On September 23, Kirkuk Governor Dr. Najmaldin Karim received a delegation from Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) headed by Selahattin Demirtas, the Co-Chairman of HDP. The delegation included number of HDP deputies and advisors.
The two sides discussed in depth the political developments in the region in the light of the war against the ISIS terrorist group. Both sides stressed the importance of respecting democratic solutions and peoples’ ambitions and aspirations in the region.
Dr. Karim briefed the delegation about Kirkuk’s political, security, and economic situation. He spoke about Kirkuk’s suffering from the forced demographic changes and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the former Ba’ath regime of dictator Saddam Hussein. Dr. Karim praised the role of the Peshmerga forces and the province’s security forces for victories achieved over ISIS and for protecting Kirkuk. He said, “Kirkuk has proved to the international community and Iraq that is a model, and we are all proud of this.” He added, “Kirkuk is hosting over 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), and will receive more once the operations to liberate Hawija begin.”
Dr. Karim spoke also explained that the people of Kirkuk are being deprived of their constitution rights as measures have been taken to prevent the provincial election from taking place. With respect to the situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Dr. Karim said, “Implementation of democracy by all means will provide insurance for stability and development.”
After the meeting, Dr. Karim and Mr. Demirtas held a press conference. Dr. Karim said, ”We met with the HDP delegation and discussed the implementation and the development of democracy in and bringing peace and security to our neighbor, Turkey, which will have a positive effect. We also discussed the political situation in Kurdistan and the importance of finding solutions, and we discussed the efforts to bringing security and political stability to the region and to Rojava.”
Mr. Demirtas expressed his appreciation to Kirkuk’s administration for the receiving the HDP delegation to Kirkuk, and said, “We seek unity, dialogue and understanding among the Kurdish political parties in Kurdistan Region in addition to our efforts to attain peace and stability.”
As the meeting concluded, Mr. Demirtas received Kirkuk’s shield from the governor, and HDP delegation presented the governor with artwork portraying themes of peace and coexistence helping to achieve the will of the people.
