15 January 2008
Sunni, Shiite and independent lawmakers came together in Baghdad Sunday to sign a pact that, for the first time, issued a collective Sunni-Shiite demand for central control over oil resources and criticized the Kurds for their go-it-alone stance in signing oil deals.
Signatories to the statement of common understanding included the political wing of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the secular Iraqi National List of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the Sunni leader Salah al-Mutlak’s National Dialogue Front, one of the three parties that make up the Iraqi Accordance Front, parliament’s largest Sunni Arab bloc with 44 members.
But sources in Baghdad told International Oil Daily that the signatories lack a common vision on many other divisive issues, which means the alliance could be short lived.
“It is important and also significant that they come together to address the dilemma created by the Kurds, and their collective position will strengthen that of the oil ministry,” one government source said, referring to the Kurds’ unilateral signing of oil deals with Western and Asian companies.
“But they might split on other issues because the grouping is too heterogeneous in ideology and program and also in political practices,” he added.
The signatories said the pact was signed “for the sake of the higher national interest, to maintain a united Iraq free of sectarian divisions … and to support national reconciliation.” It said oil and gas “and other natural resources should remain Iraqi treasures” and not be signed away by regional powers.
Without naming the Kurds, the statement expressed “deep concern at individual acts without reference to central government, such as the signing of contracts with foreign companies” — a reference to Iraq’s oil-rich semiautonomous Kurdish region, which has signed 15 oil contracts with 20 foreign concerns since August.
The new alliance represents the latest attempt by Iraqi parties and blocs to build coalitions either in support of, or to confront, the government of Iraq’s Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. The strongest is a Shiite-Kurdish alliance made up of two Shiite parties — the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq and the Daawa Party — and the two Kurdish parties, established last year.
Sources in Baghdad differ over how much support the new Shiite-Sunni-independent alliance has in the 275-member parliament. Some put the number at over 100; others say it is nearer 150. The discrepancy arises from the fact that not all members of a particular party necessarily agree with deals signed with other parties. The alliance is also supported by members of other groups that did not sign on to the pact, the sources added.
The real test will come when the much-delayed hydrocarbon law is put to a vote, to see whether the alliance stands fast as a group or succumbs to individual interests, the sources noted.
Signatories to the pact also presented a united front regarding the fate of the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, another divisive issue. They said political agreement should be reached over the future of the city, which is claimed by the Kurds, abandoning plans to hold a — now delayed — referendum.
The Kirkuk dispute was supposed to have been resolved by the end of 2007 by a referendum among its inhabitants on whether it should remain governed by Baghdad or be annexed by Kurdistan. The deadline has been extended by six months, with a vote now expected before the end of June. But several parties in parliament voiced opposition to such an extension, arguing that since the deadline has been missed, the referendum should be dropped.
The ethnic polarization among Iraqi parties is likely to continue as long as the country lacks a strong central government, analysts say. The Baghdad government has watched helplessly as its power is eroded by Kurds’ determination and efficiency in attracting companies to develop oil resources in areas under their control in the semiautonomous region, as well as beyond the administrative borders of the Kurdish region.
The Iraqi oil ministry in Baghdad has criticized the unilateral signing of the oil deals by the Kurdish government, calling them illegal. It has also threatened to blacklist companies that sign contracts, telling at least one South Korean oil lifter, SK Energy, that it will stop exporting oil to South Korea if a contract between a state-owned consortium and the Kurdish government goes ahead.
By Ruba Husari, Dubai
(Published in International Oil Daily Jan. 15, 2008)