Germany’s Development Minister in Erbil to boost ties

Erbil, Feb. 3 (AKnews) – Germany's Development Minister Dirk Niebel arrived in Erbil on an official visit on Thursday to boost bilateral economic relations between the two countries.   Following the December visit of Germany's Foreign Minister to Baghdad, Mr Niebel's three-day visit, accompanied by lawmakers and businessmen, underlines the German government's current focus on Iraq.   "Germany has a very serious focus in Iraq" said Mr Peter Mayr, the Managing director of MAN Automotive and a member of the German delegation.   Germany is focusing on three areas in Iraq; Erbil, Baghdad and Basra, where they have German Economy Offices (DWI). "… This is a very serious attempt on Germany's side to develop the existing potential between both countries".   The German minister's visit to Iraq "…Goes deeper into the interest of Iraq… in all aspects of development" Mr Mayr believes.   Germany currently exports about US $1bn worth of goods to Iraq.  But Iraq does not have much to offer in exports to Germany. Perhaps the only products Iraq can export are oil and gas.   Mr Mayr said there are ongoing talks between Germany and the Iraqi authorities for Iraqi oil and gas to be exported to Germany in the future.   Reported by Raber Y. Aziz   Thursday, February 3rd 2011 5:29 PM

Kuridstan's Oil exports to resume in coming days

Erbil, Feb. 3 (AKnews) – Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region are expected to "officially" resume in the coming days after grinding to a halt in 2009 over disputes between the regional government and Baghdad. The expected shipments follow an agreement between Iraqi government officials and the Kurdish Premier Barham Ahmed Salih in mid-January in Baghdad. Iraq's oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi is expected to visit Erbil in the coming days to participate in the official resumption of oil shipments. "After our visit to Baghdad, we met with the foreign companies operating in the oil fields of Kurdistan as well, now they are ready to resume oil exports and they have also carried out several test operations" Salih told AKnews. "We are now waiting for the Iraqi Minister of Oil to visit Erbil to jointly launch the resumption of oil exports" Shahristani said earlier that the shipments had resumed at 10,000 bpd. Once the exports fully resume, the Kurdish region will export 100,000 bpd. Kurdistan halted oil exports in October 2009 after the Iraqi government refused to pay the financial gains of the foreign companies. Some 42 foreign companies from 17 countries are currently involved in oil investment in Kurdistan. According to previous statements from the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources, the region has the capacity of exporting up to 200,000 bpd. "We have come to terms with the companies that their exploration and development costs will be given, but after the resumption of oil exports" Salih told AKnews. Reported by Hazhar Mohammed, edited by Raber Y. Aziz Thursday, February 3rd 2011 11:21 AM

Independence not yet an option for Kurdistan say observers

Erbil, Jan. 30 (AKnews) – A Sudan-like secession for the Kurdish region of Iraq is seen by many observers as an impossibility for the time being, while one voice in the opposition blames the Kurdish leadership for failing to make independence a reality in order to prepare ground for the question in the future.

In January Time Magazine placed the Kurdistan Region among the top 10 aspiring nations for independence in 2011 after Southern Sudan voted for secession this month.
 
The idea of a similar experience for the Iraqi Kurds sparks diverse views. The Arabs would rather think that the Kurds of Iraq do not want to secede from Iraq or else they would have been able to do that with US help.
 
Meanwhile, observers believe that the time neither is nor appropriate for the secession of the Kurds from Iraq.
 
Unlike the southern Sudanese people, the Kurds have their own government, parliament, president, armed forces, flag and even a draft constitution which they plan to put to a popular vote soon.
 
In both Sudan and Iraq many ethnic groups live and the two countries are both former British colonies. The Iraqi state was established by the British in 1926, Sudan by the Sudanese people with British consent in 1956.
 
There is the speculation that the US and west supported southern Sudan because they are mainly Christians and it may not support the Muslim Kurds in northern Iraq, but Kaiwan Azad Anwar, a history instructor in Sulaimaniyah University, thinks otherwise.
 
