PM accuses Kurdish leadership of “violating” the constitution

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Kurdish leaderships, without specifying them, accusing those leaderships of violating the constitution. “I am surprised with the Presidential Board’s silence regarding the constitutional violations committed by the Kurdish leaderships, through opening offices for diplomatic missions, deploying forces to encounter federal governmental forces, in addition to using governmental funds to support tribes serving their parties’ interests,” al-Maliki said in a press conference in Baghdad. “All oil contracts signed by Kurdistan’s government with foreign companies violate the constitution,” he added. “Since the beginning, all parties agreed to amend the constitution, and a committee had been formed for this purpose,” he noted. “It is important to amend the constitution,” he asserted. MH (P)/SR     1