Kurdish regional flag triggers row in Iraq’s Kirkuk

By Ali Mukarrem Garip and Sultan Cogalan

BAGHDAD (AA) - Hanging the flag of northern Iraq’s Kurdish region outside public buildings in Kirkuk could lead to friction between city residents, Iraqi Vice-President Osama al-Nujeifi asserted on Tuesday.

"Such an act is incongruous with national unity in Kirkuk and conflicts with the spirit of understanding and solidarity among city residents," he said in a written statement.

"It is unacceptable to impose the will of a single group or party on residents," he added.

Al-Nujeifi issued the statement after 26 Kurdish members of Kirkuk’s provincial assembly on Tuesday decided to hang the Kurdish regional flag -- alongside Iraq’s national flag -- outside the city’s public buildings and institutions.

Arab and Turkmen members of the provincial assembly were conspicuously absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

In a statement issued later the same day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry blasted the move, saying the “unilateral” assembly decision violated Iraq’s national charter.

“The adoption of unilateral steps related to Kirkuk’s status hurts the prospects for dialog and is contrary to the notion of a constitutional process,” the ministry asserted.

It added: “Such an approach will have an adverse affect on the country’s security and stability.”

During the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga forces seized Kirkuk, prompting a subsequent influx of Kurds into the city.

Article 140 of Iraq’s 2005 constitution stipulates that Kurds forced to leave Kirkuk under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein be allowed to return; that a population census be held in the region; and that a popular referendum be held to determine whether or not Kirkuk should fall within Iraq’s Kurdish region.

Due to deep-seated political sensitivities, however, Article 140 has yet to be implemented.

While Baghdad says Kirkuk is administratively dependent on Iraq’s central government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party demands Kirkuk’s incorporation into the Kurdish Region.

The city’s Turkmen residents, however, oppose this idea, saying Kirkuk should enjoy a “special status”.

Kirkuk’s population is mainly composed of Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish inhabitants.

* Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara