Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
By Alister Bull
KIRKUK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An Iraqi official in the disputed city of
Kirkuk accused Kurds of cheating in Thursday's election, saying thousands
had been bussed in to swell the Kurdish vote.
Kurds denied the charge.
Hassan Toran, a Turkmen member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council,
said Turkmen, Arab Sunni and Shi'ite officials would lodge an official
written complaint with Iraq's Electoral Commission and demand a new vote
under U.N. supervision.
"A lot of violations took place. Many (non-Kurdish) voters did not
find their names on lists because they were removed," Toran told Reuters.
"Buses carried thousands of Kurds from Sulaimaniya and Arbil to
vote. Roads between provinces were supposed to be closed."
A Kurdish official in Kikruk, Jalal Jawhar, said any accusations of
Kurdish violations were baseless.
"We did not cheat. Not one Kurd voted in Kirkuk without having his
name registered," he said.
The future of Kirkuk, at the heart of the northern oil industry, is
one of the most emotionally charged issues in Iraq. Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen
all claim historical rights to the ancient city 250 km (155 miles) north of
Baghdad.
A referendum is planned to decide the identity of Kirkuk.
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein forcibly expelled thousands of
Kurds and Turkmen from Kirkuk and replaced them with Arabs from elsewhere
in Iraq under an Arabisation policy.
Jawhar said some of the Kurds who voted in Kirkuk on Thursday had
been removed by Saddam and had a right to vote in their hometown under the
Iraqi constitution.
"Some still live in Arbil and Sulaimaniya but they are registed to
vote in Kirkuk," he said.
FIERCE KURDISH NATIONALISM
Electoral commission officials in Kirkuk said they had to turn back
some would-be Kurdish voters but it was not clear whether this was related
to a failure to register or violations.
Ferman Abdullah, a supervisor at a polling station set up in a local
high school in the town of Altun Kupri, northwest of Kirkuk, said 200 Kurds
had been turned away by mid-morning.
Some 1,200 people had voted there, about 800 of whom he thought were
Kurds, said Abdullah.
"The only problem we have right now is we don't have some
(registered) names on the list," he said.
Kurdish patriotism was still running high.
Architectural engineer Ali Nori said the Kurds were the historic
owners of Kirkuk, highlighting how difficult it could be to resolve the
issue.
"From this election we want the return of Kirkuk to Kurdistan. Since
the 1960s, Kurds have been dying to get Kirkuk back," he said.
Kurdish flags flew from buildings and cars, and children waved them
outside a polling centre. The Iraqi flag, viewed as a symbol of oppression
under Saddam, was nowhere to be seen.
"Kirkuk now is for the people of Kurdistan," said Hussein Sadr, 74,
standing next to young men in the traditional garb of the Kurdish peshmerga
militia.
(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny)
KIRKUK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An Iraqi official in the disputed city of
Kirkuk accused Kurds of cheating in Thursday's election, saying thousands
had been bussed in to swell the Kurdish vote.
Kurds denied the charge.
Hassan Toran, a Turkmen member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council,
said Turkmen, Arab Sunni and Shi'ite officials would lodge an official
written complaint with Iraq's Electoral Commission and demand a new vote
under U.N. supervision.
"A lot of violations took place. Many (non-Kurdish) voters did not
find their names on lists because they were removed," Toran told Reuters.
"Buses carried thousands of Kurds from Sulaimaniya and Arbil to
vote. Roads between provinces were supposed to be closed."
A Kurdish official in Kikruk, Jalal Jawhar, said any accusations of
Kurdish violations were baseless.
"We did not cheat. Not one Kurd voted in Kirkuk without having his
name registered," he said.
The future of Kirkuk, at the heart of the northern oil industry, is
one of the most emotionally charged issues in Iraq. Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen
all claim historical rights to the ancient city 250 km (155 miles) north of
Baghdad.
A referendum is planned to decide the identity of Kirkuk.
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein forcibly expelled thousands of
Kurds and Turkmen from Kirkuk and replaced them with Arabs from elsewhere
in Iraq under an Arabisation policy.
Jawhar said some of the Kurds who voted in Kirkuk on Thursday had
been removed by Saddam and had a right to vote in their hometown under the
Iraqi constitution.
"Some still live in Arbil and Sulaimaniya but they are registed to
vote in Kirkuk," he said.
FIERCE KURDISH NATIONALISM
Electoral commission officials in Kirkuk said they had to turn back
some would-be Kurdish voters but it was not clear whether this was related
to a failure to register or violations.
Ferman Abdullah, a supervisor at a polling station set up in a local
high school in the town of Altun Kupri, northwest of Kirkuk, said 200 Kurds
had been turned away by mid-morning.
Some 1,200 people had voted there, about 800 of whom he thought were
Kurds, said Abdullah.
"The only problem we have right now is we don't have some
(registered) names on the list," he said.
Kurdish patriotism was still running high.
Architectural engineer Ali Nori said the Kurds were the historic
owners of Kirkuk, highlighting how difficult it could be to resolve the
issue.
"From this election we want the return of Kirkuk to Kurdistan. Since
the 1960s, Kurds have been dying to get Kirkuk back," he said.
Kurdish flags flew from buildings and cars, and children waved them
outside a polling centre. The Iraqi flag, viewed as a symbol of oppression
under Saddam, was nowhere to be seen.
"Kirkuk now is for the people of Kurdistan," said Hussein Sadr, 74,
standing next to young men in the traditional garb of the Kurdish peshmerga
militia.
(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny)