KurdistanObserver.com

Kurdish Demands Slow Iraq Search for New Govt

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Feb 24, 2005- Iraqi Kurds are insisting on control of oil-rich Kirkuk and other disputed northern areas as their price for agreeing to a deal on the formation of a new national government, a Kurdish leader said on Thursday.

Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdish regional government, outlined a tough negotiating position which, if backed by the Kurdish leadership, could greatly complicate the process of forging a unified government.

Barzani said in a telephone interview with Reuters from Arbil that the Kurds would support whoever backed their demands to take back disputed territories, including Kirkuk.

But he does not head either main Kurdish party and the extent of Kurdish support for his stand was not clear.

The Kurds came second in the Jan. 30 election, clinching 75 seats in the assembly, a margin that makes them kingmakers.

Since a two-thirds majority is effectively needed in the assembly to decide the top government positions, neither Jaafari's coalition nor Allawi's has enough backing. Both are bidding for the support of the Kurds and the nine other parties and coalitions that won seats.

The Kurds have not let on who they might ally with and are expected to use their deal-maker or breaker role to extract concessions from their future potential partners.

"There are certain principles we are focusing on ... (including) the right of the Kurdish people to recover areas which have been Arabised in the past," Barzani said. "Whoever is ready to agree with this, the Kurds are ready to make an alliance."

If the Kurds ally with the main Shi'ite alliance the pair would immediately secure two-thirds of the vote in the assembly.

If they ally with Allawi, they would also have to force the breakup of the Shi'ite alliance and draw nearly half their members over to their side if they are to build the needed two-thirds support in the assembly -- 182 seats.

As well as Kirkuk, the obstacles to a deal between the Kurds and the religious Shi'ite alliance include differences over Iraq's political structure and the role of religion.

The Kurds are keen to see the autonomy they have enjoyed in northern Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War enshrined by the creation of a federal Kurdish region, something the Shi'ite alliance is loath to back.

The Shi'ite alliance, which wants to see Islam enshrined as Iraq's religion and a main source of law, may also have to temper some of its more Islamist principles to secure the backing of the Kurds. The wrangling could take weeks.

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Feb 24, 2005- Iraqi Kurds are insisting on control of oil-rich Kirkuk and other disputed northern areas as their price for agreeing to a deal on the formation of a new national government, a Kurdish leader said on Thursday.

Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdish regional government, outlined a tough negotiating position which, if backed by the Kurdish leadership, could greatly complicate the process of forging a unified government.

Barzani said in a telephone interview with Reuters from Arbil that the Kurds would support whoever backed their demands to take back disputed territories, including Kirkuk.

But he does not head either main Kurdish party and the extent of Kurdish support for his stand was not clear.

The Kurds came second in the Jan. 30 election, clinching 75 seats in the assembly, a margin that makes them kingmakers.

Since a two-thirds majority is effectively needed in the assembly to decide the top government positions, neither Jaafari's coalition nor Allawi's has enough backing. Both are bidding for the support of the Kurds and the nine other parties and coalitions that won seats.

The Kurds have not let on who they might ally with and are expected to use their deal-maker or breaker role to extract concessions from their future potential partners.

"There are certain principles we are focusing on ... (including) the right of the Kurdish people to recover areas which have been Arabised in the past," Barzani said. "Whoever is ready to agree with this, the Kurds are ready to make an alliance."

If the Kurds ally with the main Shi'ite alliance the pair would immediately secure two-thirds of the vote in the assembly.

If they ally with Allawi, they would also have to force the breakup of the Shi'ite alliance and draw nearly half their members over to their side if they are to build the needed two-thirds support in the assembly -- 182 seats.

As well as Kirkuk, the obstacles to a deal between the Kurds and the religious Shi'ite alliance include differences over Iraq's political structure and the role of religion.

The Kurds are keen to see the autonomy they have enjoyed in northern Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War enshrined by the creation of a federal Kurdish region, something the Shi'ite alliance is loath to back.

The Shi'ite alliance, which wants to see Islam enshrined as Iraq's religion and a main source of law, may also have to temper some of its more Islamist principles to secure the backing of the Kurds. The wrangling could take weeks.