“This subject has not been discussed with Baghdad since we knew what their response would be,” Karim told Rudaw TV on Tuesday, but it was discussed “with the leadership of the Kurdistan political parties, especially their representatives in Kirkuk."
Karim added that the decision to fly the flag over the state building is a matter related to the people of the city, the provincial council, and the city's administration.
Commenting on rumours that Baghdad may cut salary payments for the province's civil servants in protest of the move, Karim said, "We have not yet officially been notified about cutting the salaries of Kirkuk employees. We hope such things will not happen."
Even if the likelihood becomes a reality, he explained, "We have done complete preparations since 2014 and could totally depend on ourselves. Even our financial, administrative, and services situations will be much better than it is now."
He reiterated that "Kirkuk is a disputed area. Not only does it have the right to raise the Kurdistan flag, it is also today practically being administrated by the Kurdistan Region."
“Our security is under the authority of the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Our Peshmerga forces, which have protected Kirkuk including all its different ethnic communities, are under the authority of the Ministry of Peshmerga. And the president of the Kurdistan Region is commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga forces,” he said.
Many other aspects are also connected to the Kurdistan Region such as “Kurdish studies, Peshmerga veterans, and the Aylul (September) Peshmerga who are all paid by the Kurdistan Region,” Karim added, referring to the Peshmerga soldiers of the Kurdish rebellion against the Iraqi government that lasted about a decade until 1970.
“Why shouldn’t Kurdistan’s flag be raised in Kirkuk while the administration is practically there in the city,” he argued.
