Türkmeneli Party Press Release

(Translation)


While the Iraqi government issued an official order to freeze the activities of the implementation commission of Article 140, the President of the commission is moving in the opposite direction, he issued an illegal order to extend the registration deadline of deportees till the end of March 2008.

Therefore, we draw the attention of all concerned government agencies and the Iraqi people about such violations of the law and the orders of the central government, which plan to register additional Kurds in order to change the demographics in the province of Kerkuk.

We call upon the United Nations and the Iraqi government, particularly upon the Independent Electoral Commission to conduct investigations into these falsifications which are contrary to the spirit of the Iraqi constitution in force. It is imperative to investigate the accountability of those seeking to invest such humanitarian issue (the issue of deportees) for political gains in favour of the Kurdish parties and inflict injustice on Arabs and Turkmens in Kerkuk.


To clarify these falsifications and violations occurring by figures and evidences, we point out that the number of fraudulent names in the unofficially recognized small town of Shuwan amounted to 35.000 people, while its population in 2007 was only 15.000!

The same situation occurs in Leylan where the number of inhabitants was 11,516 in 2006, and where it has now reached 90,941; this is unacceptable because it is against any natural growth of population, and there are dozens of examples such as these.


We believe that the only solution to avoid these falsifications is that the concerned governmental bodies act quickly to cancel all records containing the names of the deportees counterfeit and freeze them on the basis of these fraudulent records.

In conclusion, we say ... The direct responsibility lies with the Arab and Turkmen parties, which are required to denounce this scandal against democracy, justice and human rights, and take a decisive stand on this issue before it is too late given that the elections for Iraqi provincial assemblies are due very soon.


Turkmeneli Party
Kerkuk Branch
March 9, 2008