Reidar Visser Quote:
What the Americans could have done instead was to listen to the Iraqi debate at the time, where ideas that could have solved the whole issue actually existed. The first step would have been the formation of a super-bloc of Maliki’s State of Law and the secular Iraqiyya. This coalition could have ruled itself with a majority of about 180 deputies in parliament, or could have added the Kurds later on (the Kurds had signalled they would not be part of a greater bloc formation, so the premiership issue would have to be settled between Allawi and Maliki). The key point is that the new bloc could have agreed on a prime minister, most probably Maliki, that would not have been dependent upon the Sadrists or Iran.
Arguably, to all parties including the Kurds, the best way of structuring the government would actually have been to exclude the Kurds entirely. By so doing, the government would have had greater incentives for developing internal coherence and autonomy versus the stormy regional environment, and would also have been in a better position to provide generous concessions to the KRG. The problem was that the sheer thought of not having the Kurds included would have prompted immediate panic in Beltway circles, where there is general ignorance of the fact that the whole idea behind deep autonomy for the Kurds in the constitution is precisely to safeguard them against the prospect of no representation at the level of the central government. The checks and balances were already in place, and yet Washington kept clamouring for mor e!
A smaller governance-oriented cabinet would have confined the federalism question to the KRG and in turn provided for greater leeway in oil-related negotiations and territorial bargains. Conversely, in today’s situation with a weak, oversized cabinet and 15 un-federated governorates that are increasingly looking like potential federalism threats, paranoia and authoritarianism are likely to characterise the executive in the months and years to come.
Enter the concept of "disputed territories". With emerging federalism projects in Diyala and longstanding Kurdish claims to portions of that governorate - notably Khanaqin - ever more complex situations seem to come on the agenda in Iraq. The Kurds now claim they have supported the federalism request in the governorate council on the provision that Khanaqin will be kept separate an will be annexed to the Kurdistan Regional Government!
But can they do that? Absolutely not. Not as part of a federalisation project as such. It is absolutely critical to appreciate that, constitutionally and legally, region formation and disputed territories are entirely separate concepts in Iraq. There is no legal relationship between them whatsoever and an attempt to intertwine the two concepts - as seen in the latest Diayla move - is bound to come up against insurmountable judicial problems.
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has said on Wednesday that "every piece of Iraq's territories
must be under control by the Central Govenment, warning against the announcement of federations and regions, because the
current time is not suitable for such decisions."
"Iraq's unity is a red line, we won't bargain upon," Maliki said in a speech during reception of leaders of intellectuals of
southern Iraq's Karbala city, screened by Iraq's semi-official al-Iraqiya TV Satellite Station, adding that "every part of Iraq's
territories must be under control by the Central Government."
Maliki said that "some shortages in some Iraqi provinces here and there can be settled by common action and not through
secession or division," adding that "the national interest shall remain to serve the citizens and not the policians," who he described some of them as "failing to serve the interest of Iraq and its unity, but their own interests."
"We are heading towards increasing the authorities of Iraq's different Provinces," he said, warning that "calls for federations and
regions, despite their constitutionalism, but time is not suitable to raise such demands."
Prime Minister Maliki has expressed surprise from "raising such constitutional rights by some parties and their criticizm of the
government, including the illegallity of (Iraq's former ruling) Baath Party and opposing its practice, charging that "there are plans
to make those regions as safe places for escaped wanted elements of Baath Party, aimed at undermining the stability of Iraq."
The past few days have witnessed calls for the establishment of "independent regions" in iraq, following the voting of 20 out the 28 members of Iraq's Salahal-Din's Province's Council to become an independent "Region," within United Iraq, announced by the Deputy Chairman of the Province's Council, Sabhan Mulla Chiad, who charged the decision was taken due to the "irresponsible" policy of the Central Government against Salahal-Din's inhabitants.
Posted: 11/16/11 05:36 PM ET
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sami-moubayed/preparing-for-a-sunni-arab-spring_b_1092743.html
Moves by an Iraqi Sunni-dominated province to demand autonomy from Baghdad and rumors of coup d'etat led by Ba'athists have Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki very worried about the prospects of a rebellion.
