Abdulrahman Assi: I have been shown as being anti-Kurd in the media
Abdulrahman Munshid al-Assi, member of the Arab Political Council…Photo Yasin al-Sab'awi
Abdulrahman Munshid, a member of the Arab Political Council says some ‘loser politicians’ are accusing him of being ‘anti-Kurd’ in the media, and stated that “I deny all the accusations.”
In an interview with Kirkuk Now, Assi said, “I’ve never been the Kurds’ enemy for one day,” he added, “This is a baseless accusation which I’m ready to say in court and prove the opposite.”
His house is 600 meters from the Kirkuk Governorate, with a 15-meter wide guest room. The house smelled of strong Arabic coffee brewing on the fireplace.
The APC member said he had hoped that the coming authority would be different from the old regime as he urged them not to depend on revenge-seeking policies and focus on tolerance and added “Kirkuk people have never done any violations against Kurds.”
About the violations done in the times of the Baath regime concerning land ownership, Assi says their Council is for returning occupied lands to their original owners, “But according to the law and without using force.”
He said if armed forces were used then reactions may take place, and that “Kurdish political parties have committed huge mistakes, which affected our relations with the Kurdish people.”
Assi says Arabs were not late in entering the political process, but rather “We were taken out in the process. We were the victim of a plot played on us step by step.” He added, “Using religion, they urged Arabs to boycott the elections. As they considered taking part in the elections as a form of conversion.”
He considers religion as the greatest factor in boycotting the previous elections.
Assi accuses the Kurdish parties, saying that “Kurdish political parties cannot show all the Arabs as terrorists and occupiers, as they oriented the Americans that way to deform the image of Arabs.”
He added, “The Kurds were not misleading, but also used other tools to buy people’s consciousness, and to collect mosque aids in order to commit violent acts as a means to challenge stability and take Arabs out of the political process.”
Sixty-year-old Assi also said, “Kurdish Security forces existing in the city are unacceptable.” He considered the Peshmarga and Kurdish security forces to be illegal, as he showed support for the police and army.
He urged the federal government to support the police and army and to take Kurdish forces out of the city, stating that “There should be a national security force comprising of all the factions of the city.”
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He said that the Iraqi PM has never been accepting the Kurdish forces presence in Kirkuk, and that “They find no legal basis to stay in the province.” Assi said the only reason that the Kirkuk Provincial Council does not take measures against their presence is that the majority of the KPC are Kurds, with 26 seats.
Assi is one of the harshest critics of the Kurdish Security forces in Kirkuk. “I’ve never accused security without evidence as they target Arabs.
We are all witnesses of evacuating and murdering Arabs. We have enough evidence to prove it. The problem is the tension between two Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) which is imposed on Arab citizens.”
Concerning the Provincial Council elections, Assi said, “Arabs cannot bear this situation anymore since we are not present in the council or the public offices.” He added, “We want elections to have representatives, so our size will be proven in the city.”
Regarding the issue of taking money from the Kurdish parties to operate their political activities Assi said, “Thank god I’m wealthy and do not need the parties’ money.”
Yasin Sab’awi – Kirkuk Now
