Iraq government talks deadlocked
Iraq government talks deadlocked
By Shwan Mohammed - QALIT SHOLAN, Iraq
Kurdish chieftain Jalal Talabani said Monday talks on forming a new Iraqi government were deadlocked over the matter of Kurdish peshmerga fighters and rights to the ethnically-divided northern oil city of Kirkuk.
"There are disagreements about two points. The first is the fate of the peshmerga, and the second one is concerning Kirkuk. Our negotiations with the (Shiite) alliance continue," Talabani told reporters as he announced he was heading to Baghdad for Wednesday's historic first session of the new 275-member national assembly.
He added the Kurds wanted to seal an agreement with the election-winning Shiite list, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), and then bring other parties into the new government, including outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi who has so far refused any post other than premier.
"We have ... four people charged to negotiate with the Shiite list. After that we need a government with all parties, with Allawi, and our brother Sunnis. We insist all Iraqis have a role."
Negotiations are expected to resume Monday after the Kurds return to Baghdad, UIA members said.
Talabani, who is the frontrunner for Iraq's presidency, was speaking after Kurdish leaders said Sunday that they had new demands before forming a ruling coalition with the UIA.
Kurdish leaders said they were insisting on changes to a draft agreement setting out the terms for an alliance with the UIA, which has the largest share of seats in the new parliament with 146 seats.
The Kurds want iron-clad commitments that their tens of thousands peshmerga fighters will continue to provide security in the three Kurdish provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah and that no other Iraqi force can enter the virtual autonomous zone without the Kurdish regional government's permission.
The Kurds also want concrete pledges that the new government will resettle the tens of thousands of Kurds expelled from Kirkuk by Saddam Hussein over three decades and that it will work to restore territory to Kirkuk that Saddam apportioned to other provinces.
The delays, six weeks after milestone national elections, meant Iraq could be without a functioning government well past the first session of the new national assembly.
The plodding negotiations have triggered a wave of criticism from Shiite religious leaders who have demanded the government be put in place to tackle the resistance behind daily attacks in the country.
The Kurdish negotiating team that had thrashed out a preliminary agreement with the Shiites had presented the tentative deal Sunday to Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and members of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Before the meeting, Barzani had hinted at dissatisfaction with the agreement in an interview broadcast Friday, saying he wanted the issue of Kirkuk settled now and not just left to vague pledges.
UIA member and negotiator Samira Al-Mussawi hinted there was dissension between Talabani's PUK and Barzani.
"Some parties are trying to reach some goals that they fear will be difficult to reach in the future. Among the issues that they keep bringing up is the displaced Kurds and the status of the peshmerga militia as part of the Iraqi army," Mussawi said.
"The problem is the fact one of the two Kurdish sides wants these issues to be solved and the parliament session to be held on time and the other side wants a postponement for one reason or another."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12964
By Shwan Mohammed - QALIT SHOLAN, Iraq
Kurdish chieftain Jalal Talabani said Monday talks on forming a new Iraqi government were deadlocked over the matter of Kurdish peshmerga fighters and rights to the ethnically-divided northern oil city of Kirkuk.
"There are disagreements about two points. The first is the fate of the peshmerga, and the second one is concerning Kirkuk. Our negotiations with the (Shiite) alliance continue," Talabani told reporters as he announced he was heading to Baghdad for Wednesday's historic first session of the new 275-member national assembly.
He added the Kurds wanted to seal an agreement with the election-winning Shiite list, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), and then bring other parties into the new government, including outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi who has so far refused any post other than premier.
"We have ... four people charged to negotiate with the Shiite list. After that we need a government with all parties, with Allawi, and our brother Sunnis. We insist all Iraqis have a role."
Negotiations are expected to resume Monday after the Kurds return to Baghdad, UIA members said.
Talabani, who is the frontrunner for Iraq's presidency, was speaking after Kurdish leaders said Sunday that they had new demands before forming a ruling coalition with the UIA.
Kurdish leaders said they were insisting on changes to a draft agreement setting out the terms for an alliance with the UIA, which has the largest share of seats in the new parliament with 146 seats.
The Kurds want iron-clad commitments that their tens of thousands peshmerga fighters will continue to provide security in the three Kurdish provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah and that no other Iraqi force can enter the virtual autonomous zone without the Kurdish regional government's permission.
The Kurds also want concrete pledges that the new government will resettle the tens of thousands of Kurds expelled from Kirkuk by Saddam Hussein over three decades and that it will work to restore territory to Kirkuk that Saddam apportioned to other provinces.
The delays, six weeks after milestone national elections, meant Iraq could be without a functioning government well past the first session of the new national assembly.
The plodding negotiations have triggered a wave of criticism from Shiite religious leaders who have demanded the government be put in place to tackle the resistance behind daily attacks in the country.
The Kurdish negotiating team that had thrashed out a preliminary agreement with the Shiites had presented the tentative deal Sunday to Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and members of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Before the meeting, Barzani had hinted at dissatisfaction with the agreement in an interview broadcast Friday, saying he wanted the issue of Kirkuk settled now and not just left to vague pledges.
UIA member and negotiator Samira Al-Mussawi hinted there was dissension between Talabani's PUK and Barzani.
"Some parties are trying to reach some goals that they fear will be difficult to reach in the future. Among the issues that they keep bringing up is the displaced Kurds and the status of the peshmerga militia as part of the Iraqi army," Mussawi said.
"The problem is the fact one of the two Kurdish sides wants these issues to be solved and the parliament session to be held on time and the other side wants a postponement for one reason or another."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12964
posted by JimG at 8:10 PM
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