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U.N. to increase activity in Iraqi
Kurdistan region as it enjoys security
13.7.2007
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July
13, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
Head of the U.N. mission to Iraq , Ashraf Qadhi,
said on Thursday the international organization is
to increase its activities in Kurdistan region as it
is a safe area.
"Kurdistan region enjoys a good security situation,
and this has a great importance in making our work
successful. Thus we are to increase activity in this
region," Qadhi told a news conference today in
Erbil.
He pointed out that the U.N. is working and
supporting the sectors of agriculture and health in
Iraq's Kurdistan region.
Asked about the role of the U.N. mission in the
constitutional amendments and article 140 concerning
normalizing the situation in Kirkuk, the U.N. envoy
replied "our role is to offer help for the political
process in Iraq from the technical perspective only,
and not to interfere in other issues." |
U.N. to increase activity in Kurdistan region |
"For the constitutional amendments, we only gave our
opinion on powers that should be given to the
President of the Republic but as for article 140,
which is an Iraqi constitution article, the issue of
implementing or postponing it is totally an Iraqi
issue that we will not interfere in", he added.
Kurds want to accelerate the implementation of
constitutional article 140, concerning normalizing
the situation in Kirkuk city, as it was before the
1970s, when the former regime, Kurds claim, lured
Arabs to settle in Kirkuk and drove Kurdish families
out of the city.
The step should be followed by a referendum in the
city to decide whether or not to join the three
other Kurdish provinces in the Kurdistan region by
the end of 2007. Non-Kurdish Iraqi political forces
are inclined to put off the issue until better
security prevails in the country.
Concerning U.N. position over families emigrating
from other parts of Iraq to live in Kurdistan
region, Qadhi said "we are helping the Iraqi and
Kurdistan governments in this regard, and we do not
want for the issue to be taken from the political
viewpoint but from the humanitarian aspect."
Ashraf Qadhi, head of the UN mission to Iraq,
arrived at Kurdistan region a few days ago and had a
number of meetings with the Kurdish officials.
VOI
**
Kirkuk city is a Kurdistani city and it lies just
south border of the Kurdistan autonomous region and
it is not under the full control of Kurdistan
Regional Government administration, its population
is a mix of majority Kurds and minority of Arabs,
Turkmen.
The former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein forced
about 250,000 Kurdish residents to give up their
homes to Arabs in the 1970s, to "Arabize" the city
and the region's oil industry.
Based on Iraq's Constitution a referendum is to be
held in late 2007 to decide whether the oil-rich
Kurdish province should be annexed to the safe
semiautonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq's north.
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