Kurds Threaten to Bolt Iraq Government
By TODD PITMAN, AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Kurdish parties warned Wednesday that they might bolt
Iraq's new government if Shiites gain too much power. In another challenge to
the interim administration, saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline, forcing a 10
percent cut in electricity output.
Kurdish fears of Shiite domination rose after the Americans and British turned
down their request to have a reference to the interim constitution - which
enshrines Kurdish federalism - included in the U.N. resolution approved
Tuesday.
The country's most prominent Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini
al-Sistani, rejected any mention of the interim charter in the resolution.
Shiites oppose parts of the charter that give Kurds a veto over a permanent
constitution due to be drawn up next year.
Meanwhile, clashes persisted Wednesday around Fallujah, a rebellious Sunni
Muslim city west of Baghdad. Four members of an Iraqi force given control of
the city last April were wounded when a mortar round exploded.
The pipeline attack appeared to be part of an insurgent campaign against
infrastructure to shake confidence in the new government, due to take power on
June 30.
The blast occurred about 9:30 a.m. near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, said
Col. Sarhat Qadir of the Kirkuk police. Huge fireballs rose into the air,
witnesses said.
Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told Dow Jones Newswires that the attack
would not effect exports from the northern oil fields. However, the blast cut
supplies to the Beiji electric power station, forcing a reduction of 400
megawatts in power generation, Jihad said.
Iraq now produces around 4,000 megawatts. Power cuts in the country have now
reached more than 16 hours a day, making it difficult to cope with soaring
heat, which is already more than 100 degrees.
The U.S.-run coalition had made its ability to guarantee adequate electricity
supplies a benchmark of success in restoring normalcy to Iraq. However,
sabotage and frayed infrastructure have impeded efforts to eliminate power
outages, especially in the capital.
Coalition officials fear that insurgents may step up attacks on infrastructure
targets to undermine public confidence both in the U.S. occupation authority
and the new regime.
The new U.N. resolution, adopted unanimously by the Security Council, affirmed
international support for the new Iraqi government.
Both major Kurdish parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan - conferred Wednesday to consider a response to the decision
not to refer to the interim constitution in the resolution. The interim
charter, adopted in March, affirms the principle of federalism.
Kurds fear that the interim constitution, which the Americans hailed as the
most progressive in the Middle East, will be sidelined once the occupation ends
and the Shiite clergy gains ascendancy.
The Kurds have been running their own autonomous mini-state since 1991, and
many Kurds would prefer their own independent country.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan sought to reassure the
Kurds, saying that while the resolution doesn't refer to the constitution, it
"does have language that refers to a united federal democratic Iraq."
Diplomats said reference to the interim constitution was omitted because of
opposition by al-Sistani. Shiites are believed to comprise about 60 percent of
Iraq's 25 million while Kurds number around 15 percent.
In a statement addressed to the U.N. Security Council earlier this week,
al-Sistani warned that mentioning the interim charter in the resolution would
be "an act against the will of the Iraqi people and will have dangerous
results."
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, the first Kurd to hold the post, said
he had lobbied unsuccessfully for an acknowledgment of the charter during his
meetings at the Security Council last week.
But he said he was satisfied that the "spirit" of the charter was in the final
resolution.
Still, Kurdish leaders in Iraq were unconvinced.
"Now our future is ambiguous," said Nesreen Berwari, a Kurdish member of the
interim government. "The interim constitution would have been the clear and
bright roadmap to the all components of the Iraqi people."
Berwari said she would resign if asked to do so by the Kurdish leadership.
"Until now, we have not called for a separate Kurdistan, but if the Kurds'
rights are not recognized, then we will take political measures that serve the
interests of the Kurdish people," said Mulaha Bekhtiyar of the PUK. "For the
time being, we will commit to a united Iraq."
Bekhtiyar said that the Kurds would not agree to the Shiites having the "lion's
share" of any government.
Meanwhile, some Iraqis welcomed the new resolution, which the United States and
Britain had to repeatedly alter to accomodate demands that the interim
government be given greater authorities. Iraqis have worried that the continued
presence of U.S.-led troops will limit what is supposed to be the new
administration's full sovereignty.
"Full sovereignty won't come overnight particularly because Iraq has been
subject to threats and terrorist acts," said Baghdad resident Tareq Rasheed.
"As far as I'm concerned, the troops could stay, but outside the cities, until
the government is able to control security."
But another Baghdadi was against any foreign interference in Iraq. "I don't
welcome any resolution issued by the Security Council regarding Iraq. All their
resolutions are fabricated and they impose them on the Iraqi people,"
Abdul-Karim Hassan said.
In other developments:
A group holding two hostages - a Turk and an Egyptian - threatened to kill the
captives after Friday prayers unless their home governments condemn U.S.
actions in Iraq. The threat was made in a statement distributed in Fallujah.
Insurgents attacked a Baghdad city council member Tuesday, wounding him and
killing two of his bodyguards, the military said. The incident is under
investigation.
06/09/04 11:58 EDT
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