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ERBIL, IRAQ Terviews with Kurdish Officials and Se- INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS Information and liaison bulletin N°354 september 2014 The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCID) aqnd the Fonds d’action et de soutien pour l’intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (The Fund for action and support of integration and the struggle against discrimination) This bulletin is issued in French and English Price per issue : France: 6 € — Abroad : 7,5 € Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 € — Elsewhere : 75 € Monthly review Directeur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN Numéro de la Commission Paritaire : 659 15 A.S. ISBN 0761 1285 INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: bulletin@fikp.org Information and liaison bulletin Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 354 September 2014 • IRAQ: THE NEW GOVERNMENT IS FORMED. • KURDISTAN: FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE VISITS ERBIL. • SYRIA: THE “ISLAMIC STATE”: REPELLED IN IRAQ, THE DA’ESH IS THREATENING THE KURDS OF KOBANI. • PARIS: AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IRAQ. • CULTURE: A SYMPOSIUM AT UNESCO ON THE ENDANGERED IRAQI HERITAGE. IRAQ: THE NEW GOVERNMENT IS FORMED n 8 September the Iraqi Parliament, represents the Sunni solved problems with the Kurdistan Parliament approved Arabs, and — Nuri Maliki, who, Regional Government”. Hayder Al-Abadi and his finally, will not be tried for his role O cabinet of 24 ministers. in the Iraqi crisis, who probably In the Cabinet, the three Deputy Only the Ministers of negotiated his “bloodless withdraw - Prime Ministers also represent the Defence and the Interior have not al” in exchange for a post that is major communities: a Kurd, yet been appointed, which, in a way, more honorary than political but Hoshyar Zebari, thus leaves his post perpetuates the situation of the enables him to remain on the “sub - a Foreign Minister, Saleh Al-Mutlaq, Maliki period, when the latter held stitutes bench” without completely of the Iraqi National Front repre - these ministries on a “temporary” leaving the Iraqi political scene. sents the Sunni Arabs and Baha basis for several years. The three Aradji, a Sadrist, the Shiites.. Vice-Presidents selected also main - Hayder Al-Abadi has argued in tain the tradition of “consensus” favour of a resolution of the conflicts The Finance Minister, Roj Shaways whereby all the principal communi - that have led to the de facto parti - is a KDP veteran, and former ties are represented Iyad Allawi, of tion of Iraq and have specifically Deputy Prime Minister under Jaffari the Iraqi National Alliance, Osama affirmed that his government was and Maliki. As the share of the bud - Al-Nujayfi, former Speaker of the “determined to resolve all unre - get owing to the Kurds by Baghdad • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 354 • September 2014 represents a major sinew of war, this between 2003 and 2004, then advisor Iraqi government was decided appointment seems like a gesture to to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in under “strong pressure” from the the Kurds. The new Foreign 2005 and became a member of United States, who made it a condi - Minister is the former Prime Parliament where he chaired the tion of their help in the struggle Minister and then Vice President Economy and Finance Commission. against the “IS” — but he added that Ibrahim Jaffari and spokesman for Last year he was elected Deputy it was “a good decision”. Maliki’s party. Hussein Sharistani is Speaker of the House and had regu - consigned to National Education, larly been proposed as an alterna - Regarding relations between the which allows some hope for a tive to Nuri Maliki, with whom he is Kurds and the Shiites, Mawlud renewal of negotiations with the close. Described as an “open and Bawamurad said there hostility in KRG on its management of Kurdish friendly” man, he has the reputation some Shiite circles, particularly oil. for being “accessible” — in contrast those close to Nuri Maliki, to the to the isolation and distrust verging Kurds, who they tended to consider Replacing Hussein Sharistani as Oil on paranoia into which his prede - responsible for his fall. International Minister is Adi Abdul-Mahdi, who cessor had retreated, which had support for Erbil had led to some is not one of “Maliki’s men” but a alienated a major part of the Iraqi resentment as the Shiites felt they member of the Iraqi Supreme and Kurdish political circles. lacked such support. Many Kurds, Islamic Council, a Shiite religious for their part, saw no personal Party. He is an economist and was The Kurds have shown little enthu - advantage in taking part in the new Iraqi Finance Minister in 2004 and siasm for joining the new Iraqi gov - Baghdad government and were 2005. His particularity is of having ernment. There was, in deed, some inclined to wash their hands of Iraq, had more links with France and uncertainty about their participation especially as they had recovered the Britain than most since he had stud - until 8 September, when a meeting regions that they had been claiming. ied in France after 1969, where he took place in Suleimaniyah, at the However the international support worked for a number of French Gorran Party offices with the princi - and the sophisticated weaponry think tanks and ran some Franco- pal Kurdish parties, the KDP and received from the Western powers Arab publications. This new Oil the PUK and the two Islamic Parties did somewhat oblige the Kurdish Minister may initiate a new, more to decide the issue. Nêçirvan leaders to avoid “abandoning” Iraq, flexible, policy, breaking with the Barzanî, Prime Minister of the while subjecting their participation Maliki Sharistani intransigence on Kurdistan Region, Kosrat Rassoul, to a “trial” period of three months. this issue. As a Shiite, he is not a the Assistant General Secretary of Similarly, the Shiites had accepted member the State of Laws Party but the PUK, Nashirwan Mustafa, the Kurdish partnership in the face of of the Supreme Islamic Council, a leader of Gorra, Gn, Mohammed the threat from IS and their depen - religious party that has always Faraj, Assistant General Secretary of dence on US aid. They had also been maintained good relations with the the Kurdistan Islamic Union and Ali obliged to attempt a somewhat Kurds and is considered by them as Bapir, leader of the Islamic Group forced reconciliation with the Sunnis “a man open to dialogue”. were all present as well as Brett with the aim or distancing them McGurk, US Assistant Secretary of from the IS. Regarding Premier Hayder Al- State for the Near East and the UN Abadi, he was born in Baghdad in representative to Iraq, Nicklay A Kurdish M.P. even considered, 1952, where he studied engineering Mladenov. when speaking to a journalist on the before leaving for Manchester to Monitor, Mohammad Al-Saleh, that complete his stuies. A member of al- The next day, the 9 September, as his political block’s return to the Dawa, a Shiite religious party, since the Iraqi Parliament was meeting to government was in the nature of an 1967, he fairly rapidly rose to a lead - vote its approval of the new Prime agreement between the Kurds, the ing position by the end of the 70s, Minister, the Kurdish M.P.s, who US and UNO than with the Iraqis, being a member of the executive were waiting for the green light from who they could not hope for while still in London, where he from their leaders and so were late much. According to Muthana Amin, remained till 2003. The Iraqi govern - in arriving, finally confirmed their another Kurdish member of the ment confiscated his passport in participation, in principal, in the Baghdad Parliament, the Prime 1983 for “conspiring against the future government. Minister al-Abadi was betting more Baath” and during the same decade, on an alliance between Shiite and three of his brothers were arrested In an interview given to the Kurdish Sunni Arabs (to the extent that it for membership of al-Dawa. daily Rudaw dated 10 September, could last) than with the Kurds, who the KRG’s Paliamentary Affairs he wished to set aside, hoping at Returning to Iraq, he became Minister, Mawlud Bawamurad, stat - least to reform the two Arab parties Minister of Communications ed that Kurdish participation in the and separate us from Iraq. n° 354 • September 2014 Information and liaison bulletin • 3• In any case, the principle point of the Houston Court had quashed it the Kalamari, which was transport - dispute between Erbil and Baghdad, as the ship has remained in the ing both Iranian and Kurdish oil, the oil question, has never ceased to Mexican Gulf, outside US territorial disappeared from the screens some - be stimulated by a legal battle waters, about 60 miles from the what North of the Sinai only to exported to the US even while Iraq coast. The judge had not, however, reappear (empty) two days later off and Kurdistan were both facing, in ruled on the basic issue, namely the coast of Israel. August, the assaults of the IS. who was the owner of the crude oil and thus had the right to sell it. The Similarly the Kalavrta moved at the Indeed, at the beginning of August, Iraqi Oil Minister had immediately end of August and disappeared for Baghdad hoped to prevent the sale announced his intention of appeal - 24 hours in international waters 0ff of a shipload of crude oil from ing against the court’s decision the Texan coast. Last July, another Kurdistan, worth about $100 mil - though it was on a question of mar - tanker transhipped its cargo of lion, transported to the coast of itime law.
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