Monday, July 16, 2007
Federalism seminar concludes in Kurdistan
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - A four-day-seminar entitled "Federalism in Practice in Iraq" and attended by Iraqi lawmakers was concluded in Arbil after it recommended that a gradual distributing of administrative jurisdictions and oil revenues be introduced in Iraq based on equality between all Iraqis regardless of their race, sect or religion.
The seminar, which was concluded on Friday evening, was attended by U.N. envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qadhi, legislators and top officials from the central and Kurdistan governments. "Federalism is the best form for applying democracy in Iraq as it is a guarantee for preserving the rights of all communities in the country. Federalism in Iraq should be locally shaped and not imported from other countries' experience. Its application may take a gradual division of powers among central and local authorities," the seminar recommended.
The seminar, which was concluded on Friday evening, was attended by U.N. envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qadhi, legislators and top officials from the central and Kurdistan governments. "Federalism is the best form for applying democracy in Iraq as it is a guarantee for preserving the rights of all communities in the country. Federalism in Iraq should be locally shaped and not imported from other countries' experience. Its application may take a gradual division of powers among central and local authorities," the seminar recommended.
A final statement was issued by the seminar in which it was recommended that a gradual distributing of administrative jurisdictions and oil revenues be introduced in Iraq based on equality between all Iraqis regardless of their race, sect or religion. Another recommendation was made on implementing the constitutional article 140 on the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution stipulates normalizing the situation in Kirkuk as it was before 1970s after the former regime, the Kurds claim, lured Arabs from the middle and the south into the city and drove out Kurds.
The committee supervises the implementation of article 140 offered Arabs who voluntarily return to their original cities a compensation of 20 millions Iraqi dinars (roughly $16,000) in addition to a plot of land and a right to have his work transferred if he held a public job.
The oil-rich city of Kirkuk is inhabited by a mix of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, and Christian communities. The participants in the seminar also highlighted "a need for establishing more solid traditions in ties linking Kurdistan region parliament and the Iraqi House of Representatives, and that more cooperation should be achieved between the two parliaments that should be regulated by a protocol to be signed between the institutions." The final session also witnessed statements by the participants condemning violence in Iraq and describing armed attacks as "terrorist and sabotage acts" that would hurt all Iraqis without discrimination and cause a great deal of damage to the country's infrastructure.
The committee supervises the implementation of article 140 offered Arabs who voluntarily return to their original cities a compensation of 20 millions Iraqi dinars (roughly $16,000) in addition to a plot of land and a right to have his work transferred if he held a public job.
The oil-rich city of Kirkuk is inhabited by a mix of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, and Christian communities. The participants in the seminar also highlighted "a need for establishing more solid traditions in ties linking Kurdistan region parliament and the Iraqi House of Representatives, and that more cooperation should be achieved between the two parliaments that should be regulated by a protocol to be signed between the institutions." The final session also witnessed statements by the participants condemning violence in Iraq and describing armed attacks as "terrorist and sabotage acts" that would hurt all Iraqis without discrimination and cause a great deal of damage to the country's infrastructure.
The seminar opened its sessions in Kurdistan Arbil, on Tuesday, with the participation of Iraqi lawmakers coming form the Iraqi House of Representatives and Kurdistan region parliament. The seminar was organized by non-governmental organizations and received support from Italian and Kurdistan governments, in addition to Iraqi central and parliament and Kurdistan region parliament.
Labels: Arbil, Article 140, federalism, seminar
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Iranian business delegation visits Kurdistan
Business
(Noozz) - An Iranian business delegation including representatives of 52 companies has arrived in Arbil, Kurdistan, said Kurdistan Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dara Jalil Khayat, according to the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The Chamber has organised an introductory session between the delegation and a group of Kurdish traders and investors. Khayat added the Iranian delegation will visit Kurdish trade organizations as well as construction and investment projects currently under development in the Kurdistan Region.
"The visit was arranged to establish a networking bridge between Iranian and Kurdish companies and to offer opportunities in the Kurdistan Region to Iranian investors," said Khasro Maroufi, the Chamber's coordinator.
Maroufi added the delegation includes 52 companies of different fields including industry, building materials, machinery, oil, electricity, water and pharmaceuticals.
The Chamber has organised an introductory session between the delegation and a group of Kurdish traders and investors. Khayat added the Iranian delegation will visit Kurdish trade organizations as well as construction and investment projects currently under development in the Kurdistan Region.
