Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Kurds withdraw support, leaving Iraq without a president
Source: The Guardian
Kurds withdraw support, leaving Iraq without a president
Mark Tran
theguardian.com, Friday 11 July 2014 13.20 BST
The Kurds have ended participation in the Iraqi government, demonstrating a deepening rift between the group and Nouri al-Maliki after the prime minister accused them of harbouring terrorists in the Kurdish capital of Irbil.
Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister and a Kurd, told Reuters on Friday that Kurdish ministers were suspending their day-to-day running of his ministry and other posts, leaving Iraq without a president and several ministers. This follows Thursday's announcement by the Kurds that they would boycott all cabinet meetings.
The Kurds are represented in the Iraqi parliament and hold offices in the Shia-led national government, including president, foreign minister, trade minister and health minister. The Kurdish move followed accusations by Maliki that the Kurdish capital of Irbil had become a home to terrorists, a reference to the Islamic State (Isis). In the political chaos following the seizure of much of northern Iraq by Isis, the Kurds have taken the strategic city of Kirkuk and its large oil fields in a move that could pave the way for independence.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The boycott may be largely symbolic as the Iraqi government has continued operating in the past when the Sunni bloc fully withdrew its ministers from the cabinet, but it underlines the deepening rift between Maliki and the Kurds, when the prime minister needs all the allies he can muster to confront Isis and disaffected minority Sunnis.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Mark Tran
theguardian.com, Friday 11 July 2014 13.20 BST
The Kurds have ended participation in the Iraqi government, demonstrating a deepening rift between the group and Nouri al-Maliki after the prime minister accused them of harbouring terrorists in the Kurdish capital of Irbil.
Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister and a Kurd, told Reuters on Friday that Kurdish ministers were suspending their day-to-day running of his ministry and other posts, leaving Iraq without a president and several ministers. This follows Thursday's announcement by the Kurds that they would boycott all cabinet meetings.
The Kurds are represented in the Iraqi parliament and hold offices in the Shia-led national government, including president, foreign minister, trade minister and health minister. The Kurdish move followed accusations by Maliki that the Kurdish capital of Irbil had become a home to terrorists, a reference to the Islamic State (Isis). In the political chaos following the seizure of much of northern Iraq by Isis, the Kurds have taken the strategic city of Kirkuk and its large oil fields in a move that could pave the way for independence.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The boycott may be largely symbolic as the Iraqi government has continued operating in the past when the Sunni bloc fully withdrew its ministers from the cabinet, but it underlines the deepening rift between Maliki and the Kurds, when the prime minister needs all the allies he can muster to confront Isis and disaffected minority Sunnis.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/11/kurds-withdraw-support-iraqi-government-without-president
