03.06.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Kurdish parties agree on Kurdish administration, peschmerga, finances ("original document (English)") [ID 10456]

"KURDISH PARTIES AGREE TO CONVENE PARLIAMENT. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have agreed to convene the Kurdistan parliament following months of political wrangling over the presidential post and leadership of a unified Kurdish administration. At issue were the term length and duties of the president, the command over a unified peshmerga, and, according to some media reports, who would control the finances of a unified administration. Both parties had agreed in December 2004 that KDP head Mas'ud Barzani would serve as president of the administration.

Under the agreement announced on 29 May, Barzani will also serve as commander of the peshmerga, while an undetermined PUK politburo member will serve as deputy commander. PUK Deputy Prime Minister Adnan Mufti will be nominated by both parties to head the parliament; Nechirvan Barzani, currently head of the KDP-led Kurdistan Regional Government, will serve as the Kurdish prime minister; and the current PUK Prime Minister Umar Fattah will serve as deputy prime minister of the unified administration.

The agreement is indicative of the Kurdish parties' style of governance, in which democracy is practiced through a top-down approach. The KDP and PUK hatched a deal weeks before the 30 January parliamentary elections over the number of seats their parties, along with a handful of smaller parties on their coalition list, would get following the election."

Document(s): original document (English)

17.03.2005 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Kirkuk: Ethnic tension on the rise in Kirkuk ("original document (English)") [ID 10483]

"Political and social tensions between Kurds, Arabs and Turkoman could be escalating again in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 255 km from Baghdad, as Kurdish officials renew calls for the city to be part of an autonomous Kurdistan."

Document(s): original document (English)

28.01.2005 - Source: International Crisis Group

Report focused on escalating crisis in Kirkuk ("Iraq: Allaying Turkey's fears over Kurdish ambitions") [#28629],  [ID 10484]

Information regarding the situation of Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans and Chaldo-Assyrians in Kirkuk

Document(s): Open document

29.11.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Sadr City: Safety for Kurds ("original document") [ID 10458]

"Baghdad’s restive Shia suburb has become an unexpected haven for Kurds. Despite increasing reports of deteriorating relations between Kurds and Arabs in many areas of Iraq, the notorious Baghdad district of Sadr City has become an unlikely example of harmony among the two groups. Stories of Kurds being attacked or forced to move from their homes in cities in the so-called Sunni Triangle have become commonplace, as have reports of harassment of the Kurdish community in certain Baghdad neighbourhoods and even in the eastern province of Baquba. But thousands of Kurds continue to live peacefully with Arabs in one of the capital’s poorest slums, frequently described as a no-go area for Coalition troops. Sadr City was created during the rule of Saddam’s predecessor, Prime Minister Abdul Kareem Kasim, in the Sixties. It was originally called Madinat al-Thawra – Revolution City – but was renamed Saddam City once the dictator was in power. After the fall of his regime in 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority decided to change the name to Sadr City, after the renowned Shia cleric Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who was killed in Najaf in 1999 apparently by the Saddam regime, and whose son Muqtada al-Sadr now leads a radical Shia movement. (...)"

Document(s): original document

15.11.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Central Iraq: Kurdish Students Fear for Safety ("original document") [ID 10298]

"(...) The deteriorating security situation in central and southern areas of Iraq has led to many Kurdish students transferring to universities inside Iraqi Kurdistan following a series of threats. As a result of these worries, the Kurdistan higher education ministry recently issued a decree allowing students who had graduated from any of the region’s high schools to transfer back to local universities. After the fall of the Baath regime in April 2003, the Kurdish and Iraqi higher education ministries had passed a bill assigning five per cent of places at central and southern universities to Kurdish students, with the same percentage set aside for Arab students who wished to study in Iraqi Kurdistan. As a result, almost 4,000 Kurdish students applied for and were given places at Iraqi universities for the academic year 2003/2004. However, the deteriorating security situation has resulted in just 186 applicants this year. And while some students did return south to continue their studies when classes restarted in October, a significant number chose to take a year out instead.

Goran Hama Qadir is a Kurdish law student studying at Tikrit University in the Salahadeen governorate north of Baghdad, an area known to be a stronghold of Saddam Hussein's relatives and supporters. “Tikrit is a hot spot, but fortunately I haven’t been burned yet,” he said. “I’m always slightly afraid of the hatred the Arabs show towards the Kurds. They keep saying [we] had a share in Saddam’s downfall.” Qadir has been back at Tikrit University for two months but now wants to postpone the rest of his studies this year, “Whenever I come back to Kurdistan at weekends, my family asks me to hold off for a year, until things settle down.” Safar Sayid Ali was studying Arabic at Baghdad University, but decided to leave after a letter appeared on the college noticeboard describing Kurdish students as American and Israeli agents who should be beheaded.

