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By Nick, May 14, 2013 3:20 pm

Baghdad (AFP) — The Iraqi government said on Tuesday that it rejects the entry of Kurdish fighters from Turkey into its territory as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty that damages relations with Ankara.

“The Iraqi government confirms its rejection of the withdrawal and the presence of armed men of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK] inside Iraqi territory, which is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and independence,” a statement from the cabinet said.

The first group out of the roughly 2,000 PKK fighters who are departing Turkey as part of a peace drive aimed at ending the 29-year conflict with Ankara arrived in north Iraq on Tuesday.

The move “causes severe damage to neighbourly relations between the two countries and their common interests,” the statement said.

Iraq plans to present a complaint to the United Nations Security Council, so the body will “take the necessary decision to prevent the violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” it added.

The first group of Kurdish fighters leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara arrived in the Harur area of Iraqi Kurdistan early on Tuesday after a gruelling week-long journey.

“We are the first group to reach the safe area in Iraq,” said Jagar, the leader of the group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters, which comprised nine men and six women.

The fighters, who arrived about 6am local time and were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, light machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, were greeted with handshakes and hugs from PKK members based in Iraq.

After the welcome, the apparently-exhausted fighters put down their weapons and warmed themselves at a fire.

“Our withdrawal came according to orders from the leader [Abdullah] Ocalan, as we want to open a way for peace through this withdrawal,” Jagar said, referring to the jailed chief of the PKK.

“We faced many difficulties because of rain and snow” during seven days on the road, he said, adding that they were observed by Turkish aircraft.

The PKK has fought a 29-year nationalist campaign against Ankara in which some 45,000 people have died, but is now withdrawing its fighters from Turkey as part of a push for peace with the Turkish authorities.

The roughly 2,000 fighters in Turkey are leaving on foot, travelling through the rugged border zone to reach safe havens in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where they will join the thousands of fighters already present.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly vowed that retreating rebels “will not be touched,” and said that “laying down weapons” should be the top priority for the PKK.

The PKK however is demanding wider constitutional rights for Turkey’s Kurds, who make up around 20 per cent of the 75 million population, before disarming.

Over the years, the group’s demands have evolved from outright independence to autonomy as well as cultural and language rights.

A permanent peace could transform Turkey’s impoverished Kurdish-majority southeast, where investment has remained scarce and infrastructure insufficient due to the threat of clashes.

Turkey is believed to be home to the largest single community of ethnic Kurds, who are scattered across Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

Iraq’s federal government, which has made repeated complaints to Turkey about air and artillery strikes targeting the PKK in its territory, is not pleased that more of the group’s fighters will enter the country.

The foreign ministry said in a statement last week that while the Iraqi government welcomes any settlement that ends the PKK-Turkey conflict, it “does not accept the entry of armed groups into its territory”.

But it is Kurdish, not federal, security forces who man Iraq’s border with Turkey and ultimately decide who enters the region.

Assyrian International News Agency

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By Nick, April 25, 2013 9:36 am

(Reuters) — A singer from Iraq’s Kurdistan region has made it through to the semi-final of an Arab talent contest, igniting heated debates over Iraqi identity and politicizing the popular TV show.

A panel of judges praised 24-year-old Parwaz Hussein and she was voted through to the next round of “Arab Idol”, in which aspiring popstars from Morocco to Bahrain compete for a recording contract.

Many Kurds have rallied behind Parwaz, who wore a pendant in the shape of “greater Kurdistan” – the term used to describe the territory Kurds claim as their rightful homeland, which covers swathes of Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

“If before you were a singer, now you bear a great patriotic responsibility,” one Facebook user called Kurdistani Kurdan wrote on Parwaz’s page.

Numbering more than 25 million, the non-Arab Kurds are often described as the world’s largest ethnic group without a state and regard national borders as an historical injustice that has led to their systematic oppression.

