NIQASH: So, did you broach the subject of whether the Turkish have supported the extremist group known as the Islamic State in any way? After all many people in Kirkuk seem to believe this.
Mahdi: The Turkish army has made sacrifices in the war against the Islamic State group. And in fact, the extremists are responsible for many crimes inside Turkey itself. How could the Turkish be accused of supporting the Islamic State?
NIQASH: How do you describe your relations with Iraqi Kurdish political parties in Kirkuk at the moment?
Mahdi: Bad. We have been trying to work together for years but the Kurdish parties don’t respect that. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is the worst – they do not seem to believe in our shared background.
NIQASH: Yes, you don’t seem to have a very good relationship with Kirkuk's governor, Najmuddin Karim – a member of that party – either.
Mahdi: It’s true. We can’t hide that. The governor of Kirkuk should serve all of the ethnicities and groups that live in Kirkuk but he has failed – especially when he raised the Kurdish flag over the city. He should have consulted with us in the same way he consulted with the Arabs of the city. When we found out about it we asked the governor to postpone this action but he didn’t listen to us.
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