Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Bob Spink (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 1 May 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq

Question: Does the Minister agree that there has been excellent progress socially, economically and politically in the other Iraq—Iraqi Kurdistan? Does he also agree that, in order to maintain that progress and to guarantee the stability of populations and the return of internally displaced persons, the Kirkuk referendum must go forward later this year, without any interference, either internal or external, or delay?

Answer: The British Government certainly have no intention of interfering in any way in the referendum on the future of Kirkuk. I know that the hon. Gentleman is very interested in the Kurdish-administered part of Iraq and that he wants the referendum to go ahead. So do the British Government, but we want to ensure that that referendum is carried out properly and in a clear fashion, and that it is as inclusive as possible. As he knows, many allegations have been made about gerrymandering and the rest of it, so the referendum has to be seen to be as clean as possible. This is potentially a volatile area and we have already seen some jihadists and insurrectionists moving out of Baghdad to Kirkuk and murdering people with their suicide bombers. It is an important issue. We will do all that we can to ensure that the referendum is properly conducted and benefits the people of the Kurdish north and the people of Iraq in general.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 459 c1352-3
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Iraq Referendums Internally displaced people Kurds Emigration Refugees
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk