Politics

Pressures mount in Baghdad on implementation of Article 140 of Iraqi Constitution

“Kurdish representatives in Baghdad, in a combined effort, are pushing for the formation of a committee to implement Article 140 in the constitution.”

Mustafa Shilani 2019/05/29 15:13

kurdistan Kurdistan Disputed Territories Iraq Parliament

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish blocs in Iraq’s Council of Representatives have gathered signatures to form a committee in charge of re-implementing Article 140 of the constitution to settle issues on disputed territories between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government.

After the Kurdish factions in Baghdad gathered signatures from parliament members to support the act, the Iraqi Council of Representatives agreed to establish a committee to oversee the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution.

Meran Ali, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the Iraqi Parliament, said the implementation of the article would serve “all Iraqi citizens, minorities included, and not just the Kurds.”

After the collapse of the former Iraqi dictatorship regime and the re-writing of the constitution, several articles have been ignored, which has caused conflict among the different ethnicities, specifically in the contested areas between Erbil and Baghdad.

In recent weeks, there have been complaints of an ongoing campaign of demographic change in Kirkuk province with Kurds forcibly removed from their homes and replaced with Arabs, a matter which is a direct violation of the Iraqi Constitution.

Muthanna Ameen, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi Parliament, said the decision to form the committee was “a result of the recent measures against the Kurds in the disputed areas, especially Kirkuk.”

“Kurdish representatives in Baghdad, in a combined effort, are pushing for the formation of a committee to implement Article 140 in the constitution,” Amen added.

“The members of the committee have already been selected.”

According to Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, the fate of disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad requires a referendum in the contested areas so people can decide whether they want to be governed by the KRG or the Iraqi government. However, no such referendum has taken place despite the deadline having expired over a decade ago.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany