The oil dispute puts Baghdad in front of “big” legal problems.. Billions of compensation for Erbil (details)

[yota691]

After being suspended since 2011. Efforts to legislate the oil and gas law

Saturday 19 February 2022 164

 

 Baghdad: Muhannad Abd al-Wahhab

 

The Federal Court's decision to prevent the Kurdistan region from selling oil and contracting with international companies sparked conflicting reactions between Mubarak and a rejectionist, and these opinions only come as they link the current political crisis to the decision.

Oil expert Salah al-Moussawi says: "The repercussions of the decision on the region and on the political system are serious, and it reduces the intensity of the tendency to establish regions." Al-Moussawi believes, during his interview with "Al-Sabah", that "the region benefited from what is worth 20 billion dollars annually by selling oil to Iran and Turkey, without paying the revenues to the federal government," noting that "the so-called development of oil fields came with large sums, one of which amounts to a percentage of 80% of the proceeds go to Turkey and 19% to the region, while 1% is sent to the federal government.

[6ly410]

 

 

 

 

SULAIMANI — The former Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Bashir Haddad, said on Friday (February 18) the decision from the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on the Kurdistan Region’s law on oil and gas sales was political.

Haddad told NRT’s Panorama program that the court should not have issued the decision when it did and that the supreme court did not properly explain the constitutional articles.

He also stated the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) should have filed a complaint when the federal government reduced the Region’s share of the national budget.

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court was established in 2005 and is the highest legal institution under the constitution.

"If the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) came to an agreement on Iraq’s position of president, the court would not have made such a decision,” Haddad said.

The nation’s top court ruled on Wednesday that the KRG’s independent sale of oil and natural gas was against the Iraqi constitution.

(NRT Digital Media)

[6ly410]

ERBIL — Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and a US congressional delegation met on Saturday to discuss among other topics the recent ruling by Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court on Kurdistan’s oil and gas sector. 

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 58th Munich Security Conference in Germany. 

“Today on the second day of the Munich Security Conference, I met with Elissa Slotkin and Adam Schiff, members of the US Congress,” PM Barzani wrote on his official Facebook page. 

“We referred to the recent decision of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court regarding Kurdistan's oil and gas as a deliberate attempt to undermine the Kurdistan Region's economic growth, and the KRG is ready to defend its constitutional rights in every way,” he added. 

Further strengthening the relations between Erbil, Baghdad, and Washington was also discussed, according to the statement. 

PM Barzani arrived in Munich on Thursday to take part in the annual event. He has met with several senior officials from around the world and mainly focused on expanding Kurdistan Region’s cooperations with regional and international actors. 

 

[Half Crazy Runner]

6 hours ago, yota691 said:

After being suspended since 2011. Efforts to legislate the oil and gas law

2011? It seems like it’s been longer than that … 

[6ly410]

Unfamiliar position.. Kurdish opponents support Baghdad against the Erbil authorities: the decision hits the families of the big whales!

 

politics  ,   2022/02/19 10:16  ,

 

 

http://iraqtoday.com/news/60101/موقف-غير-مألوف-معارضون-اكراد-يدعمون-بغداد-ضد-سلطات-اربيل-القرار-يضرب-عوائل-الحيتان-الكبيرة-

 

Baghdad - Iraq today:

Kurdish opponents at home and abroad announced their support for the Federal Court's decision that the Kurdish oil and gas law was unconstitutional, which allowed partisan families to turn into big whales by monopolizing oil revenues and using them for enrichment at a time when the majority of Kurdish citizens live in difficult social conditions.

Kurdish activists, writers, intellectuals and politicians opposed to power-sharing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq issued a statement urging “the use of broad public support to consolidate the decision and implement it to the full so that the next government can extract the oil and gas file from the hands of the militias of the ruling families in the Kurdistan region of Iraq once and for all.”

Kurdish observers believe that the region's residents are now convinced that the survival of the oil and gas sector in the hands of the family of Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani and the heirs of former President Jalal Talabani and the families surrounding them will not change the people's situation in anything, and on the contrary, the situation may go to the worse, especially after the ruling families succeeded In confronting the protest demonstrations and silencing the opponents, it benefited from Western support for the region in its dispute with the central government for political ends.

Observers believe that returning the responsibility for extracting oil and gas to the federal government and distributing it to the provinces in known proportions will allow Kurdish citizens to know the volume of revenues that go to the region and ways of disbursing them, which will enable them to monitor them instead of the current situation that does not allow anyone to know those numbers and where those revenues are spent.

Media reports say that the region receives approximately $8 billion annually in oil revenues, more than half of which goes to extracting companies, while it is not known how the rest of the revenues are distributed or where they are invested, especially in the absence of any presence of these revenues at the level of developing the reality of the region.

 

[yota691]

Historic video: Jalal Talabani reveals an agreement with the Maliki government to export Kurdistan oil

2022.02.18 - 21:29

 

  

Baghdad - people  

Activists and electronic platforms circulated a video clip of the former President of the Republic, Jalal Talabani, revealing the existence of an agreement with the government of Nuri al-Maliki regarding the export of Kurdistan oil abroad in 2009, after the Federal Court issued a decision regarding the region's oil law.  

 

  

In the video, which dates back to the beginning of June 2009, Talabani speaks at a ceremony for the export of oil from the fields of the Kurdistan region abroad for the first time, in the presence of Massoud Barzani, regarding the region's oil contracts, saying, "The contracts held by the Kurdistan Regional Government are legal and constitutional contracts, constitutional in accordance with paragraph B of Article 112 of the Iraqi constitution, and legal in accordance with the agreement reached by the Kurdistan Regional Government with the National Unity Government headed by Nuri al-Maliki years ago.  

