Crisis of Khawr Abd Allah: National Interests or Political Gains.

Crisis of Khawr Abd Allah: National Interests or Political Gains.

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The border dispute with Kuwait   has been since 1932 at the time of the monarchy, which kept the problem existed until the July 17 to 30 revolution , which  has rejected    marking  the border , and the position of  the Iraqi government  was  clear and explicit in 1973 with Kuwait that Iraq does not recognize the message attributed to Nuri Said 1932, and the record in 1963 because the islands of Warba and Bubiyan and the coast opposite to them  are located within the Iraqi territory, but the circumstances experienced by Iraq exploited by the Kuwaiti side to extend, especially during the Iran – Iraq war ,  on Iraqi territory.
This  historical backlog  of the Iraqi  –  British  dispute   about  Kuwait  in  the Royal and Republican eras in Iraq , and the border disputes between Iraq and Kuwait, after the establishment of a political entity may be one of the key factors that have pushed Iraq to invade Kuwait on 2/8/1990, which subjected Iraq  under penalty of the UN Charter Chapter VII, And Iraq was classified by the United Nations  as  a state threatening the international peace and security , and breach of Article 39 of Chapter VII.
It has been applied to Iraq to destroy the Iraqi military machine, that destructions  includes the various fields of economic, cultural, social life and others , and it was including resolution 833 for the year 1993 to maintain security and the work of the United Nations to demarcate the border between Iraq and Kuwait, and actually, the border was marked  extending  with a length of  216 km, and the  application of the resolution   partially under the previous regime led to carve out large swaths of Iraqi territory  in the  districts of  of Safwan  and Umm Qasr and its annexation to the Kuwaiti territory.

The first border demarcation has been   from  the port of Umm Qasr- a pillar 162 in 1993, but Kuwait did not  even dare to claim  the application  of any thing of the Convention  until 2003  however, Iraq has refused to recognize and participate  in meetings and refusing it in details and even the Committee that was  set up by the security Council , the Indonesian  head of it  rejected to take part in it  because it was unfair against Iraq.

Khawr Abd Allah

A waterway located in the north of the Arabian Gulf between the islands Bubiyan and Warba and Iraqi semi-  peninsula , Faw  and  khawr Abd Allah extends  to the  inside of  Iraqi territory, forming  khawr Al-Zubair , which   the Iraqi port of  Umm Qasr  located in it  ,  Amer Abd Al-Jabbar , the former minister of transport said  the resolution  number 833 in the time of previous system  consists  of two parts , the first part was demarcated  since 1993 from( the port Umm Qasr –  a pillar 162 ) and other part has not been demarcated   being Iraqi but what has happened today , the new demarcation  of the Iraqi part which has  been voted on  it in the Iraqi Council of representatives  of the previous session    called ( the humiliating khawr Abd Allah  agreement  ) noting  that in the first time  the Iraqi parliament voted on it  as it was being  a humiliating agreement  and voted again  to passé it  on 22-8-2013 , where it was approved.

 

There are Iraqi lawmakers opposed  to the ratification  and others supporters    saying that it is Kuwaiti   although the Kuaitis themselves   say it is common , and Ironically , the UN Security Council  Resolution NO.833, despite its disadvantages and objections to it , but  it gave Iraq the  right    for  absolute navigation , the biggest powers  in the  maneuver and deeper in the move from the right to the so called transit or free passage as one of the explicit  rights awarded by international maritime law to Iraq.

