Parliament approves regional Constitution

Amendments allowed for when disputed areas join Kurdistan Region

By Ako Muhammed

The Kurdish Globe

The Kurdistan Region Parliament on Wednesday agreed, with the majority of votes, on the region’s long-awaited Constitution, which includes disputed areas, including Kirkuk, as part of the region.

Kurdistan Region Parliament Speaker Adnan Mufti, who described voting on the Constitution as “a historical day,” announced that Parliament will work with the electoral commission to hold a public referendum on the Constitution along with the parliamentary and presidential elections on July 25.

Out of Parliament’s 111 members, 97 attended the session and 96 voted in favor of passing the Constitution, which comprises 122 articles and regards disputed areas including Kirkuk as “historical and geographical part of Kurdistan Region.”

“This is a historical day as the people of Kurdistan take steps to become owners of a Constitution. It is a day stepping forward to legitimize the community and its individuals, and to establish a civil society,” said Mufti during a press conference after the session. He added that this Constitution, after it is voted for by the people of Kurdistan Region, will become a defender of human rights and of Kurdistan people’s rights.

“Iraqi Kurdistan is a geographic and historical entity; it consists of Duhok province with the current administrative borders, also the provinces of Kirkuk, Suleimaniya, and Erbil, the towns of Akre, Shekhan, Sinjar, Telkif, Qaraqushn, sub-districts of Zumar, Bashiqa, and Aski Kalak of Ninewa province as well as the towns of Khanaqin and Mandali of Diyala Province--all of them according to the administrative borders of before 1968,” reads Article II of the Constitution.
It also recognizes the Kurdistan Region ethnic components as Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, Chaldian, Assyrians, Syriacs, Armenians, and others.

Mufti explained that the project had been reported to the media, and 8,000 copies of it had been distributed to political parties and NGOs. It was shown on Parliament’s official website for anyone to see and any side to report their notes about.

“More than 5,000 notes and letters have been sent to the parliament’s committing of constitution drafting. Most of the notes were taken into consideration,” said the speaker. “The Constitution is feasible to be amended when Parliament considers it necessary, and it will be amended after the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution,” which is about normalizing situations in disputed areas and deciding on whether to be joined to Kurdistan Region via a referendum. Amending the Kurdistan Constitution in the future will require two-thirds of the vote.

“Ratifying the Constitution was not hastened…some think that passing the Constitution at this time falls to the benefit of the region’s presidency, Parliament, and government; but indeed it is to the contrary. The Constitution limits the authority of those three presidencies,” stated Mufti, trying to answer voices in the region that question why Parliament wants the Constitution passed before the coming elections.

Seven members, candidates and supporters of the Goran (Change) electoral list, had pulled out of the session before the vote in a protest that Parliament’s legislature mandate had ended by June 4 and no longer has the legal authority to pass such a crucial project. One these members, Kwestan Muhammed, told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency, “Parliament has lost legislature mandate since June 4 and it cannot ratify the Constitution, which is an important document and source of the laws. We Parliament members—how can we vote for a Constitution that we received its draft 24 hours earlier and without allowing us to discuss it?” she added.

The Goran list, which is led by Kurdistan Patriotic Union’s (PUK) former second leader, Nawshirwan Mustafa, announced earlier that they would not accept any law issued by Parliament at the current time because of the expired legislature mandate.

Meanwhile, members of four parties who will run together for the next elections as one of the competing lists under the name of “Service and Reform” have accepted the Constitution without objection. This list involves the Kurdistan Islamic Union, Islamic Group in Kurdistan, Socialist Democratic Party of Kurdistan, and Kurdistan Tailors parties.

“Fortunately, whole blocs inside Parliament, with its all diverse ethnicities of Kurds, Turkmen, and Assyrians, and all the religious ones of Muslims, Christians, and Yazidis have members that accepted the Constitution,” said Zana Rostayee, member of the Islamic Group in Kurdistan, speaking for his party’s official website. “Each of the components can find themselves in this Constitution and find a number of articles and items that guarantee their rights,” he added.