Such an "Iraqi Spring" would enjoy the full financial and political backing of Saudi Arabia's new Crown Prince, Nayef Ibn Abdul-Aziz. In recent years Nayef has seen his country's influence in Iraq drop dramatically as Tehran's star rose.
The uprising would be very different to the Arab Spring. Instead of a grassroots revolt against an autocratic ruler, this would see Sunnis revolt against the Shi'ite politicians imposed on them since Iran established its hegemony over Iraqi politics in 2003.
Saudi Arabia is determined to attack Iran's influence once Americans troops leave this December. And as a staunch anti-Sh--te royal who has an old grudge to settle, Nayef sees Iraq as a perfect battlefront for a confrontation with the Iranians.
It all started with a tip from the new leaders of Libya that ex-Ba'athists and Saddam Hussein loyalists were plotting a coup d'etat. Libya's interim leader Mahmud Jibril revealed the information to Maliki, dug up from papers of the deceased Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, during a surprise visit to Baghdad in October.
In response to the alleged plot, Maliki later that month ordered the arrest of over 600 Ba'athists -- all Sunnis. He also purged former Ba'athists in higher education, firing 145 employees of Salahuddin University in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Saddam's hometown and a hotbed of the Sunni insurgency that raged from 2003 to 2008.
Reacting to the arrests and academic purge, the provincial council in Salahuddin on October 27 symbolically declared the province an autonomous region, with local politicians claiming Maliki's government was dominated by religiously-driven, Iran-backed officials.
Maliki has reacted furiously to Salahuddin's demands for autonomy, warning it will become "a safehouse for Ba'athists." Last week, Maliki also called on members of the disbanded Ba'ath party to publicly renounce it in writing, threatening persecution if they fail to comply. Only then could they be welcomed back into Iraqi society and become eligible for government office, he said.
The mass majority of the Ba'ath party's members only joined to rise through Iraq's bureaucracy and military, not out of conviction in its motto of "unity, freedom and socialism." These people neither took part in Saddam's crimes nor approved of them.
Maliki's demand that Ba'athists renounce their party membership was delivered at a speech in Karbala, a stronghold of the Shi--te community. For ordinary Sunnis, the statement has Iran's fingerprints all over it and is aimed at nothing but settling old scores.
The premier's anger does not change the fact that under Article 119 of the constitution, "One or more governorates shall have the right to organize into a region based on a request to be voted on in a referendum." Meaning, the residents of Salahuddin could achieve autonomy, like Iraqi Kurdistan, if this was achieved through popular referendum.
Iraqi Sunnis will try to do it the official way, but if Maliki prevents them they will take to the streets, just like angry Arabs have done in Cairo, Sana'a and Damascus. Maliki realizes that if the Sunnis take the matter to the polls, they would indeed demand autonomy for Salahuddin and other provinces would quickly follow suit.
The Iraqi prime minister has desperately tried explaining his position by saying that this "is not the moment for federalism", claiming that if passed, or even raised officially, this would be a "national disaster".
Had it been up to Iran, it would have declared autonomy for Shi--tes in southern Iraq years ago. The idea originally surfaced in 2005, put forth by Iran's prime ally in Iraqi politics, the late Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, president of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC).
Autonomy for Shi'ites in southern Iraq, topped with Kurds in northern Iraq, would have left Sunnis in central Iraq helpless, weak and with no oil. The project never saw the light of day due to a strong veto from Sunnis. Now, it is the Sunnis who are demanding autonomy for the first time since the country was created in the early 1920s.
As well as being fed up with Iranian dictates, the Sunni minority is furious with being treated as an underclass since the toppling of Saddam in 2003.
The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and now Syria have undoubtedly awakened a Sunni appetite for change. After demonstrations broke out in different Iraqi cities last February, Maliki said that he would not run for a third term in office next 2014.
That apparently is not enough for Iraq's Sunni community, which is eager to bring down a sectarian system imposed on them by Maliki and his allies, aided by the Americans. The death of Crown Prince Sultan and his replacement by Nayef seems also a blessing in disguise for Sunnis.
Nothing serious will happen in Iraq, however, until Iraqi advocates of the Arab Spring see the outcome of the protests in Yemen and Syria. The same applied as Syrian activists waited to see its results in Egypt.
