Turkmen leader discusses Kirkuk, minority rights with Masoud Barzani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkmen party leader on Sunday discussed the situation in Kirkuk with the senior Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani and commended him for his role in supporting rights for the Turkmen minority group in Iraq.

The chairman of the Kirkuk-based Turkmen Ili Party, Riyadh Sari Kahya, met in Erbil with Masoud Barzani, the President of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the former President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

During the meeting, Kahya praised the role of Barzani and his support for Turkmen rights and other ethnic and religious groups at multiple points, especially during the stage of writing the new constitution in post-2003 Iraq and at various other times in the Kurdistan Region, according to Barzani’s press office.

Barzani currently holds no official governmental post but continues to remain an important political figure in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Both sides emphasized the need for consultation and understanding between diverse populations within society to resolve ongoing disputes. They also stressed that it is in the interest of all groups to stand firmly against extremism and to work for social harmony among people.

“With regard to the fate and conditions of Kirkuk, it was emphasized to make Kirkuk a model for coexistence between different ethnic and religious groups and to be protected and managed by the people of Kirkuk themselves,” read the statement.

In an interview with Kurdistan 24 on Monday, Kahya described the meeting as having taken place “in a very positive environment.”

“The purpose of the visit was to exchange ideas and consultations in order to reach an understanding and eventually an agreement to serve the Kurdish and Turkmen people and the region in general,” he said.

He also mentioned that Kirkuk is passing through a difficult time and called on everyone to cooperate and contribute to resolving existing points of contention to guarantee the rights of all ethnic and religious groups.

On Oct. 16, 2017, Iraqi forces and Shia-dominated militias attacked and took over Kirkuk and other disputed territories in response to the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum held the month before. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters withdrew from those areas, avoiding major clashes to strengthen their lines and defend the Kurdistan Region.

Tens of thousands of people were displaced in the oil-rich and ethnically diverse province of Kirkuk, most of them Kurdish.

Since then, the province has witnessed instability and an increasing number of insurgent attacks by Islamic State militants and unknown gunmen.

Kirkuk is a disputed province, claimed by both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government of Iraq. The population is made up of Turkmen, Arabs, Christians, and a Kurdish majority.

The future of the province was to be determined through a referendum as is outlined in Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which mandated that the vote was to be held before the end of December 2007. More than a decade after the deadline, the article remains wholly unimplemented. 

Editing by John J. Catherine