|
Kirkuk, Iraq : As Iraqi officials prepare
to draft the country's new constitution, fierce
debate is expected over the status of Kirkuk, the
center of northern Iraq's oil industry. It was known
for its ethnic harmony, but Saddam Hussein's policy
of forced population shifts, called Arabization,
tore the fabric of the province, which he annexed
from the Kurds. Now the Kurds want it back. VOA's
Patricia Nunan reports from the region.
Hamid Hwakram, at work building his new home. About
a year ago, Hwakram, his wife and eight children
returned here to the village of Topzawa, outside the
city of Kirkuk.
Like thousands of other Kurds, they were driven from
their homes in 1987 in a sweep by Saddam Hussein's
forces. It was part of Saddam's policy of "Arabization,"
designed to shift the ethnic balance in Kurdish
strongholds by bringing Arabs in. More than a
quarter million Kurds were forced from their homes
across the region.
The reason why lies just beyond the village:
Kirkuk's oil refinery, the headquarters for the oil
industry in northern Iraq that Saddam Hussein didn't
want in Kurdish hands. To ensure that, Saddam redrew
Iraq's internal boundaries, to remove Kirkuk from
the Kurdish region and link it with the Arab south.
Hwakram and his family are among tens of thousands
of Kurds to return to the region since Saddam
Hussein was removed from power two years ago. And
many have returned to tense relations with their
Arab neighbors.
Says Hwakram, "I hope to God no one can come kick us
out from our land again."
Others have less to return home to -- often living
in places such as a soccer stadium turned into a
refugee camp. Officials admit they have limited
resources to help the returning population -- and
anger is rising.
"There's no electricity, there's no water, there's
no one in charge visiting us to ask what we need,”
says one man. “There are no services. I was forced
out in 1988 and since I've come back, no one does
anything to help me. For my children and me, this is
not a life. I've got just 100 dinars left. This is
just not a life."
Officials admit those conditions have fueled a
potentially explosive situation between Kirkuk's
Kurds and Arabs. But politician Mahmoud Othman says
it is possible to normalize relations between the
two groups.
"We have the remnants of 35 years of very
concentrating ethnic policy, and that has created a
lot of problems. Saddam Hussein did all those to
create problems between. So I think we need some
time, we need some wisdom, we need some
concessions."
The Kurdish region is ethnically, culturally and
geographic distinct from southern Iraq. To many, it
is the faultline upon which national unity in
post-Saddam Iraq lies -- ethnic fighting here could
ignite the rest of the country. Kirkuk and its oil
fields are the faultline's weakest points.
By the time Saddam Hussein's government collapsed in
2003, Kurds had already enjoyed 12 years of
self-rule thanks to a no-fly zone over the region
imposed by the U.S. after the 1991 Gulf War.
And the Kurds have gotten used to it. Many want
independence, and see the decision to remain with
Iraq as a political compromise. But in return, Kurds
want to retain a high degree of autonomy through a
federalist constitution. And they want Kirkuk back.
Adnan Mufti, the speaker of the Kurdish regional
parliament insists, it’s not about the oil.
"Historically, Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan, and the
majority are Kurd, and they suffered too much.
Thousands and thousands of them have suffered and
been killed during the dictatorship. So, it is very
normal that we are looking for the right of Kirkuk
people, and the right to return back to Kurdistan
area. But the oil, it is no problem. Kurdistan is
rich. All Iraq is rich. Oil is everywhere."
In Topzawa, Hamid Hwakram has got a long memory for
the crimes committed against Kurds, and little
sympathy for the concerns of his Arab neighbors in
Kirkuk. “Why should I feel sorry for them when, 20
years ago, we were the ones forced from our
villages?”
Kirkuk’s and possibly Iraq's future future may hinge
on getting past that anger.
www.voanews.com
Top |
® 