Federal government trying to ‘belittle’ KRG: locals speak out on Erbil-Baghdad ties

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — People from across the Kurdistan Region have told Rudaw of their divided opinions on relations between Erbil and Baghad, with some asking for a complete cut of ties between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

“Let them [KRG] divorce the federal government, as long as the KRG does neglect its employees,” Khalid Atta, a grocer told Rudaw’s Bestoon Khalid on Thursday.

“Do not give them (civil servants) 800,000 dinars a month, give them 500,000 or 600,000. Money is not our main concern. They are trying to belittle the Kurdistan Region.” 

Ties between Baghdad and the KRG have been particularly frayed over budget disputes in recent months, which left civil servants unpaid for much of last year.

Iraq's Council of Ministers approved the 2021 budget bill on December 21. More than a month and a half later, the KRG has not been able to reach a deal with Baghdad on the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget.

A senior Kurdish official in Baghdad told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Wednesday that the latest visit by the KRG delegation, led by deputy PM Qubad Talabani, has come to yet another fruitless end.

However, the delegation is expected to return to Baghdad next week in hopes of reaching a deal this time.

With the delegation coming and going, uncertainty seems to have been a major part of every local’s day, and has become a main topic of conversation on the streets.

"I think it is best for Sulaimani to deal directly with Baghdad so we are done with this situation,” said Muhammad Khasraw, a Peshmerga from the city.

"Whoever they [KRG] sell the oil to does not matter, we want results, whether it is Baghdad, Turkey, Iran, or anywhere else. Results matter,” said Yousif Salih, a shopkeeper in Halabja.

Several leading politicians in Sulaimani province have suggested that it split from the KRG and deal directly with Baghdad as a solution to the ongoing economic crisis.

“In case Baghdad and Erbil do not reach an agreement, there could be an additional section to the budget bill ensuring the province of Sulaimani deals with the federal government directly,” a Sulaimani provincial council member from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party told the Iraqi state-owned al-Sabah newspaper on Monday.

In an interview with Rudaw’s Snur Majid on Sunday, Sulaimani governor Haval Abubakir said that decentralization is an option on the table.

The KRG has struggled to pay its civil servants in full and on time for more than five years, due to the war against the Islamic State (ISIS), economic mismanagement and crisis, disputes with Baghdad, as well as a drop in oil prices.

Baghdad failed to pass a budget in 2020 because of political turmoil, record low oil prices, and the coronavirus pandemic. In November, Iraqi lawmakers passed the Fiscal Deficit Coverage Bill approving loans to cover civil servant salaries for the last two months of the year.

The bill passed with a majority vote, despite a walkout staged by Kurdish MPs angered that Erbil is obliged to hand over an unspecified amount of oil in exchange for funds – a clause they said was not in the original bill.

Angry over months-long delays in receiving their salaries, civil servants and their supporters staged large protests in the city of Sulaimani, beginning on December 2. The demonstrations quickly spread to other areas of the province, and to the province of Halabja. Security forces were deployed in large numbers and used tear gas, live and rubber bullets, and water cannons in an attempt to end the protests.

Nine protesters were killed, and two security force members also died – one was killed in a clash with demonstrators in Penjwen, and another died of a stroke while on duty. At least 60 people were injured.