Monday, July 16, 2007
Kurdish Parliament Member: The Kurdish Coalition Insists On The Implementation Of Article 140 Within The Stated Time Limit
Politics
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 16 JUL - Kurdish Coalition Parliament member, Khalid Schwan, said that the Kurdish Coalition insists on the implementation of Article 140 regarding the normalization of Kirkuk within the stated time limit and without further delay.
Schwan stated in Irbil, “The Kirkuk issue has been delayed two times. The first delay occurred during Ayad Allawi’s government and the second during Ibrahim Al Jaafari’s government. This issue was addressed in Article 158 of the Transitional Administrative State Law. At this time, we will not accept any further delay even if the government demands that. Kirkuk’s referendum will be conducted with the stated time limit. In accordance with Article 140 of the constitution, a referendum should be conducted to determine the destiny of Kirkuk by the end of this year, as to whether it ill be joined to Kurdistan or not.”
Article 140 states that Kirkuk’s normalization should have three stages starting with normalization and ending with the referendum. This article also states that Arabs who came to Kirkuk should be returned to their original areas and those who were previously displaced should be returned to Kirkuk. The Article 140 Committee has issued a decision to compensate Arabs, who came from other areas, with 20 million ID, a parcel of land, and the transferal of their to their old area.
The German News Agency has mentioned, based on the statement of the Sadr Movement’s Parliament spokesman [Bahaa Al Araji], that the Sadr Movement is committed to federalism and Article 140 of the constitution. The spokesman confirmed, “The Kurdistan region is a special case that has been clearly mentioned in the constitution.
Article 140 states that Kirkuk’s normalization should have three stages starting with normalization and ending with the referendum. This article also states that Arabs who came to Kirkuk should be returned to their original areas and those who were previously displaced should be returned to Kirkuk. The Article 140 Committee has issued a decision to compensate Arabs, who came from other areas, with 20 million ID, a parcel of land, and the transferal of their to their old area.
The German News Agency has mentioned, based on the statement of the Sadr Movement’s Parliament spokesman [Bahaa Al Araji], that the Sadr Movement is committed to federalism and Article 140 of the constitution. The spokesman confirmed, “The Kurdistan region is a special case that has been clearly mentioned in the constitution.
After his meeting with the PUK political office in Sulaymaniya, Al Araji said, “The Sadr Movement supports the full implementation of Article 140 because it is in a constitutional article.” Regarding Kirkuk joining the Kurdistan region, Al Araji said, “This issue will be decided by Kirkuk’s citizens through a referendum. The Sadr Movement opposes the gathering of Turkish troops on the border because Kurdistan is a part of Iraq. We do not accept any interference in Kurdistan’s internal affairs by any country.”
Labels: Article 140, Bahaa Al Araji, Khalid Schwan, Kirkuk, Kirkuk referendum, Kurdish Coalition, Sadrist bloc
