" The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014
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    " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    “EVICT MALIKI” COUNTDOWN : 9 DAYS TO THE SCHEDULED * ELECTION

    * NOTE: that the countdown notice has been amended to qualify the Election as ”Scheduled ” to give emphasis to the tenuous state of political / constitutional affairs in Iraq in recent days and specifically the mention in the news of a possible delay in the election due to the Anbar diaspora. Add to the foregoing the ” threat” of the election occurring under martial law with Maliki as the chief executive officer.



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    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    Experts claim to activate the productive sectors of supportive legislation



    4/21/2014 0:00

    Demanded not to remain recommendations far from the effect
    of Baghdad, Ahmed Abed Rabbo

    concluded conference for dialogue between the public and private sectors to the importance of activating economic system towards activating the productive sectors and the establishment of the Bank of development and attention to legislative aspects and instructions that enhance the productive capacities and competitiveness, with the wait to join the World Trade Organization, while student specialists from the private not remain the recommendations are far from into force after the adjournment of the legislative and executive powers. The conference, which Andmh Iraqi Businessmen Union in collaboration with the Center for International Private and attended by "morning" the culmination of a series of previous meetings held over four months to discuss the recommendations that came by specialists. market economy , said President of the Federation of Iraqi businessmen Reza Ragheb Blibl (morning): to discuss the recommendations of previous meetings that have been developed by specialists from the public and private sector aims to provide a clear picture to the decision-maker and administrator, as well as public opinion, noting that the need calls for the provision of the proper climate to move to a market economy in order to join the World Trade Organization, that the accession process is beneficial to the country and do not affect the overall economic activity.

    Called Blibl higher authorities to re-work laws revitalize the Iraqi economy Kaltarafh customs and protect the consumer and the producer to be appropriate to join the organization mentioned , pointing to the presence of more than 21 laws economically is in place, calling at the same time the introduction of the banking sector to the labor market to meet the needs of the local economy and what it requires of concessional funding to help the private sector to promote, useful that most Iraqi banks at the present time is limited activity on bringing cash only. his part, said economic expert Majid picture (morning), that the private sector is suffering from many problems summed up the lack of attribution true both in terms of legislation or procedures relating to the application of the laws of his work, as well as the deterioration of the investment environment and the problems related to fiscal policy, noting that specialists trying to reach solutions to the problems that hinder the advancement of the sector. said that the picture stimulate the economy depends on the political will that would pass laws that serve the interests of the private sector while providing the right environment for investment and support the productive sectors different. decision-makers in the same context between Economic expert on behalf of Jamil Antoine (morning): This conference is an outcome of the three seminars included topics of great importance to stimulate the economy and improve the system of banking to keep pace with development and investment with the rehabilitation of Iraq to join the World Trade Organization, adding that the previous recommendations re-read it more than once, taking into account the observations of experts and specialists in order to be presented to the House of Representatives, ministers and the media.


    ARTICLE LINK

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    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    The Quartet failed to agree on budget



    4/21/2014 0:00

    With the continuing differences between the center and the region and concern of Representatives campaigning
    Baghdad Shaima Rashid

    although the general elections to choose members of the new Council of Representatives on the doorstep, but the House of Representatives is still unable to reach agreement on the budget, after the failure of the Quartet, which formed recently to resolve differences , according to the two deputies from the State of Law coalition and the Iraqi List. Sources have confirmed that the adoption of the budget before the election has become impossible due to the differences between the political blocs and not to attend most of the House of Representatives to meetings of the Council because of their preoccupation with campaigning. mention that the House adjourn until further notice to that gets agree on the draft budget law public finances of the country, after forming a committee headed by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Qusay al-Suhail. deputy state law Keywords criticized the lifting of the parliament sessions until further notice, without specifying a specific date for the next session,
    stressing that the council began his career in laggard months ago . Alak said in a statement the "morning": "It is clear that there is a political blocs do not want the parliament to initiate laws that make up the service to the citizens, and most recently the budget law, which is one of the most important current legislation," he said, adding that the Presidency of the Council allowed Btsoev pass this law During the lack of accountability of the blocks absent or county meetings.