On 22 August  2013, when Iraq signed  the agreement  of the regulation of maritime traffic between the two countries in the Khawr Abd Allah during the presidency of Nuri al – Maliki of the Iraqi government and Transport Minister Hadi al – Ameri , and also the committees formed by the Iraqi Foreign Minister, and that Iraq approved in January 27 2014  on the meeting of  joint Supreme Committee for the demarcation of the border between the two countries, including the ratification of the Law of navigation. ”
And actually the House of Representatives approved in the previous session as it voted to approve the law of  ratification of navigation in the Khawr Abd Allah law “, and that the signature of the Minister of Transport Hadi al – Ameri then on  the Convention, through which  vast areas of Iraq had become  Kuwaiti areas , including the Khawr Abd Allah with 250 oil wells which had become for  Kuwait, this was a great loss for the Iraqi economy.
The signing of this agreement was in the time of former prime minister Nuri al-Malki and is facilitated by Hadi al – Amiri, Minister of Transport at the that time who lifted  the reservation , which was on  the Convention that facilitated the process of establishing the port of Mubarak,
and the cost of new demarcation  amounting to 750,000 dollars again , even though it has been marked since 1993 , this is  a convincing evidence  ,  the demarcation is new and new achievements for Kuwaitis in Iraqi waters and give the port to Kuwait on the 16th anniversary of the Gulf war ,  that did not come by chance.
And  a zero demarcation  resolutions  depended   , from the land to the land, not on the basis of Altaluk line, which has made the most of the deep navigation channel  within the territorial boundaries of Kuwait.
This means that Iraq is obliged to use the Kuwaiti territorial  waters  for navigation  jointly;  because  it is suitable for  sea navigation   according to the  law of Seas and as commensurate with the need of ships for sailing .
The process of using the Khawr  jointly needs to regulate the relationship between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi sides to determine the rights and obligations of each party  so the agreement came (which fell into under Law No. 42 of 2013) to regulate these things  and did not   include  the issue of demarcation of the border at all , and it is not right to do so because the demarcation has been settled by a committee of the United Nations and adopted by the international organization and become a reality.
And that the clamor that followed the cabinet ‘s decision taken in its session on Tuesday, 24.01.2017  which   is the allocation of the amount due on Iraq to print maps of the land borders between Iraq and Kuwait , which was amounted by 750,000 dollars, and it did not discuss the border demarcation agreement  and not  to regulate navigation in the Khawr Abd Allah.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al – Abadi  was surprised  for the reopening of the Khawr  Abd Allah maritime file, concerning the sea views of Iraq   on the Arabian Gulf, and accuse his government to give up large parts of it to Kuwait, stressing that his government did not take a new decision in this regard, but endorsed the report of the competent committees , which  were working in this file years ago ,when it was introduced to it .
The  convention that combines  the Governments of Iraq and Kuwait regarding    Khawr Abd Allah  dates back to the year 2012 and provides for “cooperation in the  regulation  of navigation and  taking care of the marine environment in the  Navigation waterway in Khawr   Abdullah to the benefit of both parties.”

Why do they  raise  the  convention   at this particular time , it is to create  a problem within the framework of the political  struggle on power between  the  wings of one party , along the lines of the Islamic Dawa Party , which includes the current Prime Minister Haider al – Abadi and former Nuri al – Maliki who is trying to cut the road in front of the possibility of  Abadi’s winning for a new mandate after the end of his current term.  Abadi responded  ,  referring to  a “political party  seeking to confuse the victories of the Iraqi forces in Mosul by  moving the dead Files”, without naming it, and got surprised  , that ” some of the parties resort  to the political investment in everything , ”
and  the current prime minister , added “Iraq  executes a binding decision issued by the Council of the  public Security in  1993 on the demarcation of the maritime border between Iraq and Kuwait , “and we can not refrain from the implementation of Security Council resolutions, because we will  be accused of  aggressiveness and rebellion on the international legitimacy.” He continued, “Iraq has lost half of the area of its  sea view  due to the invasion of Kuwait, and the consequent of international resolutions against it , not because of a new decision we made .”
the Prime Minister revealed , that he notified   the Kuwaiti side  to start negotiations between the two sides on this file. He said “we will make use of this  tumult around it, to open this file entirely with our brothers in Kuwait, but if they refuse, there is  nothing to obligate them, and this is a problem.” He also explained that his government began real negotiations with Iran over the maritime border in the Shatt al – Arab. ”
The leader of the Dawa party Ali Alaq  pointing out that the issue of Khawr Abd Allah” was existed at the time of al – Maliki ‘s government and is not linked to al – Abadi.

The   economic goals , risks and effects for the Khawr Abd Allah are :
* it gives  Kuwait a priority in the control of  navigation channel  in Iraq ‘s territorial waters, what constitutes significant damage on Iraq.
* Iraq ‘s only port that will be under the sovereignty of Kuwait, with the knowledge that resolution 833 , although it is unfair and  against Iraq  but it gave the right of  sea navigation which stipulates that any Kuwaiti do not have the right to climb on a ship heading  for Iraq and  does not bring down the Iraqi flag.
* In this agreement  there is a content  admission for the port of Mubarak note that violates the laws of the sea and has  nothing to do with the  seventh  item and 833. Resolution
* raise insurance fees on ships entering Iraq leading to its reluctance to shift trade from the port of Umm Qasr to the port of Mubarak.
* New benefits   for   Kuwait  to make common wages, giving privilege to Kuwait.
the former Transport Minister Amir Abdul – Jabbar said:
the committees were formed from the ministries of foreign and  Transportation  which  brought a study of the subject  to explain that the Khawr Abd Allah area is located within the buoy 16.17 and this hinders naval exercise, and also the Universal Law of the Sea stipulates that  any state do not have the right  to change the geographical  location  causing a harm  to the neighboring country never the less it was their territory.

