Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Kurds boycott Nineveh provincial council

Tensions between Iraq's Sunni Arabs and Kurds continue to escalate.

'Most alarmingly, in Nineveh province, home to the volatile city of Mosul, Kurds have announced an indefinite boycott of the provincial council. The move came after the Sunni Arab nationalist party Hadba, which won a majority of seats, formed an administration without giving any positions to the Kurdish alliance that won about 25% of the popular vote.

The Kurds say that violates the spirit of the new Iraq, which has seen many of its institutions built upon power-sharing coalitions among rival factions.

"We hope Hadba changes its mind. If not, it's going to be very difficult for this government to succeed, " warned Khasro Goran, the outgoing Kurdish deputy governor of the province.

The dispute threatens to escalate tensions between Arabs and Kurds over territories around Mosul that both claim. Kurds living in areas they dominate are unlikely to cooperate with the new provincial administration, Goran said.'

No comments :