    He also said, "Procrastination is not a new phenomenon, but it began months ago, and that there are a number of laws broken," blaming the presidency of the Council of responsibility on the grounds that there is a consensus among the members of the presidency on the postponement, nor was there a decision Parliament to cancel the hearings, but the decision was by the Presidency Council, which bear the responsibility.
    between Keywords that the quartet formed by the chairman of the parliament to study the attitudes and rounding between the federal government and the provincial government failed to reach something, have not been found to work, and he was supposed to be there continue within the Council for the Commission's work and the fact that what is going on and are blocs objecting. was the House of Representatives has formed a committee headed by Qusay al-Suhail to resolve differences between the political blocs after an agreement between the heads of political blocs on the formation headed by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Qusay al-Suhail to resolve differences between the political blocs, and included both the Second Deputy Speaker Arif Tayfur and chairman of the Finance Committee Haider Abadi and chairman of the oil and gas Adnan al-Janabi.

    Objected Keywords on the work of the Presidency, which he said did not take into account the accuracy in determining the dates of holidays legislature, which put her in a paradox as a result of the accumulation of holidays and do not specify the date Each holiday, because the last legislative term was announced was in 12/15/2013 in the sense that the end of the legislative term of the last of the work of the Board 04.15.2014, but the constitution select the work of the House of Representatives four years real, and that the first meeting of the Council began at 14 / 6/2013 and the end must be in 6/14/2014 and so far did not pan body in resolving the issue, it has become, there are two views intersecting the first to say that the work of Parliament ended the middle of this month and the other confirms that ends on June 14 next, and this defect borne Presidency of the Council. For his part, MP for the coalition in Iraq Qusay F lack of holiday legislature of the Parliament unless it is approving the budget.

    Juma said in a statement the "morning": that "the House of Representatives must approve the budget, noting that the quartet formed by Presidency of the parliament to visit the Kurdistan region to discuss the problems did not reach a conclusion, and did not get consensus, and when what happened consensus will determine the session of parliament. follow F: "If the end of the Committee of the tasks of work will resume Parliament work for the adoption of the budget."

    in turn, called the Kurdistan Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman, all the political blocs to professional dialogue away from the electoral competition for approving the budget.

    Osman said in a statement to transfer "Center Brief for the Iraqi Media Network": "The political blocs claim dialogues serious for approving the budget as soon as the lack of influence in the economic conditions of the citizens."

    and pointed out that " differences on the budget in 2014 between Baghdad and Erbil be solved as soon as possible to go to the dialogue table far from the political differences. "

    ARTICLE LINK

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    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    Maliki ally ourselves with those who want to build Iraq



    4/21/2014 0:00

    Reiterated his refusal to postpone the elections .. The lack of violating the constitution
    Baghdad morning

    Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki total rejection to postpone the elections, despite acknowledging the existence of Sawmh the delay, stressing that he would team up with someone who wants to build Iraq and maintains a strong, unified state.

    statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office quoted him as saying during an interview with Al-Manar TV: "I did not Ojaml one at the expense of Iraq, I will not be only an Iraqi with respect to all identities, and the challenge that comes to me a Bmkhafatta to the Constitution, even by one point, while I will give them tens of irregularities."

    and on the position of the Anbar tribes of terrorism , Maliki said, according to the statement received "morning," a copy of it: "Without the parking clans us of what we were able to stand up against the wave of terrorist." confirmed through dialogue, the lack of "sectarian sectarian in Iraq, but sectarian political, politicians sit down on sectarianism to gain support, and all Iraqis against the trend of sectarian and foreign intervention. "In terms of what is rumored about the postponement of the elections, Prime Minister, saying:" I said, and I assure that the elections will not be delayed one hour, has Somona the postponement was pink it would not defer nor one hour. "The High Commission Independent Electoral Commission has confirmed its readiness full elections in all provinces, with the exception of some of the hot spots in Anbar. continued the Prime Minister: "We want to change so that we can work, we ally ourselves with those who want to build Iraq and the establishment of a strong state uniform and not a state stolen will."

