Turkmen and Arabs in Iraq oppose the handover to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of the headquarters building of the Joint Operational Command in Kirkuk.
Local residents continue to protest in front of the building, which is planned to be handed over to the KDP on behalf of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
The head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC), Hasan Turan, told Anadolu that the building belongs to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, and local residents are against its use by any party for their political activities.
According to him, the building was handed over to the Joint Operations Command on October 16, 2017 to provide security in Kirkuk.
“The building belongs to the Iraqi Oil Ministry. We do not want any party to use the building for their political activities,” he said.
Turan noted that all registered parties have the right to carry out political activities, but they do not have the right to buy a building or rent it. The Turkmans vehemently oppose the party’s use of the building because it has a symbolic meaning, he said.
Turan also said that the local administration of Kirkuk spent 1 billion Iraqi dinars on the restoration of the building.
According to Turan, after the start of the protests in Kirkuk, he contacted the Prime Minister of al-Sudani and gave him his proposals regarding the solution of the crisis.
Only part of the news that is provided to subscribers .(HAS) is published on the Anadolu Agency website in a shortened form.
