RFE/RL Iraq Reprot Vol. 4, No. 3, 19 January 2001

RFE/RL IRAQ REPORT
Vol. 4, No. 3, 19 January 2001

A Review of Developments in Iraq Prepared by the Regional
Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
 

HEADLINES:

'UDAY WANTS KUWAIT OFF THE MAP
ARE CAIRO AND BAGHDAD ABOUT TO EXCHANGE ENVOYS?
TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER ON TIES WITH IRAQ
IRAN SAYS IRAQ VIOLATING 1988 CEASEFIRE
INDIA READY TO HELP IN RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ
ALGERIA PLEDGES SOLIDARITY WITH IRAQ
IRAQI VP RECEIVES TATARSTAN PRIME MINISTER
MOSCOW INVITES RAMADAN TO RUSSIA
IRAQ OPENS FIFTH INTERNET CENTER
ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL IN TALKS WITH IRAQ
KURDS FORM PRO-BA'TH POLITICAL PARTY
KDP CENTRAL COMMITTEE CONDEMNS ARABIZATION
BARZANI NOT GOING TO ANKARA
TALABANI MEETS WITH IRANIAN DELEGATION
TURKISH-U.S. DEAL TO CREATE 'TURKMEN REPUBLIC'
 

'UDAY WANTS KUWAIT OFF THE MAP. 'Uday Husseyn, the oldest son
of Saddam, has asked that the country's national assembly
change the map on its shield to include the territory of
Kuwait, "Babil," a paper he controls, reported on 30
December. He justified his suggestion by saying that "the
Iraq map which represents the symbol of the National
Assembly, does not include the full borders of Iraq as they
are known to the various groups, strata, and nationalities of
Iraq." On 16 January a Kuwaiti MP Muhammad Al-Saqir responded
to 'Uday's suggestions, pointing out that the Iraqi regime
has been executing chaotic policies "resulting in many
disasters that hit the Iraqi people and the whole region,"
KUNA reported. (David Nissman)

ARE CAIRO AND BAGHDAD ABOUT TO EXCHANGE ENVOYS? Cairo's "Al-
Ahram Al-'Arabi" reported on 13 January that a secret deal has
been concluded between Egypt and Iraq to upgrade their
bilateral diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level.
The paper added that "within the context of Cairo's keenness
on maintaining distinguished relations with Arab Gulf states,
the Egyptian government will make intensive consultations
with the leaders of those states, especially Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait, before resuming full-fledged diplomatic relations
with Iraq." Despite the likelihood of U.S. criticism of the
move, Cairo is following Turkey, Jordan and Russia in taking
this step.
Giving credence to this report, President Mubarak
recently instructed the Egyptian government to prepare a
comprehensive study on how to consolidate Arab economic
cooperation and to establish an Arab common market. Such
efforts would appear to mesh with statements by Baghdad
officials, including Iraq's Minister of Trade Muhammad Mahdi
Salih, who said recently that the Iraq-Egypt Free Trade
Agreement essentially makes the two countries into one
market. On 15 January, he said on Baghdad television that he
would welcome any other Araba country into such an
arrangement. (David Nissman)

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER ON TIES WITH IRAQ. Turkish Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem told Istanbul's "Milliyet" of 14 January
that it was entirely natural for Ankara to promote expanded
ties with Iraq, especially since the Gulf War was now a decade
into the past. (David Nissman)
 

IRAN SAYS IRAQ VIOLATING 1988 CEASEFIRE. Iran has sent a
letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan citing 29 Iraqi
violations of the ceasefire accord between Iran and Iraq
ending the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, IRNA reported on 16
January. Among the violations listed were illegal border
crosses, firing across the border, and efforts to infiltrate
troops into border areas, the Iranians said. (David Nissman)

INDIA READY TO HELP IN RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ. Indian Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has writen to President Saddam
Husseyn of Iraq conveying India's interest in promoting the
reconstruction of Iraq. According to the "Hindustan Times" of
15 January, Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Kumar
Panja personally delivered such a letter to the Iraqi leader
last year. In the past, Saddam Husseyn has sought to expand
his dialogue with India, and now the Indian paper says that
Delhi hopes to gain some major contracts under the oil-for-food
program. Bilateral trade is expected to reach $1 billion
in the first six months of 2001. (David Nissman)

ALGERIA PLEDGES SOLIDARITY WITH IRAQ. Algerian Prime Minister
Ali Benflis pledged his country's solidarity with Iraq during
talks with Sa'dun Hammadi, Speaker of the Iraqi National
Assembly. Radio Algiers of 14 January said that Algeria would
spare no effort to help the "fraternal Iraqi people to
overcome the ordeal from which it has been suffering." (David
Nissman)

IRAQI VP RECEIVES TATARSTAN PRIME MINISTER. Iraqi Vice
President Taha Yasin Ramadan received a letter from
Tatarstan's President Shaymiyev during a meeting with
visiting Tatarstan Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov, Baghdad
Radio reported on 15 January. Shaymiyev stressed Tatarstan's
desire to develop bilateral ties in various fields.
Minnikhanov added that Kazan opposes what he called the
unjust embargo against Iraq and praised the achievements of
the Iraqi people in the face of adversity. (David Nissman)

