ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Najmaldin Karim, former Kirkuk governor, says he is still the legitimate governor of Kirkuk according to all Iraqi laws.
“According to all the laws, letters sent to Kirkuk by the Iraqi government itself stating that laws enforced in other provinces of Iraq do not apply in Kirkuk, and the final decree of the Kirkuk Provincial Council of Kirkuk – I am the legitimate governor of Kirkuk,” said Karim in an interview with Rudaw TV on Wednesday night.
Asked about the Iraqi Federal Court’s response to his appeal regarding his removal from the post, Karim said “if there is a just court, if there is a court that is not controlled by politics, it would decide that we were right.”
Iraqi law commits Kirkuk administration to work according to the Bremer Law, according to which “only the Provincial Council is authorized to remove or appoint a governor,” he stated.
The Iraqi parliament voted in September to remove Karim from his post after the governor was a vocal supporter of Kurdistan – flying the Kurdistan flag in the disputed province and promoting the independence referendum.
Karim appealed the parliament’s decision in the Federal Court, which dismissed the case on Tuesday, saying the matter is administrative, not legislative.
“The court rejected Najmaldin Karim’s appeal and stressed that the decision was administrative not legislative, therefore the Iraqi Federal Court cannot review it,” court spokesperson Ayas Samok said in an announcement.
After the takeover of Kirkuk by Iraqi forces, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi replaced Karim with an Arab, Rakan al-Jabouri.
Karim’s removal was also approved by Fuad Masum, president of Iraq. Masum and Karim are both members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) politburo.
“I do not know why he [Masum] was so eager to sign it. You know what, even if the president does not sign anything, the ruling is still issued without him,” Karim said.
Iraq’s presidency is largely a ceremonial role.
Karim added that his party, PUK, did not support his removal.
Karim also spoke of his longtime party member and friend Kosrat Rasul Ali. The top PUK leader was hospitalized this week in Sulaimani before flying to Germany for medical treatment.
He praised the care team supervising Rasul saying “they did an excellent job to improve the health of Rasul.”
Rasul, 64, became the party's acting head after the death of PUK founder Jalal Talabani on October 3. A day before his illness, Rasul attended a memorial for Talabani in Sulaimani.
He was Vice President of the Kurdistan Region until late October.
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