8 June 2001, Volume  4, Number  20
Radio Free Europe
Iraq Report

The "reconciliation" between the Kurdish parties administrating the Kurdish Regional
Government (KRG) is driven by a review of priorities in anticipation of the possible
consequences of the failure of the ongoing negotiations between Baghdad and the United
Nations on the new sanctions system and in preparation for the expected political changes,
according to a commentator from Irbil writing in London's "Al-Hayat" of 29 May.

The rapprochement and coordination between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has descended to deeper levels than the differences in
views over the distribution of customs revenues, unification of the two administrations, and
the reactivation of the KRG parliament.

Current Kurdish moves toward coordination with Baghdad are a result of increased
confidence in the Kurdish establishment and the Kurds' success in establishing a solid
defense system that can handle any conventional attack by Baghdad on Kurdistan. Over the
last two years, Kurdish military leaders both trained a semi-professional military force and
exploited the international market to obtain good weapons in the same way as Iraq, namely,
by using the smuggling networks. Thus, the defense network resulting from these efforts
became an actual deterrent to attacks from the Baghdad-controlled areas.

At the same time, the Kurdish leaders are aware that they cannot rely on firm Western stands
toward the Iraq issue. These caused them to turn to Baghdad with specific initiatives. In this
context, PUK leader Jalal Talabani made the teaching of Arabic compulsory at the start of
the next school year. and promised not to use any regional party for developing oil
production from wells in his areas.

The major stumbling block remaining between the KDP and PUK is the question of the
unification of the PUK and KDP administrations. Leader of the KDP Mas'ud Barzani said to
"Al-Hayah" that "I personally do not see any problem in the presence of the two
administrations at the crucial transitional stage." But Talabani disagrees.
(David Nissman)
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com