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Push To Make Iraq’s Diyala Province An
Autonomous Region Fades
30.12.2011
By Joel Wing — ekurd.net |
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Diyala map. Photo: BBC
Diyala's provincial council building saw days of
protests, and was even stormed once by demonstrators
opposed to the province becoming a region
December 30, 2011
DIYALA, Iraq,
— Many of Iraq’s provinces have long standing issues
with the central government. Those include the
distribution of funds, security operations, and the
lack of services. All of those came to the fore in
the winter of 2011 when several provinces announced
that they were interested in becoming autonomous
regions, a right given in the 2005 constitution.
Diyala in northeastern Iraq was one such
governorate. In November, its’ provincial council
formally voted for federalism, which was immediately
contested by many groups within the council,
province, and in Baghdad. Those protests grew so
intense, that some local politicians backed away
from their support for the idea, which now makes it
very unlikely that Diyala will become its own
region.
On November 12, 2011, a majority of Diyala’s
provincial council decided to initiate a move
towards making the governorate a region. 15 of 29
members voted for the measure, made up of
politicians from the Iraqi National Movement (INM)
and the Kurdish Alliance. There were no reports on
how many councilmen were present during the
occasion. The Iraqi constitution states that a
province can become a region two ways, either 1/3 of
the provincial council votes for holding a
referendum on the issue or 1/10 of registered voters
in the governorate ask for one.
A general election than has to be held, and a
majority has to approve. Members of the Iraqi
National Movement (INM) first mentioned the idea in
early November. They complained about random
arrests, the lack of services, and the central
government’s concentration of power, and were
inspired by Salahaddin’s attempt to become a region.
They were able to bring the Kurdish Alliance into
the equation by agreeing to back its demand to
implement Article 140 of the constitution,www.ekurd.net
which sets out the steps for how disputed
territories can be annexed by Kurdistan. Diyala has
several such areas, like the Khanaqin district along
the Iranian border. Despite later denials, the head
of the National Movement in the province confirmed
this arrangement. The complaints about the central
government are common amongst almost all of Iraq’s
governorates. That was why after Salahaddin
announced that it wanted to become a region, both
Sunni and Shiite politicians came out for the idea
as well across Iraq. These problems with Baghdad
were so strong, that the Sunnis on Diyala’s council
were willing to compromise on the disputed
territories with the Kurds, something that the
former had never done before. This showed that the
move towards regionalism was not a sectarian issue,
but rather more about the disparities between the
center and periphery of the country.
Diyala’s Provincial Council
Governor Abdul Nasir al-Muntasirbillah – Iraqi
National Movement
Deputy Governor Furat Mohammed – Diyala
Coalition/Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council
Head of provincial council Taleb Mohammed Hassan –
Kurdish Alliance
Iraqi National Movement 18 seats
Kurdish Alliance 6 seats
State of Law 2 seats
Diyala Coalition/Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council 2
seats
National Reform Party 1 seat
The move to make Diyala a region was not a unanimous
decision. Members of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s
State of Law on the council were against it, saying
that it was unconstitutional. The Supreme Islamic
Iraqi Council’s Diyala Coalition was also in the
opposition. Back in Baghdad, the Sadrists came out
against the move as well, claiming that the attempt
was illegal, and that Diyala could not become a
region because it included disputed territories.
Even Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq of the National
Movement said that the province was moving too fast
on the matter. Opponents of the decision also took
to the streets. The day that the council voted for
federalism, hundreds of people took to the streets
in Baquba, Muqtadiya, Khalis, Baladrooz, and
Khanaqin. In the provincial capital of Baquba, a sit
in demonstration began outside the provincial
council building that lasted for several days. The
local councils in all of the other districts said
that they rejected the idea of Diyala becoming a
region. Officials in Khalis even threatened to break
away from the province and join Baghdad. The Office
of Tribes in Diyala held a meeting of 150 clan
leaders from both Sunni and Shiite tribes, which
came out against regionalism. On December 15,
tempers boiled over as protesters stormed the
council building, and took it over for a few hours.