Kalar becomes a save haven for Kurdish Shiites

Shiite Kurds found sanctuaries in Sunni dominated towns

By Ako Muhammed 

The Kurdish Globe

Most Kurdish Shiites live in Khanaqin province, south east of Sulaimanyah and in Baghdad. Shiite Kurds, or the Faylis, were oppressed as part of the campaign launched against the Kurds in the '80s. But as Globe's Ako Muhammad reports, many Fayli families have moved to Kalar permanently and built their praying places. 

Traditional restrictions did not stop Sartip Dawood converting to become a Shiite when he found himself fond of the Imams at the early stages of his youth. The story of his new religion began when he was an intermediate school student. He shared deep beliefs with his radical Sunni followers and Dawood, now 34 years old, explained that they had read lots of religious resources. But this brought him more doubts and pushed him toward resources to the Shiite sect identity of Islam. "I have no doubt any more. Thanks to God for guiding me to find the way," said Dawood enthusiastically while arranging books on shelves of the library of Hassan al-Mujtaba Husseinia, a Shiite Mosque in Kalar town. 

The library where Dawood works voluntarily every afternoon contained six shelves of books all about Shiite doctrines, inside a room close to the main prayer hall of the Mosque. With tables and chairs in the middle for reading, the library walls were decorated with picture of Iraqi Shiites reverends and Shiite leaders of Iran. 

While Sartip Dawood was busy arranging books, a young man came in and asked for a book to read. The man received his book and sat to read as Dawood continued to explain his love of the Shiite Imams. He bunched 21 volumes of al-Tabatabaee's al-Mizan and added, "Look here, all of them prove that Imam Ali should have become the successor." 

Shiites believe that the ruling successor after Prophet Muhammad should have been taken by the "innocent" Ahel al-Bait (or the household family) who are Ali Ben Abi Talib and his sons who are grandsons of the Prophet. The underlining differences which split Muslims to Sunni and Shia have deepened till the present day, but the Shia followers in Kurdistan, despite their small population, practice their ceremonies in peace. 

"The Muslims are brothers respecting each other. And they practice their religious rituals freely. Though the Shiites here are a minority, no gap ever happened that caused problems between the religious sects," said Sheikh Abu Haider al-Kubaisi, preacher of al-Mujtaba Husseinia. 

Since he came to the town in 1997, al-Kubaisi, an Iraqi Arab Shiite cleric, could play a key role in gathering Kalar's Shiite population, where it estimated to contain more than 1000 families. He preaches Shiites rituals that he has revised indoors. For the celebration of the annual condolence known as Ashura, the death of the anniversary of Imam Hussein Ben Ali, they were gathering at an outdoor yard in the city center. 

In 2000, al-Kubaisi's determined attempts facilitated in the building of the first Shiite Mosque in the town funded by donations from public, after inheriting a land of 3500 square meters obtained with the help of an order from the Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. This came two years after Talabani inaugurated al-Hakeem Husseinia in Suleimaniya. 

The Husseinia in Kalar was exposed to a couple of minor terrorist attacks in the first two years after it was built. However, the threats did not emanate from the Sunni populations of the town, but from elements sent by the Iraqi government at the time, al-Kubaisi explained. 

"These (incidents) were not because of sectarian problems. They (the Sunnis) are cooperating with us and they attend our ceremonies," remarked the preacher who wants the Mosque to remain a safe and permanent establishment to serve the Shiite Imams and its principles. 

‘Mother of religions’ remains personal

Freedoms not adequate for Kakayees to have their own temple and identity

By Ako Muhammed

Kakayee a small Kurdish religion has been kept secret due to expansions of other religions during history though it claims to have roots to the early beginning of human’s worshiping God. With thousands of families living in different parts of Kurdistan, the believers in this religion who could be recognized through their long moustaches want to celebrate their religion at houses, not in a public temple and also to have identities like Muslims rather than being described as ‘Kakayee’.

