N Iraq PM: Saddam’s exiles deserve justice
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Reeta Paakkinen
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 04, 2009 00:00
ARBIL - The Regional Kurdish Administration in northern Iraq wants justice for the people of Kirkuk, prime minister of the administration, Necirvan Barzani, said Monday.
Speaking in Arbil at the launch of oil exports from northern Iraq to Turkey, Barzani said the current internal displacement of thousands of Kirkuk’s residents is against Iraq’s 2005 constitution.
The status of ethnically mixed Kirkuk remains one of Iraq's major flash points. A city of more than 750,000 in the center of northern Iraq, it sits adjacent to oilfields holding approximately 40 percent of Iraq's reserves. Controlled by Iraq’s central government in Baghdad, the city’s population consists of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Assyrians. The Regional Kurdish Administration in northern Iraq, however, would like to see the city as part of its realm, which the Turkmen and Arabs oppose.
From the 1991 Gulf War until 2003, Saddam Hussein's regime expelled an estimated 120,000 Kurds, Turkmen and Assyrians from Kirkuk and other towns and resettled Arab families in their place.
Some of the internally displaced started moving back after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"Thousands of people are waiting patiently, under terrible conditions, for the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution. The constitution guarantees them the right of return," Barzani said. "Our message is loud and clear: We want justice for the people of Kirkuk."
Four out of five voters endorsed Iraq’s constitution in December 2005, Barzani said. "This document is the foundation of a new democratic and federal Iraq. It is a product of the collective desire Ğ of all Iraqis Ğ to prevent a repetition of past atrocities while providing a new opportunity to improve the lives of all our citizens," he said. "In the past regime, promises of peace were replaced by systematic violence and destruction of our livelihood. We want to break the vicious cycle of violence that has haunted this country for too long."
The status of ethnically mixed Kirkuk remains one of Iraq's major flash points. A city of more than 750,000 in the center of northern Iraq, it sits adjacent to oilfields holding approximately 40 percent of Iraq's reserves. Controlled by Iraq’s central government in Baghdad, the city’s population consists of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Assyrians. The Regional Kurdish Administration in northern Iraq, however, would like to see the city as part of its realm, which the Turkmen and Arabs oppose.
From the 1991 Gulf War until 2003, Saddam Hussein's regime expelled an estimated 120,000 Kurds, Turkmen and Assyrians from Kirkuk and other towns and resettled Arab families in their place.
Some of the internally displaced started moving back after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"Thousands of people are waiting patiently, under terrible conditions, for the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution. The constitution guarantees them the right of return," Barzani said. "Our message is loud and clear: We want justice for the people of Kirkuk."
Four out of five voters endorsed Iraq’s constitution in December 2005, Barzani said. "This document is the foundation of a new democratic and federal Iraq. It is a product of the collective desire Ğ of all Iraqis Ğ to prevent a repetition of past atrocities while providing a new opportunity to improve the lives of all our citizens," he said. "In the past regime, promises of peace were replaced by systematic violence and destruction of our livelihood. We want to break the vicious cycle of violence that has haunted this country for too long."