Roadblocks were also reportedly set up across the
province, while the council head had his house set
on fire, and one of his bodyguards was shot and
killed. While some in the press have portrayed the
decision to create a region a Sunni move, and the
opponents Shiite, the truth of the matter was much
more complicated. While Shiites appeared to be the
majority of the protesters, Sunni and Shiite
politicians and tribes were also against the idea.
The demonstrations and sit-ins scared the Arab and
Kurdish councilmen that voted for federalism. On
December 17, 18 of them, along with the governor,
fled Baquba for Kurdish controlled Khanaqin. This
was when all kinds of wild rumors also began to be
spread by politicians and the press. The Iraqi
National Movement claimed that Shiite militias were
operating throughout Diyala, supported by the
security forces. The party went on to state that
Premier Maliki was using the armed men to intimidate
the council. Governor Muntasirbillah for instance,
blamed militiamen for the storming of the provincial
council building. Which militia these men allegedly
came from was disputed as well. The most common
group blamed was Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army, but
there were also reports claiming that it was Dawa
gunmen and the Supreme Council’s Badr Brigade. Those
stories were contradicted by a spokesman for the
peshmerga in charge of the disputed areas of Diyala,
as well as the head of the security committee on the
provincial council. The province was previously a
battleground between Shiite and Sunni militants, so
the reports of militiamen could be believed. The
fact that some prominent officials involved in
security however, countered those claims, could
point to politicians exaggerating their stories.
No matter who the protesters were they had immediate
affects. The Kurds reconsidered their support for
federalism, and withdrew their votes. The head of
the Kurdish Alliance told the press that it was not
time for Diyala to become a region. Besides the
protests, the Kurds also claimed that the National
Movement had not kept its promises. Some members of
the party for example, said that they would not
support implementation of Article 140, and that no
deal had ever been made with the Alliance over it.
Without the Kurds, the National Movement had lost
its only supporter in its drive for federalism. It
was probably inevitable for the two sides to split,
even without the demonstrations, because the INM had
always been against allowing the Kurds to annex any
of the disputed areas, seeing it as a division and
weakening of the country.
Today, Diyala’s attempt to become a region appears
to be dead. The sit-ins outside of the council
building have subsided, but the INM and Kurdish
Alliance politicians are still in Khanaqin. The
Kurds have also withdrawn their support. Even if the
two parties had maintained their stance, Premier
Maliki said that he was diametrically opposed to any
province becoming a region, and would have stood in
Diyala’s way. The Election Commission, which would
be responsible for administering a referendum on the
issue, is also in transition with new members
waiting to be appointed by parliament. That was not
going to happen anytime soon, because of the
political divisions within the legislature. How far
the council was going to push the issue is also in
question. There were reports that it never
officially turned in its request to the central
government in the first place, and it must have been
aware that the disarray in Baghdad would hinder it
moving forward. Altogether that points to the
council’s vote as being a mix of political symbolism
to show its displeasure with the central government,
as well as opportunism to advance the Kurdish claims
to the disputed areas, rather than as a legitimate
attempt at regionalism. Until Baghdad provides more
money, services, and power to the governorates
however, these types of complaints will continue,
meaning that federalism is far from over in Iraq,
despite its failure in Diyala.
SOURCES
Dar Addustour, “Council decided to postpone the
emergency meeting to the day .. And maintain
threaten to go to court – the failure of the
establishment of Diyala province after the
withdrawal of signatures of members of Kurdistan,”
12/18/11
Ahmed, Hevidar, “Diyala Sunnis Back Article 140,”
Rudaw, 12/21/11
AK News, “Demo in Diyala to denounce federal region
in in Iraq,” 11/17/11
Ali, Hussam, “Iraqiya calls on U.N. to stop the
abuses in Diyala,” AK News, 12/20/11
Ali, Mandy Samira, “Between the tug of war ..