    It is said that State of Law coalition led by Prime Minister alliance after the last election with the National Coalition, as a form together the largest parliamentary bloc in parliament (the National Alliance) that chose al-Maliki to head the government. Concerning the repeated threats from the Kurdistan region to secede, replied the Prime Minister: "It is not the right one in the region or in other that violates the Constitution, either self-determination has decided the fate of the Kurds when they voted for this constitution, which stipulates that Iraq is a federal state and one independent, and the guarantor of the Constitution of the unity of Iraq. "

    ARTICLE LINK

    OOTW~ JMHO - OF COURSE HE DOESN'T WANT TO POSTPONE THE ELECTIONS, EVERYONE'S SO NEATLY DISPLACED.

  5. #5

    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    Nineveh Governor: The province will witness a wide movement of a construction investment projects

    20/04/2014 20:51:00

    Mosul / NINA / Governor of Nineveh Ethel Nujaifi said on Sunday that the coming days will witness the movement of a large reconstruction investment and cooperation in all fields with Turkey.

    Nujaifi said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that the province of Nineveh has signed a contract with a major investment with Turkish companies to build hospitals and Malls, and will direct these projects soon.

    He added that the province has contracted to set up (40) tourism, medical and economical projects, including two major projects in the field of tourism on the banks of the Tigris in the forests of Mosul, restaurants and industrial facilities, the implementation of Turkish companies.

    https://www.ninanews.com/english/News...ar95_VQ=HDMFJE

  6. #6

    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    *** CORRECTION OR UPDATE FROM YESTERDAY ***

    Currency Auctions

    Announcement No. (2655)

    The latest daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq on the 19-4-2014 the port on 20-4-2014 results were as follows:

    Details Notes
    Number of banks 14
    Auction price selling dinar / US$ 1166
    Auction price buying dinar / US$ -----
    Amount sold at auction price (US$) 177,440,000
    Amount purchased at Auction price (US$) -----
    Total offers for buying (US$) 177,440,000
    Total offers for selling (US$) -----

    Exchange rates

    Announcement No. (2656)

    The latest daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq on the 20-4-2014 results were as follows:

    Details Notes
    Number of banks 15
    Auction price selling dinar / US$ 1166
    Auction price buying dinar / US$ -----
    Amount sold at auction price (US$) 180,274,000
    Amount purchased at Auction price (US$) -----
    Total offers for buying (US$) 180,274,000
    Total offers for selling (US$) -----

    Exchange rates ( 1,218 Market Rate ) * Constant and unchanged since April 3, 2014. After I posted the currency auction report in the forum yesterday morning and at some point in time yesterday afternoon, the CBI updated or reposted to include another auction which I have described and referred to on similar occasions in the past as a " double auction ". Although the Central Bank web site or " port " shows a Saturday auction by date, the pdf file states that there was no auction on Saturday / that date. Bizarre, but probably of no import or significance to our event. *

    https://www.cbi.iq/index.php?pid=CurrencyAuctions and https://www.cbi.iq/documents/CBI_FORE...E_AUCTIONS.pdf
    Last edited by chattels; 04-21-2014 at 05:52 AM.

  7. #7

    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014



    Ahmadinejad’s return may be boost for Rouhani

    Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to return to Iranian politics.

    This is why, eight months after he left office, his supporters are embarking on a PR campaign to facilitate his return.

    According to the Tehran-based Shargh publication, part of this public relations campaign includes setting up a media group. The name of this group is an acronym, HOMA, which is derived from the Persian term Havadarn-e Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meaning “supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” This group consists of bloggers and news sites sympathetic to Iran’s former president.

    Sites such as Dowlat-e Bahar, Ayin News and Rais Jomhur-e ma (Our President) are reported to be part of this group. This is in addition to another site called 72 Square, named after the roundabout in Tehran's Narmak neighborhood where Ahmadinejad lives. These sites have already started promoting Ahmadinejad's achievements, while attacking President Hassan Rouhani's policies as well as Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, whom Ahmadinejad supporters see as Rouhani's backer. Ahmadinejad has also set up a new Twitter account.

