Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Iraq's southern oil workers in government reshuffle

The Iraqi government has moved, demoted or fired more than a dozen people within the southern Iraqi oil sector this month as domestic and international union officials decry their treatment.

This week reports surfaced that South Oil Co. Director General Abdul Jabbar Lauby was removed from the head of Iraq's largest and most productive state oil company, as well as the head of the South Gas Co. and Iraqi Oil Tankers Co.

United Press International is told that the leadership at the top of the South Refineries Co. will be removed as well.

Lauby was offered a position as adviser to the Oil Ministry but reportedly has not accepted the position. Phone calls and e-mails to the ministry were not returned.

"It's something up to the government," said Hassan Juma'a Awad, president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions.

He said 11 people from the South Refinery Co. were demoted or fired. Eight were union members, including the vice president, the central committee manger and the secretary of culture and information, Awad said. The three administrative staff include the director general's secretary, and administration and finance officers.

He said he expects more jobs shuffled or lost, including his, adding, "While Shahristani is in power, it will happen."

Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani launched the Oil Ministry's series of most recent crackdowns on the union -- which officially are not legal, because a Saddam Hussein-era law has not been overturned or replaced despite the 2005 constitution calling for such a move. The workers, however, immediately formed a union after Saddam's overthrow, and attempts to break them have failed.

Abu Bakr Faqi Mohammed, president of the oil union under the Kurdistan General Workers Syndicate Union, told UPI the government "tried twice to close our office" in Kirkuk.

"Our workers demonstrated, and they didn't allow our office to be closed," he said.

This month both the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation and the president of the AFL-CIO wrote to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in part to protest the government's attempt to control upcoming union elections.

Shahristani last year sent letters telling the state companies not to communicate or recognize the unions. And a short strike in part of the southern oil industry to protest working conditions, among other issues, was met by arrest warrants for leaders and was surrounded by security forces.

Mohammed said people in the south have been fired this month but are still working "because workers refused to have other people lead them." He said some are pegged to be transferred to Kirkuk, Baiji, Mosul and Samawa.

The unions also have been one of the more vocal opposition groups in the debate over the draft oil law. They view it as not supportive enough of the domestic oil industry and too generous with Iraq's oil toward international oil companies.

Lauby, the removed South Oil Co. head, was against the Oil Ministry's new plan to bring international oil companies in for long-term development deals for Iraq's largest-producing oil fields.

The energy information service Platts reports he welcomed the companies "as consultants and not as partners."

Lauby, who is a native Basrawi, had the lead role in the South Oil Co. since 2003. He kept production up during Maliki's military incursion into Basra earlier this year.

Although the government said the mission was to eradicate gangs and militias, the nearly sole targets were those loyal or believed to be aligned with Moqtada Sadr, the popular cleric whose followers include the Mehdi Army and local and national politicians.

With Basra more calm after the action, Maliki's government -- led by the Dawa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq -- appears to be clearing out two other opponents of its policies.

"A vote by the Basra provincial council -- reportedly by consensus, and thus conceivably even involving some 'defections' from the local ISCI branch -- protested against the central government's decision to remove the head of the Southern Oil Co.," wrote Reidar Visser, Iraq expert at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and editor of the Iraq-focused Web site Historiae.org.

The Basra council and the government of the oil capital of Iraq is controlled by the Fadhila Party, which withdrew its members from Maliki's governing coalition and is attempting to keep power of Basra from ISCI.

Analysis: Iraq government shakes oil union - UPI.com

Baghdad .. al-Jaafari announced the formation of the current reform

Acanutoraprahim al-Jaafari announced a new name for the stream (PARENA) under his chairmanship, saying
It aims to renounce sectarianism and militias fighting the quotas, describing the Iraqi-American Convention long as humiliating.

The al-Jaafari in a press conference held today, Saturday, at the headquarters of the new trend in Baghdad to attend a number of gentlemen officials and political figures, clan elders and notables in addition to the large number of people, referring to the objective of the formation of this bloc, said "for the repair of mistakes and points of imbalance that accompanied the political process since Overthrow the dictator in April 9 last till now. "

It is noteworthy that the opening of the headquarters private trend by Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari (PARENA) today in the region of Kurds in Baghdad.

