IRAQI KURDISTAN: NEW CONSTITUTION
UNPO
Thursday, 02 July 2009
New constitution of Iraqi Kurdistan is a model for the nationality
and minority politics of the Near-east
Below is an article published by Society for Threatened People:
New constitution of Iraqi Kurdistan is a model for the nationality
and minority politics of the Near-east
The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) has described the new
constitution of the autonomous federal state of Iraqi Kurdistan as
a shining model for the nationality politics and the solution of the
minority problems in the Near-east. "The rights of all large ethnic
groups in Iraqi Kurdistan are expressly anchored, including the right
to self-government and freedom of religion", said the President of the
GfbV International, Tilman Zulch, on Tuesday in Gottingen. Smaller
communities too have the opportunity to develop. (entfalten")
The regional parliament in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan,
passed the draft constitution last week. Now it is for the citizens
of the federal state to vote for or against the new constitution at
the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 25th July
[2009].
The wishes of all nationalities have been respected in the new
constitution. Article 15 says: "The people of the federal state of
Iraqi Kurdistan is made up of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Chaldaic Aramean
Assyrians, Armenians and other citizens of Kurdistan /Iraq." Article
35 says: "This constitution guarantees the national, cultural and
administrative rights of the Turkmens, Arabs, Chaldaic Aramean
Assyrians and Armenians including their right to regional autonomy
in the regions and communities in which these ethnic groups form a
majority." Article 36 guarantees complete freedom of religion also for
the Christian denominations and the religious community of the Yezidi.
Apart from the Kurdish and Arab languages Turkmen, New Aramaic and
Armenian are recognized as languages of the smaller nationalities. In
communities or regions where these form the majority local or regional
autonomy is granted. The right to native language instruction is
guaranteed by the constitution from primary school to university.
An electoral law for Kurdistan also sets down that eleven of the
111 seats in the regional parliament are reserved for non-Kurdish
nationalities: five seats each for Turkmens and Christians and one seat
for the small Armenian ethnic group. For the provincial councils also
a comprehensive quota system has been introduced. In Sulaimaniya one
seat has been reserved for the Chaldaic Aramean Assyrians, In Arbil
there are three seats for the Turkmens, two for the Aramaic-speaking
Christians and one for the Armenians, while in Dohuk two seats
are reserved for the Aramaic-speaking Christians and one for the
Armenians. The smaller peoples will be having as a result of their
guaranteed seats in all bodies more representatives than corresponds
to their percentage in the total population.
In Kurdistan/Iraq there is today a Turkmen and a New Aramaic school
system with 58 Aramaic, 16 Turkmen and two Armenian schools. Both
nationalities have media (press, radio, TV and culture institutes)
in their languages. There is also a private Turkish university and a
theological seminar of the Chaldaic Catholic Church for the training
of priests, which following the recent mass flight of Christians from
Baghdad was transferred to the Kurd capital of Arbil.
The GfbV is represented in Arbil / Iraqi Kurdistan by a section to
which representatives of all ethnic and religious communities belong.