Maliki, however, still believes that Iraq is different from Syria, but this could be as mistaken as Gaddafi's belief that he was different from Hosni Mubarak.
--
Sami Moubayed is a university professor, historian, and editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria. This article appeared in Asia Times Online on November 14, 2011 entitled "Malki frets over Iraqi Spring."
Provincial autonomy risks sectarian rift in Iraq
BAGHDAD |
(Reuters) - Moves by some of Iraq's mainly Sunni Muslim provinces toward increased autonomy threaten to heighten sectarian tensions and put pressure on Iraq's already frail central government as U.S. troops depart at the end of the year.
Just weeks before the last American troops leave, growing appeals for local control mark disenchantment with the Shi'ite Muslim-led government and could widen rifts between the country's Sunni and Shi'ite communities.
Desire for provincial power has simmered for years in Iraq, a maelstrom of ethnic, sectarian and tribal conflict. In Basra province, some residents fed up with lagging development want more control of their oilfields, among the world's largest.
But a recent declaration of autonomy by Salahuddin province, where former Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown is located, has sharpened the debate.
"The Salahuddin declaration, and what happened after that, proves sectarian conflict still exists and is strong in Iraq's political scene," said Yahya Kubaisi, an analyst at Iraq's Institute for Strategic Studies.
Salahuddin's bid was partly an angry reaction to a central government arrest campaign that snared more than 600 people authorities said were former military officers and members of Saddam's banned Baath party. Baghdad said there was a Baathist plot to seize power once U.S. troops depart.
Iraq is slowly getting back on its feet after decades of war. Sectarian fighting peaked in 2006-7, but Iraqi forces continue to battle a Sunni insurgency and Shi'ite militias.
AN OLD STORY
The issue of autonomy is not new in Iraq. Minority Kurds in the north have enjoyed semi-autonomy for years since Western powers imposed a no-fly zone after the 1991 Gulf War.
But the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad are locked in disputes over land and oil. The central government heatedly objected to a recent deal between the KRG and U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil to explore for oil in the north.
In other parts of the country, Iraqis are impatient with shortages of power, water, jobs and housing.
"For us, establishing autonomy is a sore choice but it is an inevitable one," said Omar Hassan, head of the municipal council in Samarra, one of Salahuddin's main cities.
"It's because of dismissive, exclusionary and marginalising central government policies. People are fed up," he said.
Autonomy would give a province more power over finances, administration and laws, and an upper hand in supervising public property, which could loosen Baghdad's grip on oil facilities.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who took part in writing the constitution in 2005, supports powerful central government.
In both public pronouncements and in private meetings with tribal leaders, his government has tried to quiet the autonomy movement, partly out of concern that it could lead to instability as the U.S. troop withdrawal hits high gear, with the remaining 18,000 scheduled to be gone before December 31. ((12/17/2011 7:55 PM SALAH AL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq: The head of Salah al-Din's tribal sheikhs stressed today that the demand to establish a region is within the capacity of the provincial council, but the tribes can avoid resorting to it if the government responded to legal and judicial demands. ))
BAATH BAN
The Baath Party was banned after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam, who was later executed. The exclusion of Baathists has been an open wound in Salahuddin.
"No less than 60 percent of the population of Salahuddin were Baathists," provincial council member Sabhan Mula Chiyad said. "They have been excluded from top jobs according to the de-Baathification law but it's not logical to de-Baathify them for life."
Iraqi officials have long expressed concern that Baathists would try to retake power when U.S. troops depart. Maliki said ex-Baath Party members want to use Salahuddin as a safe haven.
Autonomy tensions have simmered for months. Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said this year minority Sunnis might consider seceding if Baghdad didn't treat them more fairly.
Maliki warned in July that secession by any group would lead to bloodshed and said while Iraq's constitution allows provinces some autonomy but does not permit secession.
"We believe that this would lead to grave consequences," Khalid al-Attiya, a senior member of Maliki's Dawa Party, said at a news conference on Wednesday. "We need wisdom in dealing with this issue to maintain the unity of Iraq."
