BAGHDAD, Iraq – An Iraqi court has ruled on Thursday to cancel a decision by Kirkuk Provincial Council that voted to raise the flag of Kurdistan alongside the Iraqi one. Kurdish officials say they will appeal.
The ruling from the Iraqi Administrative Court comes after several members of the Iraqi Turkmen Front earlier filed a complained regarding the vote by the Kirkuk Council in March.
It states that the acting head of Kirkuk Council, Rebwar Talabani, should cover all the expenses regarding the court case.
Hasan Turan, a member of the Iraqi parliament from the Turkmen Front, told reporters Thursday in Baghdad that the local government in Kirkuk should respect the ruling and take down the Kurdistan flag.
Mohammed Kamal, member of the Kurdish-led Brotherhood faction of the Kirkuk Council, told Rudaw today that they will appeal the ruling.
He said that they think the flag raising issue is “political,” as opposed to legal since there is no section in the Iraqi constitution that prevents the authorities in Kirkuk from raising the Kurdistan flag.
Kamal added that they will keep the flag up until Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is implemented and resolves the disputed or Kurdistani areas, which include Kirkuk, claimed both by Erbil and Baghdad.
Turan, from the Turkmen Front, said that the Iraqi government should force the state institutions in Kirkuk to take down the Kurdistan flag raised over the state-run buildings.
Ashwaq Jaf, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament, said they consider Turan’s remarks as “language of threats” which are not acceptable.
She too said that they will appeal the ruling believing that the decision is not sound or legal.
Kamal, from the Kirkuk Council, claimed that the judges who made the ruling “are Arabs” and therefore he questioned their authority to rule over the issue.
Saad al-Hadithi, the spokesperson of the Iraqi Prime Minister, told Rudaw at the time that the move by the local government in Kirkuk is “unconstitutional.”
The decision to raise the Kurdistan flag along with the Iraqi flag has also been met with opposition from Iran and Turkey.
The multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk is home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen among others. It has been secured by Kurdish Peshmerga forces since mid-2014 after Iraqi government troops left the city ahead of a possible attack by radical Islamic insurgents when they took over large swathes of the country. The province has one of Iraq’s largest oil fields within its borders.
The ruling from the Iraqi Administrative Court comes after several members of the Iraqi Turkmen Front earlier filed a complained regarding the vote by the Kirkuk Council in March.
It states that the acting head of Kirkuk Council, Rebwar Talabani, should cover all the expenses regarding the court case.
Hasan Turan, a member of the Iraqi parliament from the Turkmen Front, told reporters Thursday in Baghdad that the local government in Kirkuk should respect the ruling and take down the Kurdistan flag.
Mohammed Kamal, member of the Kurdish-led Brotherhood faction of the Kirkuk Council, told Rudaw today that they will appeal the ruling.
He said that they think the flag raising issue is “political,” as opposed to legal since there is no section in the Iraqi constitution that prevents the authorities in Kirkuk from raising the Kurdistan flag.
Kamal added that they will keep the flag up until Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is implemented and resolves the disputed or Kurdistani areas, which include Kirkuk, claimed both by Erbil and Baghdad.
Turan, from the Turkmen Front, said that the Iraqi government should force the state institutions in Kirkuk to take down the Kurdistan flag raised over the state-run buildings.
Ashwaq Jaf, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament, said they consider Turan’s remarks as “language of threats” which are not acceptable.
She too said that they will appeal the ruling believing that the decision is not sound or legal.
Kamal, from the Kirkuk Council, claimed that the judges who made the ruling “are Arabs” and therefore he questioned their authority to rule over the issue.
Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim announced at a Kurdish Newroz event on March 20 that the Kurdish flag should be raised in Kirkuk alongside the Iraqi one.
The flag was raised at Kirkuk’s castle. It was the first time the Kurdish flag had been raised at the castle by a government official.
The Kirkuk Provincial Council voted on March 28 to raise the Kurdistan flag over state buildings in the province, some Turkmen and Arab representatives boycotted the session, following earlier concerns that the move may cause conflict among the city's diverse components.
Saad al-Hadithi, the spokesperson of the Iraqi Prime Minister, told Rudaw at the time that the move by the local government in Kirkuk is “unconstitutional.”
The decision to raise the Kurdistan flag along with the Iraqi flag has also been met with opposition from Iran and Turkey.
The multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk is home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen among others. It has been secured by Kurdish Peshmerga forces since mid-2014 after Iraqi government troops left the city ahead of a possible attack by radical Islamic insurgents when they took over large swathes of the country. The province has one of Iraq’s largest oil fields within its borders.
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