Establishing a Basra Province in Iraq is a local dream but difficult to implement
By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj
The people of Basra region are complaining and demanding to know what is happening in Basra,; their eyes are looking at what has been achieved in the province of Kurdistan, of tangible development at the service, construction and urban levels.
For nearly 16 years, the idea of establishing the Basra region has been raised from time to time without being realized on the ground. In contrast, other alternative projects have been proposed by the central government in Baghdad, which have not been successful either and or translated into reality.
These projects include Basra as the economic capital of Iraq, along with the project of the three oil-rich provinces of Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan, but all of these proposals are used as pressure papers and nothing else.
Activists who demand the establishment of an independent Basra region often take advantages of various political, social, athletic and sporting events in the region to announce their demands. They also took advantage of events to find out about the region that is supposed to be located in Basra and they erect signs at the entrances to the governorate bearing the word (Basra region).
Ghazwan Qatae is a civil activist who says that Basra is a fertile source of natural resources but has not benefited from its wealth and hydrocarbon resources. He believes that the establishment of the region will put those resources in the hands of the people of Basra themselves.
Ghazwan Qatae also added that "legal action must be taken to crystallize the idea of the province as a popular demand and take official status, which happened last year when the government of Basra raised the request to establish the province to the Council of Ministers."
The former MP Waeel Abdul Latif put the project of the province of Basra in his mandate as the governor of Basra officially, but was unable to achieve the required percentage in the referendum that took place in the city at the time.
Qatae believes that the people of Basra respond affirmatively today to the idea of the region more than the past because of the lack of services and repeated crises, unlike what happened when the judge Waeel Abdul Latif' idea failed to get popular acceptance at the time.
He also says that "I began to see the response of all popular sectors, personally I opposed the idea of the region for fear of secession of Basra from the political body of Iraq, but later realized through meeting with young people who advocate for the region to be independent and who were excited to promote the idea of Basra region. This issue of federal administrative boundaries is to ensure the rights of Basra and not to separate from Iraq.
He also reiterates that "Our goal, through the media, social networking, debates, seminars and civil society organizations, was to clarify the image to the opponents and change their convictions."
In 2018 amid the repercussions of the demonstrations and the popular protests that swept Basra, the Basra provincial council was able to collect signatures of two-thirds of its members and raise a request to the Council of Ministers project area, and then resubmitted after an extraordinary meeting in April and is the fourth attempt to establish the province of Basra.
Ahmed Abdul Hussein, a member of the Governing Council and Chairman of the Legal Committee confirms that there is a genuine popular and political desire for the establishment of the province of Basra because Basra has the potential resources and enormous assets, and that the people of the region want justice because they feel injustice had been done to them due to lack of attention by the federal government and the lack of appropriate allocated budgets for basic services in the city.
Ahmed Hussien also adds that "The claimants of the region are trying to get out of the abhorrent centralization and their unjustified interventions and not caring about the unresolved issues and the real files accumulated, they collected the signatures and raised the request to the Council of Ministers and is supposed to convert the request to the Independent Electoral Commission to conduct a vote on it."
According to government statistics, 70% of Iraq's budget comes from the sale of Basra oil, which is a source of concern for the population of the governorate, which suffers from poor urban and public services, in addition to the delay in the disbursement of budgets allocated for services and infrastructure.
Abbas al-Jurani is an activist and political analyst who believes that there is no real chance to establish the province of Basra at the moment because most of the political blocs will reject the project of the region as this will conflict with their own interests.
Al-Jurani agrees with the view that putting forward the project to establish the region will not solve the problem of corruption and the dilemma faced by the powerful blocs, but is an attempt to escape economic and social benefits.
Ahmed Al-Sality is a member of the provincial council confirms the possibility of the project in the Council of Ministers and explains that "We have knowledge that the political blocs in Baghdad will reject this project".
The Al-Sality statement reveals sharp differences in views between the parties in the political blocs, even in the case of temporary agreement, as happened in the case of the province, in addition to how difficult it is to achieve the draft province of Basra.
Ahmed Abdul Hussein, a member of the provincial council says we believe there is no desire of the federal government or politicians to turn Basra into a province, but there is a real will and insistence of the people, especially after the great negligence and serious repercussions faced by the province.
He believes that in case Federal Court neglected and or ignored the request of Basra to be a region then "the government of Basra should resort to the Federal Court or administrative Court to file a complaint on the non-implementation of the law."
Amid optimism of the advocates of the region, the population fears the fall of Basra into the hands of the parties and the militias in the event the project is realized and the practices of corruption from the hands of the central government will be shifted to the local government.
