Title of Seminar: Kirkuk, Multicultural City – Hope for Peaceful Future
Speaker: Dr Kristiina Koivunen
Venue: Auditorium (E-Building)
Date : Thursday 25/4/2019
Time : 10:00
Abstract:
Kirkuk has been multiethnic region throughout its existence. Kurd, Turkman, Arab, and Chaldean/Assyrian communities have coexisted there for hundreds of years. Their history is different and each has its own narrative. The conflict is often characterized by references to historical narratives and nationalist symbolism, with every group calling for compensation of historical wrongs and restoration of an era in which Kirkuk was “theirs.”
The Kurds call Kirkuk the heart of Kurdistan. They had autonomy in the Ottoman Empire until the Tanzimat centralization program (1839). Kirkuk was capital of the Sharazur vilayet until 1879.
For Turkmen Kirkuk is symbol of the heritage of the Ottomans. In the Ottoman times, Turkmen had the political and economic power in Kirkuk. As Kirkuk in the division of the Ottoman lands became part of the British mandate instead of Turkey, they lost their elite position.
In the Arab view, Kirkuk’s significance is its importance to the identity of the Iraqi state. Any challenge to Kirkuk’s “Iraqi” identity is seen as a national security problem.
The present political instability is imported to Kirkuk from outside as several foreign forces try to get advantage of its natural resources. Kirkuk’s multicultural history should be source of inspiration in the search for peaceful political solution for the conflict! The return of the peaceful co-existence in Kirkuk could be a model for whole the Middle East to find peaceful diplomatic ways to solve the problems.
