Three Shiite Provinces Apply for Autonomy in Iraq

The local administrators of Basra, Amara, and Nasiriye agreed that they wanted to unify and be granted autonomy. Basra Governor, Hasan Rasid reported that they sent their demands to interim Iraq Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. This development, confirmed also by the speaker of the parliament in Amara province, increases the disintegration anxieties of Iraq.

The State Administration Law approved by the Iraq Interim Government allows for the formation of autonomous regions by combining at least three provinces. However, Kerkuk (Kirkuk), due to a statute protecting its mixed ethnic makeup, and Baghdad, due to it being the capital, are not able to be included in any of the autonomous territories.

Suleymaniye, Erbil and Duhok provinces in northern Iraq compose the Kurdish Autonomous Territory. The Kurdish territory, having limited sources of income, reportedly intends to conquer Kirkuk in order to obtain its oil wealth.

Basra province, like Kirkuk, sits atop vast oil reserves of Iraq. Three million people live in the territory that is also home to Iraq’s only seaport. Iraq Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Mesut Barzani’s newspaper, Taakhi, endorsed the Shiites’ initiative and called it a "righteous decision".

The developments are especially worrying to Iraqi Turkmen, who feel that the disintegration of Iraq has begun. The Iraq Interim Government will make the final decision on the matter in the upcoming days.

The provinces resisting against the coalition forces in Iraq will become isolated provided that the region controlled by the Shiites in southern Iraq obtains autonomy.