Erbil protests Tammo's assassination - Kurdish Globe

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The Kurdish Globe No. 325, Saturday, October 15, 2011 2 Strategic agreement to be reconsidered Globe Editorial The Kurdish media are nowade days preoccupied with the posse sibility of the Kurdistan Regionae al Government’s reshuffle in the next month. According to the strategic agreement between the two powerful Kurdish political forces, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one party is to run the government for two subsequent years, then turnmatters over to the other party for the remaining two years. With the most recent formation of the KRG in 2009, the premier post went to the PUK under the leadership of Dr. Barham Salih, who has run the government since. According to the agreement, Salih’s term is to end this month and the premier post goes to the KDP. Even though there is no office cial statement from either party about the handover of power, the speculation is that the KDP will acquire the premier post. Another speculation is about who will get the top post within the KDP once power is switched between the KDP and PUK. It is mostly considered and reported in the media that former KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barze zani is the strongest candidate for the post. Some media circles argue that at this sensitive period a governme ment reshuffle is not the best time and the current government under Salih should continue for another two years. Still other circles argue that change is nece essary and would have more of a positive impact on the current situation both in Kurdistan and Iraq. According to the media specule lation and internal public discusse sion around the issue, one can detect the fact that the governme ment is going to reshuffle and most likely Nechirvan Barzani will lead the next government. But whether or not the gove ernment will be reshuffled, the KRG faces serious challenges on many fronts. Consolidation of democratic and economic refe forms needs to be dealt with sere REUTERS/Majed Jaber Supporters of Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan wave their parties' flags at a gathering in downtown Erbil, March 11. riously. Growing aggressiveness of Turkey and Iran on border areas under the pretext of PKK and PJAK military activities is another issue for which the KRG needs to develop a very delicate and balanced policy. Relations with Baghdad are worsening as the Iraqi Prime Minister dispe plays centralized tendencies and shies away from his promises to resolve the pending issues between Erbil and Baghdad. There’s the prospect of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq,and unresolved issues over the dispe puted territories carry serious potential for a Kurdish Arab civil war. All these are now coupe pled with the growing tension in Syria and the Syrian Kurds position in the possibility of a regime change there. These are very serious issues and require serious and somber attention. To deal with these issues, it is absolutely necesse sary that a strong cabinet with a strong leader run the gove ernment in such a dire period. Whether the incumbent prime minister remains for another two years or whether Nechirvan Barzani acquires the post, the political parties must unite behe hind the government in order for the KRG to smoothly deal with the burdensome issues. It does not really matter who gets the post; what really matte ters is with what principles and guidance will the KRG deal with Baghdad, Ankara or Tehran. No matter who keeps the post, the KRG has to make a better policy and inform the public how it is going to deal with the issue of reform and combat corruption in Kurdistan. It is also imperative to touch upon the necessity of the strate tegic agreement between KDP and PUK. At the time they signed this agreement, it served the Kurdish national interests. As they composed the two powe erful rivalry political forces in Kurdistan, a strategic agreement between them was essential in order to secure a united Kurdie ish position in the post-Saddam period. The social, political and econe nomic landscape of Kurdistan has since changed dramatically. New forces arrived at the politice cal arena,and since the establishme ment of the Kurdistan regional Parliament there are opposition forces today. Today, the KDP and PUK are not the only politice cal actors in Kurdistan--though they are strong and powerful still. The context of the strategic agreement between the two should be reconsidered for the purpose of creating a new mechanism of strategic unity to include all the political forces in Kurdistan. For this, a coherent Kurdish national strategic polie icy is to be developed with the consent and participation of all the political forces so as to face the challenges ahead. Kurdistan region must have enough maturity to develop a proper mechanism wherein a transfer of power takes place smoothly and properly like any other