Kurdish indignation will affect a possible Al-Sudani mandate in Iraq
- Accusations against Prime Minister Sudani
- Recent tensions centre on two main issues
- Political consequences
Iraqis and Kurds have been living for years in a complex political and economic situation. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq dispute the distribution of natural resources, control over oil and the constitutional rights of the Kurdish region.
According to a source speaking to the Arab Weekly newspaper, the Kurds described the Al-Sudani decisions regarding salaries and oil as ‘disappointing’. The situation reflects a deep lack of trust between the KRG and the federal government in Baghdad.
Accusations against Prime Minister Sudani
The Kurdish leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) have expressed their discontent with the Iraqi Prime Minister, whom they accuse of betraying their trust, criticising his lack of political will and his alliance with parties that the Kurds consider hostile.
The current government in Sulaimani was supported by the KDP when it formed the government. However, the Kurds consider it to be responsible for the ‘financial strangulation’ of the Kurdish region.
The source indicated that the Kurds believe that the prime minister is deliberately acting in this way in order to put pressure on his political rivals, through economic measures such as delays in payments and obstructions to the export of oil. Furthermore, the Kurds accuse Sudani of allying himself with the political groups that oppose the interests of the KRG, a fact that has exacerbated tensions.
Recent tensions centre on two main issues
The KRG is criticising the government for not transferring all the money to pay the salaries of Kurdish employees. Although Baghdad denies the accusations, the source argued that the KRG insists that 800 billion dinars less has been received, which is why hundreds of employees have not received their salaries.
But the economic problem is not the only one: members of the Party informed the source that they also accuse Sudani of hindering oil exports from the Kurdish-controlled region, causing millions in losses. Let's remember that 70% of Iraq's oil is extracted from the Kurdish regions.
As a result, the Party would be willing to sell its oil through the State Organisation for the Marketing of Oil in Baghdad (SOMO), but the source stated that the federal government has prevented this process on several occasions.
Political consequences
Kurdish indignation may be key in the forthcoming elections. The loss of support from the Kurds could seriously hinder the re-election of Sudani, given that the support of the KDP was crucial in his election in his first term. This would generate an escalation of tensions that could lead to a total breakdown of relations between Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan.
Faced with this situation, the President of the KRG, Nechirvan Barzani, has attempted to calm the waters through various meetings between Sudani and other Iraqi leaders, although so far there has been no significant progress. So much so that the Kurdish leaders have warned that, if the current policies of pressure continue, there will be ‘catastrophic repercussions’ for Iraq, including a possible ‘unprecedented Kurdish escalation’.
The source indicated that the Kurds feel that their ‘constitutional rights are being violated’. Finally, the source was categorical: ‘If urgent measures are not taken to resolve these disputes, tensions could escalate, affecting not only the Kurdish region, but the whole of Iraq’.