"The visit was arranged to establish a networking bridge between Iranian and Kurdish companies and to offer opportunities in the Kurdistan Region to Iranian investors," said Khasro Maroufi, the Chamber's coordinator.
Maroufi added the delegation includes 52 companies of different fields including industry, building materials, machinery, oil, electricity, water and pharmaceuticals.
Labels: Arbil, business delegation, Dara Jalil Khayat, Iran, Khasro Maroufi
Friday, June 01, 2007
Maliki in Kurdistan for talks on constitution, Kirkuk
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived on Thursday afternoon in Arbil 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, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Prime Minister al-Maliki, who was received at Arbil airport by Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Massoud al-Barazani, is expected to discuss the Kirkuk issue with Kurdish leadership, Hussein added. On Tuesday, Kurdistan Premier Negervan Barazani ended several days' visit to Baghdad to discuss with the central government issues to do with 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 (Kurdish local fighters) 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 Arbil 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.
Prime Minister al-Maliki, who was received at Arbil airport by Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Massoud al-Barazani, is expected to discuss the Kirkuk issue with Kurdish leadership, Hussein added. On Tuesday, Kurdistan Premier Negervan Barazani ended several days' visit to Baghdad to discuss with the central government issues to do with 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 (Kurdish local fighters) 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 Arbil 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.
Labels: Arbil, Article 140, Iraqi constitution, Kirkuk, Massoud Barzani, Nouri Al-Maliki
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Security in Kurdistan handed over from MNFI to Peshmerga
Security, Kurdistan
(AFP) -- Iraqi Kurdistan's autonomous government will take charge of security in its mountainous northern region this week in a transfer of command from the US-led coalition, officials said. At a ceremony Wednesday in the regional capital Arbil the commanders of the peshmerga - former anti-Baghdad guerrillas and now staunch US allies - will be handed responsibility for three northern provinces.
"This week, the responsibility for security in the Kurdistan region will be officially transferred from multinational forces to the peshmerga affiliated with the regional government," said Jabar Yawar, a Kurdish military spokesman.
The peshmerga are former Kurdish rebels who have been incorporated into the Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces in the four years since a US-led invasion toppled Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein. Yawar said the decision was made during a meeting held in Baghdad between Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, and senior US military leaders.
The US military confirmed the handover in an invitation to the event sent out to local media. "The Kurdish Regional Government will hold a transfer of security ceremony, to highlight the return of the entire region from the coalition force to the government of Iraq," the invitation says.
While turning regional security responsibility over to mainly Kurdish forces, the agreement requires them to coordinate with Iraqi state and US-led forces, according to Kurdish officials. The US statement said "the Kurdistan Regional Government was deemed ready to assume security responsibility in the region."
"This week, the responsibility for security in the Kurdistan region will be officially transferred from multinational forces to the peshmerga affiliated with the regional government," said Jabar Yawar, a Kurdish military spokesman.
The peshmerga are former Kurdish rebels who have been incorporated into the Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces in the four years since a US-led invasion toppled Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein. Yawar said the decision was made during a meeting held in Baghdad between Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, and senior US military leaders.
The US military confirmed the handover in an invitation to the event sent out to local media. "The Kurdish Regional Government will hold a transfer of security ceremony, to highlight the return of the entire region from the coalition force to the government of Iraq," the invitation says.
While turning regional security responsibility over to mainly Kurdish forces, the agreement requires them to coordinate with Iraqi state and US-led forces, according to Kurdish officials. The US statement said "the Kurdistan Regional Government was deemed ready to assume security responsibility in the region."
Labels: Arbil, Kurdistan, security
Monday, May 28, 2007
Camp for displaced people to be set up in Arbil
Humanitarian
(Voices of Iraq) - A camp for displaced persons coming from Mosul will be set up in Arbil soon, mayor of Arbil's city of Khabat, Rizkar Mustafa, said on Sunday. "It will be an emergency camp where the displaced from Mosul can settle until we know their exact numbers and the security reasons related to their exodus," Mustafa told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
"The camp will be open to all displaced," Mustafa added, explaining that they included Iraqis from all communities and religious and ethnic groups. According to Mustafa, nearly 500 families, mostly from Baghdad and Diala, 60 km northeast of it, have fled to Arbil. Ninety percent of those from Mosul were Kurds, along with 25 Christian families and 20 Turkmen families.