democratic regime. Strate tegic agreement between politice cal parties should not be about government formation or powe ersharing any more. Kurdistan has passed that stage. Strategic agreements should be mostly about protecting Kurdish nate tional interests against those forces that attempt to diminish or destroy them. Internal affairs should run according to democe cratic principles and justice. Periodic elections should dete termine who runs the governme ment and who is going to be the opposition. It should be the decise sion of the people through ballot boxes to put any political party in power and the other in the role of opposition. Parties should dige gest and recognize the public decision and act accordingly. Exchange of power between the KDP and PUK according to the strategic agreement was a necesse sity to build up confidence and trust between them in order to remedy the years of civil war. It is time for these two parties to realize that neither the Kurdish public nor the demographic charae acter of Kurdistan is the same as those horrible times. Society is a dynamic institution and changes rapidly. Human interactions and interrelations develop at a much faster rate in today’s global comme municative age. Political parties should pace with such changes and acts accordingly, if not to remain behind and gradually be nostalgia. If they want to be dyne namic and vibrant, political parte ties should catch the dynamism of the people whom they are supposed to serve. Azad Amin Weekly paper printed in Erbil First published in 2005 www.kurdishglobe.net info.kurdishglobe @gmail.com Address: Erbil, Bakhtiyari Quarter EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jawad Qadir EDITOR Azad Amin azad.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Senior U.S. Editor Suzanne DeRouen suzi.kurdishglobe@yahoo.com Senior U.K. Editor Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel bashdar@hotmail.com Ako Muhammed +964 750 4661936 ako.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Aiyob Mawloodi +964 750 4776905 aiyob.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Qassim Khidhir +964 750 4823081 qassim.kurdishglobe@gmail.com STAFF WRITERS Sazan M. Mandalawi sazan.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Zakaria Muhammed +964 750 475 3897 zakaria.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Hawzhen Rashadaddin +964 750 4707416 hawjin.kurdishglobe@gmail.com ARTS EDITOR Diyaco Qayoumy +964 750 4036252 diyaco.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Advertisement For information and prices of ad spots, please contact Globe’s Advertisement section: Rizgar Yahya rizgar.kurdishglobe@gmail.com Cell: +964 750 4055888 You can also check prices and packages by logging on to: kurdishglobe.net/ad Subscription The Kurdish Globe can be delivered to your office or home address, whether in Kurdistan or abroad. To subscribe: Please contact the Globe Distribution Section: Rauf Aspindarai rauf.kurdishglobe@gmail.com +964 750 4497976 You can also subscribe by logging onto: kurdishglobe.net/subscription
The Kurdish Globe No. 325, Saturday, October 15, 2011 3 Time to settle problems Erbil and Baghdad governments set to negotiate as al-Maliki promises to meet Kurdish demands in accordance with the Constitution. Kurdish officials and the Iraqi government emphase size settling key proble lems according to the Constitution and accords that have already been signed. A second Kurdish delegation is expected to visit Baghdad to discuss a solution for suspended issues mainly relevant to the country's gas and oil legislation, disputed areas and partnership in governing. A delegation representie ing Kurdish major parties and the region’s presidence cy met with Iraq governme ment officials and politice cal parties in Baghdad for four days and returned to Erbil carrying a "posite tive" answer, giving hope for further negotiations in the near future. "The delegation was able to bring about a suitae able status for another technical and expert dele egation from the Kurdie istan Regional Governme ment to visit Baghdad and talk about procedures to resolve suspended isse sues," said Fazil Miran, secretary of the Kurdie istan Democratic Party politburo. The visit was "successful," Mirani--a member of the Kurdish delegation--told reporters in a press conference on October 8, a day after he arrived in Erbil. The delegation stated that al-Maliki promised to meet Kurdish demands in accordance with the Conse stitution and agreements. Kurdish parties have alle Kurdish delegation’s visit to Baghdad offers hopeful results GLOBE PHOTO/ Kawe Jamm Kurdistan Democratic Party's Fazil Mirani speaks to reporters in Erbil about relations with Baghdad officials, Oct. 8. lied with the Prime Minie ister's National Coalition to participate in the gove ernment based on a letter containing 19 points of Kurdish demands. Kurdistan Region Preside dent Massoud Barzani already announced that a delegation will test Baghde