KurdistanObserver.com

Kirkuk Deal: A Step in The Right Direction

By: Dr. Nazhad Khasraw Hawramany

Jan 19, 2005

The mounting pressure of the people of Kurdistan on the Kurdish leadership of the two major parties KDP and PUK to stand firm on the issue of reversal of Arabization in Kirkuk and the right of Kurdish deportees to go home to Kirkuk and to participate in January 30 2005 elections of the city council in Kirkuk, did put this leadership in a very delicate position.

The Kurdish leadership found itself in a difficult position and its credibility was on test. The article 58 of TAL (Transitional Administrative Law), clearly demonstrated the steps to be taken to reverse Baathist policies of  ethnic cleansing and Arabization in Kurdistani cities of Kirkuk, Khanaquin, Makhmour, Mandali, Shangal, Shekhan, but failed to outline a time table or set up a body which is responsible for implementation of this crucial article of TAL. For 18 months following the liberation of Iraq and the ouster of Saddam Hussein regime , The Kurdish victims of Arabization and ethnic cleansing saw no steps by the the Interim Iraqi Government to address this issue. The Coalition Provisional Authorities CPA of Paul Bremer and the American Administration officials in Iraq after the hand over of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 28 2004, did not take this issue seriously and even blocked Kurdish attempts to help Kurdish refugees   go back into Kirkuk and other cities. This ambiguity of the American administration  and sometimes its provocative statements through some American officials regarding the future status of Kirkuk ( the latest one was an outrageous statement by American Ambassador in Turkey), led some sections of Kurdish society and some Kurdish intellectuals to question the benefits of their coalition with the Americans and if they have got anything in return to their immense sacrifices and suffering under the regime of Saddam Hussein and their steadfast commitment to the American friendship.

The Kurds enjoyed a semi-independent status in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991 and until the fall of Baath regime in April 2003. Kurdistan was in essence a de facto independent state with little in common with the rest of Iraq. The Kurdish leadership however decided to remain within Iraq as long as Kurdistan including Kirkuk and other mentioned cities will be recognized as a loose federation with the rest of Arab Iraq. The Kurds made consequently a lot of political concessions and participated actively and effectively in the political process in Baghdad and were  and still considered a bulwark for democracy and secularism in Iraq. The Kurds are seeking a democratic pluralistic federalist and secular system of government in Iraq and will not accept any attempts to establish a theocratic system of government or to allow any one single religious or ethnic group to dominate or persecute the other groups. The Iraqi Interim Government and the American Administration on the other side ignored   persistently the  Kurdish calls for implementation of article 58 of TAL in Kirkuk and other cities and were trying to impose the status quo in Kirkuk i.e. to reward the perpetrators and punish the victims just like the old policies of Saddam Hussein, something which the Kurds found both humiliating and infuriating and they had to make a choice.

The choice was to give the Interim Iraqi Government and American Administration 2 options: either they take practical steps to implement article 58 of TAL for Kirkuk Council elections or face the real possibility that the Kurds will boycott the entire elections of January 30 2005 including national elections for Iraqi National Assembly, something which could bring the whole process of elections in Iraq to a   standstill and will create a real political crisis in Iraq with the possibility of disintegration of the country.

The recent visit by Mr Armitage to Kurdistan and his encouraging statements, the successful deal of Mr  J.Talabani and Mr N. Barzani in Baghdad with Iraqi authorities and American and British representatives, in addition to the statement by the  American Department of State , that Kirkuk issue is an internal   Iraqiissue, which should be solved between Iraqis without outside intervention ( in this case Turkey) and that article 58 of TAL must be implemented to ensure normalization in Kirkuk and other arabized Kurdistani cities, does represent an important shift in American policy towards Kirkuk.

The deal allows all Kurdish refugees from Kirkuk to participate in the city council elections of Kirkuk on January 30 2005 and at the same time draws a plan to implement article 58 of Tal immediately after the elections and that the outcome of January elections should not have any negative impact on the process of re-integration of Kirkuk and other cities into Kurdistan.The future of Kirkuk can only be decided when article 58 is fully implemented.
The Kurdish Iraqi vice-president Dr Shawais and the leader of KDP Mr. Barzani, made it clear that any future back down on those agreements by Iraqi Arabs or Americans could bring the whole process of Kurdish participation in the new political system of Iraq into question and that the Kurds will find themselves then free to make their own political choices, including the right of self-determination.

The Kurdistani citizens of Iraqi Kurdistan and Diaspora are sincerely called upon to participate actively and widely in the crucial January 30 2005 elections, so that they can further develop their political gains and cement it into the Permanent Constitution.

Dr. Nazhad Khasraw Hawramany
Switzerland