“We weren’t safe anywhere,” he said. “The place we were living in was a target for the Americans while the Baathist groups were threatening us at school and in the streets.” Tara Omer, director of the registrar’s office at Sulaimaniyah University, told IWPR, “We don’t have final figures of how many students are taking up this offer, because it’s an ongoing process. But so far around 300 students have transferred.”

Students who have transferred their courses said they were delighted with the decision. “I’ve finished with Baghdad,” said Rako Abdulqadir, who had been studying medicine there. “Our lives were in danger.” However, not all ethnic Kurds are able to take advantage of the offer. Dyar Hasan, a medical student at Anbar University in the western Iraqi governorate of Al-Anbar, grew up in Khanaqeen district which now lies outside the Green Line and technically belongs to the eastern Iraqi governorate of Dyala. He hasn’t been to classes since term began because of the security situation in the governorate. “If Sulaimaniyah University doesn’t accept me, I will postpone this year,” he told IWPR. “My father would rather I was at home doing nothing than putting myself in danger.” Dyar has yet to hear if his application has been accepted, but says he doesn’t want to go back and study with the Arabs he grew up with. “I want to stay near my compatriot Kurds in my homeland,” he said. (...)"

Document(s): original document

15.11.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Central Iraq: Kurds threatened by Islamic militants ("original document") [ID 10299]

"People who moved north to their original homeland to escape intimidation in the Sunni Arab heartland meet suspicion and indifference. Hundreds of Kurdish families who fled from Iraq’s Sunni triangle earlier this year say they have had a hard time resettling in the northern Kurdish areas – but they have no plans to go back to towns like Fallujah where they faced threats from extremists. (...) Most of the families who have fled Fallujah in the past few months see no way back because they felt so intimidated there, and plan to stay on in the Kurdish region. Said Majid Majeed told IWPR, “We felt completely alienated. After living in fear of Saddam for 25 years, suddenly we were being threatened by Islamic militants instead.” (...) Families like these were originally forced out of their Kurdish homeland by the Baathists in the Seventies, following the collapse of a long-running Kurdish revolt. Their homes were confiscated and they were sent to live in camps around Ramadi and Fallujah. (...)"

Document(s): original document

15.11.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Kurds: Northern resettlement and socioeconomic / health problems ("original document") [ID 10459]

"People who moved north to their original homeland to escape intimidation in the Sunni Arab heartland meet suspicion and indifference. Hundreds of Kurdish families who fled from Iraq’s Sunni triangle earlier this year say they have had a hard time resettling in the northern Kurdish areas – but they have no plans to go back to towns like Fallujah where they faced threats from extremists. (...) Most of the families who have fled Fallujah in the past few months see no way back because they felt so intimidated there, and plan to stay on in the Kurdish region. Said Majid Majeed told IWPR, “We felt completely alienated. After living in fear of Saddam for 25 years, suddenly we were being threatened by Islamic militants instead.” (...) Families like these were originally forced out of their Kurdish homeland by the Baathists in the Seventies, following the collapse of a long-running Kurdish revolt. Their homes were confiscated and they were sent to live in camps around Ramadi and Fallujah. (...)"

Document(s): original document

10.11.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Kirkuk: political parties blamed for rising tide of ethnic tension between Kurdish, Turkoman and Arab inhabitants of the city ("Political Parties Stir Unrest in Kirkuk") [#26922],  [ID 10460]

Document(s): Open document

27.10.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Kirkuk: Arabs / Turkmens plan counter demonstrations ("original document") [ID 10461]

"(Al-Mutamar) - Arabs and Turkomen in Kirkuk are taking steps to stage a large demonstration in reply to the repeated demonstrations staged by the Kurds who have called for the removal of Arabs from the city. A source in Kirkuk's Arabic Gathering said the Kurdish demonstrations, which had not been spontaneous but staged and partisan, included a large number of demonstrators from outside of the province. Demonstrators' demands focused on removing the Arabs, which is an insult to the government, the source said.
(Al-Mutamar is issued daily by the Iraqi National Congress.)"

Document(s): original document

27.10.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

KDP, PUK leaders meet to iron out differences ("original document") [ID 10462]

"(Al-Taakhi) - Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud al-Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal al-Talabani yesterday met in Arbil to discuss political issues related to Iraq and the forthcoming elections. Barzani later said the meeting was generally good and that it focused on elections. Talabani said the results of the meeting were good and they had agreed on all important points but that it was too early to declare them. He added that they were trying to complete the issue of the unification of the two parties.
(Al-Taakhi is issued daily by the Kurdistan Democratic Party.)"

