Kurdistan

Kurdistan-Step by Step

2005-11-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

Erbil-Capital of the Kurdistan regional government.

Before i begin i would like to apologise to any readers i may still have about not posting for so long however i am going to try and blog more often..

Anyway i thought i would post this picture as when i saw it on Aliraqi.com, it made my day even if it did upset some of our arab compatriots.

I mean finally no more Ibrahim Khalil, no more Perwez Khan but directly in to Kurdistan. Even if the screen has to show arbil and not Hawler, what does it matter.

Kurd-Shia fallout/Iran kills 8 British troops

2005-10-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

15 Shia Iraqis killed following islamic fast of Ramadan.

BAGHDAD, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A deepening feud between Iraq's Kurdish president and the Shi'ite prime minister has cast doubt on whether their alliance, forged out of convenience nine months ago, will survive beyond elections in December.

If it breaks apart, as some observers expect, it could see a fundamental realignment of Iraq's political landscape, which has been dominated by pro-Iranian Islamist Shi'ites and separatist-minded, secular Kurds since elections in January.

The dispute between President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari broke into the open last week after one of Talabani's spokesmen said Jaafari should be sacked because he was monopolising power and not sticking to agreements.

Jaafari, a devout Shi'ite, responded by saying he was too busy running the country to discuss the slight with Talabani.

The two, who have vastly different characters and visions for Iraq, have long had policy differences, especially over what should be done about Kirkuk, a city sitting on huge oil reserves that is claimed by Kurds, ethnic Turkmen and Arabs, many of whom are Shi'ites transplanted from the south by Saddam Hussein.

The latest dispute, coming a little over two months before new elections, appears to mark a more substantive departure, however, as they weigh up what sort of allegiances will leave them with the most power after December's vote.

"The significance of Talabani's break with Jaafari is actually more serious than mere parliamentary politics," Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan, said on his website (www.juancole.com) earlier this week.

"The always troubled and uneasy Shi'ite-Kurdish alliance was the I-beam that kept the house of Iraq standing. Talabani has just taken a blow torch to the I-beam, and it is not clear whether there is anything to keep the roof from collapsing now."

That is a dramatic way of looking at it, but it is clear the agreement that brought the parties together in January, when the Shi'ites needed Kurdish support to secure a strong enough majority in parliament to form a government, is now fragile.

UNCERTAIN ALLIANCES

The key to what happens next is the Shi'ite coalition that Jaafari heads, the United Iraqi Alliance, formed under the direction of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's foremost Shi'ite cleric, in the run-up to January's polls.

The alliance brings together more than a dozen groups but is principally made up of various factions of Dawa, which is Jaafari's party, and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), formed in Iranian exile and also Islamist.

While the alliance did well in January's election, winning almost half the votes, Sistani, who rarely speaks in public, is said by some followers to be dissatisfied with its performance in office, amid allegations of corruption and infighting, and it is not certain that he will give his blessing to the coalition again come December.

Since Sistani's opinion holds sway with Iraq's 60-percent Shi'ite majority, withholding his approval could be key.

"The United Iraqi Alliance is unwieldy," said Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at Queen Mary College at the University of London.

"Sistani put his weight behind it in January, but it would be hard for him to do that again in December.

"If Sistani pulls in his horns, which one would think he would, and doesn't back the alliance, the alliance will fracture ... and the people who are going to hurt are Dawa and SCIRI."

That could leave several political groups, including that led by rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, vying for the Shi'ite religious vote, splitting the power of each party.

At the same time it would open the way for secular Shi'ites, such as the party led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, to draw moderates away from the United Iraqi Alliance.

Allawi is already talking about building a party that draws support from moderates across the spectrum -- Shi'ites, Sunnis, Christians and others. He could also prove a natural ally for Talabani and the Kurds, who favour secular politics.

"You have a very open race for this next election," said Dodge. "It could see a fundamental realignment in the political landscape, but it depends on Sistani."

At the same time, there are pragmatic reasons why the Kurds and religious Shi'ites may stay together for now: they largely wrote a new constitution, securing Kurdish autonomy in the north and similar rights to Shi'ites in the oil-rich south.

