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| [ti]DA[/ti]South Kurdistan | Kurdish Territories recently reunited with KRG; Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Sinjar, Jalawla, Sadyea, Qara Tape, Tel Kef, Tal Afar, Hamdanya | |
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| Topic Started: 22nd November 2012 - 05:55 PM (250,129 Views) | |
| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 05:55 PM Post #1 |
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ALL OF THESE AREAS ARE NOW REUNITED WITH KRG, ARTICLE 140 IS IMPLEMENTED IN 28 JUNE 2014. Article 140 , is an article in the Iraqi constitution , which is a road map to solve the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad with majority Kurds on their ancestral lands. the article consists of 3 phases: 1. Normalization (compensation and returning land to original owners , Kurds & Turkmen) - almost complete 2. Census (related to all iraq) - not implemented 3. Referendum (will decide which side the people of Kirkuk will want to choose to be with) - not implemented http://www.kncna.org/docs/pdf_files/oleary_paper.pdf http://www.kurd.org/doc/OLeary_SLIDES.pdf  Kirkuk 1898 in the border areas of Kurdistan highlighted in red. Kerkûk Population according to British documents in 1924  Another step to arabize Kerkûk was detaching 4 Kurdish districts as well    2005 elections in Kerkûk (grey part out is where kurds got majority votes)     SK confederation  |
 
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 05:55 PM Post #2 |
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1921, the British estimated the population of the Kirkuk region to be 75,000 Kurds, 35,000 Turkomans, 10,000 Arabs, 1,400 Jews, and 600 Chaldeans. A League of Nations Committee that visited the Mosul vilayet in 1925 estimated that the Kurds comprised 63 percent of Kirkuk's population, the Turkomans, 19 percent, and the Arabs, 18 percent. After the Baath party consolidated power in 1963, the National Guard (al-Haras al-Qawmi), recruited Arab Baathists and Turkomans who systematically attacked ethnic Kurds. Between 1963 and 1988, the Baathist regime destroyed 779 Kurdish villages in the Kirkuk region razing 493 primary schools, 598 mosques, and 40 medical clinics.[10] In order to prevent the return of the Kurds, they burned farms and orchards, confiscated cattle, blew up wells, and obliterated cemeteries. In all, this ethnic cleansing campaign forced 37,726 Kurdish families out of their villages. Given the average rural Kurdish family size of between five and seven people, this policy forced over 200,000 Kurds to flee the region. The Kurds were not the regime's only victims. During the Iran-Iraq war, the central government destroyed about ten Shiite Turkoman villages south of Kirkuk. The last ethnic-breakdown census in Iraq was conducted in 1957, well before Saddam began his program to move Arabs to Kirkuk. That count showed 178,000 Kurds, 48,000 Turkomen, 43,000 Arabs and 10,000 Assyrian-Chaldean Christians living in the province. |
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 05:57 PM Post #3 |
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 05:59 PM Post #4 |
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Nawshirwan Mustafa: We reject the Tigris operation Nawshirwan Mustafa, the general coordinator of the Change movement, has arrived in Kerkûk and met with the governor and members of the Kerkûk Provincial Council. In the meetings, he showed the movement’s support for rejecting the Tigris operation. Nawhirwan Mustafa Amin and Najmadin Karim - Photo: Sbeiy website On the morning of November 6, Nawshirwan Mustafa Amin, the general coordinator of the Change movement arrived in Kerkûk and later held a press conference clarifying the reasons behind his visit to the city. The Sbeiy website, the official website of the Change movement, published the response of Nawshirwan Mustafa when asked about the Tigris operation stating “The reaction of the Change movement is quite similar with those of the governor and the people of Kerkûk: to reject the formation of the Tigris operation and we are against enforcing the Iraqi army and militarizing the cities of Iraq.” “We, the Change movement, are for returning Kerkûk province to the South Kurdistan but with some conditions,” he commented when asked about the future of Kerkûk. Najamdin Karim, the governor of Kerkûk stated during the press conference, “The support of the Change movement for the administrators and people of Kerkûk is really important and praise-worthy.” The Change movement