Turkoman, Arabs oppose referendum on future of Iraqi city Kirkuk

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday August 22, 2006

Baghdad- Turkoman and Arab in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk took issue Tuesday with a proposed referendum on the future of the city, describing the measure as a "ploy for the Kurdization" of the city Arab parties in the city called for international monitors to supervise the referendum, which is to decide whether the city should be a part of an autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, or some other designation.

The president of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, Member of Parliament (MP) Saad Arkeej, claimed that there had been a systematic campaign involving the settling of 650,000 Kurds into the city in order to alter Kirkuk's demographic balance.

"We will not allow for a consensus that sidelines the Iraqi and Turkoman identities in light of these unjust and forced demographic alterations," Arkeej said.

"A census of the city's residents must be conducted under the supervision of international monitors," he added.

Meanwhile prominent Turkoman MP Ali Mahdi called for a special federalist designation of Kirkuk so as to maintain the unity of Iraq and to avoid the marginalization of the city's Turkoman and Arab residents.

Arab and Turkoman parties in Kirkuk have specifically accused Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party of marginalizing the city's Arab and Turkoman populations since the fall of the Saddam regime in 2003.

Arabs and Turkoman residents have claimed that their ethnic populations have been displaced by waves of Kurds non-native to the city.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced last week the formation of a committee to examine the status of the city in light of Iraq's federalist system. The committee, to be headed by Iraq's minister of justice, will include the ministers of interior and youth, and four Kirkuk representatives.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur