Hasan Turan, the head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), has called on all parties in Kirkuk to endorse a "certificate of honor" to preserve peace in the city amid protests.
As he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, Turan highlighted that Kirkuk has enjoyed years of stability and urged the prevention of any tension or escalation of conflicts.
Turan emphasized on the need to put an end to indignation, stating, "All parties should come to the round table and collectively determine the city's present and future."
He called upon all political and community groups to sign the "certificate of honor" to safeguard coexistence, tranquility and social harmony in Kirkuk.
Noting that the city has proven over the years that it cannot be governed by a unilateral administration, Turan advocated for the inclusion of all parties in the decision-making process.
Protests erupted in Kirkuk on Monday, following the deaths of four demonstrators and injuries to 15 others over the weekend.
The protests initially began in late August, triggered by a government decision to transfer control of the Kirkuk Operations Command headquarters to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The KDP argued that the building had previously been under their control and should be returned to the party.
The Peshmerga forces, affiliated with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), had taken over bases abandoned by the Iraqi army in Kirkuk after the emergence of the Daesh terror group in 2014.
However, in 2017, Iraqi government forces reasserted control over Kirkuk, ending the Peshmerga presence in the city.
Türkiye too urged for calm in Kirkuk, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying that a deterioration of peace in the multiethnic city would harm stability in Iraq as a whole.
"We see a relative calm in Kirkuk as we observed from (Turkish officials') talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mr. (Mohammed S.) Al Sudani and their counterparts,” Erdoğan told reporters in a prerecorded interview released on Tuesday. “I instructed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) President Ibrahim Kalın to follow the developments. (Our officials) held talks with Al Sudani, with the Barzani family," he said, referring to an influential clan whose members include leaders of the KRG.
Erdoğan referred to Kirkuk as the "homeland of Turkmens," an ethnic Turkic community, and "a place where different cultures peacefully coexisted for centuries. "We will not allow acts that will harm the peace and integrity of this region," he said.
