The position of the PUK organizing committees is in unison with the Arab and with the Turkmen groups in the city, which have also rejected the referendum, asserting that the Kurdish plebiscite could increase tension that could spiral out of control. Already in one incident, on Sept. 19, a run-in between a group of pro-referendum Kurds and guards outside a Turkmen political organization left one Kurd dead and three other people wounded. Kurdish security forces moved quickly to contain the damage and stop revenge attacks.
At the heart of the tensions in Kirkuk are the Arabization policies of successive Iraqi regimes since the 1960s, when thousands of Kurds and to a lesser extent Turkmens were driven from their lands and replaced by Arabs from other parts of Iraq. Article 140 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution called for addressing this issue — and by whom the people of Kirkuk want to be governed — by late 2007, but this did not and has not happened.
“Kirkuk is like a barrel of gunpowder, and a single wooden match could change everything,” said Khalid. “The people of Kirkuk from all backgrounds have firearms at home and some carry them around like prayer beads.”
The tensions in Kirkuk have regional dimensions as well. Turkey is concerned about Kirkuk, because of its sizable Turkmen community. One Turkish politician is calling on the government to take military measures against the Kurds if they proceed with the plebiscite.
On Sept. 20, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, while insisting that the people of Kirkuk should decide their future, warned against any military intervention. “I don’t see any military threats on the Kurdistan Region. … Turkey and Iran are free to do whatever they do in their own countries. … It is true that we are a regional government, but our hands are not tied to the extent that we are not able to do anything if they use military force,” Barzani said.
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