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KIRKUK, Iraq - Thousands of Kurds displaced from
this northern city by Saddam Hussein began formally
registering Tuesday as residents of Kirkuk in a bid
to make themselves the majority in the province and
bolster their claims to this oil-rich region.
The move came as Iraqi officials are trying to draft
the country's new constitution that is widely
expected to turn Iraq into a federal state. Kurds
would like to incorporate the Kirkuk area into their
self-ruled region - a move opposed by Arabs,
Turkomen and the Turkish government in Ankara.
An estimated 80,000 Kurds were displaced by Saddam
in the 1980s and registered as residents of the
Kurdish-ruled provinces of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah.
They were replaced by Arabs as part of Saddam's
campaign to change the demographics of the province
of 850,000 people.
Kurdish political leaders have encouraged the
displaced people to register in the province around
Kirkuk under Article 58 of Iraq's interim
constitution. It states that all Iraqis, including
Kurds, displaced under Saddam's regime have the
right to return to their homes and receive
compensation.
But the campaign to send Kurds back to Kirkuk will
anger many Arabs who moved into the Kirkuk area, as
well as Turkomen who consider Kirkuk as their
homeland.
"We do not oppose the return of people displaced
from Kirkuk no matter to what ethnic group they
belong," said Hassan Toran, a Turkomen official.
"But we have to make sure they are originally from
Kirkuk and on the condition that this matter is not
turned from a humanitarian matter into a political
one."
An Arab member of the city council, Mohammed Khalil,
said Arabs who came to Kirkuk "should not leave"
because Kirkuk "is an Iraqi city where different
ethnic groups live."
Thousands of Kurds returned to their city after the
fall of Saddam in April 2003 and they now dominate
the city's council with 26 members while the
Turkomen have nine seats and the Arabs six.
Arabs and Turkomen had been boycotting the city
council's meeting for six months because of Kurdish
domination but returned recently after being
promised senior post. Kurds currently hold the posts
of Kirkuk's governor, head of the city council and
his deputy.
"During the era of Saddam Hussein, the injustice
began against the Kurds who were displaced from
their land," said Redwar Saek, the deputy chairman
of the city council. "Today there is a new age and
they are returning to the land of their
grandfathers, which is there natural right."
AP
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