BARZANI’S SECURITY

 01 Aug 2012 KURDISTAN TRIBUNE PRESS REVIEW –

Firat: The image shows the Gatik-Tapa hill, and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan with his then army chief and other commanders in 2010. The hill has been controlled by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the past 24 hours following an aggressive confrontation with the Turkish army.

NRT: Numerous Iraqi sources have revealed that President Barzani is under assassination threat. The Americans have warned him to tighten his security.  The sources have told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Syasa that Barzani is facing an assassination threat from Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi intelligence agencies as a direct result of his persistence over the Maliki dossier. American and regional agencies have urged Barzani to tighten his security, particularly against air attack on his Salahadin resort in Hawler.

Awene: In an interview with KNN, Newshirwan Mustafa hit back following Barzani’s remarks labelling Gorran as ‘against the unity of Kurds’. Mustafa: “The Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) leadership have spent the past 20 years trying to impose ‘one clan rule Kurdistan’”, referring to Barzani’s monopoly of power within the KDP and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Mustafa goes on to say, “the unity of Kurds cannot be strengthened when you go and cause trouble outside and try to get everyone at home involved”.

Rudaw: The Iraqi Prime Minster Al Maliki has been misinformed about the activities of Peshmerga forces and the recent heated tensions between Iraqi army and Peshmerga is expected to cool down. Dr Saeed Khoshnaw, a Kurdistan Alliance MP in Iraq’s council of representative told Rudaw: “Meetings have taken place between parties and there is an understanding between us, this matter needs to be resolved through dialogue.”

Ministry of Peshmerga: In a press release, the Chief of Peshmerga General Jabar Yawar responds to the allegation made about Peshmerga acquiring heavy weapons illegally: “If the Kurdistan Regional Government wants to sign a weapons agreement, it can do so in accordance with the constitution using article 121 section 5. We do not need to do this illegally”. Furthermore, the Chief of Peshmerga refutes vehemently the allegations about acquiring heavy weapons illegally calling it “nothing but a pack of lies”.