WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- There is one Iraq, but there are also two: the northern, potentially oil-rich region controlled by Iraq's Kurds, and the rest of Iraq. That, says the Kurdish liaison to U.N. efforts in Iraqi Kurdistan, is how the international community should view it.
"We say Iraq could not be treated as one simple state," said Dindar Zebari, the Kurdistan Regional Government's chief coordinator for U.N. activities. "The Republic of Iraq is not only the ministers in Baghdad. We have ministers in Irbil" -- the regional capital -- "which are sovereign, independent in terms of their policies and in terms of their areas of support."
Zebari, in an interview with United Press International in the KRG's Washington office, explained the KRG's view of its status in Iraq, which he said is being largely supported by the United Nations. Baghdad, however, is a different story.
"The problem in Baghdad is the mentality that has to accept that Iraq is composed of different structures," he said.
The provincial and regional governments rely on funding and assistance, from security to the annual budget, from Baghdad, though the international community still plays the largest role in reconstruction, as well as providing something like a guiding arm for Baghdad's work.
Iraq's Kurds, whose three provinces they control make up Iraq's only official region, are a special case. Abused, like many other Iraqis, by Saddam Hussein, they are against a centrally controlled government of Iraq (though just two main Kurdish factions dominate Kurdish politics). The semi-autonomy since 1991, under international protection following the war, has given them a head start. The economy is moving forward and the area is under the mostly successful protection of the Peshmerga, the Iraqi Kurds' officially sanctioned militia. Politics, though often controversial, have also made headway in the KRG.
Kurdish leaders have forced a bittersweet relationship with Baghdad. The Kurdish coalition of parliamentarians is needed for the ruling government to maintain its control. But the KRG has irked many allies and rivals by moving unilaterally to develop its potential bonanza of an oil sector instead of allowing the country's oil policy to be decided and administered from the center.
Oil sales make up nearly all of the federal budget, which places control over the oil a top power struggle priority.
While nearly all of Iraq's proven oil reserves are outside of the KRG's area, limited studies and geologic formation suggest enough that the regional oil minister says the KRG will produce a million barrels within five years.
That timeline could move up if the KRG annexes Kirkuk, the oil-rich area just outside its official borders. Historically Kurdish, it was separated from Kurdish leadership by Saddam Hussein, and residents were displaced when the dictator moved in Arabs.
A deal was reached last week to delay by six months a referendum, scheduled by the 2005 Constitution to take place by this year's end, to allow voters of Kirkuk to decide the future of the area. The KRG hopes voters will decide to join their area. Kirkuk contains an estimated 12 percent of Iraq's proven reserves.
Recent meetings between national and regional leadership in Baghdad over the controversial KRG oil deals produced no agreements, however.
Last week KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani warned of "change" in the government if the KRG's demands are not met, The Telegraph reports.
When asked about the comments, Zebari said, "There is a clear article within the Constitution of Iraq that says very clearly that Iraqi Kurdistan people have full right to self determination. And on the basis of any disagreements in the future relationship with the central authority, the people of Iraqi Kurdistan have full right to self determination."
He said Iraq's Kurds are not looking to declare independence, believed to be the end goal of the tens of millions of Kurds spanning across Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria and Armenia.
"The policy of KRG is not for any division from Iraq. It's to support the unity of the country on the basis of democracy and full sharing of power," said Zebari, who was quick to correct a reference to him as the KRG's representative to the United Nations.
He said he's merely playing a role as an Iraqi Kurd, inside today's Iraq. Under his watch there are now 200 local staff working for the United Nations based in Irbil. And it's the KRG, not Iraq proper, that coordinates with the United Nations, though the KRG is part of an Iraqi delegation to the United Nations.
"The KRG, it is a functioning authority within the Republic of Iraq, which has been recognized by the law of the country," Zebari said, referring to the 2005 constitution. "It has its own budget, it has its own priorities and needs. Because we have passed through most of the emergency relief programs, while other parts of the country, like Najaf and Karbala and Baghdad even today, the priority is relief programs. But in the Kurdistan region, because of the prosperity and security and safety for the last 13 years, today what we need is more mid-term, long-term projects."
"Iraq today goes through a transitional period," Zebari said, detailing the Kurdish view of the needs of Iraq, which he says is not a one size fits all. "Transitional period needs all different sort of assistance: political assistance, reconstruction and humanitarian."
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