Document(s): original document

25.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Kirkuk: Political, ethnic tensions halt IDP resettlement in Kirkuk ("original document") [ID 10463]

"International NGOs planning major projects to help internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the northern city of Kirkuk have had to suspend work after an agreement reached by the city's three main ethnic groups collapsed amid mutual recriminations.

In the absence of any leadership on the part of the central government in Baghdad, and with the number of families returning since last year's war swelling to an estimated 14,000, the leaders of Kirkuk's Kurdish, Turkoman and Arab communities came together this July to set up an IDP committee.

At first, the new body's work went well. But with over 3,000 families, mainly Kurdish, living in tents, and the city's stadium and 20 of its schools full of IDPs, the situation became untenable.

By mid-August, committee members had agreed that they should work with the international forces and NGOs to concentrate IDPs in two places in the city: the disused military camp at Faylakh and an area on the Kirkuk-Laylan road, freeing up public buildings and land occupied by squatters, in some cases, since the previous summer.

NGOs were to be given free rein in constructing houses and basic infrastructure at the two sites. Then, a month ago, the agreement broke down.

In a city where inter-ethnic politics often reportedly resembles a game of Chinese whispers, the details of the split are not entirely clear. One senior US military official closely involved in the committee described it as a "silly quibbling over details".

"Kurdish representatives argued that areas of temporary settlement should be extended beyond the two agreed areas," he told IRIN in Kirkuk. "Their Turkoman colleagues insisted Faylakh and Laylan should be filled with IDPs before looking elsewhere. The Arabs backed them up."

It was at that point that the Turkoman representatives walked out of the committee.

Widely seen as a moderate, Tahsin Kehiya, secretary of the Kirkuk branch of the Iraqi Islamic Turkoman Union and head of Kirkuk's city council, gave a similar analysis.

"I don't think anybody would oppose the return of people forced out by the former regime," he told IRIN in Kirkuk. "But that return must not be done at the expense of anybody else. That is why we agreed on Faylakh and Laylan, both state-owned land, to build temporary accommodation."

But he also complained that IDPs continued to return in an arbitrary way, cooperating only with the Kurdish authorities that are strong in the northern half of the city, rather than with the local government as a whole.

Like everybody else, he added, Iraq's Kurdish parties had political designs on oil-rich Kirkuk. It was this, he explained, that made their ongoing distribution of land in Faylakh and elsewhere so provocative.

"My feeling is that the dispute can only be resolved by good cooperation," he said. The Turkoman delegates on the IDP committee had another suggestion: the formation of a multi-ethnic commission to verify IDPs' claims to have lived in Kirkuk before allowing them back to the city.

The form to be used by the commission is in the process of being drafted. It is the concept, though, that irks the Kurds.

Kurdish officials deny giving Kirkuk returnees the money and building materials they have handed out to families returning to other Arabised areas whose Kurdishness is beyond doubt. But they acknowledge that, faced with the failure of either the Coalition authorities or Baghdad to do anything to "remedy the injustices" of Arabisation as promised in this March's Temporary Administrative Laws, they have done nothing to prevent people going back.

"That doesn't mean some of the returning families have never lived in Kirkuk," said Rizgar Ali, IDP committee member for the Sulaymaniyah-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). "The only people claiming that are former Baathists and the racist Turkoman parties."

He was referring to the Iraqi Turkoman Front, an umbrella of staunchly nationalist parties known for their close links to Turkey.

"I was kicked out of Kirkuk in 1963 and my children were born in Sulaymaniyah, with Sulaymaniyah written on their ID cards," he added.

"According to this form they are preparing, I would be allowed to come back, but they would not. Is that fair?"

Despite the two sides' strong language and apparently diametrically opposed positions, officials said they thought a new compromise was not far off. Others are less sure.

As one international NGO worker following the negotiations put it: "On paper, there is a new agreement, but it appears the old cracks are just papered over. We need a stronger resolution than that, before we can start working."

It's a pessimism shared by Irfan Kerkukli, secretary of the Iraqi Turkoman People's Party and a member of Kirkuk's city council.

"The major issue in Kirkuk is that both Kurds and Turkomans feel that historically they have been wronged," he said. "To overcome the problems that causes, we need as much outside help as we can get, starting with Baghdad.""

Document(s): original document

22.10.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

KDP head Barzani keeps up Kurdish claim on Kirkuk ("original document") [ID 10464]

"BARZANI KEEPS UP CLAIM ON KIRKUK. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) head Mas'ud Barzani kept up his campaign to claim a Kurdish hold on the oil-rich city of Kirkuk this week. Speaking to reporters during his three-day trip to Damascus, Barzani said: "We are sure that once the situation in Kirkuk is normalized, the organization of a referendum will show that the vast majority of inhabitants are Kurds," AFP reported on 18 October. "We are sure consequently that Kirkuk will return to [Iraqi] Kurdistan," he added.

Barzani's recent statements on the city, which is inhabited by Arabs, Turkomans, and Kurds, has provoked a strong response from Turkey (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 15 October 2004); Iraq's northern neighbor supports the rights of Turkomans in the city, and last year attempted to claim a Turkish historical right to the city (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 13 January 2003). Anatolia news agency cited U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman on 20 October as saying the United States felt uneasy about Kurdish designs on Kirkuk.

Hundreds of Kurds gathered in the city earlier this month to demonstrate in favor of a referendum on the city's status. The interim Iraqi government also planned to carry out a nationwide census this month. That plan has been shelved indefinitely, which appears to be a wise decision on the part of the interim government. The census would likely further strain ethnic relations among Kurds, Arabs, and Turkomans not only in Kirkuk, but in cities such as Mosul, and Tell Afar --something the interim government is ill-equipped to deal with. (Kathleen Ridolfo)"

Document(s): original document

11.10.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Kirkuk: According to organizers, two million signatures were colllected for a referendum on the status of the Kurdish region; concern over growing ethnic tensions in Kirkuk, where tens of thousands of deported Kurds are demanding their properties confiscated under Saddam Hussein's rule ("Kurd Demos Spark Ethnic Conflict Concerns") [#26366],  [ID 10465]

Document(s): Open document

08.10.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Northern Iraq: Mandate ends for Turkish cease-fire monitoring force ("original document") [ID 10466]

"MANDATE ENDS FOR TURKISH CEASE-FIRE MONITORING FORCE. The mandate of the Turkish cease-fire monitoring force present in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1997 ended this week, Istanbul's NTV reported on 3 October. The force was deployed to Irbil to "monitor" the situation following clashes between Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) forces in 1997. Kurdish leaders have called on Turkey to withdraw the force for several months. A ceremony reportedly marked the end of the mandate and was attended by KDP, PUK, U.S., and U.K. military officials, as well as other local dignitaries.

KDP official Nechirvan Barzani told Irbil's "Khabat" daily on 2 October that the Turkish force "played a good role" in Kurdistan. "Their role in maintaining peace at that time was effective. Therefore, we thank them for their productive role at that time. And now they are returning home in accordance with another accord, we voice our gratitude to them," he said. Some 2,500 South Korean troops have arrived in Irbil in recent days to begin a peacekeeping mission there as part of the multinational force in Iraq."

Document(s): original document

05.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Central Iraq: Kurds continue to flee cities of Sunni triangle ("original document") [ID 10467]

"Pressured by Iraqi insurgents who see them as US collaborators, or caught in the crossfire between Coalition forces and local militias, Iraqi Kurdish families continue to flee their homes in the Sunni Arab cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, Samarrah and
Baquba in central Iraq for the Kurdish-controlled north.

By August, according to statistics collected by the local department of the northern governorate of Sulaymaniyah's Ministry of Human Rights, 396 families - 3,771 people - had arrived in the Kurdish town of Kalar alone.

The same departments reported that 209 families had sought refuge in Khanaqin, a majority-Kurdish town 60 km to the south.

No concerted effort has been made to count families who have fled north to Arbil due to a lack of presence of international aid agencies because of insecurity, though officials in the city say they number in the hundreds.

The bulk of displacements occurred in April and May, at the height of Coalition-led assaults on Fallujah. But Dilshad Kerim, a senior official in Kalar's office for humanitarian affairs, told IRIN that tens of families had arrived since August.

"They decided to sit out the first storm, but the continued insecurity down there has been too much for them," he said.

Many of the families had been forced to move to central Iraq by the central government, following the failure of the Kurdish uprising in 1975. Others, like Samira Yaqub, had left the north in the early 1990s to find work.

"We lived in the industrial district on the northern edge of Fallujah, where my husband was a guard at one of the factories," she told IRIN in Kalar. "We stayed through the American attack, even though our area was on the front line, but left in June after a series of threats from the insurgents."

Like many of the displaced families, Yaqub has relatives in Kalar district. For three months, she, her husband and eight children stayed with her sister in Smood, a collective town 20 km north of Kalar built by the former regime to house families evicted from outlying villages.

The family is now living in the office of a gravel pit on the outskirts of Kalar. "The owner was happy to lend it to us because there's no work going on here at the moment," she explained. "But he warned us we would have to leave as soon as he started things up again."

Most families are now renting houses from friends and relations. But all suffer from the very high levels of local unemployment.
"My husband was a taxi driver in Ramadi," said Fawziya Nuri. "There's no room for another taxi driver here."

Some of the men have decided to return to their jobs in central Iraq, leaving their wives and children in safety in the north.

All families registering with the local authorities have been provided with emergency supplies of blankets and cooking gas. But officials in the north can do nothing to solve the complex bureaucracy surrounding Iraq's education system.

