“The interests of the people demand reconciliation among politicians,” he said. “This reconciliation will be good for all of the province’s citizens, whether they are Arabs, Kurds, Christian or anything else.”
Nineveh is one of Iraq’s most diverse provinces, and its population also includes Assyrian Christians, Yazidis, Shabaks and other minority groups.
The province is often beset by electricity shortages during the summer months, but in early June the Kurdish Regional Govt announced that it would provide power during this period.
Nujaifi attributed this offer to the political changes on the provincial council.
“This step is a consequence of the good relationship with the Kurds,” he said.
Residents of Nineveh representing various ethnic and religious groups expressed hope that officials might now tackle some of the province’s other problems.
“Officials will now work on setting up projects in the province instead of being preoccupied with arguments,” Younis Saleh, a 34-year-old Sunni Arab shopkeeper, predicted.
Mervat Abdul Qadir, a 27-year-old Kurdish teacher, believes that recent political developments may mark a turning-point in the province’s troubled recent history.
“I am optimistic that the time of violence is over. We will probably get better electricity this summer,” she said.
Yunadim Tawfiq, a 56-year-old Christian civil servant, said people in Nineveh were able to get along despite ethnic differences, so their elected representatives should learn to do the same,
Comments are closed.