Kirkuk council votes to join independence referendum in Iraq

The Kurdistan flag flies over Erbil's citadel
The Kurdistan flag flies over Erbil's citadel
Author

29 August, 2017

On Tuesday, the Kirkuk Provincial Council (KPC) held a session and with a majority vote, elected to participate in the upcoming referendum on independence for Kurdistan scheduled for Sep. 25.

On March 28, Kirkuk's council voted to raise the Kurdish flag alongside the Iraqi flag on the building of the provincial council despite the withdrawal of Arab and Turkoman council members, who argued that the move is a pre-decision that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan.

Meanwhile, the Arab and Turkoman council members boycotted the session, as their communities in the oil-rich Kirkuk province oppose joining the Kurdistan region.

Out of 41 members in total, 26 of them attended the session.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has criticized a decision by the local administration of Kirkuk to participate in a planned referendum by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on September 25, saying it is a "serious breach" of the Iraqi constitution.

But a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi denounced the vote as "illegal and unconstitutional". "We recall that the Baghdad Administrative Court ruled on August 17, 2017 that the Kirkuk Provincial Council and the KRG do not have the authority to decide any status on controversial territory", the Foreign Ministry stated on August 29.

The KRG had said it was up to the local councils of Kirkuk and three other disputed regions of Iraq to decide whether to join the vote on the independence of the Kurdish region.

Hasan Turan, a Turkmen lawmaker and vice-president of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, also blasted the council's decision, describing it as "unconstitutional". It is the decision of all religious and ethnic components.

"It's a stark violation of the constitution and a determined move to confiscate the rights of the Arab and Turkmen in Kirkuk".

The United States and Western nations fear the vote could lead to conflicts with Baghdad and neighbouring Turkey and Iran, which host sizeable Kurdish populations, diverting attention from the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the state-run TRT Haber television news network on August 16 that Iraq's Kurdistan region plans to hold an independence referendum next month will lead to "civil war" in Iraq.

"Those who ask for a postponement - including Baghdad and the USA and Europe and whoever - should give us a time", Kareem said.


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