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Arabs and Turkmen angry over joint force
in Kirkuk
8.2.2010
By Yaseen Taha |
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February 8, 2010
KIRKUK, Iraq's border with Kurdistan region,
— The first active cell of a new joint security
force was established on 3 February in Kirkuk
province. The force, made up of Iraqi police, US and
Iraqi soldiers, security forces from the two main
Kurdish political parties and the Peshmerga will
eventually total 600 troops.
“The troops will start their operations on the 7th
of March before the upcoming elections and will be
located outside the city around the outskirts of the
province,” said Brigadier Jamal Taher, the police
commander. “They will stay outside the city and will
be called to areas where there are security
problems. There will be 6 units, each with 99 armed
men, 33 Iraqi police, 33 Iraqi soldiers and 33
Peshmerga, under the command of an American officer,
” he said. |
Niqash photo |
Kurdish leaders praised the new force while Arabs
and Turkmen demanded that the force immediately
cease its operations.
Muhammad Kamal, from the Kurdish Brotherly list,
said,
“The Kurds are optimistic about the formation of
joint forces,” continuing to add that forces will
“protect voters during the voting process in
Kirkuk.”
Kamal who is also one off the leading members of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said, “The joint
force is an element of relief for the Kurdish people
proving that security forces are not monopolised by
one party, but rather all Kurdish forces have been
integrated.”
However, Muhammad Khalil, who represents the Arab
Republican Gathering List on the provincial council
in Kirkuk was far less positive about the new force,
arguing that, “Kurds occupy the majority of security
positions in the city and the formation of these
forces will negatively impact on Arab citizens and
their feelings.”
He promised that his bloc would stand strongly
against the new formation and demand an immediate
end to their operations.
Turkmen opposition, meanwhile, focused on their
exclusion from the joint force. In a statement
issued by the Tukmeneli Party, they demanded Turkmen
participation, adding, “If this demand is not met,
the operations of these forces should be immediately
halted.”
Hassan Turan from the Turkmen Front told Niqash that
deploying Peshmerga in Kirkuk violated their duties
under Article 121 of the Iraqi constitution, which
states they are supposed only to guard the Kurdistan
Region’s borders. He demanded “strengthening the
capacity of the Iraqi army in the province and the
formation of an Iraqi force in the name of Kirkuk
instead of these joint forces.”
The views were echoed by the National Turkmen
Movement which described the formation of the forces
as “an indication of the weakness of security forces
in Kirkuk.” They continued to warn that this
extension of Kurdish influence indicated that
“Kirkuk will be handed over to the Kurds on a golden
plate.”
The units were formed through discussions between
the Commander of US Forces in Iraq, General Odierno,
Massoud Barzani, the Kurdistan Region’s president,www.ekurd.netand
Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. According to
the agreement, troops will be deployed in all areas
where dispute exists between the central government
and Kurdistan Region’s government. In Mosul, another
disputed area, the provincial council denounced the
proposed deployment of forces there as illegitimate
and unconstitutional.
The commander of US troops in Kirkuk, Col. Larry
Swift, stressed that the joint troops are
responsible for security and stability and are not
formed to stand against any of Kirkuk’s groups,
adding that, as soldiers, they follow the orders of
politicians. Sarhad Qader, the commander of police
forces in Kirkuk province echoed this view,
emphasising:
“These troops were formed with the approval of the
central government in Baghdad, thus they are legal,
and their constitutionality is not open to
question.”
The controversy over the deployment of joint forces
in Kirkuk is raised because Kirkuk province is one
of the most important among the areas disputed by
the central government and the Kurdish region. Kurds
demand control of the province while Arabs and
Turkmen oppose the idea, preferring control to
remain with the central government.
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author or news agency,
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