    As part of Ahmadinejad’s PR campaign, his supporters are trying to endear him to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In some of the pro-Ahmadinejad sites, the supreme leader is referred to as “Imam Khamenei,” instead of Ayatollah Khamenei. Religiously speaking, the title of imam is much higher and important than the title of ayatollah. This is in addition to claims by supporters that Ahmadinejad has returned to politics at the request of Iran's supreme leader.

    So why now?

    Based on the content of his supporters' attacks against Rouhani, it seems that Ahmadinejad wants to capitalize on the expected public outcry after the implementation of the next round of subsidy reforms in Iran, which is scheduled to take place this week. With electricity, food and fuel prices expected to go up because of these reforms, Ahmadinejad is hoping that the public will blame Rouhani, and to yearn for his return.

    In all likelihood, Ahmadinejad also hopes to capitalize on the frustration and anger of the conservatives who feel left out and isolated from the nuclear negotiations. Ahmadinejad is hoping that they will now look to him as a leader to lead the backlash against Rouhani, if the talks fail, or if the conservatives are unhappy with the terms of a possible deal between Iran and the P5+1. The pro-Ahmadinejad site Rais Jomhur-e ma is already attacking Rouhani after reports emerged that Iran has agreed to modify the IR-40 reactor during the negotiations with the P5+1.

    Despite his aspirations, Ahmadinejad should not expect an easy return to politics, as after eight years in office he left behind many enemies. There have already been attempts to summon him to court over charges stemming from his previous term. Meanwhile, in March, his former vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi was indicted on corruption charges.

    In fact, his return may end up being a blessing for Iran’s current president Rouhani.

    Such a claim may sound counterintuitive, as the two politicians come from different poles of Iranian politics. To start with, Ahmadinejad is a hard-line conservative while Rouhani is a moderate. There are vast differences of opinion between the two in their foreign and domestic outlook. So how can the return of Ahmadinejad be good for Rouhani?

    When a pyromaniac who has burned down numerous buildings in a block returns to the neighborhood, any firefighter standing next to him will look good and heroic, even a half-competent one. Ahmadinejad was such a bad and unpopular president that next to him, Rouhani will look great. And the more visible Ahmadinejad is in Iranian politics, the easier it will be for people to make such a comparison. Since leaving office in August 2013, Ahmadinejad has been relatively quiet. But that seems to be over. Ahmadinejad is making a comeback, and one of the lessons learned from Ahmadinejad's eight years in office is that Mahmoud loves the limelight.

    There is also the IRGC (Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) factor. Yes, both Ahmadinejad and the leadership of the IRGC belong to the conservative wing of Iranian politics. And both have their own reasons to dislike Rouhani. However, another lesson we learned from Ahmadinejad's eight years in office is that he is a very conflict-prone politician. During his term in office, he fell out with everyone, including the IRGC, which initially supported him. Now that Ahmadinejad is making a comeback, it is only a matter of time before he falls out with the IRGC leadership, again. That would be great news for Rouhani.

    Eight years of Ahmadinejad in office taught us another thing: Whatever he touches, turns to dust. This is likely to include his return to Iranian politics. If anything, Rouhani has good reason to welcome Ahmadinejad’s return to the limelight, because with Ahmadinejad next to him, Rouhani will look much better.

    https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/orig...#ixzz2zUv1bgH4

  8. #8

    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014



    Erdogan takes on Central Bank, judiciary

    On Tuesdays, the political leaders of Turkey gather their parliamentarians in meetings in the parliament building and lecture them. There, they feel free to insult other parties and engage in fiery polemics. Many TV channels cover Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s addresses live. Key segments of the speeches of the other three parties' leaders are also covered.

    The print media doesn’t have to go looking for news on Tuesdays, for the Tuesday speeches provide ample content to fill the country’s political agenda for a week.

