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It is impossible to not carry out Article
140: Iraq's Kurdistan President
9.1.2008
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Six-month delay of Article 140 begins
January
9, 2008
The vital constitutional article remains strong in
the minds of Kurdish lawmakers.
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani ensures
the people of Kurdistan that Article 140 will be
implemented. "It is impossible to not carry out
Article 140," asserted Barzani.
Barzani assured people of the region that Article
140 of the Iraqi Constitution will be implemented
within the six months suggested by the UN envoy to
Iraq.
Barzani insisted on Article 140's implementation
during a joint press conference with Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani, held in Dukan resort in Sulaimaniyah
on January 5. |
Massoud Barzani, the President of the autonomous Regional
Government of Kurdistan 'Iraq' |
"We consider the suggestion offered by the UN a
positive step and certainly the article will be
implemented in the six months," said President
Barzani, explaining that this extension had
international support due to the presence of the UN,
which, according to Barzani, along with the strong
will of Kurdish people guarantees the implementation
of the constitutional article.
Two weeks before the constitutional deadline for
holding a referendum according to Article 140, the
UN Secretary-General's special representative,
Stifan De Mistura, attended a session of Kurdistan
Parliament and suggested that Kurdish leaders extend
the implementation deadline for six months.www.ekurd.net
This came after the High
Committee in charge of implementing Article 140
already announced that they were unprepared to hold
the referendum. Last December 26, Kurdistan
Parliament voted to accept the UN suggestion. Some
Iraqi political powers created fear among the
Kurdish discourse as they called the suggestion
illegal to the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the High Committee decided to go ahead
with the six-month extension. Additionally, the
committee also prepared a law project including five
decisions directed to Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki.
Frankly assuring the Kurdish people, Barzani made it
clear, saying: "It is impossible to not carry out
Article 140." He added, "The UN interfered with good
suggestions, including the choice of working in
accord with the 2005 elections as an alternative,"
for the expected referendum in case any further
problems arise after the suggested six-month
extension.
The Kurdish Brotherhood bloc at the Kirkuk
provincial council called on Iraqi PM al-Maliki to
apologize to the Iraqi people for not implementing
the constitutional article in its promised time.
"The Kirkuk governor, Abdul-Rahman Mustafa, has
demanded al-Maliki attend Iraqi Parliament to give
his explanation on postponing Article 140," said
Muhammad Kamal, member of the Kurdish bloc at the
Kirkuk provincial council, in a statement to The
Globe. Kamal also added that another one of the
governor's demands is to hold the referendum in
Kirkuk city and the areas surrounding it by next
March.
It was requested at an Iraqi Parliament session that
the High Committee for implementing Article 140 be
dissolved because of the six-month extension. But
the Kurdistan Coalition (KC) bloc in Iraqi
Parliament rejected that.
"Such demands are stated only by those who oppose
the implementation of Article 140. These are
baseless and unconstitutional demands and the KC
stands against them," said Sadi Barzinji, member of
the Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi Parliament,www.ekurd.net
by telephone contact
with The Globe. He pointed out that there are no
guarantees on this issue except the will of the
Kurdish people.
kurdishglobe net
Kirkuk city is a
Kurdish city
and it lies just south border of the Kurdistan
autonomous region, the population is a mix of
majority Kurds and minority of Arabs, Christians and
Turkmen. lies 250 km northeast of Baghdad.
The former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein forced
over 250,000 Kurdish residents to give up their
homes to Arabs in the 1970s, to "Arabize" the city
and the region's oil industry.
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