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Iraqi Kurdish, Turkomani Politicians Deny Plan To Refer Kirkuk To IC

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  • Iraqi Kurdish, Turkomani Politicians Deny Plan To Refer Kirkuk To IC

    IRAQI KURDISH, TURKOMANI POLITICIANS DENY PLAN TO REFER KIRKUK TO ICJ

    Al-Sharqiyah TV
    Program: The Harvest
    Aug 18 2008
    United Arab Emirates

    Interviewee: Sa'di al-Barazanji, a leading figure in the Kurdistan Alliance
    Interviewee: Hasan Turani, a leading figure in the Turkoman Front,
    Interviewee: Ahmad al-Ubaydi, member of the Arab Unity Bloc in Kirkuk,

    Asked if the Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen have agreed to refer the
    Kirkuk issue to the ICJ, Al-Barazanji says that "no Kurdistan
    Alliance official has heard about this proposal." This is the
    first time I have heard about this issue, he says, adding that
    "we are still trying to solve problems related to Kirkuk and the
    other disputed areas under Article 140 of the constitution and the
    relevant laws." To my knowledge, he says, "the committee in charge of
    the application of Article 140 is still working on a plan to normalize
    the situation in the city by organizing a census and a referendum." In
    another development, he says, "the UN secretary general's special
    representative has stated that the United Nations is ready to help
    the Iraqi Government resolve the internal borders issue in accordance
    with UN Security Council Resolution No 1770." A UN body, he says,
    "has already begun investigations and field work and holds meetings
    with the city's residents to prepare for a political accord," adding
    that "two groups are working in parallel on this issue" and that
    "we have not yet exhausted constitutional and legal means to find a
    solution." As I have said, he says, "if we fail to find a solution in
    accordance with the constitution and through political means, then we
    may seek international arbitration," adding that "the Kirkuk problem
    has created many problems and triggered wars since the establishment of
    the State of Iraq." Mustafa Barzani, he says, "turned down then Vice
    President Saddam Husayn's proposal that the city be divided into two
    halves in accordance with the July 1970 agreement." He says that "under
    the agreement, one half east of the Khasa River would have been part
    of the then proposed Autonomous Region and the other half west of the
    river would have been outside the Autonomous Region." Saddam, he says,
    "proposed a second solution based on the results of the 1957 census
    to define the Autonomous Region's administrative borders and annex
    the largely Kurdish areas to the Autonomous Region." Regrettably,
    he says, "the second solution, which was accepted by the Kurdish
    leadership, has not been applied honestly by the Iraqi Government
    which found out that if the results of the said census are accepted,
    Kirkuk will become part of the Autonomous Region." In my view,
    "if this problem remains unsolved, Iraqis will not enjoy stability,"
    he says, urging those saying that "Article 140 is no longer valid to
    reconsider their position." Expressing his respect for all Iraqis,
    even those objecting to his views, he says that "we will not break
    away from Iraq, because we are a basic part of Iraq and want to
    build a new Iraq side by side with the other Iraqis," wondering
    "why some have such fears." He also says that "the entire Kurdistan
    Region is part of Iraq regardless of the future status of Kirkuk,"
    he says, adding that "Kirkuk in inhabited by Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs,
    Chaldeans, Assyrians, and some Armenians." The Ottomans' documents
    and maps "show that Kirkuk is part of the Kurdistan Region," he says,
    adding that "the original copy of the map is being kept at the Iraqi
    Council of Representatives." The Ottoman Encyclopedias, including the
    Al-I'lam Dictionary prepared by Turkish Writer Shams-al-Din Sami,
    show that "Kirkuk is a Kurdish city inhabited by Kurds, Turkmen,
    Arabs, and some Jews and Chaldeans," he says, stressing that "three
    quarters of the city's inhabitants are Kurds" and that "the Arabs
    and Turkmen formed only one quarter."

    Asked on whether the ICJ will take much time to find a solution to the
    Kirkuk issue, Al-Barazanji says that "we are still working to reach
    a solution in accordance with the constitution, which has been voted
    for by the Iraqi people and which includes articles 140 and 143." The
    latter article, he says, "has cancelled the State Administration Law
    of the transitional period, with the exception of Article 53 which
    defines the borders of the Kurdistan Region." Article 58 on Kirkuk,
    he says, "includes paragraphs on how to normalize the situation and
    amend the administrative border, which was distorted by the former
    regime to change the demographic makeup of the city."

