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Kurdish
lawmakers in the Iraqi National Assembly have voiced
their opposition to calls from some Shi'ite
parliamentarians to delay implementation of Article
58 of the Transitional Administrative Law (
http://www.rferl.org/specials/iraqcrisis/Iraq-interim-constitution.pdf
) until after the drafting of a permanent
constitution, Kurdistan Satellite Television
reported on 30 June.
The law calls on the transitional government to
"expeditiously" remedy the injustice caused by the
Hussein regime in altering the demographic character
of certain regions, including Kirkuk. "If such a
proposal is raised, the Kurdistan Coalition bloc
will adopt a tough and decisive stance.
We will not accept this by any means; this issue
cannot be compromised," said parliamentarian Sa'di
Berzinji from the Kurdistan Coalition list. Fellow
Kurdish parliamentarian Firyad Rewanduzi told the
station that the normalization of Kirkuk was "one of
the key terms of the agreement" between the Kurdish
list and the Shi'ite-led United Iraqi Alliance
following the January elections (see "RFE/RL Iraq
Report," 14 March 2005).
The two parties together form a majority in the
parliament. He said a failure by the transitional
government to implement Article 58 might prompt the
Kurds to not vote in favor of the constitution,
adding, "Hence, we will return to where we began."
KR
www.rferl.org
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