DEAL TO GET ARABS BACK IN KIRKUK COUNCIL

Alsumaria
-News/1-10936-Deal-to-get-Arabs-back-in-Kirkuk-Cou ncil.html
Dec 3 2007
Iraq

Head of Kirkuk Province Council Rizkar Ali announced that an agreement
has been reached to guarantee the return of Arabs to the city’s council
and end their boycott after suspending their participation therein
for more than a year in protest to the control of Kurdish parties. Ali
considered that the agreement is a positive step towards building up
Kirkuk and enhancing peaceful coexistence in addition to allowing the
participation of all parties in decision-making without discrimination
or distinction. For his part, the Arab member in the local council
Racan Said Al Jibouri called to accelerate the implementation of the
agreement, urging Iraq’s Turkmen Party to participate. Al Jibouri
affirmed as well that Arabs will be granted for the first time the
position of Kirkuk’s deputy governor and District council’s Vice
President while positions will be distributed by 32% each to Arabs,
Kurds, Turkmen as the rest is granted to the minorities of Chaldeans,
Assyrians, Armenians and Sabians.

In a related issue, the governmental committee in charge of
implementing Constitution Article 140 displayed before parliament
achievements attained so far in Kirkuk’s issue and hindrances
impeding the process. Head of the committee Raed Fahmi announced
that recommendation on Kirkuk will be handed by the committee to
Iraq’s government on December 15 while some lawmakers have opposed
the legitimacy of the committee’s decisions.