21 November 2003
Oil-for-Food Program Ends
The UN Oil-for-food program which was authorized by UNSC Resolution 986 in 1996 officially ended today. This program allowed Iraq to sell oil in return for food, medicine and other humanitarian projects. In Iraqi Kurdistan Region, the program was implemented by nine UN agencies working on behalf of the Government of Iraq.

In the 13 phases of the program, the total proceeds of the sale of oil amounted to arbout US $ 65 billion. The Iraqi Kurdistan Region received 13% of the revenues generated by the sale of oil. During the seven-year program, this amounted to approximately US $ 8 billion, of which only US $ 4 billion was spent.

Security Council Resolution 1483 authorized the termination of the program on 21 November and the handover of all program activities and assets to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). SCR 1511 recognized the Iraqi Governing Council as the legitimate Iraqi entity and CPA transferred the responsibility for the program to the IGC. The IGC in turn turned over responsibility for the uncompleted projects for the three northern governorates, Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaimaniyah, to the KRG Office of Project Coordination located in Erbil.

In today's handover ceremony, Nechirvan Barzani and Dr. Bahram Salih on bahalf of the Kurdistan Regional Government officially took over the responsibility for the ongoing program activities. The ceremony was also attended by UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Tesfaye Maru, head of CPA - North Colonel Richard Naab and CPA Oil-for-Food Transition Director Ambassador Steven Mann.

The management of the ongoing projects and program assets, will be the job of a recently created office, the Office of Project Coordination, headed by Dr. Akram Jaff. CPA has agreed to provide support with specialists in procurement and international contracting or others as required.
 

22 September 2003
New School Year Starts
Today, 22 September, school bells rang for the first time in the 2003-2004 school year.  KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani officially started the school year off by ringing the bell at the Gara Girls' School in Erbil. 

The Prime Minister said that the future of education in Iraqi Kurdistan and in Iraq as whole looks very promising now that the former regime is gone and the country can introduce new programs to improve teaching methods and raise education standards.  He said that one of the first things to be done in the new Iraq was to begin the process of overhauling the outdated education system and introducing a system that uses modern teaching methods.  He thanked teachers for their hard work and urged students to put more effort into their studies.   He also thanked teachers for their hard work and urged students to put more effort into their studies.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Education, there are 2,986 schools in the governorates of Erbil and Duhok and 544,937 students are expected to enroll at kindergarten, primary, secondary , vocational schools.  Of the total student population, 308,330 are males and 236,607 are female.  The number of teachers this year is 25,782, of which 15,179 are women and 10,603 are men. 

In a separate development, on September 20, KRG Minister of Education, Abdulaziz Taib held an inaugural ceremony for a secondary school in Erbil, which has been named after Sweden’s late Foreign Minister Ms Anna Lindh.

Mr Tayib read a speech by Prime Minister Mr Nechirvan Barzani about the extended support that Ms Anna Lindh gave to the Kurds throughout her years in office and the immense sadness and loss felt by the Kurds after her sudden and violent death. Appreciation and thanks were conveyed to Ms Anna Lindh for her tireless efforts to improve the situation of human rights on a global scale.

Present at the inauguration were Swedish Diakonia, UNICEF, UNESCO and other Kurdish officials from the Department of Education.

10 September 2003
Terrorists Hit Erbil
Kurdistan Regional Government Minister of Interior, Karim Sinjari, said that Tuesday's car bomb attack at around 9:45 p.m. in Erbil was the work of a suicide bomber.  One child was reported dead that night.  Later reports list three dead. 

The attack appears to have been directed at US military personnel using a house located in an Erbil neighbourhood and resulted in the injury of four Americans.

About 45 people injured in the attack suffered mostly from light wounds and many were treated and released from hospital.

Nearby houses and at least ten parked vehicles were severely damaged by the blast.  Local police estimate that 150 - 200 kg of explosives were used.  Windows in houses were shattered by the blast up to a kilometer away.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. 

16 August 2003
KDP Celebrates 57th Anniversary
Today, Kurdistan Democratic Party or the KDP celebrated its 57th anniversary.  The KDP was founded in 1946 by the Kurdish legendary leader Mustafa Barzani and has since been struggling for the legitimate rights of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan.  This was also the first such anniversary after the fall of the dictatorship regime in Iraq.

