Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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July 4, 2007

Iraqi Parliament Delays Debate on New Oil Revenue Bill
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1808C13:A6F02AD83191E160BB22C6540426A1B89574F7DCC14957C0 Representatives of
the Iraq Accordance Front, a Sunni group, expressed misgivings about
the new oil law, details of which have not been released





Iraqi parliament (file)Iraq's parliament is likely to delay the start
of its debate on a newly revised oil revenue-sharing law after both
Kurds and Sunnis complained they have not reviewed it.

The Iraqi Cabinet approved the measure unanimously on Tuesday, and the
government had said parliament would begin debate on the law
Wednesday.

However, of Iraq's 37 Cabinet ministers, at least 12 from Sunni and
Shi'ite groups currently boycotting participation in Iraq's government
were absent for the vote.

Iraq's Kurdish regional government says it has not yet seen the
measure. The Kurdish government issued a statement Wednesday saying
that if the Cabinet approved a text the Kurds would disagree with, it
would violate their constitutional rights.

Representatives of the Iraq Accordance Front, a Sunni group, also
expressed misgivings about the new oil law, details of which have not
been released.

The law is designed to distribute money fairly from the world's third
largest oil reserves among Iraq's Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Shi'ite
groups. The United States sees the long-stalled bill as a crucial step
toward Iraqi national reconciliation.

Most of Iraq's oil reserves are in the Kurdish north and Shi'ite
dominated south. There is little oil in Iraq's central region where
Sunnis are in the majority and they fear the new distribution formula
will treat them unfairly.

The new draft law is a revised version of one the Cabinet approved in
February. But some factions rejected that version, forcing a
re-negotiation that produced the revised version.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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