Posted on 09/24/2008 2:08:54 PM PDT by mdittmar
Iraq's parliament has reached an agreement to proceed with long-sought provincial elections after forging a compromise on the disputed city of Kirkuk.
A compromise will allow parliament to deal separately with oil-rich Kirkuk, which is claimed by Kurdish, Sunni Arab and Turkman interests, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Under the deal, provincial elections seen as crucial to a larger goal of political reform and national reconciliation in Iraq can go ahead in other parts of the country, analysts told the broadcaster.
"We tell our brothers in the south, the center of Iraq and Kurdistan, that this is an achievement by parliament," Bahaa al-Araji, head of the Iraqi parliament's legal committee, told reporters. "The elections will be soon, so the people of Iraq can put forward their votes to select new local government."
Kirkuk has been a flashpoint because Iraqi Kurds believe they should control the city, even though it lies outside its semi-autonomous northern enclave. Former President Saddam Hussein conducted a policy of "Arabization" there to claim its oil wealth, the BBC said.
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