The event which took place in Erbil's Franso Hariri football stadium, attracted over 30,000 supporters, sympathizers, and party members.  There were also representatives from many Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdistan political parties and organizations.  Major Gen. David Petraeus, commander of US army's 101st Airborne division and ret. Colonel Dick Nabb, head of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in the north, participated in the celebrations and they both addressed the crowds. 

In his speech, President Masoud Barzani of the KDP welcomed the guests and said that, now most of the goals of the party have been achieved, notably the fall of the dictatorial regime in Iraq.  He also thanked and acknowledged the peshmergas for their pivotal role in the long years of struggle for freedom.  Mr Barzani also thanked Presidnet Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and US and British armies for riding this country of tyranny and dictatorship. 

Major Gen. David Petraeus also addressed the gathering and congratulated the KDP and Mr Barzani and thanked the KDP peshmergas for their cooperation with the US military in bringing freedom to this country.

In his address to the crowd, Ret. Colonel Richard Nabb also congratulated the KDP on its 57th anniversary and expressed his gratitude for the founder of the KDP, Mustafa Barzani.  He also said that the Kurdish people will not be alone in the future and that the coalition will be a good friend of the Kurdish people. 

The event which was broadcast live on KurdistanTV satellite channel and a number of local stations, continued with some Kurdish folklore dancing and some music. 
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)

10 August 2003
Iraqi Chamber Of Commerce Advocates Law Allowing Foreign Investment
Iraqi Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Abud Altufaili, and a delegation of Directors of Chambers of Commerce from the other Iraqi governorates met with KRG Deputy PM Sami Abdul Rahman. 

The Chamber of Commerce is advocating changing Iraqi laws on foreign investment to reflect the need to bring more investment into Iraq.  They believe that it would be very good for economic development, particularly as the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country gets underway. 

The delegation is also interested in finding ways to help local businesses get involved in the process and had suggestions for government activities that could encourage domestic investment.  There was a good exchange of ideas at the meeting.

The group were very interested in the progress made in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region during the past twelve years, especially in the advancement of democratic practices.

9 August 2003
KRG, CPA and UN Discuss Handover of Oil-for-Food Program
Two meetings took place August 9 related to the transfer of assets and activities funded by the Oil-for-Food Programme.  A first meeting included KRG Deputy Prime Minister Sami Abdul Rahman, Ambassadors Robin Raphel and Steve Mann, and KRG Ministers with projects funded under the program.

Ambassador Mann has just arrived in the region, leaving behind a position as US negotiator on Caspian oil and gas issues.  He was formerly the US Ambassador to Turkmenistan.  Now he has been appointed to head up the Coalition Provisional Authority team working with the UN and KRG to achieve a smooth handover of the program in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1483.

KRG Ministers briefed Ambassador Mann about the main issues and challenges facing them with regard to the transfer of projects and assets.  The KRG insists that projects already started, but currently halted, get re-started, such as the major drinking water projects for Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniyah.  Over US $400 million had been allocated for these purposes.  Sewerage projects for Duhok and Erbil also have significant funds allocated and some work has been completed; however, much remains to be done. 

With the whole country hindered by the lack of electricity, it was recommended that projects in this sector be put on the priority list for completion.  The Dibis gas turbine electricity generating station was approved but never started.  It should be moved forward as soon as possible for the benefit of the whole country.  Other projects that provided medicines and medical supplies were discussed because there is a continuing need for these.  The Minister of Health is to provide Ambassador Mann with information about medical equipment ordered as well as the current status of medicines.

KRG Director for Mines Liaison Office has moved to Baghdad to work on the national program for demining as well as the task of ridding the country of huge quantities of unexploded ordnance.

Dr. Shafiq Qazzaz, KRG Minister of Humanitarian Aid & Cooperation, reported that the cooperation with WFP for the handover of the food distribution has already begun and is proceeding successfully.  September’s distribution will be handled jointly by the KRG and WFP and October’s will be handled by KRG staff under observation of WFP so that everyone is prepared for a full handover of responsibility by the end of November.

