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Jalal Talabani Sets Plan for Iraq's
Disputed Territories
17.10.2011
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October 17, 2011
KIRKUK, Iraq's border with Kurdistan region,
— Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is drafting a
proposal to delineate some of Iraq’s disputed
territories along pre-1968 borders, the year the
Baath party came to power in Iraq.
The Baath party changed the administrative
jurisdiction of several towns and villages in
Nineveh, Diyala and Kirkuk provinces so that they
would fall under the central government.
Kurds always considered those areas part of the
Kurdish north and Talabani is now trying to reverse
the demographic changes that occurred during Saddam
Hussein’s 30-year rule.
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Kurds have a strong cultural and emotional
attachment to Kirkuk, which they call "the Kurdish
Jerusalem." Kurds see it as the rightful and
perfect capital of an autonomous Kurdistan state.
Photo: Hawlati |
Talabani, a Kurd, will
present his proposal to the Iraqi Parliament. Some
Sunni political parties which push Arab claims to
the areas are expected to strongly oppose the
initiative, though the proposal reportedly has the
backing of key Shiite parties.
Khalid Shwani, a Kurdish MP in Iraqi Parliament
said, the Iraqi council of ministers has promised to
provide Talabani with all documents about the
disputed territories seized from the former regime
in 2003.
“President Talabani is working on gathering all the
former regime documents regarding this issue,” he
said.
Friyad Rawandzi, a senior official with the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) who is close to
Talabani told Rudaw, “The President prepared the
proposal in light of Iraq’s Constitutional Article
140. It was discussed by the Council of Ministers
and will be sent to the Parliament.”
Article 140 lays out a series of initiatives to
resolve territorial disputes, mostly between Kurds
and Arabs, but almost none of the steps have been
taken.
Rawandzi maintained, “President Talabani assigned a
number of legal experts to prepare this proposal. He
will send it to Parliament as soon as possible. The
Parliament should revoke all the decrees related to
altering the demographics of certain regions
including Kirkuk and other disputed territories.”
According to Rawandzi, the proposal could receive
enough votes to pass given that several
parliamentary blocs have already expressed their
support for it.
“In the Council of Ministers’ discussions on the
president’s proposal, political blocs such as the
State of Law Coalition, the Supreme Islamic Council
and the Sadr Movement were in favor of the proposal.
That’s why we expect positive results in Parliament.
We will still need to work hard in Parliament in
order to gather enough votes for it,” Rawandzi said.
According to Rawandzi, Talabani’s proposal is a
major step toward solving the disputed territories
issue.
The Al-Iraqya bloc, which represents Sunni Arab and
secular interests, is seen as a possible opponent to
the plan.
Rawandzi, however, was confident that the plan would
garner wide support from key figures such as Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
“The prime minister strongly supported the
implementation of Article 140 and the return of all
lands and property forcefully taken from Kurds,” he
said.
Separately, Kurdistan Region President Massoud
Barzani met with leaders of Kurdistan’s major
political parties on Saturday and decided to form a
committee to address ongoing disputes between
Baghdad and Erbil.
The committee will include members of all Kurdish
parties and staff members from the president and
prime minister’s offices. Their task will be to
strengthen Kurdistan’s representation in Baghdad and
meet with Iraqi leaders on issues related to the
Kurdistan region.
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