In the mainly Shi'ite southern oil hub of Basra, autonomy talk has bubbled for years as residents watch crude exports increasing and lose patience with power blackouts, joblessness and slow development of housing and businesses.
The constitution says a public referendum has to be held to determine autonomy. The central government must send any formal request for autonomy to the electoral commission within 15 days.
Salahuddin Governor Ammar Tuama said Baghdad has already missed the constitutional deadline.
"We will meet with the president, as he is the guardian of the constitution. We will try to convince him to intervene," Tuama said. "So far, we are not seeking an escalation."
(Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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State law: demonstrations in Diala 18 districts refused to declare the region
The head of the coalition of state law in the Diyala Issam Shaker
Alsumaria News / Diyala
Announced a mass coalition of state law in the province of Diyala, Tuesday, for organizing demonstrations in 18 districts that reject the declaration to maintain territories independent administratively and economically, describing the decision as "unconstitutional", while blamed the implications of what is going on from the events of those who signed the resolution.
He said the head of the coalition of state law in the Diyala Issam Shaker in an interview for "Alsumaria News", "The people of 18 districts, some administrative units and neighborhoods and villages, they came out in demonstrations spontaneous popular refusing to form a province of Diyala," noting that "some areas is now preparing to organize popular protests to demand the rejection decision. "
The Shaker "The demonstrations were not politicized, and reflects the decision of the people is clear," pointing out that "the entire spectrum of Iraqi society participated demonstrations to emphasize the unity of the national position."
Shaker and called the demonstrators to "self-restraint for the common good and are denied the opportunity Almustadin troubled waters."
He considered that the decision to Shaker "Declaration of Diyala province was not constitutionally or legally because the were not in the corridors of the Council in a formal meeting, but away from the Presidency, and it was surprising to all spectrums of the Iraqi society."
Shaker explained that "what happened to get around the laws" and wondered "for the benefit of the decision was made at this time?".
And carrying Shaker members who signed the resolution, "the responsibility of the implications of what is going on," as he put it.
And was a member of the provincial council in Diyala, the Iraqi List Suhad Hayali confirmed on Tuesday that the President of the Council who is currently out of Iraq agree to the establishment of Diyala province, noting that the vote that took place yesterday in this regard does not violate the laws, as expected that the government uses the central issue of the disputed areas them as leverage.
And the voice of the Diyala provincial council, said on Monday (12 December 2011), the majority of its members to declare conservative provinces administratively and economically, while signed the majority of its members a formal request directed to the central government on the resolution, as Vice President Sadiq al-Husseini that the decision was made without the approval of the Presidency He said that currently "not appropriate" for such a procedure.
The Diyala province of Iraq's second declare territory administratively and economically, after less than two months of the Declaration of Salahuddin province, on 27 October 2011, a similar move, in reaction to the actions of the Ministry of Higher Education to dismiss 140 teachers and staff of the University of Tikrit and separated from their work in implementation of the law the accountability and justice, as well as in response to a campaign of arrests witnessed by the province of Salahuddin, 23 and 26 October now, and that included dozens of former Iraqi army officers and members of the ousted Baath party.
The number of Iraqi provinces threatened to take similar steps, including Anbar, Basra, and Nineveh, as stressed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the need to choose the right time for the federations and regions, as it should be under the stability and national unity and keen, and not on a sectarian basis, where the problems start and challenges.
It is noteworthy that Article 119 of the Iraqi Constitution states that the right of each province or territory of more composition based on the request for a referendum is thus submitted either at the request of one third in each of the provincial councils intending to form a region, or at the request of ten voters in each of the provinces intending to form a region, as stipulated in Article 117 that the region has a constitution that defines the structure and powers of his powers, and mechanisms of the exercise is not inconsistent with this Constitution.
In Article 121 that the provincial authorities the right to practice legislative, executive and judiciary, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, except what is listed as exclusive powers of the federal authorities, and is entitled to the authority of the region modify the application of federal law, in the event of a contradiction or conflict between federal law and the law of the territory on the issue of not within the exclusive powers of the federal authorities, and allocated to the regions and provinces a fair share of the national revenues sufficient to discharge and responsibilities, taking into account the resources and needs, and the percentage of their population, and establish offices for the regions and provinces in embassies and diplomatic missions to follow up the cultural and social affairs, development, and shall Government of the Territory with all the required administration of the territory and, in particular establishing and organizing internal security forces such as police and security guards and the region.