In Iraq, Kurds were the target of chemical attacks under deposed strongman Saddam Hussein, but now enjoy a large measure of self-rule in the north of the country, where they run their own administration and armed forces.

Kurdish autonomy is enshrined in Iraq’s federal constitution, drawn up after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. The document recognizes Kurdish as Iraq’s second official language.

But relations between the northern enclave and the central government in Baghdad have been strained by disputes over land and oil rights that have worsened since U.S. troops left in December 2011.

At her first audition, Parwaz, who speaks broken Arabic, was accompanied by a translator so she could communicate with the judges. She has sung in both Arabic and Kurdish.

Unlike two other Arab Iraqi contestants who were described as being from Iraq, Parwaz’s origin was referred to as “Iraqi Kurdistan”. On Saturday night’s show, one of the judges took issue with the distinction.

“I am against the country title that says Parwaz is from Kurdistan, because Kurdistan is an inseparable part of Iraq,” said Ahlam, a popstar from the United Arab Emirates. “I want your introduction to say that you are from Iraq and not Kurdistan.”

The comment provoked an angry response among Kurds, who said it was evidence of Arab racism towards them.

“Tell Ahlam we are not Arabs,” said Ako Aljaff on Parwaz’s Facebook page. Others said that as a Kurd she should not have entered a competition called “Arab Idol” in the first place.

Ahlam later apologized on her Facebook page, but many Kurds said they would not accept the gesture unless it was broadcast on television. Some Arab nationalists took umbrage at that.

“If the Kurds didn’t like what Ahlam said, let them go to India or Pakistan or the Soviet Union or Armenia and establish their state far away from us,” said one Facebook user named Moteb Saud.

By Isabel Coles

Editing by Alistair Lyon.

Assyrian International News Agency

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By Nick, April 23, 2013 11:50 am

Dubai-based Emaar Properties and Kurdish firm Farouq Holdings [Farouk] are reported to be in talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government about developing a new $ 3bn resort in Sulaimaniya governate.

Zawya reports that the KRG has approved the Dukan tourist city project, and that work could start within six months.

The director-general of the Kurdistan Investment Authority in Sulaimaniya, Farman Gharib Saeed [Farman Ghareb Saaid], said the project “is considered one of the largest … in the area, and is part of a master plan devised by the tourism authority for Dukan“.

It will cover an area of 2.4 million m2 and will contain hotels, restaurants and a theme park. Tourism numbers in Iraqi Kurdistan are expected to reach 2.5 million by next year.

(Source:  Arabian Business, Zawya)

Iraq Business News

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By Nick, April 5, 2013 10:09 pm

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hussein al-Shahristani said oil exports to Turkey from northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region is in violation of the country’s law, Turkey’s Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.

“It [oil exports] will be considered smuggling, and the parties [involved in the trade] will face legal sanctions,” Shahristani said.

According to other reports, the Iraqi official added that some quantities of the country’s oil are exported by the Kurdish regional authorities without the knowledge of the central government, promising to halt such illegal operations.

Ties have soured between Turkey and Iraq over the energy relations between Ankara and the KRG.

On March 29, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is negotiating the terms of an energy deal with the Iraqi region.

He defended the deal as a “win-win” agreement for both Turkey and the KRG, claiming that Iraq’s Kurdistan region has the right to use part of its energy resources with whichever country it wants.

In November, Baghdad prevented Turkish national energy firm TPAO from bidding for an oil exploration contract.

Also in December, the Iraqi government prevented a plane carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz from landing in Arbil as he was reportedly on his way to ink the energy agreements with the KRG.

http://www.presstv.ir

Assyrian International News Agency

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By Nick, March 23, 2013 8:39 pm

In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, there is a strategic alliance between the two main parties: the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by the Kurdistan region’s president Massoud Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. But the results of the Iraqi 2010 elections changed to some extent the balance of power between the two parties, even though the Kurdish leaders have not admitted that. Nevertheless, this change in the balance of power has begun to come to the surface as the country approaches new elections.

