ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – With the Iraqi government considering plans to turn several districts into provinces, hundreds of demonstrators in Khanaqin staged a demonstration to call for their town to be declared a province as well.
"Khanaqin has an old history and the town should be turned into a province,” one of the demonstrators said. “Unlike the other towns which may be turned into provinces, Khanaqin actually has the infrastructure.”
Khanaqin falls in the so-called “disputed territories” of Iraq, which are claimed both by the Arab central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi government approved a proposal to turn the towns of Fallujah in Anbar province, Tuz Khurmatu in Saladin and Talafar in Nineveh into new Iraqi provinces.
Like other disputed areas that suffer from the rivalry between Baghdad and the KRG, Khanaqin residents complain about the lack of basic services and neglect by both administrations.
"Khanaqin is a big district, but nothing has been done for it until now -- neither by the KRG or the central government," complained Ramzia Ali Sharif, another Khanaqin resident.
"Like the other residents, I ask that something be done for this town, that it become a province, attached either to the KRG or the central government,” she added.
With the exception of Fallujah, the other towns being considered for province status fall under the disputed territories.
Last month, Baghdad also decided to turn the town of Halabja in Sulaimani into a province. However, all of the decisions require parliamentary approval.
Observers believe that the proposals by Baghdad are part of an effort by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to win favor among residents ahead of the April nationwide parliamentary elections.
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