Baghdad Arab Summit schedule to be decided

Sulaimaniyah, May 2 (AKnews) – Foreign ministers from Arab states are expected to meet next week to decide on a new schedule for the postponed Arab Summit in Baghdad as the Arab world is rocked by a wave of protests.

As a result of the 'Arab spring' revolts some Arab states requested that the Summit - first scheduled for March 29 - be postponed until, at the latest, 15 May.

Another contributing factor to its delay was the pressure applied the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council that was angered when Iraq – which is a majority Shia country - roundly criticized the repression of protests in Bahrain by the minority Sunni rule.

This position was also criticized by Sunni Iraqi members of parliament.

A member of the parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, Rawaz Mahdi said: "Due to the current situation, it is unlikely that the Arab Summit in Baghdad will be held on time, therefore, Arab foreign ministers are expected to meet next week in Egypt to tackle the issue"

However, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told al-Hurrah TV last month that the summit will be held on 10 May.

The summit in Baghdad is viewed by some politicians as important to Iraq's reintegration into the Arab world after the US-led invasion that toppled Dictator Saddam Hussein. A successful summit is likely to help Iraq reassure its mainly Sunni neighbors - who view the rise of Shia majority with suspicion – that cooperation is possible.

Rawaz Mahdi, who is an MP in the Kurdish Block Coalition, said the absence of a number of Arab leaders due to internal unrest in their respective countries like Yemen, Syria and Libya, will be a blow to the summit and to Iraq.

The Iraqi government has announced it has made all the necessary preparations for the summit to be hosted in Baghdad and has allocated some US$50 million for the purpose. The US Embassy in Iraq has also expressed its support for the holding of the summit in Baghdad.

In the case that Arab leaders decide not to hold the meeting in Baghdad, Egypt and Qatar have been put forward as possible alternatives.

Iraq has hosted the Arab Summit twice before - in 1987 and 1992.

By Raber Y. Aziz, with contributions from Idris Abubakr . Edited by Patrick Smith (AKnews)

02/05/2011 13:30

Jubilation and fear: Iraq responds to bin Laden death

Baghdad, May 2 (AKnews) – Amid scenes of jubilation at the death of Osama bin Laden, Iraq has tightened security measures as fears of reprisal attacks grow.

US President, Barak Obama, announced today that the al Qaeda leader was killed in Pakistan by US forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki's, office said "strict security measures have been taken in preparation for reactions" by al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq, saying that they could not rule out a wave of attacks.

However, assurances were offered: "Al Qaeda is not able to carry out attacks in Iraq in the way it used to due to suffering from a financial crisis and failure to recruit militants. Bin Laden's death will in the long run have positive effects on Iraqi stability."

"However, his death does not mean the end of al-Qaeda, though it will be greatly weakened"

Mohammed Najem, an academic from Baghdad, said he feared that al Qaeda militants with "no principals or goals except destruction and killing" might strike back on Iraqi soil.

Al-Qaeda has been actively operating in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians, police and soldiers.

However, some Iraqis have been celebrating his death by handing out sweets to friends and family and expressing their joy.

"Bin Laden killed, the murderer of Iraqis and mankind has been killed. Today is a feast day, today is happiness" shouted one Iraqi citizen, Haitham Samie, while running through the streets of Baghdad distributing sweets.

"I lost a brother and one of my friends, both were killed by al-Qaeda militants; they had not done anything any wrong. This organization has killed and left hundreds homeless, why should I not run about in joy?" he said.

Ali Mohammed al Bakri, a lawyer said: "Bin Laden's death is the victory of mankind as a whole."

Bin Laden was accused of masterminding a number of attacks on civilians around the world. The most notable of which were the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001 where 3,000 people were killed. He topped the US "most wanted" list.

President Obama , speaking at the White House, said: "We must also reaffirm that United states is not and will never be at war against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, in fact, he slaughtered many Muslims."

A US official warned its citizens traveling abroad to be wary of "enhanced potential for anti-American violence".

Bin Laden had managed to evade the coalition of western forces for almost a decade, despite a US$25 million bounty on his head. It is not known why he moved down from the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he was suspected of hiding, to Abbottabad a city only 100km north of Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

By Raber Y. Aziz, contributions by Haidar Ibrahim and Bradost Lawin. Edited by Patrick Smith. (AKnews)

02/05/2011 14:10

 

Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan

Erbil, May 2 (AKnews) - Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda, is dead, US President Barack Obama has claimed.

The worlds most wanted man looks to have been killed in a US ground operation in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad near the capital Islamabad. His body is said to be in the hands of the military.

The news was announced by President Barack Obama from the White House where he described Bin Laden's killing as "The most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaeda" and said he personally authorized the attack.

Osama Bin Laden was accused of masterminding a number of attacks on civilians around the world. The most notable of which were the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001 where 3,000 people were killed.