Talabani reveals the content of the agreement by saying, "A paragraph stipulated that if a law was not issued until the month of May 2007, the oil and gas law was issued in Parliament, the Kurdistan Regional Government may sign oil and gas contracts in accordance with the law and principles."  

Returning to the details of the ceremony, it is clear that the export was at the rate of 100,000 barrels per day, from the Tauki fields in Zakho and Taqtaq in Koysinjak through the Iraqi oil pipeline that connects the Kirkuk fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.  

At the time, Talabani considered that "the contracts concluded by the Kurdistan Regional Government with foreign companies are in the interest of the Iraqi people and not only in the interest of Kurdistan, and that the oil extracted from Iraqi Kurdistan flows into the same pipeline that connects Iraqi oil to the port of Ceyhan."  

  

  

[nannab]

Good morning Yota/DV  and thank you  

[Fairways&Greens]

Punish Barzani and the other whales. Confiscate their money, divide it amongst the citizens and put them in prison. 
 

…and hurry up and agree on a new oil and gas law. 😁

[yota691]

7 hours ago, nannab said:

Good morning

Good Morning nannab and all of DV..Hope everyone has a Bless Day...

[yota691]

Again.. Kurdistan Rejects The Federal Court's Decision On Oil

19/02/2022

63

 

Earth News/ On the sidelines of the second day of the Munich Security Conference, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, met today, Saturday, with Representatives in the US House of Representatives, Elisa Slotkin and Adam Schiff, while assuring them that the Federal Court's decision regarding oil is not acceptable to the region.

According to a statement by the Kurdistan government, received by Earth News, "In the meeting, they discussed the general situation in Iraq and the region, in addition to discussing ways to strengthen relations between the Kurdistan Region and the United States."

The statement added, "The recent decision of the Federal Supreme Court regarding oil and gas in the Kurdistan region was also discussed, as it was reiterated that it is an unacceptable decision by the Kurdistan region, and that it will defend its constitutional rights in various ways."

Earlier, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, considered the decision of the Federal Supreme Court on the oil and gas of the Kurdistan region as "purely political."

[yota691]

Al-Hajj: The Region Will Defy The Judiciary And Will Not Implement The Court's Decision Regarding Oil And Gas

 

LAST UPDATE 02/19/2022 | 7:26 PM

Information / special...

On Saturday, political analyst Kazem Al-Hajj ruled out the Kurdistan Region's commitment to the Federal Court's decision regarding the recovery of all oil and gas export revenues, while noting that the Kurdish parties' reaction to the decision confirms their lack of respect for the Iraqi judiciary.

Al-Hajj told the "Information" agency, "The Kurdish parties, through their reaction to the Federal Court's decision regarding oil and gas, and their questioning of the integrity of the judiciary, prove that they do not respect the Iraqi judiciary and deal with it according to what is in their own interest."

He added, "In the event that the decision suits their interests, they say the decision is just and must be implemented, but in the event that the court decides a decision that reverses their interests and is in the interest of the Iraqi state and the Iraqi citizen, they say that they are politicized decisions."

The political analyst stressed the government, "the need for there to be governmental and legislative mechanisms to compel and subdue the region to abide by all decisions issued by federal institutions."

And he stated, "The official position in the region is clear, and it is to challenge the Iraqi judiciary's decision, but rather to challenge the Iraqi state and its institutions, and it will not abide by the court's decision and the legal consequences it entails."

He pointed out that "the Kurdistan Regional Government has taken the path of stealing the Iraqi people's money and looting their wealth, which is not in the interest of the Kurdish people, but in the interest of specific Kurdish parties and personalities."

[6ly410]

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with members of the US House of Representatives at the Munich Security Conference (MSC – 2022) in Germany on Saturday.

“Today, on the second day of the Munich Security Conference, I met with Elissa Slotkin and Adam Schiff, members of the US Congress,” Barzani said on Saturday. “We discussed Iraq, regional developments, and further strengthening KRI-US relations.”

“We referred to the recent decision of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court regarding Kurdistan's oil and gas as a deliberate attempt to undermine the Kurdistan Region's economic growth,” the PM wrote in a Facebook post. “The KRG is ready to defend its constitutional rights in every way.”

“On the federal court ruling, I stressed the risks of political and economic uncertainty for all the country,” Barzani tweeted.

The conference started on Friday with both the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani present.

Read More: PM Masrour Barzani and Italian defense minister agree ‘war on ISIS is far from over’

In his meetings on Saturday, the PM discussed ways to strengthen the Kurdistan Region's ties with other states and issues related to security, stability, peace, and international efforts to combat terrorism in Iraq.

Read More: Munich: PM Barzani and Defense Minister Akar discuss relations between Kurdistan and Turkey

Several senior world leaders and officials are participating in the 3-day Munich Security Conference, primarily focused on the Ukraine crisis.

Prominent figures attending the conference include US Vice President Kamala Harris and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

[6ly410]

The Kurdish delegation: The federal decision is unconstitutional and does not serve the stability of Iraq

https://iraqakhbar.com/3490628

news source /change channel

 

Today, Saturday, the President of the Kurdistan Region and Government, Nechirvan Barzani and Masrour Barzani, renewed their criticism of the Federal Court's decision regarding the unconstitutionality of the oil and gas law in the region.

