Iraqi CP: Dialogue is the only solution to the issue of Kirkuk

Iraqi CP: Dialogue is the only solution to the issue of Kirkuk

"Tareeq Al-Shaab" - daily paper of the Iraqi Communist Party
Baghdad - 8 September 2008

Raid Fahmi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, delivered a lecture on Article 140 of the Constitution and the issue of Kirkuk, at the party headquarters in Andalus Square. He pointed to "the difficulties and constraints that accompanied the work of the Commission of Article 140, thus obstructing the implementation of this Article concerning the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk. "

Fahmi explained that Article 58 of the Transitional State Administration Law (2004) had called for the return of the people who had been brought in and settled in Kirkuk under Saddam's rule, to their original areas after compensating them. It also called for facilitating the return of deportees to their areas and homes, from which they had been forcibly evicted by the former regime and its chauvinist policy."

He said that "the Kirkuk issue is a very sensitive issue, and therefore cannot be easily dealt with unless there is a patriotic and purely humanitarian vision. Because of the status of the Iraqi Communist Party, its honourable patriotic history, its programme which calls for the unity of Iraq, and upholding the language of dialogue, it was trusted and chosen by all the relevant groups to resolve the issue in a patriotic spirit." Forms had been distributed to families wishing to return from Kirkuk to their original areas, with more than 25,000 forms handed out, and 12,000 families were given compensation after proper measures to transfer their records, food ration coupons and related matters. This process was carried out in a transparent manner and without any pressures. More than 80,000 forms were distributed to deportees, with more than 40,000 being completed by families who have returned to their homes. These figures will increase in the coming days."

Fahmi stressed the "importance of dialogue to resolve the issue of Kirkuk, away from political statements and bickering that are useless and can only serve to divide national ranks." He explained the Communist Party's point of view about resolving the Kirkuk issue in a fair, sound and transparent manner, and restoring usurped rights without compromising the dignity of any citizen."

He also referred to other disputed areas, such as Talkeaf, Sinjar and Khanaqin, noting that "the Commission of Article 140 has received many requests regarding similar issues in other parts of Iraq. This demonstrates the success of the Commission and the transparency of its work, as it has not received any complaint from any of the families that had been brought in and settled or those that had been deported. In addition, no complaint has been filed against the Commision by any party, and this underlines its success in discharging its duty and the job assigned to it."