Southern Kurdistan Budget $2.826 Billion,
Hawlati Paper On Trial
April 6, 2006
The Iraqi government has announced the Kurdistan region
budget for 2006, which constitutes 17 per cent of Iraq's income.Erbil
administration will receive 54 per cent, or 2.826 billion dollars, and
Sulaimani's administration will receive 46 per cent, or 1.3 billion dollars, of
the 2.826 billion dollars. A source in the ministry of finance's Sulaimani
administration said the amount is 485 million dollars short (of the Kurdistan
regional government expected.) The source said, "If (the central government)
doesn't give us that sum, we will file a suit in the federal court," reported
the Kurdish independent newspaper Hawlati.
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The first session of the trial of current and prior
editors-in-chief of Hawlati started on April 3 on charges brought by Omar Fatah,
prime minister of Kurdistan regional government's Sulaimaniyah administration.
But due to the absence of the prime minister, the trial was postponed. The case
relates to the headline of the October 12, 2005 edition of Hawlati, which read:
"Prime minister fired two Kurdtel staff members for cutting his home telephone
line." The prime minister deems the ministry of communications and
transportation responsible for the firings.
