pragmatism needed in kurd winter of discontent
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Pragmatism needed in Kurd winter of discontent

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Pragmatism needed in Kurd winter of discontent

Facing an increasingly dire economic
London - Emirates Voice

Facing an increasingly dire economic and political crisis following an independence referendum, the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq is teetering on a cliff edge that only political pragmatism can solve, experts said.
After Iraqi Kurds voted to be independent from Iraq in September, Baghdad launched a military offensive and reclaimed up to 14,000 square miles of land — including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk — which had been under Kurdish control since 2014, when Daesh swept through the region.
In the face of “a mountain of debt” compounded by the loss of some $350 million in monthly oil revenues since Baghdad retook Kirkuk, the Kurdish government will run out of funds entirely by early 2018, warned Shwan Zulal, a fellow at the European Center for Energy and Resource Security at King’s College.
“When you look at the figures, you know that Kurdistan is going to have a very long winter,” warned Zulal during a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Kurdish Progress last week.
“Probably by February, there will be absolutely no money to pay anything, even the day-to-day running of government unless something changes: Unless Irbil and Baghdad start serious discussions and some cash comes from Baghdad,” he said.
Iraqi Kurds, hundreds of thousands of whom work in the public sector, have seen salaries slashed, delayed and unpaid as government coffers dry up. Putting food on the table, Zulal added, may become an exigent concern for Kurdish families in the months to come unless progress is made to break the political deadlock between Irbil and Baghdad.
While Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi will not allow the wholesale collapse of Kurdistan, he will “make sure that the region has zero bargaining chips moving forward,” said Renad Mansour, a research fellow at Chatham House, who also spoke on the panel.
But following the referendum — which Mansour called a political “miscalculation,” — the Kurds have found themselves effectively friendless in their face-off against Abadi.
Having rebuffed threats from Baghdad and pressure from friendly Western governments who cautioned against holding the referendum, the Kurds are now “alienated from the international community,” said Mansour.
“The Kurds are in a very difficult position. They don’t have much leveraging power,” Mansour told Arab News. “They’re going to have to make some compromises,” he said.
Amid concerns that the Iraqi Security Forces and the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) may launch a fresh offensive against Kurdish positions, Mansour said that careful diplomacy was key.
Western governments will continue to back Abadi, he said, as they believe he is “the key to rebuilding Iraq” after Daesh and “limiting Iranian influence” in Iraq.
Houzan Mahmoud, a women’s rights activist, urged caution before negotiating with Baghdad, however, citing a history of agreements that had fallen through. “Even if you go on (with) the negotiations, you’ll come up with a couple of (promises) and tomorrow they don’t happen,” she said.
Mahmoud stressed that while Baghdad bore some of the blame for the current situation, decades of corruption within Kurdistan itself created conditions ripe for crisis.
“There is a decadence, a political decadence in Kurdistan,” she said. All three experts roundly decried the patronage system, controlled by a handful of Kurdish family networks that had reaped benefits from oil wealth over recent years.
Unless the ruling elite changes tack the Kurdish people will suffer the deep freeze that has set over Northern Iraq since the referendum.
Instead of fighting for sovereignty, Kurdistan should first focus on strengthening its own institutions within the federalist system, stressed Mansour. “The Kurdistan region needs to build its state from the bottom up,” he said

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

pragmatism needed in kurd winter of discontent pragmatism needed in kurd winter of discontent

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

pragmatism needed in kurd winter of discontent pragmatism needed in kurd winter of discontent

 



GMT 05:06 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 06:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Volkswagen clinches record sales

GMT 20:35 2014 Monday ,08 December

CFP crucial for refining industry in Kuwait

GMT 13:25 2011 Tuesday ,13 December

Latest Call Of Duty Breaks $1bn Sales Record

GMT 06:47 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Fresh whale stranding on notorious New Zealand beach

GMT 10:48 2017 Sunday ,19 November

Industry minister receives Turkish ambassador

GMT 12:35 2015 Saturday ,06 June

Bindi Irwin is all grown up in new Instagram photo

GMT 14:08 2012 Tuesday ,28 August

600 Afghan soldiers killed over last 2 months

GMT 05:27 2011 Wednesday ,21 September

Facebook revenue estimated at $4.27 billion

GMT 20:06 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

Senior Yemeni general killed in Houthi missile attack

GMT 23:18 2016 Sunday ,12 June

Daesh kills 18 civilians trying

GMT 00:47 2017 Tuesday ,10 January

6 policemen killed, 9 injured in Arish attack

GMT 21:54 2017 Thursday ,15 June

Pleasant weather forecast

GMT 16:39 2017 Thursday ,17 August

Maria Sharapova granted wild-card entry

GMT 12:33 2012 Friday ,24 February

10 signs your spouse may be planning to divorce you

GMT 17:32 2017 Tuesday ,25 July

King leading diplomacy to safeguard Jerusalem

GMT 06:58 2012 Sunday ,12 February

Malaysia deports Saudi journalist
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice