19 January 2001, Volume  4, Number  3

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)
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com