is currently the largest opposition movement in the South Kurdistan winning 23 seats in the Kurdistan parliament. The movement was formed at the time of the parliament member’s election back in 2009 and most of the leaders were ex-members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan including Nawshirwan Mustafa, the former vice general secretary of the PUK. The movement has 8 seats in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, and possesses opposition notions in the council as well. This is the second visit of Nawshirwan Mustafa to the city, with his first visit dating back to the time of the Iraqi Council of Representatives election in 2010. Kerkûk Now http://www.knewsdaily.org/Direje.aspx?Jimare=3383 http://www.nrttv.com/dreje.aspx?jimare=22766 |
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 06:08 PM Post #5 |
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Kirkuk was made by the Guttis. 1921, the British estimated the population of the Kirkuk region to be 75,000 Kurds, 35,000 Turkomans, 10,000 Arabs, 1,400 Jews, and 600 Chaldeans. A League of Nations Committee that visited the Mosul vilayet in 1925 estimated that the Kurds comprised 63 percent of Kirkuk's population, the Turkomans, 19 percent, and the Arabs, 18 percent. After the Baath party consolidated power in 1963, the National Guard (al-Haras al-Qawmi), recruited Arab Baathists and Turkomans who systematically attacked ethnic Kurds. Between 1963 and 1988, the Baathist regime destroyed 779 Kurdish villages in the Kirkuk region razing 493 primary schools, 598 mosques, and 40 medical clinics. In order to prevent the return of the Kurds, they burned farms and orchards, confiscated cattle, blew up wells, and obliterated cemeteries. In all, this ethnic cleansing campaign forced 37,726 Kurdish families out of their villages. Given the average rural Kurdish family size of between five and seven people, this policy forced over 200,000 Kurds to flee the region. The Kurds were not the regime's only victims. During the Iran-Iraq war, the central government destroyed about ten Shiite Turkoman villages south of Kirkuk. The last ethnic-breakdown census in Iraq was conducted in 1957, well before Saddam began his program to move Arabs to Kirkuk. That count showed 178,000 Kurds, 48,000 Turkomen, 43,000 Arabs and 10,000 Assyrian-Chaldean Christians living in the province Kirkuk is controlled by kurds and will be annexed to KRG, it has already happened we just need to make it official force or peaceful we are not going to give up. proof kurds are in control of Kirkuk as al jazeera tv reports Kurdish army "south of Kerkuk", Governor is a kurd, provincial council has kurdish majority and they rejected dijla thugs, what more can we ask for ? this video report is in the heart of kirkuk city, watch the Kurdish flag waving in the background here Kurdish police in south of Kirkuk (Daquq) stop dijla thugs from entering Kirkuk.  Kurdish security forces, from the stand off - photo in Kirkuk Kurdish security forces are at stand off near Daquq district in south of Kirkuk province, after the Dijla command held and arrested two security vehicles which were heading for Salahadin, then the Dijla tried to enter Kirkuk at Daquq south of the province but they were intercepted by the Kurdish security forces and they are now at stand off since yesterday. Talabani to Milky: "Kirkuk is red line and you shall not touch it". 8) this photo is heart of Kirkuk (see the flag on the bridge)  maybe ssc trolls can tell us besides Hawler, Suli and Duhok which other so called iraqi city has the kurdish flag in the middle of its city center? oh let me break it to them, only those 3 + kirkuk. plus in my entire life i have to come across an arab from kirkuk,  no such thing coz they all live in Hawija and are minority you will see them hardly. also good to see all kurds including Goran and islamic parties are united against milky on Kirkuk, lastly creating a militia and name it dijla thugs in itself shows who currently control kirkuk otherwise why even bother create and try to invade kirkuk with it  Talabani proving Kurdishness of Kerkuk in 2004 in baghdad
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 06:09 PM Post #6 |
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Here Hawija is in blue where Kirkuk's Arabs live, it will be given to iraq, it already is controlled by them, while the rest of the province is controlled by kurds, Hawija was kurdish as well buyt after oil was discovered arabs started migrating their and slowly the town became arab majority.
