KRG - Sliced off areas (disputed areas)

[purearch72]

I read about this in the morning good to know arabs want to come into the krg too for obvious reasons ( 22-24h gas). We should use this as an advantage. Why are they not holding a referendum?

[RawandKurdistani]

I read about this in the morning good to know arabs want to come into the krg too for obvious reasons ( 22-24h gas). We should use this as an advantage. Why are they not holding a referendum?

The majority of the citizens are kurds.

[alan131210]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0bGuU33y00&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&hd=1   

[alan131210]

UNAMI tries to organize election in Kirkuk - Photo: Karwan Salhi

Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in Iraq Martin Copler has met with the governor and the head of the Kirkuk Provincial Council and discussed the elections of the Kirkuk Provincial Council with representatives of the provinces main components.

Clarifying the reason behind his visit in a special press conference held on October 16 for the UN top envoy, Copler stated that “The UN tries to help the different components of the province to agree on a mechanism for the elections of the Provincial Council, and we appreciate the importance of organizing the elections.”

He said that they have met all the components of the province and took their opinions which were all different from each other and that after returning to Baghdad and further discussion they will visit the city again. “We think there are points which need to be organized including the date of the election, maintaining security during the elections, assignment of the posts among different components and reviewing of the voters’ registrations,” Copler said.

The UN top envoy addressed the fact that even though all the Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen are keen on the elections, each has its own projects and agenda. “The Arabs and Turkmen demand conditional election while the Kurds insist an unconditional election similar to the rest of the provinces of Iraq,” Copler added.

Regarding the meeting, Muhammad Kamal, a member of the KPC said different subjects were discussed including the elections, its date and the preparations needed.

He stressed that the Kurds demand the elections to be conducted with all the provinces of Iraq without any conditions, and that “The voters’ registration has not been carried out yet thus we need to depend the registration from the 2010 elections.”

Karwan Salhi – Kirkuk Now

[alan131210]

just for general info for fellow members, Saddam formed a very similar command force like this one Milky has formed and named Dijla command, he sent it to Kirkuk under direct command of Ali Hassan Majeed, now milky has done the same of course from direct orders in tehran, trying invade Kirkuk, while pd-puk are standing by and been divided and conquered by this same milky, shame on kurds, history repeats itself.

[purearch72]

Are they in Kirkuk or is it still at a standoff?

[RawandKurdistani]

just for general info for fellow members, Saddam formed a very similar command force like this one Milky has formed and named Dijla command, he sent it to Kirkuk under direct command of Ali Hassan Majeed, now milky has done the same of course from direct orders in tehran, trying invade Kirkuk, while pd-puk are standing by and been divided and conquered by this same milky, shame on kurds, history repeats itself.

How is PDK and PYD devided?

[alan131210]

They are divided. PDK is more with turkey Sunni triangle ride while PUK is with iran Shia one.

They should stay the friggin hell away from the regional turmoil. Who gives a rats ass what they do to each other. But no we have to get on the ride.

Puk did not support PDK in removing milky and now puk is scared shit selling nationalist rhetorics to us, but puk has stuffed up big time, milky is arming fast and we know Iraqis have a thing with gun when they have em they are like "oh let's try it on Kurds and see how good they are for before the Arab world comes for us".

[RawandKurdistani]

They are divided. PDK is more with turkey Sunni triangle ride while PUK is with iran Shia one.

They should stay the friggin hell away from the regional turmoil. Who gives a rats ass what they do to each other. But no we have to get on the ride.

Puk did not support PDK in removing milky and now puk is scared shit selling nationalist rhetorics to us, but puk has stuffed up big time, milky is arming fast and we know Iraqis have a thing with gun when they have em they are like "oh let's try it on Kurds and see how good they are for before the Arab world comes for us".

Hopefully they realised that it was a mistake, but i'm kinda questioning Talabani loyalty to Kurdistan

[Kurdistano]

They are divided. PDK is more with turkey Sunni triangle ride while PUK is with iran Shia one.

