Nechirvan Barzani: We do not want ethnic tension in Kirkuk
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nechirvan Barzani said on Tuesday that his party does not want ethnic tension between any group in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and instead called for the riches of the city to be a blessing for all its people, Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians.
“What the Kurdistan Democratic Party and its leader want is for the people of Kirkuk to have peace, for its oil and Kirkuk natural resources to propel Kirkuk forward and create job opportunities for the youth,” Barzani, deputy head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said in a speech from Erbil. “Our struggle for Kirkuk has been for its national identity and its historical identity, like Khanaqin, Sinjar [Shingal], and Makhmour, without being against any ethic group.”
“Our demand is not for the oil of Kirkuk. Our demand is about the identity of Kirkuk. We do not want to entangle the people of Kirkuk in an ethnic war. We have never wanted that,” he added. “We want peace, services, reconstruction and coexistence and a genuine partnership in Kirkuk amongst all the groups that live in Kirkuk. We do not want the destiny of Kirkuk to be determined through interference, war or coup d’état.”
Political campaigning in Kurdistan Region and Iraq is under way as the parties jockey for votes on October 10 when millions of Iraqis are expected to cast their votes. The Kurdish parties, including the KDP, have been busy enticing voters to back their parties. Nechirvan Barzani, who is also president of the Kurdistan Region, has been on a journey across Erbil and Duhok provinces giving speeches to KDP supporters and undecided voters about why they should choose his party.
Campaigning in the disputed territories including in Kirkuk is challenging due to a large number of militia groups and activities of the Islamic State (ISIS), which is exploiting the security gap between the Kurdish Peshmerga and federal security forces to launch attacks.
Kirkuk has been one of the flashpoints between Kurds and Baghdad since the establishment of the Iraqi state in the aftermath of the First World War. The Kurdish national movement fighting for autonomy in the 1960s came to an agreement with the Baath regime in Baghdad to sign an autonomy agreement known as 11th of March 1970 agreement. This deal later faltered over the future of Kirkuk and who should control the city.
“The immortal Barzani did not agree for Kirkuk to be divided and Barzani was not happy to give up on Kirkuk,” Nechirvan Barzani said, referring to his grandfather Mala Mustafa Barzani who led Kurds during the 1961-1975 uprising that became known as the September Rebellion.
Kurds took the city two decades later in 1991 when the Iraqi army was rattled by intense bombing by the US-led coalition in the aftermath of the Kuwait war. However their grip on the city was short-lived and the Iraqi army retook the city.
In the aftermath of the US invasion of 2003, Kurdish Peshmerga and federal forces were both present in the city until June 2014 when Iraqi forces fled in the face of ISIS and defence of the city was left to the Peshmerga.
Once again in October 2017, tensions between Baghdad and Erbil broke into open warfare and the Peshmerga and Kurdish parties were forced out of Kirkuk as central government forces backed by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) advisors and Iran-backed militia attacked the city following the Kurdistan referendum for independence in which nearly 93% of Kurds voted to separate from Iraq.
“We want to determine the destiny of Kirkuk through Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution,” Barzani said in his speech. “This is a legal and just demand because the people of Iraq in 2005 as part of the Iraqi Constitution, voted for this article too and once again we want this article to be implemented.”
Article 140 calls for compensation for both Arab settlers and expelled Kurds, and the return of lands to their original Kurdish owners. The article was meant to culminate in a referendum for inhabitants of the territory to decide whether to join the Kurdistan Region or remain tied to the Iraqi government by no later than 2007. However, the article was never fully implemented due to disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.
Barzani said that for the Kurds, Kirkuk is an inseparable part of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has done its utmost to provide services to the people of Kirkuk, including electricity and reconstruction projects, when the Kurds were in charge of the city. “The books and the needs of many schools in Kirkuk are provided by the KRG. The salaries of the teachers of Kurdish schools and a large number of civil servants receive their salaries from the KRG budget,” Barzani added.
Barzani said that the Kurds are not happy with the way the federal government is running the city and how Kurdish employees have been sacked. “We are not very happy with the conditions in Kirkuk now and the way it has been administered, because it has been imposed and not elected by the people of Kirkuk,” Barzani said, adding that the level of services to the public has declined. “This is not a joint administration and the Kurds are not a party and many from our Turkmen brothers are not happy with it.”
