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Following are excerpts from a show called the "Constitution School", which aired on Al-Taakhi TV, an Iraqi-Kurdish channel, on October 10, 2005.
Abd Al-Salam Brawri: Article 116 mentions a constitution. In addition to the country's constitution, every district will have a constitution. You must have heard or read about the constitution of the Kurdistan district. We were the first in this matter. We wrote our constitution, and the parliament approved it. It deliberated the essential changes in this constitution after the Iraqi constitution was made public to avoid any contradiction between the two constitutions, since this is one of the conditions of federalism.
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The first part ends with an article of great importance for Kurdistan: "The district's government is responsible for all that is required to manage the district, especially establishing and organizing the district's internal security forces, such as the police and security forces for the district." This is very different from the concepts of autonomy and decentralization, which are still being promoted by some chauvinists from among our Arab brothers. They believe that federalism is just another name for a system in which the central government deigns to relinquish some authorities to the districts. In fact, federalism means something else. As I said, federalism means the exact opposite: people who voluntarily decide to unite and have rights and obligations, and their own character, and there is a central government which regulates all these matters.
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You wanted to ask something? Go ahead.
Woman: What do you think about the people of Kirkuk - will their situation improve or will it stay as it is?
Abd Al-Salam Brawri: The truth is that the suffering of all Iraqis today stems from the unnatural security situation. The remnants of the former regime, the enemies of Iraq, the insurgents from abroad, and, of course, their collaborators are all trying to prevent Iraq from becoming democratic. If we all succeed... The first step is most definitely to approve a constitution, and the second step is to elect a constitutional government. These are the requirements of the future. We need this. I think that once the people of Kirkuk decide to return to the Kurdistan district, things will change and they will enjoy everything we in Kurdistan have achieved.
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