Kurdish delegation satisfied after first round of talks

[Stillw8n]

Kurdish delegation satisfied after first round of talks
06/10/2011 12:47

Erbil, Oct. 6 (AKnews) - After a first round of talks yesterday, Kurdish politicians who were sent to Baghdad to negotiate the tensions between the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) and the federal government were satisfied with the outcome so far.

Although no agreements have been made yet, all the parties once more voiced their support for Kurdish demands, according to Yasin Hasan, MP from the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) and member of the delegation.

"The meetings were positive and are proceeding in a brotherhood mode," Hasan said.

The long-postponed delegation, consisting of Fuad Hussein, head of the Kurdistan Presidential Office, Mala Bakhtiyar, a senior politburo member from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and Fadhel Mirani, secretary for Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday. Kurdish politicians joined them in Baghdad.

So far, they only met with Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, the representatives of the Islamic Supreme Council (ISCI), the Fadhila Party and the Sadr Current.

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.

Last week, 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 was 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.

By Fryad Mohammed and Haidar Ibrahim

LH/CU/AKnews


http://aknews.com/en/aknews/4/265503/