    For a long time, Erdogan has used his outstanding oratory skills to launch attacks over this forum. The targets of Erdogan’s toxic language determine the short-term political agenda of the country.

    On April 15, the judiciary was the target of the prime minister’s fury. What most recently enraged him was the release of six police officers and two military personnel who had been arrested for stopping a number of trucks operated by Turkish National Intelligence (MIT), allegedly en route to Syria to assist the rebels there.

    Before the elections, searching the MIT trucks was portrayed as the outcome of the fight between Erdogan and US-based Islamic leader Fethullah Gulen and between their extensions in state security agencies. Erdogan accused Gulen’s disciples in the police and judiciary of being a “state within a state” and labeling them a “parallel structure,” which he eventually linked to an international conspiracy against his person. He went as far as saying that the trucks stopped not far from the Syrian border were part of that conspiracy, which he further dramatized by calling it an espionage operation.

    Following the changes in the judiciary appointments, the government prosecutor called for the detention of security personnel who had stopped the MIT trucks carrying undisclosed equipment to Syrian rebels. But a judge overturned the arrests and released the detainees, thus becoming a target of Erdogan’s fury.

    Erdogan was already outraged with the decision by the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court to overturn the Twitter ban as well as some key clauses of the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) law. The HSYK bill had prompted criticism from the European Union and concern in the US State Department over the possible eradication of the freedom of the judiciary and the disregard of the fundamental separation-of-powers democratic principle.

    Erdogan declared he had found the decisions of the Constitutional Court "non-national" and put himself on a veritable warpath against the judiciary by inviting Hasim Kilic, the president of the Constitutional Court, to strip off his gown and enter into politics.

    The release of the detained police in Adana added insult to Erdogan’s injury. According to T24, he repeated his former allusions to medieval Iran’s “assassins” to describe Gulen's supporters and, bizarrely, accused the Adana judges who overturned the arrests of “submitting to blackmail and smoking too much hashish.” He said, "When we talk of these gangs in the judiciary, some get up and accuse politics of interfering in the judiciary. In Adana, there was blatant espionage activity. And the gangsters who had infiltrated the judiciary, never mind keeping quiet, had the gall to decide for the benefit of spies.” He added, "Those who ignore these crimes, those who cover them up, will definitely pay. We will clean the courthouse corridors of those gangs."

    Erdogan’s impassioned oratory not only fed speculations of a witch hunt in Turkey but were also interpreted as an impending onslaught against the judiciary. Tensions in the country did not ease with the local elections on March 30, but escalated.

    The decisions by the Constitutional Court to overturn the Twitter ban and some articles of the HSYK law and then free the detained police in Adana can well be interpreted as resistance by the judiciary against Erdogan or, in other words, resistance of the state against the government.

    Erdogan has been accused of taking steps to eliminate the remaining governmental checks and balances. Following the disarray in the military, once considered as the watchdog of old republican elites, he may well have encountered a new line of resistance from the judiciary. This could be a signal that there is still a formidable line of defense against the monopolization of power in Turkey.

    Erdogan, who already suffers from a siege mentality toward the outside world, is extremely uneasy with the restrictions on his room to maneuver. In the same speech, he said, "Some judiciary and security personnel of this country engaged in treason against their land in a way that will put Turkey’s most dedicated enemies to shame. A different sort of operation was launched abroad with some reports, news and columns. They came forth with baseless accusations of Turkey’s involvement with the chemical attack in Syria. They wanted to create the impression that Turkey was supporting terror. We also witnessed other treason attempts. In EU circles not familiar with Turkey, there was black propaganda against us, also in the United States. These are continuing.”

    Although Erdogan doesn’t appear to be lessening his bluster toward the EU and especially the United States, one can also say that his words indicate his sensitivity toward Western attitudes. But Erdogan’s main concern with the West is economic. He knows well that he owes his sustained effectiveness domestically and abroad to economic success. Economic deterioration could bring with it talk of doomsday scenarios in the West. Signals in this arena have not been good in recent days. Concerns are growing about Turkey's economy after Moody's cut its debt-rating outlook from stable to negative. The financial rating agency blamed political uncertainty for the change, and the downgrade comes at a bad time for Turkey's prime minister, who is expected to run in the August presidential election.

