Iraqi Turkmen Front President Erşat Salihi: “Security zones must be built for the Turkmen” Erşat Salihi stressed that Iraqi Turkmen had been the number one target of ISIL and that the Turkmen should be allowed to form armed forces.
ANKARA – Stressing that the Iraqi Turkmen had been the number one target of ISIL, Erşat Salihi, President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front and Iraqi Parliamentarian from Kirkuk said that a security zone had to be the build and the Turkmen had to be allowed to own armed forces.
The future of Iraq and Iraqi Turkmen amid the latest developments was addressed with a meeting at TEPAV on 24 September 2014. Moderated by TEPAV research associate Hüseyin Raşit Yılmaz, the meeting hosted Erşat Salihi, President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, Iraqi Parliamentarian from Kirkuk, and Head of the Human Rights Commission of the Iraqi Parliament. Stressing that the Turkmen had become the number one target of ISIL, Salihi said that the entire world was aware of the tragedy whereas neither the Iraqi central government nor the international community offered protection for the Turkmen. Salihi said, “Turkmens have become the number one targets in conflict zones. No one took action when we voiced that because only the Turkmen were targeted. We knew that other communities will become targets later on. If they have listened to us… later Yazidis, Shebeks, Christians became targets.” Claiming that the ISIL threat could not have grown this large should the Turkmen had been allowed to bear arms, Salihi said, “This could have put a border for ISIL. They could not have easily and severely targeted the region if so.”
Salihi, touching upon the problems between the Turkmen and Sunni Arabs and Kurds, spoke: “We have to come to the table to solve our problems. But the terms of negotiation are not equal for the Turkmen. Since we live together on our geography, we have to come to a common solution.” Salihi said that they developed potential solutions for the current problems hindering the Turkmen existence within Iraq, chief among them being to give Tal Afar city status, and Kirkuk special status. Reminding that the Turkmen had been living in Iraq for more than a millennium and did not want to leave the country, Salihi added that they, as the Turkmen Front, have been working to invigorate the relationship between Baghdad and Ankara.
Salihi referring to the United Nations resolution after the New York meeting on August 7th which caused disappointment for it not mentioned the Turkmen raised the question: “We are wondering if this draws a new map of the region for us Turkmens?”
