Will Scandals Destabilize Kurdistan?
Michael Rubin | @mrubin1971 – Kurdistan may be the “other Iraq” but, when it comes to corruption, it is in a league all its own. After a disappointing trip to Washington capped off when TSA agents subjected his entourage to searches, Kurdish President Masud Barzani has now, according to a report in the Kurdistan Tribune, cut short a trip to the United Arab Emirates after his son Mansour Barzani lost $3.2 million in a local casino. Where his son got $3.2 million, whether it came from government coffers and, if so, why Barzani was traveling with so much cash is unanswered. Mansour has always been tempestuous; in his youth, a dispute about a woman led to a botched suicide attempt.
Elder son Masrour Barzani, whom Kurdish dissidents accuse of running death squads, has, according to multiple sources in the American Kurdish community, set up a corporation to acquire a $10+ million villa in northern Virginia. Youngest son Mullah Mustafa publicly consorts with figures during his Washington trips which make even Secret Service agents blush. Masud Barzani’s nephew expropriated $600 million from the public coffer to fund his bid for the Korek company. The multibillion dollar return flowed not into the public coffers, but into Barzani private coffers.
SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) BRAVO ! – Kirkuk governor backs banning FGM
Kirkuk governor Najmadeen Karim cooperates with PANA and WADI organizations to stop FGMKirkuk governor Najmadeen Karim expresses his support for the representatives of PANA in a meeting on Monday to stop Female Genital Mutilation in the governorate. The governor’s support comes following the research carried out by WADI organization that found dramatic rate of practicing FGM in the governorate. The research unveils that there are almost 40% of women are victims of practicing Female Genital Mutilation in the province.
Karim pledged to back any campaign and activities aiming to stop FGM and to take part in the press conference scheduled to be held by PANA and WADI in which they present the final version of the research by June. Kurdistan parliament passed a law banning FGM years ago, but it is still widely practiced over the region.
http://pukmedia.co/english/kurdish-women/812-kirkuk-governor-backs-banning-fgm
Kurdische Regierung droht Bagdad
16.5.2012 – MESOP – Erbil. Die kurdische Autonomieregierung sieht sich in der Lage, die eigene Ölproduktion bis auf 300.000 Barrel pro Tag auszudehnen. Die Einnahmen daraus könnten einen großen Teil der Zahlungen der Zentralregierung in Bagdad an die kurdischen Gebiete ersetzen, sagte der kurdische Minister für natürliche Ressourcen, Ashti Hawrami, dem Magazin „Iraq Oil Report”. Im Streit über die Ausbeutung von Ölvorkommen hatte die Autonomieregierung ihre Ölexporte Anfang März um 175.000 auf 50.000 Barrel pro Tag reduziert. Gleichzeitig drohte sie, die Ölexporte vollends einzustellen, sollte Bagdad nicht die Gebühren von Ölkonzernen bezahlen, die in Kurdistan investieren.
SÜDKURDISTAN (IRAQ) Arbeiter ohne Rechte / Von Qassim Khider
„Die Regierung sollte ein neues Gesetz erlassen, das auch denjenigen, die im Privatsektor tätig sind, eine Rente garantiert.“
Salah Mustafa, Soziologie-Dozent an der Salahaddin-Universität in Erbil
16.5.2012 – MESOP - Arbeiter und Angestellte von privaten Firmen haben in den kurdischen Autonomiegebieten des Irak keinerlei Rechte. Wer etwa wegen eines Unfalls seinen Job verliert, steht ohne Hilfe da. Auch eine Rente gibt es nicht. Deswegen verfolgen viele Arbeitnehmer in privaten Firmen nur ein Ziel: Sie wollen eine Stelle im Staatsdienst.
Drei Monate ist es her, da stürzte der 34 Jahre alte Bauarbeiter Kawa Khurseed bei der Arbeit vom Gerüst und brach sich ein Bein. Seitdem ist Khurseed nun schon zu Hause, um sich von seinem Arbeitsunfall zu erholen. Seinen Job ist er deswegen los. Und entschädigt hat ihn für diesen Unfall niemand, weder sein Arbeitgeber noch der Staat. Auf juristischer Ebene kann Khurseed, Vater dreier Kinder, nichts ausrichten. Denn ein Gesetz, das die Rechte von Arbeitnehmern schützt, gibt es nicht. Genauso wenig wie eine Unfallversicherung.