To change schools, children need to be able to show papers from their former teachers confirming that they have completed so many years of studies - documents that many families either forgot or didn't have time to pick up.

"The new school term has started and my children are sitting around here," complained Yaqub. "For the moment, it's just too risky to go back down to Fallujah.""

Document(s): original document

05.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Central Iraq: Kurds continue to flee cities of Sunni triangle ("original document") [ID 10485]

"Pressured by Iraqi insurgents who see them as US collaborators, or caught in the crossfire between Coalition forces and local militias, Iraqi Kurdish families continue to flee their homes in the Sunni Arab cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, Samarrah and
Baquba in central Iraq for the Kurdish-controlled north.

By August, according to statistics collected by the local department of the northern governorate of Sulaymaniyah's Ministry of Human Rights, 396 families - 3,771 people - had arrived in the Kurdish town of Kalar alone.

The same departments reported that 209 families had sought refuge in Khanaqin, a majority-Kurdish town 60 km to the south.

No concerted effort has been made to count families who have fled north to Arbil due to a lack of presence of international aid agencies because of insecurity, though officials in the city say they number in the hundreds.

The bulk of displacements occurred in April and May, at the height of Coalition-led assaults on Fallujah. But Dilshad Kerim, a senior official in Kalar's office for humanitarian affairs, told IRIN that tens of families had arrived since August.

"They decided to sit out the first storm, but the continued insecurity down there has been too much for them," he said.

Many of the families had been forced to move to central Iraq by the central government, following the failure of the Kurdish uprising in 1975. Others, like Samira Yaqub, had left the north in the early 1990s to find work.

"We lived in the industrial district on the northern edge of Fallujah, where my husband was a guard at one of the factories," she told IRIN in Kalar. "We stayed through the American attack, even though our area was on the front line, but left in June after a series of threats from the insurgents."

Like many of the displaced families, Yaqub has relatives in Kalar district. For three months, she, her husband and eight children stayed with her sister in Smood, a collective town 20 km north of Kalar built by the former regime to house families evicted from outlying villages.

The family is now living in the office of a gravel pit on the outskirts of Kalar. "The owner was happy to lend it to us because there's no work going on here at the moment," she explained. "But he warned us we would have to leave as soon as he started things up again."

Most families are now renting houses from friends and relations. But all suffer from the very high levels of local unemployment.
"My husband was a taxi driver in Ramadi," said Fawziya Nuri. "There's no room for another taxi driver here."

Some of the men have decided to return to their jobs in central Iraq, leaving their wives and children in safety in the north.

All families registering with the local authorities have been provided with emergency supplies of blankets and cooking gas. But officials in the north can do nothing to solve the complex bureaucracy surrounding Iraq's education system.

To change schools, children need to be able to show papers from their former teachers confirming that they have completed so many years of studies - documents that many families either forgot or didn't have time to pick up.

"The new school term has started and my children are sitting around here," complained Yaqub. "For the moment, it's just too risky to go back down to Fallujah.""

Document(s): original document

22.09.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Kirkuk: kidnapping of Kurds and Turkmens ("original document") [ID 10302]

"(al-Mutamar) - Kirkuk police claim to have arrested two kidnapping networks. Police chief Tarhan Yousif said the networks were responsible for kidnapping 38 Kurd and Turkmen persons for ransom and for political motives. Yousif added that investigations are underway to get more information about the networks' activities.
(Al-Mutamar is issued daily by the Iraqi National Congress.)"

Document(s): original document

16.09.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Tel Afar: Turkomans claim Kurdish forces behind massarcre ("original document") [ID 10303]

"TURKOMANS CLAIM KURDISH PESHMERGA FORCES BEHIND TEL AFAR MASSACRE. The Turkish government expressed concern this week over U.S.-led military operations in the Iraqi Turkoman-dominated town of Tel Afar. Turkoman representatives have claimed that Kurdish peshmerga forces have launched a campaign in the town as part of a larger program to "ethnically cleanse" Turkomans from northern Iraq.

U.S. officials have said that the operations in Tel Afar are aimed at eliminating the terrorist presence in the town. Western media reports indicated that the town, located near the Syrian border, had been taken over by Sunni militants, foreign fighters, and possibly Ba'ath Party supporters in recent weeks, while some Turkish newspapers reported that the town had become a safe haven for terrorists fleeing Al-Fallujah. Istanbul's "Milliyet" reported on 11 September that Kurdish peshmerga forces wearing Iraqi National Forces uniforms laid siege to the town demanding that Turkoman residents surrender all weapons, and prohibiting males over the age of 18 from leaving the town.

