KRG Threatens to
Withdraw Support From The Baghdad Government
The Washington Times
December 20, 2007
London Daily Telegraph - ARBIL, Kurdistan — Kurdish leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan
threatened to withdraw support from the Baghdad government if demands for
federal power sharing and a fair share of the oil wealth are not met.
Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Kurdistan Regional Governemt, said
Iraq's Shi'ite-led coalition government, which relies on Kurdish members of
parliament to survive, "must be changed" if it does not transfer powers to his
region.
"What we ask for as Kurds comes within the constitution of Iraq," he said. "We
did whatever we could do to ensure that Iraq could succeed, but Iraq is a
complicated country. Now we have reached one question: whether we are partners
in the government or not. We don't have that kind of feeling.
"Certainly if we do not see any response from Baghdad to solve the issues
raised, we would be obliged to take another route," he said.
Under Iraq's new constitution, three northern provinces were granted autonomy
from Baghdad to form the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Clauses detailed
rights to oil revenues and a referendum on disputed areas, including the
strategic city of Kirkuk. Baghdad has since contested KRG efforts to attract
foreign oil investment and has failed to deliver the referendum.
"The problem in Baghdad is you have a structure, you have a prime minister, but
you have nobody to make a decision," Mr. Barzani said.
Relations between the two governments hit an all-time low last month when Iraqi
Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said companies dealing with the Kurds will be
blacklisted. The bulk of Iraq's oil wealth lies outside the Kurdish region but
its reserves are an attractive pool of future supply. The announcement cast a
shadow on tentative efforts by Western firms to enter the region.
The Kurdish government denounced Mr. Shahristani's attempts to suppress its
rights.
Kurdistan is in a different status from the rest of Iraq. It is attempting to
establish its credentials as a Dubai-style business center.