"The province and the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) institutions have all made preparations for receiving the displaced. Around 2,000 tents will be set up," Mustafa indicated. "In cooperation with the regional government's institutions in Arbil, we have managed to provide the camp with water and electricity. Moreover, in coordination with the province, the Iraqi Red Crescent will supervise the camp," Mustafa said, explaining that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will provide assistance to the displaced.
When asked about the number of displaced arriving in the province, Mustafa said that from two to five families arrive in Arbil everyday. "We sometimes receive 25 families a day," he added. Around 1,700 families have moved to Arbil, 700 of which are being housed in downtown Arbil, a relatively large number given the city's total population of 25,000.
"The camp will be open to all displaced," Mustafa added, explaining that they included Iraqis from all communities and religious and ethnic groups. According to Mustafa, nearly 500 families, mostly from Baghdad and Diala, 60 km northeast of it, have fled to Arbil. Ninety percent of those from Mosul were Kurds, along with 25 Christian families and 20 Turkmen families.
"The province and the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) institutions have all made preparations for receiving the displaced. Around 2,000 tents will be set up," Mustafa indicated. "In cooperation with the regional government's institutions in Arbil, we have managed to provide the camp with water and electricity. Moreover, in coordination with the province, the Iraqi Red Crescent will supervise the camp," Mustafa said, explaining that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will provide assistance to the displaced.
When asked about the number of displaced arriving in the province, Mustafa said that from two to five families arrive in Arbil everyday. "We sometimes receive 25 families a day," he added. Around 1,700 families have moved to Arbil, 700 of which are being housed in downtown Arbil, a relatively large number given the city's total population of 25,000.
Labels: Arbil, displaced people, KRG, Mosul, Rizkar Mustafa, UNHCR
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Gunmen blow up Mosul - Arbil bridge, Badoush bridge
Security, Kurdistan
(Voices of Iraq) - Unknown gunmen on Wednesday evening blew up a bridging linking the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to Kurdistan Arbil, a police source said. "Unknown gunmen this evening blew up bridge Aski to the east of Mosul," Brigadier Said Ahmed, Ninewa police media spokesman, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The bridge connects Mosul city to Arbil. Earlier, a police source said unknown gunmen detonated two car bombs on both sides of Badoush bridge in northern Iraq bringing down the bridge with no casualties. "Unknown gunmen blew up Badoush bridge this afternoon after they placed and remotely detonated two car bombs near both sides of the bridge," Brigadier Abul-Karim al-Juburi, head of Ninewa police operations room, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Badoush bridge connects Mosul, capital city of Ninewa province, to districts of Talafar and Rabia near the Iraqi borders with Syria in western Ninewa. Al-Juburi said "the attack left no casualties." The northern Iraqi city of Mosul was placed under curfew on Wednesday after clashes erupted in the Sunni city between armed groups and Iraqi security forces, a police source said.
"Armed clashes broke out this afternoon in a number of Mosul neighborhoods between armed groups and forces from Iraqi army and police," Brigadier Abdul-Karim al-Juburi, head of Ninewa police operations room, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Following the clashes, the local government decided to impose a curfew on the city until further notice, Brigadier al-Juburi said.
Al-Jaburu gave no further details. Local residents told VOI on the phone that today afternoon Mosul had been a scene of clashes between gunmen and security forces while U.S. choppers were flying in the sky of the city as non-stop fire exchange was still heard all over Mosul. Mosul is 402 km north of Baghdad.
The bridge connects Mosul city to Arbil. Earlier, a police source said unknown gunmen detonated two car bombs on both sides of Badoush bridge in northern Iraq bringing down the bridge with no casualties. "Unknown gunmen blew up Badoush bridge this afternoon after they placed and remotely detonated two car bombs near both sides of the bridge," Brigadier Abul-Karim al-Juburi, head of Ninewa police operations room, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Badoush bridge connects Mosul, capital city of Ninewa province, to districts of Talafar and Rabia near the Iraqi borders with Syria in western Ninewa. Al-Juburi said "the attack left no casualties." The northern Iraqi city of Mosul was placed under curfew on Wednesday after clashes erupted in the Sunni city between armed groups and Iraqi security forces, a police source said.
