Despite the fact that no group took responsibility for the assassination, al-Mada insinuated that al-Sab’awi’s death is related to an ongoing conflict in Mosul between Iraqi insurgent factions and “the Islamic State in Iraq,” the Iraqi branch of al-Qa’ida. The paper added that the friction between al-Qa’ida and insurgent groups is caused by the insistence of the “Islamic State” on being seen as the only legitimate organization in its areas of influence, and its request that all other groups announce allegiance to the “Islamic State.”
In related news, al-Quds al-‘Arabi published a letter issued by the commander of the Islamic Army, which discussed, at length, the position of the insurgent group regarding political developments in Iraq and the region. The letter criticized the recent visit by President Bush to the Middle East, claiming that it came to support the “crumbling government of al-Maliki” and to gather support for Israel. The letter also affirmed that the US project in Iraq “is marching towards failure ... the matter is over, militarily, and is about to end politically as well.” A significant part of the statement went to criticizing al-Maliki’s government, which was described as a “collaborationist government,” and was accused of “squandering” Iraq’s natural resources and of giving away Iraq’s oil and gas to US companies through the upcoming Oil and Gas Law.
In other news, Az-Zaman said that parliamentary negotiations concerning the redesign of the Iraqi flag have reached their final phase. According to the paper, Iraqi parliamentarians are debating the removal of the three stars in the center of the flag, while other MPs favor maintaining the stars while changing the flag’s colors.
The debate has spiraled into a discussion of the flag’s symbols, with some MPs charging that the three stars represent the ideals of the Ba’th party: Unity, Freddom, Socialism, while other deputies claim that the stars were added to commemorate a 1963 project to unify Egypt, Syria and Iraq. The paper added, with a tinge of sarcasm, that some MPs “who favor sectarian power-sharing,” demanded that the stars be kept, since they represent, in their eyes, the three constituents of Iraq: Shi’as, Sunnis and Kurds.
The negotiations took a rather comic turn when the idea of adding the yellow color to the flag (as a Kurdish symbol) was countered with a Turkoman request to include a blue portion, in acknowledgement of the Turkoman minority.
Meanwhile, the paper said, the passing of the federal Iraqi budget may be facing difficulties due to conflicts between Arab and Kurdish blocs. Several Arab parties had expressed disapproval over the financing of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces from within the federal budget, while the Kurdish bloc, the paper said, “is rejecting a proposal to finance the Peshmerga outside the federal budget.”
On a similar topic, pan-Arab al-Hayat reported that Kurdish officials insist on the legality of oil contracts signed between the Kurdistan Regional Government and foreign oil companies, without the approval of the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
The controversy over the Kurdistan oil contracts began when the Iraqi Oil Minister, Husain al-Shahratani, announced that all such deals are considered illegal, and that the participating companies would not be allowed to export oil resources from Iraq without the approval of the Ministry. The KRG countered that it has full jurisdiction over natural resources in Kurdistan, and that al-Shahrastani was out stepping his authority by issuing such directives to the KRG.
Al-Hayat spoke to Kurdish officials, who said that the KRG will pursue its contracts with foreign companies and that the upcoming negotiations between al-Shahrastani and the Kurdistan Government are “nothing but talk” and will not affect the validity of the contracts. The spokesman of the KRG told al-Hayat that the Kurdistan Government will “demand the replacement (of Sharastani)” if he maintains his position regarding the contracts, adding that the KRG oil deals are “legal and constitutional.”
