Barzani insists Kirkuk part of Kurdish region

This is from todayszaman.

This issue has virtually disappeared from mainstream media but it is still there bubbling away under the surface. The referendum that is supposed to determine the future of Kirkuk has never happened and it is not even clear now if it ever will happen! The Kirkuk region is rich with oil and neither the central govt. nor the Arabs and Turmen in Kirkuk are ready to agree that it is part of Kurdistan. However, the Kurds may do as they have done with the oil, get tired of waiting for a solution and go ahead and take de facto control of Kirkuk.

Barzani insists Kirkuk part of Kurdish region
Iraq's disputed city of Kirkuk and its oil reserves belong to the Kurdish region, Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said on Thursday when he met with Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht in Arbil, northern Iraq.
Asked at a joint press conference with De Gucht on Thursday whether the oil fields in Kirkuk belonged to the Kurdish region or the federal government of Iraq, Barzani said: “The Iraqi Constitution states that the oil reserves are the property of all Iraqis. But Kirkuk, together with its oil reserves, is part of Kurdistan,” he said.
Iraqi Kurds run three provinces in northern Iraq and claim the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk is also part of their semi-autonomous region. Kurdish claims on Kirkuk are a source of tension between the city's Kurds and non-Kurdish population, made up of Turkmens and Arabs. The Iraqi Constitution envisions a referendum on the status of Kirkuk, but the vote, although planned earlier, has never taken place because pre-referendum requirements, such as a census, could never be carried out. Turkey, which shares close ethnic ties with Turkmens, calls for a compromise among Iraqi groups on the status of Kirkuk. The United States is also cautious about Kurdish claims over Kirkuk, fearing it could lead to clashes that could affect the entirety of Iraq.
Control of Kirkuk and the distribution of oil revenues in northern Iraq are among the key disputed issues between the Kurdish administration and the Baghdad government. De Gucht backed Iraq's federal system and said problems between the Kurdish region and the central government should be resolved on the basis of principles of the Iraqi Constitution.
Before traveling to Arbil, De Gucht met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Human Rights Minister Wejdane Mikhail in Baghdad to discuss security and reconstruction six years after the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Iraq govt. calls for calm as Kirkuk row intensifies

This is from wiredispatch.

Not too much attention is being paid to this in the western media. This dispute is causing the election law to be delayed. The status of the city was to be settled by a vote but that has been delayed. As the article notes Al Qaeda is trying to increase the conflict among the various groups while the Kurds seem bound and determined to include the city in Kurdistan.

Iraq govt calls for calm as Kirkuk row intensifies

Khalid al-Ansary
Reuters North American News Service

Aug 01, 2008 10:39 EST

BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Iraq's government called for calm on Friday to dampen a bitter row over the status of Kirkuk, a day after Kurdish councillors called for the city to become part of the largely autonomous region of Kurdistan.

The government rejected the move, insisting control of the disputed oil-rich city in northern Iraq would be decided through political consensus with the city's other ethnic groups.Thursday's decision by Kurdish councillors at a provincial council meeting was symbolic because other factions boycotted the session. The council's head, himself a Kurd, also noted the call was unconstitutional.But tensions have been rising over the city's fate, with demonstrators taking to the streets several times this week."The Iraqi government calls upon all parties and factions to be calm, wise and to resort to the constitution," a statement from government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.He said all sides should not allow Iraq's "enemies" to make use of the situation. Al Qaeda has sought to exploit the divisions in the city to fan tensions.

A suicide bomber killed 23 people at a rally in Kirkuk on Monday against a provincial elections law that would delay voting in the city, a mix of Kurds, Arabs and ethnic Turkmen.

The prime minister of neighbouring Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, told Iraq's President Jalal Talabani late on Thursday of his "anxiety" over the Kurdish councillors' call.

Kurds consider Kirkuk -- which sits atop one of Iraq's key oil producing areas -- their ancient capital, but Arabs and Turkmen want the city to stay under central government control.

It lies just outside the largely autonomous Kurdistan region. The Kurdish councillors on Kirkuk's provincial council want the city and the surrounding province -- which some Iraqis also call Kirkuk -- to be included in Kurdistan.

The United States also expressed concern about the tensions.

"Individuals or groups in Kirkuk should avoid any sort of unilateral or provocative action ... And what is needed is passage of a provincial election law," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters on Thursday.

The electoral law outlines procedures for provincial elections due to be held late this year or early 2009, but political wrangling over Kirkuk has delayed its ratification.

The bill would have delayed voting in Kirkuk, fixed seat allocations to each ethnic group and replaced Kurdish Peshmerga security forces with soldiers from other parts of Iraq, all measures Kurds reject.

Kurdish deputies boycotted a parliamentary session that passed the provincial elections law late last month, prompting Talabani, a Kurd, to reject the bill on grounds it was passed in the absence of a major parliamentary faction.

The bill has now returned to parliament, where lawmakers must reach a compromise. Parliamentarians will hold a special session on Sunday to try to resolve their differences after parliament broke for its summer recess on Wednesday. (Writing by Mohammed Abbas: Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

Source: Reuters North American News Service