KRG - Sliced off areas (disputed areas)

[alan131210]

[alan131210]

23/06/2012 19:37

STOCKHOLM, June 23 (AKnews) - The Belgian parliament hosted a conference about article 140 of the Iraqi constitution related to Kirkuk and disputed areas in the presence of Yezidi Prince Tahsin Bek and number of political, media and parliamentary Belgian and Kurdish figures.

Hissou Hawrami, one of the organizers of the conference and public relations official in the Kurdish Institute in Brussels, said the conference was held in cooperation with the parliament, the institute and the directorate general for Yezidis in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Hawrami added: "The aim of the conference was to inform the European politicians about the importance of the article and the effect of not implementing it on the Iraqi parties."

Hawrami, who is also a journalist, considered the conference as "an important step to provide media and diplomatic support for article 140 and end many problems and reduce the suffering of the various Iraqi factions that live in the areas covered by the article".

Among the most important issues that were discussed during the conference were Iraqi Christians under the article and the impact on their migration in the disputed areas and Yezidi areas, and Turkish intervention in the light of future ambitions.

The vision of the federal government and neighboring countries with regard to the article was also discussed, as was how the Filaman movement can play a role in Iraq for the benefit of the Kurds.

Hawrami stressed the importance of article 140, adding that "the Baghdad government is behind delaying its implementation".

AKnews

[alan131210]

24/06/2012 15:03

BRUSSELS, June 24 (AKnews) - Speaking at a conference in the Belgium Senate, Head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) foreign relations Hemin Hawramy underlined that Kirkuk is not only regional issue for Kurds in Iraq, but it is important question for all Kurds in all parts of Kurdistan and Kurdistani people.

He said: “Kirkuk is important because of its historical and geographical connection to the Kurdish soil, not because of its oil resources. As our President Massoud Barzani always underlines, we in the Kurdistan Region will not accept any alternatives to the implementation of article 140.”

The Kurdistan Region’s position on the Kirkuk issue expressed by Hemin Hawramy and the definition of Kirkuk as a Kurdistani red line was supported by different Kurdish political parties and leaders from all parts of Kurdistan. Kurdistani political parties strongly condemned Iraqi PM Maliki’s current policy and the involvement of neighboring countries such as Iran, Syria and Turkey in the Kirkuk issue.

The Kirkuk and article 140 conference was organized by Belgian Senator Karl Vanlouwe ( N-VA) and the Kurdish Institute of Brussels. Vanlouwe expressed his hope that Belgium, the Flemish parliament and his party N-VA will contribute to the solution of the Kurdish issues and the implementation of article 140.

Kurdish political leaders and representatives from different parts of Kurdistan and the diaspora took part in the conference. Among the guests from federal Kurdistan were Mir Tahsin Beg, head of all Yezidis, a KDP delegation headed by Hawramy, Netherlands’ representative Omer Zawitey, Saleh Bawami from KDP’s external relations, Yezidi representative Hayri Elias Bozani and Zana Hauramani from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan-Brussels office.

The conference was also attended by the President of Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Tahir Kemalizade, the chairman of KONGRA-GEL Remzi Kartal, the President of the PJAK Abdul Rahman Haji Ahmadi, KCK executive council member Zübeyir Aydar, Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) representative in Brussels Hatice Coban and former Kurdish parliamentarian Ali Yigit.

All the Kurdish political figures expressed their solidarity with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s position on Kirkuk and hoped for a peaceful solution of this problem, which the Kurdish leaders said was “wrongly called a problem of the disputed areas by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Kirkuk is a Kurdistani red line and all Kurdistani people are behind that. We will not let neighboring countries influence the decisions in our lands”.



The participants in the conference discussed the historical background and the current situation in Kirkuk and the role of Erbil, Baghdad and neighboring countries in the solution of the disputed issue.

Hawramy stressed the importance of Kirkuk not only as regional issue for Kurds in Iraq, but as a question, which concerns all Kurds in all parts of Kurdistan: “Kirkuk is important because of its historical and geographical connection to the Kurdish soil, not because of its oil resources.”

Hawramy gave a short historical background of Kirkuk and explained the current importance of article 140 for Kurdistan Region: “For us article 140 is the only way to reverse the state-led ethnic cleansing during the Saddam regime.

