Iraqi Turkmen Front: Initiative Of Kurdish Groups To Form A Joint Government In North Of Iraq Will Incite Ethnic Conflicts

ANKARA - Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) said on Monday that initiative of Kurdish groups in Iraq to form a joint government in the north of Iraq would incite ethnic conflicts.
A statement of ITC Chairmanship defined the initiative as a wrong step and said that it would incite separation actions and ethnic conflicts in Iraq.
The statement noted that move to include Kirkuk, Mosul and Diyale, where Turkmen population was the majority, in the initiatives to form a joint Kurdish government was ''the clear evidence of insincerity and bad intentions of Kurdish political groups about Iraq's unity.''
''It is definite that such a wrong step will incite separation and division actions and ethnic conflicts in Iraq where noise of weapons hasn't stopped and political stability has not been restored yet. We harshly condemn the decision taken by one or a few groups instead of a majority in line with their own interests,'' the statement said.
The statement pointed out that Iraq's new administration and constitution should be formed in line with the will of Iraqi people.
Kirkuk was a Turkmen city and all resources belonged to whole Iraqi people, the statement noted.
The statement said, ''as ITF, we can't accept formation of a federation against Iraq's political unity and territorial integrity under any name. We strongly reject inclusion of Kirkuk, Mosul and Diyale cities to this made-up map. We expect all members of the Iraqi Interim Governing Council, U.S. officials in Iraq and all political parties and organization functioning in Iraq to reject this proposal and we call on them to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity.''
Kurdish representatives of Iraqi Interim Governing Council had presented a resolution on a federation in Iraq to the Council and asked oil areas in Kirkuk to take place in the region which was under control of Kurds.
(BRC-AÖ) 22.12.2003