INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS Information and liaison bulletin N°329 august 2012 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° 329 August 2012 • IRAQI KURDISTAN: THE ATTRACTION OF KURDISH OIL AND IRBIL’S ULTIMATUM • SYRIA: THE FUTURE OF THE KURDISH REGIONS IS STILL UNDER DISCUSSION AT IRBIL. • IRAQ: AN UNEXPECTED VISIT OF THE TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER PROVOKES BAGHDAD’S ANGER • CULTURE: FROM KHORASSAN TO JERUSALEM — THE VITALITY OF KURDISH SONGS. IRAQI KURDISTAN: THE ATTRACTION OF KURDISH OIL AND IRBIL’S ULTIMATUM t the beginning of pation in the Halfaya contract ” that with Hawlêr Energy is has August, Iraqi Kurdistan it has been operating with acquired a 21% participation in agreed to resume its oil PetroChina and Petronas since the Bina Bawi block, near Taq Taq A exports to Baghdad 2012 with an 18.75% Stake. The — in addition to the 23% it (frozen since April) as a French company refused to make already had. gesture it describes as one of any comment. appeasement. On the other hand The renewal of Kurdish exports to Total (France) and Gazprom For it part, Gazprom Neft the central government is, for its (Russia) have stood up to Iraq’s announced, also at the beginning part, conditional, according to the retaliatory measures and joined of August, its participation in two Kurdistan Minister of Natural the ranks of companies like Exxon blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan: 40% in Resources, Ashti Hawrami, to and Chevron who have decided to the Garmiyan block and 80% in payment of the areas that Iraq deal directly with the Kurds. Shakal. The Russian company esti - owes the Kurdistan Region, mates that the se two blocks will according to its government and On hearing this news, the Iraq reach a production of about 3.6 that this gesture of “ good will ” by government has not altered the billion barrels. As for buying the KRG would not more than a tenor of its warnings and threat - Energy, which principally aims at month should the government ened Total with sanctions. Thus Kurdistan, it announced, on 7 continue to refuse payment. Abdul Mahdi al-Ameadi stated to August, an increase in its interests the press that they “ were working in the region with a 240 million us Having been put out by last July’s on the cancellation of Total’s partici - dollar purchase. By agreement announcement that a gas pipeline • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 329 • August 2012 was going to be built that would attractive conditions for investors ”. crude to Baghdad if Iraq did not enable the Kurds to sell their natu - According to him, the Iraqi con - pay its Kurdish creditors. ral gas directly to Turkey and, tracts include less advantageous Baghdad replied that Iraq had eventually, to Europe, the Iraqi fixed prices for foreign companies accepted to pay the local produc - Prime Minister reacted in a way that would be more profitable to ers up to a total of 560 million dol - that was anything but appeasing the Iraqi economy, whereas lars but that the officials were still by accusing Turkey of dealing with Kurdistan was said to be giving a waiting for the green light. “ We the KRG as if it was an indepen - greater share to the companies have allocated 650 million Iraqi dent State. Nevertheless, Kurdish entering into partnership for oil dinars from the 2012 budget to pay oil exports were indeed resumed production and would later have the companies but, so far, we have not on 13 August although the Deputy to increase the prices. received this order ” said Fadhil Prime Minister, Hussein Sharistani Nabi, Assistant to the Iraqi complained that deliveries were On 20 August, Canada’s Minister of Finance. only 116,000 barrels a day although ShaMaran Petroleum Corp the agreement had been for 175,000 announced Total’s acquisition of a However, on 31 August, an Iraqi barrels, saying that the Kurds 20% share of the Taza block, in Deputy Prime Minister, Roj Nouri “should pump more to make up for the Suleimaniah Province, in addition Sahweis, a Kurd and a political period when they had ceased export - to 35%of the Harir and Safeen veteran, announced that the ing ”. As for the debts that Baghdad blocks acquired in July. On 21 Kurdistan Regional Government owed several companies operating August, the US government was ready to engage in further in Kurdistan, which had been the emerged from its lukewarm negotiations with Baghdad to put reason for the freeze, Sharistani