A second meeting with Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, CPA Ambassadors Raphel and Mann and the new CPA team that will be working on the handover of the Oil-for-Food program, and KRG officials was held later in the day.  Mr. Sevan described the process that will take place and discussed the need for establishing tight deadlines so that the whole program is transferred in accordance with SCR-1483 on time.  Mr. Sevan will be presenting the UN exit strategy to the Security Council late in October.  UN Agencies are currently preparing lists of projects under their control and fixed and movable assets.  This was the first tripartite meeting of all players that will be involved in the handover of the program.  Sector tripartite committees will also be established quickly similar to the one set up by WFP that is already working.

Ambassador Mann introduced the team of experts that have been assigned to work on specific sectors and who can act as advisors to the KRG and UN as required.  Most will be posted full-time to the region until the full handover has taken place.

30 July 2003
Japan Troops Urged to Operate in Kurdish Region in Iraq
Jiji Press Ticker Service
Kurdish officials from Iraq on Tuesday called on Japanese troops to operate in the Kurdish autonomous region in the country. The Kurds welcome Japanese Self-Defense Forces troops, delegates of the autonomous government told a press conference in Tokyo. The officials said they want SDF forces to operate in the autonomous region in northern Iraq because it is a safe place. They said thousands of Kurds have died and wounded due to chemical weapons attacks by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime and many people are still suffering.

The Kurdish officials said they hope that SDF troops provide information for medical treatment. Japan's parliament on Saturday passed into law a bill to dispatch SDF troops to the noncombat areas of Iraq to assist in the nation's postwar reconstruction. The Kurdish delegates also asked the Japanese government and business circles to support their region through humanitarian aid and promotion of trade and investment. The delegates, led by Nechirvan Barzani , prime minister of the Kurdish autonomous government, arrived in Japan Monday for a five-day visit.
Copyright 2003 Jiji Press Ltd.; ? Jiji Press Ticker Service; July 30, 2003, Wednesday;

28 July 2003
JAPAN PROMISES HELP FOR KURDISH AUTONOMOUS REGION IN IRAQ
BBC Monitoring International Reports
Tokyo, 28 July: Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told an Iraqi Kurdish leader on Monday (28 July) that Japan will help with reconstruction efforts in the Kurdish area in northern Iraq, Foreign Ministry officials said. Kawaguchi was responding to a request for Japan's assistance from Nechirvan (Idris) Barzani , prime minister of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq, who met Kawaguchi at the ministry, the officials said.

Kawaguchi welcomed the establishment of an Iraqi governing council earlier this month and explained Japan's plan to send its Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to Iraq to take part in the reconstruction of the country, the officials said. Kawaguchi told Barzani , a nephew of Mas'ud Barzani , the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, that the SDF will be sent to Iraq to provide humanitarian assistance, not for the use of force in the country, the officials said.

Mas'ud Barzani is a member of the governing council, established on 13 July, which brings together Shi'is, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and ethnic Turks in Iraq, which has been occupied by US and British forces since they invaded the country in March.
Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0453 gmt 28 Jul 03

29 July 2003
Erbil International Airport
Stafford Clarry

Erbil International Airport (HIA) is ready to be used. Indeed, it is already being used. UN and USG-supported civilian flights for humanitarian and reconstruction staff have been arriving and departing for weeks. 

Yes, HIA needs some additional facilities, but that can happen in due course.  Air service to Erbil has begun.  It needs to be expanded and enhanced, and made available to all types of travelers.  Imagine!

HIA is the most centrally located site for international flights.  It's about equi-distant from Kirkuk and Mosul, about a 1-hour drive.  Duhok and Suleimaniyah are less than a 2-hour drive. Baghdad is a straight 4-hour drive south. Turkey, Iran, and Syria are about equi-distant, too.

A 15-minute drive from HIA, Erbil City has good accommodation, excellent international communications including satellite Internet access systems, ground transportation, and other support services. Costs are very reasonable.

Erbil is also the regional capital where the main government offices and headquarters of international organizations are located.

Let's not forget to mention friendly people and a very supportive government environment.

And most important of all:  security!!!  Kurdistan has been, and continues to be, secure. 

