Establishing Basra region easing off political congestion – MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: MP from the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) said on Friday that establishing the Basra region is a positive step towards easing off the congestion in the political process in Iraq . “The Iraqi constitution approves the federalism and all Iraqi politicians have to respect the constitution’s principles,” Adel Barawri told IraqiNews.com. “Setting up the Basra region is a constitutional demand and we in the Kurdistan Alliance will vote for it if it was presented in the parliament,” the lawmaker said. The people of Basra province in southern Iraq collected 34,800 names for a campaign in which they are demanding the establishment of a federal region of their own. The head of Karbala provincial council sees the establishment of such regions as normal, but some parties have declared their opposition. Iraqi Parliament independent member Wael Abdul-Lateef, who arranged the campaign, said on Monday at a press conference that he expects the announcement of a Basra federal region within the coming three months. He spoke at the Basra branch of the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq. “We submitted to the Commission office this morning the demands of 34,800 Basra citizens who ask to make the province a federal region,” said Abdul-Lateef. He said more signatures will be collected in preparation for holding a public referendum in the province about the project. “If the supporters of this project reach 50% plus one during the referendum, then the prime minister must announce Basra as a region.” He insisted on “benefiting from the Kurdistan Region experience” while establishing Basra region. “Federalism in Iraq cannot be realistic while there is one region of Kurdistan, but the Basra region must also be established in order to make federalism practical in Iraq .” Basra , 590 km (340 miles) south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad , has an estimated metropolitan population of 2,300,000 in 2008. Basra , a Shiite province with 20% of the population are Sunnis, is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer . It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history. The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city’s oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd). The only Iraqi outlet to the sea, Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname “The Venice of the Middle East ” at least at high tide. The only Iraqi outlet to the sea, Basra has the commercial ports of Iraq . SH (I) 1