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Kurdish firms warn Iran of trade sanctions if cross-border shelling continues
01/08/2011 12:27
Sulaimaniya, Aug.1 (AKnews) – Private sector bodies in Sulaimaniya issued a statement yesterday calling on Iran to cease its bombardments on the Iraqi-Kurdistan border in the interest of bilateral economic ties.
The statement was announced at a press conference following a meeting of representatives of the city’s Chamber of Commerce, the Kurdistan Contractors Union, the Kurdistan Economic Development Organization (KIDO), the Kurdistan Businessmen’s Union, the Development Unity group, the Industrial and Commerce Development group for Iraqi-Kurdistan Businessmen, and the Kurdistan Exporters Union.
Sulaimaniya Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sirwan Hamad said that all parties present at the meeting had signed a convention demanding an immediate end to Iran’s military offensives on Iraqi-Kurdistan soil.
“If the shelling continues we will take another position… we will weaken the trade exchange,” Hamad said.
Iran has stepped up its bombardments of the Kurdish territories over the past week, following ferocious clashes that broke out two weeks ago between the Iranian border guards and Kurdish separatist rebels, the PJAK.
So far, three Iraqi civilians have been killed, four others injured and almost a thousand villagers displaced because of Iran’s shelling.
The representatives and businessmen also send a copy of their protest letter to the Iranian consulate in Sulaimaniya.
“This (shelling) is against international laws… a sign of disrespect for the common borders,” the communiqué reads.
Iran after Turkey is the second biggest key investor in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Some 400 Iranian companies have established offices in the booming northern Iraqi enclave and over 1,300 local Kurdish companies are engaged in joint ventures with Iranian counterparts.
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