"Armed clashes broke out this afternoon in a number of Mosul neighborhoods between armed groups and forces from Iraqi army and police," Brigadier Abdul-Karim al-Juburi, head of Ninewa police operations room, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Following the clashes, the local government decided to impose a curfew on the city until further notice, Brigadier al-Juburi said.
Al-Jaburu gave no further details. Local residents told VOI on the phone that today afternoon Mosul had been a scene of clashes between gunmen and security forces while U.S. choppers were flying in the sky of the city as non-stop fire exchange was still heard all over Mosul. Mosul is 402 km north of Baghdad.
Al-Bawaba provides further details: An apparently co-ordinated attack by five suicide car bombers and scores of gunmen backed by mortars and bombs killed four policemen in the northern Iraqi city Mosul on Wednesday night and injured 30 other people, including 14 police officers, police said.
The attacks started after 7 p.m., when two suicide bombers detonated car bombs near the police station in Mosul, 360 kilometres northwest of Baghdad. Another two suicide car bombers blew up near the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan in another area of town, said Wathiq al-Hamdani, provincial chief of police.
Another suicide car bomber targeting police was shot by guards before he could reach his target, al-Hamdani said. The series of attacks killed four police and wounded 30 other people, police said. Police fought back, killing 15 gunmen, al-Hamdani said.
The attacks started after 7 p.m., when two suicide bombers detonated car bombs near the police station in Mosul, 360 kilometres northwest of Baghdad. Another two suicide car bombers blew up near the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan in another area of town, said Wathiq al-Hamdani, provincial chief of police.
Another suicide car bomber targeting police was shot by guards before he could reach his target, al-Hamdani said. The series of attacks killed four police and wounded 30 other people, police said. Police fought back, killing 15 gunmen, al-Hamdani said.
Labels: Arbil, Badoush bridge, bridge Aski, Brigadier Abdul-Karim al-Juburi, car bomb, clashes, curfew, gunmen, Iraqi Army, Mosul
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Roundup of violence in Iraq - 8 May 2007
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Hussein Kadhim in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers Special Correspondent Hussein Kadhim in Baghdad from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1000 GMT on Wednesday:
ARBIL - A suicide truck bomber killed 14 people and wounded 87 when he blew up his payload near the Kurdish regional government's interior ministry in Arbil, north of Baghdad, local officials said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 25 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen attacked workers who were setting up concrete barriers in the Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya in Baghdad, killing one and wounding two others, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting police commandos wounded three policemen in Palestine Street in northeastern Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A hospital received the bodies of five people shot and tortured in the city of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, doctor Bilal Mahmoud said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed a general director in the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction in northern Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - Gunmen killed two men from the ancient Yazidi faith in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
SHIRQAT - A roadside bomb killed two people in the town of Shirqat, 80 km (50 miles) south of Mosul, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two people and wounded six in Zaafaraniya in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
ARBIL - A suicide truck bomber killed 14 people and wounded 87 when he blew up his payload near the Kurdish regional government's interior ministry in Arbil, north of Baghdad, local officials said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 25 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen attacked workers who were setting up concrete barriers in the Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya in Baghdad, killing one and wounding two others, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting police commandos wounded three policemen in Palestine Street in northeastern Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A hospital received the bodies of five people shot and tortured in the city of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, doctor Bilal Mahmoud said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed a general director in the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction in northern Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - Gunmen killed two men from the ancient Yazidi faith in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
SHIRQAT - A roadside bomb killed two people in the town of Shirqat, 80 km (50 miles) south of Mosul, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two people and wounded six in Zaafaraniya in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Arbil, Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul, roadside bombs, Shirqat, suicide truck bomber, Yazidis, Zaafaraniya
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
KRG PM and Iranian FM meet to discuss bilateral relations
Kurdistan
(Al Mada Newspaper) - 7 MAY - The Iranian Foreign Minister, Manuchehr Motaki, said that the US force’s raid on the “Iranian Consulate” in Irbil affected the Iraqi government’s reputation. This statement was made during a meeting between Motaki and the Kurdistan region PM, Nijirfan Barzani in Tehran. During the meeting, Barzani called for the resumption of the “Iranian Consulate’s” activities in Irbil and to increase economic and trade cooperation. Barzani announced that the Kurdistan region government will not allow the use of Kurdish lands under any circumstances to attack Iranian interests. The Muhr Iranian News Agency published that the Kurdish Ministers of Trade and Interior also attended this meeting.