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Tuesday, 6 December 2011 15:27 at 15:27Allawi (Ayyad) did recently say he was specifically against the creation of any new federal regions at the present time. In Iraq, I think it is a good idea that the difference between federalism and decentralisation should be clear (and, ideally, clearer than in the current constitution). Historically, it makes sense to give the Kurds more autonomy than any other areas. Still, once Baghdad loses confrol of the oil sector, we’re not really talking about federalism anymore but confederalism.
note that those are two different visions of decentralising the police: Demanding locally recruited personnel is a longstanding Iraqi tradition going back to the monarchy (the Ottomans often liked to put foreigners in the police to avoid getting entangled in local politics). That option is not necessarily at variance with the idea of a national police (with policies set in Baghdad) and the concept of a unitary state.
On the other hand, if the police is organised entirely by local authorities (as in the KRG) then we are talking federalism.
Salah says:
A Conversation with Ibrahim al-Jaafari
You chose ” pathetic” term to label his comment, this less thing to tag him, he deserve more than this word but just shows what this “lunatic” have to say while he was doing those doggy things when was in UK to get paid from UK taxpayer money for fraud claims about his professional skills.
He should never been included on his own claims to lead or have senior roll in Iraq politics simply he is real “lunatic” Daawa /Iranian folk.
Ibrahim Al Jaafari: The principle of federalism, we have agreed to in principle when we were in opposition, and now when we are in government. And federalism is created by the people. It is the people who decide the type of federalism and the nature of federalism. And just as federalism needs a rebirth, it needs to be protected, too. So it’s the people who will form the type of federalism and protect the type of federalism. Therefore, we do not fear any type of federalism as long as it is the people who choose the type of federalism. And it is the constitution that will lay down the principles for federalism, and the constitutional committee will bring forward proposals for the people to vote on. And therefore, we leave it to the Iraqi people.
Friday, 16 December 2011 20:47 at 20:47 Nick, thanks, the problem with developments over the past 24 hours is that there is a media blackout and apparently the victims (Iraqiyya) have elected to hold their horses for now. What I can say – and what is being openly reported – is that developments in Diyala, which appear to be at the heart of the whole conflict, are depressing indeed. Shiite counter-demonstrations to the federalism bid were reportedly armed and used green and black sectarian banners. There are reports of people being arrested merely for supporting the federalism project. If I were to offer one piece of advice to the supporters of a federal region in Diyala, it would be to remove focus from the silly (and illegal) “declaration” of the federal region and instead focus all their energies – and, if need be, whatever such energies may remain in the international community – on Maliki’s legal obligation to give them their referendum and let the people have their say in the matter. the situation in Diyala seems to be unfolding. A complicating factor in reporting it is a sea of rumours that have not made it to the newswires and are difficult to evaluate for that reason. Anyway, today the governor of Diyala publicly asked Maliki to ensure that the security forces remained neutral and specifically warned against arbitrary arrest orders as a way of intimidating supporters of the federalism bid. So he is indicating that the “resistance” that the security forces put up against the demonstrators may have been tongue in cheek. The two main routes to a federalism referendum in the law on forming regions have exact equal legal status however much you may think one of them is morally superior to the other. I totally agree it is a bad law that enables a lot of opportunism at the governorate level, but if you disagree with a bad law you need to work democratically to change it instead of making up a new one on your own.