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 06:14 PM Post #7 |
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Amar Hakim a Shiite leader: "Kirkuk is Kurdish majority, arabs and turkmen ask unrealistic demands"
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| ALAN | 22nd November 2012 - 10:01 PM Post #8 |
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Barham Saleh: we will not allow the Arabization of Kirkuk again Barham Saleh Deputy Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announced in his press interview with Hawlaty newspaper on Thursday, November 22, that he will not allow the Arabization of Kirkuk city again, “we had solved Kirkuk issue according to the constitution, providing Kirkuk’s province with support” Saleh said. Regarding the recent developments of the relations between South Kurdistan’s Government and the Federal Government, Saleh responded that Baghdad’s culture against the Kurds; is not just the culture inside the government; it’s also outside of it, “it’s the political culture”. Saleh commented on the recent meeting between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party, this meeting is considered a very important meeting regarding its timing and the issues which had been discussed, he added that the view points in that meeting were similar, other Kurdistan Parties most participate in the decision making process, especially the disagreed issues between Erbil and Baghdad. Saleh stressed on the need to improve the relations between the parties and the government especially in Kirkuk, Kurds had experienced Arabization and for that they should be the example of the co-existing and respecting human rights. Adding that the recent meeting between Mam Jalal and Hassan Toran member of Executive Committee of Turkomen Front, had clarified the Kurds’ position of the Turkomen’s rights. PUKmedia |
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| ALAN | 26th November 2012 - 02:14 AM Post #9 |
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Kurdistan Alliance’s angry at using ‘mixed territories’ instead of ‘disputed territories’ An Iraqi lawmaker from Kurdistan Alliance claimed that they will request the Federal Court for explaining the phrase “mixed territories” recently being used by Iraqi officials instead of “disputed territories”, calling it as “unconstitutional”. “The Iraqi constitution has defined the areas claimed by Baghdad and South Kurdistan as ‘disputed territories’ so that using any other phrases are ‘unconstitutional’,” Ala Talabani member of Iraqi Parliament told PUKmedia. The phrase “mixed areas” for those areas claimed by both Baghdad and South Kurdistan is recently being used by several Iraqi lawmakers and senior officials including al-Maliki, despite the fact that the Iraqi permanent constitution has defined those areas as “disputed territories”. “The Iraqi permanent constitution has been voted for by the majority of Iraqi people, said Talabani, “so, they don’t have the right to change the ‘disputed territories’ with any other phrases in the statements they make.” She said that they will request the Iraqi Federal Court in Baghdad for explanation. “We are not surprised by those phrases used by those officials, as they often claim that the article 140 [in the Iraqi constitution] is dead,” she noted. The article 140 in the Iraqi permanent constitution calls for the restoration of the demography of those areas in which the process of Arabization was practiced by former regime of Ba’ath led by deposed Saddam Hussein. Those areas cover Kirkuk, Diyala, Salahaddin and Mosul. PUKmedia |
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| ALAN | 26th November 2012 - 02:15 AM Post #10 |
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i say let them call it mars if they like, our Peshmerga are all the way deployed in Duz Xurmatu, let them keep talking all day long.  