However, that constitution will be voted on at a referendum on Oct 15. If it is approved, as expected, then the Kurds and religious Shi'ites will have got what they wanted -- and may not need each other any more.

Other Iraq news today:

Britain has accused Iran of responsibility for explosions which have caused the deaths of all eight UK soldiers killed in Iraq this year.

Free Kurdistan-'a fresh idea'- from the National review

Iraq reverses changes to referendum-Due to Un/Us/Sunni arab discontent

Congratulation's KURDSTANIS

2005-06-13T03:47:00.000-07:00

Har bijhi Kurd u Kurdistan

Our 2 president's.

President Barzani

KDP President Barzani, alongside Peshmarga-S. Kurdistan 1989.

I would just like to congratulate all kurdistanis whether they be arabs, turkmens christians or Kurds on the election of our new president Massoud Barzani. Lets all hope and pray he is capable of succeding our last president the immortal Qazi Muhamad. Now all go and party hard.

Har bijhi KURD KURDISTAN wa PESHMARGAKANMAN.

Kurdish contribution to 'Iraqi freedom' surpasses Brit's in 1 week.

2005-05-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

mother of Kurdish Martyr.

Hawler-Kurdistan

At least 79 Kurds have died this week due to the reattachment of Kurdistan to Iraq. 78 in bombings and at least one in a beheading. However Sistani and his cronies still think it is acceptable to debate whether the Kurdish people deserve regional self-determination. The Kurdistani people, the second biggest contributors in terms of blood in the liberation of Iraq are now being denied their most fundamental demand, The question is how long will the Iraqi non-federation last?

Mam Jalal amuses arabs with jokes about Kudish follishness!

2005-04-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

His Excellency the President of Iraq, Mam-'Uncle'-Jalal.

I just saw an excerpt from an interview given by mam Jalal which is to be aired this sunday by AL-Sharqia news network. In the interview mam Jalal tells a joke about Kurds, I qoute: Their is an Kurd on an Iraqi airways Jet suddenly, there is commotion and the Kurd is told that the plane is going to explode, the Kurd replies: I could'nt care less the jet belogs to the government (hi Hukmata)'. While i understand that this is mam Jalals way of explaining the Kurds hate for the Iraqi government (circa 1924-) I just can't help thinking that the jokes origin is arabic and it is'nt about Kurdish contempt for Government but about Kurdish idiocy.

I mean Talabani is now Iraqi president but does he have to make fun of us now? this comes a week after he said that Kurdish independence was not only a dream but a fantasy!, is this what he told the martyred peshmarga?. Did they die for Islamic totalitarianism in Iraq?. If this is how we behave in governement who can blame the arabs and for that matter the turks and persians for constantly making us the but of their jokes?

Turkmen Front disssolved in Kurdistan.

2005-04-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

The Iraqi Turkem Front has dissolved following allegations of corruption.

Its been reported that the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF)-'Baray-i-Turkmani' has just been dissolved. The ITF which stated that it was willing to resort to armed violence to prevent the democratic desicion of 59% of kirkuk's electorate being carried out has dissolved following its 4th conference last week.
Peyamner is reporting that the ITF's Kurdistan regional government (KRG) repersentative in Hawler city, Abdul-Qadir Bazargan, has asked the KRG to protect its premises in Kurdistan. The groups flag has also been lowered on all of it's offices including the military offices which were receiving military aid from Turkey until recently.
It's thought that Turkey withdrew all aid to the ITF when the elections showed that there were not 2 million Turkmen in Iraq as the TIF had claimed.

Saddam's first interview since Iraqi liberation.

2005-04-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Saddam Hussein-Former distator of Iraq.

While Kurdish attempts to filibuster Jafari's nomination continue unabated in the Iraqi federal capital, most talk here in Kurdistan is about a phone in on one of the poplular 'your point of view' shows.

I know this sounds amazing but Saddam Hussein, former dictator and tyrant, phoned in to the AL-Faha network's daily current affairs programme this tuesday. Now i personally thought that this was a hoax at first but the programmes presenter and the network have confirmed that the voice heard was the nasal intonation of Mr Hussein himself.

