5/29/2011
Iraqi politicians, officials, reject Kuwait’s Mubarak Port, call for defending Iraq’s rights
A group of Iraqi politicians, experts and officials, have agreed that Kuwait’s building of the so-called Mubarak Port, shall affect the activity of Iraqi ports, especially the Grand Faw Port, calling for taking a decisive position to defend Iraq’s rights.
“Mubarak Port shall cut the water course, used by trade vessels heading for Iraq’s Um-Qasr Port, because its construction and area exceeds the so-called Taluk line, dividing Iraq’s waters with Iran and Kuwait,” the Iraqi Overseas Captain, Kadhim al-Hamami told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Sunday.
He said that “the waves-breakers and naval constructions in the (Gulf) waters, shall represent a nucleus for mud remains, acting with other factors, thing that shall have a passive affect on the Iraqi coasts,” adding that the Mubarak Port “shall minimize the water area, allocated for fishing, depriving Iraqi fishermen for their only source of life.”
“There will be other constructions, along with the said Port, including the gigantic Aluminium Plant, Kuwait had decided to build in the same area, thing that shall have its passive impacts in Iraq’s Khor-Abdullah Port, also affecting the naval environment,” Hamami said.
He said that the Mubarak Port “shall compete directly with the Faw Port, Iraqi has decided to build,” pointing out that “the canal that shall be used by steamers heading to the port, will be the same canal, used by the ships heading towards Um-Qasr Port, taking into consideration that the joint use of the same naval course shall create direct frictions and confrontations between both sides.”
On his part, a high-level Iraqi official, with a State Minister’s post, who asked not to named, told Aswat al-Iraq that “the construction of Mubarak Port is considered a legal violation for the Treatment for Drawing the Borders between Iraq and Kuwait.”
“Mubarak Port shall deprive Iraq from the passage of any ship, with 10-meter depth capacity, to pass through the area, because the said depth shall be on the Kuwait side,” he said.
He stressed that “from the economic aspect, the said port shall deprive Iraq from one of its most important gates to the sea, thus completely squeezing on its main Faw Port, whilst Kuwait possesses a ‘port prosperity,’ due to its possession of 5 ports, whilst the Mubarak Port shall represent a ‘murder’ for the Iraqi ports.”
“Iraqis hope that the said problem would be settled through diplomatic means, being added to the suspended dossiers between both sides,” the official said.
The Deputy Chairman of southern Iraq’s Basra Province’s Council, Ahmed al-Sultany, has laid the passive impacts of Mubarak Port on Iraq’s Faw Port, saying that “this port shall cause the tightening of Naval canal, and thus strangle the only naval course for Iraq’s Um-Qasr and Khor al-Zubair Ports.”
“There are other technical problems that shall affect Iraq’s Faw Port, in the event of its construction, being an attempt to make Kuwait’s ports substitutes for Iraqi Ports,” he said.
On his part, Iraq’s Parliament Member from al-Ahrar (Liberals) Bloc, Uday Awad, said: “We have good relations with Kuwait, but we can’t stay hand-aloof if Iraq’s interests be affected by anybody.”
“After the return of the fact-find committee about Mubarak Port, it was made clear that it affects Iraq’s Faw Port, and that there is a violation by the Kuwaiti side on Iraq’s naval rights, and there will be a different response towards that; and we, al-Ahrar (Liberals) Bloc won’t be satisfied by mere condemnation!”
“We condemn the positions of some Iraqi political blocs, that have strong relations with the Kuwaiti side, thing that made them take passive attitudes towards the issue of Mubarak Port, as stated by the statements made by some of them,” Awad said.
The Director of Iraqi Ports, Salah Khudhier Abboud, had announced at the end of last week, in a joint press conference with the Iraqi Minister of Transportation, Hadi al-Amiry, that “the change of the position of Mubarak Port to the Kuwait territories won’t affect Iraq, but our problem is that this port’s position shall passively affect the Iraqi territorial waters.
On his part, Iraq’s Transport Minister, Hadi al-Amiry, said that “non-implementation of the Grand Faw Port is considered a treason for Iraq and its future generalsions,” threatening to resign “if the government does not allocate enough money to built the port,” pointing out that Kuwait’s
Mubarak Port, that hampers navigation in the joint naval waters stands counter to the UN Security Council’s Resolution 833, and Iraq would not accept that.
“The building of the Grand Mubarak Port stands counter to UN Security Council Resolution 833, and we won’t accept that at all; and Iraq may report to the Security Council if Kuwait insists to build the port,” the Ministers said.
He expressed “surprise for Kuwait’s selection of the said place for building its new port,” adding that “there is another place inside the Kuwaiti territories, where it can build the Mubarak Port on it, thus achieving the necessary economic interest, without passively affecting the Grand Faw Port, Iraq is planning to build, according to Italian designs at the beginning of next year.”
Iraq’s Parliament Speaker, Usama Abdul-Aziz al-Nujeify, had announced that the Parliament would invite in the forthcoming few days both Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Transport & Communications, to explain the problems of the ground and naval border problems between Iraq and Kuwait, after the decision of the Kuwaiti government to expand its Mubarak Port to cover (Iraq’s) Bubian Island, and follow up the developments about the Faw port.
Noteworthy is that the Iraqi Transport Ministry had laid on April 4, 2010, the foundation stone for the Grand Faw Port, covering a 2-million-meter area, and another area of 600,000 square meters for other purposes, with an annual capacity of 99 million tons, whilst the total cost for its construction will be 4 billions and 400 million Euros, and the port is expected to be connected with a railway line, linking the Arab Gulf through Iraqi and Turkish ports, as well as northern Europe.
http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=142813&l=1