Iraqi Turkoman Front representative Ahmet Muratli told Istanbul's "Star" in statements published on 11 September that the U.S.-led military operation has killed innocent Turkoman civilians. He said that "unarmed" U.S. soldiers had patrolled the town for a year, but "in a single week, they have begun to strike us from aircraft." "This is entirely a provocation by the peshmergas." Muratli contended that the peshmergas "dream of establishing a state" from Mosul to the western border with Syria, where Iraqi Turkomans, who are ethnic Turks, make their home. Muratli told Istanbul's "Radikal" on 11 September: "The Iraqi Army units are made up almost entirely of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) [leader Mas'ud] Barzani's peshmerga.... They believe that once they control Tel Afar then the road to Mosul will be open to them. They may be trying to declare an independent Kurdish state in the north with a fait accompli using the fighting as an excuse."

The newspaper reported that the Turkish Foreign Ministry relayed a message to Washington on 8 September demanding that the operations in Tel Afar be halted, and humanitarian supplies delivered to the population. Hundreds of Turkomans have reportedly fled the town in recent days for nearby villages. Al-Jazeera reported on 12 August that many Turkomans had taken shelter in schools and temporary camps set up by the Iraqi and United Arab Emirates' Red Crescent Societies, and the Iraqi Islamic Party. The satellite channel said that water and electricity was not available in those villages, and food was in short supply.

The issue has gained little support from groups inside Iraq. Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) head Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim criticized the use of force in the town, saying that dozens of innocent civilians were killed as a result of the attacks, MENA reported on 10 September.

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman tried to allay Turkish fears in a 13 September meeting with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan, Turkey's TRT2 television reported the same day. Edelman reportedly said that the situation would soon be under control, and that insurgents were slowly being removed from the town. "We are carrying out a limited military operation and we are trying to keep civilian losses to a minimum," Reuters quoted Edelman as saying. Turkish officials reportedly said that the Turkoman Front estimated as many as 500 civilians killed in recent days. U.S. sources estimated that 50 people had died, according to the news agency. Meanwhile, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani posted a statement on its website on 13 September that said: "The Iraqi Army did not take part in the current operations in Tel Afar on the request of the tribal leaders and residents of the town with the view to protecting their assets, properties, and families.""

Document(s): original document

08.09.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Mosul: Bounty for Kurds, Americans, Israelis ("original document") [ID 10304]

"(Al-Taakhi) - The Imam of Mosul's Resala Mosque Mulla Kasim has issued an edict of Jihad, or "holy war", against Kurds, Americans and Israelis whom he described as similar to each other. He has offered a reward of $100 for each one killed. He considered Kurds as infidels.
(Al-Taakhi is issued daily by the Kurdistan Democratic Party.)"

Document(s): original document

03.08.2004 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Report documenting the increasing frustration of thousands of displaced Kurds, as well as Turkomans and Assyrians, who are living in desperate conditions as they await a resolution of their property claims/ report also details how the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority failed to act even as the situation grew more volatile ("Claims in conflict: Reversing Ethnic Cleansing in Northern Iraq") [#24467],  [ID 10469]

Document(s): Open document

10.07.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

PUK-Head on Kurdish politics and interests and the situation in Kurdistan ("original document") [ID 10470]

"RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) interviewed former Iraqi Governing Council member and head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Jalal Talabani in Prague on 2 July.

RFI: Ladies and gentlemen, we have the opportunity to meet Mr. Jalal Talabani, secretary-general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a member of the Presidential Board of the Governing Council of Iraq, and a member of the Preparatory Committee of the Iraqi National Congress. Welcome, sir.

RFI: We are meeting now in the Czech capital, Prague, and there are some issues on which we would like to discuss with Mr. Jalal. Among them are: the attitude of the Kurds towards the new cabinet, the trial with Saddam, the Israeli presence in Kurdistan, and the integration of the two Kurdish administrations. Let us begin, Mr. Jalal, with the attitude of the Kurds towards the new cabinet. Why have the Kurds taken this extreme stance?

TALABANI: First, the Kurds have not taken an extreme stance but, on the contrary, the Kurds have taken a very tolerant stance.

When they have been, in contradiction to the Transitional Administrative Law, deprived of the right to stand for two crucial posts, that of the president of the republic and that of the prime minister, they have tolerated it and accepted it. But when the cabinet was formed they demanded ministerial posts that would be commensurate with the size of the Kurdish population, with respect to their proportion in Iraq and also to their role in overthrowing the dictatorial regime. We were among those who have supported the choice of brother Dr. Iyad Allawi for prime minister and, consequently, we have cooperated with him.

There are a number of Kurdish ministers: we have a vice president of the republic, Dr. [Rowsch Shaways]; we have a deputy prime minister [responsible] for specific issues, Dr. Barham Salih; we have Dr Fu'ad Ma'sum, head of the Preparatory Committee of the Iraqi National Congress; and we have six ministers in the current cabinet.

