|
Demonstrations in the north of the country
underscore Kurdish constitutional demands.
Thousands of people have taken part in protests
across Iraqi Kurdistan, calling for the rejection of
a constitution which they say fails to represent
Kurdish interests.
The demonstrations took place on August 14, a day
before the panel drafting the document secured a
week-long extension to try and reach agreement on
contentious key issues.
They were organised by the Referendum Movement,
which campaigns for independence for Kurdish
northern Iraq. The region, which encompasses the
three provinces of Dohuk, Irbil and Sulaimaniyah,
has been semi-autonomous since Saddam Hussein lost
control of it in the 1991 Gulf War.
Kurds make up some 20 per cent of Iraq's total
population, and the two main Kurdish political
parties came second place in national elections in
January.
Among the Kurdish demands for the constitution is
that it should see the country structured along
federal lines. Sunni Arabs reject the idea of
federalism, fearing that it would split Iraq.
Kurdish politicians also insist on the survival of
the Kurdish militia, or peshmerga, and on Kurdish
control of Kirkuk, an oil-rich city also claimed by
Iraq's Arab and Turkoman populations.
Kurds are also pushing for a limited role for Islam
in governance, while some religious Shia want Islam
to be considered "the main source of legislation".
In Sulaimaniyah, the capital of the portion of Iraqi
Kurdistan controlled by the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan, demonstrators chanted, "No for a
constitution that doesn't include Kurdish
self-determination."
Gulala Aziz, who lost a son as a result of Saddam's
oppressive policies toward the Kurds, was so
enthusiastic about the protest that her voice was
hoarse from chanting slogans. She said her sons and
other Kurds have shed their blood to fight against
Saddam and they do not want to be ruled over again.
"We won't allow the Baathists to control us," she
said.
During the January national elections, the
Referendum Movement set up makeshift tents outside
polling stations in Kurdistan and asked residents to
take part in an unofficial vote on the question of
Kurdish independence.
Ninety-eight per cent of those who took part in the
informal referendum voted for independence. The
results were sent to the United Nations.
Fattah Shwani, standing in the shade of banners with
the Kurdish flag, said Kurds have been wronged since
Operation Iraqi Freedom and the constitution was
perpetuating this.
Kurds will have their say formally when the
constitution is put to a referendum in October. If
two-thirds of voters in three of Iraq's 18
governorates vote against it, the document will be
rejected.
Osman Faizullah, who came to Sulaimaniyah from Koya,
100 kilometres away, accused Prime Minister Ibrahim
al-Jaafari of not keeping his end of the bargain he
made when his party, the United Iraqi Alliance,
formed a coalition with the Kurdish Alliance list.
"We don't agree with Jaafari's chauvinistic deeds,"
he said. "He signed up for federalism and now he
renounces it."
Halkawt Abdullah said if the constitution didn't
include rights for Kurds, they would use peaceful
means to bring about change.
"I hope they won't oblige our people to resort to
non-peaceful means to ask for their legitimate
rights," he warned.
Sirwan Ghareeb is an IWPR trainee in Sulaimaniyah.
www.iwpr.net
Top |
® 