Text News

Mar 31, 2005 • Japan Falls For Turkey's Lies • Those Who Can't Bully USA, Bully Kurds • Kurdish National Congress Holds 17th Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee • Barham Salih Says Shiites Still Want Iraq’s Oil Ministry • One Killed, 17 Wounded in Car Bombing Against Kurdish Official

Mar 27, 2005

• Kurds Wield New Power in Kirkuk Politics

• Shia Leader: We Didn't Promise The Kurds Kirkuk

• Sgt. 1st Class Jose Alvarez Jr: They Love Us Here

• News Snapshot

Kursat Resul Ali, an official from the PUK said that Iraqi Shiites and Kurds have reached an agreement envisioning that the the peshmerga, will be included in the Iraqi army but will stay under Kurdish control. "We have reached an agreement on giving the peshmerga a legal status both enabling them to remain as a part of the Iraqi army and as a special force to protect Kurdistan under the Kurdish government's supervision." Resul told AFP in Sulaimani. ----------------- Najat Hassan Karim, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said one of his guards was injured when a roadside bomb targeting his convoy exploded in the ethnically mixed city. "I suspect Islamist militants were behind the attack," Karim said.

Mar 25, 2005

• More than 40 Kurds arrested in Aleppo, Western Kurdistan

• 'Mein Kampf' a Best Seller in Turkey

• Al-Ja’afari Premier Credentials Questioned

Mar 24, 2005

• Iraq Sticks to Quota System in Forming Government

Mar 23, 2005

• Shiites, Kurds Say Iraq Government Posts Almost Divided Up

• Turkish Army Warns Kurds Over Burning of Turkey Flag

Mar 21, 2005

• Insider notes from United Press International for March 21

• News Snapshot

Political negotiations to form a coalition government remained snagged in a disagreement between Shiite Arabs and Kurds. Sistani, was expected to meet Wednesday with Jalal Talabani. The Kurds want the Kurdish city of Kirkuk to be returned to the autonomous Kurd region as soon as the government convenes, but an official from Sistani's office said he wants the issue handled in the constitution to be drafted by the National Assembly. Ahmad Chalabi, told Al-Arabiya television that the Kurds also wanted the powerful ministry of oil position in the new Cabinet, reported AP ----------------- Speaking on the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq,the US Defence Secretary has blamed Turkey for the high level of the insurgency in Iraq. "Given the level of the insurgency today, two years later, clearly if we had been able to get the 4th Infantry Division in from the north, in through Turkey, more of the Iraqi, Saddam Hussein, Baathist regime would have been captured or killed," said Rumsfeld.

Mar 20, 2005

• The Politics of Ibrahim Parlak, The New York Times

• Talabani: Kirkuk issue Will Be Discussed When The New Constitution Is Ratified

• Kurdistan - An Enigma Within Iraq

• Asylum-seeker: Will Never Forget The Pain The Japanese Government Has Caused Us

• News Snapshot

In the oil-rich Kurdish city of Kirkuk, attackers killed a policeman, then bombed his funeral procession, killing three other officers, including the cousin of Jalal Talabani ----------------- Some U.S. administration officials say that Kurdish leaders, in pressing "maximalist" demands for power, are engaging in theatrics intended to please their constituencies, reported the New York Times

Mar 19, 2005

• Zebari: All The Principles Have Been Agreed Upon By All The Parties

• 'Dutch Chemical Ali' On Trial For Genocide

• U.S. Ambassador To Turkey Resigns

Mar 18, 2005

• Groups Make Progress on New Iraq Gov't

Mar 16, 2005

• News Snapshot

While Massoud Barzani drew a line on Kirkuk and peshmerga in negotiations between Southern Kurdistan and Arab Iraq, his aide Hoshiar Zebari in Baghdad told the AFP-Arabic affiliate that great progress was being made in the negotiations and that in the coming days talks will focus on the distribution of Iraqi ministerial positions. Mr. Zebari is the current foreign minister of Arab Iraq.

