Iraqi politicians, officials, reject Kuwait’s Mubarak Port, call for defending Iraq’s rights

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: A group of Iraqi politicians, experts and officials, have agreed that Kuwait ’s building of the so-called Mubarak Port , shall affect the activity of Iraqi ports, especially the Grand Faw Port , calling for taking a decisive position to defend Iraq ’s rights.   “Mubarak Port shall cut the water course, used by trade vessels heading for Iraq’s Um-Qasr Port, because its construction and area exceeds the so-called Taluk line, dividing Iraq’s waters with Iran and Kuwait,” the Iraqi Overseas Captain, Kadhim al-Hamami told IraqiNews.com news agency on Sunday.   He said that “the waves-breakers and naval constructions in the (Gulf) waters, shall represent a nucleus for mud remains, acting with other factors, thing that shall have a passive affect on the Iraqi coasts,” adding that the Mubarak Port “shall minimize the water area, allocated for fishing, depriving Iraqi fishermen for their only source of life.”   “There will be other constructions, along with the said Port, including the gigantic Aluminium Plant, Kuwait had decided to build in the same area, thing that shall have its passive impacts in Iraq ’s Khor-Abdullah Port , also affecting the naval environment,” Hamami said.   He said that the Mubarak Port “shall compete directly with the Faw Port, Iraqi has decided to build,” pointing out that “the canal that shall be used by steamers heading to the port, will be the same canal, used by the ships heading towards Um-Qasr Port, taking into consideration that the joint use of the same naval course shall create direct frictions and confrontations between both sides.”   On his part, a high-level Iraqi official, with a State Minister’s post, who asked not to named, told IraqiNews.com that “the construction of Mubarak Port is considered a legal violation for the Treatment for Drawing the Borders between Iraq and Kuwait .”   “ Mubarak Port shall deprive Iraq from the passage of any ship, with 10-meter depth capacity, to pass through the area, because the said depth shall be on the Kuwait side,” he said.   He stressed that “from the economic aspect, the said port shall deprive Iraq from one of its most important gates to the sea, thus completely squeezing on its main Faw Port, whilst Kuwait possesses a ‘port prosperity,’ due to its possession of 5 ports, whilst the Mubarak Port shall represent a ‘murder’ for the Iraqi ports.”   “Iraqis hope that the said problem would be settled through diplomatic means, being added to the suspended dossiers between both sides,” the official said.   The Deputy Chairman of southern Iraq ’s Basra Province ’s Council, Ahmed al-Sultany, has laid the passive impacts of Mubarak Port on Iraq ’s Faw Port , saying that “this port shall cause the tightening of Naval canal, and thus strangle the only naval course for Iraq ’s Um-Qasr and Khor al-Zubair Ports .”   “There are other technical problems that shall affect Iraq ’s Faw Port , in the event of its construction, being an attempt to make Kuwait ’s ports substitutes for Iraqi Ports,” he said.   On his part, Iraq ’s Parliament Member from al-Ahrar (Liberals) Bloc, Uday Awad, said: “We have good relations with Kuwait , but we can’t stay hand-aloof if Iraq ’s interests be affected by anybody.”   “After the return of the fact-find committee about Mubarak Port, it was made clear that it affects Iraq’s Faw Port, and that there is a violation by the Kuwaiti side on Iraq’s naval rights, and there will be a different response towards that; and we, al-Ahrar (Liberals) Bloc won’t be satisfied by mere condemnation!”   “We condemn the positions of some Iraqi political blocs, that have strong relations with the Kuwaiti side, thing that made them take passive attitudes towards the issue of Mubarak Port , as stated by the statements made by some of them,” Awad said.   The Director of Iraqi Ports, Salah Khudhier Abboud, had announced at the end of