Iraq's PM Nuri al-Maliki Arrives in Southern
Kurdistan
Erbil (Southern Kurdistan), -VOI June 1,
2007 - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived on Thursday afternoon in
Erbil on several days visit to the Kurdistan region, a source from the Kurdistan
government said.
"Maliki came for consultation with Kurdish officials on many issues, including
the Iraqi constitution’s revision, the political situation and relations between
the central government and the Kurdistan region’s administration," Dr. Fuad
Hussein, head of the Kurdistan presidency office, said.
Prime Minister al-Maliki, who was received at Erbil international airport by
Iraqi Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani, is expected to discuss the Kirkuk
issue with Kurdish leadership, Hussein added.
On Tuesday, Kurdistan Premier Nechirvan Barzani
ended several days' visit to Baghdad to discuss with the central government
issues to do with Kurdish oil-rich Kirkuk city’s status according to Article 140
of the constitution, relations between Baghdad's government and the Kurdistan
administration, the status of the Peshmerga (Kurdistan national guard) and the
draft oil and gas law.
Kurds want to accelerate the implementation of constitutional article 140,
concerning normalizing the situation in Kirkuk city, as it was before the 1970s,
when the former regime, Kurds claim, lured Arabs to settle in Kirkuk and drove
Kurdish families out of the city.
The step should be followed by a referendum in the city to decide whether or not
to join the three other Kurdish provinces in the Kurdistan region by the end of
2007. Non-Kurdish Iraqi political forces are inclined to put off the issue until
better security prevails in the country.
Also, the draft oil and gas law, now under debate by lawmakers in Baghdad,
represents another deadlock between Erbil and Baghdad. Kurdish leaders are
pressing for more power in relation to oil investment inside the region, while
Baghdad has opted to control all investment contracts in the country.
