Dr. Muslih Mustafa: Today, Kurdistan needs to understand how to use natural resources

[Dahen]

In the inauguration of the First International Symposium on Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas, Soran University President delivered a speech. At the beginning of his speech, Soran University President warmly welcomed the guests and said, ‘Today, with a soul motivated by science and knowledge, Soran University confidently gathers a group of academicians to debate on Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas crises. As usual, Soran University aims to be a bridge between people of knowledge and science. During his speech, Dr. Muslih mentioned that currently Kurdistan needs to understand how to use natural resources to serve residents in a best way. Soran University President explained that nowadays questions arise on the Region’s future and how Region’s revenues motivate to improve economic infrastructure? How to create a future in which natural resources to be used as a powerful mean in prosperity and knowledge improvement? Through this symposium we want to answer these questions and we will carry on searching for scientific dialogues. In the conclusion of his speech, he wished the symposium’s report to become a clear mark for people and related sectors. We want our suggestions to be the answer for the oil and gas crises in Kurdistan Region.

http://www.soran.edu.iq/en/news/highlights/803-dr-muslih-mustafa-s-speech-in-the-first-annual-oil-and-gas-symposium.html

[Peter1469]

Kurdistan is exporting oil now, yes?

[waltky]

Kurdistan votes to become a nation...
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Kurdistan starts voting in controversial independence referendum
Sept. 25, 2017 -- Residents of Iraq's Kurdistan region started voting Monday in a historic and controversial referendum on independence.


A majority is expected to vote in favor of independence -- to break away from Iraqi rule -- but opponents to the vote say the move could lead to regional destabilization and ethnic violence. More than 3 million people are expected to vote in Monday's non-binding referendum. Several nations, including the United States, has voiced opposition to the independence vote. Turkey and Iraq have even threatened unspecified "coordinated measures" if the referendum was even held.


https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi_com/8701506341761/2017/1/87dcaf1f4d389c6dd529c3a8940fcf5c/Kurdistan-starts-voting-in-controversial-independence-referendum.jpg
An election poster, supporting independence for Kurdistan, is seen on a street in Irbil, Iraq, Sunday. More than 3 million people are expected to vote in the referendum Monday.

Iran, Iraq's adversarial neighbor, has also spoken out against the referendum vote. "Any move damaging stability, security and territorial integrity of Iraq is wrong and inappropriate," Iranian foreign affairs spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Monday. "Iran has always respected the people in the region, particularly the Kurdish people, and it has always tried to help and support them." The Kurds, an ethnic group of 35 million people living in the Middle East, have awaited independence since the 1920 Treaty of Sevres -- which broke the Ottoman Empire into several sovereign nations and proposed an independent Kurdistan.


https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/i/8701506341761/2017/2/15063425283753/Kurdistan-starts-voting-in-controversial-independence-referendum.jpg
Kurdish President Masoud Barzani casts his vote Monday in a Kurdistan independence referendum.

Kurds in Iraq, who are regarded as among the fiercest fighters against the Islamic State, have threatened for years to break away from Iraq and form a separate state. They accuse the Baghdad government of violating obligations to Kurdistan and denying them the appointed share of the federal budget. "From World War I until now, we are not a part of Iraq. It's a theocratic, sectarian state. We have our geography, land and culture. We have our own language. We refuse to be subordinates. The parliament in Baghdad is not a federal parliament. It's a chauvinistic, sectarian parliament. Trust is below zero with Baghdad," Kurdish President Masoud Barzani said in a recent interview.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/09/25/Kurdistan-starts-voting-in-controversial-independence-referendum/8701506341761/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=15

[waltky]

Kurds gettin' pressure from Iraq, Turkey...
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Iraqi PM calls on Kurds to nullify referendum vote
Thu, Sep 28, 2017 - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi yesterday demanded that Kurdish authorities “cancel” the outcome of the independence referendum in northern Iraq, as a condition for dialogue to resolve an escalating crisis.


In a speech to parliament, Abadi renewed his ultimatum to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani to hand over control of international airports by tomorrow or face a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region. People in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence in Monday’s non-binding referendum. Any idea of secession is bitterly opposed by the governments in Baghdad, Turkey and Iran. The US pressed Kurdish leaders to call off the poll. “We won’t have a dialogue about the referendum outcome,” Abadi told parliament. “If they want to start talks, they must cancel the referendum and its outcome.”

His demand was rejected by KRG Transport Minister Mowlud Murad, who told a news conference in the Kurdish capital, Erbil, that keeping control of airports and maintaining direct international flights to Erbil was necessary for the fight against Islamic State militants. Kurdish leaders say the referendum was held to give them a mandate to negotiate the peaceful secession of their region with Baghdad and Iraq’s powerful neighbors Iran and Turkey. Murad expressed the hope that the crisis could be resolved by tomorrow, saying it would damage Kurdistan’s economy.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2017/09/28/P06-170928-321.jpg
Kurds celebrate to show their support for the independence referendum in Duhok, Iraq, on Tuesday.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority yesterday sent a notice to foreign airlines telling them international flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya in the Kurdish region would be suspended tomorrow at 3pm and only domestic flights allowed. The Iraqi parliament also asked al-Abadi to send troops to the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk and take control of its oilfields. Kurdish Pehsmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk, a multiethnic region, in 2014 when the Iraqi army fled in the face of Islamic State militants who overran about a third of Iraq.