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Industry Ministry signs MoU with Swedish motor company

The Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Swedish motor manufacturer Scania to develop the General Company for Motor Manufacturing in Babel province, a ministerial statement said on Saturday.

"The memorandum was signed on the sidelines on the minister's participation in the 2nd International Compact with Iraq (ICI), held in Stockholm on Thursday with the participation of a huge delegation headed by the prime minister, his deputy and several ministers," read a ministerial statement received by Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq-(VOI).

The General Company for Motor Manufacturing is affiliated to the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals and is located in Babel provinces, which lies 100 km south of the capital Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

All power stations supplied with fuel - Ministry

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil said it has fulfilled its commitments to provide all electricity generating stations in the country with fuel, an official spokesman for the ministry said.

"The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has supplied all power stations in Iraq with fuel for the first four months of the current year, honoring its commitments to the Ministry of Electricity," Issam Jihad said in statements to Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

According to the spokesman, the ministry supplied the stations with 1,614 cubic meters of crude oil in April, in addition to 11,920 cubic meters of natural gas to al-Najibiya station, which he said is far more than the agreed upon 513 cubic meters of crude oil.

Power supplies in Iraq have been sporadic since the second Gulf war and the U.S. bombing of Iraq's main power generating plants. The shortages across the country became even worse in the aftermath of 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country because of insurgent sabotage, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid. Outages make life almost unbearable in the summer months, when daily temperatures reach over 50C.

Aswat Aliraq

24 Iraqi joint stock companies registered in ISIN

A total of 24 Iraqi joint stock companies have been registered in the International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN) in preparation for their electronic trading in the Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX), the chief ****utive of the exchange said.

"The registration is a prerequisite for electronic trading in the Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX)," Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam said in statements to Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

The number of registered companies has reached 88 out of 94 registered in the Iraqi stock market, he added.

On Thursday, Abdul Salam said that the electronic trading project is currently underway, adding that the exchange's board of governors has agreed on certain resolutions with regards to the new system.

Developing a training program for the exchange's employees was one of the resolutions, he said.

Established under Law No. 74 of the year 2004, the Iraqi Stock Exchange held its first session on June 24, 2004. The stock market holds three sessions a week: Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Paper slams Arab states for their policy toward Iraq

A Baghdad-based newspaper on Saturday criticized some Arab countries for what it said as their policies toward Iraq, while another called on Arab and Gulf states to forgive Iraq's debts and support it diplomatically by re-opening their embassies in Baghdad.

Badr newspaper, the daily mouthpiece of Badr Organization, one of the components of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakeem, criticized in an article by its Editor-in-Chief Kareem al-Nouri the stance of some Arab neighbors during the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), held in the Swedish capital Stockholm on Thursday.

Paradoxical as it may appear, foreign countries took a more understanding stance than that taken by Arab countries, the author said, adding that European countries took the initiative to re-open their embassies in Baghdad while many Arab states are still hesitant about it, citing the security conditions.

Delegates from more than 90 countries gathered on Thursday in Stockholm amid tight security for a one-day U.N.-Iraq meeting aimed at discussing progress with reconciliation and nation-building in Iraq.

The conference reviewed annual reports, prepared by the Iraqi government and the U.N., which provided a comprehensive evaluation of the progress achieved thus far and the coming challenges.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki headed the Iraqi delegation that also included his deputy Burham Saleh, Finance Minister Bayan Jabr al-Zubaidi, and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Among the dignitaries that attended the summit were U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, along with the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers.

Highlighting the importance of Iraq's stability and security to neighboring countries and the entire Middle East, the author urged Arab states to follow in the footsteps of European and Islamic states, which re-opened their embassies in the Iraqi capital.

"If they are not capable of politically supporting us, they should at least stop the flow of suicide bombers, explosive belts and car bombs into our country, in the name of Arab and Islamic fraternity," the author wrote.