Moreover, the contribution of the Kurds has been a good one and a tolerant one, and we have approved a lot [despite not getting everything we wanted in the interim government].

We wanted the Security Council resolution to include a mention of an independent, unitary, federal, and democratic Iraq, and this has happened. There was another paragraph, laid down by the prime minister, the vice president of the republic, the finance minister, the deputy prime minister, in which there was a mention of the rights of the Kurdish people. But the resolution does not included this mention.

Despite that, we have decided to participate in the cabinet.

RFI: Another point we would like to discuss with Mr. Jalal that currently looms large in the media is the trial of Saddam. Of the charges made against Saddam, three are related to the Kurds: bombardment of [the town of] Halabja with chemical weapons, the [coordinated genocide known as the] Anfal operations, and the killing of a vast number of people from the Barzani family.

According to what you said in an interview, you do not agree with, or do not support, the death penalty for Saddam.

TALABANI: I think that Saddam is a [horrendous] war criminal. The crimes that Saddam committed surpass even the crimes of Hitler and Mussolini. Some of the crimes that Saddam has committed are unique in history.

For instance, it was the first time that a ruler has used chemical and biological weapons against his own people, against the people he rules. Also, it was the first time that a ruler has buried hundreds of thousands of his own people in mass graves, as happened in Iraq. Saddam has committed the worst crimes for which he deserves the strongest, the ultimate, and the hardest sanction.

But as a lawyer and signatory to an international appeal to stop capital punishment worldwide, I cannot stand in contradiction with myself. I think that it is up to the Iraqi tribunal to issue the sentence to Saddam. This is exactly what I said [earlier].

RFI: You refuse the capital punishment in general, but say at the same time that Saddam has committed very serious, unpardonable crimes that compare with any previous dictator in history. Would you not change your opinion [on the death penalty for him]?

TALABANI: In fact, I belong to those who are convinced that we should end [the practice of] capital punishment in the world. Special regard for the Iraqi situation is also proper, and it is up to the court to impose the severest punishment on Saddam.

I think that execution means a quick death, a death in one moment. But staying in prison for a lifetime, he would see developments in Iraq; the progress, and the prosperity in Iraq after the end of his dark, criminal rule -- in every such moment there is death for him. I think that this continuous, repeated death is much more painful than a quick death in a single moment.

RFI: Don't you expect, Mr. Jalal, the restoration of the death penalty in Iraq? This possibility has been discussed. It has, in fact, happened in general.

TALABANI: Yes, the Iraqi cabinet has, I think, restored the death penalty. This restoration of the death penalty is, I think, for fighting terrorism and for imposing sentences on major criminals like Saddam Hussein.

RFI: Is this the suitable time, Mr. Jalal, to hold such a trial? There are various opinions saying that this is not the suitable time and that Iraq is witnessing sabotage actions, violence, and that the feelings of the Iraqi public towards Saddam may change.

TALABANI: In fact, what is going on currently is not a trial. The world has misunderstood it.

What is going on currently is an inquiry. An inquiry led by an Iraqi judge in preparation for the trial. This Iraqi judge is at the moment conducting a fair and complex inquiry with a number of major criminals. Then, he will pass the results of the inquiry to the tribunal that will conduct the court process. The trial may come immediately after that.

But for now there is an inquiry, because when a criminal or someone accused of a crime is handed over from the occupational authority to the Iraqi authority, the latter authority must delegate or nominate a lawyer who conducts the initial inquiry with the accused. So, what is going on currently is an inquiry, not a trial.

RFI: Going to another topic, in both the Arab and world media accusations have appeared regarding an Israeli presence in Kurdistan. What do you think about this?

TALABANI: To begin with I would like to comment on two crucial points. First, these are false, fabricated reports, and there is absolutely not a shred of truth [in them]. As Kurdistan is an open [land] with broad democratic freedoms, there are dozens of foreign journalists and dozens of representatives of companies and organizations there. I challenge anyone to say that a single Israeli has been found there. Therefore, these reports are fabricated and false and they aim to...

RFI: Inflict harm on the Kurds?

TALABANI: No, I wouldn't say inflicting harm, they have other goals. And my second comment on this: Why all this pressure on the Kurds?

Are there no Israelis in Cairo? Are there no Israelis in Amman, in Jordan? Are there no Israelis in Lebanon, in Libya, in the Arab countries of North Africa or the Gulf? Why this talk just about the Kurds?

There are Israelis. Their flag flies in Cairo. Their flag flies in Amman. Their flag flies in Qatar. In many places.

