NEWS CENTER - Evaluating the oil export decision of the International Court of Arbitration, Journalist Botan Germiyani said that if the implemented decision continues, a serious economic collapse will break out in the Federated Kurdistan Region.

 

The Baghdad administration applied to the International Court of Arbitration in 2014 against the Federal Kurdistan Region Government's export of oil to Turkey. The Iraqi government argued that the management of the oil and the revenues should be completely dependent on it. The Federal Kurdistan Government, on the other hand, continued its oil trade agreements with Turkey despite all objections. On March 25, Iraqi Petroleum Ministry Spokesperson Asım Jihad announced that oil exports to Turkey had been stopped. While it remains unclear what will be the fate of the 50-year oil agreement signed between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region, which is frequently on the agenda, Botan Germiyani, who works as a journalist in the region, evaluated the effects and possible consequences of the decision of the International Court of Arbitration.

 

50-YEAR AGREEMENT

 

Stating that Hewler was following a bad economic policy by making an oil agreement with Ankara and Journalist Germiyani said: "Until 2013, the economic situation of the Kurdistan region was very good. Until then, oil was being sent to the Baghdad government. There was an official agreement between the Iraqi government and the Southern Kurdistan government. According to the agreement, the Iraqi government was sending 70 percent of its oil revenues to the Kurdistan Region every year. However, this agreement was broken in the following process. After 2016, Bashur and especially the Barzani family and the KDP signed a 50-year oil agreement with Turkey alone. In fact, it was both an economic and political agreement. After this agreement, the Kurdistan Region started to trade under the name of an independent economy. The flow of oil to Baghdad stopped with the declaration of its independent economy. With this agreement, a serious crisis in the region, both in terms of politics, economy and security started with this agreement. This crisis has continued until today."

 

'TURKEY AND IRAQ AGREED'

 

Stating that the economic policy of the Federal Kurdistan Regional Government has caused a great destruction in the region, Germiyani said: “I can state that very difficult days await the region with the decision to stop the oil flow continuing. According to the information we obtained, the Kurdistan Region was selling oil to Turkey for less than $15 a barrel. In 2022, the Bashur Administration lost approximately 2 and a half billion dollars from this trade. In the Kurdistan Region, 85% of oil trade and income goes to companies. The owners of these companies are the Barzani family, KDP and Turkey. There are many companies in the region doing this business in this field. In 2017, then Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar Ebadi condemned the oil agreement between Turkey and the Barzani family and filed a complaint with the Paris International Trade Court. Two months later, the Paris International Trade Court ruled that both sides should act in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution and that the agreement was unlawful.”

 

'KDP INSISTS ON THE WRONG POLICY'

 

Pointing out that the Kurdistan government is heading towards an economic collapse, Germiyani said: "After March 25, the Iraqi Government stopped oil shipments to the port of Ceyhan. If the implementation of this decision continues, the Kurdistan Administration will borrow 30 billion dollars and will transfer its oil to Iraq. It also agreed with Iraq. Turkey announced that it would not make an oil deal with Hewler again, and that it would make an agreement with Iraq for oil trade. The victims of this policy of the KDP were the people. The people faced a serious economic crisis due to the wrong policy of the KDP and the Kurdistan Administration. Now, hunger and unemployment in the society have reached the highest level and cannot be prevented. The salaries of the workers are not paid and many of them are cut. The KDP still insists on its wrong policy, which further deepens the current situation. There are reactions and protests in many cities of the Kurdistan Region. The United States of America (USA) strongly warned the Regional Government.”

 

'THE PEOPLE OF KURDISTAN WILL SUFFER AGAIN' 

 

Germiyani continued: “According to the information we have, the United States demanded that the KDP recognize the decision of the International Court, act in accordance with the constitution and not engage in independent oil trade again because of these wrong policies of the KDP, Bashur fell into debt. When this practice continues, the existing crisis will deepen and its debt will increase even more because the administration said that they would pay their debt with oil. If the implementation of the international decision continues, the Kurdistan government will suffer an economic collapse. As always, the people of the Kurdistan Region will suffer again.”

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut