Turkmen political parties and organizations of different ideologies who participated in the workshop "Kirkuk Issue - unification of Turkmen message and project" on 2 February 2008 published a treaty which clarifies the current Turkmen policy and activities in dealing with Kirkuk Issues. The following is the text of the convention:

In the name of God most gracious most Merciful

Kirkuk is the only Iraqi province with a peculiar specialty for its economical importance, historical complexity, strategically geography and multiplicity of its ethnicities and sects. This acquired the province its national, regional and international importance. Kirkuk province is much important for the Turkmen which symbolize their past, present and future. Kirkuk province refers also to the identity the Turkmen and their existence. Therefore, the participants in the workshop "Kirkuk Issue - unification of Turkmen message and project" on 2 February 2008 in al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad agreed on several basic principles and considered it as a convention and pledged to work accordingly.

The convention

Kirkuk is address of the Turkmen identity and Rights they will never relinquish or renounce. The unfair approach to the Kirkuk case will be considered the violation of the basic Turkmen rights.

Working by the all peaceful means to find a rightful and unbiased solution for the Kirkuk problem which preserve its identity, multiplicity and enhance the peaceful cohabitation

Defending Kirkuk society and to avoid the sectarianism, racism, expiation and to strengthen its social inborn coherent characteristics.

Kirkuk is for all its peoples from all the ethnicities and components; they themselves are responsible to preserve the unity, structure and multiplicity.

Kirkuk is the factor of unity and collaboration between the Turkmen powers, parties and intellectuals as it is the sign of unity and coherence of the Turkmen community.

Any solution for Kirkuk problem should be through the compliance of the representatives of the its major components

Participation in any negotiations to resolve Kirkuk problem and to find a fair solution should be through a common consensus between the Turkmen actors and by the unified Turkmen view. No group allowed being preferred to the other.

Promising to protect the administrative idiosyncrasy, ethnical multiplicity and cultural diversity of Kirkuk

Adoption of the project of an independent Kirkuk region (Province) and waging campaigns to introduce and defend the Turkmen view in the international arena

Kirkuk Issues should be the leading issue and fore mostly treated in any activity of all the Turkmen political and civil society organizations

Working to treat the damages to which the Turkmen in Kirkuk have been exposed and halt the oppression

Intensifying all the activities in all fields to prevent the attempts to change demography of Kirkuk

Emphasizing that Kirkuk administration should include a fair and balanced proportions of the Kirkuk's different communities until an impartial census and election organized by the United Nations and under the inspection of the independent international observers.

The Turkmen should play a central and basic role in all the aspects of Kirkuk administration; they should hold major posts and their percentage should be not less that 32%

Unification of the Turkmen information facilities and direction of all the activities toward Kirkuk Issues

Assertion and declaration that Kirkuk is an Iraqi city which concerns all the Iraqis; the Iraqi citizens are the only owner of Kirkuk's underground wealth. Kirkuk problem is a native issue which influences directly the safety and the unity of the Iraqi sovereignty. It is necessary to cooperate with the National Unity Government which supports the fair resolution for Kirkuk problem.

The Turkmen representatives should participate in every governmental or non-governmental interlocutions and negotiations which draft the administrative boundaries of Kirkuk

Acquiring Kirkuk peculiar status in the Iraqi Constitution as it was mentioned in article 53 of the Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law

Institution of a conjoint working committee from all the Turkmen political groups to unify the Turkmen message and policy about Kirkuk Issue and to establish the basic the strategies and provide the solutions

Unification of the national, regional and international activities and campaigns of the Turkmen political parties about Kirkuk issue

Iraqi Turkmen Human Rights Research Foundation

Translated from Arabic by SOITM and reviewed for language by M. Kelenchy.