In the 2005 Iraqi provincial elections, the KDP and the PUK participated on separate lists, but for the Iraqi and Kurdistan parliamentary elections, which also happened in 2005, they were on a joint list.

On July 27, 2007, the two parties signed a strategic agreement after a long conflict between them. They agreed to equally split between them everything they get to control in the Baghdad government and the Kurdistan region. They also agreed to be on a joint list in the general and local elections.

What changed the balance of power between the two allies is the emergence of a strong Kurdish opposition lead by the Movement for Change. That movement is headed by Kurdish leader Nawshirwan Mustafa, who had split from the PUK. That split clearly affected the results of the 2010 Iraqi parliamentary elections where — under the open list — the KDP won 32 seats and the PUK 10 seats. As a result, some PUK members called for reconsidering the agreement with the KDP.

In the 2010 elections, the Higher Independent Commission in Iraq adopted the “open list” rather than the “closed list” system, thus forcing the KDP and PUK to participate together but on separate lists. The KDP won most of the Kurdish alliance’s seats but was forced to equally split with the PUK the seats reserved for the Kurds in the Iraqi government, in accordance with their strategic agreement.

The issue of reconsidering that agreement has been looming for a while. A series of meetings were held for that purpose between the two parties after voices in both parties demanded that. KDP members, who are the majority, think that they have taken less than their fair share while PUK members think that election results are not an accurate measure of popularity.

PUK Spokesman Azad Jundiyani clearly stated that members of his party are being subjected to psychological warfare, which he considered an electoral campaign to demoralize them before the election.

In an article he published on a PUK media outlet, he said, “It is no secret that the KDP-PUK relations, in light of their strategic agreement, are passing through a sensitive phase. That political debate has been reported in the media and I see no need to deny it because we can no longer hide it.”

According to Jundiyani, it is clear that the political debate started after the 2009 provincial elections, after the emergence of the opposition movement in 2010, and after the PUK failed to secure an equal number of seats as the KDP.

Some KDP members said that the PUK has become the third force in the Kurdistan region, after the KDP and the Change Movement. Those claims have unsettled PUK members.

Jindiyani said, “This is a psychological campaign being conducted against the PUK and it is having an effect.” Dr. Barham Salih, deputy secretary-general of the PUK, clearly and publicly said that the PUK cannot withstand being a minor force.

KDP Secretary Fadhil Mirani said that despite the strategic agreement and partnership in governance with the PUK, the latter is nevertheless free to make its own decisions. He said, “Although there is a partnership between us, they are free to make the decisions they find suitable, and we will not oppose any decision they make that they find suitable.

In a news release, Mirani said, “All of the agreement’s terms were written by Talabani,” which he described as a political and legal person, stressing that his party’s commitment to this agreement is a moral duty.

It appears that the implications of these differences can no longer be hidden, and are no longer restricted locally to the Kurdistan region, especially during the current political crisis and the recall of the Kurdish ministers to the province to consult about resigning from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government.

The Kurdish ministers left Baghdad and returned to the Kurdish region after the Iraqi Parliament approved the budget despite the Kurdistan Alliance’s boycott. The Alliance boycotted because the budget excluded the dues of foreign oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region. Those dues amount to about $ 4 billion.

Observers point out that the Kurdish leadership has left the doors open for consultation so as not to take a decisive decision, because there are hidden differences between the KDP and PUK with regard to this matter. Some think that the PUK does not wish to pull out the Kurdish ministers from the Iraqi government.

During the recent meeting grouping Barzani, Kurdish ministers and deputies, KDP members, and Talabani, no decision about withdrawing Kurdish ministers from the Maliki government was made. They decided to continue consultations until they reach a final agreement in this regard.

By Abdel Hamid Zebari
AL Monitor

Assyrian International News Agency

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By Nick, March 20, 2013 6:57 am

By John Lee.

