Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Over 300 killed in Iraq in the first 10 days of the month

NINA notes 3 car bombings have gone off in Diyala Province.  Fars News Agency notes that the 3 Baquba bombings have claimed 10 lives and left thirty-four injured while a Latifiyah car bombing claimed 4 lives with fourteen injured.  AP adds, "In Tuesday's deadliest attack, gunmen stormed a house in the town of Yusufiyah and killed six people, including two women, as they were ritually cleansing the body of a Sunni Arab man ahead of his funeral, a police officer and a doctor at a nearby hospital said."  Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 293 violent deaths in Iraq so far this month.  Today's already reported deaths mean over 300 people have been killed in Iraq in the first ten days of the month.


 Meanwhile, All Iraq News reports, "The office of the Independent High Electoral Commission in Erbil stated that two million and 803 thousand citizens are eligible to participate in the parliamentary elections in KR. "  The Kurdistan Regional Government is the semi-autonomous northern region in Iraq which is made up of Duhok Province, Erbil Province and Sulaymaniyah Province. 

Iraq has 18 provinces.  Fourteen have now voted in provincial elections.  Kirkuk was not allowed to participate despite calls from the United Nations and the IHEC.  (Nouri has refused to implement Article 140 of the Constitution as ordered to do so by the Constitution of Iraq.  As a result of Nouri's failure, Kirkuk remains disputed territory -- claimed by both the KRG and the central-government out of Baghdad.)

The two major political parties in the KRG are the KDP -- led by KRG *President* Massoud Barazni -- and the PUK -- led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. [9-10-13, corrected from "Prime Minister Massoud Barzani" to "President Massoud Barzani."  His title is president.  My apologies for my error.]



Jalal has now been out of Iraq for nine months straight.

Last December,  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani suffered a stroke.   The incident took place late on December 17th (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital.    Thursday, December 20th, he was moved to Germany.  He remains in Germany currently.

Hevidar Ahmed (Rudaw) reports:



No one is ready to talk about Jalal Talabani’s health anymore, even his private doctor, who used to update the public on the health of the man who is both Iraq’s president and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
With the PUK heading into the September 21 parliamentary elections in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, Talabani’s party needs him more than ever before. The 79-year-old leader has been absent from the scene ever since he suffered a stroke in December and was flown to Germany for treatment.
In an interview with Rudaw Mala Bakhtiar, politburo member of the PUK, said that even a “three seconds” video of Talabani would change the whole electoral equation in favor of the PUK.
Political parties in the Kurdistan Region understand Talabani’s situation and do not put pressure on the PUK to reveal information on their leader’s health. But this is not the case in Baghdad.
From time to time, Iraqi political leaders call for concrete information on Talabani’s health and some request personal meetings with him, which have put the PUK’s leadership and Talabani’s family in a tough situation.
The latest such request comes from Usama Nujaifi, Iraq’s parliament speaker. Yesterday, Nujaifi rekindled the issue and accused Talabani’s family of not letting him see the president.


Sunday, All Iraq News reported, Osama al-Nujaifi declared he attempted to meet with the hospitalized Jalal five months ago  (that would have been around April) but was rebuffed.  He states he has again asked for another meeting.  He further states if Jalal is unable to resume his tasks shortly, a new president needs to be named.


The KRG released the following yesterday:

KRG delegation begins US visit by meeting Kurdish diaspora

MON, 9 SEP 2013 09:34 | KRG.


Nashville, Tennessee - USA (KRG.org) - A Kurdistan Regional Government delegation, led by Minister Falah Mustafa, met representatives of the Kurdish community and city officials in Nashville at the start of a week-long visit to the United States.
 
Minister Mustafa, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, is accompanied by Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG Representative to the UK, and staff of the KRG Representation to the United States. The delegation is visiting Nashville and Washington DC to update officials on developments in Kurdistan, Iraq as a whole and neighbouring countries.
 
In Nashville, Mr Mustafa updated representatives of the community on the forthcoming elections, the influx of  Syrian refugees and relations with Baghdad and bordering countries.
 
He said that the KRG appreciated the role Kurds around the world play, for example, in raising awareness of the need for international recognition of the Kurdish genocide in Iraq. He also emphasised the role they can play in strengthening ties with the United States.
 
The delegation took note of the concerns and comments raised by the community and encouraged them to continue to build a strong relationship with their host country.
 
Mr Mustafa said, 'I am pleased to have had the opportunity to meet members of the community and to hear direct from them their observations. We encourage them to be good citizens of their host country and to build a healthy relationship between Kurdistan and America.'
 
The delegation also met with the mayor of Nashville, Karl Dean, and the chief of police Steve Anderson, who expressed their commitment to serving the Kurdish community as citizens of their city and of Tennessee. Mayor Dean described the Kurds as an asset to the city while Chief Anderson spoke of the cooperation his officers receive from the community.
 
During their three-day visit to Nashville, Minister Mustafa and his delegation also met Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, a member of the Kurdish-American Caucus. They discussed the political process in Iraq and the concerns raised by the situation in Syria which has led about 200,000 refugees to seek shelter in the Kurdistan Region. 
 
Minister Mustafa said the international community needs to provide more assistance to the refugees who will be facing a winter in their camps in a few months time. The delegation also highlighted the recognition of the Kurdish genocide by the British and other parliaments and hoped that Congress would do the same.
 
Cogresswoman Blackburn said she and fellow Caucus members watch developments with interest and expressed her support for Kurdistan. She and the delegation discussed mechanisms for possible recognition of the genocide in the United States.
 
While in Nashville, the delegation also attended the Kurdish Arts Festival organised by the Kurdish Cultural Institute and part-sponsored by the KRG. They also attended a community celebration. Ms Abdul Rahman said, 'We in the KRG believe in building ties with other nations, not just through political and commercial means but also through cultural activities. It's pleasing to see the Kurds in Nashville engaged in these activities.'
 
The delegation begins a round of meetings with government officials and Congressmen in Washington DC on Monday.
 


The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.











 

















 

















 

















iraq
iraq
iraq
iraq
iraq
iraq
Posted by at