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Returning refugees angered by law that prevents them
taking part in elections for Kurdistan assembly.
Gathered around a table on a sunny autumn day,
Kurdish refugees are playing dominoes in Kirkuk,
seemingly oblivious to the insurgent violence that
sporadically rages in the city around them.
The refugees live in Faiylaq, in the northern Kirkuk
neighborhood of Shorija. When they first returned to
the city at the end of the Iraq war, most were
living in tents. Now they are busy building their
own homes.
Kak Waiys Aziz, who returned to Kirkuk a month after
Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, talked to IWPR as he
played dominoes with the other men.
However, as Iraq gears up for this month’s national
and local elections, these returnees are less than
enthusiastic about their options.
“I am not going to participate in the elections
because the rights of the Kurds are neglected - and
if this is the case, why should we vote?” he asked.
Aziz is assistant commander of a battalion of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s Kirkuk forces, and
one of the thousands of displaced Kurds who have
recently been able to return to their old homeland.
After years of living in exile, many were eager to
participate in elections they see as crucial to the
region’s future.
However, according to article 53 of the Transitional
Administrative Law, TAL, only Kurds residing in the
areas liberated in 1991 are eligible to vote in the
Kurdistan elections - leaving those who have
returned to Kirkuk, Khanaqin and Mousel out in the
cold.
Khaleed Shareef, who runs the Mosul branch of the
Roonahi charity foundation, believes all Kurds
should be allowed to vote in Kurdistan’s regional
elections.
“Under the Baathists, there was a lot of
discrimination between Arabs and Kurds living in
Mosul. This discrimination is still felt,” he told
IWPR.
“The situation hasn’t suddenly got better. I don’t
think you can call these elections democratic if you
don’t allow all Kurds to vote for the Kurdistan
parliament.”
“It is a mistake,” agreed shopkeeper Khdir Jalal. “I
really want to be able to vote, and I cannot
understand why we are being separated from the rest
of Kurdistan. We are all Kurds after all.”
Some Kurds living in surrounding areas believe the
Kurdish parties are to blame for not doing enough to
allow them to vote. Others believe the decision was
not in the hands of the Kurdish parties, and that
there are more sinister political elements at work.
“If the newly elected Kurdish government is not
strong, and does not represent all Kurds, future
rulers of Iraq could turn against us again,” said
Farman Najm, a student from Kirkuk.
Another Kirkuk returnee, Na’eema Star, said that
that no matter what problems Kurdistan may face, the
former refugees want to help solve them, adding,
“There may not be electricity here, but we see
ourselves as Kurds and we want to participate in the
future of Kurdistan.”
Ayub Kareem is an IWPR contributor and the managing
editor of the Liberal Education Newspaper.
http://www.iwpr.net
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