Iran-backed Badr accuses acting Kirkuk governor of sectarianism
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iran-backed Badr Organization strongly rebuked Kirkuk acting governor Rakan al-Jabouri, accusing him of favoring his tribe and Sunni Arabs, while claiming that Shiites are the most impacted.
“I don’t think your administration of the province is exemplary, considering that the former [governor] was biased for his ethnicity and party, and you made things worse,” Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati, the head of the Northern Branch of Badr, said in a letter to the acting governor.
The province is diverse and disputed, claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
“The biggest loser in this unjust equation is the Turkmen, and even bigger losers are the Shiites (Turkmen and Arab),” added al-Bayati.
Bayati laments talking with “sectarian language,” but claims that Jabouri has “stooped lower” as he has given official positions and responsibilities to his clan and his tribe, warning him not to anger the “meek.”
He called on the acting governor to resign from the post if he isn’t willing to rectify his mistakes.
Bayati claimed that al-Jabouri has violated the constitution, especially in cases of promoting junior clerks to higher positions due to their closeness to him or appointing his kin.
There will be other messages following this one, especially a message of “reassurance” to the Kirkuk public that no ethnicity, person, governor, or party can “dominate control, Kirkuk’s resources and the administration of Kirkuk” from October 16 “until infinity.”
They vowed to go to the Iraqi parliament, courts, or state with evidence to resolve this if no results are seen soon.
There needs to be a division of the major administrative roles between the three ethnicities, Bayati implored.
As for the joint administration of Kirkuk by Peshmerga and the Iraqi Army, he claimed that the proposal was theirs, not the United States.’
“The US is a foreign country, and the law doesn’t entitle it to make proposals or to be part of this formation. The solution needs to be Iraqi, not American,” he added, criticizing the Arabs and Kurds who have turned to Washington.
He blamed the United States for the crises in Iraq, including Kirkuk, claiming that the United States was “biased” and took the side of a “certain party, certain component.”
He suggested for training and equipping of Kirkuk’s police and for Kurds, Arabs and. Bayati claimed there is no Hashd presence within Kirkuk.
Jabouri is a Sunni Arab from Kirkuk. He was appointed acting governor of Kirkuk in October 2017, after Kurdish governor Najmaldin Karim was ousted from office by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi — a move that is unconstitutional, some argue.
Since the Peshmerga withdrawal, Kirkuk has been run by Iraqi forces. The acting governor has been accused of a fresh campaign of Arabization.