The Globe- Erbil
Kirkuk's governor, Abdul Rahman Mustafa, a Kurd, sheds light on the slow progress of implementing Article 140 and the situation of returned families.
Kirkuk Governor Abdul Rahman Mustafa said the process of implementing Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution is proceeding very slowly, similar to the situation when former Iraqi Cabinets were very sluggish in carrying out the article.
During Iyad Allawi's Cabinet (the first Iraqi Prime Minister after 2003), a committee was formed and headed by Hamid Majeed Musa to implement Article 140, but the committee made no headway, said Governor Mustafa.
The current Iraqi PM, Nouri al-Maliki, formed another committee, but it is disorganized and doesn't have the sufficient necessity to implement the article.
Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, approved in 2005, makes provisions for the so-called "normalization" of Kirkuk. It calls for Arabs settled in Kirkuk under Saddam to return to their home provinces, while Kurds and Turkmen who were expelled are to be allowed to return.
In the spring, the Baghdad government agreed to give Arab settlers about $15,000(USD), plus a plot of land in their places of origin, if they returned voluntarily.
At the end of last month, the Ministries Council of the Baghdad government appointed Basim Ra'ad as the new chairman of the Article 140 Committee after the former chairman, Hshim al-Shabaly, resigned from his post. Ra'ad is a former cadre of the Iraqi Communist Party.
Governor Mustafa hopes that the article will be in place on schedule so that the people of Kirkuk and other designated areas can live their lives in peace.
He believes that all current members of the committee are working their hardest to implement the article, but lack of necessity and the resignation of the two previous chairmen slowed down the process.
"Implementing Article 140 means correcting those mistakes and wrong policies made by the former regime of Saddam," said Governor Mustafa.
There is procrastination (by the government), and if this issue is not resolved, as I said before, all options are open....Frankly, I am not comfortable with the behavior and policy of the federal government on Kirkuk and Article 140
Barzani
The Governor said that the Kirkuk governorate is using all its efforts to assist returning people and has fulfilled a lot of services for them, such as housing, water, and new schools.
"There is a lack of services still, but it is not only Kirkuk's situation; it is all of Iraq's situation due to lack of security and political crises," said the Governor, who urged returning families to be strong and stay in Kirkuk.
Governor Mustafa denied that the Kirkuk governorate let the Arabs from other cities come to Kirkuk and cause the security deterioration there. He said that the governorate already put tight security measures at the gates of Kirkuk city.
The President of Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, lately warned of a "real civil war" if the central government does not implement the constitutional clause on the future of Kirkuk, the oil-rich city claimed by the Kurds.
Barzani, speaking in an interview with U.S.-funded Alhurra television, complained that the Baghdad government was dragging its feet on holding a referendum that could put Kirkuk under the control of the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.
"There is procrastination (by the government), and if this issue is not resolved, as I said before, all options are open....Frankly, I am not comfortable with the behavior and policy of the federal government on Kirkuk and Article 140," he said.
In partnership withthe Hewler Post
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