Alleged deal to incorporate incorporate Kirkuk into Kurdista

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Alleged deal to incorporate incorporate Kirkuk into Kurdistan
26/09/2011 19:56

Kirkuk, Sept. 26 (AKnews) - The Kurds have allegedly struck a deal with the Sunni-backed al-Iraqiya list to incorporate the oil-rich multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Region.

The claims by the Arab Council in Kirkuk come a day after the leader of al-Iraqiya list, Ayad Allwi's Erbil visit on Sunday where he met Kurdish leaders and discussed the latest developments on the Iraqi political arena.

The Arab Council in the city said that it was aware of what it termed a "concession" by the al-Iraqiya list that Kirkuk be incorporated into the Kurdistan Region and said they will oppose any arrangements that would change the status of the city from an Iraqi city under the control of Baghdad.

The majority of the parliamentary seats in the disputed areas were won by the al-Iraqiya list in the march 7 elections in 2010. Arab politicians in Kirkuk have threatened on several occasions to withdraw from the list if it negotiates the incorporation of Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Region.

Mohammed Khalil, a member of the Aarb Political Council in Erbil said in a press conference in Kirkuk on Monday that "The Iraqiya list come very close with the Kurds and plan to give up Kirkuk to the Kurds"

"We will by no means accept this because Kirkuk is an Iraqi city and must remain so" Khalil told reporters, "we will not allow Kirkuk be annexed to Kurdistan Region.We will send an official protest letter to the Iraqi government and the political parties about this"

Kirkuk, an oil-rich multi-ethnic province, is disputed between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad. Kurds believe that the province has been historically part of Kurdistan and therefore should be annexed to the semi-autonomous region.

Kirkuk was subjected to an Arabization policy by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein where he expelled mainly Kurdish families from the province and replaced them with Arabs from other parts of Iraq.

The struggle for control of Kirkuk province is one of high stakes. 40 per cent of Iraq’s oil reserves lie within 60km of the capital city.

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution outlines steps to end disputes in the province, however, it has not been implemented.

Firstly, the original inhabitants of the disputed areas - forced to leave under the former regime’s demography-altering ‘Arabization’ policies – must be returned and compensated.

The second stage is the conducting of a population census, followed by the final stage, a referendum in which the residents can decide whether they would like to join Kurdistan or remain with Baghdad.

Four years after the constitutional deadline for the article, the government has not yet completed the first phase.

reported by Diyar Samad
RY/AKnews

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/263794/