Iraqi Kurdistan: 15 December Parliamentary Elections
The decision as to whether or not the Kurdistan Democratic and Solution Party (PCDK) will run in the 15 December parliamentary elections will be taken by the central government in Bagdat (Baghdat), said Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.
Barzani, who met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in the town of Salahaddin to talk about the election alliance, responded to a question about the PCDK addressed by a reporter of Cihan News Agency, saying that it does not concern them; it is an issue that the Iraqi central government and the High Electoral Committee will decide on.
Tarzani, who was elected the prime minister by the local authority in Northern Iraq, said he met with Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Undersecretary Emre Taner, and noted that there will be continuous co-operation with Turkey in bringing a solution to the question of Kurdistan. If the Kurdish question is solved by political means, the Barzani authority will pledge its support to Turkey under any circumstance, Barzani told the MIT undersecretary. A mission led by Taner came together with the Kurdish prime minister early November to talk about the future of Iraq, Kurds in Northern Iraq, and border security, as well as the issue of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).
Massoud Barzani refuted reports that retired Israeli soldiers
trained the Kurdish militias in Northern Iraq. “Israeli soldiers certainly
do not train peshmergas. Peshmergas do not need anyone to train them.”
‘I talked to the insurgents’
Reminded by a journalist at a press conference of his message “I am ready to talk to the insurgents”, Talabani replied, “There are no insurgent groups in Iraq. There are only terrorist groups. I will not reveal them; however, one of the most important groups responsible for staging attacks in Iraq, is in touch with me. The group stated they are getting ready to end their resistance. Negotiations are in progress.” The 15 December parliamentary election will be a turning point for Iraq, said Talabani, calling on the Kurdish people to pledge allegiance to the Kurdish alliance.
The two leaders failed to overcome disagreements about ministerial allocation and the type of management that would be most appropriate, but they decided to postpone efforts to establish a government in the north of Iraq until after the general elections. The Iraqi Democrat Party of Kurdistan (IKDP) and the Iraqi Kurdistan Patriotic Union (IKYB) reached an agreement to re-elect a prime minister every two years in the northern autonomous area, reporters confirmed. These two parties were, however, unable to reach a decision on the issues of finance, the peshmerga, and the allocation of the interior ministries. The parties will reportedly continue to seek a common ground for the issues that have so far not been agreed upon.