Like other religions such as Ismaeli, Baktash, Yazidi and others, Kakayee is an inner religion that deals with spirit and keeps its ceremonies private. These religions differ with Christianity and Islam which are outer religion and go for public.

For knowing about the secret norms of this small religion, The Globe paid a visit to Khanaqin for an exclusive interview with Sayd Khalil Sayd Aghababa, a well-known figure of this religion, who explained about privacies hardly ever been told.

Sacred norms
Beside the familiar habit of leaving long moustaches, Kakayees pray, fast and celebrate sacred ceremonies. But the essential sacred norm of the Kakayee is its privacy for it is the cause of saving the religion. This reflects on all the worshipping norms in this religion.

But when Aghababa was asked about their prayer, he preserved saying, “hmm… we have our own prayer, but not like the one you know in Islam. You may call it Prayer, I called it something else.” They don’t have certain times for praying but they usually hold sessions at the Sayd houses for their prayers and often on Thursdays.

Believers in this religion fast eating or drinking nothing from down to sunset three days in the mid winter. After the fasting, they gather to celebrate Shahi feast at their houses.

Kakayees regard music is as sacred means for comforting spirit. According their beliefs, Adam when first was created from clay, his spirit was unhappy and unfitting with the clay; later it was comforted with music. The Kakayee used Tambur instrument during the prayer sessions, said Aghababa while pointing to his elder son, Sayd Saman, sitting by, “he is a very good Tambur player.”

Kakayee’s religious language is Hawrami which is one of the Kurdish language dialects.

However, the privacy also brought the Kakayees many problems. Aghababa complained to a number of writers like Abbas Azawi who wrote about Kakayees in the 1940s.

“Without known anything about the religion, they published baseless accusations to the Kakayees,” said Aghababa who declined Azawi’s accusation which says that Kakayees gather at a house to have mixed sexual relations.

“We have kept silent to those accusations because of our safety and not to be exposed to violence, ideological violence,” said Sayd Aghababa and also complained to the countries laws which are still unable to protect them from accusations of that Kakayees are infidels or unbelievers.

Kakayee in Iraq are identified as Muslims in their identities and public documents. “Even now and unfortunately most of our people don’t want to change identities to their own religion and this is because of safety,” said Aghababa and added that they haven’t yet any demand to the authority for repairing their identities. This case is different for their fellows in Iran who are recognized with their religion officially.

There is not any temple for this religious minority. On whether they want to demand for building temples, Aghababa explained that they must not public their ceremonies and they would rather the privacy.

Locations
Although the modern Kakayee first spread from Hawraman and Sharazoor areas in south east of Suleimaniya, they now are found scattered in different places mainly in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and in the Kurdish areas in Iran and also in some other neighboring countries with smaller population.

Hawar and Darishwish are Kakayee populated villages in Hawraman which stayed alive. But most of the Kakayees in Iraq now settle in Kirkuk province. Around 1000 to 1500 families of them live in Khanaqin town and its surrounding villages. A number of them live in Mandali in south of Khanaqin and also in Safya Wardak (or Baynan), a village in west of Erbil.

In Iran, the Kakayee who there are called ‘Ahle Haq’ are founded in different parts of Kirmanshah, Kurdistan and Hamadan provinces.

Origins of Kakayee
“According to the reliable Kakayee resources, the history of this religion starts with the beginning of believing in and worshipping God,” Sayd Khalil Aghababa, a well-known figure of this religion in Khanaqin town, told the Globe. He declined information which parallels the launch of Kakayee to the beginning of Islam. According to him, their religion not only is older than Islam, Christianity and Judaism but it has been existed since Adam era.

“According to the Kakayee philosophy, every religion came to birth was with the help of Kakayee referents who had spiritual relations with God. This means, Kakayee is a part of every religion and yet it has kept it self protected and private,” said Aghababa who is from a sayd household, reverend in the religion.

