Telafar Turkmens plan protest over marginalization

06 Feb 2011

By Khudr Khallat

Dohuk - A Turkomani Front spokesman said on Sunday that Turkomani demonstrators will soon take to the streets of Talafar to protest over their marginalization from the country's political process after failing to secure the post of Republican Vice President.

Elias Nouri Elias told AKnews that alongside the planned protests complaints will be issued to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani as well as to various international bodies, accusing the government of "depriving" them of the vice presidency.

"We know that the protest will not achieve anything but we seek to make our voices heard by all people, (to know) that the rights we are demanding have not been met," he said.

Elias did not set a date for the planned protests.
The Iraqi Turkomani Front which belongs to the al-Iraqiya list announced two week ago that the Turkomani MPs had nominated Iden Hilmi as their candidate for the post of Vice President of the Republic.

On Friday, in response to news reports indicating that President Talabani had nominated Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Khudair al-Khuzaie from the National Coalition (NC) and Tariq al-Hashimi from the al-Iraqiya List to fill the three vice presidencies, Hilmi told AKnews that the nominations revealed a lack of commitment to the achievement of national partnership in the country.

In response to reports from internal sources that President Talabani may ask parliament to approve the nomination of a fourth vice president from among the Turkomani, Hilmi said that this could be a viable solution.

At present there are provisions in the Iraqi constitution for three vice presidencies beneath the President of the Republic."Parliament can arrive at some solutions by amending the law of the President," Hilmi said, "...adding a fourth that can represent the turkomani.

"The Turkomani deputies nominated for the position alongside Hilmi are Abbas al-Bayati, Mohammed al-Bayati and Fawzi Akram Tarzi.

© AK News 2011
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110207083149