and separation. This is the case in ancient Islamic cities like İstanbul, Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus.
c. These ethnic, religious and sectarian differences have existed under the rule of big states instead of small ones that clashed with each other. From this perspective, the history of the Middle East is the history of empires. The Roman, Medes, Persian, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Seljuk and Ottoman eras may be cited as examples of this. During some periods of interruptions and disorder, small states emerged; but this did not last long and a big political organization established its rule. The period following the Mongolian invasion is an example of this.
d. The dominant factor in the Middle East is religion and sect rather than ethnicity. This is the case in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. The Kirkuk Turkmen and the Shiite Kurds in Iraq act together with the Arab Shiites.
e. Marriages take place between those who share the same religion and sect without considering the lingual and racial difference. Integration between families is almost intact. It is estimated that the number of marriages between Turks and Kurds is over 1 million in Turkey alone.
f. There have been almost no ethnic wars between communities in the Middle East. The most important wars in the history were fought between Turks. These are the wars fought between Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and the Akkoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan, Yıldırım Bayezit and Uzbek Timurlane, Sultan Selim I and Safavid Shah Ismail. All these rulers were Turks. In addition, with the exception of Shah Ismail, all others were Sunni as well. The reason of the wars was the pursuit of power and influence.
g. The idea of nationalism is relatively new to the Middle East. First, military states were founded to create a nation through the efforts of the state. Ağaoğlu Ahmet, Ziya Gökalp and Moiz Kohen in Turkey and Michel Aflaq and Jamal Abdel Nasser in the Arab world served as the leading names in support of this ideology. Kurdish nationalism is a delayed nationalism. Arab nationalism is still behind religion and sect. It is not possible to talk about national awareness and unity in the modern sense.
PUKmedia :: English - Solution to Kurdish Problem: a Kurdistan for Iraq, Democracy for Turkey (1)
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23-07-2008, 07:21 PM #1151
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23-07-2008, 07:22 PM #1152
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Provincial Elections Law to be Sent Back to Parliament for Revise , Official Spokesman Says
The Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council (ISSC) led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim decided unanimously to reject the Iraqi provincial law passed by the Iraqi Council of Representatives on Tuesday , Official Spokesman of the Kurdistan Alliance Bloc inside the Iraqi Parliament , Firyad Rawanduzi exclusively told PUKmedia.
“Later, the Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi met with the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Both Talabani and Abdul Mahdi decided in the meeting to use the veto right against the Iraqi provincial law, and the objection has been sent to the Presidency of the Iraqi Council of Representatives urgently. Consequently, the law will be sent back to the Iraqi parliament today or tomorrow for further revise in the light of the constitutional and legal objections which have been presented by both Talabani and Adel Abdul Mahdi.”
Rawanduzi indicated that the Iraqi parliament is expected to hold a session on next Sunday to revote on the Iraqi provincial law.
“Both Talabani and Adel Abdul Mahdi called the Iraqi Vice President , Tariq al-Hashimi , who is currently paying a visit to Turkey, to brief him on the issue .Hashimi expressed the readiness of the Iraqi Accordance Front and the Iraqi Islamic Party to have a revised provincial law acceptable to all the Iraqi fractions, “ Rawanduzi concluded
PUKmedia :: English - Provincial Elections Law to be Sent Back to Parliament for Revise , Official Spokesman Says
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23-07-2008, 07:29 PM #1153
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Al-Maliki tells Germany Iraq is open for business
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said his battle-scarred country was now safer and back in business, in a sales pitch in Germany after talks Tuesday with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Al-Maliki said Iraq was getting back on its feet and aimed to revive its historically strong ties with Europe's biggest economy, recalling the 1980s heyday when annual bilateral trade reached four billion euros ($6.4 billion).
"We have managed to save our country from a civil war," he told reporters at a news conference with Merkel.
"Now we want to rebuild our country. With security improved, we are ready to welcome foreign companies. We have taken the necessary measures."
Merkel said Germany was in a unique position to help rebuild Iraq, which badly needs engineering expertise and industrial facilities - two German specialities.