This came during their meeting with a high-ranking delegation of Republican members of the US Congress headed by Lindsey Graham on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where the two sides discussed the political situation in Iraq and steps to form the next government and relations between Kurdistan and the United States.

The Kurdish delegation described the recent Federal Court's decision as unconstitutional, while the two sides expressed their identical views on the decision as it does not serve the stability of the situation in Iraq nor efforts to resolve differences between Baghdad and Erbil

[6ly410]

Iraq

Kurdish Elites support The Federal Court's Decision Regarding The Region's Oil: Political Families Monopolize The Export In Their Favor

Author: Ahad6 On February 19 2022 - 1:42 PM 99

https://alahadnews.net/2022/02/19/نخب-كردية-تدعم-قرار-المحكمة-الاتحادية/

A Number Of Kurdish Citizens And Cultural Elites Issued A Statement In Which They Supported The Decision Of The Federal Supreme Court Regarding The Unconstitutionality Of The Oil And Gas Law In The Kurdistan Region, While Affirming That Political Families In The Region Monopolize The Export Of Oil In Their Favor.

A Joint Statement By The Elites, Seen By Al-Ahd News, Stated: “We Are An Elite Of Kurdish Citizens From Inside And Outside The Country, Including Civil Society Activists, Writers, Intellectuals And Politicians. The Esteemed Court, Through Him, Affirmed The Unconstitutionality Of The Kurdish Oil And Gas Law, The Law According To Which Political Families Monopolize All Basic Resources That Are Essentially A National Wealth For All The People Without Exception.”

The Statement Added, “It Is Noted That The Overwhelming Majority Of The Kurdish People In The Kurdistan Region Warmly And Greatly Welcome This Decision, Accompanied By A Package Of Reservations, Which Often Seem To Be Very Serious Concerns! The Aforementioned Majority Wished That This Decision Would Be A National Strategic Decision That Stems From A Sense Of Patriotism And A Sense Of Responsibility, Based On An Extensive Study That Preceded The Process Of Issuing The Decision, As It Is Looking Forward At The Same Time That The Decision Will Not Be A Retaliatory Decision Issued And Imposed By A Party On It Was Written Down By The Parties In Order To Force Him To Agree And Enter Into A Political Equation, Whether This Pressure Party Is Internal Or External, While It Emphasizes That The Most Important Of All Is To Employ Broad Public support To Consolidate The Decision And Implement It To The Full So That The Next Government Can Extract The Oil And Gas File From The Hands Of The Militias. The Ruling Families In The Kurdistan Region Of Iraq Once And For All.”

He Explained, “The Decision Was Supposed To Be Issued Ten Or More Years Ago; But It Came Late Because Of Concessions Made By The Iraqi Forces And Parties To The Families Who Had Acquired Oil Wells And Fields In The Region In Order To Preserve Common Interests. As A Result Of This Policy Of Courtesy And Politeness, Today A Large Part Of The Kurdistan Region Is Treated On The Political, Military, Economic And Security Levels As If It Were A Turkish Colony! Therefore, It Has Become Necessary To support The Decision Popularly And Governmentally And Speed Up Its Implementation On The Ground.”

The Statement Indicated, "For Years From Now, Under The Kurdish Kleptocratic System, A Systematic Process Has Been Taking Place Aimed At Starving And Humiliating The People. Therefore, Both The Central Government And The Federal Supreme Court Must Avoid Targeting The Kurdish People Based On This Decision And Any Other Decision Issued By Them Regarding Any Political, Economic And Military Issue That Is Pending And Unresolved; To Avoid Aggravating And Deepening Crises, While The Central Government Must Also Act Responsibly And Wisely, As It Has A Duty To Respond To The Demands Of The People In The Kurdistan Region, Not To Acquiesce And Identify With Political Families And Their Interests!”

And The Statement Continued, “We Ask Everyone From The Current And Upcoming Government To Be Serious And Expedite The Implementation Of The Details And Provisions Of This Decision In Order To Be Of Help To The People In Their Path Towards Salvation From Poverty And Organized And Systematic Starvation! So That The Dignity And Service Of The Citizen Is The Center Of Attention Of The Executive Authority From Basra And Ramadi To Halabja And Zakho. As We Hold The Central Government To Guarantee The Region’s Budget With Its Details, From Salaries, To Allocating The Specified Amounts For The Development Of The Regions, In Addition To The Operating Budget.”

[Pitcher]

Thank you Yota for all your hard work bringing great articles every day.  I really appreciate it.  I’m busy in the Crypto threads these days but I always read most of your posts.  

[6ly410]

Al-Maliki denies the existence of any previous agreement during his authority with the region regarding the oil file

 

2022/02/19 | 8:34 pm

https://almaalomah-me.translate.goog/2022/02/19/583204/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

Information / Baghdad...

On Saturday, former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki denied the existence of any previous agreement during his tenure with the region regarding the oil file and the availability of oil exports.

Al-Maliki’s media office stated, in a statement received by “Information”, that “some social networking sites dealt with a video clip of a fragmented speech of the late President Jalal Talabani, in which he refers to the existence of an agreement between the government of Nuri al-Maliki and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and under this agreement, the regional government allows the regional government to contract with companies to extract Oil and its export in isolation from the federal government in the event that the oil and gas law is not passed in Parliament until May of 2007.”