Not necessarily the Kakayee went on with this name during the religions history but it divides its existence to historical rounds such the Adam round, Noah round, the Madina round which is meant by the Islam era and then modern round which is popular now. According to Aghababa, the current round of the Kakayee had started 700 to 750 years ago.

Kakayee, linguistically, is a Kurdish word rooted from ‘kaka’ which means ‘Mister’ or ‘Sir’ and even now it is pretty much used for calling a man higher in rank and to show respect.

As a proof, Aghababa told a legend. More than seven centuries ago, a Sunni Muslim clergy who had inner beliefs in Kakayee basics was renovating their mosque in Barzinja, near Halabja town in southeast of Suleimaniya, with the help of his father. The man named Sultan Ishaq used wood timbers for the mosque ceiling. They found one of the timbers short. This didn’t stop the work of a holy man. “Stretch is Kaka,” Sultan Ishaq asked his father; and the wood became longer enough to fit the building. Since then, the believers of this religion are called Kakayee.

It is not known with what name the region was before this legend as there is no much written history in the area and because of the privacy of the religion itself.

“Apparently, Sultan Ishaq was son of Shiekh Issa Barzinji but according to our beliefs, the God had been embodied in him, the same as Jesus,” Aghababa explained.

Essential beliefs
The holy characters in Kakayee are divided into groups called ‘Haftan’ and ‘Haftawan’; both words mean ‘seven’ indicating the members of each group. The Haftan consist of seven angles carrying functions in the heaven and in cosmos. The first of the Haftan is Binyamin who is in charge of delivering God’s messages like Gabriel in Islam. Second is Dawood (or David) who delivers people’s pleads to God. Third is Razbar who is the holder and the look-after God’s throne. Kaka Mustafa, Pir Musé, Ewat (or Evat) and Zardawban are the rest of the angles for them Aghababa wouldn’t like to give details about.

The Haftwan consists of seven heavenly characters on earth for guiding people; they are founders of every religion even the paganism, according to the Kakayee beliefs. They act like the 13 scholars of Jesus.

“The Islam, Christianity and Judaism and even the Buddhism and confochism do not go beyond these seven but they may go with different names in every religion,” Aghababa explained his beliefs about Haftawan.

The big brother and the chairman of Haftawan is called ‘Sayd Muhammad’. “He is Adam himself, the Muhammad of Islam and the Sultan Ishaq who founded the modern Kakayee 700 years ago,” said Aghababa and noted on this holy character as a proof that their religion exists at early beginning of believing in God and as that their beliefs are basics for each religion.

The second of Haftawan is Sayd Abdul-Wafa. He embodied in Hamza, the uncle of Prophet Muhammad, in the Madina round of Kakayee. He embodied in other figures before as well. The rest are Sayd Ahmed Meer, Sayd Mustafa, Sayd Shahabadin, Sayd Habib Shah, Sayd Haji Bawaisé (or Issé).

The Kakayees have religious ranks and on top of them are Sayds (or Sadat) who are successors of Sultan Ishaq. Mam, Bawa and Khalifa are also other ranks. The ranked Kakayees are well respected among the Kakayees and they are guides for their community.

