‘Tense’ security situation in Kirkuk behind removal of Jalal Talabani monument: Kurdish official

A senior Kurdish official on Thursday responded to the removal of a monument of the late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani in the city of Kirkuk by Iraqi authorities.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A senior Kurdish official on Thursday responded to the removal of a monument of the late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani in the city of Kirkuk by Iraqi authorities.

During a press conference in Sulaimani Province, Mullah Bakhtiar, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the current security situation in Kirkuk prevented any Kurdish monument from being erected.

“The current administration of Kirkuk has not been effective in resolving the security situation as the atmosphere in the province remains tense with systematic killings and kidnappings,” he told reporters.

The Kurdish official admitted that the statue of Talabani could not be installed in the city due to ongoing tensions but said it should “be placed somewhere where no one can remove it later.”

Earlier in the day, a source told Kurdistan 24 that Iraqi security forces had asked the PUK to remove the statue of the late Kurdish leader only two hours after it was set up in the archaeological citadel in Kirkuk.

An Iraqi military source said the spokesperson of the police in Kirkuk Province, Colonel Kamal Ways, was arrested for accompanying members of the PUK and taking part in the erecting of the statue, adding that he acted in an “illegal” manner.

The arrest was carried out by the Iraqi anti-terror police, who have been in charge of security in Kirkuk after it was seized by Iraqi forces and pro-Iran militias last October following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum.

The monument of late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani before it was removed from the citadel in Kirkuk. (Photo: Social Media)
The monument of late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani before it was removed from the citadel in Kirkuk. (Photo: Social Media)

Talabani was the first Iraqi president of Kurdish descent after he took office in 2005 following the removal of the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein.

The late Kurdish leader suffered a stroke in 2012 which forced him to receive treatment in Germany before his death in late 2017 at the age of 84.