Saddam declared that he was still the president of the Republic of Iraq and that he was speaking from the bathroom area of Baghdad international airport were he is being hed by the forces of 'occupation'. He stated that he was being held in a 'miserable' situation and asked the 'kindhearted and generous' people of Iraq to protest untill he is relocated to one of the republican palaces which fit his rank as head of state. He went on to complain about the food situation at the prison, asking several times if the presenter had seen 'Pakla' beans (a common food in southern Iraq) move, refering to his earlier claim that his food was infested with maggots.

When asked about his feelings regarding his trial, Hussein declared that there was no authority which could try him in accordance to Iraqi law while refering to Iraq's Baathist era constitution. When the presenter pointed out that he was being tried in accordance to international law the former president stated that the international community should in fact be trying President G. Bush Jnr. since it was he who had attacked Iraq and not 'Iraq which had invaded the US'. When the presenter asked him about the demands for the death penalty from the Iraqi people, Saddam stated his 'stomach had gone' ('an Iraqi phrase refering to shock) that people would dare lie to the extent of saying his beloved people want him dead. Following the conversation numerous Iraqi's phoned in to tell the world about how they and their relatives had suffered under the former tyrant.

I heard the converstaion myself and i can tell you that from my recollection of Saddam's interminable speeches that this was Hussein, however there are still people who doubt that Iraq's strongman can have fallen so low, but who would have thought 2 years ago that the 'Butcher of Baghdad' not to mention Halabja would be found in a hole?.

a Kurdish Skyscraper. Part 2:

2005-04-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

'Beautiful City Towers' Sulaimaniya-Liberated Kurdistan.

Due to the interest i have researched the project i talked about last week: The Beuatiful City Centre in sulaimaniya:

The building will be 26 floors high (78m), with its needle it's going to be at least 110m high. It will have 270 rooms available to guests. The second floor will have a world class restaurant with a capacity of 120 people, while the first floor will have 4 other restaurants with the capacity to seat 1000 people. There will be a sauna, swimming people and sports hall which will be in alignment with Olympic standards, while 2 conferance centres are going to allow meetings of upto 1000 people. There will also be a multiplex cinema aswell as a Video recording/film studio institute which will allow the creation of world class Kurdish cinema and TV.

The major share holder is Farouq Mala Mustafa (no Relation to President Barzani) Who has said that the Shari Jwan project is the biggest financial as well as constructive project in Iraq and Kurdistan. He has also stated that the the project cost will be $45,000,000 and that the design stage alone has cost $1,300,000.

The Sheraton, Hilton, Marriot and Intercontinental hotel groups are currently in talks with the Kurdish investors over who will manage the Hotel side of the bussiness.

Construction begins next week with the leveling of the Re'aya ridge (Girdi Re'aya), while 2 firms based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively are bidding on construction rights with 40 more days until a final tender is named, from that date they will have 8 months to begin end state construction.

My Favourite part: the building will stand on land ear marked for a Republican Palace by Saddam.

There has been a lot of negativety in the posts made here and on Kurdo's site but while i fully understand that the natural beauty of our homeland is sacred and that a skyscraper cannot ever make up for the deaths of the anfal, it is important that we Kurds encourage investment in our nation as every dollar an American or Briton etc. etc. makes in Kurdistan is a dollar which will be defended by their governments.

Ghaddafi's solution

2005-04-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Muammar Ghaddafi and the Kurds.

After some searching i found these words of 'wisdom' from the craziest ledear in the world from his official website, well at least his hearts in the right place, here goes (from http://www.algathafi.org/akrad/akrad-en.htm) :

What did the Kurds gain from the IRAQ affair……… nothing. Unless embracing the colonization forces, and kisses on cheeks of the new colonization rulers, and the accuse with great treason, and allies with colonization. Whereas the Kurds situation did not change, but it became more worst at least from the moral and appearance points of view.

We expect that at such historical dramatical hours, it will be a rare historical chance for Kurds to graspit, similar to the chance of conquering Berlin City which was grasped by the Jews, defend of axis countries, and victory of Allies in the second world war. This should involve announcement of Kurd country, the historical hope for the suppressed Kurd nation…..There is nothing……., the Kurds are nationals in the countries where they were found.
What is new ? what are the gains ? ……..nothing. The Kurd is a Kurd a citizen from the second or third class in all countries of near east..
Do not let them deceive you by appointing Mr. Hoshyar Zibari as a Minister for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding the recent situation of IRAQ , now a days lieutenant general Noureddin Mahmoud was a prime minister for IRAQ, also Mr. Ahmed Baban, both of them were Kurds. Also the ministers of public works, communications, interior justice, finance and defense were all Kurds.
The chief of staff of Iraqi army was given to Kurds for example: lieutenant general Bak Sidgi, lieutenant general Hussein Fawzi, lieutenant colonel Amen Zaki, even the percentage of Kurds in Iraqi country employees was 25% , where as it is 97% in Kurds area. The Kurds in their areas in Iraq had rural councils, district%2

First Kurdish skyscraper!

2005-04-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

The beautiful city towers-Sulaimaniya

This is the new Hotel which going to be built in Sulaimaniya. I thought i would put it up as it looks like its going to be the best looking buildng in Kurdistan and probably even Iraq.
It called the Shari Jwan Santar and its going to be built on the re'aya ridge in sulaimani city. It will be a hotel/conference/leisure centre/Cinema with 400 hundred rooms. The investors say that it's the biggest project in all of Iraq and that it will create 1000 jobs in this deprived part of the city.

Mam Jalal, the first non-arab ledear of an arab state?

2005-04-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

As every Kurd knows mam Jalal became the first Kurdish president of the Republic of Iraq this week, but i am geeting sick and tired of people rewriting history to suit their political needs, he is not the first Kurdish head of state in an arab state.

For the record the first Za'em (an arabic word for complete ledear which translates as similar to Fuhrer/generalisimo/President) of Syria was a kurd: Husni al-Zaim in 1949, Adib al-Shishakli who ruled syria in 1951-1954 was a kurd from Hama, 2 prime ministers Husni and Muhsen al-Barazi of syria were also Kurdish. The last elected Iraqi premier before Qassim's coup d'etat was the Kurd ,Nuri Said, while Qassim himself was half Kurdish.

Nuri said (Kurd) with Prince Regent abdul-illah of Iraq, .

If we delve further into history we find that the Ayubid dynasty who ruled Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen were Kurds. Their Shia predesesors in Egypt the Fatamids were also Kurds, while in Iran the Qajarid dynasty were Kurdish.

More recently in Turkey both Turgut Ozal (President) and Bulent Ecevit (Prime minister) were Kurds while 3 of the most important members of the 'young turk' movement who destroyed the Ottoman empire, Abdullah Jevdet, Ishaq Sukuti and Ziya Gokalp were all Kurds (these men were the main intellectuals of Pan-Turanism!!).

Let's also not forget that Saladin the greatest general of the arab armies and the only man in history who has ever united the middle east by common consent was a Kurd from Tikrit.

Saladin, what did he ever do for you?

We kurds are not an inherantly stupid people if we put aside our loyalty to the Kurdish cause we can become whatever we want in any of the states that divide and occupy our land. It's like a deal with Shaatan, forget your Kurdish and you can have whatever you want, literally any position in society, even that of President.

I am not saying that mam Jalal has become Dr Faustus, he has been an iconic Kurdish ledear for 4 decades and has seen his people through some devastating times and i hope that he returns to his people in 8 months safe and sound, but how long will we help other nations rule us, how long will we exchange Kurdistan for a small voice in Baghdad, Ankara, Damascus or Tehran.

Why should one of our ledears support Palestinian independence but not Kurdish liberty, why should we oppose Isreali settlement of Kurdish land when Palestinians continue to occupy our Jerusalem, Kirkuk.

Like mam Jalal said once upon a time: Kurdistan Ya Naman.

Turkish Chemical Attack:

2005-04-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

Members of the peoples defence forces of Kurdistan.

