Tensions are rising to critical mass over the fate of oil-rich Kirkuk, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti With the Kurds still attempting to change the demographic make-up of Kirkuk in anticipation of elections that may lead to its annexation to their region, conflict is flaring up once again. On 22 July, the Iraqi parliament was debating the governorate council law, which was supposed to endorse the holding of local elections on 1 October. Now that the majority of Kirkuk's Arab and Turkomen inhabitants are opposed to elections unless the law has a special provision for Kirkuk, accusations between the Kurds and their Arab and Turkomen opponents -- known collectively as the 22 July bloc -- have escalated. The population of Kirkuk, which stood at 860,000 on 9 April 2003, surged to 1,540,000 in January 2008. The Kurds attribute the increase to the return of their compatriots to the city from which they had been expelled by Saddam Hussein's regime. This cannot be true, many believe. The total number of people deported in Kirkuk by Saddam's regime was 11,250, and one quarter of those were Turkomen. These figures were reported by the Irbil-based newspaper Khabat, in 2000 and again by Al-Ittihad, the mouthpiece of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in November 2003. The UN and the Iraqi Ministry of Trade use these same figures, which are compiled from Iraq's most reliable population data: those of the food rations archives. Raed Fahmi, president of the Normalisation Committee in Kirkuk, told the Iraqi parliament in January 2008 that only one quarter of the refugees staying in the Kirkuk stadium are Kurds who had lived in Kirkuk in the past. The refugees themselves don't deny it. Many of them say that the Kurdish authorities told them to go to Kirkuk, tempting them with promises that were never met. The Kurds who flocked into Kirkuk now live in public buildings, including army barracks, youth camps, stadiums, and even a Turkomen cemetery. The Kurds believe that the parliament has turned against them, refusing to endorse measures that would allow them to control Kirkuk. Kurdish parliamentarian Mahmoud Othman says that the parliament, prodded by the US and Turkey, is conspiring against the Kurds. Settetin Ergek, chairman of the Iraqi Turkomen Front told Al-Ahram Weekly that Article 24 of the governorate council law calls for elections to be postponed in Kirkuk pending the formation of a committee that would examine relevant voter lists. The committee, which would include Turkomen, Arabs, Kurds and Christian minorities, would only set to work once the Kurdish militia deployed in Kirkuk are replaced with Iraqi army units. Once achieved, further steps could be taken on Kirkuk, including the holding of elections by the end of December 2008. In the event the committee's work was delayed or obstructed, parliament was charged to set another date for the elections. The Iraqi parliament approved Article 24 in a secret ballot, a move that was opposed and then quashed by the Kurds and their allies in the government. President Jalal Talabani and Vice-President Adel Abdul- Mahdi vetoed the law within 24 hours of its endorsement by parliament, notes political analyst Raad Al-Hadithi. Now the president is expected to form a committee to examine the law and amend Article 24. In the acrimonious debate that followed, Masoud Barzani called the forces of 22 July "a filthy lot", and the latter responded with equally harsh epithets. Osama Al-Nojeifi, leader of the Iraqi List, said that horrific crimes have been committed against the Arabs and Turkomen in Mosul and Kirkuk, adding that "certain parties" were trying to change the demographic make-up of Kirkuk and must be stopped. He criticised the UN as biased to the Kurds, noting that the "forces of 22 July" support Article 24. The wording of Article 24 has turned into a major bone of contention, but Al-Nojeifi believes that there is room for compromise. "It is possible to reach agreement with other parties if we are given guarantees that the steps mentioned in Article 24 [will be preserved], or an arrangement closely resembling it." Opponents of the Kurds are displeased with the tenor of UN mediation in the crisis regarding Article 24. Fawzi Akram, the Turkomen parliamentarian affiliated with the Sadr Current, said that the UN representative in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, is patently biased to the Kurds and must be replaced. Hundreds of Turkomen have demonstrated in Kirkuk, calling for de Mistura's resignation. But the Kurds have strong allies who want de Mistura to remain in office. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who is Barzani's maternal uncle, has just filed a request for de Mistura to be given a second term in Iraq. As nerves were stretched thin, Kurdish authorities organised a demonstration in Kirkuk on 28 July, hoping to make their position known to the parliament. The demonstration ended in bloodshed when suicide bombers blew themselves among the crowds. In response, angry Kurdish supporters burned down the offices of the Iraqi Turkomen Front. Razkar Ali, chairman of the Kirkuk Governorate Board, denounced the riots, saying, "some people used the terrorist attack to do unacceptable things." None of the perpetrators were arrested so far. But 13 employees of the Iraqi Turkomen Front and a photographer of the Turkomen news agency were detained. Yehia Al-Barzanji, a Kurdish photographer with the AP, said that he was attacked and beaten by Kurdish assailants who refused to believe him when he said he was a Kurd just like them. They also stole his camera and money. When Barzani visited Kirkuk two weeks ago, Arab and Turkomen officials refused to hold talks with him. Mohamed Khalil Al-Jaburi, leader of the Arab bloc in the Kirkuk Governorate Council, told the Weekly that he refused to meet Barzani because the latter described the 22 July forces as "filthy". Some blame the Americans for the recent tensions. Eden Aqsu said that the Americans, who disappeared from Kirkuk's streets on 28 and 29 July, were trying to start a civil war in Kirkuk. He added that Article 140 of the constitution, which was supposed to be implemented by 31 December 2007, was no longer valid. As tensions escalated, Barham Saleh, Iraq's deputy prime minister and senior member of the PUK, told the Kurds to prepare for a longer fight. The Kurds, he said, "foiled the schemes of their enemies but there are political battles ahead and we have to remain prepared." The Arabs and Turkomen want the Iraqi army to deploy in Kirkuk, but the Americans are opposed to that move. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker is said to have asked Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki to refrain from sending troops to Kirkuk. The Iraqi defence minister recently visited Kirkuk and met with Kurdish officials who told him that there was no need for army deployment in the city.
