The Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) announced on Saturday it would establish a Turkmen province if a United States Senate resolution regarding the division of Iraq were to be implemented, the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.
The Senate’s non-binding resolution, which was opposed by President George W. Bush, calls for the decentralization of Iraq in a federal system by dividing the country into three provinces along ethnic lines: Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurd.
"The Turkmen people and its political parties completely reject any plan to divide Iraq," ITF Deputy Chairman ‘Ali Mahdi, told A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Mahdi added, however, that if this plan were to be implemented, the Turkmen people would demand its national rights, as it is the third largest ethnic group in the country after the Arabs and the Kurds.
The American Senate’s resolution was rejected in Iraq by the majority of the movements and parties. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said the idea would be “a catastrophe, not only in Iraq but also in the region."
The Sunni and Shi’ite movements also rejected the plan, while the Kurds welcomed it as the "only viable solution" to the present chaos.