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Turkmen Urge Kurds to Resolve Kirkuk Dispute through Dialogue

Fires flare off the gas from crude at an oil processing plant in the northern Iraqi town of Baba Gurgur, outside of Kirkuk. (AP)
Fires flare off the gas from crude at an oil processing plant in the northern Iraqi town of Baba Gurgur, outside of Kirkuk. (AP)
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Turkmen Urge Kurds to Resolve Kirkuk Dispute through Dialogue

Fires flare off the gas from crude at an oil processing plant in the northern Iraqi town of Baba Gurgur, outside of Kirkuk. (AP)
Fires flare off the gas from crude at an oil processing plant in the northern Iraqi town of Baba Gurgur, outside of Kirkuk. (AP)

Head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front Arshad al-Salehi called Kurdish forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to dialogue to resolve the dispute over the oil-rich Kirkuk region.

The pro-Turkey figure invited the Kurds to hold talks with the Turkmen authorities to resolve the issue, because this was the best option to achieve justice for all sides.

“We are a side that is concerned with this file and resorting to others is futile,” he added.

Separately, the Iraqi Turkmen Front demanded the restructuring of the Kirkuk office of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) before it can start arrangement to hold provincial council elections in December.

Leading member of the Front Mohammed Samaan told Asharq Al-Awsat that the party will not allow the elections to be held in Kirkuk without the restructuring of the commission.

He cited the fraud allegations that marred the May parliamentary elections in Iraq and the ensuing manual recount of the vote.

Moreover, he said that the committee that was formed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to investigate the massive fraud had ordered the sacking of the IHEC chief and a number of its members.

The Turkmen and Arabs in Kirkuk are “completely disappointed with what occurred during the parliamentary elections.”

They will not take part in the provincial council elections if the above-mentioned demands are not fulfilled, Samaan warned.

He said that the turnout could end up being as low as 20 percent, which cannot be ratified by the Supreme Court or enjoy the support of the international community.

Furthermore, he voiced concerns that the “Kurds may once again forge the elections results and seize six seats in the provincial council.”

“This will return us to square one and will be a repeat” of last year’s independence referendum and selling of Kirkuk oil without the approval of the federal authority, he added.

“We still do not know what happened to the billions of dollars of Kirkuk oil revenues that were reaped in the past years,” he said.

“If elections are imposed on us, then we will boycott them and resort to the international court,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Kirkuk MP and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Ribwar Taha said that the date of the provincial elections was set by the Iraqi parliament.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that all sides must respect this decision.

Addressing the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s fraud claims, he stressed that his party waged the May elections in spite of all of the challenges it was facing and it still won six seats in parliament.

“It proved to the local and international public that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan enjoys wide support in Kirkuk,” he stated.

“The recount of the vote backs our claims,” he declared.

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Fishers at a Lebanese Port Hope Ceasefire with Israel Means Normal Life is Returning

Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)
Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)
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Fishers at a Lebanese Port Hope Ceasefire with Israel Means Normal Life is Returning

Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)
Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn.
During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishers at this ancient Phoenician port on shore, upending their lives and the industry.
While less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many people off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh — fish and rice boiled in fish sauce — or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips such as hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads.
The loss of fish damaged a deep association with home, but now the possibility of renewed Lebanese fishing on the country's southern coast is helping fuel hope for a brighter future.
On Friday, a few boats went out close to the shore as fishers in the port worked on the nets of small boats painted white, blue or red.
Hussein Sukmani, 55, said Friday that he was considering going to sea in coming days but was waiting to see how things unfold.
He hasn't dared set sail since the Israel-Hezbollah war dramatically intensified on Sept. 23. “They were days of fear and horror,” he said. "They were the most difficult days of our lives.”
A week ago, a drone strike killed two young fishers in the city as they prepared their nets on the coast, and some fishermen said Friday that the Lebanese army told them that if they headed out it would be at their own risk .
Among those who sailed near the coast on Friday was Walid Darwish, who returned to the port with two plastic boxes filled with mullet.
“Today is the first time that we sail,” Darwish said, adding that fishers had missed the prime season in October and November.
“We lost it,” he said.
The Israeli army barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border in October and has not said whether the warning is still in effect.
Sukmani said that most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the port have not sailed out of concern since then.
The area around the port is a predominantly Christian neighborhood that has been spared much of the airstrikes on other parts of Tyre that leveled buildings in this city.
In peaceful times, the port is a major tourist attraction, beloved by Lebanese and foreigners who come for the views, the restaurants and the beaches.
On Friday, Mohammed Hammoud walked along the coast of Tyre carrying his fishing rod.
“It is enough that someone is able to stand in this beautiful area,” he said, pointing to the white sands. “Fishing is everything for me,” added Hammoud, who went to fish several times in the area north of the city of Sidon that was not part of the siege.
In the old market of Tyre, Gilbert Spiridon watched from inside his shop as people came to buy freshly brought fish. Before the war, it took hours to sell all his fish to people from around Lebanon.
“All I wish is that the war has ended and we are back on track to the old good days,” he said.