MP: Committee of Article 140 will begin its work soon
The acting committee voted on Sept.3 to elect Mohsen Saadun from the Kurdistan Blocs Coalition as its chair and Mushreq Naji for Ahrar Bloc in the Sadr Current as Saadun's deputy.
The Kurdish Gorran (Change) Movement Bloc recently demanded to re-elect the committee of article 140, saying the new committee was formed unconstitutionally.
Saadun said the acting committee will begin its work soon to decide about holding its meetings in the Council of Representatives, meeting with the government committee and following up the performance of government agencies in relations to implementation of article 140.
"The objections to the formation of the committee will not have any legal effect. All objections are illegal and unconstitutional," Saadun said.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution sets a roadmap for ending the dispute between Baghdad and Erbil governments over the ownership of the ethnically diverse areas like Kirkuk province and parts of Diyala, Salahaddin and Nineveh provinces.
The article had to be fully implemented by end of 2007 but the related officials have failed in finishing the first stage of the three stages the article has set forward.
The article proposes resettling the original residents of the disputed areas and reimbursing their damages as well as resettling the Arab settlers in their original areas, conducting a public census and finally conducting a public referendum for people to decide on being run by Baghdad or Erbil governments.
Saadun urged the authorities in disputed area, especially in Kirkuk province, to not allow for the Arab settlers who have been compensated to return to the disputed areas for residence.
Each family of the Arab settlers who were led to the disputed areas in 1968 or earlier have been issued 20m IQD after it was proved through their records of the food ration cards that they were non-native citizens to Kirkuk.
"They are supposed to return to their areas as they have nothing in Kirkuk….", Saadun said.
In a statement the mayor of Kirkuk Kamel Sala Baho warned about the return of the Arab families to Kirkuk who benefited from the compensation provided by Article 140.
He added "we addressed Committee of Article 140 in Kirkuk Provincial Council in this regard and did not get any answer."
Saadun said although the Iraqi constitution allows for movement of Iraqis in all provinces of the country and for their purchase of real estate wherever they wish, the situation of Kirkuk is different.
He added "Kirkuk and other [disputed] areas are covered by Article 140 because of the demographic changes that have occurred during the era of the former regime.
"The law prevents them [Arab settlers] from returning to Kirkuk after they received their compensation and the local authorities and the Provincial Council must observe the law and the Constitution and not to allow for the transfer of their [Arab settlers'] records or their ration cards to Kirkuk again."
AKnews
