2 main Kurdish parties say sahwa council against constitution

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The two main Kurdish parties concurred that the formation of sahwa (Awakening) tribal councils in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and disputed areas runs counter against the constitution. “The formation of these armed elements is defying the laws endorsed by the Iraqi parliament and is also against the opinions of the majority of the country’s political powers that call for disbanding these militias,” according to a joint statement by the two parties after a meeting of their politburos in the city of Arbil on Monday. The two Kurdish parties are Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barazani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Abboud al-Issawi, an advisor for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for clans’ affairs, had said earlier this month that the government would seek the establishment of a national sahwa council for clans and refer a proposal in this respect to the Iraqi parliament for endorsement. IraqiNews.com failed to reach the official spokesman for the Iraqi government for comments on this issue. The sahwa fighters, armed by the U.S. forces, were formed by tribes in several cities and provinces of Iraq, namely Anbar, Diala, Salah al-Din and Mosul as well as some areas in the Iraqi capital with the aim of fighting armed organizations in their areas. AmR (S) 1