Sustained movement for the formation of regions,”
Radio Free Iraq, 12/7/11
Alsumaria News, “Diyala Governor calls for expulsion
of “lurking and outlaws” of the security services,”
12/16/11
Alsumaria TV, “Hayali: Head of Diyala provincial
council approves region establishment,” 12/13/11
- “Iraq Sadr movement: Diyala Region’s declaration
is provocative and challenging,” 12/15/11
- “Iraqi National Dialogue considers Diyala region
declaration as “rushed decision,” 12/14/11
Aswat al-Iraq, “Diala demonstrations to reject
declaration as ‘region’,” 12/13/11
- “More than 150 tribes and clan leader declaring
their refusal to establish a province of Diyala,”
12/16/11
- “Source: about a thousand people continue their
sit-in protest in Baquba, Diyala province, the,”
12/16/11
- “Tribal rejection of turning Diala province into a
region,” 11/5/11
Azzaman, “Tribal militia force Maliki and the Badr
party to withdraw from the streets of Baquba,”
12/16/11
Healy, Jack, “Clash Over Regional Power Spurs Iraq’s
Sectarian Rift,” New York Times, 12/23/11
Al-Jabbouri, Mahmoud and Tayyeb, Mouhammed, “KBC
supports Diyala’s demand, Ahrar Bloc cries foul,” AK
News, 12/15/11
Al-Jobouri, Mahmoud, “Kurds change position over
Diyala autonomy,” AK News, 12/20/11
Knights, Michael, “Iraq’s Political Crisis:
Challenges for U.S. Policy,” Washington Institute
for Near East Policy, 12/21/11
Al-Mada, “Demonstrations continued and pieces of the
ways in Diyala refused to convert to the territory,”
12/18/11
Mardini, Ramzy, “Iraq’s First Post-Withdrawal
Crisis,” Institute for the Study of War, 12/19/11
Mohammed, Bryar, “Baghdad bullies try to squash
Diyala’s region hopes,” AK News, 12/14/11
- “Fears mount of Shiite-Sunni clash over Diyala
autonomy,” AK News, 12/17/11
- “Iraqi Deputy threatened for supporting Diyala,”
AK News, 12/17/11
- “Iraqiya did not promise disputed areas to Kurds,”
AK News, 12/17/11
- “Protesters move Diyala council’s session to
Khanaqin,” AK News, 12/18/11
Morse, Dan and Majeed, Asaad, “Iraq premier Nouri
al-Maliki challenges restive provinces,” Washington
Post, 12/24/11
Msarbat, Anwar, “Fallujah demo denounces calls for
creating Sunni region,” AK News, 11/3/11
National Iraqi News Agency, “Debate in Diyala
province, about announcing region or getting more
powers,” 12/7/11
- “Dehlaky: Request to convert Diyala into region
submitted to Cabinet to be passed to (IHEC),”
12/12/11
- “Diyala PC spokesman: gathering of tribal Sheikhs,
members of local councils rejecting the announcement
of Diyala as a region,” 12/13/11
- “Iraqiya bloc in Diyala give central government
3-days ultimatum to implement its demands or it will
declare the province a region,” 11/1/11
- “Nahida al-Da’yini warn that things might get out
of control in Diyala,” 12/16/11
- “Parliamentary delegation meets with Diyala’s
security authorities,” 12/17/11
- “Thousands of people from villages in the
outskirts of Baquba , demonstrating against the
decision to convert Diyala province to a region,”
12/15/11
Rudaw, “Diyala Threatens To Declare Autonomy,”
11/3/11
Sly, Liz, “Iraq political crisis erupts as last U.S.
troops leave,” Washington Post, 12/17/11
Sotaliraq, “News of the arrival of the Mahdi Army to
Diyala .. And the Peshmerga denies,” 12/17/11
Talab, Mahmoud, “Region status proclamation
unconstitutional,” AK News, 12/22/11
Joel Wing, with an MA in International Relations,
Joel Wing has been researching and writing about
Iraq since 2002. His acclaimed blog, Musings on
Iraq, is currently listed by the New York Times and
the World Politics Review. In addition, Mr. Wing’s
work has been cited by the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, the Guardian and the
Washington Independent. You may visit his Blog
Musings On Iraq at musingsoniraq.blogspot.com
Copyright © 2011 ekurd.net
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