Kirkuk Mayor Kamil Salayi told Rudaw the Kurdish Brotherhood faction, which has 26 of the 41 council seats, plans to put the controversial question to a vote to generate a lawful base for the decision to raise Kurdish flags in the disputed oil rich province.
Kirkuk’s Governor Najmaldin Karim has asked the provincial council to hoist the Kurdish flag alongside the Iraqi flag at official offices during the ongoing Kurdish New Year celebrations of Newroz. The decision, which has partly been implemented over the past week, has drawn domestic and regional criticism, including from Turkish foreign ministry and the UN.
“We really hope that the decision becomes official at the council to raise both Kurdish and Iraqi flags in Kirkuk,” said Mayor Salayi who was confidant the flag will garner sufficient votes in the council.
Turkmen and Arab blocks have strongly opposed the decision and warned they will bring the case before the Iraqi Supreme Court if the council endorses the move.
“We reject this decision since it has no legal or administrative foundation. We want such issues to be discussed at the negotiation table and become subject of agreement and not something one side imposes on other groups,” said Hussein Kahiya, a member of the Turkman block in the provincial council.
Although patrolled by Kurdish Peshmerga and security forces, Kirkuk is part of a constitutional article that defines the province as a “disputed territory” where Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen have territorial claims.
Hoisting Kurdish flags in Kirkuk by private citizens are common, but the official flag at government offices is the Iraqi national flag.
