The Iraqi Turkmen Front <br/> (abbreviated as ITF) is a political movement representing the Iraqi Turkmen people. It was founded on April 5, 1995 as a coalition of several Turkmen parties operating within the framework of Iraq's unity. The party aims for the Turkmen community to have greater political involvement, increased recognition and more rights.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the party has contested control of Kirkuk and other areas of northern Iraq, claiming that Kirkuk belongs to the Turkmen people. The ITF claims a region named Turkmeneli (literally meaning the "land of the Turkmens") as the homeland of the Iraqi Turkmen. Turkmeneli includes within its boundaries Kirkuk, Tal Afar, Erbil, Mandali, Mosul and Tuz Khurmatu.
The party played an active role in the fight against the Islamic State to defend the region of Turkmeneli (especially around Kirkuk) and the Iraqi Turkmen population from the genocide that ISIS committed against Iraqi Turkmen.
Composition
The Iraqi Turkmen Front is a coalition of the following political parties:
- Iraqi National Turkmen Party (INTP), founded in 1988 and which operated in the northern Iraqi no-fly zones
- Turkmeneli Party, founded in 1992 in Northern Cyprus as the Turkmen Union Party
- Provincial Turkmen Party
- Movement of the Independent Turkmen
- Iraqi Turkmen Rights Party
- Turkmen Islamic Movement of Iraq
Election results
In the December 2005 Iraqi legislative election, the ITF list (#630) polled 76,434 votes, or 0.7% nationwide, according to the uncertified published results. The overwhelming majority of those votes were cast in Kirkuk Governorate, where the ITF won more than 10% of the total. Most of the rest of the ITF's votes were in Saladin Governorate. According to the full official results of that election, the ITF is entitled to only one seat in the permanent National Assembly. The party has been funded deeply by the Turkish administration and military.
ITF has decided to enter the latest Kurdish Elections which took place in late 2013, too. ITF has made up one list and got the highest vote in Erbil making Aydın Maruf the ITF Turkmen member of parliament from Erbil in KRG Parliament.
In the Iraqi parliamentary election in 2014, the ITF has protected its total parliament member count of 10 and protecting the number of their directly elected number of candidates from ITF-Turkmen lists (without alliances) but also increasing the total number of ITF parliamenters to 3, ITF tried hard to make all Turkmens cast their votes but they couldn't change the situation a lot, when compared to the previous elections and the ISIL advance in Iraq was shown as the main reason for this. The movement's leader Arahad Salihi (Kirkuk) and deputy Hasan Turan (Kirkuk) has been elected as members of parliament from ITF's own list; Kirkuk Turkmen Front List, headed by party's deputy Hasan Turan. ITF's, Kirkuk Turkmen Front List was the second in the Governorate of Kirkuk, winning 71,492 votes, nearly 13% of the total votes in Kirkuk Governorate. Although there was a second Turkmen list named Kirkuk Turkmen Alliance, participating in elections in Kirkuk;
On the same day, Iraqi Turkmen Front MP Aydın Maruf declared that an official Turkmen Brigade of the Iraqi army would be created in the near future, starting with 500 men and then growing up to 1500 shortly thereafter for the defense of Tal Afar, Kifri and other major Turkmen settlements from ISIL and also for the planned offense to retake the areas which were under ISIL control, like Mosul. He also stated that the brigade from now on would receive official support by the Turkish Armed Forces and that an Iraqi Turkmen commander would be in charge of the brigade in the ongoing fight. This official agreement between ITF, the Iraqi Government and the KRG will be guaranteed officially by the Republic of Turkey. Maruf considered this an important step for the future of Iraqi Turkmens. There are 4,000 Turkmen fighters battling Daesh in the northern province of Kirkuk and 10,000 others have finished their training in Mosul.
See also
- List of armed groups in the Iraqi Civil War
- Erbil massacre