Still no agreement between Erbil and Baghdad
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 9:12 amStill no agreement between Erbil and Baghdad
01/10/2011 14:28
Erbil, Oct. 1 (AKnews) - In the ongoing dispute between the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG and the federal government, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki supposedly gave his approval for all Kurdish demands, except one to finance the Kurdish Army, or Peshmarga, as part of the federal defense budget, according to Aref Tayfur, second deputy speaker of parliament and member of the Kurdish Blocs Coalition.
However, this is not the long awaited solution for the dispute, since Tayfur also claimed that Maliki's only condition was that the demands were not contrary to the constitution. This has always been Maliki's standpoint.
"We still don't have an agreement on who pays for the Peshmarga. Maliki believes that the Peshmaraga, being the Kurdish army, should be paid for by the region itself," Tayfur said.
"However, we believe that the Peshmarga are part of the Iraqi defense body and therefore, the Iraqi Defense Ministry must pay, according to the constitution," said Shuwan Mohammed Taha, a KBC member.
The tensions between Baghdad and Erbil are sparked by a list of demands that the Kurds believe they are entitled to after they lent their support to Prime Minister al-Maliki after the last election: the integration of the Kurdish defense forces (the Peshmarga) into the Iraqi army, paid for by the Iraqi government; drafting a new hydrocarbon law; and the implementation of Article 140 into the Iraqi constitution -- which authorizes payments to Kurds who were forced from their homes under Saddam Hussein, a comprehensive census of ethnic groups and a referendum to decide if disputed areas should fall under the control of Kurdistan Regional Government.
Tension rose recently when the Kurds accused the federal government of passing a draft law without taking the Kurdish opinion into consideration.
On the other hand, Baghdad criticized Erbil for signing contracts with international oil companies without the consent of the federal Oil Ministry.
By Fryad Mohammed
LH/CU/AKnews
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/264557/
01/10/2011 14:28
Erbil, Oct. 1 (AKnews) - In the ongoing dispute between the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG and the federal government, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki supposedly gave his approval for all Kurdish demands, except one to finance the Kurdish Army, or Peshmarga, as part of the federal defense budget, according to Aref Tayfur, second deputy speaker of parliament and member of the Kurdish Blocs Coalition.
However, this is not the long awaited solution for the dispute, since Tayfur also claimed that Maliki's only condition was that the demands were not contrary to the constitution. This has always been Maliki's standpoint.
"We still don't have an agreement on who pays for the Peshmarga. Maliki believes that the Peshmaraga, being the Kurdish army, should be paid for by the region itself," Tayfur said.
"However, we believe that the Peshmarga are part of the Iraqi defense body and therefore, the Iraqi Defense Ministry must pay, according to the constitution," said Shuwan Mohammed Taha, a KBC member.
The tensions between Baghdad and Erbil are sparked by a list of demands that the Kurds believe they are entitled to after they lent their support to Prime Minister al-Maliki after the last election: the integration of the Kurdish defense forces (the Peshmarga) into the Iraqi army, paid for by the Iraqi government; drafting a new hydrocarbon law; and the implementation of Article 140 into the Iraqi constitution -- which authorizes payments to Kurds who were forced from their homes under Saddam Hussein, a comprehensive census of ethnic groups and a referendum to decide if disputed areas should fall under the control of Kurdistan Regional Government.
Tension rose recently when the Kurds accused the federal government of passing a draft law without taking the Kurdish opinion into consideration.
On the other hand, Baghdad criticized Erbil for signing contracts with international oil companies without the consent of the federal Oil Ministry.
By Fryad Mohammed
LH/CU/AKnews
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/264557/