Comments on: Iraq Election Body: Finalize Law by Tuesday or Vote May Be Delayed

By: Shaun

Shaun — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:46 +0000

thanks for this post – this is very interesting and I'd never heard this history before, although I've been very sceptical of the Kurd's claim that it is some kind of historically Kurdish city. It becomes obvious then that they are just trying to grab as much territory as they can for their planned kurdish state. and of course especially want Kirkuk for it's huge oil reserves, and not because they have some deep-seated attachment to it.

By: The ‘intended’ January elections | stream4.me

The ‘intended’ January elections | stream4.me — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:12:15 +0000

[...] by 2007 and hasn’t been. The 2005 Iraqi Constitution mandates that the issue be resolved. Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com) observes, “The deadlines for Iraq’s January elections appear to continue to come and go with [...]

By: Merry Fitzgerald

Merry Fitzgerald — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:49:09 +0000

Jason Ditz is misinforming his readers when he says that Kerkuk has been occupied by Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs alike for centuries. There were no Arabs or Kurds in Kerkuk for centuries.

Kerkuk remained a Turkmen city up until 1958 when the Communist Iraqi government declared the Kurds as partners of the Arabs and neglected the Turkmens.
From that date on, the Kurds poured into the city to change the demographics. This campaign intensified in 1970 when Saddam, without consulting the Iraqi people, gave autonomy to the Kurds.
Please see: http://merryabla64.wordpress.com/the-struggle-of-…

Before the American invasion of Iraq, and despite all the Kurdification and Arabization efforts, Kerkuk was still aTurkmen majority city with Arabs as one third and the Kurds as one quarter.

It was the Americans who allowed the 600.000 Kurds to pour into the city in 2003.
The Turkmens are the original and majority inhabitants of Kerkuk. The names of the districts of original Kerkuk (before the Kurdish and Arabic influx) are Turkmen names. The names on the cemeteries are of the Turkmens. The historical monuments in Kerkuk are Turkmen.