Friday, May 18, 2007
Kurdish politician - no room for Al Qaeda in Kurdistan
Kurdistan, Security
(AKI) - The armed Kurdish groups which belong to al-Qaeda "have no popular support in Kurdistan and will not find anywhere to put down roots in this region," warned Saadi Ahmad Bira, a member of the executive of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) the party of the Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. Speaking to Adnkronos International (AKI) Bira underlined that "Ansar al-Islam is fully backed by Iran. If Tehran continues to support them, we will interpret that as a declaration of war against us".
The politician went on to say that Kurdistan and Iran "have common economic interests, as well as being linked by the long mutual borders which force us to have exemplary ties," he said. Bira said he hoped "the much anticipated talks between Iran and the US are successful and in Iraq's interests." Regarding the internal security situation in Iraq, the Kurdish politician underlined how important it was for "the government of Nouri al-Maliki to move forward its commitment to disarm militias..in particular the Mahdi Army and trim the authority of its leader," Moqtada al-Sadr.
At the same time it is normal that Iran is trying to create problems for the US in Iraq, given the statements by US president George W Bush who declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea the "axis of evil". Given this, Bira concluded, the Baghdad government has two options - "show its capacity to impose the authority of the state and disband the militias or let itself be dragged along by the armed groups."
Labels: Al Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam, Iran, Kurdistan, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Saadi Ahmad Bira