The report is published on the Kurdish Globe

Iraqi army troubles Kirkuk

Occupying lands infuriate Kurdish owners
By Ako Muhammed

Reports show hints on Arab-Kurd confrontations in the controversial Kirkuk province in near future if the Americans pulled out without leaving the issue resolved. And Kurds accuse the army for practicing actions adapted by the former system.
“The coming of the Iraqi army division 12 now in Kirkuk is a repetition of holding a security belt had been setup by former system in order to separate the province from Kurdistan Region,” Sirwan Kakaee, a Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament told the Globe.
Kakaee who smells political aims behind curtains explained that according to the article 9 of the constitution, the army establishments must not be used for political reasons and should not interfere within local administrations. That division’s structure is “unbalance” and it involves fewer Kurdish elements, he said.
Meanwhile, the Kirkuk Deputy Governor Rakan Al-Juburi, an Arab, accused Kurdish forces standing against deploying Iraqi army troops in the province.
“The division 12 was decided to control the Kirkuk province. When the division wanted to deploy, confrontation happened. And the confrontation was from parties and not by people or the government in Kirkuk, said Al-Juburi. He added that the army division had received orders to reach the green lines around Kirkuk; when they tried to carryout the orders, they found opposition by Kurdish parties which use “militias and Peshmarga illegally outside the Kurdistan Region and this is violating to the laws and constitution.”
Besides, spokesman for the Kurdistan Peshmarga Leadership, General Jabar Yawar declined any confrontations taken place between the Peshmarga and the Iraqi army in Kirkuk.
On his part, the Peshmarga official smoothed of the fear and assured, “the Kurdistan region is a part of Iraq State; the establishments in the region are the continuation of the Federal Iraq State establishments.
Above all, the Kurdistan Region Government minister for Peshmarga Affairs sheikh Jafer Mustafa announced they will not pullout Kurdish forces from the disputed areas, referring to Kirkuk and Mosul, because “there is no political agreement calls on withdrawal.”
“The Peshmarga stays there and we will not withdrawal before they are normalized and their problems are settled; and we will defend them in case of threats of security problems,” he told the Italian AKI news agency on Thursday.
Mustafa didn’t expected combats to happen “because the security task in Kirkuk and Mosul provinces are still controlled by the American forces.”

A confrontation story
When U.S. Col. Ryan Gonsalves strapped on his helmet and body armor and climbed into his mine-resistant vehicle on a recent Saturday afternoon, he wasn't heading to battle. The commander was rushing off to mediate the latest dispute between the Kurds, who dominate the local government, and the Shiite Muslim Arab-led Iraqi army, which is trying to assert its authority in this contested area in northern Iraq, the Mcclachy journalist group reported on Monday.
The paper also warned that if the U.S. troop pullout without leaving a solution, the Kirkuk issue could explode.
“The political battle between Baghdad's Shiite-dominated government and the Kurdish-controlled north is almost certain to be the biggest hot-button issue in Iraq in the coming years. Despite their fiery differences, the two sides agree on this: A full-fledged civil war will break out if the matter goes unresolved,” the Washington based newspaper reported.
The paper also quoted local Kurdish officials saying that the Iraqi army frequently overstepped its bounds, by firing at them or occupying buildings. The mayor of Dibbis, in Kirkuk province, said he'd received hundreds of calls from residents saying that they feared for their lives.
"That's why I want the coalition to help," said Mayor Hadi Mustafa, whose son, the American military and Iraqi police say, later was shot and wounded in the leg by unknown gunmen. "I don't want there to be a civil war."
Gonsalves said that the next three months are "very, very important," he said, and above all he advised the officials to keep their cool.
"You must have calm heads like you had today," he said. "If a leader gives a bad order, it can resonate throughout the whole organization."
In another side, the municipality chief of Dibbis, Omer Kakil accused that Iraqi army with occupying lands belong to Kurdish families.
“They occupy places had been occupied by former army and these lands belong to Kurds… and they have ownership certificates,” he said in an interview with Radio Sawa.

The Kurdish Globe

Kurdistan elections may delay

Necessary amendments still needed to launch for the elections

BY Ako Muhammed

Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Adnan Mufti announced Tuesday that The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) may decided for delaying the Kurdistan parliamentary election that was been supposed to on the coming May. He explained that the delay can be for a month or two and the reason is that suggested amendments are needed to be completed on the general law in the region.

“Delaying the elections is an issue within the authority of the IECI which will deliver its opinion about the issue. We are in contact with it (the IECI) although it has declared it needs three months from the first day of receiving the elections law,” stated Mufti during a press conference held after a session of the parliament. The session discussed amendments demanded by the Kurdistan region Presidency on the elections law. It also discussed a demand offered by ten parliament members who called for adapting open lists system in stead of closed ones in the elections which are dated to May 19.