Reidar Visser said Saturday, 17 December 2011 15:26 at 15:26 Today, Ibrahim al-Jaafari presented his own incarnation of this approach, inventing a law about the timeliness and required “culture” (sic) of a federalism bid: وأكد الجعفري خلال الجلسة، التي قاطعتها القائمة العراقية، على ضرورة أن “تكون هناك ثقافة في الدعوة لإقامة الأقاليم”، منتقدا “الدعوة إلى إقامة الإقليم بين ليلة وضحاها من دون إجراء الندوات والاستفتاءات والحوارات لأبناء المحافظة”. ووصف رئيس التحالف الوطني مطالب إقامة الأقاليم بأنها “ممارسة لعمل صحيح في وقت سيء وبظرف أسوأ”، معتبرا الأمر “مفارقة تدحر أداء العراقيين الرائع وإنجازاتهم التي قاربت بأن تكون معجزات”. in the quote above Jaafari says the call for federalism is the right call at the wrong time. The problem is, the law on implementing federalism does not give Mr. Jaafari or anyone else except the inhabitants of the relevant governorate the privilege of deciding when the time is right. The only stipulations regarding timing in that law are 1.) No federal regions could be created before April 2008 (this is why the law was issued long after it had been adopted in October 2006); 2.) Subsequent to a demand for a referendum the govt has a few weeks to activate IHEC (this is what Maliki has failed to adhere to); 3.) After a failed referendum any new initiative must wait one year. there is brief mention of how State of Law apparently intend to frame a legal challenge here: http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/the-new-federalism-jurisprudence-of-the-state-of-law-alliance/ My prediction is that the federal supreme court will hand over any such query to the consultative state assembly since it normally refuses to interpret laws in force other than the constitution. For example, there are a large number of requests for interpretations of the provincial powers law that have been handed over to the consultative state assembly in this manner. On the other hand, I see no reason why the councillors of Salahaddin and Diyala should not try to challenge the behaviour of the central government directly to the federal supreme court since this involves a conflict between the central government and a governorate and thus would fall within the jurisdiction of the supreme court. The law is so clear that the court would make a laughing stock of itself it it somehow managed to produce a pro-Maliki ruling!============== Governor of Diyala militia deployed in different areas killing civilians and close roads Editor: NQ | SZ Saturday, 17 k 1 2011 18:16 GMT Iraqis in Diyala province, protesting against the establishment of conservation (archive) Alsumaria News / Baghdad Stressed the governor of Diyala province, Saturday, the proliferation of "militias" in different regions of the province, supported by some police officers, while noting that it killed civilians and cut off roads and caused chaos and rising food prices, called for security forces to respond to the calls continued to impose the law. The governor of Diyala Nasser James Baldwin in an interview for "Alsumaria News", "There is a peaceful demonstration through the streets of Baquba, rejecting the Territory's nothing to do with Balumblyichiyat, a damaged there were also manifestations of armed militias, civilian dressed in black cut off roads," noting that "these militias killed two civilians, including the school principal, and the insulting of other citizens. " The James Baldwin that "these militias cut off roads and erected checkpoints and caused chaos in the street, especially in the district of Muqdadiyah," noting that "there is a blockade on food commodities, which rose to a weakening of prices due to the arrival of any imports by any entity, whether private sector or public" . He said the Governor of Diyala that "the existence of a political body with armed militias, backed by some members of the police is a crime can not be tolerated," pointing to "the existence of guidance from the Office of the Commander in Chief and military commanders and security but there is no such guidance on the ground." James Baldwin called "the security forces to respond to our calls for the continued imposition of the law", stressing at the same time that "the people of Diyala fought a bitter experience and have a great awareness to overcome this difficult situation." He explained that "all options available to the provincial council to proceed with the decision to declare the territory or reversed according to the legal ceiling," pointing out that "the security situation in Diyala is very serious and must be within the Iraqi army and away from politics." The Speaker Osama Najafi said today that the situation in Diyala is dangerous and there is a spread of militias cut off roads and beyond the troops and trying to prevent local government from exercising its role, stating that allowing for the spread of chaos will give serious indications that Iraq is not going in the right direction, and that the conservative "disaster" and should be controlled by the rule of law. And the voice of the province of Diyala (12 December 2011), the majority of its members to declare conservative provinces administratively and economically, signed a majority of its members a formal request directed to the central government on the resolution, as Vice President Sadiq al-Husseini that the decision was made without the approval of the Presidency, considering that the time is now "inappropriate" for such a procedure. The first deputy governor of Diyala, said