The office confirmed that there was no agreement between the federal government at the time and the regional government, and what the late president made is a proposal made by the then-US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to get out of the crisis at that time. The proposal was rejected because the region is part of a state that has a law to which everyone is subject and not from The right of the opposite party. finished 25

[6ly410]

 

https://almasalah.com/ar/news/222447/مكتب-المالكي-يتحدث-عن-حقيقة-اتفاق-المالكي-وطالباني-بـ-إتاحة-الاقليم-حق-استخراج-للنفط

 

2022/02/19 19:36

 

Al-Maliki's office talks about the reality of the Maliki and Talabani agreement to give the region the right to extract oil

Baghdad / Obelisk: The media office of the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, revealed, on Saturday, February 19, 2022, the fact that there is an agreement with the former President of the Republic, Jalal Talabani, that allows Kurdistan to extract oil and sell it independently of the federal government.

The office said in a statement received by the Obelisk: Some social networking sites circulated a video clip of a fragmentary speech of the late President, Jalal Talabani, in which he refers to the existence of an agreement concluded between the government of Nuri al-Maliki and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and according to this agreement, the regional government allows the regional government to contract with companies to extract and export oil independently of The federal government if the oil and gas law is not passed in Parliament until May of 2007.

He continued: In this context, we confirm the absence of any agreement between the then federal government and the regional government.

He explained that what the late president made was a proposal made by the US ambassador at the time, Zalmay Khalilzad, to get out of the crisis at that time.

He stressed that the proposal was rejected because the region is part of a country that has a law to which everyone is subject, and no party has the right to violate it

[6ly410]

 

Despite his clear statement .. Al-Maliki: What Mam Jalal said is incorrect (video)

https://shafaq.com/ar/سیاسة/رغم-تصريحه-الواضح-المالكي-ما-قاله-مام-جلال-غير-صحيح-فيديو

 2022-02-19 11:19

A-AA+

Shafaq News/ The leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, denied on Friday concluding an agreement with the Kurdistan Region regarding the extraction and export of oil during his presidency of the Iraqi government.

This denial comes in response to a video clip in which the late President Jalal Talabani (Mam Jalal) speaks clearly about the region's conclusion of an agreement with the Maliki government allowing him to extract and export oil.

Al-Maliki said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, "Some social networking sites circulated a video clip of a fragmentary speech of the late President Jalal Talabani, in which he refers to the existence of an agreement concluded between the government of Mr. Nuri al-Maliki and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and under this agreement, the regional government allows the regional government to contract with companies to extract and export oil. Independent of the federal government in the event that the oil and gas law is not passed in Parliament until May of 2007."

He added, "We confirm that there was no agreement between the then federal government and the regional government," noting that "what the late president made was a proposal submitted by the then-US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to get out of the crisis at that time. The proposal was rejected because the region is part of a country that has A law to which everyone is subject, and no party has the right to violate it.”

Talabani had made the statement during a ceremony held in Erbil in 2009 on the occasion of the inauguration of the export of oil from the fields of Kurdistan Region for the first time.

The Iraqi government headed by al-Maliki, at the time, did not object to the region's unilateral extraction and export of oil.

Controversy prevails in the country after the Iraqi Federal Court issued a decision ruling the illegality of the oil and gas law legislated in the Kurdistan Regional Parliament, and obligating Erbil to hand over its oil to the federal government.

The Kurdistan Regional Government rejected the Federal Court's decision, considering it unconstitutional.

The Federal Court's decision came amid a political crisis in Iraq as a result of deep differences between the political forces over the formation of the next government. Observers believe that the Federal Court's decision may fall into the door of pressure exerted by political forces that lost in the 

[southbeach]

Which US Congress members are at the above meeting?

[6ly410]

The fabricated political crises and writing the constitution with Kurdish perceptions and vision gave the region more power than the central government

https://akhbaar-org.translate.goog/home/2022/2/291817.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

Saturday 19 February 2022 - 07:13

Jassar Saleh Al-Mufti

 

The fabricated political crises and the writing of the constitution with Kurdish perceptions and vision gave the region more power than the central government and a loan imposed and selection of opportunities, positions, alliances and agreements under the table and in closed rooms and with the help?? And the weakness of the government side and the deception and the banners of jihad, opposition, benefit and investment?

 

Today, Thursday, the Federal Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq) issued a notice regarding its decision on the unconstitutionality of the Kurdistan Region's Oil and Gas Law.

 

The court said in a statement today that it issued its decision No. (59 / federal / 2012 and its unit 110 / federal / 2019) on February 15, 2022, based on the provisions of Articles (110, 111, 110, 115, 121 and 130) of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq for the year (2005) No. Especially that the decision issued by one of the courts of the United States of America, based on a lawsuit by the plaintiff, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and the defendant, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Kurdistan Regional Government, was in the interest of the plaintiff.

 

The statement clarified that the decision was appealed by the appellant, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, and the US Court of Appeals issued on December 21, 2015 the Fifth Circuit its decision that included the Kurdistan Regional Government submitted this appeal and through its voluntary approval to unload the shipment in Israel, and thus the Kurdistan Regional Government weakened the strength of its argument on the subject The appeal ended with the decision (for the aforementioned reasons, we agree to the ministry’s request (the Iraqi Oil Ministry) to reject this appeal).

 

In its note, the court noted that "therefore, the supreme interest of Iraq and its people requires resolving the case numbered (59 / federal / 2012 and unified 110 / federal / 2019) and issuing the decision in accordance with what was stated in it."