“What the Kurdistan Democratic Party and its leader want is for the people of Kirkuk to have peace, for its oil and Kirkuk natural resources to propel Kirkuk forward and create job opportunities for the youth,” Barzani, deputy head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said in a speech from Erbil. “Our struggle for Kirkuk has been for its national identity and its historical identity, like Khanaqin, Sinjar [Shingal], and Makhmour, without being against any ethic group.”
“Our demand is not for the oil of Kirkuk. Our demand is about the identity of Kirkuk. We do not want to entangle the people of Kirkuk in an ethnic war. We have never wanted that,” he added. “We want peace, services, reconstruction and coexistence and a genuine partnership in Kirkuk amongst all the groups that live in Kirkuk. We do not want the destiny of Kirkuk to be determined through interference, war or coup d’état.”
Political campaigning in Kurdistan Region and Iraq is under way as the parties jockey for votes on October 10 when millions of Iraqis are expected to cast their votes. The Kurdish parties, including the KDP, have been busy enticing voters to back their parties. Nechirvan Barzani, who is also president of the Kurdistan Region, has been on a journey across Erbil and Duhok provinces giving speeches to KDP supporters and undecided voters about why they should choose his party.
Campaigning in the disputed territories including in Kirkuk is challenging due to a large number of militia groups and activities of the Islamic State (ISIS), which is exploiting the security gap between the Kurdish Peshmerga and federal security forces to launch attacks.
Kirkuk has been one of the flashpoints between Kurds and Baghdad since the establishment of the Iraqi state in the aftermath of the First World War. The Kurdish national movement fighting for autonomy in the 1960s came to an agreement with the Baath regime in Baghdad to sign an autonomy agreement known as 11th of March 1970 agreement. This deal later faltered over the future of Kirkuk and who should control the city.
“The immortal Barzani did not agree for Kirkuk to be divided and Barzani was not happy to give up on Kirkuk,” Nechirvan Barzani said, referring to his grandfather Mala Mustafa Barzani who led Kurds during the 1961-1975 uprising that became known as the September Rebellion.
Kurds took the city two decades later in 1991 when the Iraqi army was rattled by intense bombing by the US-led coalition in the aftermath of the Kuwait war. However their grip on the city was short-lived and the Iraqi army retook the city.
In the aftermath of the US invasion of 2003, Kurdish Peshmerga and federal forces were both present in the city until June 2014 when Iraqi forces fled in the face of ISIS and defence of the city was left to the Peshmerga.
Once again in October 2017, tensions between Baghdad and Erbil broke into open warfare and the Peshmerga and Kurdish parties were forced out of Kirkuk as central government forces backed by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) advisors and Iran-backed militia attacked the city following the Kurdistan referendum for independence in which nearly 93% of Kurds voted to separate from Iraq.
“We want to determine the destiny of Kirkuk through Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution,” Barzani said in his speech. “This is a legal and just demand because the people of Iraq in 2005 as part of the Iraqi Constitution, voted for this article too and once again we want this article to be implemented.”
Article 140 calls for compensation for both Arab settlers and expelled Kurds, and the return of lands to their original Kurdish owners. The article was meant to culminate in a referendum for inhabitants of the territory to decide whether to join the Kurdistan Region or remain tied to the Iraqi government by no later than 2007. However, the article was never fully implemented due to disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.
Barzani said that for the Kurds, Kirkuk is an inseparable part of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has done its utmost to provide services to the people of Kirkuk, including electricity and reconstruction projects, when the Kurds were in charge of the city. “The books and the needs of many schools in Kirkuk are provided by the KRG. The salaries of the teachers of Kurdish schools and a large number of civil servants receive their salaries from the KRG budget,” Barzani added.
Barzani said that the Kurds are not happy with the way the federal government is running the city and how Kurdish employees have been sacked. “We are not very happy with the conditions in Kirkuk now and the way it has been administered, because it has been imposed and not elected by the people of Kirkuk,” Barzani said, adding that the level of services to the public has declined. “This is not a joint administration and the Kurds are not a party and many from our Turkmen brothers are not happy with it.”