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August 23, 2007
News
The long road to Kirkuk
Soma - By Zheno Abdulla
A Kurdish official claims that it is impossible to implement Article 140 within five months.
The deadline for the implementation of Article 140 expires five months from now and according to the mechanisms set for implementing Article 140 of the permanent Iraqi constitution, it is in this manner that the problem of Kirkuk can be solved.
When the law has provided a route that is to be constitutionally adhered to, in effect there should be no problems with its implementation. But just as Kirkuk itself has been plagued with terrorism and carnage, its only way out has also seen impediments.
A Kurdish official from Kirkuk, who asked not to be named, says it is impossible to implement the article within five months because of the difficulties that lay ahead.
“Until now the high committee of Article 140 has remained without a head, and there are still many obstacles ahead of the upcoming referendum which is considered one of the main steps for the implementation of the article to normalize the situation of Kirkuk,” the official said.
On the other hand, the Kurdistan Alliance bloc in the Iraqi parliament has remained defiant and determined that the constitutional article will and should be implemented before the expiration of its deadline and has categorically stated it will not accept any changes made to the Article nor will it tolerate any delays in its implementation.
However there is a valid problem that does call for attention. Article 140 is one of the articles in the new Iraqi constitution that is yet to be reviewed by a special committee; no doubt this will adversely affect calls for its implementation.
There are other factors that are working against the implementation of Article 140 even though it is a constitutional obligation of the government to ensure that it is carried out in the time period allocated for it. There seems to be growing pressure internationally and also from various religious factions to delay the referendum and the implementation of Article 140.
The controversy that surrounds the highly contested city of Kirkuk has even heard the threat of military intervention.
Those against the normalization of Kirkuk seem to be well aware that without stability and security in the city, it will be difficult to hold the referendum and so seek all possibilities to keep the current climate the way it is.
A number of alternatives have been introduced to hinder the implementation of Article 140. The Kurdish Alliance in the Iraqi parliament has rejected a demand by the main Sunni bloc in the Iraqi parliament to delay the implementation of Article 140 to after the deadline that has been set for it. They have expressed their proposal of making Kirkuk into a federal state in Iraq.
The Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi parliament continue with their work undeterred and unfazed for they consider all proposals by those parties against the normalization of Kirkuk as political tactics employed to keep Kirkuk from being a part of the Kurdistan Region just as successive Iraqi governments have done during the past 83 years.
The most important thing that needs to be done now is the building of confidence and the strengthening of relations between the Kurdish Alliance and the other Iraqi blocs within the parliament.
Many experts on Kirkuk believe that the best solution to the problems that hinder the implementation of Article 140 is the extension of a protocol between the main blocs within the Iraqi parliament under the supervision of the United States and other such influential countries so as to avoid the creation of any plots against the implementation of Article 140.
It is imperative that while the clock ticks away, the Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi parliament continues to remain vigilant and maintain its support for the article being assertive that under no circumstances will changes or delays be accepted.
After all, the fact that Article 140 is a constitutional obligation is the best weapon Kurds can ask or indeed hope for in silencing those who oppose its implementation.
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