"It may be awhile, though, before it is safe for Iraq's commercial airports to open."  Kurdistan airports are safe now!  HIA is ready to open to commercial service now.

Let's get the planes flying in and out of here.  Innumerable families from Europe and elsewhere would readily visit their friends and relatives this summer if there was reliable and regular air service to Erbil.  Commercially, it's very viable.  It's a matter of bureaucracy and commercial contracting. Nothing else, anymore, stands in the way.  It just needs to start.

As was said at the ceremony that changed the airstrip from military to civilian status  -- when the U.S. military (General Petraeus) turned over the airstrip to the Kurdistan Regional Government (Regional Deputy Prime Minister Sami Abdul Rahman):  Erbil is the gateway to northern Iraq.

------------------------

AP
Seven More Airlines Get OK to Fly to Iraq
Tue Jul 29, 5:21 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Seven more airlines have been given permission to begin scheduled flights between the United States and Iraq, the government said Tuesday.

It may be awhile, though, before it is safe for Iraq's commercial airports to open.

The Transportation Department approved applications to fly cargo for five airlines: Air Transport International, Gemini Air Cargo, Evergreen International Airlines, Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo. Two others, North American Airlines and Continental Airlines, were given permission to fly cargo and passengers.

The Coalition Provisional Authority this month invited airlines to apply for permission to provide limited service to Baghdad International Airport and Basra International Airport. Neither has opened for commercial service.

The airlines still need approvals from several U.S. government agencies as well. The Transportation Security Administration, for example, must make sure that security is adequate at Iraqi airports.

In June, transportation officials gave the go-ahead to World Airways, Northwest Airlines and Kalitta Air to fly between the United States and Iraq.

3 July 2003
American Independence Day Celebrated in Iraqi Kurdistan
In the resort town of Salahaddin, KDP President Masoud Barzani organized a celebration ceremony in honour of the American Independence Day for US soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan.  All US military commanders and cilvilian administrators of the Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority and many of the Iraqi Kurdistan Peshmerga commanders attended the event.  In his openeing remarks, Mr. Barzani extended his special thanks and tributes to the USA and its people for liberating the Iraqi people and the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. 
 
"I would like to congratulate you on the 227th anniversary of your Independence Day.  America is one of the greatest countries in the world and I am honoured to congratulate you on this special occasion. Your US soldiers and our Peshmergas fought side by side to liberate this country from tyrrany and dictatorship."

US 101st Airborne Division commander, Major General David Petraeus also addressed the crowd and thanked Mr. Barzani for organizing the celebration. He said it was a big honor to have worked with the Peshmerga in liberating Iraq and the cooperation would continue.

U.S. Troops in Iraq Make Most of July 4th
Fri Jul 4, 3:02 PM ET
By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. soldiers observing Independence Day held barbecues at bases across Iraq on Friday and celebrated along with Kurdish allies, who are also marking the anniversary of the establishment of their first government.

Some U.S. troops joined actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a screening of his latest Terminator movie.

Thousands of U.S. troops chowed down at a barbecue at Baghdad International Airport, where the U.S. military had trucked in 3,000 pounds of sirloin, 1,000 cases of potato chips, piles of corn on the cob and about one ton of charcoal.

"I will never grill again on the 4th of July, " said Sgt. Joseph Cannings, a 43-year-old Dallas native, flipping about 40 filet mignon steaks on an enormous grill. "My family will be eating lunch meat from now on,"

A huge line of soldiers snaked away from the barbecue pit.

"Anybody want medium rare or don't care, come on up," screamed Sgt. Ronald Bretzke, 37, but there were few takers.

Earlier Friday, troops joined Schwarzenegger at the airport to watch his latest movie, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."

Schwarzenegger addressed a rambunctious crowd of soldiers in one of Saddam Hussein's former presidential palaces located inside the airport compound.

"It is really wild driving around here, I mean the poverty, and you see there is no money, it is disastrous financially and there is the leadership vacuum, pretty much like in California right now," he said.

Schwarzenegger, 55, has indicated he may run for governor of California as a Republican if residents there vote to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.