RISING OF KURDISH NATIONALISM : Kurdish Independence Movement K.I.M established in U.S. / KIM – May 15, 2012
WASHINGTON: Kurdish Independence Movement, or K.I.M., is proud to announce its establishment to all fellow Kurdish compatriots all over the world. Based in Washington DC, USA, K.I.M is a totally independent organization with no political affiliation to any faction or group in South Kurdistan (Iraq). Volunteer Patriot Kurdish youths and students, who strongly believe in the legitimate right of Kurds to self-rule in South Kurdistan, constitute the overwhelming majority members of the organization. Ideology: Independence for Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish Nationalism, Democracy, Reformism
People hold the ultimate power / A feast demonstrating strength / Eagle implying courage and substituting sword / Slogan words: Independence for South Kurdistan / Motto: We have strong faith in a reality that will transpire sooner or Later (INDEPENDENCE)
Ultimate Goal: The primary and ultimate objective of K.I.M. is seeking to establish an independent Kurdish state only confined to South Kurdistan (Iraq), including unilateral actions/decisions on declaration of statehood.
THE PLANNING OF THE KURDISH WOMENS CONFERENCE IN ARBIL 2012
WFW: Pakhshan Zangana, the Head of Women High Council has expressed her unawareness about the national women conference that scheduled to be held on May.
She added that neither government nor any other related parties did not inform us about the agenda and the time of holding conference: The preparation committee of the conference has announced on May 13, 2012 that all the problems and barricades ahead of the conference have been finalized. Previously; Ashti Aziz, the Kurdistan MP from Change Movement bloc and member from the preparation committee of the conference has declared that the representatives of women will be invited based on the numbers of the seats in parliament.
Wife of Deceased Sulaimani Mayor Rejects Inquiry’s Findings
14/05/2012 By SAMAN BASHARATI – RUDAW – SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — The wife of Sulaimani’s former mayor has rejected the findings of a government report that says her husband committed suicide.Mayor Zana Hama Salih died in a jail run by Kurdish security forces, known as Asayish last month. Security officials stated early on that Salih killed himself, though the mayor’s relatives insisted he was murdered.The deceased mayor’s wife, Sakar Jamal, cast doubt over the intentions of the government committee that prepared the report. She said the mayor’s family is now waiting to see what the court will say about the report. “If the court repeats what the committee said, then we will resort to international courts,” Jamal said.
KRGs oil production could easily reach 300,000 barrels per day, says minister
ERBIL, May 14 (AKnews) - The Kurdistan Region’s Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami revealed with confidence that the region’s oil production capacity could easily reach 300,000 barrels per day (bpd). Ashti HawramiIn an interview with Iraq Oil Report Hawrami said annual income from that much oil and at today’s prices could replace a lot of cash from Baghdad.
Talabani and Mutlaq: Enact Erbil agreement to end Iraqi crisis
ERBIL, May 13 (AKnews) – Two of Iraq’s most senior leaders have agreed that the political parties must implement proposed paperwork, in particular the Erbil agreement, to end the political crisis that has engulfed the country since the withdrawal of US troops.A statement issued by the Iraqi Presidency said that President Jalal Talabani and Deputy Prime Minister, Saleh Muhamed al-Mutlaq, agreed at a meeting in Baghdad to resolve the crisis through dialogue and adherence to the constitution.The most recent paper, the Erbil Agreement, which agreed on by four Iraqi leaders and included eight demands, was singled out in the statement.
A GOOD FRIEND OF MESOP: Founder of Norway Green Party: Kurds Have Right to Independent State
13/05/2012 By SABIR QADIRI – RUDAW - Jan Bojer Vindheim is one of the founders of Norway’s Green Party and was head of its foreign relations for more than 10 years. Vindheim was prompted to investigate the Kurdish issue after the gassing of Halabja by Saddam Hussein’s regime. He has since visited Kurdistan several times, met with political factions in the Kurdistan Region and prepared reports on the Kurdish political system. Rudaw sat down with him to discuss the Kurdish issue in Iraq and Turkey.
Rudaw: Are Kurdish authorities up to the challenge the Kurdistan Region is going through?
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