    Lowering its outlook means Moody's has doubts about Turkey's ability to repay bonds in the future. Even though Moody's overall debt rating for Istanbul remains at investor grade, a downgraded outlook could make it more expensive for the country to issue new bonds.

    The government has said one of its greatest achievements is that financial rating agencies have ranked Turkey's international debt as investor grade, which helps attract foreign investment and cuts borrowing costs.

    Market watchers warn that with investors becoming more hesitant about emerging markets, Erdogan will have to carefully balance his presidential ambitions against the sensitivities of the financial markets.

    The timing of this warning, which came just as Erdogan called on the governor of Turkey’s Central Bank to lower interests rates, thus prompted questions about the bank's independence. The independence of the central bank is one of the most important pillars of the reforms introduced by economist and former administrator of the UN Development Program Kemal Dervis and became instrumental to Turkey’s recovery after the 2001 crisis. Therefore, any interference in the bank’s independence will cause deep unease in financial markets.

    Erdogan has begun his uphill trek to the Cankaya Presidential Palace, 1,071 meters (3,513 feet) above Ankara. To “conquer” Cankaya, he feels the need to overcome two key institutions of the Turkish state: the Central Bank and the judiciary.

    Hard choices. Formidable obstacles. No easy task for Erdogan to fight on two fronts, simultaneously. It seems, however, that as long as he thinks himself as invincible, he will surely try.

    https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/orig...#ixzz2zUw80U4j

    *** WHAT CAN ONE CONCLUDE FROM THE EFFECTS OF INTERFERENCE WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF TURKEY BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THE SAME OR SIMILAR SITUATIONS IN IRAQ ? WHO CAN DO WHAT TO WHOM, WHEN AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF ? ***
    Last edited by chattels; 04-21-2014 at 06:07 AM.

  9. #9

    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    Are we waiting on IRAQ and elections or is it the UST that is the problem? Why do Guru's say "all is done" but nothing happens? I stopped watching this for quite sometime as everyone kept saying it's hours away, days, away etc. Then I found a different source and it sounded more credible to me. Can someone PLEASE tell me what we are waiting for?? Browneyes


    *** No one really knows what events are necessary precedent or attendant to our liquidity event with any actionable certainty. There are many opinions, some more credible than others, but historically none have proven reliable to date. The recent optimism emanates from the arguable reality that there appears to be real progress in Iraq and Iraq is not in the same place as she was before. Who can explain what " gurus " say ? Obviously all that needs to be done has not been done heretofore or the timing was not right, whatever that time is for our event, because IT has not happened. The event that we are waiting upon is not supposed to be known in advance. It is a matter of national security. This has not ever been and is not now a transparent process. Any expectation on anyone's part that the date that we await is knowable or that we are somehow entitled to know is not reality. Be hopeful, even optimistic, but do not expect that you or anyone can know what, when and why in the now. - Respectfully submitted, chattels ***
    Last edited by chattels; 04-21-2014 at 06:57 AM.

  10. #10

    Re: " The Dinar Daily ", Monday 21 April 2014

    Not All Kurds Want Kurdistan Transformed into the Next Dubai
    By Alexandra Di Stefano Pironti

    Last month in Sulaimani the biggest and newest five-star hotel, the 28-story Grand Millennium Hotel Shary Jwan, threw open its glittering doors to become the new icon of Kurdistan’s second city.

    BARCELONA, Spain – The Kurdistan Region is undergoing a facelift that is sometimes compared to Dubai’s incredible economic boom. Shopping malls, luxury hotels, high-rise buildings and even Kurdistan’s own airline have many Kurds hoping that their autonomous enclave is emerging into the next Dubai.

    But not all Iraqi Kurds like that idea.

    “I find their (Kurdish leaders’) attempts to emulate Dubai worrying,” said Taban, a 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd who was brought up in Britain and now works in the Gulf emirate. “Dubai itself hasn't achieved anything. It has merely imported buildings and people. Its own society has not modernized,” the Oxford-educated Kurd told Rudaw. “I fear that Kurdistan is heading in the same direction,” she added.