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| ALAN | 27th November 2012 - 10:36 AM Post #11 |
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Please take part in this survey wether Kerkûk should be Iraqi or Kurdistani It's on the left bottom part of the page. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/mobile/?rid=135397120078475 end result 94% says YES onto Kurdistan
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| ALAN | 28th November 2012 - 01:12 AM Post #12 |
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Digging of trench around Kirkuk city demanded Najat Hussein, a member of the KPC on behalf of the Turkmen fraction told Kirkuk Now “The best solution to eradicate the violent attacks in Kirkuk is to dig a 59-km long trench around the city with only four main entrances.” He also stated that the same idea was very successful in Erbil in the past as the city faced numerous violent attacks. As the city of Erbil faced a series of repeated explosions, the administrations of the city ordered that trenches were to be dug around the city and only few entrances were left. “I suggested doing the same as Erbil did in the past to eradicate the violent attacks, as the idea was rather successful in Erbil,” Najat Hussein added. The violent attacks and explosions are persistent in Kirkuk ever since the toppling of the Ba’ath regime. In the latest attacks on November 20, more than 19 individuals were injured. Despite Najat Hussein having handed his idea with proper documentation to the KPC, the idea has not yet been discussed in the council’s meetings. “I suggested this idea because Kirkuk used to be the safest and the most secure province in Iraq but now the reverse is totally true,” Najat Hussein commented. Salam al-Ansari – Kirkuk Now |
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| ALAN | 28th November 2012 - 01:30 AM Post #13 |
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Kurdistan Parliament held a meeting :-D  27/11/2012 Kurdistan Parliament held its normal meeting in the presence of Dr. Najmadeen Karim governor of Kirkuk, they discussed in the meeting the situation in the disputed areas and the formation of the Tigris Operations Command. Kirkuk governor said "Kirkuk has a Kurdistani identity and no one can take that away from us, by annexing it to Kurdistan the rights of other components will be preserved". http://pukmedia.co/kurdish/index.php/%D9%87%DB%95%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%B5/%D9%87%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%B1%DB%8E%D9%85%DB%8C-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86/15193-%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%83%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%85-%D8%A8%D9%87%E2%80%8C%DA%86%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%AE%D8%A7%DA%B5%DB%8E%D9%83-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%87%E2%80%8C-%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D9%88%D9%87%E2%80%8C |
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| ALAN | 29th November 2012 - 02:14 AM Post #14 |
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Kirkuk Arabs, Turkomens rally to protest against Dijla The Arab and Turkomen tribes rallied Wednesday in Kirkuk to protest against the formation of Dijla Operations Command, calling for keeping Army away from interference within the Iraqi political issues. The protesters, who raised banners saying, “formation of Dijla [Operations Command] is the fact violation of [Iraqi] permanent constitution,” willingly gathered to refuse the new command in the province. They demanded a real participation of the different components’ sons of Kirkuk in any command if Baghdad intends to form to secure the province. The tribal chiefs who were received by Kirkuk governor Najmadin Karim proposed a letter to be handed to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to cancel the Dijla Command and replace it with a new one that includes all sons of Kirkuk components, the Kurds, Arabs, Turkomens and others. They believed that the new command is “unconstitutional” and called on Iraqi Army not to interfere with the political issues. PUKmedia 2012-11-28 17:01: |
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| ALAN | 29th November 2012 - 02:31 AM Post #15 |
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Kerkuk is divided into Kurdish and iraqi areas, kurds are in control of 7 districts as well as the city while iraqis in control of Hawija district, Riyadh and Rashad sub districts...
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| ALAN | 29th November 2012 - 11:11 AM Post #16 |
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Barzani congratulates Kurdish parties on forming unified list to participate in provincial elections Massoud Barzani Kurdistan president on Wednesday congratulated the Kurdistan political parties on forming a unified list to participate in the upcoming provincial elections in the disputed areas. “On November 27, the Kurdistan political parties decided in a historical step to participate in the provincial council elections in Baghdad and disputed areas as one list,” Barzani posted on Facebook, saying, “I consider it as an achievement to consolidate the spirit of co-existence … to accomplish our national and democratic missions.” “This move has proved the fact that the Kurdistan sons with different affiliations and ideologies unify to determine on the fate of the separated territories and confront any attempts targeting the separation of the Kurdistan [political] sides,” said Barzani. He also urges the Kurdistan parties to give the chance of joint list for any ethnic, religious and sectarian groups in the disputed areas that believe in co-existence, tolerance, Iraqi constitution and democracy. PUKmedia |