Labels: Arbil, Iran, Iranian consulate, Kurdistan, Manouchehr Mottaki, Nijirfan Barzani
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
KRg and Dubai company to build $400 mn 'media city'
Kurdistan, Commerce, Media, Construction
(Reuters) - The Iraqi Kurdish regional government and a Dubai firm are to build a $400 million (around Dh1.4 billion) "media city" in Arbil, officials said. International television networks will be attracted to the stable Kurdistan region because worsening violence stopped them having offices in Baghdad, they said.
Under the deal to create the Arbil City Media Company, the regional government will have a 60 per cent stake and the Dubai sound TV and Cinema Production company a 40 per cent stake. Start-up capital will be $40 million (around Dh147 million). The company, which will oversee the creation of a complex of television studios, hotels, shops and housing, will then be open to shareholders. Anwar Al Yasiri, an Iraqi who runs the Dubai company, said his firm and a British company would build the complex in a northern Arbil suburb within two years.
Opportunities
"The philosophy of the government to support such a project is to create job opportunities for the sons of the area and to support and develop the tourism and media city sectors," Civil Society Affairs minister George Mansour said. Mansour helped establish Iraq's media network after Saddam Hussain's fall in 2003. The project will include a television transmission and re-transmission centre with a capacity for up to 120 stations.
Under the deal to create the Arbil City Media Company, the regional government will have a 60 per cent stake and the Dubai sound TV and Cinema Production company a 40 per cent stake. Start-up capital will be $40 million (around Dh147 million). The company, which will oversee the creation of a complex of television studios, hotels, shops and housing, will then be open to shareholders. Anwar Al Yasiri, an Iraqi who runs the Dubai company, said his firm and a British company would build the complex in a northern Arbil suburb within two years.
Opportunities
"The philosophy of the government to support such a project is to create job opportunities for the sons of the area and to support and develop the tourism and media city sectors," Civil Society Affairs minister George Mansour said. Mansour helped establish Iraq's media network after Saddam Hussain's fall in 2003. The project will include a television transmission and re-transmission centre with a capacity for up to 120 stations.
Labels: Anwar Al Yasiri, Arbil, Arbil City Media Company, construction, Dubai sound TV and Cinema Production company, KRG, media
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
New Chief of Police appointed in Arbil
Security
(Voices of Iraq) - A new chief of Arbil police department has been appointed, a source from Iraq's Kurdistan’s Interior Ministry said on Monday. "Brigadier Abdul Khaleq Talaat will assume his post in the upcoming days and succeed Brigadier Ferhad Karim," a source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The move was made to organize the police's works," the source added, noting that the outgoing chief would assume a new post. The new chief holds university certifications in law, politics and in military sciences and he graduated from Iraq’s Police Academy.
Labels: Arbil, Brigadier Abdul Khaleq Talaat, Brigadier Ferhad Karim, chief of police
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Fate of five Iranians captured by U.S. in Arbil unknown
Security, Iran
(IPS) - As the Western media turns its attention to the fate of 15 Britons detained for allegedly trespassing into Iranian waters over the weekend, the status of five Iranian officials captured in a U.S. military raid on a liaison office in northern Iraq on Jan. 11 remains a mystery. Even though high-level Iraqi officials have publicly called for their release, for all practical purposes, the Iranians have disappeared into the U.S.-sanctioned "coalition detention" system that has been criticised as arbitrary and even illegal by many experts on international law.
Hours before President George W. Bush declared that they would "seek out and destroy the [Iranian] networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq," U.S. forces raided what has been described as a diplomatic liaison office in the northern city of Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, and detained six Iranians, infuriating Kurdish officials in the process.
The troops took office files and computers, ostensibly to find evidence regarding the alleged role of Iranian agents in anti-coalition attacks and sectarian violence in Iraq. One diplomat was released, but the other five men remain in U.S. custody and have not been formally charged with a crime. "They have disappeared. I don't know if they've gone into the enemy combatant system," said Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Columbia University who served in the White House under former President Jimmy Carter. "Nobody on the outside knows."
A spokesman for the Multinational Forces Iraq (MFI), Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, told IPS this week from his office in Baghdad, "They are still in 'coalition detention' in accordance with the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1546, 1637 and 1723."
