“We have held a referendum in Kirkuk. We are connected to the Kurdistan Region according to the referendum law. We will be committed to the decisions issued by the parliament of Kurdistan. We will not be committed to the decisions of the Iraqi parliament,” said Mohammed Kamal, head of the Brotherhood Faction in the council.
The Brotherhood Faction is the largest group in the provincial council. Kirkuk is an ethnically diverse city, home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. And not everyone is ready to cut ties with Baghdad.
A Turkmen member of the council accused the Brotherhood Faction of taking over the body and has called for the council to be dissolved.
“The provincial council is not that of Kirkuk. It is the council of the Brotherhood Faction,” said Ali Mahdi, head of a Turkmen faction. “We support the enforcement of the decisions made by the Iraqi parliament and government.”
Baghdad has rejected the Kurdistan referendum that saw 92.7 percent support for independence from Iraq. The Iraqi parliament has also voted to remove Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim from his post after the Kurdish leader threw his support behind the referendum.
Karim’s support for the council’s decision to fly the Kurdistan flag in Kirkuk alongside the Iraqi one has also stirred opposition to him in the central capital. An Iraqi court ordered the flag be taken down, something the Kurdish leadership has refused to do.
An Iraqi MP said the provincial council has failed to properly govern the diverse province.
“I believe Kirkuk’s provincial council has made the biggest mistake in running the province. It cannot protect national unity among the components of Kirkuk like the Arabs, Turkmen, and the Kurds. It has created problems and this is unacceptable,” said MP Amid Mutlag.
An Arab member of the provincial council has warned against any hasty decisions, including an early dissolution of the body.
“This question requires more scrutiny and responsibility, because the situation is dangerous and it will cause chaos in the province,” said Ramla Ubedi.
