Attention to shift towards Kirkuk- UNSG

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that political attention is likely to shift towards disputed areas and the status of Kirkuk city soon. “In the coming months, he says, political attention is likely to shift towards disputed internal boundaries and the status of the city of Kirkuk, and he expects UNAMI to play a key role in helping the parties reach consensus on those as-yet unresolved issues,” according to a statement published on the official web site of the United Nations. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is related to the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk, an important and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen, Christians and Arabs. Kurds seek to include the city in the autonomous Iraq’s Kurdistan region, while Sunni Arabs, Turkmen and Shiite Arabs oppose the incorporation. The article currently stipulates that all Arabs in Kirkuk be returned to their original locations in southern and central Iraqi areas, and formerly displaced residents returned to Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad. A referendum, provided for in the Iraqi constitution, was scheduled to be held by the end of 2008 on including the city into the Kurdistan region. “The UN is also committed to supporting the Government to meet social and economic challenges as Iraqis increasingly look to both national and provincial institutions to provide the rewards of recovery, including jobs, clean water and streets, reliable electricity, better schools and adequate health care,” the statement noted. “For those reasons, the Secretary-General welcomes the expansion of the UN presence since 2007, adding offices in Basrah, Kirkuk, Najaf, Ramada and Mosul, and he calls on Member States to continue supporting its efforts,” it added. SS (S) 1