News is emergeging that the Turkish armed forces have used chemical weapons against the forces of the peshmarga in Northern Kurdistan.
It is reported that chemical agents have been used against the peshmarga in the heavy fighting which is taking place in the provinces of Tunceli and dersim, in Turkish occupied Kurdistan. It is reported that five peshmarga, all women, have died due to respiratory distress which is caused by the Sarin chemical agent, the favoured chemical of the previous baathist regime of Iraq. Dersim the birthpace of Apo Ocalan (the PKK founder) has been closed of to all members of the media and governmental agencies since the latest cmpaign was launched by the Turkish military on the 1 of April.

It has also been reported that rascist attacks by turkish members of the paramilitary, MHP, have dramatically risen with 2 Kurdish students being killed in istanbul after rascist attacks, the link below is to a video file showing an attempted lynching of 4 Kurds in trabzon, the turkish military claims that the armoured personal carrier seen in the video was sent to resuce the students however one of the protestors was killed when the APC ran him over, the students had been attempting to demonstrate against the use of F-type prisons by turkey.
Rascist attack

MAM JALAL, IRAQI PRESIDENT

2005-04-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

Mam Jalal

“We remember with pride and gratitude the awesome bravery and sacrifices the band of brothers and sisters made to initiate and reorganize resistance against our oppressors in the aftermath of the disastrous treachery of the 1975 Algiers Agreement. History records those were dark days. The nucleus of Peshmergas who decided, against tremendous odds, to challenge a totalitarian state, which enjoyed support from East and West at the time, deserve forever the thanks of the people of Kurdistan of every generation. They proved to the world that the indomitable spirit of our people for identity and freedom cannot be crushed with impunity”

Jalal Talabani, June 1, 2002

Why does'nt he want the job?

2005-04-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Massoud Barzani, President of The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Two months since the first free and democtratic middle eastern elections in history, the reason for the shia (UIA) stuborness in forming a government is becoming clearer. It appears that the turboned lawmakers are unhappy that Kurds have achieved a small miracle and recliamed their right to make their own future.

News is gradually emerging of a shia drive to involve the western powers in an attempt to force the kurdish ledearship into agreements which go against the interests and the desires of the people who gave them 26% of the ballots. Thankfully it seems that the kurdish leaders are holding firm, although the unwillingness of the KDP President, Masoud Barzani, to assume his role as President of the Kurdistan Region is slightly worrying. Optimists think that this is as president Barzani forsees a future independent kurdish state, if this is true it would be unwise of him to settle for the position of a state governor, however i think that this may be due to real problems with the shia over what constitutional strength the federal sate of Kurdistan will enjoy, i mean who seriously thinks that a Kurdish, secular rational and modern entity can exist within the frame work of an Arab, Shia and reactionary state.

PS there is a new english language newspaper from Kurdistan ,The Hawler Globe, you can access it through the Peyamner webpage. The Globe's claim to fame according to Peyamner is that a friend of Chelsea Clinton, who currently teaches in Hawler is a guest writer, she apparently came to Kurdistan as she like helping strange nations in strange ways (What the hell does that mean!!).

A new Kurdish city?!!

2005-03-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

Turkish intelligence officer stops 9 year old flag burners (mersin).

Nawroz this year was really great, i mean we kurds have been celebrating it for 2705 years now, but this years was probably nearly as good as the original one, with 1 million people dancing and celebrating in Amed (diyarbekir) and the celebrations feeling like a real state holiday in liberated Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). But then a jolt back to reality as news emerged of a backlash against some Kurdish children in Mersin, who had attempted to burn the Turkish flag. Although it seems really strange to me that the Turkish public is'nt asking itself: Why are 9 year old Turkish citizens burning our flag?- i mean do they ever ask why these south east anatolians (turkish double speak for Kurds) want to break away?.
Anyway it was'nt all bad news as i found about a new Kurdish city through the affair, as it turns out that Mersin is actually part of Kurdistan. It is also on the meditaranean coast, so it turns out that i am a meditaranean in some ways. This may sound strange to you but we Kurds dont really know much about our country because of the artificial borders which have imprisoned us. I mean who else suddenly discovers a new city which belongs to his people? except for a Kurd. Who else has to use the CIA factbook instead of an encyclopedia to find out about how many compatriots he should have?.

Map of Mersin Turkish occupied Kurdistan.

