Friday, March 23, 2007
Kurdistan's PM calls for referendum on Kirkuk
Kurdistan,
(AFP) - The prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan raised fresh calls on Thursday for a referendum to decide the future of the country's crucial oil hub of Kirkuk, warning that Kurdish patience had limits. "Our people are committed to Iraq, but their patience is not unlimited. We as leaders are finding it difficult to convince our people as to why our demands are not being met," Nichirvan Barzani told dignitaries in Arbil.
Iraq's Kurds have long dreamed of independence from the Arab-led centre, but agreed to put demands on hold following the US-led invasion of March 2003, which they hoped would lead to improved relations between the regions. Addressing guests at the opening of a new US-financed water treatment plant in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani said the central government had yet to meet four key Kurdish demands.
"We demand a fair share of resources of the country, the issue of Kirkuk to be resolved democratically, freedom to share reconstruction funds and freedom to democracy and political rights," he said. "It is our natural right to share resources and we must have access to the budgetary process. The time is now to solve these problems," he said.
Speaking about wealthy and volatile Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous northern region, Barzani stressed: "Whatever is taken by force should be returned peacefully and democratically." Iraq's constitution stipulates that the status of Kirkuk, which sits atop a third of the country's mammoth oil wealth, be settled by referendum before the end of 2007, despite fears that this could fuel ethnic violence. A fractious ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen live in Kirkuk and any referendum on its future is likely to provoke increased tensions.
Iraq's Kurds have long dreamed of independence from the Arab-led centre, but agreed to put demands on hold following the US-led invasion of March 2003, which they hoped would lead to improved relations between the regions. Addressing guests at the opening of a new US-financed water treatment plant in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani said the central government had yet to meet four key Kurdish demands.
"We demand a fair share of resources of the country, the issue of Kirkuk to be resolved democratically, freedom to share reconstruction funds and freedom to democracy and political rights," he said. "It is our natural right to share resources and we must have access to the budgetary process. The time is now to solve these problems," he said.
Speaking about wealthy and volatile Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous northern region, Barzani stressed: "Whatever is taken by force should be returned peacefully and democratically." Iraq's constitution stipulates that the status of Kirkuk, which sits atop a third of the country's mammoth oil wealth, be settled by referendum before the end of 2007, despite fears that this could fuel ethnic violence. A fractious ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen live in Kirkuk and any referendum on its future is likely to provoke increased tensions.
Labels: Arbil, Kirkuk, Kurdistan, Nichirvan Barzani
