Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
Angry Kurdish leaders del11and
federal state
Constitution
Battlelies
aheadover
group's status
Michael Howard in
Sulaimaniya
lranSlt:1" of sovereigntY' in
Baghdad with suspicion. "This
is the only bit of Iraq that
works, and that is because we
are different," said another
Kurdish official. "On paperwe
may be part ofthe country, but
we have our own language, our
own government, and look after
our own security. What has
changed with the transfer?
The real battle lies ahead over
Kurdish officials warned yes- our permanent status."
terday that the .unity of Iraq A permanent constitution
could be at stake if the coun- will be drawn up by a national
try's p,ermanent constitution assembly to be elected by the
fails toenshrine Kurdish de- end of the year. The constitumands
for a federal state. tion must be completed by au-
"If Iraq is not federal and de- . tumn 2005 and approved in a
mocràtic, then unity cannot be referendum, after which fresh
built,;' Omar Fattah, the prime elections will be held. The
mini~ter of the Kurdish re- interim constitution, drawn
gianal government in up by the governing council
Sulaimaniya, told the last March, contained guaran-
: .Guardian. "The Kurds' status tees that would formalise
. in the constitution will be ab- Kurds' self-rule in the three
solutely crucial to our decadés- northern régions.
long struggle for self-determi- But the interim constitution
nation:~:said Mr Fattah, who. was ignored in the new UN
filled .the post left vacant by resolution. on Iraq. Kurds
. Barhâm Sàlih, Iraq's new' blamed Shia groups including
deputy prime minister. the influential Shia clericAya-
, ' Mr Fattah's comments came tollah Ali Sistàni, who are op-
: as Iraq's Kurds who have ben- posed to regional federalism.
efited from 13years of de facto Affronted by the failure to
self-rule; greeted Monday's secure a Kurdish candidate for
the post of Iraq's president or
prime minister, the two main
Kurdish leaders Massoud
Barzanl and Jalal Talabani
threatened to withdraw from
central government and bar
Baghdad officials from the
Kurdish regio~. "We had many
legitimate demands, the simplest
of which was not to be
second-class citizens," Mr Fattab
said. "We were denied the
leading positions in government,
which was of great concern
to'us."
The boycott threat was later
withdrawn. Mr Fattah said the
Kurds, which comprise 20% of
the population, would not
move towards declaring independence.
He said: "We will
build a relationship with
Baghdad within the context of
our own federal state while re- ,
taming an,d guaranteeing.the
territorial integrity of Iraq's ,
borders. We are still at the very
.beginning of the road, so now
is the opportunity to choose
the right direction."
He said Barzani and Talabani
had chosen' to stay in
Baghdad to protect the Kurds' ,
hard-won gains, and to ensure
that central government
would never again pose "a
mortal threat to'bur existencè~
. ,Despite the guarantees of c0-
operation withcentral government
from the Kurdish
leadership, growing numbers
of ordinary Kurds are pondering
their decision to commit to
the "new Iraq'~
Many now question how
long they can be expected to
remain part of the country if
the instahilitythreatens to engulf
their largely successful -
and tranquil - region.
There is wariness at the
prospect of being drawn back
into a central government that
could be dominated by politicians
from the Shia majority.
Kurds have also been alarmed
bythe resurfacingofanti-Kurdish
sentiments among Sunni
Arabs and supporters of the
radical Shia cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr.
Radical Sunni imams In the
ethnically mixed northern city ,
of Mosul have praised the Feb-:
ruary suicide bombings in
Irbil that killed more than no
people; racist graffiti inciting
attacks against Kurds have appeared
in Shia districts of
Kirkuk, which is prized by the
Kurds as the future capital of a
Kurdistan region.
-,
.Bushvoices support for an Iraqi
'martiallaw declaration
By'Susan Sachs
'ISTANBUL: President George w.
Bush said Monday that coalition forces
in Iraqwould support a possible decision
by the new Iraqi leadership to declare
martiallaw to deal with escalating
violence and terror attacks.
"Iraqis know what we know, that the
best way to defend yourself is to go on
the offensive," he said, speaking at a
news conference with Prime Minister
, Tony Blair of Britain. ,
The two leaders, the main proponents
of the invasion of Iraq, acknowledged
that they had yet to persuade
many of their critics that the war
was justified. '
But Blair said the transfer of sovereignty
to Iraqis on Monday demonstrated
their commitment to fostering
democracy in Iraq, not just ridding the
country of a dictator and then occupy-
ing the country.
"From now on," he said, "the coalition
changes. We are there in support of
the Iraqi government and the Iraqi
people."
Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad
Allawi, and other Iraqi leaders have said
they are considering stringent me,asures,
including the imposition of martiallaw,
to establish a modicum of order
in Iraq and gain credibility with the
Iraqi public, whose main complaint
during the 14-month occupation has
been a lack of security.
Bush and Blair pledged continuing
military support for the new Iraqi government,
saying their soldiers would
help 'protect public property and
provide seCurity for elections next year.
Under the terms of a UN Security
Council resolution passed this month.
the multinational force now in Iraq will
remain under U.S. command but work
in coordination with Iraq's government.
NATO heads of state meeting in
Istanbul on Monday also offered to help
train Iraqi security forces.
Bush said the Iraqi leadership faced
extraordinary security challenges that
might require tough temporary mea-.
sures. In particular, he cited Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian blamed for organizing
a series of devastating bombings
as well as the kidnapping ànd beheadings
of foreigners in Iraq.
An American marine, Corporal
Wassef Ali Hassoun, disappeared June
21 near Falluja and is believed to be in
the hands of Zarqawi allies, who have
threatened to kill him. Zarqawi allies'
are also believed to be holding a Pakistani
and three Turks.
"Prime Minister Allawi, as head of a
sovereign government, may decide he
has to take tough measures to deal with
a brutal cold-blooded killer," Bush S'aid,
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