 

The authorities of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq have rejected an order issued by the Federal Supreme Court, obligating the government of the autonomous region, to hand over all the oil produced on its territory to the central government.

 

The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq, the highest judicial authority in the country, considered that a law adopted in Kurdistan in 2007 to regulate the oil and gas sector is contrary to the constitution.

 

And the court's decision stated, "obligating the regional government to hand over all oil production from the oil fields in the Kurdistan region (...) to the federal government represented by the Federal Ministry of Oil."

 

The ruling, which was published on the court’s website, also included “obligating the Kurdistan Regional Government to enable the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau to review all oil contracts concluded with the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the export and sale of oil and gas.”

 

In a statement published on Tuesday night, the Kurdistan government considered the Supreme Court's decision "unfair and unconstitutional," stressing that it would take "all constitutional, legal and judicial measures to ensure and protect all contracts concluded in the field of oil and gas."

 

The statement added that "the Kurdistan Regional Government will not give up the rights of the Kurdistan Region stipulated in the Iraqi constitution, and in this context, the Kurdistan Regional Government will continue its efforts with the federal government to reach a radical constitutional solution in this regard."

 

He pointed out that the Supreme Court's decision was issued, "despite the fact that the Kurdistan Regional Government had demanded to postpone this case and give an opportunity to agree with the next federal government."

 

Three months after the early legislative elections, political divisions are still hampering the government formation process, which requires very long negotiations, often ending in a consensual solution between the large parties that dominate the Shiite community, regardless of the distribution of blocs in Parliament.

 

The decision of the Federal Supreme Court follows two complaints filed in 2012 and 2019, one of which was submitted by a former oil minister in the central government.

 

In recent years, this thorny issue has repeatedly come back to the fore. Baghdad requires that all oil exports that are extracted on Iraqi soil pass through the federal government.

 

In 2012 and 2014, Baghdad criticized the role played by neighboring Turkey. The Kurdistan region used to export its crude oil to it for refining. After that, Ankara announced that it was delivering to world markets oil sourced from Iraqi Kurdistan.

 

Iraq's exports, which is the second largest oil exporter in the Organization of "OPEC", amount to about 3.5 million barrels per day, and its financial imports represent 90% of the country's budget.

 

The Kurdistan region had pledged to deliver 250 thousand barrels of its daily production, which exceeds 400 thousand barrels, to the central government through the Ministry of Oil, in exchange for receiving the salaries of Kurdish officials and Peshmerga fighters, the armed forces of the region.

 

When Iraq was occupied in 2003 by the United States of America and abolished its amended interim constitution of 1970, which for the first time in the history of Iraq approved the principle of self-government as the basis for the form of the Iraqi state, Paul Bremer announced in 2004 the temporary state administration law as an alternative to the constitution, and Bremer is the ruler The American civilian for Iraq, he headed what was known as the Coalition Provisional Authority, which took over the rule of Iraq since the occupation and appointed what was known as the Transitional Governing Council, consisting of 25 Iraqi personalities, who were chosen according to ethnic and sectarian quotas, even if their competence was less or no, then the State Administration Law was referred provisional council for this council to announce it as an interim constitution for the country. Under this law, the three Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq were declared as one untouchable political and administrative bloc (of course, it was basically the same under the Autonomy Law that was proclaimed in 1974). Then the law itself approved the principle of federalism as a basis for the shape of the new Iraqi state, without referring to the Iraqi people and their referendum in this regard. It also obligated the legislators of the upcoming permanent constitution to confirm this principle. In addition to other articles, the region’s authorities give broad powers beyond the powers of the central authority, with the region’s right to claim what the law called the disputed areas without naming them, to make them a basis for permanent and endless disputes.

 

Indeed, the permanent constitution that was drafted within three months approved all these things. In addition, it stipulated in its text that it is not permissible to repeal or prejudice the articles contained in the repealed State Administration Law, which grant the regions of Kurdistan wide powers and extensions, and consider them valid under the permanent constitution (Article 143). All of these articles and other additional materials have enabled the administration of the Kurdistan region to enjoy greater powers than the federal powers of a weak central state that, by virtue of the constraints of the constitution, is not able to reduce the powers of the region to which it belongs. For example, 17% of the central state budget was approved for the Kurdistan region, and the issue of investing mineral resources (oil) in the region was left vague and subject to the laws and legislation issued by it, and according to the text of the constitution, it has priority in the event of a conflict with the federal (central) authority.

 

What is important in this matter is that this formula did not obtain the approval or unanimity of the committee that prepared the constitution, whose main task was to discuss and approve what was included in the temporary administration law with some minor additions. And when the constitution was submitted to a popular referendum, (which was required to be approved by all the Iraqi provinces, and it is considered null in the event of its rejection by three provinces), it was officially rejected, according to the results announced by the Supreme Elections Authority, two provinces (Al-Anbar and Salah al-Din), in addition to the fact that the opposition claimed That there are other provinces such as Nineveh, Diyala, Muthanna, Dhi Qar and Qadisiyah have voted against it. In fact, it was officially announced that the percentage of votes rejecting the draft in Nineveh (Mosul) amounted to 55% of the votes, but the central authority considered that this percentage does not constitute the two-thirds of the votes required to reject the constitution. Noting that the initial data on those who rejected the constitution in Nineveh confirmed that the percentage of those rejecting the constitution is much more, in addition to the delay in announcing the results, which led the opponents to question the sorting and results. Thus, the constitution was announced and the principle of federalism for Iraqi Kurdistan was approved, while giving the other provinces, with the exception of Baghdad and Kirkuk, the right to form their own federation, either alone or by agreement among a group of them. Thus, the permanent constitution planted the seeds of a problem that threatens to divide, if not to say that it has become a tool for division and disagreement, rather than a tool for uniting Iraq and Iraqis.