    Asked if he has evidence that Kirkuk is part of the Kurdistan Region,
    Al-Barazanji says that "the Ottoman and British documents and the
    Al-I'lam Dictionary show that Kirkuk is part of the Kurdistan Region"
    and that "if the problem had been solved in accordance with the July
    agreement, Iraq would have avoided many problems." He also says that
    "we do not want to regain Kirkuk by force, since Kirkuk is an Iraqi
    city with a Kurdish identity."

    Asked if the Turkmen Front supports the proposal to refer the
    Kirkuk issue to the ICJ, Turani says that "the Turkmen Front has not
    been informed of the proposal" and that "the Kirkuk issue cannot be
    resolved under Article 140 or through referendum on the future status
    of Kirkuk." He also says that "the best way to resolve this issue is
    for the Turkmen, Kurds, Arabs, Chaldeans, and Assyrians - the main
    components of the city - to reach a political accord on the city's
    future status." He also says that "Article 24 of the constitution,
    as well as national consensus, stresses the need to reach a political
    accord and establish a joint administration of the city" and that
    "the International Court of Justice will not be able to resolve
    the Kirkuk issue." Regarding the said documents referring to Kirkuk
    as a Kurdish city, he says, "I would like to say that Sham-al-Din
    Sami, who prepared the Al-I'lam Dictionary, was not a traveller,
    never visited Kirkuk, and relied on baseless documents," adding that
    "we have an official Ottoman document confirming that Kirkuk is a
    Turkmen city." He also says that "the Kirkuk issue can be resolved
    only through a national accord," that "the Turkmen and Arabs have not
    been given any key role in the administration of the city," and that
    "we have called for a joint administration in Kirkuk since the fall
    of the former regime." The Arab and Turkmen members of the Kirkuk
    Governorate Council "have proposed that the city should not be linked
    to any region in the country," he says, adding that "the Iraqi State
    Administration Law, particularly Article 53, refers to the dangerous
    situation in the city and stresses that the city cannot be annexed to
    any region." But the writers of the current constitution, he says,
    "replaced Article 53 by Article 58, and the Kurdish brothers set 31
    December 2007 as a time ceiling for resolving the issue in accordance
    with Article 140." Therefore, "we announced that the issue could not
    be resolved by the abovementioned date under Article 140," he says,
    adding that "Article 142, which is part of the Iraqi Constitution,
    calls for amending some articles of the constitution to resolve the
    Kirkuk issue."

    The anchorman says that "the proposal to refer the issue to the ICJ
    was made after the Arabs and Turkmen declared their adherence to
    Article 24."

    Al-Barazanji says that "I agree with Turani that the city of Kirkuk
    should be administered jointly and that the Turkmen should exercise
    their cultural, administrative, political, and educational rights
    whether or not the city is annexed to the Kurdistan Region." He also
    says that "the Turkmen are dear brothers," that "Turkish names in the
    city are not evidence that the city is Turkmen," and that "the Ottomans
    ruled the region for 400 years." He says that there "are Turkish names
    in Egypt, Tunisia, and other countries because the Ottomans ruled the
    region in the name of Islam." Some say that "Article 140 is no longer
    valid - and this is not true - but everybody knows that Article 158 is
    still valid," he says, warning that "the failure to solve this serious
    problem will destabilize Iraq," criticizing the Al-Maliki government
    for "failing to implement paragraph 22 of the policy statement." He
    also says that "if the Turkmen become part of the Kurdistan Region,
    they will probably occupy the post of a deputy prime minister, about
    25 parliament seats, and five or six ministerial posts" and that
    "the Kurdistan Region's Government will defend their rights."

    Asked if he has been informed of a proposal to refer the Kirkuk issue
    to the ICJ, Al-Ubaydi says that "I have heard about this strange
    proposal," stressing that "the issue can be resolved through wisdom,
    accord, dialogue, and understanding." From the beginning, "we said that
    the issue could be resolved through accord and a joint administration
    in the city under the 2 December 2007 agreement, which calls for
    giving the Arabs 32 per cent of the administrative responsibilities
    in the city." He says that "an agreement is included in disputed
    Article 24," that "the problem can be solved easily through mutual
    confidence, which does not exist between us and the Kurdish List at
    the Kirkuk Governorate Council," and that "an investment committee
    to be formed in two days will be headed by a figure close to the
    Kurds." Once the Arabs "are given 32 per cent of the seats of the
    city's administrative council, the problem will be solved," he says,
    adding that "Article 140 should be referred to the committee in charge
    of amending the constitution" and that "I object to any plan to refer
    the Kirkuk issue to the ICJ."
    From: Baghdasarian
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