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1st Turkmen conference kicks off in Iraqi
Kurdistan, Erbil
11.2.2008
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February 11, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',-- The
first Turkmen conference opened in Erbil city on
Monday with the aim of unifying the political
discourse within Iraq's Turkmen community, Turkmen
Democratic Movement leader said.
"The conference aims at unifying the Turkmen
political discourse in Iraq and Kurdistan, and
uniting all Turkmen political parties, cultural
societies and key figures all over the country," the
movement's head, Karkhi Altiparmak, told VOI.
"An advisory committee will be set up to examine the
situation of Turkmen and contribute to the
establishment of the new Iraq," Altiparmak added.
The secretary general of the Turkmen People's Party,
Arfan Kirkuki, said that the conference mainly aims
at drumming up support for the implementation of
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution.
Kirkuki urged the Iraqi government and parliament to
back the supreme committee entrusted with its
implementation in its task, which he said serves the
interests of the country and the Turkmen people.
"The conference's recommendations and resolutions
will focus on the implementation of the
constitutional article," he said.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is related to
the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk, an
important and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen,
Christians and Arabs.www.ekurd.net
Kurds seek to include
the city in the autonomous Iraq's Kurdistan region,
while Sunni Arabs, Turkmen and Shiite Arabs oppose
the incorporation.
The article currently stipulates that all Arabs in
Kirkuk be returned to their original locations in
southern and central Iraqi areas, and formerly
displaced residents returned to Kirkuk, 250 km
northeast of Baghdad.
A referendum, provided for in the Iraqi
constitution, was scheduled to be held by the end of
2007 on including the city into the Kurdistan
region.
Kirkuk city is historically a Kurdish city, Kurd
calls Kirkuk "the Kurdish Jerusalem."
and it lies just south border of the Kurdistan
autonomous region, the population is a mix of
majority Kurds and minority of Arabs,www.ekurd.net
Christians and
Turkmen. lies 250 km northeast of Baghdad. Kurds
have a strong cultural and emotional attachment to Kirkuk, which they call "the Kurdish Jerusalem.", Kirkuk is historically a Kurdish city.
The article currently stipulates that all Arabs in
Kirkuk be returned to their original locations in
southern and central Iraqi areas, and formerly
displaced residents returned to Kirkuk.
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.
Under article 140 of Iraq’s constitution a
referendum must be held on whether the city secedes
to control of the Kurdistan region al government KRG.
A referendum, provided for in the Iraqi
constitution, was scheduled to be held by the end of
the past year on including the city into the
Kurdistan region, but the UN mediated to
extend its time to July 2008.
VOI
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