PS: if you havent done so please vote for Medya Daily Photoblog at The photo Bloggies. This is a really great photoblog by a guy, Medya, in Iranian occupied kurdistan, who litteraly is risking mullah style punishment to bring photos of beutiful Eastern Kurdistan to light.

Kurdo also has a great picture of Sistani endorsed 'Arak' (the Kurdish national drink) at Kurdo's World

'Iraq will have Sharia'-Al-Jafari.

2005-03-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ayathollah Seyyid Al-Sistani.

Why are our Leaders trying so hard to rebuild Iraq, in there last press conference both mam Jalal and Kak Massoud stated 4 times that Iraq has been destroyed and that we must make a great sacrifices in rebuilding it. I know that if Iraq is rebuilt we Kurds must participate to avoid disinfranchisement but why should we be the ones to exert all the energy, why must we make all the concessions, why should our rights and interest be bartered to appease Sunnis, Shia or Turkmen. Just this week it has been announced tha Mam Jalal is going to Najaf to attempt to rescue the 'alliance', why is it that our elected ledear has to make a journey through suicide bombings and beheadings to talk to an unelected demigod.
It appeares that Sistani has a problem with Kirkuk being Kurdistani as this Iranian illegal immigrant wants to ensure the integrity of Iraqi soil. Why dont our ledears jsut state that if the arabs want to form a government they are going to have to compromise once, that they are going to have to give Kirkuk back to its ancesteral people. Why should we Kurds sacrifice anything to ensure the establishment of Sharia law in Iraq, why should we exchange our dead for arab democracy? and most importantly what will we gain from the government of AL-Jafari, a man who has said that Iraq wil have sharia law as this reflects iraqs islamic heritage (Der Spiegel-march, 22, 2005). I mean who seriously thinks that we Kurds can retain our secularism when our central government has imposed sharia law, i cant see Sistani allowing arabs to cross the green line to have some 'arak', can you.
It looks like we may be making the same mistakes that our brothers and sisters made in Iran in 1979, where all of the Kurdistani parties as well as those of the left supported Khomeini and beleived his lies about democracy only to have their revolution betrayed by hardline islamic fascists. The liberation of Iraq is slowly being hijaked by the Shia fanatics and after our Peshmarga are disolved what bargaonong position will we Kurds be left with, we must remeber that in iraq no matter who many ballots are cast the gun reigns supreme. Our ledears should abondon the Kafke-esque position of a prisoner rebuilding the prisons walls.

The Story of Nawroz...

2005-03-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

Kawa

Once upon a time in a land far far away there was a king. This King who went by the name of Zuhak-the Dragon-had an unfortunate birth defect, 2 gigantic snakes growing from each shoulder because of a curse placed on Zuhak by the Gods for his evil ways. These snakes had to be fed with the brains of 2 children everday of the year.

Now the King's doctor who was in charge of procuring the snakes meal could'nt bring himself to kill children everyday so he would smuggle one of the children to a land beyond the mountains and feed the Basilisk's a mix of human and sheeps brains (yummy!!).

One of the subjects of this ancient despot was Kawa a poor blacksmith who had already had many of his children sacrificed in this way. When he was told that his last remaining child, his beloved daughter was to be the next to be sacrificed, Kawa marched to the land of the smuggled children raised an army and marched on the palace of Zuhak. Where he killed the tyrant with a single blow of his mighty hammer.

The sacrificial children who had survived 'the Dragon' then set out to the mountains and lit fires to tell the people of the world that the Evil King was gone and that freedom and peace would now reign in the world (sounds familiar).

Nowadays we Kurds, the desecndents of the mountain children light mighty bonfires and celebrate the downfall of Zuhak every year at the vernal equinox, 21st of March which is now our New Years-Newroz.

I wont ruin the story with what current historians think of Kawa.

NEWROZTAN PIROZ-HAPPY NEW YEARS.

2005-03-18T12:42:00.001-08:00

Kurdish demands.

