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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iraq
Index
Three governorates in the north--Dahuk, Irbil, and As
Sulaymaniyah--constitute Iraqi Kurdistan, a region that
historically has had a majority population of Kurds. Ever since
Iraq became independent in 1932, the Kurds have demanded some
form of self-rule in the Kurdish areas. There were clashes
between Kurdish antigovernment guerrillas and army units
throughout most of the 1960s. When the Baath Party came to power
in July 1968, the principal Kurdish leaders distrusted its
intentions and soon launched a major revolt
(see The Emergence of Saddam Husayn, 1968-79
, ch. 1). In March 1970, the government and
the Kurds reached an agreement, to be implemented within four
years, for the creation of an Autonomous Region consisting of the
three Kurdish governorates and other adjacent districts that haf
been determined by census to have a Kurdish majority. Although
the RCC issued decrees in 1974 and in 1975 that provided for the
administration of the Autonomous Region, these were not
acceptable to all Kurdish leaders and a major war ensued. The
Kurds were eventually crushed, but guerrilla activities continued
in parts of Kurdistan. In early 1988, antigovernment Kurds
controlled several hundred square kilometers of Irbil and As
Sulaymaniyah governorates adjacent to the Iranian frontier.
In early 1988, the Autonomous Region was governed according
to the stipulations of the 1970 Autonomy Agreement. It had a
twelve-member Executive Council that wielded both legislative and
executive powers and a Legislative Assembly that advised the
council. The chairman of the Executive Council was appointed by
President Saddam Husayn and held cabinet rank; the other members
of the council were chosen from among the deputies to the
popularly elected Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly consisted of fifty members elected
for three-year terms from among candidates approved by the
central government. The Legislative Assembly chose its own
officers, including its cabinet-rank chairman, a deputy chairman,
and a secretary. It had authority to ratify laws proposed by the
Executive Council and limited powers to enact legislation
relating to the development of "culture and nationalist customs
of the Kurds" as well as other matters of strictly local scope.
The Legislative Assembly could question the members of the
Executive Council concerning the latter's administrative,
economic, educational, social, and other varied responsibilities;
it could also withhold a vote of confidence from one or more of
the Executive Council members. Both the assembly and the council
were located in the city of Irbil, the administrative center of
Irbil Governorate. Officials of these two bodies were either
Kurds or "persons well-versed in the Kurdish language," and
Kurdish was used for all official communications at the local
level. The first Legislative Assembly elections were held in
September 1980, and the second elections took place in August
1986.
Despite the Autonomous Region's governmental institutions,
genuine self-rule did not exist in Kurdistan in 1988. The central
government in Baghdad continued to exercise tight control by
reserving to itself the power to make all decisions in matters
pertaining to justice, to police, to internal security, and the
administration of the frontier areas. The Baath Party, through
the minister of state for regional autonomy and other ministerial
representatives operating in the region, continued to supervise
activities of all governing bodies in the region. The minister of
justice and a special oversight body set up by the Court of
Cassation reviewed all local enactments and administrative
decisions, and they countermanded any local decrees that were
deemed contrary to the "constitution, laws, or regulations" of
the central government. The central government's superior
authority has been most dramatically evident in the frontier
areas, where government security units have forcibly evacuated
Kurdish villagers to distant lowlands
(see Kurds
, ch. 2).
Data as of May 1988
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