"I play terminator, but you guys are the true terminators," he told the soldiers, before heading to a base north of Baghdad near the town of Balad, which came under attack late Thursday, injuring at least 18 soldiers.

U.S. troops have been beset by a stepped up insurgency in recent weeks that has raised fears of a political and economic quagmire. Troops said Friday the pressures of serving in Iraq — and the immense summer heat — made passing the holiday away from home even tougher.

"I miss my family and I wish I could be there with them today," said Sgt. Jason Bramlett of Ft. Myers, Fla., who was on patrol in the Iraqi capital. "But we have a job to do here. The Iraqi people need our help."

Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers were treated to a grand 4th of July celebration by grateful Kurds at a spectacular lakeside resort near Dokan, a town in the semiautonomous Kurdish north of the country. Kurds also celebrate July 4 as the anniversary of the establishment in 1992 of a Kurdish government, thanks in part to a U.S.-British enforced no-fly zone that kept Saddam Hussein's forces out of the north.

Barham Salih, a leader of the eastern half of the Kurdish enclave, thanked U.S. troops for ousting Saddam.

"What you have done is immense," he said. "You have come from afar and delivered our people from injustice. You came to liberate our people. Mission accomplished."

Salih sent out invitations to all of the military units with ties to the north, as well as the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S. and British occupation power.

"It's fantastic to celebrate the 4th with our allies," said Dick Naab, northern Iraq's top coalition provisional authority official. "When you can't be home, the next best thing is being with friends."
___

AP correspondent Borzou Daragahi in Dokan and Sameer Yacoub in Baghdad contributed to this report.

 

Kurds, Coalition Launch Project to Build Civilian Airport in Arbil
AFP
1 July 2003

ARBIL, July 1 (AFP) The US-led coalition held a symbolic ceremony Tuesday to launch a project to build a civil airport on the western edge of this Iraqi Kurdish town.

General Petraeus David, commander of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, handed over to a group of Kurdish officials a symbolic key to the airport which will be named "Hawler International Airport".

The airport will be built on a site formerly used by the ousted regime of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as an airfield for emergency landings of military aircraft

According to Nuzad Hadi, an official with the governmental committee charged with rebuilding the airport, "20 million dollars have been allocated to build the main buildings, in cooperation with the US Army."

Iraqi Kurdistan has been effectively autonomous since the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) sharing control of the area.

The two parties allied themselves with coalition forces that toppled the Saddam regime.

10 June 2003
Prime Minister Visits Kirkuk
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani along with a number of KRG ministers toured the city of  Kirkuk today and visited the newly elected mayor of the city to congratulate him, his deputy and the city council members.. 

Later on his visit, the Prime Minister opened the Shafaq cultural center in the city which will promote Kurdish language and culture.  In a speech at the opening ceremony, the prime minister referred to the decades of Arabization and forced deportation of Kirkuki Kurds, Turkomens, Assyrians and Chaldeans by the previous regime.  He stressed that Kirkuk is a Kurdistani city but that it should be a city for the peaceful co-existence of Kurds, Arabs, Turkomens, Assyrians and Chaldeans. 

9 June 2003
Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly Celebrates 11th Anniversary
The Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly (IKNA) celebrated its 11th anniversary today in the parliament building.  The assembly of 105 members was elected in free elections in 1992.  Among the invited guests were Massoud Barzani, President of Kurdistan Democratic Part (KDP), Jalal Talabani, Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), representatives of the Office of Coalition Provisional Authority and coalition forces command, leaders of Iraqi political parties and a parliamentary delegation from Japan. 

Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly Celebrates 11th Anniversary

A message from Paul Bremer was read out in which he said " it is a great honour to congratulate you on the anniversary of your parliament."

Most of the guests addressed the parliament.  Mr. Barzani said "although there are many problems facing Iraq, the biggest problem is over and that is the liberation of the country from dictatorship." 

Major General Bruce Moore (ret.) thanked and paid tribute to the role of the Kurdish peshmergas forces during the process of liberating Iraq.

Most of the Arab Iraqi delegates addressing the assembly endorsed a federal solution for the Kurds inside Iraq.  The IKNA had called for a federal solution for Iraqi Kurds back in 1992. 

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