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Kurds Present Map With Larger Kurdistan to Iraqi Assembly
KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) - Kurdish leaders have presented a redrawn map with a larger Kurdistan to the Iraqi National Assembly for consideration in the new constitution, a Kurdish party official said Thursday. The map reflected long-standing Kurdish claims that stretches their territory south toward the capital of Baghdad - well beyond the boundaries of the current Kurdish autonomous area.
"The Kurdistan parliament and Kurdish parties have ratified and agreed on this map. We want this map to be part of the constitution," said Mullah Bakhtiyar, a senior official with the Kurdish Democratic Party, one of the two main Kurdish political parties. The Kurdish demand was unlikely to be well-received by Sunnis and Shiites on the constitutional commission and could further complicate efforts to complete the draft charter by the Aug. 15 deadline. The southern boundaries of the proposed Kurdish-controlled area would include the towns of Badra and Jassan, about 90 miles southeast of Baghdad. "We need an official map that marks the boundaries of Kurdistan in the federal Iraq. This redrawn map is based on historical and geographical facts and we are determined to stick to this map," Bakhtiyar said. "In any negotiations, we might be ready to seek compromises on some political privileges or ministerial posts, but the boundary of Kurdistan is a red line, and Kurdish leaders are committed to this," he said. The northern Kurdish-ruled region has been autonomous since 1991, when the area enjoyed U.S. and British protection from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. In the drafting of a new Iraqi constitution, Kurdish leaders have been pushing hard for a federalist system, which would have strong regional governments. Bakhtiyar said some people in the committee - notably Sunni Arabs - oppose the idea of federalism because they are afraid that this would be a step toward dividing Iraq, but "they are wrong because federalism is the best guarantee for a united Iraq." The Kurds, Washington's most reliable allies in Iraq, comprise 15 percent to 20 percent of Iraq's estimated 27 million people. Together with the Shiite majority, they had been oppressed for decades by the Sunni Arab minority.
Posted by: Steve 2005-07-21 |
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