that in the 14 of December current, that the decision of the provincial council declaring a territory administratively and economically "hasty and ill-advised," pointing out that what applies in Salahuddin and Anbar could not be applied in Diyala, as he emphasized that the method declaration of the decision " provocative "People moved out to the streets spontaneously to reject it. And threatened Qaimqamip Khalis district of the province of Diyala in the 13 of December current, separation and accession to the capital, Baghdad, in the case insisted the Council to pass a decision to declare the province a territory independent of management, economically, meanwhile, announced the suspension always in government departments and the disruption of school to protest the decision. Diyala province has seen large demonstrations following the announcement in the 18 districts of the territory, rejecting, loaded with the responsibility of the signatories of the resolution, the implications of what is happening events. And reached the Diyala day (December 14, 2011), and the parliamentary delegation consists of eight deputies headed by Chairman of the Commission on Security and Defence Hassan Sinead, to discuss the implications of the Declaration to maintain territories and economic management, while the delegation held a closed meeting with security chiefs and tribal leaders in the province. The Diyala province of Iraq's second declare territory administratively and economically, after less than two months of the Declaration of Salahuddin province, in the (27 October 2011), a similar move, in reaction to the actions of the Ministry of Higher Education to dismiss 140 teachers and staff of the University of Tikrit, and dismissal from work implementation of the law of the accountability and justice, as well as in response to a campaign of arrests witnessed by the province of Salahuddin, 23 and 26 October, which included dozens of former Iraqi army officers and members of the ousted Baath party, and in protest of the province on what promised excluded and marginalized them by the federal government and lack of access to financial dues and grades. It is noteworthy that Article 119 of the Iraqi Constitution states that the right of each province or territory of more composition based on the request for a referendum is thus submitted either at the request of one third in each of the provincial councils intending to form a region, or at the request of ten voters in each of the provinces intending to form a region, as stipulated in Article 117 that the region has a constitution that defines the structure and powers of his powers, and mechanisms of the exercise is not inconsistent with this Constitution. ============== Political rally in Nineveh Barzani calls to "prevent sedition" on the disputed areas Editor: BK | SZ Saturday, 17 k 1 2011 17:51 GMT President of the quarters or Emad Rashidi Alsumaria News / Nineveh Called for a political rally shows in Nineveh, Saturday, President of the Kurdistan region of Iraq to "prevent sedition" on the disputed areas, especially in conjunction with the departure of U.S. forces from the country, pointing to the need to resort to dialogue and the Constitution to resolve outstanding problems. The head of the pool or quarters Imad Al Rashidi said in a statement received "Alsumaria News," a copy of it, that "the President of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, to seek to resolve problems and prevent sedition and to find solutions and protect the rights of the Iraqi people, without distinction between a cart and Kurds and Turkmenh and other components to keep them away from any cramps or national conflicts, especially in the so-called disputed areas ", Rashidi said that "the solution of problems should be through dialogue, not provocation, to ensure the rights of Iraqis." The President of the Oum quarters that "This call comes on the back of that seen in Nineveh province, of the excesses carried out by the Kurdistan region in conjunction with the U.S. withdrawal from the province and Iraq," adding that "this withdrawal is a historic achievement and a major step on the road to complete independence and the key for the doors closed." The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq continues at a rapid pace, in the process is supposed to Tsktml before the end of the current year 2011, as U.S. troops handed over to their Iraqi counterparts to 505 military bases, a total number of rules that have already been taken by the U.S. headquarters for them. It was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama (as at 21 October 2011), that his country's forces all will leave Iraq by the end of 2011, end the war lasted nearly nine years and killed thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis, and cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The Rashidi that "there is trying to weaken the independence of Iraq and make it fragile," pointing out that "some politicians have created crises, including those caused by the politicians, the Kurdistan region of Iraq to waive the illegal on the territory of the province of Nineveh under the pretext of oil exploration, and this was rejected by members of the Provincial Council and the Ministry of oil because the oil and gas law will not add any legitimacy to the violation of contracts. " The governor of Nineveh ethyl Najafi has shown in (November 22, 2011), his rejection of all contracts