The Kurdish move prevented the oilfields from falling into the militants’ hands. The area, historically claimed by the Kurds, is also home to Turkmen and Arab communities. The KRG included it in the independence referendum held on Monday. “The government has to bring back the oilfields of Kirkuk under the control of the oil ministry,” said the resolution voted by parliament in Baghdad, seen by Reuters.

It called on al-Abadi to “issue orders for the security forces to deploy in the disputed areas, including Kirkuk.” KRG authorities put the turnout for the independence referendum at more than 70 percent, but many voters reported irregularities, including cases of individuals voting multiple times and without proper registration. Official results were expected to be released yesterday.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2017/09/28/2003679312

See also:

Iraq, Turkey Move to Punish Kurdistan for Referendum Vote
September 28, 2017 - Even as Kurds celebrated the overwhelming approval of an independence referendum, Iraq took actions to punish the would-be breakaway state, vowing to shut down its airspace and join Turkey in holding military exercises.


Calling the vote “unconstitutional,” Iraq’s parliament Wednesday also asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send troops to the oil-producing, Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk and take control of its lucrative oil fields. It told the 34 countries that have diplomatic missions in Kurdistan to shut them down and urged Abadi to enforce a decision to fire Kirkuk Gov. Najmaldin Karim for holding the vote, and deploy forces to areas that were under Iraqi government control before the fall of Mosul to Islamic State over three years ago. “We will enforce federal authority in the Kurdistan region, and we already have starting doing that,” Abadi said.

The prime minister’s office said he spoke Thursday by phone with his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim, who said Turkey supports all measures taken by the Iraqi government to preserve the country’s unity, including dealing only with the Baghdad government on oil exports. The referendum isn't binding, but it is the first step in a process that clearly leads in that direction, despite strong criticism from Iraq, its neighbors — particularly Iran and Turkey — and the United States. These nations have described it as destabilizing at a time when all sides are still fighting against IS militants.


https://gdb.voanews.com/34F006E4-FB2D-4A88-B561-0225C771BB4C_w650_r0_s.jpg
A boy rides a bicycle with the flag of Kurdistan in Tuz Khurmato, Iraq

Turkish troops are conducting military exercises at the Iraqi border, and Iraqi soldiers joined in four kilometers from the Habur border gate between the two countries. National and international media observed the exercises from the main highway leading to the border gate. Turkey, which has its own restive Kurdish minority, is particularly concerned about the independence movement sweeping into its territory. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that all military and economic measures are on the table against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), calling the decision to go ahead with the vote a “betrayal to Turkey.”

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Omer Merani, the Ankara representative of Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, has been asked to not return to Turkey. “If the KDP's representative were here, we would ask him to leave the country,” Cavusoglu said. “We have instead said, ‘Don't come back,' because he is currently in Irbil.” The Kurds, who have ruled over an autonomous region within Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, consider Monday's referendum to be a historic step in a generations-old quest for a state of their own. It was approved by 92.7 percent of voters, and residents headed to Kirkuk's citadel to celebrate late Wednesday after the results were released.

MORE (https://www.voanews.com/a/iraq-turkey-move-to-punish-kurdistan-for-referendum-vote/4047227.html)

[waltky]

Kurdish compromise for peace and autonomy...
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In Major Reversal, Iraqi Kurds Offer To Freeze Their Independence Bid
October 25, 2017 • Iraqi military forces have recently retaken control of areas held by Kurdish forces, such as the city of Kirkuk. Today's offer from the Kurdish government is not likely to defuse the crisis.


In a major turnaround, the Kurdish regional government in Iraq is offering to freeze the results of last month's controversial independence referendum. The Iraqi government and other regional and international powers opposed the nonbinding vote, which was approved by a wide margin but did not take place under the supervision of international election monitors. Iraqi military forces have recently retaken control of areas held by Kurdish forces, such as the city of Kirkuk.

And today's offer from the Kurdish government is not likely to defuse the crisis, NPR's Jane Arraf reports: "The Iraqi government has made clear that it will keep pushing to retake border posts and other areas previously under Kurdish control." The statement from the Kurdish regional government, published by the Kurdish news site Rudaw, essentially offers to stop pursuing independence for now. "It is a fact that a war between the two sides will not have a winner. It will instead lead both sides to great damages in all aspects of life," the statement reads.


http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/10/25/ap_17298379824927_custom-ebb2180bd1f4c4cd80d4a0a826fedb6d277af74e-s800-c85.jpg
Photos of Kurdish president Masoud Barzani hang Wednesday on the walls of the central bazaar in Irbil, Iraq.