"We are pleased that the security situation in Iraq has improved little by little and that is of course a pre-condition for economic and political reconstruction to move forward," she said.
"Iraq is a country rich in raw materials and Germany has broad technological and industrial know-how. We are pleased that some German companies have already expressed interested in helping to rebuild Iraq."
She said Al-Maliki had asked for German assistance in the areas of training, renewable energy and infrastructure.
Al-Maliki was to attend a dinner organised by the Arab-German chamber of commerce and industry, known as Ghorfa, with about 100 business leaders, particularly heads of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Last year, Germany exported goods worth a total of 319 million euros to the war-ravaged country. But German firms are keen to build stronger ties with Iraq, with its massive oil reserves and lucrative reconstruction contracts.
Iraqi Finance Minister Bayan Baker Jaber Solagh said the government would have more than $75 billion at its disposal this year thanks to skyrocketing oil revenues to cover daily expenses and finance projects such as refineries, roads, railways, hospitals, ports and the purchase of airplanes.
"We have not had this much money since 2003," he told newswire AFP recently in Baghdad.
For now however, while many German companies have expressed interest in working in Iraq, few have taken the next steps.
Wintershall, a unit of the chemical giant BASF, is one of the few to actively seek contracts, in its case a license for oil drilling.
A BDI spokesman acknowledged that "we cannot say how many German companies are currently active in Iraq".
Attacks, corruption and poor infrastructure are obstacles to many."Economic ties without hindrances will only be possible when the security situation improves considerably," the head of the German chamber of commerce DIHK's external trade department, Axel Nitschke, told MDR Info radio.
He warned entrepreneurs to obey travel warnings from the German foreign ministry. "Any other stance would be irresponsible," he said.
Baghdad has pressed Berlin to abandon its official warning against travel in the still volatile country.
In June, a German-Iraqi economic commission was resuscitated and met here for the first time since 1987, under the oversight of Economy Minister Michael Glos and Iraqi Industry Minister Fawzi Al-Hariri.
Six weeks later, Glos flew to Iraq along with a sizeable German business delegation - the first member of the government to make the trip since 2003.
Al-Maliki tells Germany Iraq is open for business - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com
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23-07-2008, 07:32 PM #1154
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Iraq election delay due to legal wrangling
Provincial elections in Iraq due in October will almost certainly be delayed due to claims of procedural impropriety during voting on a bill giving legal effect to the ballot, lawmakers said Wednesday.
Iraq's parliament passed a draft provincial election law Tuesday that would allow voting to take place in the country's 18 provinces later this year, but the legislation could now face rejection by the Presidency Council, MPs said.
The Presidency Council, which approves parliamentary legislation, is expected to put down the bill because lawmakers have charged that voting on the bill on Tuesday was carried out in secret, violating procedures.
"The elections will be later than their scheduled time," said Ali Al-Adeeb, a member of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's Dawa party, one of the key blocs in the 275 seat Iraqi parliament.
Adeeb charged that Tuesday's legislative process had been "a breach of the law".
Although Kurds boycotted the vote, parliament nevertheless managed to get the bill passed, a crucial move if the electoral commission is to make the necessary preparations for polls to go ahead as scheduled on Oct. 1.
But Adeeb and other parliamentarians charged that the ballot was carried out in secret, violating parliamentary bylaws.
"At minimum, the election will not be held in the first of October," Saleem Abdullah, spokesman for main Sunni bloc, the National Concord Front, told newswire AFP, adding that he now expected the vote to be held in January next year.
The delay would be a blow to Washington and especially the outgoing administration of President George W. Bush, which sees the elections as a key step towards achieving national reconciliation among Iraq's warring communities.
The Kurds in particular have opposed the bill because of disputes over how to constitute the provincial council of Kirkuk, the northern oil province claimed by both the Arabs and Kurds.
In an official statement the Kurdistan government called Tuesday's vote unconstitutional and detrimental to the democratic process.
"The speaker of the parliament has committed a constitutional violation, and a breach of the interior system of the parliament," it said.
"[The move] aims to obstruct the national democratic process, and the provincial assemblies elections, and it is trying to disrupt the political process in the country."
