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KIRKUK, IRAQ -- The incentives for most Iraqis
to vote in this weekend's election include abstract
calls for civic participation and the murky promise
of a more secure country. But for those living in
and around this ethnically diverse city, the
campaign is about Kirkuk itself, a passionate battle
to define the ancient, gritty oil town.
"I am willing to die for Kirkuk, and if attacked,
I'm willing to kill for Kirkuk," said Hoger Sabah
Salih, a Kurdish pharmacy student and resident of
neighbouring Erbil.
The troubles began decades ago, when successive
Sunni Arab-led governments in Baghdad began kicking
Kurds out of the Kirkuk area and replacing them with
Arabs. Many of the displaced were thrown into
decades of despair and misery and now demand to
return.
During the U.S.-led war, leaders of the
semi-autonomous Kurdish provinces of Erbil,
Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk threw in their lot with
Washington, and are now demanding Kirkuk's inclusion
in a federal Kurdish state.
According to one Western diplomat based in northern
Iraq, Kurds have already extended the area they
control by 20 per cent since the U.S.-led war,
pushing the sun-splashed red, white and green flag
of Kurdistan toward Kirkuk, Mosul and Khaneqin.
But Sunni Arabs, who mostly occupy the western
countryside of Kirkuk, are loath to part with the
city and province. "Kirkuk for all Iraqis" is the
slogan for the Iraqi Republican Gathering, a Sunni
party that has been active in the provincial
campaign.
The battle has become so pitched that the Muslim
Scholars Association, the block of Sunni clergy who
have called for a boycott of the Jan. 30 vote, have
issued an addendum ordering their followers to take
part in the Kirkuk provincial vote in order to
counter the strong anticipated showing by Kurds.
For the Sunnis, "it's not about what happens
nationally -- it's about this city, about what
happens here vis-à-vis the other ethnic groups,"
said U.S. Army Colonel Lloyd Miles, commander of the
2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry
Division.
Although it is impoverished and has been neglected
over the past decades, Kirkuk rests on a rich
bounty. The province yields 40 per cent of Iraq's
oil and 70 per cent of its petroleum products, as
well as much of its agricultural output.
The Kurds say they deserve compensation for decades
of Baghdad's policy of Arabization. Ethnic Turkmen
say they were oppressed and excluded by Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein and now face pressure from
the Kurds. Sunni Arabs and Shiites say they've been
unfairly accused of collaborating with the previous
regime.
Few groups appear willing to back down on their
demands, and the volatile ethnic mix has made
governing the province akin to refereeing between
competing claims of victimization.
"All the major ethnicities of Iraq are located in
this province," Col. Miles said. "It's often said
that if we get it right in Kirkuk we can get it
right in the rest of the country."
The same security worries that have plagued the rest
of Iraq have squelched much of the public political
campaigning in the city, except for the Kurds and
Turkmen, who have used their satellite television
stations to call upon their ethnic brethren to vote.
An estimated 200,000 displaced Kurds who were born
in Kirkuk or whose fathers or grandfathers were born
in Kirkuk have registered to vote in the provincial
election.
The passions surrounding the issue spilled out
during a recent chat with residents organized for
journalists by the U.S. embassy. Two Iraqi
journalists -- one married to a Kurd, the other a
member of a Sunni Arab party -- launched into a
shouting match.
"We don't object to the original people of Kirkuk
returning," Hana al-Sawaf said of the Republican
Gathering. "We object to people coming here who are
not from here and squatting in buildings."
Ishraq Hassan Ali, married to a Kurd who fought
against Mr. Hussein, shot back.
"I will defend the people who have suffered. These
people are coming back and taking over squatting
because their houses have been stolen and they've
[been] kicked off their land."
Ms. Sawaf responded that her people have suffered
since the fall of the regime because of the Kurds.
"I have three brothers in the Iraqi Army and now
they're jobless. My older brother applied for a job
and he was told they preferred Kurds."
But where were the Arabs when Kurdish children
fleeing Mr. Hussein's wrath froze to death in the
snow, Ms. Ali asked.
The last word went to Ms. Sawaf, who accused the
Kurds of using the elections to stir up trouble and
dig up old memories. "Saddam committed atrocities
against everyone -- in Samawa, Hillah, Najaf -- not
just against Kurds," she said.
Ethnicity and the Iraqi election
Iraq's ethnic divisions are perhaps most apparent in
the north, where Kurdish autonomy has long been an
issue. But the patchwork extends throughout the
country, which goes to the polls Sunday.
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