2005-03-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

'Mam' Jalal (Left) and Massoud Barzani (Right)

The arab media has recently been going crazy over comments made by Masoud Barzani (the incumbent President of Kurdistan) on the AL-Arabiya news channel. With Al Jazeera complaing that this senior 'Iraqi' politician has been reluctant to fly the Iraqi flag. However President Barzanis reply was one i think that all kurds of whatever political persuasion can be proud. He stated that he refused to sit infront of the banner used by forces which had killed 8,000 of his kin and 182,000 of his compatriots. He also suggested that the iraqi government could design a new flag or that Iraq could use the pre-baathist flag of Iraq, although it seems that the arab leaders are going to cling to a flag which elicits the same response in Kurds as a swastika does in Germany.
Barzani also stated that the kurds would not be making any concessions on the administrative status of Kirkuk nor on the fact that the Kurdish candidate for the Iraqi presidency, Mam Jalal, is entitled to the job as he is the representative of the second largest bloc in the Iraqi federal parliament.
He has also been demonised by the arab media for his insistance on the status of the Peshmarga forces of kurdistan. I think the main problem in this field is a lack of understanding. the arab ledears whether shia or sunni must realise that we the kurdish people see the men of the peshmarga as our defenders. they are not the instruments of parasitic middle eastern despots as their armise are, and we will not forsake them just to appease arab opinion. This week is not only the anniversary of the Halabja chemical attacks but also the aniversary of the Raparin (uprising) when the peshmarga liberated all of kurdistan (kirkuk aswell) from the baathist occupiers, we are not likely to forget this soon and we are not likely to sacrifice the peshmarga soon either.

Ya kirkuk wa Khanaqeen ya ta mawin ajangin!

2005-03-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Kurdish refugee- Kirkuk province, Kurdistan.

Yet again our leaders seem to be giving our natural rights away as they jostle for positions of power in an arab state. Before the elections they all proclaimed that they would never cede on any of our demands, but yet again they seem to be planing just that. First came mam Jalal's meetings with the turks 'special' repersentative to Iraq ,Koruturk, then before you know it, Kirkuk is not Kurdistani but a special example of 'living together' (peaka wa jhian), Kirkuk is'nt an integral part of Kurdistan anymore but a 'microcosm' of the Iraqi state. What makes it worse is that these leaders did'nt concede the point when Kurdistan was threatened with the turkish military but after 59% of the residents of Kirkuk voted to reintegrate into Kurdistan. Even now, when the arab leader Jafari has declared that he will never concede on Kirkuk (was'nt that meant to be our position), our leaders still herald him as a 'good' man.

For once in our modern history we hold real power, the power to prevent Iraq ever having a government and possibly the power to derail any future iraqi constitution, it should not be us who makes concessions but the arabs. I just hope that our leaders come to their senses and realise that it was'nt them who we voted for but Kurdistan. They must realise that the shahid did not give their lifes for arab democracy but for Kurdish freedom.

'Metal Storm'.

2005-02-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Turkish soldier holding head of 2 Kurdish Peshmargas decapitated by the Turkish army in Hakkari (1994).

Members of the Turkish occupation forces-North Kurdistan (Hakkari)

For years the Kurds of Northern Kurdistan have been Complaining to the world about the culture of machismo and sadism with which the Turkish armed forces have persecuted the Kurds. The international community has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the Kurdish cause. However it appears that Turkey has recently reprioritised it's enemies with Erdogan's government, as well as much of the public, focusing on the Americans as a greater threat than the kurds.

The greatest indication of this shift has been in the book stores, where 'Metal Storm' has become a best seller. With 100,000 copies being sold in 2 months making the book a record breaker for turkish literature. Metal storm, which was written by a turk who worked as textile manufacturer in the US, is about a Turkish commando platton which enters Southern Kurdistan (or Northern Iraq as Turkey prefers), and is then attacked by US forces while performing 'heroic' duties (burning Kurdish villages, beheading Kurds and prohibiting the Kurdish language no doubt). In the book this incident turns into a full blown war in which Istanbul is bombed and Washington D.C is destroyed with nuclear weapons in retaliation (a terrorist attack by turkish scientists). Will we see war between these NATO allies, i doubt it. Although, the fact that a chart topping 82% of respondents in a BBC world poll indicated that Turkey is the worlds most anti-american state (France only-75%!), may mean that it is time for America and her allies to rethink their positions.

