MP of Kirkuk: only 24 out of 276 security member in the governorate are Kurds

Shafaq News / An Iraqi MP from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan revealed on Thursday that only 24 out of 276 officials in the national guards in Kirkuk governorate are Kurds, calling on Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, to visit the governorate and put an end to the policy of marginalizing the Kurds. 

Jamal Muhammad Shakur, MP from Kirkuk, told Shafaq News agency, “The Kurdish component in Kirkuk is marginalized in the security and administrative departments, in addition to social problems. Although it constitutes more than 50 percent of the governorate’s population, it us represented by only 6 out of 12 MPs in the Iraqi parliament. "

He added, "the Kurdish component does not match its demographic and historical entitlement in the security and administrative system in the province".

Shakour revealed that the Kurdish MPs met in in Kirkuk with the head of the National Security Service, Qasim Al-Araji, to demand a proportional distribution for the members of the agency in Kirkuk.

He explained that the National Security Agency in the governorate includes 141 members of the Arab component, 111 members of the Turkmen component and only 24 members of the Kurdish component. Al-Araji, according to Shakour, was positive and supported the demands of the Kurdish MP.

Shakour demanded reconsidering the security file in Kirkuk and handing it to the local police instead of the joint military forces, stressing the need to end the phenomenon of militarization society and grant the Kurdish component its security entitlement in the governorate administration.

"We do not have any objections to the performance of the security forces in Kirkuk but we demand the achievement of a powerful population balance and real partnership in managing the governorate", he emphasized.

"The prime minister must respond to the demands of the Kurdish component and Kirkuk cabinet and develop fair solutions that guarantee all components of Kirkuk their demographic and historical rights", he continued.

Sovereignty over Kirkuk is still disputed on between the federal government and Kurdistan Regional Government.

The Kurds in the governorate complain that they have been subjected to marginalization since 2017 when the federal government forces and Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi invaded the governorate and the Peshmerga withdrew from it, fearing a conflict between them in the wake of the unprecedented tension between the two sides after the independence referendum.

The Kurds in Kirkuk say that a systematic policy took place during the last two years to remove them from high government positions and others.