The people of Basra region are complaining and demanding to know what is happening in Basra,; their eyes are looking at what has been achieved in the province of Kurdistan, of tangible development at the service, construction and urban levels.
For nearly 16 years, the idea of establishing the Basra region has been raised from time to time without being realized on the ground. In contrast, other alternative projects have been proposed by the central government in Baghdad, which have not been successful either and or translated into reality.
These projects include Basra as the economic capital of Iraq, along with the project of the three oil-rich provinces of Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan, but all of these proposals are used as pressure papers and nothing else.
Activists who demand the establishment of an independent Basra region often take advantages of various political, social, athletic and sporting events in the region to announce their demands. They also took advantage of events to find out about the region that is supposed to be located in Basra and they erect signs at the entrances to the governorate bearing the word (Basra region).
Ghazwan Qatae is a civil activist who says that Basra is a fertile source of natural resources but has not benefited from its wealth and hydrocarbon resources. He believes that the establishment of the region will put those resources in the hands of the people of Basra themselves.
Ghazwan Qatae also added that "legal action must be taken to crystallize the idea of the province as a popular demand and take official status, which happened last year when the government of Basra raised the request to establish the province to the Council of Ministers."
The former MP Waeel Abdul Latif put the project of the province of Basra in his mandate as the governor of Basra officially, but was unable to achieve the required percentage in the referendum that took place in the city at the time.
Qatae believes that the people of Basra respond affirmatively today to the idea of the region more than the past because of the lack of services and repeated crises, unlike what happened when the judge Waeel Abdul Latif' idea failed to get popular acceptance at the time.
He also says that "I began to see the response of all popular sectors, personally I opposed the idea of the region for fear of secession of Basra from the political body of Iraq, but later realized through meeting with young people who advocate for the region to be independent and who were excited to promote the idea of Basra region. This issue of federal administrative boundaries is to ensure the rights of Basra and not to separate from Iraq.
He also reiterates that "Our goal, through the media, social networking, debates, seminars and civil society organizations, was to clarify the image to the opponents and change their convictions."
In 2018 amid the repercussions of the demonstrations and the popular protests that swept Basra, the Basra provincial council was able to collect signatures of two-thirds of its members and raise a request to the Council of Ministers project area, and then resubmitted after an extraordinary meeting in April and is the fourth attempt to establish the province of Basra.
Ahmed Abdul Hussein, a member of the Governing Council and Chairman of the Legal Committee confirms that there is a genuine popular and political desire for the establishment of the province of Basra because Basra has the potential resources and enormous assets, and that the people of the region want justice because they feel injustice had been done to them due to lack of attention by the federal government and the lack of appropriate allocated budgets for basic services in the city.
Ahmed Hussien also adds that "The claimants of the region are trying to get out of the abhorrent centralization and their unjustified interventions and not caring about the unresolved issues and the real files accumulated, they collected the signatures and raised the request to the Council of Ministers and is supposed to convert the request to the Independent Electoral Commission to conduct a vote on it."
According to government statistics, 70% of Iraq's budget comes from the sale of Basra oil, which is a source of concern for the population of the governorate, which suffers from poor urban and public services, in addition to the delay in the disbursement of budgets allocated for services and infrastructure.
Abbas al-Jurani is an activist and political analyst who believes that there is no real chance to establish the province of Basra at the moment because most of the political blocs will reject the project of the region as this will conflict with their own interests.
Al-Jurani agrees with the view that putting forward the project to establish the region will not solve the problem of corruption and the dilemma faced by the powerful blocs, but is an attempt to escape economic and social benefits.
Ahmed Al-Sality is a member of the provincial council confirms the possibility of the project in the Council of Ministers and explains that "We have knowledge that the political blocs in Baghdad will reject this project".
The Al-Sality statement reveals sharp differences in views between the parties in the political blocs, even in the case of temporary agreement, as happened in the case of the province, in addition to how difficult it is to achieve the draft province of Basra.
Ahmed Abdul Hussein, a member of the provincial council says we believe there is no desire of the federal government or politicians to turn Basra into a province, but there is a real will and insistence of the people, especially after the great negligence and serious repercussions faced by the province.
He believes that in case Federal Court neglected and or ignored the request of Basra to be a region then "the government of Basra should resort to the Federal Court or administrative Court to file a complaint on the non-implementation of the law."
Amid optimism of the advocates of the region, the population fears the fall of Basra into the hands of the parties and the militias in the event the project is realized and the practices of corruption from the hands of the central government will be shifted to the local government.
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