• Freedom Fighters in Eastern Kurdistan Hope for Their Moment

Mar 15, 2005

• News Snapshot

Shia-Kurdish talks stall over sharing power. The Kurds want the region's boundaries redrawn now to include parts of Kirkuk province, but the Shia insist on leaving that decision to a constitutional government. The Shia say they are resisting a demand that would require the Iraqi army to get permission from Kurdish leaders before entering their Southern Kurdistan, Los Angeles Times. ----------------- A cameraman working for the KDP's KTV station who was kidnapped by the terrorist two weeks ago, was gunned down in Mosul on Monday, reported AFP

• Kurds' Return to City Shakes Politics in Iraq

Mar 13, 2005

• Shia-Kurdish Talks to Form Iraq Government Fail

Mar 12, 2005

• Egypt Aided Iraq's 1980s Weapons Program

• News Snapshot

Barzani Presents Tough Stance on Kirkuk, While his Lieutenants Surrender on Issue to Arab Iraq Massoud Barzani warned in an interview to be aired on Al-Arabiyah television on Friday that the fate of the city of Kirkuk must be determined now. "We do not agree on postponing this matter until after the constitution, we must agree on the issue of Kirkuk now," Barzani said, the day after the election-winning Kurds and Shiites said they were about to cement an agreement for governing the country, reported AFP • Barzani: Kurdish MPs Approval Needed For Iraqi Troops In Kurdistan • Shiites, Kurds Agree To Share Power In New Iraqi Government • Kurds, Shiites agree to resolve fate of Kirkuk Mar 11, 2005 • Deal with Shiites for Token Arab Iraqi Presidency Leaves Kurds with Little to Gain • Syria: End human Rights Violations Against The Syrian Kurds Mar 10, 2005 • Crisis Looms In Kirkuk Over Power-Sharing • Neighboring Kurds Travel to Study in Southern Kurdistan. Listen To NPR • News Snapshot Kurdish independent Mahmoud Othman, who is a confidante of Kurdish leaders Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, insisted "the Kurds need a written agreement. The other side might want to delay. They say the fundamental law is a reference, but they (the Shiites) don't want to give us something written," reported AFP ----------------- Kurdish parties in Western Kurdistan called for a sit-in demonstration Thursday against emergency laws which have been in force in Syria for the past 42 years. The demonstration would coincide with the first anniversary of clashes in Western Kurdistan against the security forces of Syrian regime. Mar 8, 2005 • Turkey: Hollow Promises for Kurds Displaced by Army On a key benchmark for European Union membership, the Turkish government has failed to honor pledges to help 378,000 displaced people, mainly Kurds, return home more than a decade after the army forced them from their villages. More • News Snapshot Kurdistan Democratic Party’s Sulaimani TV building was entirely burned down as a fire broke out in the station late last Saturday evening, reported media in Southern Kurdistan. ----------------- The head of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, Farouq Abdulrahman who paid a visit to the Iraqi Shia cleric Ayatollah Sistani, said that Sistani was pleased that the Turkoman Front with their 3 seats in the Iraqi parliament joined the Shiite Alliance. Abdulrahman added that the Sistani made promises on extended support toward the Turkoman Front. Mar 7, 2005 • Turkey Renames "Foreign" Animals • Kurds Agree To Make The Issue Of Kirkuk Part Of The next Legislative Debate • On With Reform Drive, EU Enlargement Chief Tells Turkey Mar 5, 2005 • Meek Kurdish Leaders to Settle for Token Presidential Post in Return for Shiite Dominance • Barham Salih Discusses The Political Wheeling And Dealing For NPR • Syrian Persecution of Kurds Intensifies Mar 4, 2005 • Threats Against Kurdish Human Rights Defenders Must Stop • Kurdistan Referendum Movement Criticized • Kurdish Editor Banned From Working For Two Years • Kurdish Official: Flights To And From Arbil-Frankfort Start Next Month • Iraq Shiites In Key Talks With Kurds On New Leadership Line-Up Mar 3, 2005 • Talabani Says the Kurds Have Dropped Their Demand For Now To Incorporate Kirkuk Into Kurdistan Region Shiite leader Ibrahim Jaafari and Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani reached a tentative agreement Wednesday to set aside their differences and focus on forming a new government, opening the way for a deal that will give Iraq its first Kurdish president and an Islamist prime minister. More • News Snapshot The judge Barwez Merwani and his son Aryan Merwani - a lawyer also were shot dead outside their home in northern Baghdad’s Azamyiah district on Tuesday. Aryan was a senior member in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK] office in Baghdad. The two layers was working for the tribunal that will try Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime. Mar 2, 2005 • News Snapshot In their negotiations with the Kurdish leadership, the Shiites indicated that: (1) the Kirkuk issue is to be decided based an Iraqi referendum, ensuring that Kirkuk stays part of Arab Iraq, (2) Taking the presidency from the Sunnis is sensitive and that terrorists could distort this to their advantage and thus inflame the sensitivities of neighboring countries, and (3) that there is no room for private armies in Iraq. • Unease Among Kurds As Leaders Eye Baghdad Power • Kurdish And Shiite Leadership Begin Heavy Bargaining Mar 1, 2005 Ghazi al-Yawar told an Iraqi TV station that Talabani would play a better role as the Parliament Speaker. He added that “only if this post (President) is given to the Sunnis, they will feel that they are playing a role in Iraq, since the post of the Speaker is of no good for the Sunnis, this is due to the fact that Sunni MPs are small in numbers and that will end in the Speaker having no real function.”

