Young men hurtle down dusty streets in cars, waving flags and blaring campaign slogans in a fervor that highlights this city's dangerous ethnic divisions. Arabs, Turkomen and Kurds each see Iraq's parliamentary elections as a chance to prove one thing: Kirkuk is ours.
The claims over this oil-rich city are so contentious that they forced a delay in the national elections for two months as politicians debated how to apportion its votes. The balloting, now scheduled for Sunday, will be the first of any kind in the city for five years - and a measure of which group has the political clout to reinforce its claim.
The results could have far-reaching implications not only for this city but for the whole of Iraq.
Kirkuk is ground zero for potentially the most explosive conflict in Iraq in the era following the U.S. withdrawal over the next year - the struggle between Arabs and Kurds over a large swath of the country's north.
That competition is likely to sharpen regardless of which group emerges on top. The losers will probably accuse the winner of unfairly manipulating the results.
"The politics and the fate of Iraq hang on the fate of Kirkuk," said Jala Nefitchi, a Turkomen candidate. "There are several ethnic groups in Kirkuk, and each one wants to show that the identity of Kirkuk belongs to them.
View Larger Map
By: Brant
Posts
2 comments:
Kirkuk belongs to the Kurds even Turkoman and Arabs know that and thats why Kurds are so relaxed an sure about Kirkuk meanwhile Arabs and Turkoman can not wait to see Americans go out of Iraq so that they can make a war.
Like anything that's been around that long, you can always find *someone* who claims it was 'theirs' first. The Kurds happen to have had the most recent extended tenure, helped out by the fact that written records exist of their time there. But what are you going to do with non-Kurdish families that are 2 generations entangled there? Kick 'em out? Shoot 'em?
Somehow, the idea of "ownership" of Kirkuk needs to revolve around "Iraqi" ownership, where sharing the life and culture of the city is not limited to an ethnic group or religious sect.
Can we all just get along?
Post a Comment