Kirkuk, which lies 255 kilometres north of Baghdad, is claimed by both Arabs and Kurds, and a referendum to decide its fate was to have been held last December but was delayed after UN intervention.
Kurdish leaders agreed to a six-month postponement of the vote at the recommendation of the United Nations, but lawmakers have raised concerns over Kirkuk's interim status.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution stipulated that a referendum on Kirkuk be held by the end of 2007 to decide whether its oil wealth should be integrated into the autonomous Kurdish region.
Kirkuk has been gripped by ethnic tension since the US-led invasion of 2003, with Arab and Turkmen residents fearful they would be marginalised if the city were handed over to the Kurds.
Under the regime of ousted and ****uted dictator Saddam Hussein, Kirkuk was the scene of a massive population upheaval with tens of thousands of Kurdish residents expelled to make way for Arab settlers.
Iraq election delay due to legal wrangling - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com
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24-07-2008, 12:12 AM #1155
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Iraq oil dispute
At a time of high oil prices and supply shortages, the dispute over Iraq’s oil reserves, which could produce an additional 1.5m barrels a day with minimum investment, demands urgent resolution.
Iraq’s oilfields require immediate and expert maintenance, and the Iraqi people need the funds the oil can command on the global market. But negotiations on a draft national oil law are hopelessly stalled and controversy has erupted over proposed contracts with foreign oil companies. Iraq needs international support to negotiate fair and sustainable deals.
International financial institutions must help develop a transparent and legitimate system for awarding contracts, and ensure that the profits help build Iraq’s economy and benefit its citizens.
Conflict and instability have eroded Iraq’s capacity to develop its own oil resources and to manage the contracts process for these complex investments. The oil ministry has been debilitated by nearly two decades of sanctions and war. Many skilled officials have retired or fled the violence, while others were purged. Only one member of Iraq’s negotiating team has experience with large international oil contracts.
Last month the Iraqi government sparked international outcry by announcing plans to sign no-bid contracts with hand-picked large oil companies. The oil minister retreated, and on June 30 announced a more transparent and competitive bidding process for the coming year.
The new plan would not allow foreign ownership of Iraqi oil. Instead it would bring foreign companies into Iraq as service providers, in line with the prevailing practice in other parts of the Middle East.
While this revised contracts process is a step forward, it is no substitute for a clear legal framework. If the process is to progress, Iraq and its future partners need support to ensure the programme is efficient, transparent and equitable.
Numerous attempts to craft oil legislation to govern revenue and power-sharing remain deadlocked. The federal government and the Kurdistan regional government are at an impasse, the latter having independently signed more than 30 production-sharing contracts for fields.
Baghdad refuses to recognise these contracts – which allow for foreign equity participation and ownership of Iraqi oil – and is blacklisting those companies that signed them. The resulting legal confusion hampers international engagement in the Iraqi oil sector and jeopardises deals.
With its bureaucracy in disarray, Iraq and its potential partners require assistance to make standards meaningful. The World Bank’s commercial lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, should participate in the contract development process. The IFC traditionally has guided private investors in emerging markets by sharing risk and providing co-financing and insights into conditions on the ground. It could help develop a transparent and accountable financing mechanism. Also its participation could provide the legitimacy necessary for long-term success.
Iraq’s leaders must use this period to develop and embed disclosure and integrity mechanisms in the management of oil revenues. The Iraqi government’s recent endorsement of the extractive industries transparency initiative, an international standard for transparency in the management of oil, gas and mining revenues, is a promising step.
But the newly announced open bidding round, with its wider participation and greater international scrutiny, may provide the last real opportunity to shape a sustainable oil policy for the nascent Iraqi state. By using the upcoming negotiations as a pilot process to develop legal principles to guide the oil sector in the future, Iraq and its international partners can increase productivity and transparency.
There is nothing ideal about allowing commerce to outpace a sound policy framework, but the situation in Iraq is far from ideal. If the process now beginning is transparent, fair and consistent with the compromises already proposed, it may be Iraq’s best hope for a solution to the oil dilemma.