reserve by recalling that oil com - an end to this crisis. Expressing stated that an audit would be car - panies “ should not bypass the his optimism, Roj Nouri Sahweis ried out on the companies “ that the authority of the central government . told Reuters that the Kurds could Kurdistan government said needed to Regarding our own companies, we envisage an end to the conflict if be paid ”. continue to tell them that signing the 2007 Bill on Hydrocarbons, contracts for drilling or production in which gave a broader sharing of One of the principal reasons cited any region of Iraq whatsoever without power between the Kurds, the by foreign investors who pre - the agreement of the Iraqi Federal Shiite and the Sunni Arabs were ferred working in Kurdistan is authorities exposes them to the danger finally passed. Moreover, accord - that much less advantageous con - of legal proceedings ”, declared to ing to this Deputy Prime Minister, ditions were offered by Baghdad. the press Victoria Nuland, State the Kurds considered that reach - Questioned on this point, Hussein Department spokesperson. ing agreements with foreign com - Sharistani replied that Baghdad “Evidently companies will make their panies without referring to the might review its contracts: “ We own decisions regarding their own central government was a right agree that the terms of these contracts business, but until we have federal given to them by the Iraqi consti - are tough and put pressure on the legislation in Iraq to regulate matter, tution whereas Baghdad still companies. The last auction was not a they are taking risks ”. based its claims on the “ former oil success ”. In fact, last May, a dozen legislation dating to the Saddam blocks were put up for auction but On 28 August, three days before Hussein period ” when the State was only four contracts were signed. the 31August ultimatum highly centralised. The Deputy Prime Minister indi - announced by Ashti Hawrami, the Finally the Kurdish government cated that they were working on a Kurdistan regional Government accepted to postpone its ultima - new model contract “ with more again threatened to stop exports of tum to September 15. SYRIA: THE FUTURE OF THE KURDISH REGIONS IS STILL UNDER DISCUSSION AT IRBIL fter taking over most of cult task of sharing power revolutionaries so as to free Syria ” the Kurdish towns in between the different components and that “ this democratic establish - Syria apart from of their movement. On 2 August, ment must be considered as a contri - A Qamishlo, the new coali - the External Relations Committee bution to building a new united, tion of Syrian Kurdish of the PYD (the Syrian branch of democratic and plural Syria ” while parties had to organise themselves the PKK) called for the peaceful ensuring that it was no longer a and run these localities, in princi - creation of a self-governed “threat to regional and global stabili - pal deserted by the Syrian authori - Kurdish region that could serve as ty ” and rejecting accusations of ties as well as undertake the diffi - “a refuge and base for all the Syrian “separatism”. n° 329 • August 2012 Information and liaison bulletin • 3• For his part, another Syrian National Council, President Ahmet Davulpglu seems neverthe - Kurdish leader, Abdulhakim Massud Barzani and the Turkish less hard to envisage at this time. Bashar, at the head of the Kurdish Foreign Minister, Ahmet National Council (CNK) in an Davutoglu, on the subject of the Indeed, rather than any Syrian interview given to the daily Rudaw Syrian crisis, Abdulbassit Sayda reaction, it is Turkey that appears gave his own version of the recent pointed out, at a Press conference the military force most likely to events in Syrian Kurdistan by held in Irbil’s Divan Hotel, that all threaten this new autonomy, real refuting, for example, the term of the participants of that four-cor - of symbolic, of Syrian Kurdistan by “liberation ” of the Kurdish regions. nered meeting supported the refusing the setting up of pro-PKK According to him ” not one Kurdish Syrian National Council’s project. areas on its borders. Iraqi town has been liberated ” and the Abdulbassit Sayda added that he Kurdistan, on the contrary, is Syrian security forces are present had asked the Turkish Minister to inclined to easing relations and there, even though the Kurdish settle the Kurdish question in establishing relations with all the flags have been raised on official Turkey in a peaceful manner and Kurdish parties in Syria.