"It is true that there are Christians in southern Sudan, but it was actually the violence against those people by the Sudanese government that pushed the US and Europe to support them" said Anwar.
 
Anwar believes that there is no parallel between the Kurdistan Region and Sudan's Southern region because, despite lack of violence against the Kurds in northern Iraq, "Kurdistan has not called for secession so far, therefore, creating a similar atmosphere will drive Iraq towards turmoil and the regional countries will intervene in Iraq".
 
"It is not the time for the Kurds to ask for separation, though the internal conditions are suitable, it will end up at the loss of the Kurds if they decide to make such a demand"
 
A member of the Iraqi parliament Latif Mustafa, who is a member of the Kurdish opposition group Gorran, said it was not true to say that no one would support Kurdistan, the problem is we don't ask for separation, and as we don't, nobody would come to us to propose a referendum to secede from Iraq".
 
There is one very clear difference between Kurdistan and South Sudan, he says: "their leaders are loyal (to their people) and openly say it to the world, but our leaders not only don't demand secession but also are ashamed of talking about it".
 
"… They want to show that seceding from Iraq is the most evil crime" he says.
 
"In 1992, we asked for federalism and many people thought that it was a dangerous demand but it worked. Before the fall of the former Iraqi regime in 2003, there were calls to change our motto (from federalism) to independence and if it was to be made a political reality we would have been independent long ago" Mustafa said.
 
One big difference between the reality of the Kurdish region and southern Sudan is that the referendum in Sudan was part of an agreement in 2005 between the north and the south, which is not the case in Kurdistan. Quite the opposite, Iraqi Arab politicians vehemently oppose secession in Kurdistan.
 
When President of Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani talked about self-determination in his party congress in November this year, it created a fuss among many Arab leaders. Some of them went so far as wondering whether the Kurds wanted federalism to prepare for independence from Iraq.
 
Farid Asasard, director of Kurdistan Strategic Studies Center (KSSC) says the constitution should grant the right of a referendum for secession to the Kurdish region. And the self-determination right has not been established in the current Iraqi constitution.
 
Another problem for the Kurds is that it is surrounded by countries like Iran, Turkey, and Syria that would not accept the separation of Kurdistan from Iraq, not only because they are against the division of Iraq, but because they have their own Kurdish regions which might want the same.
 
"After the withdrawal of the US forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, Kurdistan can proclaim independence if the situation in Iraq deteriorates," says Mohammed Bazyani, head of the Hoda Center for Strategic Research, "but the Peshmarga forces, the army, and security forces have to be united and the Kurdish political leadership provide an appropriate life for the people and pave the way for the purpose".