and  Kuwait does not need  the port economically , when US forces were in Kuwait  , the operational production capacity of the ports reached  by 67%, and when the American left  , the operational capacity became 35%, and that means they do not need to set up the port and the goal is to be  only for the  Iraqi goods.
The question  :  Is  the port awarded  to  Kuwait on the 16th anniversary of the Gulf War! Episode of  Kuwaiti revenge  against Iraq. Former Transport Minister Amir Abdul – Jabbar says  it is a plan of   some Iraqi politicians to remove  the port of Faw and give  railway linking to Kuwait.

 

Iraq despite  its economic crisis experienced  and the increase of military spending because of the war against Daaesh and the rise of foreign debts  due to the deficit of the budget and the decline of oil prices , but Iraq paid the debt to Kuwait  .However , Hoshyar Zebari  , the former minister of foreign affairs pointed out delivering a statement to Rieter agency  in October 2015 saying Iraq has paid  all pills OF compensations almost that amounted by 52.4 billion dollar through allocation  5% from the oil revenues annually  to the committee of compensations  that is belong to UN where it could to put off the payment taking into the consideration the harsh economic situation   Iraq is going through  and to prove of the good intention and neighboring
The Kuwait News Agency, said that Kuwait ‘s foreign minister announced the postponement of the final payment in 2017 during a meeting of the Compensation Commission of the United Nations in Geneva.
According to some political and economic  experts and  analysts see that, there is no doubt that the nibbling of the borders of Iraq , which took place in the Shatt al – Arab and the Khor Abdullah and other lands caused by the first of the former regime, and it was rather for  the elected government after 2003 to object to these decisions and to provide documentation that supports the rights of Iraq to the Security Council and others.
as well as try to persuade the great powers that what happened in the nineties of the last century and the damage made on  Iraq, in particular , and that Iraq was under the weight of economic sanctions and international pressure, as well as negotiating with Kuwait on a lot of things that can be for Iraq to pressure them to Kuwait,
and  that is applied on the issue of concession  on the half of the Shatt al – Arab  to Iran  noting it has been possible to  explain to the neighboring Iran that the Convention of  Algeria was made by the the signing of a dictatorial regime, Iran itself were not recognize to its legitimacy, and it occurred without the consent of the Iraqi people , it is necessary to re – examine them, in particular that Iran has become a friend of Iraq,
and must to consider the damage that happened to Iraq because of the mistakes of the previous regime and that it was possible to do so, even for the objection and express the position of the border problem.

There was opposition from parliamentarians on the resolution, including  Aziz Ugaili member of the National Coalition led by Ammar al – Hakim , where he asked the outgoing government to wait in the implementation of the resolution , stressing that it is necessary to have a Parliament opinion on the demarcation of the border and discuss it in detail before giving a final decision.

the member of parliament for the Kurdish list Farhad Raundozi expresse the opposition of his alliance on this government decision , saying in a press statement that the current government does not have the powers to take such a decision he described as “fateful and strategic.”
Abdul – Jabbar  pointed out  that the  political system in Iraq waived about his right of  a new demarcation after 2003  of  the Iraqi Khor Abd Allah  after the Prop 162 and up to buoy No. 1, new concessions are unrelated to the  Security Council resolution 833 , but are the   new  gains  for  the Kuwaiti  ambitions and the evidence for that what was allocated of   amount of $ 750,000 dollars   for the new demarcation .

Abdul-Jabbar called on the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives for the acquaintance  on the book of opinions and decisions of the State Shura Council for the year 2009 Page 292/293/294 where he explained that the Shura Council  expressed its  reservation on paragraph (1) of Article (16) of the Convention, “the repression of illegal business   against the Safety of Maritime Navigation “justified it with the following text,” the Republic of Iraq does not possess arbitration experiences and possibilities of negotiating what position to keep pace with other countries in this area. “this is because the above article concerning the settlement of the border disputes with neighboring countries and taking the advice of the Council of State Shura, not to sign on any topic for  Iraqi borders counting of non- presence of qualified negotiators.

