Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr S. Ilhamgizi / Some 600,000 Kurds live in Iraq's Kerkuk region populated with Turkomans, a representative of the Front of Iraqi Turkman, Huseyn Kerim Bayoghlu, said at a symposium in Baku on 4 September.
According to him, 19 out of 20 heads of district administrations in Kerkuk are Kurds and only one is Turkoman. "Kerkuk is occupied by Americans and Kurds. Earlier, during Saddam's regime, we were living as sister nations, but now they torture us. They kidnap children and demand money. Turkomans have already paid $2mln for kidnapped children," Bayoghlu said.
Due to kidnapping many businessmen have left Kerkuk. Scientists and university lectures have also left the region, the head of Turkman Adalat (Iraqi Turkman party), Anvar Hamid Bayrakdar said. The referendum stipulated in Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution poses a danger for Kerkuk, he said. The referendum scheduled for the end of this year will pass Kerkuk either to the Kurdistan region or Baghdad. "With the assistance of the government and the United States a large number of Kurds were placed in Kerkuk and that will affect the results of the referendum. The referendum will not reflect the real situation," Bayrakdar said.