Talabani promised Turkomen leading state post - MP

29 November 2010

KIRKUK: President Jalal Talabani promised to grant the Turkomen community the post of vice-president or deputy prime minister in the new government, an Iraqi Turkomen Legislature from al-Iraqiya Coalition has stated.


"President Jalal Talabani, in a meeting with Turkomen Members of Parliament on Sunday, has expressed support for our demands for a leading state position in the government, such as vice-president or deputy prime minister," Arshad al-Salehy told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

"A special law must be promulgated by the Iraqi Parliament in this respect, and I shall support your (Turkomen) demands in the parliament. I shall become the leading defender of Turkomen, to grant them a leading state position, because they have suffered enough, and more than others," Salehy quoted Talabani as saying.

Turkomen, the third national community after the Arabs and Kurds, exist in Ninewa, Kirkuk, Diala, Erbil and Baghdad. The leading Turkomen political parties in Iraq are: the Iraqi Turkomen Front, the Islamic Union of Iraq's Turkomen, the Turkomen Justic Party, the Turkomen Homeland Party, the Support Movement for Iraq's Turkomen, the Turkomen Islamic Movement, the Turkomen Eli Party and others.

© Aswat Aliraq 2010
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20101130054403