    The innumerable forest of construction cranes that years ago covered Dubai’s skyline are now converging over Kurdistan’s main cities, with the same gusto that put Dubai on the map.

    Last October, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) kicked off the nearly $3 billion “Downtown Erbil” project, which is set to transform the Kurdish capital with a slew of five-star hotels, apartment towers, shopping malls, schools and healthcare facilities.

    And last month in Sulaimani the biggest and newest five-star hotel, the 28-story Grand Millennium Hotel Shary Jwan, threw open its glittering doors to become the new icon of Kurdistan’s second city.

    “Kurdistan should not strive to a Dubai-style rush into a consumer megacity,” thinks Dilan Roshani, a UK-educated civil engineer.

    “Kurdistan needs to invest in its reformed values to sustain a better future for generations to come,” said the 45-year-old, who was born near the city of Khanaqin in Iraqi Kurdistan, and returned to Kurdistan in 2011, after arriving as a refugee in Sweden in 1983.

    “Education must be the real investment for our ambitions to create a modern state,” he added, and must include the “idea and measures of preserving Kurdistan’s cultural heritage.”

    Unlike Dubai, which had little culture to preserve because of its nomadic past, Kurdistan rests in the “Cradle of Civilization.” Iraqi Kurdistan has a rich heritage of 3,000 known archaeological sites, with the Erbil Citadel the jewel in the crown.

    Some Kurds watching old buildings being razed to build new malls or office towers, fear this is being done with little regard for preserving Kurdish heritage.

    Erbil is recognized as the world’s longest continuously-inhabited city, dating back some 8,000 years, and efforts are underway to have it included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

    “Kurdistan's quest for modern status should carry footprints of its historical cultural heritage and should not copy Dubai as a model,” insisted Roshani.

    Taban, who did not want her full named used, noted that Dubai is not all luxury and comfort for everyone. She pointed to the poor treatment of Asian laborers, who do everything from construction work to driving taxis in the emirate, as representing the rich emirate’s “darker side.”

    “Dubai has the facade of a sophisticated place. Living and working here you see that this facade doesn’t come into place and that Dubai has a very dark side in the very poor way they treat South Asian workers, and the same is starting to happen in Kurdistan,” said Taban.

    But she acknowledged there are things Dubai has accomplished that Kurdistan, too, should strive for, such as the ability to attract talent.

    “In Kurdistan people need to be related to somebody important to get somewhere, but in Dubai they use the money to pay the person who will do the job better,” she pointed out.

    With its GDP much higher than the rest of Iraq, Kurdistan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) stands at $5.5 billion, according to senior Kurdish officials.

    Kurdistan also has adopted a free market economy and open-door trade policy for neighboring countries, and offers a stable gateway to the rest of Iraq. Erbil has been named the Arab Tourism Capital of 2014.

    The Kurdish government is envisaging luring seven million visitors through a strategic plan for 2013-2025, with anticipated earnings of $2.17 billion in tourism revenues.

    There is another important parallel with Dubai in the way that Kurdistan is developing: Dubai benefitted immensely as a stable gateway in the 1980s and 1990s for war-torn and volatile neighbors, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.

    As the only stable and safe portion of violence-torn Iraq, Kurdistan, too, is benefitting from the instability in the rest of the country.

    Kurdistan’s success story began 22 years ago, with the establishment of the “no-fly zone” over the region that placed the Kurds out of reach of Saddam Hussein’s deadly air force.

    Now, the Kurdish enclave is waiting for development to take off with a bang, once serious rows with Baghdad are resolved and Erbil can export its own oil and gas through pipelines to Turkey.

    Instead of opposing independent oil and gas exports from Kurdistan, Kurdish officials say, Baghdad should copy what the Kurds have accomplished as a model for the rest of Iraq.

    ARTICLE LINK
    Last edited by OOTW; 04-21-2014 at 11:17 PM.

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