KurdistanObserver.com

Kurds Lose Again in Negotiations with Arab Iraq

Iraq Factions Agree Upon Government
By Sharon Behn

Washington Times

April 5, 2005

Iraq's political factions have agreed on the outlines of an ethnically balanced government and expect to nominate a president and two vice presidents tomorrow , with the swearing-in to take place over the weekend.

The two-month-old gridlock was broken over the weekend with the appointment of a Sunni Arab, Hashim al-Hassani, as speaker of the National Assembly and rough behind-closed-doors agreements on the makeup of the new Cabinet.

"It was a great breakthrough to finally have the speaker announced," said Qubad Talabani, the Washington-based spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan -- whose leader, Jalal Talabani, is expected to serve as president. Jalal Talabani is Qubad Talabani's father.

Tomorrow, the National Assembly is expected to nominate the president and two vice presidents, who then will nominate a prime minister. Once the candidate is approved by a majority vote in the National Assembly, he can proceed to form a Cabinet.

"The deadlock is broken, and everything is moving right now," said Karim al-Musawi, spokesman for the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), one of the leading parties in the Shi'ite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), which holds a majority in the National Assembly.

"There is good conversation between the parties. They are on their way to reach an agreement about the Cabinet. We are on the right path," Mr. al-Musawi said.

As it stands now, Jalal Talabani will become the first Kurdish president of Iraq and Shi'ite Dawa Party leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari will become prime minister. Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani will be Kurdistan's regional president.

The two vice-presidential positions are expected to be given to a Sunni and a Shi'ite. Of the five most important, or "sovereign" ministries, oil, interior and finance are expected to go to UIA members. The ministry of foreign affairs will go to the Kurds, and defense will likely be led by a Sunni.

"They are still juggling with the names," said Adnan Ali, a Dawa Party spokesman in Baghdad. "In the coming week, we will hear more about the names of strong candidates."

Mr. Ali said the new prime minister would want to weigh in on the profile of the new Cabinet, emphasizing competence and experience while seeking members who will be able to work as a team.

Officials of the Kurdish alliance, which holds 75 seats in the 275-seat assembly, said they were pleased with the negotiations so far, but cautioned that work had yet to be done on the future of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

"We are satisfied with the Kurdish bloc retaining the position of foreign minister," Qubad Talabani said. The question of Kirkuk, he said, would take a long time to resolve.

Political leaders have agreed that the new government will set up a mechanism to rectify the injustices of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, providing for the repatriation of Kurds who were expelled from the city and redrawing the administrative boundaries of the governorate to its 1968 borders.

Saddam annexed parts of Kirkuk to neighboring governorates that year. Once these areas have been returned to Kirkuk, the people will hold a referendum on whether to be administered by Kurdistan or Baghdad.

The parties also have agreed in principle that oil revenues will be distributed evenly among all Iraqis, with special attention going to communities that were deprived under Saddam, such as the Kurds, Marsh Arabs and Shi'ites of southern Iraq. No hard numbers have been determined.

"Everyone will get a proportionate share, with special compensation for those who need the money," Qubad Talabani said.

On another sticking point, it has been agreed that the Kurdish "peshmerga" militia will be considered part of the Iraqi armed forces, but will be commanded and deployed by the Kurdish regional government.

"The negotiations were tough, and they were complex," Qubad Talabani said. "It was a matter of balancing everyone's wishes. That is why it has taken so long."

Hopes are high that swearing in the new government will propel Iraq's political and security fortunes forward.

"I think we really have achieved a lot. We have witnessed that the number of [terrorist] attacks has been reduced by a third, and I think it will continue to go down," said Mr. Ali, speaking by telephone from Baghdad.

"The more the political process takes place and assures the Iraqis it is genuine and not a game, I think this will push Iraqis to believe this democratic process is true," he said.

KurdistanObserver.com