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Mr. Al-Maliki Is Delaying Implementation Of
Article 140
Dr. Nazhad Khasraw
Hawramany
Switzerland
Mar 12, 2007
The Kurds thought that the Iraqi prime minister
Nuri Al-Maliki, seemed at last to be serious about the implementation of article
140 of Iraqi permanent constitution, which calls for a normalisation of
conditions in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani towns like Khanaquin, Shangar,
Makhmour, which were the victims of the vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing ,
called Arabisation, during the reign of Saddam Husain and his Baath party in the
years from 1968 till 2003.
For those not familiar with the Iraqi affairs,
the term Normalization, came to mean sending back Arab settlers, who were
settled in Kurdish homes and lands by Baath regime after 1968, back to their
original places in central and southern Iraq after fair financial compensation ,
and bringing back the deported Kurds and giving them back their confiscated
properties and estates, abolishing the structural changes in the governorate of
Kirkuk, decreed by the Baath regime, when the Kurdish sub-districts of
Chamchamal, Kifri, Kalar, Duzkhurmatu where disconnected from Kirkuk and annexed
to neighbouring governorates to abolish the Kurdish majority in Kirkuk.
The Iraqi prime minister seemed initially to be
honest to his alliance with Kurds and serious about the implementation of the
article 140, something which the Kurdish parties consider a must if they were to
continue their support for a united Iraq. He decreed to form a special committee
headed by Iraqi justice minister Hashim Al-Shibli to implement the article 140
fully, before the end of 2007 , as it was stipulated in the constitution.
The committee started holding its meetings and
adopted several significant resolutions about voluntary relocation of Arab
settlers to their original places, after financial compensation and providing
them with land plots in their respective governorates, as well as helping
Kurdish refugees to come back to their original places in Kirkuk, Khanaquin and
Shangar, as well as abolishing the previous confiscations of agricultural lands
belonging to deported Kurds. The Kurds hailed these resolutions with some hope
and optimism that at last there is an Iraqi government which respect its
commitments and taking serious steps to solve a very critical issue, which was a
major cause of armed conflict with previous Baath and Arab nationalist regimes
of Iraq.
Unfortunately enough, these resolutions can't
be implemented without the the consent and signature of the prime minister Al-Maliki
himself, and so far the Al-Maliki seems to be reluctant to put his signature on
these resolutions. Is it because he is too occupied with the ongoing security
plan of Baghdad" enforcing the law"?, or is he simply bowing to the threats and
intimidations by neighbouring Turkey, or is he simply having the same mentality
of previous Arab leaders of Iraq like Abdulsalam Arif, Abdulrahman Arif, Ahmad
Hasan Al-Bakr, Saddam Husain, who failed to realise the significance of the
Kurdish nation in Iraqi Kurdistan for the stability and unity of Iraq and
adopted instead a policy of denial and violent repression.
I hope that Mr Al-Maliki, who is an elected
Iraqi prime minister, will not make the same old miscalculations, as I have a
deep respect for him and loath to compare him with previous leaders of Iraq who
came into power following military coups.
As a Kurdish intellectual with deep affection for the sufferings of our Shiite
brethren in Iraq and a true believer in democracy, I hope that there is no
malice on the side of Al-Maliki, and I hope that he will soon put his signature
on those resolutions and continue to support the implementation of article 140,
if he wants to continue relying on the support of the people of Kurdistan for
his administration.
The recent unannounced visit of the Iraqi
vice-president Adil Abdul-Mahdi into Turkey and the undeclared purpose and
results of visit, should raise suspicion that the Shiite administration is
trying to cut a deal with Turkey on the expense of Kurds.
The question is though very simple, for without normalisation in Kirkuk, the
Kurds are not going to remain quite for a long time and they will see the
current government through their experiences with previous Iraqi regimes which
denied the national rights of Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan.
