Barazani says some parties trying to impose “dictatorship” on Iraq

DUHUK / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barazani accused some “parties” of seeking to impose dictatorship on Iraq by controlling the army and police and hindering an article in the constitution that regulates solutions to disputed areas. “There are parties that want to dictatorship back again by controlling the army and police, which we will never accept,” Barazani said in a meeting in the Kurdish northern Iraq province of Duhuk with officials and notables. “We are for a strong army that would serve the people. We would be glad to see Iraq has a strong army, but we would also like to see the army keeping its distance from politics and we will never accept anything to the contrary,” said Barazani. Speaking on relations with Baghdad, Barazani pointed out “we are waiting for the committees set up to determine and activate relations with the federal government”. “We expect good results regarding the peshmerga , which the Kurdistan government considers part of the Iraqi army but Baghdad declines to finance,” he noted “The Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG) is a main partner in the federal government. We will never accept anything to be imposed on Kurds. Our project is for Iraq as a whole. There is a constitution that governs the relations between us and Baghdad,” he added. Barazani’s statements came in an address during a three-day visit he is now paying to Duhuk, where he met with several officials and local leaders. AmR (S) 2