IRAQI KURDS FOR JOINT LEADERSHIP

PARIS 5 Mar. (IPS) Leaders of Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq have created a “joint leadership” shared between the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, according to the DPK website on Monday.

The leadership, the website said, will work in close cooperation and coordination with all parties and groups in Iraqi Kurdistan, but would be placed under the joint command of Mas’ood Barzani and Jalal Talebani, respectively leaders of the DPK and PUK.

"A Joint Higher Leadership (JHL) for Iraqi Kurdistan was formed with the participation of the leaders of the DPK and the PUK in order to take into consideration the delicate circumstances that our country faces and prepare it for any probable major events”, a joint statement signed by the two formations said.

The JHL was formed on the heel of a meeting that brought together 57 representatives of the Iraqi opposition’s Follow up and Coordination Committee in Arbil (former Salaheddin), which created a post Saddam six members collegial leadership that includes leaders of the two main Kurdish factions.

According to informed sources in the region, the United States is making the last preparations before attacking Baghdad, probably sometime next week.

“Events that are taking place require unifying the ranks of our people and their energies, and to that effect, a series of meetings were held between the two leaderships of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) that decided to form a Joint Higher Leadership to lead the struggle in the political, military, administrative, fields as well as national and international relations", stated the declaration.

“The unity of the Iraqi Kurdistan Forces under a Joint Higher Leadership will consolidate and strengthen the unity of Iraqi opposition forces that aspire to end dictatorship and establish a democratic, pluralistic federal system in Iraq”, the statement added. ENDS JOINT KURDISH LEADERSHIP 5303