Dler Abdul Rahman, edited by Raber Younis Aziz

Opposition group in Kurdistan calls for government reformation

Erbil, Jan. 30 (AKnews) – A Kurdish opposition group, Gorran, has urged in a statement the government of the Kurdistan region to step down and called for regional elections to be held to replace the existing administration. Inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia, which have also spread across several other Arab countries, most notably Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and Algeria, Gorran called for the Kurdish government and parliament to be disolved and for "free and fair" elections to be staged. Gorran enjoys wide support in Sulaimaniyah city, Kuridstan's second largest city, where they headed the polls in the parliamentary elections. They have a significant minority of 25 seats in the 111-seat parliament of Kurdistan Region. "As you can all see with your own eyes, the day for the fall of dictatorship regimes in most of the oppressing and closed countries of the world and the region has started" a statement by Gorran aired on its KNN satellite broadcaster said late last night. "the people of Kurdistan were hoping that the authorities of the region take the opportunity of the emergence of this new experience (opposition) to democratize governance and to establish a real parliamentary system in addition to improving the quality of life of the people, creating jobs, developing opportunities for the youth, and nationalizing the security and defense services of the region and separating party influences from government authorities" the statement added. While Gorran summarized its demands in 7 points which call for the toppling of the government, parliament, and the preparation of free and fair elections, it also called on all political parties and actors to show support for its demands as well as calling on the ruling parties to meet their "historical responsibilities" to implement the demands. The group also called for the restoration of the government and people's properties "occupied by the parties and the officials" and the return of Kurdistan Region's constitution draft the final version of which was passed by the parliament in 2009. Under the Kurdish constitution, Kurdistan is run by a parliamentary, presidential and democratic system. The territory of the Region, in addition to Erbil, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk provinces, includes some disputed areas which are to be determined by article 140 of the Iraqi constitution. Islam is identified as the majority creed and a major source for legislation. No law should contradict Islamic laws. Immediately after the statement was aired on KNN, the presidency of Kurdistan and the two ruling parties responded to the call, describing the group as "vandalistic". "Any change in the political system would be through the ballot boxes not through illegal and unconstitutional means," said a statement by the Kurdish Presidential Office, "because the current situation of Kurdistan was the outcome of a free and fair election." A joint statement by the two ruling parties also accused Gorran of splitting the unity of the people of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Blocs Coalition (KBC) in Baghdad as well. Gorran broke away in October 2010 from the KBC which brought together all Kurdish forces in Baghdad following disputes with the ruling parties over an Electoral Commission bill in the Kurdish parliament, and did not participate in PM Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet losing Kurds 8 seat's worth of government positions. According to the points system (2.5 seats equaled 1 point) adopted by the Iraqi political forces to allocated government positions and ministries, where a public services ministry like electricity, and health was worth 2 points while lower-profile ministries like the Human Rights portfolio requires 1.5 points. The joint statement also accused Gorran of adopting a "divisive attitude" which was dealt with by the ruling parties leniently to keep it "least damaging to the Kurdish forces and our people". "Whatever lenient policies we practiced towards Gorran leaders, they were accompanied by efforts to solve the disputes with them," the statement added, "But it seems that the Gorran leaders have looked upon that lenience and the patriotic attitude as vide and weak" The two major parties said they would counter any efforts to disrupt public order and the current situation of Kurdistan. They said for any major or minor incidents in the streets, government offices, banks and other institutions, whether directly or indirectly resulting from Gorran's call, they would hold the party responsible and accountable, saying they "will subject them to legal punishment". At the same time, the joint statement promised that the shortcomings and vices that the public are concerned about will be "definitely solved". Raber Younis Aziz Ka/AKnews Sunday, January 30th 2011 11:42 AM

Kurds in Brussels protest execution of Kurdish activists in Iran

Brussels, Jan. 19 (AKnews) - A group of Kurds organized Tuesday a demonstration in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to protest the execution of a Kurdish activist on charges of links with an armed Kurdish group.  About 100 people gathered outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels chanting slogans "No to executions", "Ahmadinejad is a terrorist" and "Freedom for political politicians" to protest the execution of Kurdish political prisoner Hussein Khezri. Khezri, 28, was executed on January 15 in secret on charges of acting against the national security and working with the Free Life for Kurdistan Party, or (PJAK), an armed Kurdish group fighting for the freedom of Kurds in Iran. An organizer of the demonstration Tuesday Kawe Ahangari called on the Iranian authorities to stop the "increasing" pressure on the Kurds in Iran. Kurds make up 7% of Iran's about 72 million population. Khezri is the eight Kurdish activist to be executed by the Iranian authorities since early January this year. According to the reports of international human rights organizations, the Iranian government executed last year at least 179 people. Iran ranks high on the list of the countries with frequent executions.   PJAK has promised to have a "strong response" to Khozri's execution. "Iran never hesitates to carry out ethnic cleansing against the Kurds," Sherzad Kamangar, spokesman of PJAN, told AKnews Monday "if the Iranian state is not willing to listen to our demands and refuse to choose dialogue and peaceful means, then we will respond in the language that the state understands" The Kurdish Associations Union (KAU) in France echoed the protests late Tuesday saying it will organize a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy in Paris next Friday. Reported by Roni Alasor, edited by Raber Y. Aziz RN/AKnews Wednesday, January 19th 2011 12:41 PM