Iraqi Turkmen: MP Aidan Marouf Demands Greater Representation
Member of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), MP Aidan Marouf asks that more Turkmen deputies be assigned to the Turkmen community, both at the State and at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) level. "Turkmen are demanding this status in accordance with the Constitution and their political weight", he stressed, adding that the ITF wishes for a Turkmen Vice-President to be appointed, as has been done for the Kurds. The Turkmen community represents almost two million people, out of the 36 million Iraqi citizens.
Below is an article published by the Middle East Monitor:
A member of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, MP Aidan Marouf, has demanded that the country's president and prime minister should assign Turkmen deputies at the central government level and Kurdistan regional government level as their "natural and legal right".
Marouf told Turkey's Anadolu news agency that "Turkmen are demanding this status in accordance with the Constitution and their political weight," noting that this step "holds significance for Turkmen-Kurdish and Arab-Turkmen relations and will be beneficial for the country's future."
"We want to have a Turkmen vice president along with Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, which would be a positive development," he added, expressing his belief that they would receive a positive answer from the region's presidency. "We have already sent a request in writing to the concerned authorities," he noted.
Marouf added that "the Turkmen inability to reach those positions till today reflects a lack of democracy."
The Turkmen Front is also calling for "the establishment of a Ministry concerned with Turkmen affairs," he added.
According to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, there were nearly 2 million Turkmen living in Iraq in 2013.
