US embassy cable - 05ANKARA891

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000891 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: TURKISH PAPER ON KIRKUK 
 
REF: SECTO 20 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: DCM Robert S. Deutsch for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) During the Secretary's Feb. 6 meeting with FonMin Gul, 
Gul handed over a Turkish paper on ideas regarding the Kirkuk 
issue.  MFA provided the paper to us on Feb. 7.  Full text in 
para. 2. 
 
2. (C) BEGIN TEXT OF TURKISH PAPER: 
 
SET OF IDEAS REGARDING THE ARRANGEMENTS NEEDED TO SAFEGUARD 
THE RIGHTS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND THE FUTURE STATUS OF 
KIRKUK 
 
Throughout history, Kirkuk and its surroundings always had an 
indigenous multi-ethnic structure comprising Turkoman, 
Kurdish and Arabic communities and a limited number of 
Christians.  The preservation of this peculiarity based on 
the equality of the three constituent communities would be 
essential both for the unity and integrity of Iraq, as well 
as for the sake of peaceful coexistence of different 
communities in Iraq. 
 
Kirkuk is an inseparable part of Iraq.  Therefore it would 
not be possible to exclude Kirkuk from the overall 
restructuring process of the country.  Prior to the 
Arabisation policies imposed in the past, and the large scale 
manipulated population transfer that has been organized since 
the regime change, the three communities of this province 
traditionally lived in certain balance.  In order to 
reinstate the original state of affairs in Kirkuk, it would 
be imperative not to allow any of the constituent communities 
to claim superiority or ownership over the others, and 
restore the intercommunal balance in the province.  This 
would be possible by empowering the entire people of Iraq to 
have a say over the future of the province of Al Tamim in 
general and the city of Kirkuk in particular within the 
framework of the new constitutional order that will be 
established in Iraq. 
 
It should be borne in mind that Kirkuk is, for all political 
and practical purposes, a small model of Iraq.  Upsetting the 
balances will be liable to affect the regional balances and 
stability.  This may also provoke nationalist tendencies of 
different centers. 
 
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND ARRANGEMENTS 
 
--In terms of administrative and political status, Kirkuk and 
the province of Al Tamim should be organized in an exclusive 
way vis-a-vis other provinces, and/or province groups in line 
with the ideas that inspired the Transitional Administration 
Law of Iraq. 
 
--Settlement of the property claims regarding Kirkuk and the 
province should be carried out through special regulations 
and mechanisms based on the principle of substantiated proof 
by the claimers who have been subjected to injustices by 
previous regimes, of their links to land and property rights. 
 In this context, it would be imperative to ensure that the 
Property Claims Commission operates impartially, effectively 
and in an expeditious manner. 
 
--As highlighted in the final declaration of the March 19, 
2003 meeting held in Ankara between Turkey, the United States 
and the delegations of the Iraqi Opposition, all natural 
resources of Iraq belong to the Iraqi nation as a whole; and 
the Province of Al Tamim is no exception to this principle. 
Therefore the development and administration of petroleum 
resources in this province should remain under the 
responsibility of the central government. 
 
--The ethnic militia deployed in the province following the 
regime change must be withdrawn allowing for the 
establishment of the new local police force.  Security, law 
and order should be provided by elements drawn up from local 
communities.  A limited contingent of national security 
forces should be maintained for emergencies.  Armed elements 
that are not part of the foregoing must be disarmed. 
 
--Mass migration from other parts of Iraq to the province 
should be banned.  New property acquisitions must be subject 
to special conditions  and regulations. 
 
--Communities living in the province should have equal legal 
status and this has to be safeguarded by the new constitution 
of Iraq. 
 
--Three constituent communities of the Al Tamim Province 
should always be represented on an equal footing in the 
administrative and political delegations to be formed for the 
representation of the provinces of Iraq at the organs and 
branches of the central government. 
--Officers to be employed in the local legislative, executive 
and judiciary bodies should be assigned according to a system 
of equal quotas.  The same principle should be applied in 
provincial elections.  In the nomination of the 
administrative staff in surrounding districts, towns and 
villages, the designations should be made pursuant to the 
community that forms the majority in the respective locality. 
 A similar equal quota system should be developed for the 
three communities in the local security organization.  The 
posts occupied by the communities following regime change 
must be reassigned accordingly. 
 
--Senior administrators such as the Governor, the Mayor, 
Director of Security, and Director of Education should rotate 
among the three communities in order to allow equitable 
representation.  Each of these posts should have two Deputy 
positions for the representatives of the other communities, 
and arrangements should be made to ensure impartiality in the 
decision making mechanisms. 
 
--All three languages, Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic should be 
official in public offices in Kirkuk and the entire province 
to enable the fair conduct of public services.  Similarly all 
local legislation and regulations should be published in all 
three languages. 
 
--The three constituent communities and the minorities shall 
have the right to establish and manage their own autonomous 
schools to conduct curriculum in their respective mother 
tongue, as well as their social, religious, and cultural 
institutions. 
 
END TEXT 
 
3. (U) Iraq posts minimize considered. 
EDELMAN