Yahia Said is Middle East and North Africa director of the Revenue Watch Institute, a non-profit policy- and grant-making organisation that promotes responsible management of oil, gas and mineral resources
FT.com / World - Iraq oil dispute
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24-07-2008, 12:22 AM #1156
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Will western oil companies win big in Iraq?
Industry analysts and ****utives are sceptical a planned opening of the war-torn country’s oil industry to foreign investment will bring big profits for the Western Oil Majors, or boost output as much as hoped.
While many have lined up to register to bid for Iraqi oil deals, actual bidders may be thinner on the ground and deals may take longer to conclude than the government plans.
John Mitchell, an energy specialist at the Royal Institute of International Affairs said recent rises in Iraqi production to around 2.3 million barrels per day were largely due to the improving security situation. If Iraq wants to make big jumps from here on, it will need to invest a lot of money in, and apply a lot of technology to, its oilfields.
A delay on the involvement of foreign oil companies could make it harder for Iraq to meet its ambitious output growth targets.
“If the invasion was about oil, let the record show it has been more botched than even its toughest critics claim. Iraqi oil production went into steep decline after the war, and has only recovered to Saddam-era levels on a consistent basis this year,” Raad Alkadiri, Senior Director in the Markets and Country Strategies practice, at industry consultants PFC Energy said in a note to clients.
Global Investing Blog Archive Will western oil companies win big in Iraq? | Blogs | Reuters.com&
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24-07-2008, 03:32 AM #1157
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24-07-2008, 12:54 PM #1158
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German Vehicle Maker Daimler Signs Agreement to Help Reconstruction in Iraq
Daimler AG signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi government that could see the German vehicle maker supply buses, trucks and technological expertise in efforts to rebuild the country.
Ursula Mertzig-Stein, a spokeswoman for Stuttgart-based Daimler, said that a small number of Daimler employees working out of an office in Baghdad will research what the car maker might be able to offer to help the country rebuild, and whether the company might be able to invest more broadly in Iraq.
"It is a first step to show that we have some optimism in Iraq getting back to normal," Mertzig-Stein said. She said Daimler plans to have the employees in place by the end of this year.
Shares of Daimler rose more than 3.5 per cent to 42.47 Euros (US$66.85) in Frankfurt trading.
The agreement was signed Wednesday at a meeting between German Economy Minister Michael Glos and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Glos said the contract is a signal of growing eagerness from German government and business to invest in Iraq.
"I warmly greet German companies, Daimler for example, which today signed a contract to open its own offices in Baghdad, and I hope that other examples will follow," Glos said.
Glos, who visited Baghdad earlier this month, said that it was getting easier to do business in Iraq because security conditions there are improving.
"The time of the middle man is over," Glos said. "No more must we meet with Iraq government officials outside of Iraq." Al-Maliki is wrapping up a two-day visit to Germany that also included a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. At a joint press conference with Merkel on Tuesday, al-Maliki said he hoped to recruit German firms to help rebuild Iraq's infrastructure and education system.
PUKmedia :: English - German Vehicle Maker Daimler Signs Agreement to Help Reconstruction in Iraq
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24-07-2008, 12:56 PM #1159
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Dana Gas : The production of natural gas from Koruml field will start next month
A petroleum expert and investor Hamid Jafar Dhia, clarified on Saturday, the two companies (Dana Gas) and (Al Hilal Petroleum) would start from early next month of August natural gas production from the field of Kormul in Sulaymaniyah, an initial quantity of 75 million cubic feet per day, which would rise gradually To 300 million by in 2009, covering the territory of Kurdistan need of electricity and uses of liquid gas.
Jaafar who owns (Al Hilal Petroleum) company and headed the company (Dana Gas), added that the company will assume "in the beginning of next August we shall start production of natural gas from the largest gas field in the Kurdistan region which is located in the field of Kormul in Sulaymaniyah, an initial quantity of 75 million cubic feet per day ". He explained that the quantity of production "will rise gradually to 300 million cubic feet by 2009."