 

Federalism: Changing political bets

 

Soon after the adoption of the constitution, contradictions and differences began to appear between the central authority and the authority of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; Where the authority of the region wrote and approved a constitution for the region that exceeded in its powers the powers of the center. Since any contradiction between the permanent constitution and any constitution or local laws is resolved in favor of the region and its laws (Article 115 and Article 121 second), the central authority remained unable to unilaterally take the decisions that suit it without referring to the central authority. Thus, great problems arose, especially regarding the extension of the powers and influence of the region and its enjoyment of investing its natural resources, not only in the region, but in other regions outside it, which the constitution called (disputed areas), and therefore the regional government considered them areas that it has the right to dispose of freely. Thus, the Kurdistan region of Iraq continued to enjoy privileges and imports that were denied to other provinces, not to mention the suffering of these provinces from the dominance of the central authority and its influential parties, and from the insecurity that was clearly prevalent in the Kurdistan region. In addition, the central policy has been accompanied by massive and massive corruption and mismanagement that made most of the country live in a state of instability and lack of services.

 

In view of the increase in these problems and the government’s inability to develop the provinces, and in light of the sectarian fragmentation that Iraq is witnessing, which is accompanied by political fragmentation and failure to form the government that continued for nearly a year after the 2010 elections, in addition to many rifts and sharp differences between the parties that agreed to form it, and the unfair and provocative way in which it was formed. The central authority dealt with the provinces and the scientific cadres belonging to a sect other than the one to which the ruling political parties belong. In addition to comparing the material poverty of these provinces with the affluence enjoyed by the Kurdistan region, the demand to form other regions similar to the Kurdistan region began to escalate in most of the provinces. This desire was also supported by major political differences among Iraqi politicians involved in the political process, especially those who felt marginalized by the current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It is noteworthy that the first of these provinces to demand federalism were the same ones that voted against the constitution and rejected federalism, as well as with the political figures who supported the demands of these provinces, and who had rejected the principle of federalism on the grounds that it would lead to the dismemberment of Iraq. And everyone who calls for federalism claims that he does so - and rightly so - according to the permanent constitution, which approved and even facilitated it in Article 119. While the central authority representing religious political parties that welcomed federalism and promoted voting in favor of the permanent constitution that approves and fortifies it, and overlooked the problems The futurism that his ill-studied material might evoke, set out to oppose and fiercely fight against this idea. Perhaps it is useful to recall here that the US administration, which promoted the idea and spoke at some point about the necessity of dividing Iraq into three regions:

 

It appears from the follow-up to the mounting demands of the various federations that their causes differed from one governorate to another. In the southern governorates (Basra, Maysan, Dhi Qar, and others), which are inhabited by a majority whose sons belong to the same sect as the ruling coalition, the reasons were complaints of neglect and the failure to grant these governorates the financial allocations required for their development. As for the western governorates (Al-Anbar and Salah al-Din), which are inhabited by a majority that differs sectarianly with the ruling coalition, the reasons were the government’s insistence on treating them either as followers of the former regime or exaggerating the application of anti-terrorism and de-Ba’athification laws (the Accountability and Justice Law) on their sons. While the reasons for the claim of the provinces close to the Kurdistan region (Diyala, Kirkuk and Nineveh), were due to the complaint about the dominance of Kurdish parties and forces on the grounds that they are disputed areas.

 

With all that has been said above, there are three reasons and motives for these claims:

 

The first is the unbalanced policy pursued by the central authority, which often takes sectarian forms, while marginalizing other blocs that won elections and depriving them of what they perceive as legitimate electoral rights, in addition to the weakness of the central authority and its inability to make any significant improvement to the daily lives of individuals.

 

The second: is the self-interest of the personalities who demand it and the material interest that will accrue to them and to the region to be established, as one of those who demanded federalism protested to his governorate that the Kurdistan region receives more than ten billion dollars each year from the central treasury, while his governorate receives only two hundred million dollars annually to cover its needs.

 

As for the third reason, it is the influence of some neighboring countries, which push for the formation of regions inhabited by a majority that are similar to them sectarianly. As for the percentage of those who demand this formula for the sake of the interest of the residents of the provinces, it is few if not non-existent, with evidence that those who demand it are politicians who feel that the central authority does not care about them or members of provincial councils who wish to increase their powers, and no real mass movement has been recorded Remember to ask for it. Perhaps it is useful to recall that the demand for the establishment of a region in Basra Governorate, which some members of the provincial council called for, did not obtain the popular vote in favor of it, as well as the demand to form a region with a sectarian character in the south, which was led by one of the influential sectarian religious figures, also did not obtain the required popular support. . Until this moment, the current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was able to thwart these demands, either by ignoring them (Basra) or suppressing them (Diyala) or by approaching the influential clans in it (Salah al-Din, Anbar and Nineveh) in order to gain their support against the demand to establish a federal region in it, with the promise Increasing the powers of the governorates within the broad decentralization. Although he succeeded in this so far, he was not able to completely silence these demands.