They should stay the friggin hell away from the regional turmoil. Who gives a rats ass what they do to each other. But no we have to get on the ride.

Puk did not support PDK in removing milky and now puk is scared shit selling nationalist rhetorics to us, but puk has stuffed up big time, milky is arming fast and we know Iraqis have a thing with gun when they have em they are like "oh let's try it on Kurds and see how good they are for before the Arab world comes for us".

To be honest its fu..ing obvious to me that PUK is fault on all this shit. No one with just a little bit of brain can deny it. PDK has ties with Turkey due economic reasons and because they use Turkey as road to West. BUt what for what the f.. hell is PUK AGAIN like in the past, when they betrayed Qasimlo, is promising from having ties with Iran? Being hated by the West? Or maybe seen as the ally of Dictatorship?

[Kurdistano]

But I dont take this as sign of PUK and PDK being divided, simply a stupidity PUK did which I hope they will not do again in the future.

[purearch72]

They are divided. PDK is more with turkey Sunni triangle ride while PUK is with iran Shia one.

They should stay the friggin hell away from the regional turmoil. Who gives a rats ass what they do to each other. But no we have to get on the ride.

Puk did not support PDK in removing milky and now puk is scared shit selling nationalist rhetorics to us, but puk has stuffed up big time, milky is arming fast and we know Iraqis have a thing with gun when they have em they are like "oh let's try it on Kurds and see how good they are for before the Arab world comes for us".

To be honest its fu..ing obvious to me that PUK is fault on all this shit. No one with just a little bit of brain can deny it. PDK has ties with Turkey due economic reasons and because they use Turkey as road to West. BUt what for what the f.. hell is PUK AGAIN like in the past, when they betrayed Qasimlo, is promising from having ties with Iran? Being hated by the West? Or maybe seen as the ally of Dictatorship?

Dr. Qasimlou is the true leader of kurdistan, if puk did betray him people will soon find out. PUK potentially ruined any chance of eastern kurdistan getting independence.

[RawandKurdistani]

They are divided. PDK is more with turkey Sunni triangle ride while PUK is with iran Shia one.

They should stay the friggin hell away from the regional turmoil. Who gives a rats ass what they do to each other. But no we have to get on the ride.

Puk did not support PDK in removing milky and now puk is scared shit selling nationalist rhetorics to us, but puk has stuffed up big time, milky is arming fast and we know Iraqis have a thing with gun when they have em they are like "oh let's try it on Kurds and see how good they are for before the Arab world comes for us".

To be honest its fu..ing obvious to me that PUK is fault on all this shit. No one with just a little bit of brain can deny it. PDK has ties with Turkey due economic reasons and because they use Turkey as road to West. BUt what for what the f.. hell is PUK AGAIN like in the past, when they betrayed Qasimlo, is promising from having ties with Iran? Being hated by the West? Or maybe seen as the ally of Dictatorship?

Dr. Qasimlou is the true leader of kurdistan, if puk did betray him people will soon find out. PUK potentially ruined any chance of eastern kurdistan getting independence.

But east Kurdistan will soon get another chance, and propably also the last, so we better use it well!

[purearch72]

Lets hope so I hope Kurds in Iran aren't really showing their emotions for independent kurdistan because
Of this harsh regime most Kurds I see don't even talk about politics. Haha Mahabad is the most Kurdish proud city I'd have to admit, I went there with my family and I had a BB gun to shoot bottle caps and stuff. Many Kurds were screaming "azad ah azad ah", at first I didn't know what they were saying until someone near us said Iranian regime can't do anything here take out your gun.

[alan131210]

Kurdish Concerns Over Former Baathists in Kirkuk Government Posts



KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region — The mayor of Kirkuk believes that, if an election was held today, the outcome wouldn’t be good for the Kurds.

Even though a general census has not been held in Kirkuk since 1997, Mayor Kamil Salayi estimates the population to be 1.5 million, with the Kurds making up 55 percent of that number. He added that the Kurdish population is greater in the villages and towns of Kirkuk province.

Iraqi President Jala Talabani previously suggested that each ethnicity -- Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen -- hold 32 percent of the government jobs in Kirkuk, with Christians taking the remaining 4 percent.

According to Salayi, the Arabs and Turkmen are against this approach and demand that government posts to be equally divided instead.

The mayor says that the northern oil field has 11,000 employees. Only 1,000 of them are Kurds and 1,500 are Turkmen. Even now, the company keeps hiring Arabs.

Salayi, who is affiliated with the KDP, criticizes both the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the KDP for some of their appointments to government positions. “Some of them are former Baathists,” he said.

KDP and PUK officials in the city didn’t deny this claim.

Muhammad Kamal, the head of KDP’s 3rd branch, told Rudaw, “In the past, some people became Baathist to avoid being expelled from the city.” He added that these people still secretly stayed connected to their parties.

Aso Mamand, the head of PUK headquarters in Kirkuk, told Rudaw, “I cannot exactly pinpoint these people. There may be some people who were government employees or even Baathist during the former regime who now hold government positions. However, there are not many.”

Najmaldin Karim, the governor of Kirkuk, said that it is not acceptable for former Baathists to hold government positions. “Many judgments have been passed about who might be a former Baathist, but they may not be true,” he said.

“I am not authorized to conduct a search to find the former Baathists in government offices,” Karim said. “It’s the duty of the committee of justice and accountability to make a decision about these people.”

According to the law, those who held high positions in the Baath Party such as high-ranking military officers must not be given any government posts.

Mayor Salayi has accused the governor of replacing government posts filled with people affiliated with the KDP with those who support the PUK.

He added that the KDP has not been consulted about these replacements. “The head of the youth and sports department was removed under the pretext of being a former Baathist,” he said.

Karim dismissed the claim, saying, “I didn’t authorize his replacement. The Iraqi Ministry of Youth and Sports directly ordered his replacement.”

According to some in the KDP, the PUK violated an agreement between the two parties that said the KDP would appoint someone to the position of the youth and sport department.

One of the causes of the issues between the Kurdistan Region and the central government is the lack of reliable data about the population of Kirkuk. Saddam Hussein changed the demographics of the city by expelling Kurds and Turkmen and replacing them with Arab families.

The 1957 census indicates that the Kurdish population was 55,000, alongside 30,000 Turkmen, 27,000 Arabs and 15,000 Assyrians.

Currently, the Kurdish faction holds 27 out of 41 seats in the Kirkuk provincial council. According to Salayi, if an election was held now, the Kurdish faction wouldn’t be able to reclaim these seats.

“I don’t think an election should be held in Kirkuk until the demographic changes of the administrative areas of Kirkuk are nullified to before 1957,” the mayor said.

According to Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, Arab families who were brought to Kirkuk must be compensated and return to their original places. More than 30,000 Arab families fall under this category.

Salayi says that, so far, 11,000 Arab families have been compensated, but only 1,000 of them have returned to their original areas. The rest are still in Kirkuk.

“In addition, 300 families who had already returned to their original places were ordered to return to Kirkuk by the Article 140 committee,” he said, adding that, according to a search conducted by his office, 1,500 Arab families are living in Kirkuk without any legal consensus.

Salayi also said that the governor has not been allowing him to participate in city meetings, and that therefore he is not aware of many things happening in the municipality.

“As the mayor, on one hand my authority is limited,” he said. “On the other hand, the governor has been depriving me of attending the meetings. So I don’t know about the city’s security situation and its infrastructure projects.”

Salayi added that he has asked the governor many times to include him in the meetings, but the governor has ignored his requests.

For his part, the governor said that, when meetings require the mayor’s presence, he is invited.

“I often see him and discuss things with him,” Governor Karim added. “My door is always open to him.”