"The Iranian group in Iraq was arrested by American forces, and we have been asking continuously for their release," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh this week, "but this is something different from the British sailors." A State Department official with knowledge of the situation said the Iranians were informed of the status of the diplomats after their detention through the Swiss government, which represents U.S. interests in Iran in the absence of any U.S. diplomatic presence. He referred all additional questions to MFI in Baghdad.
During this month's regional meeting in Baghdad in which U.S. officials also participated, the Iranian delegation requested the release of the five men, according to a State Department spokeswoman. In response, the Iraqi government asked the U.S.-led coalition to investigate the circumstances involving their detention, The legal fate of the captured Iranians turns in part on the issue of whether the two-storey building in Arbil that was the target of the Jan. 11 raid was, as Iran claims, an official consulate, in which case its premises and staff are entitled to diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention, or rather a liaison office, as U.S. officials contend, which would not be entitled to the same protections. Both Iran and the Kurdish regional government have agreed that consular activities -- such as the issuance of visas -- had been carried out by office staff since 1992. But the U.S. State Department insists that it was not an accredited consulate and that the five detainees are members of the Quds force, an elite unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) described by spokesman Sean McCormack as specialising in "training terrorists and those sorts of activities".
According to a knowledgeable source at the Iraqi Embassy here, the five were not accredited diplomats, although they had submitted documents for accreditation before the raid was carried out. Their applications were being processed at the time, said the source, who asked not to be identified. The source also said that the Kurdish regional government had treated them as if they were indeed accredited. The raid on the Arbil liaison office was the third in a series of episodes that targeted Iranian officials operating in Iraq.
Labels: Arbil, Hoshyar Zibari, Iranians, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, prisoners, U.S.
Monday, March 26, 2007
2nd International Book Fair to start in Arbil on Tuesday
Commerce
(Voices of Iraq) - An international book fair will start in Arbil on Tuesday with the participation of dozens of foreign, Arab and Kurdish publishers, the fair director said on Sunday. "The fair will be held under the auspices of the Iraqi Kurdistan region's government," Abdullah Ahmad said in a press conference held on Sunday in Arbil, capital of the Kurdish region.
He said this year's event would be different from last year's in terms of the publishers taking part and with new publications exhibited, adding that 150 U.S., European and Asian publishers would take part in the event along with 74 Arab and Kurdish publishers. The 2nd Arbil International Book Fair will offer 40,000 new books – 15,000 foreign titles, more than 20,000 Arab titles and about 3,000 Kurdish titles," said Ahmad. Issam Khidr, the executive director of a company organizing fairs and exhibitions, said a representative of the Arab Publishers' Union would participate in the cultural event.
He said this year's event would be different from last year's in terms of the publishers taking part and with new publications exhibited, adding that 150 U.S., European and Asian publishers would take part in the event along with 74 Arab and Kurdish publishers. The 2nd Arbil International Book Fair will offer 40,000 new books – 15,000 foreign titles, more than 20,000 Arab titles and about 3,000 Kurdish titles," said Ahmad. Issam Khidr, the executive director of a company organizing fairs and exhibitions, said a representative of the Arab Publishers' Union would participate in the cultural event.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
$60 million barrel refinery deal for northern Iraq
Oil
(Azzaman) - Plans are in place to construct two 10,000 barrel refineries in northern Iraq. The Ministry of Oil has signed a contract with state-owned General Company for Designs and Consultancy and other Iraqi firms to build the refineries. The 77-billion dinar (US$ 60,215,053) deal calls for the manufacture and installation of the equipment for the two refineries, one in Arbil and the other in Sulaimaniya.On completion, the refineries are expected to ease the current chronic fuel shortages in the Kurdish north. A statement by the ministry did not say when the refineries will be ready and whether Iraqi firms can do the job with foreign help. The statement said six state-owned firms belonging to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals were coordinating efforts to complete the refineries. It said the firms were involved in the construction of 10 such refineries in provinces in the central and southern parts of Iraq.
Labels: Arbil, General Company for Designs and Consultancy, Ministry of Oil, oil refineries, Sulaimaniya.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Kurdistan's PM calls for referendum on Kirkuk
Kurdistan,
(AFP) - The prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan raised fresh calls on Thursday for a referendum to decide the future of the country's crucial oil hub of Kirkuk, warning that Kurdish patience had limits. "Our people are committed to Iraq, but their patience is not unlimited. We as leaders are finding it difficult to convince our people as to why our demands are not being met," Nichirvan Barzani told dignitaries in Arbil.
