ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Forty-three offices in Kirkuk used by Kurdish workers’ syndicates and other organizations are to be vacated to make way for Iraqi groups following an order from the disputed city’s acting governor Rakan al-Jabouri. They have less than a month to leave.
One organization that has been ordered to vacate is the Kurdistan Union of Teachers. The authority wants the building to be given to an Iraqi teachers’ union.
“An armed force, in a very inappropriate manner, consisting of police cars and the Humvees of Iraq’s counterterrorism, came to our building. Kirkuk’s acting governor plays a very negative role. He supports them, writes official letters for them and guides them,” Hassibah Abdullah, head of the Kurdistan Union of Teachers Kirkuk branch, told Rudaw.
“From here we assure teachers that we won’t vacate this office,” vowed Abdullah.
Since the events of October 16, 2017, 14 offices belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and 29 belonging to other Kurdish organizations have either been turned into military bases or garages.
However, organizations affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which remained in Kirkuk following the Iraqi Army take over, are not covered by Jabouri’s order.
“They want to vacate and give them to the [Iraqi] government so that the sides who aren’t here come back to find their offices taken, to be told that they belong to the ministry of finance, the ministry of defense and what not,” Azad Jabbari, head of the security committee of the Kirkuk provincial council, told Rudaw.
The committee will present a request to the acting governor insisting those organizations currently absent will be back to claim their buildings.
Over the past 12 months, at least 83 buildings have been taken from Kurdish parties and organizations and have been given to Hashd al-Shaabi and the agencies of the Iraqi government. Dozens of Kurdish officials have also been sacked from their positions in the local authority.
Kurdish parties, especially the KDP and PUK, are at loggerheads over the issue of Kirkuk’s governor. The PUK is in talks with Arabs and Turkmen of Kirkuk, offering concessions in return for regaining the governorship. The KDP’s latest suggestion is to elect an independent to the post.
One organization that has been ordered to vacate is the Kurdistan Union of Teachers. The authority wants the building to be given to an Iraqi teachers’ union.
“An armed force, in a very inappropriate manner, consisting of police cars and the Humvees of Iraq’s counterterrorism, came to our building. Kirkuk’s acting governor plays a very negative role. He supports them, writes official letters for them and guides them,” Hassibah Abdullah, head of the Kurdistan Union of Teachers Kirkuk branch, told Rudaw.
“From here we assure teachers that we won’t vacate this office,” vowed Abdullah.
Since the events of October 16, 2017, 14 offices belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and 29 belonging to other Kurdish organizations have either been turned into military bases or garages.
However, organizations affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which remained in Kirkuk following the Iraqi Army take over, are not covered by Jabouri’s order.
“They want to vacate and give them to the [Iraqi] government so that the sides who aren’t here come back to find their offices taken, to be told that they belong to the ministry of finance, the ministry of defense and what not,” Azad Jabbari, head of the security committee of the Kirkuk provincial council, told Rudaw.
The committee will present a request to the acting governor insisting those organizations currently absent will be back to claim their buildings.
Over the past 12 months, at least 83 buildings have been taken from Kurdish parties and organizations and have been given to Hashd al-Shaabi and the agencies of the Iraqi government. Dozens of Kurdish officials have also been sacked from their positions in the local authority.
Kurdish parties, especially the KDP and PUK, are at loggerheads over the issue of Kirkuk’s governor. The PUK is in talks with Arabs and Turkmen of Kirkuk, offering concessions in return for regaining the governorship. The KDP’s latest suggestion is to elect an independent to the post.
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