By Rawaz Koyee--Erbil
Kurds monitor Baghdad tensions closely
The fragile Iraqi power-sharing government is under threat, as Sunni-Shiite sectarian squabbles start to erupt once again.
Only a day after the U.S. troops' departure from Iraq, almost nine years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Shiites and Sunnis come face to face again, reviving fears of renewed sectarian violence.
When the last U.S. convoy crossed into Kuwait, U.S. President Barack Obama said it was leaving a stable, self-reliant and democratic Iraq behind. Only a few days later, the country slipped back into a sectarian quarrel after the Shiite-dominated government issued an arrest warrant for prominent Sunni leader and Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi.
The arrest warrant was issued for Hashemi on Dec. 19, charging him with running a hit squad involved in the assassinations of government and security officials.
During a press conference in Erbil on Dec. 20, Hashemi described the charges that he was behind a plot to kill government officials as "fabricated," and accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of bringing the charges against him for political reasons. "Maliki is behind the whole issue, and all the efforts that were made to reach national reconciliation are now gone," Hashemi told reporters.
Before the warrant was issued, Hashemi visited Kurdistan to discuss the Iraqi post-U.S. issues with Kurdistan Region leaders, where he has managed to avoid arrest.
The Iraqi prime minister has called on the Kurdish authorities to hand over Hashemi to the Iraqi authorities to face trial, but the Kurdistan Region refuses to turn him in.
In a statement to Asharq Alawsat newspaper, head of Kurdistan Region presidency, Fuad Hussen, said Hashemi was still considered a suspect rather than a convicted criminal, and the issue of handing him over to Baghdad authorities was not for him to address.
"Hashemi visited the Kurdistan Region as Iraqi vice president to meet [Kurdistan's President] Massoud Barzani. He is our guest and he is permitted to stay here as long as he intends to," he added.
The Sunni legislators suspended their attendance at parliamentary sessions and the Shiite's power-sharing government. In reaction, Maliki threatened to take away nine cabinet seats held by Sunni bloc ministers and replace them with ministers from his own coalition, which further escalated the crisis.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said leaders need to bring a quick resolution to the disputes, warning that the crisis might encourage the regional powers to intervene in Iraq's internal affairs.
"As long as your internal front is fragmented and not united, others who want to intervene will be encouraged, that is why its very important to deal with this crisis as soon as possible," Zebari said in an interview with Reuters.
For the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan Region, the potential squabble between Shiites and Sunnis after the U.S. combat forces pulled out from Iraq was anticipated. The Kurdish leaders have warned of possible sectarian conflict in the absence of U.S. troops in the country.
Kurdistan member of parliament Abdul-Salam Barwary told The Kurdish Globe that escalation of the disputes between Shiites and Sunnis following U.S. troop withdrawal from the country was predicted. "We saw that coming. In the past two days, incidents were anticipated indeed, that is what is expected from the Iraqi leaders" comprehension of politics."
As a part of Iraq and a partner in the entire Iraqi political process with the other Arab blocs, Kurdish leaders are keeping a close eye on the Shiite-Sunni tensions. "We monitor the situations very closely because we believe any positive or negative development in Baghdad will have implications for the Kurdistan Region as well," Hussen told the media.
After the fall of Hussein in 2003, at the time when Iraq was witnessing violent conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, Kurdish leaders played a mediating role between both sides, and played a key role in keeping Iraq united. Many Kurds were not pleased with this, preferring Kurdish leaders concentrate on Kurdish national rights rather than worrying about Iraq"s unity.
"We Kurds kept Iraqi unity in 2003 when the country was devastated. What have we gained in return? Nothing. When the Arab leaders regained their strength, they turned their backs on our demands," Harman Ashty a student from Salahaddin University told the Globe.
Ashty suggests the Kurdish policy-makers stay out of Shiites-Sunni conflict and try to come up with a road map to figure out how to resolve its disputed issues with Baghdad.
The Iraqi Constitution's Article 140, oil revenue, Peshmarga forces, the budget and hydrocarbon laws are they key pending issues between Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraqi federal authorities and have remained unsolved for the past five years.
Maliki did not show much faith in the Kurdish demands, after the Kurds lent their support to him to head the current Iraqi government. This raises the question of whether the Kurds should exploit the Sunni-Shiites conflict to push their quest forward or review its previous stances and choose another side.
"The Kurds should act neutrally, by not putting all their eggs in the basket of one specific political bloc. The Kurdish leaders should exploit this chance in a way that is in the favor of their goals," Firsat Sofy, a Kurdish political analyst, told the Globe.
When it comes to mediating Shiite-Sunni tensions or not, public opinion seems to urge political leaders not to jump in. Politicians and analysts take another view.
Kurdish PM Barwary believes the Kurds should make their efforts toward stabilizing the political process in Iraq, as it is in the favor of the Kurdistan Region. He says this would preserve the Region's prosperity.
"Those who would think the Shiite-Sunni conflict could serve the Kurds, interests have a short view, because as long as Kurdistan Region is a part of Iraq, stability favors the Kurds as well," he said.
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