Kurdish Prime Minister:
Kirkuk About History, Not Oil
ARBIL, (Southern Kurdistan) UPI, Jan. 25 Iraqi
Kurdistan's prime minister said the push for ownership of Kirkuk is about
righting injustice, not oil, as Turkey makes a play at its border.
Nechirvan Barzani said Wednesday Kurds are
pushing for a referendum for the end of 2007 because it was included in the
constitution as a way to correct the expulsion of Kurds from Kirkuk by Saddam
Hussein.
Kirkuk, however, sits on an estimated 11
billion barrels of oil reserves, making ownership vital for finances as well.
Iraqi officials are fighting over an federal
oil law that will govern oil production in Iraq, though the Kurdistan region and
the central government are at odds over control of future oil contracts and the
mechanism for revenue sharing.
Barzani said money from Kirkuk's oil will not
be kept by in the Kurdistan region.
The Kurds are not demanding Kirkuk for the oil
and the oil law to be worked out with the Iraqi government will solve 60 percent
of the problem, Barzani told the Kurdistan National Assembly. The body was
called back from recess as Turkish troops amass on their common border.
Turkey has said an independent Kurdistan will
not be tolerated and warns against including Kirkuk as part of Kurdistan. Kirkuk
lies outside Kurdistan's official boundaries.
Saddam's Arabization campaign expelled Kurds,
who have historic ties to Kirkuk, and replaced them with others. It is currently
home to a number of cultures besides Sunni Arabs, including Turkomen and
Christians.