 

Federalism: Possible Paths

 

The primary goal of any constitution is to unify the countries for which it was written. However, it is clear that the current Iraqi constitution has become a tool that pushes for division instead of unification, despite the fact that the constitution stipulated in its first article that “the Republic of Iraq is a single, independent, sovereign and federal state. Complete, its system of government is republican, representative (parliamentary) and democratic, and this constitution is a guarantor of Iraq's unity. However, Article (119) practically undermines Article 1; It stipulated the following: “Every governorate or more has the right to form a region based on a request for a referendum on it to be submitted in one of two ways:

 

First: A request from one-third of the members in each provincial council that aims to form a region.

 

Second: A request from one-tenth of the voters in each of the governorates that intend to form a region.

 

Since Parliament is the supreme legislative authority, it was stipulated in obtaining federalism that the request of the governorate wishing to form a region be submitted to Parliament to hold a referendum on it. This is the point that enabled the Prime Minister to stand up to these demands, as he refused to transfer the demands to establish a region to Parliament.

 

Nevertheless, it can be said that as a result of the conflict in the constitutional articles, and the explicitness of the article that permits the establishment of federations, the demand for the establishment of federations will continue, and that the path of claiming them will take two directions:

 

The first trend: represented by the central authority, and is characterized by clinging to the first article and thwarting any attempt to establish new federations, while agreeing to expand the principle of decentralization to the different governorates. This is what Prime Minister al-Maliki calls for and puts forward in his meetings with personalities and different clans in the governorates that aspire to establish new federations.

 

The second trend: It seeks to cling to Article (119) and other articles contained in Chapter Five (Regional Authorities, Articles 116-121), which give any governorate the right to establish a region. The prime minister will still be able to ignore these demands by neglecting them or not referring them to the House of Representatives, in which he already has a majority, while hinting at the financial benefits that the governorate that gives up this claim may enjoy.

 

As for the provinces that are required to turn into a region, they will continue to rebel against the authorities of the current prime minister or any future prime minister in this field and continue to raise a claim from time to time, represented in this by politicians who oppose the prime minister’s powers and wish to force him to make concessions to them and their lists or coalitions . Politicians will remain divided according to their whims and their positions on the prime minister and his ruling coalition, and they will insist on this issue even if it leads to suffocating political crises. The results will be either weakening the internal and strengthening external influence, which threatens Iraq with many foreign interventions that may lead it to unimaginable conflicts, or the internal resort to a strong external party to support its position, as the Prime Minister did with the United States and Iran; Where he granted (and continues to grant) the first great facilities in the field of investing oil and other mineral resources, and granting the second a large security presence in Iraq. While the other side will continue to urge other neighboring and regional countries to support it against what they call the authoritarianism of Prime Minister Maliki, as the leaders of the Iraqi List did with the Gulf states and Turkey. In both cases, the result will be the loss of Iraq's independence of its decision.

 

In a final word, the principle of federalism in Iraq if it remains in its open and floating state now and the prevailing belief remains that it can be achieved in a number of provinces, and the failure of Prime Minister Al-Maliki to rein in those who demand it or to convince the people of those provinces by notifying them that the central authority is the most capable of To meet their aspirations, or by stopping the encroachment of the Kurdistan region on the so-called disputed areas, the divisional conflicts rooted in sectarian motives will prevail in Iraq, and sectarian tendencies and wars will re-emerge in it and may end in its actual division, especially if we know that from now on it has begun to emerge Some of the new manifestations that aggravate the situation and complicate it further, such as the demands of parts in one governorate for their own federation, as happened in the demand of the Tal Afar district in Mosul and the Christian-majority districts in it for their own federations, and the escalating conflict between the different governorates over the administrative borders of each of them.A province that claims that there are parts of it usurped by another province, such as what happened and is happening between the provinces of Karbala and Anbar and between the Kurdistan region and the provinces of Diyala and Nineveh and others, which will add to the sectarian, sectarian and ethnic conflict an endless administrative conflict.

 

Since the issue of amending the constitution is one of the almost impossible issues due to the conditions set by its true writers, as it was stipulated in Article (142) in Paragraph (Fourth) that “the referendum on the amended articles shall be successful, with the approval of the majority of the voters, and if two thirds of the three voters do not reject it, provinces or more. Since the Kurdistan region consists of three provinces, and the region's authority cannot neglect the great privileges it obtained under it, any amendment that affects these powers seems almost impossible. Noting that Article (126 fourth) stipulates that “It is not permissible to make any amendment to the articles of the constitution, which would detract from the powers of the regions that are not within the exclusive powers of the federal authorities, except with the approval of the legislative authority in the concerned region, and the approval of the majority of its residents in a general referendum ".

 

The last solution remains in the hands of the executive and legislative authorities, which, regardless of their apparent inability to amend the constitution in order to stop the wave of demands for regions, have the ability to work on issuing legislation, which depends on the first article and some of the texts contained in the preamble that emphasize the unity of Iraq And not to divide it, in order to reduce this phenomenon, which is not related to the federal system known globally, but rather is more like a confederal system that results from the union of parts that were previously divided or separated.

 

The other way is for the central authority to work on modifying its internal policy, making Iraqis feel that they are truly equal, and renounce the narrow sectarian policies that alienate citizens from it. Since all indications indicate that sectarian quotas is the basis of the current political system, the status quo will continue as it is, and external interference will increase

[horsesoldier]

4 hours ago, Half Crazy Runner said:

2011? It seems like it’s been longer than that … 

AB-SO-FRAGGING-LOOTLEY RIGHT !!!!! 
 