MOSCOW INVITES RAMADAN TO RUSSIA. Moscow has invited Iraqi
Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan to visit Moscow, Baghdad
television reported on 14 January. The invitation, signed by
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, was delivered by the
Russian ambassador in Baghdad. (David Nissman)

IRAQ OPENS FIFTH INTERNET CENTER. The Public Corporation for
Internet Services, an affiliate of the Ministry of Transport
and Communications, has inaugurated a new Internet center in
the city of Basrah, according to a report in the Baghdad
Ba'th Party newspaper "Al-Thawrah" of 11 January. It is
Basrah's first such center. There are already four such
centers in Baghdad. (David Nissman)

ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL IN TALKS WITH IRAQ. A Royal Dutch/Shell
spokesperson said on 16 January the company has held "low
level" talks with Iraqi Oil Ministry officials regarding
"potential opportunities" at the Ratawi oil field in
southeastern Iraq, according to "Dow Jones" on 16 January.
The Ratawi oil field is estimated to hold approximately one
billion barrels of oil. Shell has been negotiaitng for it
since 1994. But the spokesperson said the negotiations were
not commercial in nature, and Shell would not do business
with Iraq until the sanctions were lifted. (David Nissman)

KURDS FORM PRO-BA'TH POLITICAL PARTY. According to Al-
Sulaymaniyah's "Rayat Al-Hurriyah" of 1 January, Kurds living
in Baghdad have requested from the Ministry of the Interior
permission to form a new political party called the "Kurdish
National Party". The new group will support the Ba'th ruling
party. In response, the homes of founding members were raided
by Iraqi security forces and the people involved arrested.
Iraqi officials viewed the proposal as a ruse, the paper
said. (David Nissman)
 

KDP CENTRAL COMMITTEE CONDEMNS ARABIZATION. At the Kurdistan
Democratic Party meeting on 4-5 January, Mas'ud Barzani
condemned Baghad's arabization policy and urged his followers
to build closer ties with the Arab world, whose capitals he
recently visited. At the same time, he said that Kurds could
build their future within a unified but democratic Iraq.
(David Nissman)

BARZANI NOT GOING TO ANKARA. The widely-rumored trip of
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Mas'ud Barzani to
Ankara will not take place, according to the Ankara KDP
representative Safin Diza'. Diza'i said that the fact that
the PUK was fighting the PKK did not mean that the KDP had to
fight also, "2000de Yeni Gundem" reported, citing the pro-PKK
daily "Ozgur Politika" on 12 January.
Concerning PUK demands for an equal share with the KDP
of the revenues from the Habur border gate, Diza'i said that
"the revenues secured from the Habur border do not go to the
KDP. They are collected at the Central Bank in Irbil, which
is under the control of the Financial and Customs Ministry.
The government presents projects to Parliament. The
Parliament then uses this money to finance projects which
they find appropriate." (David Nissman)

TALABANI MEETS WITH IRANIAN DELEGATION. The "Turkish Daily
News" of 15 January reported that Jalal Talabani, leader of
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), had met with a high-
raking Iranian delegation to be informed about Talabani's
talks in Ankara and to get a clear picture about the
situation in northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, the "Kurdish Observer" of 13 January added
that "Eastern Kurdistan [Iranian Kurdistani] politicians and
intellectuals have had harsh reactions" to Talabani "being
partner to Ankara's liquidation plans against the PKK." Dr.
Jalal Jalalizade, a member of the Iranian parliament's
Kurdish fraction, said it was necessary to condemn the
Kurdish leaders who were cooperating with Turkey.
And the KNK (Kurdish National Congress) Administrative
Council issued a statement which said: "Ankara is after
Kurdish conspiracies. The Ankara, Paris, Dublin and
Washington processes did not gain us anything. Let us give up
on the processes of foreigners and begin a Kurdistani
process."
Talabani-controlled parts of northern Iraq share the
border with Iran, and the PUK depends economically on trade
through the border gate with Iran. Complicating the issue
geopolitically, the PKK has reportedly announced the
formation of a local administration near the Raniya-Rawanduz
region of Talabani-controlled Iraqi Kurdistan, along the
Iranian border. (David Nissman)

TURKISH-U.S. DEAL TO CREATE 'TURKMEN REPUBLIC'. An article by
the Kurdish writer Sores Resi in the pro-PKK journal "Ozgur
Politika" of 10 January contends that there is an arrangement
between the U.S. and Turkey to establish a Turkmen Republic
in Iraq, which would include the vital, oil-rich cities of
Kirkuk and Mosul. Supposedly, this is part of a package deal
that included, or includes, the arrest of the PKK leader
Ocalan and American support for Turkey's membership in the
European Union.
Resi points out that "the unofficial representatives of
the PUK worked hard at the last meeting of the KNK (Kurdish
National Congress) to make the Turkmen Union Party a member
of the congress..." At the same time, in the Kurdistan
Democratic Party-controlled part of Kurdistan the Turkmens
held a congress in Irbil "with the participation of people
from Turkey." Meanwhile, Tansu Ciller, the civilian
spokesperson of the Turkish Armed Forces, "was talking about
the presence of three million Turkmens in the south."
Resi argues that the formation of such a new state unit
would be benefit both Turkey and the U.S. by obstructing the
establishment of a Kurdish state and by removing the oil
resources around Kirkuk and Mosul from Baghdad's control
(David Nissman)