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QARA ANJIR, Iraq - Oppressed and culturally
marginalized for centuries, the Kurds of northern
Iraq were euphoric Sunday as they sensed an election
outcome likely to enhance their political power and
deliver them the fabled and contested oil city of
Kirkuk.
Women in sequined dresses and men in suits and
traditional baggy pants streamed through city
streets and navigated snowy mountains in an
atmosphere resembling a sprawling block party.
Security was tight, but the Kurdish north, alive
with dancing, honking horns and fluttering banners,
was more at ease than other parts of the country.
"God has shined himself upon us," said Saima Said
Haider, an embroidered veil bordering her face as
she waited to vote amid hillsides scattered with
shepherds and Iraqi army snipers. "It is like a
feast. We are voting for peace and prosperity and to
remember the blood of our martyrs killed by Saddam
Hussein. I hope through my vote I'm securing the
happiness of my children."
The Kurds were seeking two victories in the
election. The first was to collect enough seats in
the 275-member Iraqi national assembly to grant the
north wider autonomy and a stronger influence in
drafting a federal constitution. The second was to
seize a political majority in Kirkuk, which accounts
for 40 percent of Iraq's oil supply and is revered
by Kurds as their cultural and historical right.
Voter turnout around the northern capitals of Irbil
and Sulaymaniyah was more than 70 percent, according
to the independent Kurdish Institute for Elections.
Kurds are about 18 percent of Iraq's population but
could emerge as a key bloc in the assembly if they
capture a projected 65 to 70 seats and ally
themselves with the Shiite Muslim majority.
"This means the Kurds get a loud voice in the new
Iraq," Kurdish police officer Abdullah Sabir Othman
said.
The Kurds entered the election with more experience
in democracy than the Shiite and Sunni populations.
Oppressed by Iraqi regimes for decades, the Kurds
won a degree of autonomy in 1991 when a U.S.
"no-fly" zone protected northern Iraq from Baghdad's
armies. This recent history has emboldened Kurds to
widen their stake in a new Iraq by demanding to hold
the nation's presidency and key government
ministries.
Kurdish desire to control Kirkuk and make it part of
a semi-autonomous north was evident across muddy
villages where Kurds expelled by Saddam were
permitted to vote in local elections. An estimated
70,000 internally displaced Kurds were expected to
cast ballots - a move that could give Kurds a
political edge over the city's Arabs, Turkomen and
Christian Assyrians. This multiethnic mixture has
long made U.S. officials concerned about the
possibility of civil war.
Kirkuk political parties estimated that about 90
percent of Kurds in the province came out to vote.
Shiite turnout was about 40 percent, and the
participation of Sunnis, the group Saddam imported
to the region to replace the Kurds he forced out,
was roughly 25 percent. The Sunnis had threatened to
boycott the election, but their low turnout was
mainly attributed to fears of terrorist attacks.
"The Iraqi police arrested a lot of terrorists who
wanted to agitate the situation. There has been no
major violence," said Khidir al Hamdani, director of
the Kirkuk National Center for Dialogue and Social
Development.
Col. Lloyd Miles, the U.S. military commander in
charge of operations in Kirkuk, said of the
election: "My concern is if the Kurds win more seats
in the city and the political equation gets out of
balance. Right now there's a creative tension
between the ethnic parties. My concern is how the
parties will handle the long-term political
changes."
In this village fringed by minefields and
cinderblock homes, once barracks for Saddam's army,
children played soccer and parents cast ballots in
green tents. They emerged with indelible ink on
their fingers and defiant smiles on their faces.
Some shed tears; others waved to the Iraqi and U.S.
troops patrolling the rocky hills.
"We've spilled a lot of blood over Kirkuk for years.
That's why this election is important to us," said
Nawzad Ali Faraj, who was forced from the city in
1988. "Two of my children died at the hands of
Saddam's forces and police. I vote because I want
Kirkuk back, and I will return when the election is
over."
http://www.latimes.com
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