An on­line, student-run pro­duc­er and broad­cast­er of live interactive TV and documentaries, first es­tab­lished at UK’s War­wick University in 2011, has been in­tro­duced to the Uni­ver­si­ty of Kur­dis­tan-Hewler in Iraq.

UKH SIBE held its in­tro­duc­tion event recently and re­ceived a warm wel­come with just under 400 stu­dents, around 40 per­cent of the stu­dent body, at­tend­ing the event.

Sholi Loewen­thal, di­rec­tor of SIBE, told the Boar:

“These are his­toric times for SIBE, be­cause we aim to be­come a gen­uine­ly glob­al medi­um of the stu­dent voice.

“The fact that we will set up SIBE at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Kur­dis­tan-Hewler, and the fact that stu­dents there are so en­gaged with the medi­um, means there being a real bas­tion for the stu­dent voice not only in Iraq but in the wider Mid­dle East.

“Whilst [UKH SIBE] will pro­duce lo­cal­ly fo­cused con­tent, they will also pro­duce re­gion­al­ly fo­cused and glob­al­ly fo­cused con­tent – and all of their con­tent will have the po­ten­tial to reach glob­al au­di­ences.”

Flor­rie Shee­han, SIBE TV pro­duc­er of the com­e­dy panel show The Black Hole, shared the ex­cite­ment:

“I think the newly cre­at­ed UKH SIBE is bril­liant. It will bring a whole new media force to the Uni­ver­si­ty which will help the com­mu­ni­ca­tion and dis­cus­sion of poignant is­sues and ideas, and of course be ex­cel­lent as a new plat­form of en­ter­tain­ment for stu­dents!“

(Source: The Boar)

Iraq Business News

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By Nick, March 7, 2013 10:41 pm

Iraq’s parliament approved on Thursday a $ 119.1 billion (91.6 billion euro) budget for 2013 after weeks of delay, but Kurdish representatives and most members of the main Sunni-backed bloc did not attend, MPs said.

Parliament has struggled to pass even key legislation such as the budget due to political disputes that have deadlocked the body.

“The vote was held today on all the articles of the budget,” Ali Shlah, an MP from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc, told Agence France Presse.

There were 168 out of 325 MPs present at the time of the vote, Shlah said, explaining that Kurdish MPs and about three-quarters of those from the secular, Sunni backed Iraqiya bloc did not attend.

MP Alaa Talabani told AFP the Kurdish representatives stayed away because they consider the amount of money allocated in the budget to pay foreign oil companies operating in autonomous Kurdistan to be insufficient — a long-running dispute between the region and Baghdad.

And Iraqiya is at odds with Maliki over its accusations against him of authoritarianism and sectarianism.

Rafa al-Essawi, a leading Sunni and Iraqiya member who served as finance minister, announced his resignation at an anti-government protest earlier this month.

Shlah said the budget contains additions from the version approved by the cabinet last October, including salaries for anti-al-Qaida Sahwa militiamen.

Officials said in January that those salaries would be increased, a measure aimed at placating demonstrators who have held weeks of protests against the government in Sunni areas of western and northern Iraq.

The budget allocates about $ 16.9 billion, or 14.1 percent of the total, to security and defense, according to parliament’s website.

While the security situation in Iraq has improved significantly compared to past years, attacks remain common, killing 220 people in February, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources.

http://www.naharnet.com

Assyrian International News Agency

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By Nick, February 28, 2013 7:40 pm

Asya Abdullah, the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is described by dissidents and Kurds as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), said that Syria’s Kurds have established self-autonomies in Kurdish areas in Syria that are under their control.

From her current location in Iraqi Kurdistan, Abdullah told Azzaman yesterday [Feb. 25] that problems in Syria — even under a new government after the fall of the current regime — will only be solved if the Kurds obtain their rights under the new constitution. She added, “We have formed popular councils, relief committees and established branches of the Red Crescent in the areas of Derik, Amuda, Asran and other cities under our control.” She said that these committees are distributing fuel, running bakeries and providing services in these areas for free.

She added, “We have also formed an Asayish police force, which are known as ‘people protection units’ in western Kurdistan.”

Abdullah noted that these units are partially armed and provide security, adding that they are not affiliated with any one Kurdish party and are supervised by the Supreme Kurdish Authority, which encompasses all Kurdish parties.

Regarding the party’s description as the Syrian branch of the PKK, Abdullah told Azzaman, “This is one of the accusations made against us.”

She described the PYD as a Kurdish-Syrian political party, noting that “we maintain relations with all Kurdish parties, including the Kurdish parties in northern Iraq.” She wrote off the PYD’s branding as the Syrian branch of the PKK as slander, stressing that [the PYD] is not linked to the PKK.

Abdullah said that the PYD is suffering the most from the Syrian regime.

She noted that the connection [to the PKK] was made because of the party’s policies, which differ from the policies and leanings of the Syrian opposition. She said, “We do not collaborate with our aggressors, and we will not stand with the regime.”

Abdullah told Azzaman that “clashes, civil war and military confrontations between the regime’s army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have led to a sectarian war.”

She continued: “We are not with the FSA, which is not united. We are also not with the regime. We protect and defend our Kurdish areas if they came under any attack.” However, she noted that “our party calls for toppling the regime.”

Abdullah remarked, “We have practically toppled the regime in the areas over which we have taken control.”

She said that “the self-autonomies we have established in Kurdish areas in Syria include Arabs and Christians,” adding, “We have not declared a Kurdish state in Syria.”

Regarding dialogue with the Syrian regime, Abdullah said, “There will be no dialogue between us and the regime.” She added, “We would hold dialogue with the regime if the opposition, which we are part of, decides to do so.”

As for the party’s position on forming a new government in Syria after the fall of the regime, Abdullah said: “There will be no government or a solution for the Syrian problem if the Kurds do not obtain their rights, and if these rights are not included in the new Syrian constitution.”

In other news, the town of Daraya, which is under siege and mortar, rocket and aircraft shelling, has come to be referred to as Stalingrad, in reference to the Russian city that withstood the German siege during World War II.

According to sources, the city’s residents — including women, children and fighters — have not left the city. The sources added that the forces of President Bashar al-Assad had only advanced 900 meters into Daraya by force of tanks.

Three months ago, the government forces had declared they would take control of Daraya within a day or two, even though a decisive victory still has not been achieved.

The fighters in Daraya have threatened the government forces that their next target would be the Mezzeh Air Base near the administrative border of the city of Daraya.

In a statement posted online, the opposition military council in Daraya called upon militant factions to support Daraya and try to break the siege on it. The government forces are banking on a shortage of food supplies, medicine and ammunition in Daraya as a final means to get the opposition fighters out of the city.

Assad’s forces killed scores of opposition militants during the latter’s attempt to enter Damascus and take control of Abbasid Square. Sources and witnesses in Damascus told Azzaman that opposition fighters coming from the Damascus countryside tried to enter Damascus last night, but the frontline forces were confronted by a counter-attack, killing scores of them.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem will visit Tehran after his visit to the Russian capital.

Salehi said that Moallem will arrive in Tehran for a brief visit after his visit to the Russian capital Moscow.

By Nidal al-Laithi
AL Monitor

Translated from Azzaman (Iraq).

Assyrian International News Agency

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By Nick, February 21, 2013 11:19 am

Syrian Rebels Sign Deal With Kurdish Militia
By: Jason Ditz on: 21.02.2013 [07:01 ] (184 reads)

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By Nick, February 21, 2013 5:52 am

Syrian Rebels Sign Deal With Kurdish Militia
By: Jason Ditz on: 21.02.2013 [07:01 ] (113 reads)

www.iraq-war.ru (en) RSS feed for articles and news