Diyala Sunnis Back Article 140
By HEVIDAR AHMED
In a sign of growing ties between Sunni Arabs and Kurds, Sunni Arab leaders in Diyala province have agreed to back a key Kurdish demand to resolve disputes over provinces claimed by Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen as they pursue plans to create a semi-autonomous region.
Nasrin Bahjat, a Kurdish member of the Diyala provincial council, said Sunni Arab leaders have promised to implement Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which outlines steps that would ultimately determine whether a local administration or Baghdad governs the disputed territories, including regions of Diyala.
Sunni Arabs, who had long opposed the constitutional article and the Kurdish-backed idea of federalism, have declared that they want more autonomy from the Shia-led government in Baghdad in provinces like Diyala. Bahjat, who serves on a committee of provincial council members tasked with exploring federalism, said Kurdish leaders have advised the council on their bid to create a semi-independent region.
Comments
Diyala was and still is the center of the fight and even in 2005 the MoI using the Wolf Brigade out of Camp Justice would raid into Diyala arresting usually 400-500 Sunni "who" were charged with being in the insurgency or simply having been Baathists and it always played into the hands of AQI---and even then the US Army SPiTTs had no control over the Wolf Bde. Once was passed an arrest list of over 2000 Sunni's residing in Diyala which had been put together by the Iraqi National Security Council tied strraight to Malaki---we the US (both Army and DoS) had no idea that such an organization was even functioning in 2005 as the second national election had not even taken place and there had been no transition.
This will be the second civil war round if the Iraqi central government does not get their act together and it will be bloody as the Sunni insurgents have not stopped their training and or caching of weapons.
Maybe Malaki is just pushing the old dream of the Shia in controlling the silk road from Afghanistan to Lebanon (the Sunni triangle sits across the silk road) and he does not care about the minority. Although it is interesting to see the Kurds who suffered under Saddam currently supporting the Sunni federated move---maybe the moves by the Turks into areas of the Kurds makes them realize they need allies as well.
JMO--