dad's will on respondie ing to Kurdish demands, and then a KRG delegate tion--probably as a last attempt--will go to Baghde dad to make agreements on resolving problems between both sides. This statement does not make a "threat," accordie ing to Mirani, but it gives more meaning. "The Presie ident of the region maybe no longer want to waste efforts for bringing Iraqi parties together," said the KDP official. The delegation is compe prised of KDP's Mirani, PUK politburo member Mulla Bakhtiyar, head of Kurdistan Region Preside dency Office Fuad Husse sein and two other membe bers from the Kurdistan Islamic Union and Islamie ic Komal in Kurdistan. "Rights are obtained, not given. Therefore, we must strive to take our rights from Baghdad through insisting, observing and working" on those issues, said Mirani, urging Kurds to follow their cases as the federal government is responding now. Erbil officials have rece cently issued harsh stateme ments against the Iraqi government, mainly against Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, for ignorie ing cases claimed by the Kurds such as the issue of implementing Article 140 of the Constitution. Implementing this article allows original inhabitae ants of the so-called dispe puted areas like Kirkuk to decide whether to be governed by Erbil or to remain under the Baghde dad government's adminie istration. Some Iraqi parties argue the validity of this article because its implementate tion deadline--the end of 2007--is over now; Kurds insist on and plan to defe fend Article 140 until it is completely implemented. The article has "proble lems" and must be expe plained, admitted Mire rani, but his notes reduce the article's complicity, not its validity. "There are some towns like Makhmour that shouldn’t have been included withie in this article," he said, meaning that Makhmour is not disputable and is a part of Kurdistan Region. Other towns like Kalar, Kifri and Chamchamal, he added, were separated from Kirkuk province by a Baath decree. Those decrees should be cance celed and those towns should be annexed again to Kirkuk province, he said. Those towns mainte tained by Kurdish popule lations will curve the rate of Kurds in the controverse sial province. Tensions between Kurdie ish officials and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki renewed once again after the Council of Ministers passed a draft for Iraq's gas and oil law last September. The law was rejected later in Parle liament after Kurdish obje jections. Furthermore, the move gathered Kurdish officials working in the Iraqi government and Parle liament to meet with the Kurdistan Region Preside dent in Erbil. The meetie ing ordered a last round of negotiations with the Iraqi government. Maliki orders Kurdistani flags to be removed in Khanaqin The people of Khanaqin burned a letter from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki to the Khanaqin administration ordering Kurdistan flags to be reme moved from government buildings during a protest rally last Tuesday. Khanaqin is the fifthlargest city in the Diyala governorate. It lies a few kilometers from the Irane nian border, about 140 kilometers northeast of Baghdad. The town is one of the disputed areas bete tween Kurds and Arabs. Maliki ordered the local administration in Khanaqie in to remove Kurdistani flags from government buildings and raise only Iraqi flags. The decision came after Iraqi security forces sent a letter to Malike ki, who is also commander in chief, complaining they visited Khanaqin and saw only Kurdistani flags on government institutions. Meanwhile, Khanaqin Mayor Muhammad Mulle lah Hassan described Male liki's decision as "racist." Mullah Hassan said that Khanaqin is a Kurdish city and "it is the people's natural right to hoist their flag." He said his office will not implement Malike ki's order. Social activists and membe bers of nongovernmental organizations gathered in the town's main square, Krndi Square, to prote test the prime minister's decree. The protesters, while raising Kurdistanife flag, burned copies of the letter Maliki sent to the town's administration. The Khanaqin town council held a special meeting on Oct. 13 to discuss the flag issue. The council agreed to reject Maliki's order. In September 2006, the local administration in the town decided to raise the Kurdistan flag beside Iraqi flag on the roof of every governmental institution. The administration also stated it wants Khanaqin to part of Kurdistan Rege gion, rather than under the control of the Baghdad government. Recently, Kurdistan Rege gion President Massoud Barzani visited Khanaqin and requested the Baghde dad government to impleme ment the Article 140 of Iraqi Constitution, which sets forth the process for dealing with the disputed areas between Iraq and Kurdistan.
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Erbil protests Tammo's assassination - Kurdish Globe

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