Kurdish Militia Must Leave Nineveh Before Elections: Iraqi MPs

GMT 12-18-2008 Assyrian International News Agency

Baghdad (AINA) -- Speaking at a press conference in Baghdad on Wednesday, three Iraqi parliamentarians said Kurdish Peshmerga militia must be removed from the Nineveh province ahead of the planned local elections in January, reported iraqalaan.com, an Iraqi Arabic language website.

MPs Osama Al Najifi, a sunni Arab, Amin Farhan, a Yezidi and Hunain Qaddo, a Shabak, contended there will be no free and fair elections as long as the Kurdish militia is present in large parts of the Nineveh province, pointing to previous irregularities in past elections.

"The Kurdish militia in Nineveh uses terror against the inhabitants, forcing people to vote for the Kurdish parties. They threaten people with arrests, extraditions and even to demolish peoples houses or confiscate their belongings."

The Iraqi MPs called on Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki to order the Kurdish militia out of the province and replace it with non sectarian forces.

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KURDISH GROUPS BEHIND ATTACKS ON ASSYRIANS IN MOSUL: IRAQI MP

GMT 10-12-2008 Assyrian International News Agency

Baghdad (AINA) -- Osama Al Najifi, a member of Iraq's parliament, told the Iraqi Independent Press Agency on Sunday he holds the Iraqi government responsible for what is happening to the Assyrian Christians in Mosul, and accused the "Kurdish militias" for carrying out the acts of ethnic cleansing.

Al Najifi, a native of Mosul, claimed the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Kurdish Asayesh intelligence service are carrying out the attacks under the cover of the Iraqi military.

He pointed out the military forces in Mosul are completely infiltrated by the Kurdish militia. Al Najifi said the Kurds carry out the attacks against the minority groups in order to Kurdify the city and change its demographic balance.

Osama Al Najifi is a Sunni Arab and has a long record of defending the rights of the minorities in the Iraqi parliament.

He emphasized that the Kurdish parties have had de facto control over Mosul for more than one year and are trying to control the city and change its demographic identity to serve Kurdish interests.

Al Najifi also blamed the Iraqi government for being absent from Mosul, accusing the "big parliamentary groups" of making political agreements which are preventing the national government from having control over the province of Nineveh and its provincial capital Mosul.