IRAQ - Jun 5 - Kurds Meet To Pave Way For Unified Self-rule Area.

Kurdistan's newly elected regional parliament convened for the first time in the northern city of Irbil, paving the way for the unification of a Kurdish self-rule area divided between two rival parties. Many Kurds believe the merger is vital if they are to realise their national aspirations - including regional autonomy and control over the disputed province of Kirkuk. The first-ever Kurdish president Jalal Talabani, told the 111-member body: Your democratically elected parliament faces a critical period in the history of Iraq. Our sacred task is to draft a permanent constitution that guarantees equality for all of Iraqi society and protects democratic and federal freedoms". Kurdish leaders now expect the announcement within weeks of a cabinet composed jointly of the Kurdish Democratic party led by Massoud Barzani, which controls the centre and west of the zone, and Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. This joint government will then attempt to merge the competing ministries the two parties have run in their respective zones since fighting a small civil war in 1996. Many Kurds believe that if the state of disunity persists it will disadvantage the Kurds in negotiations with other Iraqis over a permanent constitution. "This division is the stumbling block" for the Kurds realising their national aspirations, said Hiwa Osman, a Kurdish affairs analyst. "If you have divided governments, and a decision was taken on Kirkuk [to join it to Kurdistan], which region, which administration, would you have put it under?" Talabani and Barzani have agreed the outline of an agreement to merge their two governments that would see Barzani become the president of Kurdistan in exchange for supporting Talabani's candidacy for the largely symbolic presidency of Iraq. Many Kurds say this agreement was suited to the personalities both of Talabani, a more cosmopolitan politician, and the more traditionalist Barzani. The two parties ran a joint list in Jan 30 elections for the Kurdish regional parliament, the first in the northern autonomous zone since 1992. However, the formation of the joint government was held up for four months by a dispute between the two leaders over the powers that Barzani would wield as president. Kurdish leaders, however, expect parliament to approve a compromise bill, which allows for heavy parliamentary oversight over the presidency, within days.