Kurdish ‘self-determination’ call sparks Iraqi ire
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BAGHDAD — Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani’s recent call for self-determination for his people has drawn the ire of the country’s Sunni and Shiite Arab leaders, who argue that it presages a break-up of Iraq.
“The right of self-determination is something that concerns people living under occupation, but this is not the case for Kurdistan, which has a special status in Iraq,” said Alia Nusayaf, an MP with the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc.
“It makes me wonder if the Kurds asked for federalism (in Iraq’s constitution) to first form a region and then to separate from Iraq.”
Barzani said at the opening of a week-long congress of his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Saturday that self-determination was “a right.” He said it would be presented at the meeting “to be studied and discussed.”
His comments mark the first time Barzani has officially presented the issue to the KDP’s congress, with the proposal set for a vote during the meeting..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101214com7.html
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