Archive for the ‘Kirkuk’ Category
Turkish energy giant to establish refinery in northern Iraq
A Turkish oil exploration and production company active in northern Iraq plans to establish a refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels this year in the city of Koya, near the Taq Taq oilfield.
Genel Enerji, owned by Çukurova Holding, one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates with investments in the automotive, telecommunications, media, textile, energy and information-technology services sectors, is seeking loans for the refinery’s cost of $510 million.
The firm, which has the authority to establish a refinery and conduct oil exploration in the Taq Taq field as a part of its deal with the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, has prepared a report titled “Midstream Opportunity in Kurdistan” for the refinery investment.
According to the report, which was acquired by daily Milliyet, the refinery is expected to be built in three phases and will cost $510 million. The Regional Kurdish Administration supports investments in order to cover northern Iraq’s oil demand and export oil. Read the rest of this entry »
Davutoğlu, Iraqi Shiite leader discuss cooperation
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Ammar Abdulaziz al-Hakim, leader of Iraq’s Islamic Supreme Council, discussed the upcoming elections in Iraq and future cooperation regarding the Kurdish issue on Wednesday in Istanbul.
Davutoğlu signified that the elections were could be a “turning point” in the two countries’ relations.During the meeting, Davutoğlu said Turkey wanted a peaceful and prosperous Iraq, reported Anatolia news agency.
Al- Hakim stressed the importance of preserving the rights of all Iraqis, including those of the Turkmen people in Kirkuk. He welcomed Turkey’s support of Iraq’s democratization process and cooperation on water policy. Read the rest of this entry »
Minorities in Iraq’s North Seen as Threatened
The policies and tactics of Kurdish authorities could expose minority groups in northern Iraq to “another full-blown human rights catastrophe” unless the minorities receive better protection, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch.
Members of the minority groups are being singled out by extremist insurgent groups and also are caught in the middle of a struggle for land and resources between Arabs and the central government on one hand and leaders of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region on the other, said the report, which was released in the Kurdish region’s capital, Erbil, and focused on Christians, Shabaks and Yazidis in Nineveh Province.
Rights report criticizes Iraqi Kurds for mistreating minorities
Minorities in northern Iraq are at great risk of violence, abuse and manipulation thanks to the ongoing power struggle between Arbil and Baghdad, warns a human rights group. A Turkmen living in Turkey says the issue is often misconstrued in the media
The ongoing dispute between Iraq’s central government and the Regional Kurdish Administration in northern Iraq is once again threatening to become a “human rights catastrophe” for minority communities, according to a report by a leading rights watchdog.
Meanwhile, experts on the region said it was nothing new that minorities in the region were being squeezed between the two power centers. Read the rest of this entry »
Hashimi: PKK will leave Iraq or lay down arms
The Iraqi vice president said on Thursday that the terrorist organization PKK would leave his country if it does not lay down arms.
Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said that the terrorist organization PKK would leave Iraq if it does not lay down arms.
“The terrorist organization PKK will either lay down arms and plead for mercy or it will leave Iraq,” he said in a TV program. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkish envoy says Kirkuk should not cause new conflicts in Iraq
Kirkuk should not cause new conflicts in Iraq, Turkey’s permanent representative to the United Nations (U.N.), said on Thursday.
“The status of Kirkuk, which is a small example of the rich ethnic diversity in Iraq, should not cause new clashes in Iraq,” Baki Ilkin said during a meeting on Iraq at the U.N. Security Council in New York.
Ilkin said that Turkey, as Iraq’s neighbor, underlined the great importance to boosting stability and security in Iraq. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkey sends observers to Iraq elections, early voting begins
Hurriyet
A group of Turkish observers will monitor Saturday’s Iraqi provincial elections as polling stations opened across the country on Wednesday in the first stage of the provincial election, the nation’s first ballot since 2005.
Turkish observers, consisting of 26 academicians, researchers and representatives of think-tanks, will monitor elections together with nearly 1,000 foreign observers in Iraq, the Anatolian Agency reported.
About 614,000 police, soldiers, hospital patients and prisoners are entitled to vote at 1,672 established polling centers that opened at 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 5:00 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkish president invites Kirkuk ethnic groups to gather in Ankara
Hurriyet
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has called on the representatives of Kirkuk’s ethnic groups to convene in Ankara, an Iraqi Shi’ite Turkmen MP from the United Iraqi Alliance said on Monday.
The fate of Kirkuk, an ancient city that was once part of the Ottoman Empire, is one of the most divisive issues in Iraq. Control over Kirkuk, a mixed city of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, and the surrounding oil wealth, is in dispute between the city’s three ethnic groups.
“The meeting of the representatives of the Iraqi components is related with their approval and willingness to discuss this sensitive issue on a round table with a Turkish readiness to offer the circumstances of succeeding the meeting,” Abbas al-Bayati told Baghdad-based al-Sabah newspaper. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkey wary over status of Kirkuk
Middle East Times
Turkey cautioned against moving too quickly on a referendum to settle the disputed status of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, officials said.
Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkomen with the United Iraqi Alliance coalition, said Turkish President Abdullah Gul invited members from the ethnic community in Kirkuk to meet in Ankara to discuss the way forward on the disputed city, Turkey’s daily newspaper Hurriyet reported Monday.
Iraq holds provincial elections in 14 of the 18 provinces Jan. 31. The vote is delayed in the three Kurdish provinces and Kirkuk because of territorial disputes.
Ethnic Kurds, Sunnis and Turkomen disagree over whether Kirkuk should be considered part of greater Iraq or Iraqi Kurdistan. The vote in Kirkuk is postponed indefinitely. Read the rest of this entry »
Connecting people in Istanbul and Kirkuk overland
Hurriyet
As relations between Turkey and northern Iraq begin to heal, a bus company has started traveling between Istanbul and Kirkuk.
Although there are only a limited number of buses traveling, knowing there is way to travel is believed to have made people feel closer to one another, reported daily Zaman.
The buses carry Turkmen, Arab and Kurdish people who want to visit family, relatives and friends in Istanbul. The buses, owned by a company based in the southeastern city of Mardin, currently travel twice a week. Although the trip is long and difficult, it is as popular as flight tickets to Kirkuk from Istanbul, which cost around $500 while the bus trip costs $130. The reason that flight tickets are so expensive is that the flights have high insurance premiums because of Iraq’s security issues. Read the rest of this entry »