“Since the foundation of Iraq after the First World War, Kurds have suffered the lack of democracy, lack of citizenship, lack of justice and partnership for Kurds. The ethnic cleansing was proceeded by forced demographic changes, Arabization process, forbidding of Kurdish names and schools, expulsion and deportation.

“Parts of this policy were also the destruction of 2500 Kurdish villages, the use of chemical weapons, the genocide against Barzanis, the Anfal campaign.”

Hawramy said that after 2003 and the fall of Saddam’s regime: “We aim at a new Iraq, based on the constitution, democracy and peace and where Kurds are partners. The Kurdish position has to be defined and decided by constitutional rights. In a peaceful, civil and non-violent process we should take back by legal means what was taken from us by force.”

Hawramy explained that according article 140, there should be three stages: normalization (return of expulsed population, compensations and restored land ownership), population census, and a referendum for the statute of Kirkuk.

Unfortunately, he said, there are still persisting problems in stage one of the normalization process: “The committee for the implementation of article 140 has not enough budget to finish the compensation process. They need $2bn and the Iraqi government doesn’t give them the necessary funds.

“There is a lack of political will in Baghdad to implement article 140. The census is refused, as well as the referendum, because Baghdad knows that in a democratic choice the people of Kirkuk will join Kurdistan. The Iraqi government is afraid that if Kirkuk becomes officially part of Kurdistan, it will not be an Iraqi city anymore. But this is not true, because the whole of Kurdistan is part of Iraq.”

Regarding foreign involvement in Kirkuk, Hawramy said: “There is a lot of foreign intervention and influence against the implementation of article 140 to make sure that the Kurds will not be strong enough and to keep them in the corner. But we think that Kirkuk is an Iraqi issue and it should have an Iraqi solution.”

Hawramy concluded: “As our President Massoud Barzani always underlined, we in the Kurdistan Region will not accept any alternatives to the implementation of article 140. The idea of Iraq as a homogenous state must be abandoned by those who want peace and democracy. If we want reconciliation in Iraq, we should first assure justice for the victims of the former regime. Article 140 should give to Kirkuk its real place as an Iraqi city with Kurdistani identity.”

Professor Dirk Rochtus from Lessius University College, Antwerp, Belgium, analyzed the role of Turkey in the Kurdistan Region: “Turkey has a special interest in the Kurdistan part of Iraq, controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), because of historical, strategic, economic and cultural ties.

“Some forces in Turkey may be more inclined and others more distrustful towards the KRG in the political field. It does not make a big difference as to what appears to be the ultimate goal of Turkey, namely ‘the Iraqi Kurdish Region’s “full economic integration” into Turkey’, as the International Crisis Group is quoting Turkish diplomats [ICG, 19 April 2012]. It seems that Turkey does not stick to territorial integrity of Iraq at any price, surely now that the relations between Ankara and Baghdad have become tense.”

Rochtus underlined the advantages of economic cooperation between Turkey and the KRG both sides: “To Erbil in this sense that its own energy policy and own economic policy will help the KRG on the way to more autonomy; to Ankara in this sense that it could become an energy hub in the Middle East.”

[alan131210]

[alan131210]

The KRG parliament has allocated 50 billion dinars to the disputed areas, as was approved in the 2012 budget.

Arsalan Baiyiz, speaker of the Kurdistan parliament confirmed the news in a press conference held on June 24. “The budget of the disputed areas is not on the KRG, but we allocate it on the consensus of all the factions in parliament. We have also done it in the past.”

On June 24 and after 13 days of discussion, the KRG parliament approved the 2012 budget in absence of the opposition factions. The opposition groups were in agreement on the budget allocated to the disputed areas, but withdrew from the final session due to ‘not disclosing the KRG income and in-transparency.”

The KRG budget for 2012 is estimated at 15 trillion, 245 billion, 797 million dinars ($14 billion). 10 trillion, 757 billion, 797 million was allocated to consumption, as 4 trillion 500 billion was allocated to investments.

Kirkuk Now

[crazyhorse]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

[jjmuneer]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

Probably only like 500 million dollars

[crazyhorse]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

Probably only like 500 million dollars

24 Apache helicopters cost more

[hevalo27]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

Probably only like 500 million dollars

45 million dollar, thats a lot of money

[alan131210]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

lol if its a billion dinars then its a million in US , if trillion dinars then it is a billion in the US . so 50 billion dinars is like 45 million dollars.

