In the
last month or two there have been several high-level meetings between
representatives of Iraq’s central and Kurdish regional governments. Most
recently oil officials from Baghdad and Kurdistan met, while a delegation from
the Kurdish ruling parties and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
travelled to Baghdad to consult with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, amongst
others. That might give the impression that progress is being made in mediating
the major disputes between the two sides. In actuality neither side has budged
on the substantive issues, and there are differences within the KRG as well
about how these negotiations should be conducted.
In
September and October 2012, there were four meetings between Baghdad and
Kurdish politicians to discuss the on-going problems they have with each other.
Deputy secretary general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Barham Saleh
and the deputy KRG Prime Minister Imad Ahmed representing the ruling Kurdish
parties and the regional government respectively headed two separate delegations. They met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the Sadrist bloc in parliament, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and others. On the same day, October
21, there was also a conference between KRG Natural Resource Minister Ashti
Hawrami, Deputy Premier Rowsch Nouri al-Shaways of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP), and Deputy Premier Hussein al-Shahristani of State of Law who is
in charge of the country’s energy policy. Likewise, in September,Premier Maliki travelled to Sulaymaniya to meet with
President Talabani after
he returned from three months of medical treatment in Germany. The
Kurds wanted to go over the
Irbil Agreement, which put the current ruling coalition together after the 2010
election, the 19 points that the ruling Kurdish parties had Maliki sign in
return for their support for his second term in office, the Tigris Operations
Command, which has just been formed in Tamim, Salahaddin, and Diyala provinces,
and the oil industry. These are some of the outstanding issues the KDP and PUK
have with the central government. Baghdad for example, has called all of the oil deals the Kurdistan Regional
Government has signed illegal, because it wants control over the
country’s resources. This has complicated attempts to pass a new oil and gas
bill as well as the Kurds’ desire to export their petroleum. Likewise, Kurdish
President Massoud Barzani has
become increasingly upset with the lack of power sharing within the government,
feeling that the prime minister has tried to concentrate power in his hands.
Finally, the ruling parties in the KRG are alarmed that Maliki recentlycreated a new security command that covers some of the disputed
territories in Iraq, which they hope to eventually annex. All of these issues
have their antecedents in the struggle over the direction Iraq should take
since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Maliki on the one hand, feels like he has to
take a strong hand to keep the country together after all the chaos that beset
it following the 2003 invasion. In contrast, the KDP and PUK have been pushing
for greater autonomy for the Kurdish region, and feel that a strong government
like that which the prime minister hopes for will be an impediment to their
cause. While these get togethers may seem like the two sides are at least
talking with each other to resolve some of these differences, nothing has
changed the current stalemate. In the zero sum game that these officials view
Iraqi politics there is little room to compromise, especially on matters that
are so important such as the country’s oil and gas reserves.
At the
same time, the Kurdish delegations have highlighted the continuing differences
within the KRG. A statement by the Kurdish Coalition in parliament said that
the Saleh-Shaways groups stood for all the Kurdish parties. In fact, it
only represented the PUK and KDP. Before the parties arrived in Baghdad, there was a meeting with President Barzani to go over
their itineraries. The Change List did not attend, and later criticized the delegations as being partisan.
That’s because Change and the two Kurdish Islamic parties, have been calling
for a national strategy for the Kurds formed by consensus amongst all of the
KRG entities. This is in part, because the opposition has said that the ruling
parties only represent their own agendas when holding meetings with Baghdad.
This points to the fact that within Kurdistan there is a power struggle going
on as well. The PUK and KDP have run the region since the 1990s, and therefore
consider themselves the representatives of the Kurds. They have been very
jealous of holding onto their positions, and therefore resent the demands and
attacks made by the opposition. President Barzani especially, tends to act
unilaterally, and expects the other parties to fall in line behind him. The
opposition parties are not always willing to heed him, and want a real say in
Kurdish policy vis-à-vis the central government.
Iraq’s
political parties have been battling for power even before the 2010
parliamentary elections happened. Many of the arguments that the KDP and PUK
have with Maliki even predate that. The recent meetings between the two sides
are all part of this on-going soap opera. They will not be the last as Baghdad
and Irbil always have time to talk. The question is whether anything will come
of them. This also brings up the Kurdish opposition parties, as they would like
to be involved in the discussions as well. Maliki and the KRG have been
unwilling to budge from their positions. Likewise, the ruling Kurdish parties
have not been willing to take the opposition in Kurdistan that seriously when
it comes to dealing with the central government. Things remain stalemated as a
result, and will likely take many years, and perhaps a change in leadership in
both central and northern Iraq before any real change will come about.
SOURCES
Abdul-Rahman,
Mohammed, “Barzani warns Kurds not ready to live under “dictatorship,”” AK
News, 9/22/12
Aswat
al-Iraq, “Baghdad plans “dangerous and frightening” Nijrvan Barzani,” 10/21/12
Brusk,
Raman, “Gorran MP not optimistic about Talabani’s solutions for Iraqi cities,”
AK News, 9/22/12
Francis,
Bassem, “Kurds Head for Baghdad Talks As ‘Final Attempt’ to End Conflict,”
Al-Hayat, 10/18/12
Mackey,
Peg and Garnder, Timothy, “Exxon seeks to quit flagship Iraq oil project,”
Reuters, 10/18/12
National
Iraqi News Agency, “BREAKING NEWS Kurdish delegations meets with Sadrist
Trend’s Political Body,” 10/22/12
-
“Kurdish official delegation leaves Baghdad,” 10/23/12
-
“Kurdistan’s Deputy Prime Minister to heads delegation to Baghdad,” 10/18/12
-
“Maliki meets Kurdish delegation,” 10/22/12
-
“Shahristani, Shaways and Hawrami discuss point of views relating to oil,”
10/22/12
-
“Talabani meets with Kurdish delegation, stresses necessity to present demand
within their Iraqi fram,” 10/22/12
Radio Nawa,
“MDC: Kurdistan delegation to Baghdad represents the ruling parties and the
representatives of other parties purely decorative,” 10/23/12
Rudaw,
“PM Maliki and Other Iraqi Leaders Meet With Talabani in Sulaimani,” 9/21/1
Posted in Musings on Iraq http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.be/2012/10/iraqs-kurdistan-sends-delegations-to_24.html
on Wednesday, October 24, 2012
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