Al-Mada, another independent daily, commented in an article entitled 'Debts and compensation' on what it described as the poor participation of Arab and regional states in the Stockholm summit.

The newspaper wrote that some neighboring and regional countries still insist on recovering their debts from Iraq, which undermines Iraq's efforts to rehabilitate its economy and infrastructure.

Aswat Aliraq

Kouchner meets VP, stresses readiness to launch projects in Iraq

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi received French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in al-Nassiriya on Saturday on the first visit ever by a French minister to the city.

"The objective of this visit is to send a message of love and peace for the Iraqi people. France is willing to build tourist utilities in the city," Kouchner told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The French government is ready to launch projects in Iraq in coordination with the central government in Baghdad," he added.

Earlier on Saturday media sources in Nassiriya said Kouchner had arrived at the Imam Ali base in the province to meet with officials in the city.

"Kouchner is expected to meet with a host of officials in the city," the sources told VOI correspondent in the base.

Nassiriya, capital city of Thi-Qar province, is 420 km south of Baghdad.
The Iraqi semi-official TV station al-Iraqiya said Kouchner arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday on an unannounced visit.

Kouchner paid a visit to Iraq in September 2007, the first by a French minister since Paris opposed the 2003 war on the country.

Kurdish sources said Kouchner is scheduled to inaugurate a French consulate in the city of Arbil on Sunday in the attendance of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nejervan Barazani and top Kurdish officials.

"The inauguration of the French consulate would usher in a new stage in political, economic and cultural relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and France," Falah Mustafa, the official in charge of foreign relations in the KRG, told VOI on Saturday.

"Kouchner is also expected to meet KRG President Massoud Barazani and other senior government officials," he said.

Aswat Aliraq

Former PM says formed new "anti-sectarianism" party

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said on Saturday that he would form a new party under his leadership to "renounce the sectarian quota system and fight the militias," terming as "humiliating" the long-term Iraq-U.S. agreement.

"An Islah (Reform) Party under my leadership was announced today. The new party will see the participation of a number of figures from all blocs and political parties with the aim of renouncing sectarianism and fighting the militias," Jaafari said on Saturday in a press conference attended by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

Jaafari criticized the long-term Iraq-U.S. agreement, noting "I renounce the humiliating agreement between Iraq and the United States."

A declaration of principles was signed between U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration was planned to be ratified on July 31, 2008 to be effective as of January 1, 2009.

The agreement governs the U.S. forces' presence in Iraq after the year 2008. This presence currently relies on a mandate by the UN, renewed annually upon the request of the Iraqi government.

The agreement should not be effective except after endorsement by the 275-member Iraqi parliament, which comprises five political blocs, the Fadhila (Virtue) Party and the Sadrist Bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

Jaafari is a member of the Islamic Dawa Party, to which incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Aswat Aliraq

Iraqi Prime Minister due next week in Tehran

Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki starts next week a visit to Tehran as part of a tour including Jordan’s capital Amman in the framework of Iraqi Government efforts to near views with neighboring countries and fail attempts of ruining neighboring countries relations.

Al Maliki’s visit comes after he rallied international support to Baghdad during the International Compact Review Conference on Iraq which ended by Stockholm Declaration.

Al Maliki affirmed to his Swedish counterpart Frederick Reindfelt that his government seeks to encourage Iraqi refuges in Sweden to return to Iraq.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...in-Tehran.html

Bush imposes sanctions on PKK

US President George W. Bush imposed sanctions on Kurdistan Workers Party and an Italian organized crime group in order to prevent the group access to the U.S. financial system.

Using a U.S. anti-drug trafficking law, Bush has put the PKK and the Italian group subject to the sanctions, which prevent U.S. companies and individuals from engaging in trade and transactions with them.

“This action underscores the president's determination to do everything possible to pursue drug traffickers, undermine their operations and end the suffering that trade in illicit ***** inflicts on Americans and other people around the world, as well as prevent drug traffickers from supporting terrorists,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...ns-on-PKK.html