President Obama said: "We must also reaffirm that United states is not and will never be at war against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, in fact, he slaughtered many Muslims."

A senior Obama administration official told Reuters they believe that three other men were killed in the attack including bin Laden's adult son. A woman is also said to have been killed.

The official said that bin Laden's death will be a major blow to al-Qaeda. But, there are also fears of reprisals, and the US is warning its citizens traveling in the area to be wary of "enhanced potential for anti-American violence".

On the news of his death, jubilant crowds gathered outside the White House, chanting, "USA, USA".

Former US president George W. Bush welcomed the news saying: ""The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done."

Bin Laden had managed to evade the coalition of western forces for almost a decade, despite a US$25 million bounty on his head. It is not known why he moved down from the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he was suspected of hiding, to Abbottabad a city only 100km north of Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

President Obama said he had been  given intelligence about bin Laden's whereabouts last August.

"It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground," he said.

"I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.

"And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice."

A senior US official said that one helicopter was downed in the operation but no American lives were lost.

Raber Y. Aziz and Patrick Smith (AKnews)

02/05/2011 10:19

Opposition forces to take legal action against government for budget cut

Erbil, May 1 (AKnews) – Opposition forces say they plan to go to court over the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) decision to cut the parties' budgets after they supported protests that hit the Region's second largest city, Sulaimaniya.

Last week, two Islamic opposition parties, Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) and Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), said their budget had been cut, and a week previously, another opposition group, Gorran, also said their budget had been reduced.

Political parties in Kurdistan receive funding from the government to carry out their activities.

The budget cuts came after the opposition groups put the full force of their support behind anti-government protests that raged for 65 days from 17 February and left 10 protesters dead and hundreds injured.

The demonstrators, inspired by events in Egypt and Tunisia, were pushing for an end to corruption, nepotism and the monopoly of power by the two ruling parties Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The protests evolved and later called for a complete dissolution of the government in the region.

A representative for Gorran, Yousef Mohammed, said he was stunned by the budget cut decision: "If the government refuses to reconsider its decision, then we will take legal action to restore our budget.
"The PUK and KDP each continue to receive IQD6 billion (about US$5.1 million) every month, we believe that our budget cut is a political decision by the KDP and PUK, playing their hand to apply pressure."

Mr Mohamed went on to accuse the ruling parties of operating their media outlets from the general budget.

Gorran with 25 seats in the 111-seat Kurdish parliament received, before the funding cut, IQD580m ($500,000), while the PUK, led by the Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, with 29 seats, and the KDP, led by regional President Massoud Barzani, each receive the radically greater sum of IQD6 bn ($5.1 m).

The government has also cut KIU's IQD450 million (around US$370,000) budget. The party has six seats in the Kurdish parliament

Member of the KIU politburo Abubakr Ali, said: "I think this budget cut has nothing to do with the law, but with the KRG which is formed by the KDP and PUK.

"Cutting our budget is like punishing us for being an opposition force in the Kurdish region. It is only pressure. It is our right to seek restoration of the budget by any means"

In place of a proper parties budget law the Kurdish Parliament passed the 2010 budget under which a temporary sum of IQD90 billion (US$75 million) was allocated to political parties and organizations.

The parties' budget law has yet to be discussed by parliament.

Under the current system budgets are arbitrarily allocated and do not relate to the number of seats or votes. Some small groups like the Kurdistan Communist Party, which has one seat in parliament, receive the same allocation as Gorran with 25 seats.

KDP member of parliament, Rozhan Dizayee, told AKnews that the Region's 2011 budget provides for allocating some IQD200 billion (about US$ 167 million) to political parties. But the parliament has not been able to discuss the political parties' budget law as the opposition forces have been boycotting the ordinary parliamentary sessions, said Dizayee.

Due to the government's violent repression of demonstrations, opposition forces have refused to attend ordinary meetings saying the parliament should only hold emergency meetings to discuss the demands of the protesters.

The demonstrators were demanding that the government be completely dissolved and a transitional government set up to prepare early elections in six months.
But a real factor contributing to the postponement of the parties' budget law has been the dispute over how to allocate budget.

Some parties want funds to be provided according to the votes a party gets in parliamentary elections, others want the number of seats be considered, while some smaller groups say armed struggle for the freedom of Kurdistan before 1991, when the region gained semi-autonomy, be a factor for budget allocation.

Sherwan Haidari, head of the legal committee in the parliament, said: "If the number of seats criterion is adopted, then parties who have few seats will be affected, while considering the number of votes in elections those parties who did not get considerable votes and are outside parliament will be affected."

The conflict around this issue shows no signs of being resolved in the near future.

Writing by Raber Y. Aziz, Hevidar Ahmed contributed to this story. Edited Patrick Smith.

01/05/2011 13:19