It appears that Turkish democracy is'nt a example for the Islamic world, while Turkish fascism probably is.

The real haggling begins!

2005-02-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well its been 21 days since the first free elections in Iraq and the new government has yet to be announced. While the rest of the world is concentrating on who will be President and who will be prime minister, the issue seems to be one in which most kurds and Iraqis are already certain. Mam Jalal is going to be President and Ibrahim Al-Jafari (Dawa party) prime minister, and to tell you the truth how could it be otherwise, as we Kurds came second and the Shias first so its only logical that we share the top 2 positions between ourselves. Although Yawar (current president) has said that he wants to be president, he only got 150,000 votes so i cant really see him playing a role in the future.

'Mam' Jalal Talabani-PUK secretary General.(the one in the frame)

The main discussion in Kurdistan is whether the Kurds should go all out for the ministry of Foreign affairs or the ministry of oil. As it seems that we will probably only get one of the 4 top ministerial positions (oil, foreign, defence and interior ministeries). With the Kurdistan democratic party (KDP) arguing that its man Hoshyar Zebari should be kept as foreign minister while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan wants the oil ministry for a kurd instead. Ofcourse the KDP's position is'nt helped by the fact that Zebari has'nt gained the only material achievement which a foriegn minister can, passports in both KURDISH and arabic. While a kurd as oil minister promises development for the Kurdistan region as well as the potental for the ministeries resources to be used as a basis for securing Kurdish independence in the oil sector and future complete independence for Kurdistan. Personally, I hope the KDP understands that while Zebari did a very important job in showing rascist arabs that kurds can do things as good as them (better actually), he should now stand aside and not allow personal ambition or party politics stand in the way of kurdistans future.

'ssshhh! It has to be a secret'

2005-02-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

'The bees do it, the birds do it, even educated Arabs do it'

'it has to be a secret'

Ofcourse i am talking about relations with Israel the second most hated country in the middle east (finely, we Kurds come first at something).

Anyways, hypocrisy is the norm in the middle east but sometimes some kind of response is neccassary. First of all today Jordan reopened its Embassy in Isreal, but ofcourse we kurds are'nt allowed to even talk to an israeli. This comes after Turkeys war games with Isreal, although they have the nerve of saying that we are the ones being trained by the Israelis, and finally do you know that Egypt allows in thousands of Israeli tourists every year, although a single israeli visa stamp can mark you for death in Syria especially if your a kurd visitng your family.

Now even the Palestinians are talking to them. So why should'nt we Kurds have a diplomatic relationship with the Israelis the only other nation which knows what it means to be truely hated.

PS: Kurdish blogs get the femenine touch (always nicer):

Pamaee 'Pink'

Pepulay Kurdistan

Suzan

Justice 'IRAQI' style.

2005-02-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

Malik Duhan Al-Hassan (Iraqi Justice minister) recieves the interim constitution from L.P. Bremer.

Malek Duhan al-Hassan, interim minister of justice (Iraq), president of the Iraqi democratic party and lawyer to Abd Hamud (Saddams right hand man). Has told the arab newspaper Al shariq, that he is sure that Saddam was not behind the mass gassing of Halabja city, kurdistan. Apparently, the Iranians did it. Although this goes against all eye witness accounts as well as documents which indicate that saddams cousin was in, hands on command of the attack. He also states the Tariq Azziz is innocent of all crimes against the Kurds and the shias. What is more disconcerting is that many people in the international community want to portray Azziz as innocent as well, often describing him as ,debonair, smart or wise...when will people understand that just because a man says a few hail mary's he is'nt neccasarily an angel.

Iraq elections results.

2005-02-13T06:09:00.000-08:00

Hakim leader of the Iraq Unity list (169)

Grand unity Alliance-(169 sistani)-47.6%-4,750,245 votes= 129 seats
Democratic and Patriotic Kurdistani List (130)-25.4%-2,175,245 votes=70 seats.
The Iraqi List (Iyad allawi-285)-13.4%=38 seats
The Iraqis (al-iraqioun, gazi al-Yawar)-1.8%-4 seats.

Kurdish lists also gained 56% of the vote in Kirkuk province and 66% in mosul province.