The parliament speaker explained that offering the law to the electoral commission will delay because of the wanted amendments. He added that in case of approving the ten parliament members’ demand for open lists system was approves, and then it requires longer time for reviewing the whole law. But he assured, “if the commission had to delay the elections, then cannot be longer than two months.
Pointing finger to a demand by the presidency which asked for authorizing the Kurdistan IECI office to run the election, Mufti explained that the commission in the region is a only an office belonged to the IECI based in Baghdad. “If we want our own commission, it requires issuing a law for it and the dedicating private budget and employees for it,” he added.

Also, allowing the Kurdistan people outside Iraq to take part in the elections is an issue must be met by the IECI, Mufti said.

The parliament’s works end by completing four years and elections must be held, stated Mufti and declared, “it (the parliament) will not lose legitimacy because of a reason out of control.” However, the parliament will not be able to issue law after June 4, when the four years complete. Still the parliament can remain for watching the government works and the people’s problems during that period.

Any possible delay is not because of political hinders but it is related to technical preparations. The speaker declined if the Kurdistan patriotic Union (PUK) internal crises have influence on delaying the elections.

“We haven’t received any demand of that kind and never heard about it. Also in the parliament does not halt its process because of a problem happens somewhere,” assured Mufti and expressed hope for holding the elections on date and if there was delays, not to be more than a week.

On early February, the Kurdistan Region Presidency returned the recently amended elections law to the parliament suggesting for extra amendments. The presidency’s main concern were authorizing Kurdistan Commission to run the election and also to allow Kurdistan people living abroad to take part in the elections.

The Kurdish Globe

Kurds want disputes with Baghdad settled before U.S. forces pullout

By Ako Muhammed

Iraqi Kurds are not worried about earlier pullout of the U.S. forces to cause conflicts between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government in Baghdad; but they desire settling internal key problems before the promised withdrawal, said a Kurdish political leader.

"I have come to speak to you about how the war in Iraq will end," President Barack Obama announced that the all combating troops, nearly 90.000 soldiers will be withdrawn by august 2010.

The U.S. President Obama’s statement on February 27 alerted Iraqis to depend on them selves in protecting their country. Iraqis reacted in warmly welcoming the decision while the Kurds reminded of ending internal problems before the withdrawal comes true.

“President Obama’s statement addresses the American discourse which is worried about their forces’ presence in Iraq,” explained Sadi Ahmed Pira, a Kurdish leader. According to him, Kurds realizes the new U.S. administration’s concerns for fulfilling electoral campaign promises of pulling out forces from Iraq and also that Washington now faces other challenges such as the world economic crises.

“The withdrawal comes within the framework of the Iraqi-American security agreement” which will take place gradually and will consider the Iraqi security situations, said Pria who is a high rank leader in the President Jalal Talabani’s party, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or the PUK.

In an interview with the Globe, Pira described the media reports which expressed of Kurdish leaders’ worry in reaction to the withdrawal decision as “rumors” and he explained that, “in case of any unexpected (negative) development in Iraq, the withdrawal schedule will be impacted as it is set in the agreement.”

Meanwhile, he didn’t hide that the Kurds want the disputes with the federal government in Baghdad to be ended within the few years of the American forces presence.

However, The PUK leader does not see the presence of the American forces in Iraq as a guarantee to lead in achieving Kurds’ demands, but he rather thinks that, “the Iraqi constitution and the long-term agreements between the Iraqi political parties are the guarantee for the future of Iraq as well as right policies taken by Kurds and other Iraqi sides.”

According to Kurdish officials, in stead of military presence, Washington’s political supports are more crucial for Iraq and Kurds at the current stage.

In an earlier reaction, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s representative to Washington Qubad Talabani reportedly stated that “the American forces cannot leave a stable Iraq without solving the disputes.” He explained that despite the Iraqi security improvements, there are several essential political issues remained disputed about and require efforts by the United States, the Iraqi federal government, and the Kurdistan and the other Iraqi parties.

