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PKK Plans Canton in Khurmatu – TEV-Dem delegation visits Khurmatu to meets with local people

Basnews | Shamal Abdulla – 11.07.2015 – KHURMATU – The Movement of the Democracy Society (TEV-Dam), a wing of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), has suggested forming a Canton in Khurmatu, a town in Salahaddin Province, northern Iraq. Khurmatu is claimed to be part of Kurdistan by Iraqi Kurds.

A pro-PKK news website has published reports that residents from Khurmatu town have welcomed the proposal. “The people of Khurmatu are happy with the TEV-Dam plan to form a Canton in their town,” said the pro-PKK RojNews Kurmanci language section.

However on its Kurdish Sorani section, the website reports that TEV-Dam has tabled a plan with other political parties in the town to form a national Council in Khurmatu. According to the report, a TEV-Dam delegation recently visited political representatives in the town. Muhammad Abdullah, the co-chair of TEV-Dam, during a meeting with Khurmatu politicians and tribal leaders, said the aim of the visit was to assess the situation in the town closely, as it has been affected by recent clashes between Peshmerga forces and other Iraqi security forces and Islamic State (IS). “Due to the mixture in Khurmatu, with Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, there have been opportunities for external intervention in the town similar to other parts of Iraq. There hasn’t been a united Kurdish front in the town to solve the problems and this has caused numerous security issues and forced people to flee the town, so we can say there is foreign hand behind all of these,” said Abdullah. “No party thinks in the interest of Khurmatu and this has caused the problem to remain unsolved,” added the TEV-Dam co-leader. He said that this is why his movement suggested that Khurmatu return to Kirkuk Province or Garmain administration, or instigates a independent council, without waiting for the Iraqi central government and Kurdistan Regional Government to solve their issues. However in the Kurmanci section, it is reported that TEV-Dem has suggested a formation of a Canton in the town, and has not mentioned plans to reconnect Khurmatu with Kirkuk Province. The PKK-aligned Syrian Kurdistan Party Union Democratic PYD, has declared three Cantons in Syrian Kurdistan (also known as Rojava) and TEV-Dem wants the same model for Khurmatu.