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| ALAN | 29th November 2012 - 06:17 PM Post #17 |
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 Thursday, 29 November 2012 09:24 Shafaq News / Kurdistan Region President, Massoud Barzani announced his support for Kirkuk province during a meeting while receiving, Najem al-Deen Kareem. According to a brief statement to the presidency of the region, in which "Shafaq News", received a copy of it "the region's president, Massoud Barzani received on Wednesday evening at his headquarters in Erbil, Kirkuk’s governor, Najem al-Deen Kareem and discussed with him the provinces’ situation in a lot of fields," adding that "Barzani announced during the meeting his full support to Kirkuk province.” This meeting came after Kurdistan Parliament hosted the governor of Kirkuk to discuss the political, service and security situation in the disputed province between Erbil and Baghdad, amid of criticism from some politicians in Baghdad for the constitutionality of this hosting for the fact that Kirkuk is not a part of Kurdistan Region. |
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| ALAN | 29th November 2012 - 10:52 PM Post #18 |
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Shafaq News / Ministry of Peshmarga in Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced Thursday that the Kurdish negotiating delegation in Baghdad stipulated dissolving Dijla Operations Command before the Ministers of Interior and Peshmarga head to the federal capital to sign the deal to calm the situation in the disputed areas . The Director of Information and Culture in the Ministry and member of the negotiating team , Halkod Hekmat said in a statement reported for "Shafaq News", that "the meetings lasted for the past three days between us and the federal side in Baghdad," stressing that "the Kurdish delegation submitted some demands." "The other party was optimistic, but had several observations," adding that "the delegation was not authorized to accept or reject applications, so it will submit it to the Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki." He added that “Baghdad delegation is waiting the acceptance of the prime minister and we are waiting for the results." "it was due to the ministers Interior and Peshmarga Affairs in the provincial government to visit Baghdad soon, but some problems happened because we demanded to dissolve Dijla Operations Command are review the decisions of forming this command." Hekmat added that "the government party rejected this demand and therefore the two ministers did not come to Baghdad to complete the agreement and sign it." "Dijla Operations Command subject is sensitive, it is clear that the implementation of our demands is not easy to have," adding "We are waiting for the outcome of the upcoming meetings." "It is clear that Baghdad is not content to dissolve Dijla Forces Command and if they insisted on the rejection then Kurdish Ministers will not be ready to go to Baghdad." The Ministry of Peshmerga announced on Wednesday, a draft agreement with the Federal Ministry of Defense to resolve the crisis on the disputed areas, notably to review the decisions of forming Dijla operations in Kirkuk province. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Peshmerga in which "Shafaq News" received a copy of it on the content of the meeting of the Supreme Action Committee between it and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense last night “the delegation of Kurdistan Region has provided a work letter that included 14 points during the meeting, where they discussed a lot in this regard.” The statement added that "most of the points have been adopted after an exchange of views between the two sides, as it was decided to adopt these points through the draft agreement to submit it to the Supreme Ministerial Committee for approval at today's meeting, which is scheduled to be attended by both the minister of Peshmerga and Interior in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with Interior and Defense ministers in the Federal Government of Iraq and the Iraqi National Security Advisor. " |
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| ALAN | 30th November 2012 - 01:44 AM Post #19 |
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Translated by me Today Thursday in a meeting that took place to evaluate the latest situation between Kurdistan and iraq which was attended by Massoud Barzani, the Kurdish political parties in SK decided to station the Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, Duz Khurmatu, Khanaqin and other sliced off areas permanently. The decision came after talks stalled between the two sides when Maliki refused to cancel the dijla command thus the political parties decided to let the newly mobilized Peshmerga forces to remain permanently in their new locations in the sliced off areas which is mentioned as "disputed areas" in the iraqi constitution. The meeting was one of its kind in south Kurdistan as the entire political parties had the same united opinion about the rights of Kurdish people and defending the achieved rights. They made a statement after the meeting that the dijla operation is a direct violation of the constitution and thus it will threaten the unity of the current iraqi borders, The presidency said in a statement that "the Kurdish parties agreed as a whole during the meeting today not to allow any chauvinism campaign toward Kirkuk or the disputed areas, The presidency that "the Kurdish parties also agreed that there should be an internal dialogue in earnest in the South Kurdistan and strengthen internal governance in Kurdistan," adding that "the political parties announced that they stands with the Kurdish government and its people are united and support it against any unexpected event." Source http://www.peyamner.com/PNAnews.aspx?ID=295841 |