for research and exploration for oil within the administrative boundaries of the province entered into by Iraq's Kurdistan region with foreign oil companies, demanding that the federal government to take action to stop these contracts, in particular, they concluded " outside the framework of the law and the Constitution. " These contracts, plus a chapter of the differences between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq on the oil contracts, which insists on the need to Baghdad approval in Arbil when you see the opposite. He stressed Rashidi that "the excesses of other Nineveh recently, visiting President of Kurdistan Region to the drunk and his statements, which asserts that from which the Kurdistan judiciary ahead of the project presented by President Jalal Talabani to the House of Representatives re-demarcation of administrative boundaries to the governorates of the country, and the results of the application of Article 140 of the Constitution ". The head of the Kurdistan region visited drunk (on 27 Tishrei, 2011), and confirmed during the visit that the judiciary was taken out of Erbil and the right in Nineveh province in 1996, an administrative decision issued by the former regime, not a legal decision, stressing the Kurdistan drunk, and that is not covered by Article 140 of the Constitution Iraqi. Article 140 of the Constitution on the normalization of the situation in the disputed areas in the areas of Kninoy, Diyala, and set period of time for a solution ended in (31 December 2007), also left for the people of those areas, freedom of self-determination of both survival and independent administrative unit or attached to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq through a referendum However, several obstacles have delayed the implementation of some basic items of Article Asked Rachidi "Did not able to Barzani to postpone the aspirations of the pending departure of U.S. troops from Iraq, will then be then to resort to the parliament and resolve differences, especially the view that the Kurdistan Alliance will be part of the solution will not be part of the problem at all." The Oum Rabiein national opposition political group in Mosul opposed to the local government, and demanded through conferences and meetings many dismiss the governor of Nineveh and the provincial council after the "failure" to fulfill the promises it made to the people in the last election to improving services and the elimination of unemployment and the release of innocent detainees and other of promises. ============= Kuwait insisting on keeping Iraq under economic sanctions - legistlature 12/17/2011 11:25 AM BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Legislature of the so-called "White Iraqiya" bloc in the Parliament has charged Kuwait on Saturday, with "insisting to keep Iraq under UN Charter's Article 7, imposing economic sanctions against her country, under justification of he existence of lost Kuwaitis in Iraq. "It is regretful to see the UN Security Council, repeating its advice for Iraq to normalize its relations with Kuwait, especially in the field of searching for Kuwaitis lost in Iraq since 1990. The Security Council and the world know that no lost Kuwaitis or even remains of Kuwaitis exist in Iraq, especially after several visits by international committees, who confirmed the inaccuracy of the Kuwaiti claims," Nuseif said in a statement on Saturday. "Kuwait insisted on keeping Iraq under the said UN Charter's Article 7 and continued creating justifications to prevent Iraq's exclusion from this article. We don't know what kind of normalization the Security Council is talking about," she commented. "What development of Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations would encourage Kuwait to stop its policy of animosity towards Iraq in all fields," she asked. Iraq is under UN Charter's Article 7, imposed on it after the entrance of its forces into Kuwait in 1990, allowing the use of power against Iraq, under charges that it "threatens the International security," along with freezing huge amounts of its funds in the world banks, to pay compensations for those who were harmed by its invasion of Kuwait. ================
I have the impression that those seeking federal status are mainly interested in the separate budget arrangements that the KRG currently enjoy. It should be added that those arrangements are not really grounded in the constitution: The Kurds pay only for defence and foreign service whereas according to the constitution there should be shared responsibilities in many areas, including oil, health and education. Of course, the Kurds had developed their own governmental structures since 1992 but if another region comes into existence, this is certain to become a heated debate.
The Jaafari comments are interesting in that he, too, alludes to a more majoritarian form of government as preferable.
بحكومة ديمقراطية توافقية التي بصراحة اقولها انا غير مؤمن بها وهذه من البدلات التي لا تنسجم مع قيمنا ومبادئنا ولكن شيء لابد منه في ان نحترم التعددية دون ان تتحول الى محاصصة حزبية وتكتلية وان تاخذ حق الفيتو على كل الاطراف هذا ما نرفضه من الديمقراطية التوافقية
It is widely believed he is closer to Iran than Maliki (who has been using similar language).
It is also pathetic to read his declarations of support for the constitution followed by the anti-constitutional suggestion that the “atmosphere” is not right for more federal regions at the present time…