BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraqi Federal Court has refused to rule on the issue of raising the flag of Kurdistan in the disputed province of Kirkuk saying that it does not fall under the court's specialty, but a Kurdish senior official claims that the court has ruled that raising the flag was "legal."
Elias Samook, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Federal Court, told Iraqi media on Monday that the court rejected to issue a ruling on the flag issue because it does not fall under the court's "specialty."
The court can accept cases only when the there is a disagreement between the provincial council and the governor on a given subject, he said.
He said the issue has to be settled by other legal institutions based on the law that governs all Iraqi provinces apart from the four provinces of the Kurdistan Region. He did not give the name of such institution.
The Iraqi Administrative Court ruled in August last year to cancel a decision by Kirkuk Provincial Council that voted to raise the flag of Kurdistan alongside the Iraqi one. Kurdish officials said then that they will appeal.
The acting head of Kirkuk Provincial Council Rebwar Talabani told Rudaw earlier in the day that the Iraqi Federal Court has decided that raising of Kurdistan flag in Kirkuk is legal, thus, calling for investigation of all those who took it down after October 16 events.
Talabani, who has not lived in Kirkuk since the Iraqi takeover, also claimed that the federal court rejected all complaints filed against him.
The Flag of Kurdistan was hoisted over the government building along with Iraq's in Kirkuk in March before it was taken down after October 16.
Iraqi forces removed the Kurdistan flags from state buildings in October. Kurdish parties have also been forbidden from raising the flag at their offices.
Talabani from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) has been the acting head since 2014. He took up the post when the previous council chief, Hasan Turan, who is Turkmen, ran for Iraqi elections in 2014.
Talabani and deposed Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim were the driving forces behind the council's decision to raise the Kurdistan flag in the city in March and then to join the September referendum on independence, both of which were opposed by the Iraqi government.
The Turkmen Front had filed a court case against Talabani over the decision to fly the Kurdistan flag. His lawyers had attended at least one court session in Baghdad.
Talabani has said he will not return to Kirkuk until the situation returns to what it was before the Iraqi takeover. He has also insisted for Kurdistan flag be raised again, as per the council decision.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appointed Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, an Arab, as acting governor in mid-October when Iraqi forces and Iran-backed paramilitaries took control of the disputed or Kurdistani city, claimed by Erbil and Baghdad.
Jabouri is the first Arab governor of Kirkuk since 2003.
Last updated at 4:04 p.m.
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