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| ALAN | 30th November 2012 - 01:46 AM Post #20 |
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Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani met today in Salahaddin Resort in Erbil, with representatives of all Kurdish political parties to assess the latest developments. The Kurdish political Parties expressed dissatisfaction about the latter position of the General Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces in continuing to bring the Dijla forces to Kirkuk, Douz and other Separated Areas. The meeting attendants highly appreciated the position of the people of Kurdistan in protecting Kurdistan Region and their constitutional rights. They stressed the need to confront the emergence of dictatorship and militarism in Baghdad, emphasizing the importance that the Iraqi political parties to play their role in preventing this dangerous move by Baghdad’s government. The meeting was attended by the following political parties: The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan The Kurdistan Democratic Party The Gorran (Change) Movement Kurdistan Islamic Union Islamic Group in Kurdistan Kurdish Islamist movement Kurdistan Democratic Socialist Party Kurdistan Toilers Party Kurdistan Communist Party Turkmen Democratic Movement Turkmen Reform Movement Turkmen Erbil List Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council Assyrian Democratic Movement Armenians List PUKmedia |
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| ALAN | 30th November 2012 - 01:58 AM Post #21 |
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 Seven Kurdish political parties and movements gathered in Erbil on Tuesday, November 27 to discuss the formation of a single Kurdish bloc to participate in the Kirkuk elections. The meeting was held in the Chwarchra hotel, with participation of representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Change Movement, Kurdistan Islamic Union, Kurdistan Islamic Group, Kurdistan Communist Party, and the Kurdistan Socialist-Democratic Party. Aram Sheikh Muhammad, coordinator of the election department of the Change movement stated that the Kurdish parties and movements have reached an agreement to form a single Kurdish bloc to participate in the election of Kirkuk as was published by the Sbeiy website, which is close to Change movement. He also stated they have reached agreements that the bloc will have a single logo and motto, and efforts to be made to grant equality between all the parties members of the bloc. |
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| ALAN | 30th November 2012 - 12:31 PM Post #22 |
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 November 29, 2012 SULÊMANI, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— Kurdish political parties say that they are ready to fight and defend Kurdistan’s territories should a conflict erupt between the Iraqi Army and the Peshmerga. The parties that met on Nov. 23 in Erbil confirmed their united stance with Kurdistan’s president on the Dijla Operations Command (DOC) being in the disputed regions. In the case of a military conflict, the parties agreed that they would not remain silent. Even the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), which has been an unarmed party since its foundation, wholeheartedly expressed its readiness to fight. Relations between Kurdistan and Baghdad are at a complicated stage, which some observers believe is closer to conflict than settlement. Officials on both sides are talking about deescalating the crisis, but sending more forces to the disputed regions at the same time. Muhammad Ahmed, a KIU political bureau member, said, "Defending the achievements, security, peace and territories of Kurdistan is a national and religious obligation. All the parties and all the Kurds need to defend Kurdistan." He added, "If a war breaks out, then it will happen to all of us and we have to be united." Jalal Jawhar, a leader of the Change Movement (Gorran), said that their party is anti-war and a civil political group. He advised Iraqi citizens to take war out of their minds because "we have suffered the most in wars, especially the Kurds and the Shia." Jawhar told Rudaw that war is for armed groups and armies, and Gorran is neither of these. "But if the situation escalates to the level of occupation of our country,www.ekurd.net then we are ready with our bodies and properties and will be there before the two ruling parties," he said. Muhammad Haji Mahmud, a political bureau executive official of the Democratic Socialist Party of Kurdistan (PDSK), demonstrated his reaction to the actions of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iraqi army officials by sending large numbers of armed Peshmergas to Kirkuk. Mahmud recalled that the secretary of his party was wounded during the liberation of Kirkuk in 1991, and that if war breaks out again "we are totally ready and have more than 100 vehicles of armed, loyal Peshmergas ready to take part in the war.” He explained that many of his party members are among the Peshmerga forces and many others guard party bases. "All the supporters and members of our party are ready to fight and defend Kurdistan," Mahmoud said. "We are proudly ready to fight and defend the disputed areas," said Bilal Sulaiman, leadership member of the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal). Sulaiman said that defending land and country was a national and religious duty. "In addition to the guards of Komal and its bases, we have hundreds of other members and supporters," he said. Komal was an armed party until 2002. After the bombardment of their base by the allied forces and the arrest of their leader, Ali Bapir, they announced that they were disarming and would continue on as a political party. Six hundred of their armed members were retired, but Sulaiman said that these Peshmergas have experience and skills. "They are at home now and can receive arms and take part. We are fully ready," he said. By Nawzad Mahmood - rudaw |
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| ALAN | 30th November 2012 - 11:19 PM Post #23 |
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By Roman Zagros, London — Niqash Kurdistani Peshmerga troops are deployed on the outskirts of Kirkuk. Photo: Reuters Kurdistani Peshmerga troops are deployed on the outskirts of Kirkuk. Photo: Reuters November 30, 2012 Recently tensions between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan have run high, complete with a military stand-off. The crisis seems to have been defused now. But if it was all just politics, then who won? And who lost – and why? The recent military standoff between forces from the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and the central government in Baghdad over disputed territory has further exposed the tensions between the region’s president, Massoud Barzani, and the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. There is, however, more to this dispute than meets the eye, as the two leaders vie for power – but not necessarily power over one another, rather, each in his respective domain. A few years ago it would have been inconceivable to imagine Iraqi Kurds and Shiites facing each other on the battlefield. But a rare skirmish between an Iraqi police unit and a force of Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga – the force belonging to Iraqi Kurdistan that protects the northern state - in mid-November prompted the two leaders to dispatch thousands of troops in what would appear to be preparations for a military showdown, amid emotionally charged rhetoric from both sides. However even from the beginning, this looked very unlikely. And last week, the Speaker in the Iraqi Parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi, visited Barzani in Iraqi Kurdistan and then managed to bring military chiefs from both sides together at a meeting in Baghdad; this week the two sides agreed to pull their forces out of the disputed territory and to deal with other outstanding issues – such as a new Iraqi military command centre worse location has upset the Iraqi Kurdish authorities - that may well have exacerbated the situation. Still, this latest standoff with the Kurds could well be a game-changer for al-Maliki. Firstly, he has managed to turn Sunni Muslim politicians, like al-Nujaifi, who are normally his most bitter rivals into mediators. And it is hard to ignore a possible connection with the series of elections scheduled for Iraq in 2013, particularly when, on closer inspection, one can see the potential gains for the both al-Maliki and Barzani. Next year will see provincial elections nationwide in April, a regional parliamentary election and a separate provincial poll for the Kurdistan Region and, finally, a proposed early parliamentary election across the whole of Iraq. Clearly al-Maliki needs some breathing space to conduct the April elections without the fear of facing another no-confidence theat. By placing his federal troops on the doorstep of the multi-ethnic Kirkuk – a disputed territory, which Iraq says belongs to them while the Iraqi Kurdish say it should be part of their region - the Iraqi Prime Minister is scoring points with Sunni Arabs based in, or near, the disputed areas. He’s championing Arab interests in the face of Kurdish ambitions to incorporate those areas into their semi-autonomous region. The disputed territory is the only zone where al-Maliki can shine if he intends to bring the Sunnis on board. In electoral terms, al-Maliki really cannot afford to push the Sunni community any further away from him; he has been in conflict with several Sunni Muslim politicians lately. The trial of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, for example, set many Sunni Muslims against the current government,www.ekurd.net pushing some Sunni Muslim leaders, including the al-Nujaifi, to call for the establishment of a semi-autonomous Sunni Muslim region similar to that controlled by the Kurds. At the same time, Ayed Allawi, the leader of the Sunni Muslim-dominated opposition, Iraqiya, continues to search for an opportunity to instigate a potential vote of no confidence in al-Maliki. Previous plans to do this were scrapped due to fading support for the idea. Meanwhile in Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani’s immediate reaction to the mobilization of Iraqi troops in the disputed areas may have appeared to be a spur-of-the-moment thing - but it is clear that his muscle-flexing has not been devoid of calculation. For the first time in years, Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling and opposition parties, and the region’s partisan and private media alike, felt morally obliged to unite in the face of what was increasingly perceived as a “threat” from the Iraqi army. Even the Change movement, a major opposition party usually strongly opposed to the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, lent its voice to Barzani’s cause. Perhaps most importantly though, Barzani succeeded in bringing the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, back on side. For some months now, Barzani has run the risk of losing the support of Talabani, his main ally; together the two politicians have ruled Iraqi Kurdistan within the bounds of a power-sharing agreement