[Kurdistano]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

Probably only like 500 million dollars

Only sounds fun. 500 Mio is a hell of money even in European countries. Weapons are always expensive and Apache are one of the most expensive once.

[crazyhorse]

I wish the numbers were in US Dollars because I have no idea how much 50 billion dinars is. It sounds like a lot, but it is maybe not?

And I want a Kurdistan flag Smiley, why don't we have a Kurdistan flag smiley? That makes me sad

Probably only like 500 million dollars

Only sounds fun. 500 Mio is a hell of money even in European countries. Weapons are always expensive and Apache are one of the most expensive once.

50 million really isn't that much...
off course, for a person, I wouldn't refuse
but we are talking about development of regions and than 50 million dollars... well, it's like pissing it out xD
Burj Dubaj is like 40 times that money...

[alan131210]

ERBIL, June 28 (AKnews) – This year's housing grants include payments to citizens in some areas in which ownership is disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, such as Shekhan, Makhmour, Shwan area and Qarahanjir, said the deputy finance minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Rashid Taher added that housing grants in villages increased from 20m to 25m IQD in the 2012 budget.

The time limit in which housing grant installments must be paid back has increased from 12 to 20 years, said Taher in a statement from the ministry.

Taher mentioned that the industrial loan rose from 500m to 1bn IQD.

[alan131210]

Good move , Shwan and Qara hanjir are part if Kirkuk and 100% Kurdish residents

[hevalo27]

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Change Movement (Gorran) MP claims that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) can automatically claim the disputed areas according to Iraqi law.

Latif Mustafa, an MP in Iraqi Parliament, says, “According to the constitution, the KRG has the right to claim the disputed territories and rule these territories now because the Iraqi government didn’t implement Article 140 in time.”

After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, 43 percent of areas historically claimed by Kurds were considered "disputed" and tied to Article 140 in the constitution. Article 140 was to have been implemented by the end of 2007, after a three-step process -- normalization, census and referendum.

But the first step, which includes compensating displaced people and sending the Arab population back to their places of origin, has not even been implemented.

Mustafa, a former judge in Sulaimani and member of the parliamentary legal committee, holds the Iraqi government responsible for not implementing the article.

“The central government and the KRG have the same authority over these territories since the deadline has passed for solving this constitutional article.” Mustafa told Rudaw,

Raed Fahmi, former chair of the committee for implementing Article 140, says, “It is true that the article has not been implemented but the Kurdistan Region cannot unilaterally declare these territories as part of Kurdistan.”

All parties involved, including the Kurds, have not been persistent in efforts to solve the issue, Fahmi told Rudaw. But a draft law submitted by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to redraw the jurisdiction borders of these territories, says Fahmi, can solve this issue.

“If the drafted law is implemented, it will be a good step towards implementing Article 140,” he says.

The disputed territories in Diyala, Kirkuk and Nineveh province were liberated in 2003 as the US invaded Iraq to topple Hussein’s regime, but the KRG has had no authority over these territories.

Alla Talabani, a Kurdistan Alliance MP in Iraqi Parliament, says that President Talabani’s recommendations cannot be put to Parliament unless enough votes are secured.

“We don’t want to simply present it to parliament for voting,” she says. “We want to make sure the drafted law will win enough votes.”

She argues that it is important to have a parliamentary lobby that can convince the others to vote for the project.

Meanwhile, Narmin Osman, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) believes that “Parliament is the only authority that can decide on a demarcation of the provincial boundaries.”

Awat Muhammad, a Kurdish member of the Kirkuk provincial council says that unless Article 140 is fully implemented, the disputed territories cannot completely join part of the KRG administration.

Muhammad says that when Baghdad failed to meet the deadline at the end of 2007, the Kurds wanted to file a complaint at the federal court, but the United Nations urged both sides to give the organization time to look for a solution.

“A report (on the disputed territories) was prepared by the U.N., but the Iraqi government didn’t want to implement the contents of the report,” Muhammad says, adding that the Kurds must have ignored the U.N. and filed a complaint in the federal court.

Osman who once held the post of deputy chair of Article 140 Committee says, “Declaring the disputed territories Kurdistan by the Kurds may cause civil and regional war.”

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4889.html