Iraq's Kurds have long dreamed of independence from the Arab-led centre, but agreed to put demands on hold following the US-led invasion of March 2003, which they hoped would lead to improved relations between the regions. Addressing guests at the opening of a new US-financed water treatment plant in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani said the central government had yet to meet four key Kurdish demands.
"We demand a fair share of resources of the country, the issue of Kirkuk to be resolved democratically, freedom to share reconstruction funds and freedom to democracy and political rights," he said. "It is our natural right to share resources and we must have access to the budgetary process. The time is now to solve these problems," he said.
Speaking about wealthy and volatile Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous northern region, Barzani stressed: "Whatever is taken by force should be returned peacefully and democratically." Iraq's constitution stipulates that the status of Kirkuk, which sits atop a third of the country's mammoth oil wealth, be settled by referendum before the end of 2007, despite fears that this could fuel ethnic violence. A fractious ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen live in Kirkuk and any referendum on its future is likely to provoke increased tensions.
Iraq's Kurds have long dreamed of independence from the Arab-led centre, but agreed to put demands on hold following the US-led invasion of March 2003, which they hoped would lead to improved relations between the regions. Addressing guests at the opening of a new US-financed water treatment plant in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani said the central government had yet to meet four key Kurdish demands.
"We demand a fair share of resources of the country, the issue of Kirkuk to be resolved democratically, freedom to share reconstruction funds and freedom to democracy and political rights," he said. "It is our natural right to share resources and we must have access to the budgetary process. The time is now to solve these problems," he said.
Speaking about wealthy and volatile Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous northern region, Barzani stressed: "Whatever is taken by force should be returned peacefully and democratically." Iraq's constitution stipulates that the status of Kirkuk, which sits atop a third of the country's mammoth oil wealth, be settled by referendum before the end of 2007, despite fears that this could fuel ethnic violence. A fractious ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen live in Kirkuk and any referendum on its future is likely to provoke increased tensions.
Labels: Arbil, Kirkuk, Kurdistan, Nichirvan Barzani
Friday, March 09, 2007
Lebanese bank to open in Arbil
Business
(Financial Express) Byblos Bank, Lebanon’s third-largest lender, will open a branch in Iraq next month using the safety of the Kurdish north as a platform for expansion into a country that holds 10% of the world’s oil reserves. “Iraq is very important, there is huge potential there,’’ chairman Francois Bassil, 72, said in an interview in his office in Beirut March 6. Byblos will open its branch in Arbil, capital of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, because it’s more secure than other parts of the country, he said.
Byblos Bank, which has about $6.2 billion of deposits, plans to start in Iraq by financing trade and infrastructure projects. It also aims to become an intermediary for Iraqi banks trying to do business overseas, Bassil said. A total 27 domestic banks operate in Iraq, seven of them state-owned, the Central Bank of Iraq says on its web site. HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest bank by market value, in 2005 said it won regulatory approval to buy 75% o Baghdad-based Dar el-Salaam Investment Bank as a means to return to Iraq for the first time since Iraq’s banks were nationalized in 1964.
Labels: Arbil, Byblos Bank, Lebanon
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Construction material expo opens in Arbil
Commerce
(VOI) A five-day construction material exhibition was opened on Monday with the participation of more than 80 companies, most of them Turkish, working in construction field. Aziz Ibrahim Abdo, member of the preparatory committee for the exhibition and a general director in the ministry of finance from Iraq's Kurdistan region, said that Turkish commercial ties with Iraq's Kurdistan would play a pivotal role in strengthening relations between the two governments.He also underlined that there were more than 350 Turkish companies operating in Kurdistan.
"We are in need of new imported construction materials to speed up construction operations, as well as to implement other projects," Arbil Mayor, Nouzad Hadi, said in statements to VOI. The coordinator of Turkish companies in Kurdistan, Karkhi Yarmaq, said that bolstering commercial ties was the best way to maintain the two parties' interests and to tackle any misunderstandings. Turkey has accused Iraq's Kurdistan government of supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Labels: Arbil, Arbil Mayor, Aziz Ibrahim Abdo, construction material, expo, Kurdistan, Nouzad Hadi, Turkey