Still working on my first “ Bag O Oats Coffee “ so I might appear kinda grumpy.
 

This political soccer ball has been kicked around & around & around by these miscreant inbred mutant screw heads to a point where, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way.... YOU GREEDY A-HOLES & YOUR SHENANIGANS REALLY TORQUE MY SHORTS !

[Half Crazy Runner]

3 hours ago, 6ly410 said:

Al-Maliki denies

Whatever he says, I’m sure he’s lying… 🥔 

[nannab]

Malarki is really wetting his draws now because there is no evidence

of denial back in 2009 from him. I bet the nitwit did not know this video was 

 even around.      Dead man walking   I know that this sounds awful 

but the man is pure EVIL.    

3 hours ago, 6ly410 said:

Talabani had made the statement during a ceremony held in Erbil in 2009 on the occasion of the inauguration of the export of oil from the fields of Kurdistan Region for the first time.

 

Thank you 6ly410  

[yota691]

Al-Maliki's office clarifies the truth of the agreement with the region regarding the extraction of oil, in isolation from the federal government

• Time: February 19 2022 20:19:05
•  
• Reading: 3,055 times

  

{Politics: Al-Furat News} The office of the head of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, on Saturday, clarified the fact that the agreement with the region regarding oil extraction is independent of the federal government.

 

And the text of the statement, which {Euphrates News} received a copy of, stated that: "Some social networking sites circulated a video clip of a fragmented speech of the late President Jalal Talabani, in which he indicates the existence of an agreement between the Maliki government and the Kurdistan Regional Government."

He added that "under this agreement, the regional government is allowed to contract with companies to extract oil and export it independently of the federal government in the event that the oil and gas law is not approved in Parliament until May of 2007." 

Al-Maliki's office confirmed, "there was no agreement between the federal government at the time and the regional government, and what the late president made is a proposal made by the US ambassador at the time, Zalmay Khalilzad, to get out of the crisis at that time. The proposal was rejected because the region is part of a state that has a law to which everyone is subject." And no party has the right to disagree with it.”

[yota691]

Al-Saffar reveals exciting details about a prior agreement on the region’s oil

• Time: 02/19/2022 22:07:54
•  
• Reading: 3,133 times

  

{Economic: Al Furat News} The decision of the former Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Saffar, revealed exciting details of a prior agreement on the oil of the Kurdistan region.

 

Al-Saffar said; For the (Unannounced) program, broadcast by Al-Furat satellite channel on Saturday evening, that: "The Kurdistan region called on the Baghdad government to review oil contracts, including licenses," stressing "the need to reconsider."
He added, "The government sent the 2021 budget, and a political agreement was reached between all the blocs and the region's delegation at the time, and the agreement was sent to the Parliamentary Finance Committee, which in turn translated it into a legal text that includes recognizing and allowing the regional government to export and market oil officially." 
Al-Saffar confirmed, "Baghdad officially allowed the region to export the produced oil, and the Federal Oil Ministry announced that the region exports 469,000 barrels per day."
He went on to say, "There is a Turkish company (Oil and Gas Year) that issues a monthly report on the amount of oil produced and marketed by the region, as well as the Federal Ministry of Oil."
With regard to the Federal Court’s decision to prevent the Kurdistan region from selling oil, Al-Saffar said, “The court’s decision needs to sit at one table. The process of issuing decisions from one party does not help, and the oil and gas law was not legislated to prevent the political blocs from enacting it.”
Today, Tuesday, the Federal Supreme Court issued its decision on the unconstitutionality of the Oil and Gas Law of the Kurdistan Regional Government No. 22 of 2007 and its cancellation for violating the provisions of Articles {110, 111, 112, 115, 121 and 130} of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq for the year 2005. 
The court obligated the regional government to hand over all oil production from the fields oil in the Kurdistan region and other areas from which the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan government has extracted oil and handed it over to the federal government represented by the Federal Ministry of Oil, enabling it to use its constitutional powers regarding oil exploration, extraction and export. 
All political forces and parties, including the Kurdish parties, welcomed the decision of the Federal Court and described it as "bold and courageous", with the exception of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which he described as "politicised" by the head of the party, Massoud Barzani, who attacked the Federal Supreme Court's decision that the oil and gas law of the Kurdistan Regional Government was unconstitutional and cancel it.
Barzani said in a statement, that the decision of the Federal Supreme Court on the oil and gas of the Kurdistan region is a purely political decision, contrary to the Iraqi federal constitution, and its aim is to antagonize the Kurdistan region and the federal system in Iraq.
For his part, legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi revealed, last Thursday, the details of the Federal Court's decision to cancel the oil and gas law in the Kurdistan region and the fate of previous imports.
Al-Tamimi told Al-Furat News that this decision makes the oil and gas law in the region null and void for violating the constitutional provisions in accordance with Articles 110, 111, 112, 115, 122 and 130 of the constitution.
He pointed out that the law required the regional government to hand over oil imports retroactively from the date of concluding the contracts and to allow the Ministry of Oil and the Office of Financial Supervision to view these contracts. In the case of volumes, these funds will be deducted from the 17% allocated to the region.
And that the Federal Court was based on Article 111 of the Constitution that oil and gas belong to the Iraqi people, and therefore the management of oil and gas is from foreign trade and is within the jurisdiction of the central Iraqi government in accordance with Article 110 of the Constitution. It means that they are the productive, explored and developed fields according to the most acceptable interpretation, and not only the productive ones, as seen by the Kurdistan region.