Korek, Newroztel, the others and the end of game

Benaw Izzat | Exclusive to iKurd.net

ERBIL,— Kurdish telecom companies are motherless children fed with the bitter milk of corruption and internal rivalries. This is the message that a group of international lawyers received when they gathered last week in Geneva working on the court case that Andreas Koutroukides is going to launch soon against Nawroztel but also the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.

Koutroukides overcame cancer after he was completely stripped of his rights in the now defunct Ariafon Company which became Nawroztel.

The man went through many evidences and remained calm all along the five hours meeting. It is clear that the cancer which did not kill him made him stronger, more determinate than ever to obtain Justice. Justice with a “J” that could be the first step forward for others.

One British lawyer tried to understand how many operators were effectively registered in Iraq. Well that is not an easy question to answer, let say you have some wireless local loop operators, ItisalunaAbr Al Iraq, Hi Link Telecom, Omnnea and Kalimat.

Kalimat will be active in the KRG at the end of 2012 or so according to their web site but there are many other players Zain, Asiacell, Korek, Sanatel, Mobitel, Nawroztel.

Already lawyers were flabbergasted but the meeting turned into a one man show when Koutroukides explained that Kurdish citizens needed two cell phones until 2007 if they wanted to call someone in the Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP and PUK regions.

The rivalries were so intense that when Sanatel from the South opened its network to Korek through a partnership they faced violence.

The original copy of Sanatel licence, which was obtained from the CPA in PDF format Size 14 MB.

The original copy of Sanatel licence in PDF from iKurd.net. The Licensee has agreed to pay a license free of US$ 100,000 for calendar year 2004, and US$ 150,000 for the remaining period through December 2005.

Today Aso Ali founder of the Halabja group and Sanatel mentions in his official resume that he is or was a major shareholder in Korek( see the page of the KUST council) but this could add to confusion.

How could France Telecom be involved in such a mess, paying such a huge price a minority shareholder ship in company loosing so much money? How can you expect setting up a national work while the Iraqis suffer from important power shortage, organized crime racket and political turmoil?

None of the numerous participants to this meeting could provide an answer but the new French Government could be eager to provide the answers to the French taxpayers who still largely own France Telecom but also funded the competitor Zain through a French state owned fund loan.

It is clear that one international court case will lead to further investigation in France Telecom loss and curious investment.

So far lawyers from Dubai, London and Geneva have understood why Transparency international and financial institutions are sending strong warning messages to those who consider investing in the KRG.

Those who live upon false hope will die fasting.

Mrs. Benaw Izzat – a special reporter and senior writer for iKurd.net.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.