It proposes the following:

* "The immediate cessation of fighting and every kind of military operations in the Kurdistan Region.
* "Freezing the outcome of the referendum that was held in the Iraqi Kurdistan.
* "Beginning an open dialogue between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government on the basis of the Iraqi constitution."

As Jane reports, "It's a dramatic turnaround for Kurdish president Massoud Barzani who had promised to set Kurds on the path to independence. Iraq, the United States and all of the Kurdish regions neighbors had opposed holding the vote. Kurdish parties themselves were divided on the timing of the referendum."

The government of Iraq has not formally responded. A member of parliament close to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told the BBC that he wanted to see the Kurds annul the poll result, rather than freeze it. A freeze, he said, would constitute a "time bomb" that the region "could throw at the central government whenever it wishes." Iraq's Kurdish authorities operate autonomously. They have their own security forces, the Peshmerga, that has played a significant role in the fight against ISIS. The U.S. opposed the vote over fears that it could destabilize the region and affect the fight against ISIS militants.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/25/560051227/in-major-reversal-iraqi-kurds-offer-to-freeze-their-independence-bid

[waltky]

Barzani resigning...
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Barzani to step down as Kurdish leader in Iraq
30 Oct.`17 - Massud Barzani, the president of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, told a closed-door session of parliament on Sunday he was stepping down amid the fall-out from a controversial independence referendum.


"After November 1, I will no longer exercise my functions, and I reject any extension of my mandate," the 71-year-old said in a letter read out to parliament in the Kurdish capital Arbil, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.


http://cdn.bignewsnetwork.com/n241509342034.jpg

"Changing the law on the presidency of Kurdistan or prolonging the presidential term is not acceptable," said the architect of the September 25 independence vote, which led to the Kurds losing to Baghdad's forces disputed territory to which they laid claim.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/255193736/barzani-to-step-down-as-kurdish-leader-in-iraq

[waltky]

What went wrong?...
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From Heady Aspirations to Dashed Dreams, Separatists Analyze Mistakes
November 14, 2017 — Breaking up is hard to do, as separatists in Iraqi Kurdistan and Spain’s Catalonia have discovered. Even Scotland’s separatists have had to shelve plans for yet another independence vote, following signs Scots aren't ready to revisit the question.


Monday, Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont bowed to defeat, saying in an interview in Belgium that he’s ready to give up on secession and explore a future relationship with Madrid short of full independence. He said, “I’m ready, and have always been ready, to accept the reality of another relationship with Spain. It is possible.” His comments are a far cry from the heady aspirations he and hardcore Catalan separatists were expressing in October. He is not the only leader reflecting on the dashing of independence dreams.

Kurdish aspirations

Last week, Masoud Barzani, the former president of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, defended his decision to hold an independence referendum on September 25, arguing the timing of the vote was right as Baghdad was planning to move against the Kurds with or without a vote and curtail their autonomy. “We believe the timing was good...because those Iraqi forces who are currently implementing their policies to change the demography and situation in areas that they are in right now, they had this program and this plan in mind even before the referendum.” Barzani told Newsweek magazine in an interview on November 8. “They are using the referendum as a pretext to cover their plan and plot against the Kurdish people...Our mistake is we should have held the referendum earlier and not later,” he added.


https://gdb.voanews.com/F0D6573A-3B9D-40D0-8115-BBB061261085_w650_r0_s.jpg
A woman receive a voting bill at a polling station as Kurds vote for independence in the disputed city of Kirkuk, Sept. 25, 2017. Iraq's Kurdish region vote in a referendum on whether to secede from Iraq.

Not all Kurdish leaders agreed with Barzani about the timing. Behind the scenes, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the minority partner in the KRG government, had urged Barzani to delay the vote. After the referendum, PUK leaders counseled Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party to reach an accommodation with Baghdad short of total separation. Separatists elsewhere, including Basques, Bretons, Flemings, Scots and Bavarians, who had high hopes that the Catalans and Kurds would be successful, are examining the failures to see what lessons there may be for them.

Catalonia aspirations

A key lesson, they say, is that neither Catalonia nor the KRG gained the support of outside powers and rushed into holding votes when the international community had made clear its opposition. In the weeks leading up to the Kurd plebiscite, Barzani came under enormous pressure from allies and foes alike not to hold a vote. U.S. diplomats were caught between two key partners in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, Baghdad and Irbil, and warned Barzani his bid to shift from autonomous rule to independence risked upending the anti-IS coalition. Likewise, the Catalans had no formal outside support, or promise of any, from bigger or neighboring powers. Catalan separatists acknowledge they had pinned their hopes on the European Union supporting them.

MORE (https://www.voanews.com/a/separatism-setback/4114450.html)