He continued, that the production of the new field designed to feed two electric stations in the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah with energy up to 1250 MW, as well as to cover the needs of the Kurdistan region of liquid gas and other requirements which are used in industrial and other areas. "
Jafar stated that "The value of investments of project is 650 million dollars, including the second phase, where the equipment was brought up in weight to about 48 thousand tons, were transferred on more than two thousand trucks, along with other equipment transferred on the aircrafts." Adding that the huge pipes used in the completion of the project, which were about 180 kilometers in length "were imported from China and Thailand to extend across the rugged mountains and interspersed with various obstacles including land mines scattered in the region."
He explained that modern terminals for processing liquefied gas "has been established within a period not exceeding year," describing this as a "shortest time in any standards of any work environment."
Jafar stated about the other results achieved from the completion of the project, "The gas product will contribute in providing more than 2.5 billion dollars annually in government expenditure currently allocated to import fuel and liquefied gas." Adding that the project will also "provide sources of electric energy for more than four million Iraqis, as well as create thousands of jobs." He expressed his belief that "more than four million Iraqis will benefit from lower electric energy services and its continuing, as well as the transfer of surplus power supply to the national electricity distribution network to compensate for the shortfall in production."
Hamid Jaafar did not hesitate to recall that "loss of Iraq for more than one billion cubic feet annually since in 2003, as a result of the irresponsible process of burning gas." He explained that this quantity of gas burned "can be used as fuel for the generation of 6000 MW of electricity, equivalent to all of Iraq's needs of electricity."
Dana Gas : The production of natural gas from Koruml field will start next month
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24-07-2008, 01:04 PM #1160
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KRG Rejects the Provincial Elections Bill due to Breach of Constitution
Statement by the Kurdistan Regional Government
While waiting for the full implementation of Iraq's Constitution and for political progress and stability to take root in Baghdad, the citizens of Iraq were greatly undermined on Tuesday July 22, 2008, when during a session of the Council of Representatives [Iraq's Parliament] the bill concerning the provincial election was passed by secret ballot. This procedure was a clear violation of Iraq's Constitution.
Deciding on an important bill without the Kurdistan Block, which is a major political and national group, together with a large number of other Parliamentarians, raises much doubt on previous coalitions and political agreements which have been formed between many parties and the political leadership in Kurdistan.
From the beginning of the post-Liberation political development of Iraq in 2003, the KRG has placed the interests of the wider Iraq first and foremost and has shown a continual commitment to the principles of flexibility and compromise in order to peacefully and legally solve matters of disagreement.
Up until now the KRG has followed a policy of cooperation and compromise on all issues. This policy does not represent weakness on the part of the Kurdistan Region, but one of honesty and sincerity from the political leadership of Kurdistan so that all the people of Iraq may have a secure, productive and peaceful coexistence.
Within the Iraqi Parliament, a deceptive and tactical policy was used to pass this bill. We reiterate our commitment to the Constitution and the political agreements we have made and urge all members of Iraq's political groups to review and reconsider the illegal actions which have taken place.
The Kurdistan Regional Government calls on everyone to follow the Constitution, and to show their sincerity and commitment to the founding principles of federalism and democracy and our Constitution.
The Constitution of Iraq is our most important legal document and is the only one which protects our rights and defends the democracy of our nation. When the Parliament, itself a great institution created by this document, illegally issues a law which violates the Constitution of Iraq, it is a grave step for our future.
We denounce the decision by the Council of Representatives to pass this legislation and will not abide by this bill.
Being unconstitutional, this legislation only serves to undermine the law and democracy of Iraq and will only open the door for future tensions and the ex.a.c.e.rbation of problems.
We believe that we must work together to find wise and legal solutions for such issues as Kirkuk and the need for provincial elections.
We have long thought that in a new Iraq, opportunities would emerge based on dialogue and cooperation, and not strength and asserted power. We wanted dialogue to overcome force. We call on all parties and the Council of Representatives to follow these principles of the Constitution and immediately work to remove these violations of our system.
We hope that all parties come forward and reaffirm their true dedication to a just democracy; otherwise, we will be obliged to respond to such disagreements in different way in future.
Kurdistan Regional Government
Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
23 July, 2008
PUKmedia :: English - KRG Rejects the Provincial Elections Bill due to Breach of Constitution
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