Kurdish flag over state buildings in Kirkuk unconstitutional: Iran
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday said hoisting the Kurdistan flag over Kirkuk government buildings was a violation of the Iraqi constitution.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday said hoisting the Kurdistan flag over Kirkuk government buildings was a violation of the Iraqi constitution.
“Raising the [Kurdistan] flag beside the Iraqi national flag [in the Kirkuk Province] is contrary to Iraq’s constitution,” ministry spokesperson Behram Qassemi said in a statement.
Qassemi labeled the practice “illegal” and said it was likely to prompt tension in the region.
On March 28, after a majority vote, the Kirkuk Provincial Council (KPC) decided to raise the Kurdistan flag along with the Iraqi one on all state buildings in the province.
Kirkuk is one of the disputed territories between the federal government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Thus, the flags of both sides should be raised on all public institutions until the future of the province gets determined, according to KPC head Rebwar Talabani.
The Iranian spokesperson noted no other flags should be hoisted on Kirkuk state buildings except the Iraqi national flag.
“The principled stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to support the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Iraq,” Qassemi added.
Recently, the parliament of Iraq passed a bill to remove the Kurdistan flag on Kirkuk’s state buildings.
However, the parliament’s decision was rejected by the KPC on Tuesday after a majority vote.
Kirkuk Province is an oil-rich area located in the south of the Kurdistan Region and north of Iraq.
Although Kurds make up a majority of the population, Kirkuk is a diverse region with different ethnic and religious backgrounds including Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians.
Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim recently mentioned the KPC motion was, in fact, constitutional.
He also told reporters it was the KRG and Kurdish Peshmerga forces who have protected and still protect the province’s people from terrorist groups like the Islamic State.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany