Kurdish MPs Alarmed At Intention To Delay Normalization Of Kirkuk

BBC Jun 30, 2005

Rumour has it that the MPs from the United Iraqi Alliance bloc have recently decided to put forward a demand to postpone the issue of Kirkuk and undermine Article 58 [of the interim State Administration Law].

The Kurdistan Satellite TV tried to follow up the matter and gather accurate information about it. For the same news is also well spread in the media and Arab newspapers.

[MP Fattah al-Shaykh, from Al-Sadr group - recording in Arabic] The issue of Kirkuk must be dealt with [word indistinct] because Kirkuk is an Iraqi city.

[Reporter] As Fattah al-Shaykh, an MP from Al-Sadr group, dismisses historical facts and says Kirkuk is an Iraqi city of Arab, Kurdish, Sunni, Shi'is and Turkoman constituents. He also believes that the postponement of the Kirkuk question until after the drafting of the permanent constitution will benefit the Iraqis. He also confirmed the rumour about the intention of the United Iraqi Alliance, believing Kirkuk belongs to the Iraqi people before the Kurds.

He also believes that if the Kurds have unilaterally made their final decision on the Kirkuk issue, then the MPs of [United Iraqi] Alliance list will vote against it unanimously.

Although the Kurdistani MPs are aware of the rumour yet they hope that there is no such a plan in place. Because the coalition government and the agreement between the Kurdistan Alliance List and the [United Iraqi] Alliance list is based on the implementation of the interim Law. And so Article 58 cannot be compromised upon.

[Sa'di Berzinji, an MP from the Kurdistani Alliance List] This has not been proposed and we hope it will not be. However, God forbid, if such a proposal comes to question, the Kurdistani Alliance bloc will adopt a tough and decisive stance. We will not accept this by any means. This issue cannot be compromised upon. [Iyad] Allawi's government should have implemented Article 58.

The Kurds only agreed to enter the elections because of the position of the then government. Also the Presidency Council, the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers, Speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly pledged that after the elections the article would be implemented by the transitional government, or Al-Ja'fari's government. And Article 58 stipulates that the transitional government must implement all the clauses of the article.

[Firyad Rewanduzi, an MP from the Kurdistani Alliance bloc] This is an alarming stance, and it is wrong. Because the issue of Kirkuk and the failure to implement Article 58 is a red line that neither the Kurdistani Alliance List and nor, in my opinion, the Kurdish leadership will agree to be crossed.

The article must be implemented before the term of the transitional government comes to an end, Besides, one of the key terms of the agreement between the [United Iraqi] Alliance and the [Kurdistani] Alliance is that the normalization process of the Kirkuk status must be set in motion.

Otherwise, it is an alarming game that may prompt the Kurds in Kurdistan, and in the other areas, not to vote for the constitution and, hence, we will return to where we began