The Deputy Chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) says exclusion" of Turkmen, Arabs in forming the local administration of oil-rich Kirkuk is not correct, not good for Kirkuk and Iraq, which needs an inclusive policy.
The statements by the (AKP) spokesman chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came after a party meeting held on Monday, August 12.
Regarding the session to form the local government in Kirkuk, which resulted in the election of a governor from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and a council chairman from one of the Arab blocs, amid a boycott by the Turkmen, Celik said, “From the beginning, we have been in favor of an inclusive policy in Iraq where no one is excluded. Here, we consider that PUK's policy style of creating a de facto situation such as excluding the Turkmens, excluding other Arab groups, and excluding the KDP (The Kurdistan Democratic Party) is not correct.”
“This is in no way good for Iraq, which needs an inclusive policy. It is a wrong choice in Kirkuk.”
On August 11th, Rebwar Taha, leader of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK faction at Kirkuk Provincial Council, was nominated governor for Kirkuk and Mohammed Al-Hafiz, Leadership bloc,as head of Provincial council, at provincial council meeting in Baghdad on August 10, attended by five members of PUK, three Arabs, and the only Christian member of the council , three sources told KirkukNow on the condition of anonymity.
The northern, oil-rich city of Kirkuk is home to about 1,77 million Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs. Located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, Kirkuk is an ethnically mixed province and has long been at the center of disputes between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
“We have said from the beginning that any policy or approach that excludes the Turkmen is wrong, and the same goes for the Arabs and the KDP, the Turkmen should be given their rights, and we also believe that the rights of other groups should be given,” he added.
Omer Celik sees the current situation as unhealthy and unacceptable, “Quick steps should be taken to return this to a fully inclusive framework, otherwise we will face other problems.”
On Monday, a number of Turkmen political parties called on their supporters in Kirkuk to demonstrate against the formation of the local government, and the demonstration is scheduled to take place on the evening of Tuesday, August 13.
The Turkmen bloc, consisting of two members, both Sunnis, boycotted the Kirkuk Provincial Council session held at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, in which the governor and the council chairman were elected.
Omer Celik, deputy chairman of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party AKP. Anadolu Agency
The Kirkuk Provincial Council consists of 16 seats, with seven seats for the Kurds (five seats for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK and two seats for the KDP), six seats for the Arab component (the Arab Alliance in Kirkuk has 3 seats, the Leadership has two seats, and the Arabism Alliance has one seat), while the Turkmen won two seats, in addition to the quota seat for the Christians. At least nine members are required to attend the first session to complete quorum.
The highest legislative and supervisory authority within the boundaries of the local administration shall be with the Kirkuk Provincial Council, which has the right to issue internal laws and instructions for managing the affairs of the province, formulate the general policy, discuss and approve the local budget and project plans.
The Kurdish component, with seven seats, have been insisting since last December provincial elections that the position of governor is the right of the Kurds, specifically the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan which was holding the position till Octnber 2017, while the Arabs, led by the Arab Alliance headed by Rakan Saeed, who were holding the position since 2018 up to last December elections, seek to retain the position, while the Turkmen as the third ethnicity in Iraq propose to rotate the position among the three main components of the province.
Turkmen MP in the Iraqi parliament, Gharib Askar, who is Shiite and attended the negotiations to form the local government in Baghdad, responded with a brief statement and published a writing in reply to the criticism regarding the exclusion of Turkmen and pointed out that "the rights of Turkmen in political positions were established by an agreement between the leaderships of Kirkuk's components."
The letter included the 18 positions granted to Turkmen, including the deputy chairman of the provincial council, the deputy governor, the assistant and advisor to the governor, the mayor of the center, the assistant chief of Kirkuk police, the directors of the districts of Laylan, Taza and Yayji, five department directors and a number of other positions.
For its part, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reassured the Turkmen parties and announced in a statement on Monday, "Like other components, the Turkmen will have the place that suits them in the administration of Kirkuk," the statement added.
"The Patriotic Union is the true defender of their rights and will not accept that any party deprive them of it."