for the past five years. The two traditional allies, who head the two major parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have recently disagreed on several key political issues, including the region’s relationship to the central government, their all-important 2007 strategic, power-sharing agreement as well as Iraqi Kurdistan’s draft constitution. While Barzani was busy behind a pan-political effort to oust al-Maliki, that included him calling the current Prime Minister a dictator, Talabani was taking a more conciliatory tone. However al-Maliki has recently managed to upset the elder statesman, Talabani, too – mainly by failing to fulfill his “promise” to Talabani to disband a controversial military taskforce stationed in the disputed areas. Known as the Tigris Operations Command, the latter was set up on al-Maliki’s orders to take responsibility for security in the areas of Diyala, Salahaddin and Kirkuk, all of which border the Kurdistan Region and some of which contain disputed territories. Perhaps al-Maliki’s decision to ditch Talabani was the price he felt he had to pay in order to forge ahead with another plan: to win over Sunni Muslim hearts and minds in the disputed areas by acting as their commander-in-chief,www.ekurd.net while simultaneously fending off an impending no-confidence vote. However at the same time, it’s clear that the Prime Minister has also given Barzani a similar platform where he can act like the Iraqi Kurds’ commander in chief, and possibly, rally yet more Kurdish hardliners to his side. As for the losers in this situation, what the two sides have also done with their politicking, in effect, is to inject more fear and more trouble into an already volatile territory - and especially the hotly contested, oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Extremist groups with terrorist intentions look for these kinds of troubled areas in which to inflame passions further; when feelings are running as high in the disputed areas as they have been recently, it invites extremist groups to reap their own dividends – and then it is only the local people who lose. Roman Zagros is a UK-based media analyst and former BBC editor. He also runs his own website: Insight Kurdistan Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, niqash.org |
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| ALAN | 3rd December 2012 - 12:31 PM Post #24 |
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Shafaq News / The Speaker of the parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi announced submitting a proposal to replace the military forces in the disputed areas by the local police, while pointing out that the proposal was approved by the Prime Minister and confirmed that it will be sent to Kurdistan. Nujaifi said at a press conference held in the Parliament building, attended by "Shafaq News", that "I have submitted a proposal to withdraw all military forces in the disputed areas and replace it by the local police to manage security fully and follow the security administration of the provinces." He added that "Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki had agreed on the proposal and he will in turn submit it during my visit to Kurdistan Region to receive the response from the Kurdish officials." Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki announced on Saturday sending a proposal to Kurdistan Region that stipulates that the sons of the disputed areas would take the responsibility of protecting these areas. The relation between the federal government in Baghdad and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is witnessing an acute crisis due to several disagreements, most recently the formation of Baghdad to , "Dijla Operations Command" to take over security responsibilities in the disputed area. |
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| ALAN | 3rd December 2012 - 12:37 PM Post #25 |
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 The Brotherhood List of the Kirkuk Provincial Council is threatening that if the Tigris operation is not canceled, they will demand to be put under the sovereignty of Kurdistan, as the Iraqi Prime Minister has ignored their previous demands regarding the formation of the Tigris operation. The Kirkuk Provincial Council had rejected the formation of the Tigris operation back in September which was formed in July under the command of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to control the security dossier of Kirkuk and Diala. “Al-Maliki has not listened to our demands and we will have further actions as we mentioned before; we may demand to be put under the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region,” said Ahmad Askari, a member of the Kirkuk Brotherhood List of which the majority of the members are Kurds. “The Kurdistan Parliament should prepare a set of laws reflecting our demands so that they can vote whether Kirkuk should be made a part of Kurdistan or not,” Askari added. Regarding the date and time of their demands, he stated “We are waiting for the Iraqi Council of Representatives to find a solution for the current crisis or else we will submit our demands to the Kurdistan Parliament and Nouri al-Maliki.” The province has been given the full right by law to be made a free state or to be a part of another state if two-thirds of the provincial council members, followed by a referendum, vote for the decision. The Brotherhood List had submitted a similar demand to the Kurdistan Parliament back in 2008, but the proposal has been halted ever since. “If al-Maliki does not cancel the Tigris operation as soon as possible, we will revive that proposal,” Askari said. Zanyar Daquqi – Kirkuk Now |
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