"I restate that the role of the United States should be to help resolve the problems in Iraq such as Article 140, the oil law, and the law on the distribution of its oil wealth," KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said during a press conference in Erbil in the last month.

Five committees formed between Baghdad and Erbil are working on settling main issues of financial problems and oil and gas law, Kurdistan forces duties and rights, disputable areas, and Iraq’s foreign policies.

On Iraqi level, several governmental and political officials welcomed president Obama’s statement for earlier withdrawal from Iraq.

“the government and the parliament welcome the early withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq and the Iraqi forces will be capable to fill the security gap after the American forces withdrawal from the country,” said Hassan al-Sanid, a Shiite member of the parliament’s committee of security and defense.

Currently there are nearly 142.000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. President Obama promised during his electoral campaign for pulling their troops within 16 months from taking in office. According to the Iraqi-American security agreement, the U.S. forces should pullout due to the end of 2011.

And even after the drawdown, a sizable U.S. force of 35,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops will stay in Iraq under a new mission of training, civilian protection and counterterrorism.

This report has already been published by the Kurdish Globe

Could De Mistura ‘pour water on fire’ this time?

UN delegation meets with local officials over Kirkuk

 The U.N. special envoy to Iraq on Wednesday ended his two-day visit to Kirkuk where he discussed the issue of implementing article 140 as well as the upcoming provincial elections in the disputed territories, officials said.

 The UN envoy headed by Staffan De Mistura separately met with Kirkuk governor, Abdul-Rahman Mustafa, head of the provincial council, Rizgar Ali, along with the political blocs in the province.

 At a press conference in Kirkuk before his leave, De Mistura made clear about the results of his meetings in the city.

 “Kirkuk issue is very complicated and it is an internal affair; and we help the people of the city to reach solutions about it,” stated De Mistura and assured that they work according to the Iraqi constitution.

 He announced that after the expected local election at end of the coming January special committees will be formed for finding suitable solution to the article 23 of the Iraqi provincial councils election law.

The law passed on 24 of the last September contains procedures for holding the local elections in Kirkuk province.

“We don’t want to complicate the issues but we will work for writing future reports and will offer them to different sides in order to solve the complications,” he added.

 Muhammad Kamal, a Kurdish member from the Brotherhood List of the Kirkuk provincial council said, “During the meeting with the Brotherhood, we criticized the sluggishness of De Mistura’s works and the delay in releasing his reports on Kirkuk.”

 The UN envoy was supposed to publish a report in November on the current circumstances in Kirkuk in an attempt to pave the way for the execution of article 140 of the Constitution. Many hope the implementation of the article will settle the differences between Erbil and Baghdad over the places known as the disputed areas.  

Regarding the delay, de Mistura had announced earlier that he is in the country “to pour water on fire and not oil on it." De Mistura also said that the normalization process would begin after local elections set for January next year.

On May 5 the UN envoy announced his first report suggesting Hamdaniya and Mandali to remain within Baghdad’s administrative rule, while it gave the Kurdistan Regional Government the administrative right to Akre and Makhmur towns.

The other two UN reports which also include Kirkuk have not yet been released.

The Brotherhood list member also pointed out that the meeting also addressed the issue of carrying out article 23 of the provincial elections law that puts special mechanisms into effect for local elections in Kirkuk. The UN official, furthermore, discussed the article 140 of the constitution with the Kirkuk officials.

“De Mistura announced that the UN attempts to keep article 140 valid despite the fact that most of the Iraqi powers consider it a dead article. He regards it (the article) as the best solution to settle the issue for the city,” said Rebwar Talabani, another member of the Brotherhood during the meeting with the head of Kirkuk provincial council

Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution calls on normalizing situations, holding a census, and then holding a referendum in the disputed areas. The Iraqi government failed to fulfill the steps on time, which should have been the end of 2007.

Both Erbil and Baghdad in last June agreed on U.N. input of offering technical support to solve the issue.

All the meetings of de Mistura with the Kirkuk officials were in closed rooms where reporters were not allowed.