He added: I think that the State Council has not taken such a decision only for the exact appreciation of the Iraqi political interior  situation  and sustainable differences between the parties in the state administration in addition to the quota system , which brought the  inexperienced  people  to important sites in the decision – making centers.
And that there be a meeting between the members of the House of Representatives and deputies  of Basra and  experts in maritime domain  with the Prime Minister to explain the issue in detail and to clarify the amount of damage on the country ‘s sovereignty and the destruction of its economy, in order to freeze the Convention or cancel it using  high diplomat manner.
It must be a good position of  the current Minister of Transport  on the agreement to send  a book to Kuwait to wait railway linking  with Iraq  until further notice   as a result of the economic situation the country is going through.
After the UN Security Council resolution giving half the Khawr Abd Allah to  Kuwait , Iraq ‘s right to claim the costs spent by over 70 years ago , where he was bear the costs alone.
the foreign ministry  bears the responsibility because it is the party that prepared the paper and it is the negotiating body , as well as the Council of Ministers , which ratified on the Convention with out a clear and  accurate maps and data explaining the topic thoroughly and

did not seek the assistance of experts from Basra to study the economic impacts of the project and its impact on future generations, the biggest sin is placed on  the previous session , which it could have rejected the agreement and return to the cabinet.
And bear responsibility too, then – House Speaker Osama Najafi because he refused to accept the solutions proposed by the former transport minister who sent it with  Alya Nassif MP since confirmed that Najafi originally refused receipt, and to look at the issue from the principle of a national, and that the borders of Iraq is not a political  or sectarian or partisan property, Iraq is bigger than  tampering with its territories.
Wael Abdul Latif , a lawyer and deputy governor of Basra and the Iraqi parliament said .

Khor Abd Allah is an Iraqi land  and Kuwait has nothing to do ith it, it is  a waterway  serves the  Iraqi ports  after thethe problems of Shat al-Arab with Iran and then the process of  demarcation  is  unfair  to Iraqnoting that Iraq has spent and bears the cost and maintenance  of the canal  for 70  years accounted billions of dollars concerning the the digging and organization. This is unfair for Iraq, and today is abide by  a new demarcation with spending of $ 750000  and this means there are gains for the Kuwaitisand according to the Mubark port  that it is on the Kuwaiti land but the extended  a long  tongue  with a length   1800M to build the Mubark port.

Wael Abdul Latif stressed that critical paragraph  of Transport Minister Hadi al – Ameri , who signed the agreement, in 06/06/2011 as “The Island of Boubyan has  a large navy interface  overlooking the Arabian Gulf and and from the scientific and economic  aspect , it  can not be for any state to build  ports  on  narrow and crowded navy waterways and at the same time it has a large navy interface  and if  Kuwait wants to  establish  its sovereignty over the island of Bubiyan or thinking to build  a port  to reexport to Iraq  , it could do so on that built the port in the waterfront of the island of Bubiyan,

But to  cram the harbor on this site and these schemes , this is clear evidence unequivocally that the intention is to harass Iraq and deprive it  from  the overlooking the Gulf  , and therefore Iraq must quickly take a stand because the effects of backfill  is shown  and in an  escalating pace and put Iraq in front of the reality of the case, but in 2013 the minister himself  signed and the removal of the reservation for the railway link that existed in 2009.2010.

And D. Wael  Abdul Latif  mentioned that the committees  were formed  on the basis    that  the Kuwaiti  side  to exceed the fishermen and bringing down the Iraqi flag where the Iraqi and  Kuwaiti fishermen were forbidden from fishing in Khor Abd Allah  based on the  paragraph  included in the agreement  , twisting the truth since as a matter of fact that the Kuwati fisher man  do not fish in this area where he has an area of 500 km on the Arab Gulf while the Iraqi fisher man has only50 km , the poor Iraqi fisherman….. , the son of  faw  and Sebah  .

And all experts and specialists mention  that the decision 833 preserve the security and  has nothing to do with demarcation of borders  and he expresses  his surprise and doubts  that the Iraqi negotiating  committees are meeting only in Kuwait  and why they do not meet in Iraq and why they set aside the expert  Abd Muhammad  from the committee  on the day of  demarcation  set by Hoshyar Zebari for this purpose, all these questions indicate to the existence of imbalance and violation .

And  with regard to the  building of a port of  Mubarak , the Kuwaitis themselves realized  of a mistake on this site noting that  if Iraq failed to give  Dry Canal, dry navigational channel to pass the goods from the port of Mubarak to Iraq , this port would not be feasible.

Coalitions and MPs ,  who were  present in the previous session and currently object to the application of the law ,   did not object in the previous session and did not appeal against the law at the Federal Court so   we put all responsibility on them , and  the country  will see  angry protests  since there is no  future for the  generations of  Iraq  and they will pay the price  of chaos  for  the crucial  decisions  of the country.

Shatha Khalil 
Unit Economic Studies 

Translated by: Mudhaffar al-Kusairi

Rawabet Center for  Research and Strategic Studies