Well, there is another point: The Palestinian brothers negotiate with the Israelis. Brother Yassir Arafat kisses the cheeks of the daughter of a former minister who was fiercely combating Palestinians. Fine, why are they allowed to do so? Should we be more Palestinian than Mr. Yassir Arafat? Should we be more Palestinian than the Palestinian prime ministers and officials who negotiate with the Israelis? Why [are such actions] allowable for them when it is them who are concerned by the [Israeli-Palestinian] affair, who have been involved in the conflict and who suffer daily from Israeli occupation? Why is it not allowed to us when we are distant from all of these problems? I think that there is a chauvinist, anti-Kurdish tendency. There is another example, if you allow me to state it.

RFI: Yes, please.

TALABANI: The federalism. In Sudan, federalism has been established in a much broader form than in Kurdistan, in Iraq. The Sudanese federalism guarantees the division of [income from] the [natural] riches. It guarantees the division of gas. It includes a paragraph that after two years it is possible to hold a referendum on the self-determination by the people of southern Sudan in which they can even separate if they wish.

I consider this a good agreement. I congratulate the Sudanese people and the signatories of this agreement. I hope it is not understood from what I have said that I have some objections to this agreement. But, why are there no objections from any Arab country against this treaty and this federalism?

However, when it comes to the topic of federalism in Kurdistan or in Iraq as a whole...Federalism has been established in Iraq as the arrangement of a new Iraq, including Iraqi Kurdistan. Some Arab countries and some of Arab press have stirred up a big fuss, and have not yet calmed down. Is this not a chauvinist stance, hostile to the Kurdish people?

If they were against federalism [in Iraq], why don't they oppose federalism in the United Arab Emirates? Parts of the United Arab Emirates have much greater rights than Iraqi Kurdistan. I think there is an intentional, hostile, and sinister campaign from some Arab circles against the Kurdish people. They allow to themselves what they want and they prohibit the Kurds what we want. This is duplicity, a double standard...

RFI: Yes.

TALABANI: Or it is, in fact, a hostile, chauvinist attitude against the Kurdish people.

RFI: Another topic -- is there any difference in attitudes between the two Kurdish administrations, in Irbil and Al-Sulaymaniah, and when will these two administrations integrate? Is there still some tension?

TALABANI: Yes, both administrations will integrate soon, God willing. There have been serious efforts on this issue. We have too, on our part, presented projects and proposals. The last thing we have done is that when brother Dr. Barham Salih resigned after completing his task as prime minister with complete success and then moving to the post of deputy prime minister in the current cabinet, where I hope he succeeds as well, we have not nominated a [new] prime minister but a deputy prime minister.

RFI: Yes.

TALABANI: He would assume the tasks of the prime minister. We hope that this will make the integration with the Kurdish administration of Irbil easier. This is first. And second, we think that this requires a thorough study and careful consideration because during this period both administrations have designated [their own] general directors, special directors, clerks...so this integration needs some time to solve this problem in a smooth way.

We have taken steps towards this achievement and I think that the relations are at present very good between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, as well as between me and brother Mr. Mas'ud Barzani [the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party]. They have reached the stage of a common leadership of both parties and of common positions with respect to neighboring countries, Baghdad, the future constitution, and the present tasks for Iraq.

There has been an agreement between the two sides on principal issues. There remains the question of unifying the administration, which will be done, God willing, before the end of this year.

RFI: We give many thanks to Mr. Jalal Talabani, secretary-general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Thanks.

TALABANI: Thank you very much."

Document(s): original document

25.06.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

KDP-Head on the Kurdish stance and the question of Kirkuk ("original document") [ID 10471]

"BARZANI INTERVIEWED ON KURDISH STANCE. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) head Mas'ud Barzani told Al-Jazeera television in an interview aired on 18 June that the Kurdish parties welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 1546, despite the resolution's failure to recognize the Transitional Administration Law. The law serves as Iraq's interim constitution (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 13 May 2004) and is the sole post-Hussein document to expressly recognize Kurdish rights.

Barzani said that the UN resolution had two positive points. "One point is its reference to the identity of Iraq. It said Iraq will be a federal, democratic, and pluralist country. The second point...is that Paragraph 3 of Article 7 said the permanent constitution must be adopted with a consensus."

These points, Barzani said, helped ease the anxiety felt among Kurds because they met the two most important Kurdish needs outlined in the Transitional Administration Law. U.S. officials also gave assurances about their support for the Transitional Administration Law in subsequent meetings with Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani. Barzani warned, however, that should the interim or future Iraqi government attempt to repeal the law, the Kurds would "certainly take a completely different stand."

Regarding Kurdish aspirations, Barzani told Al-Jazeera that a Kurdish state remains the dream of all Kurds, adding: "Wishes are something and reality is something else. It is difficult to achieve this now, but I do not think it will be impossible to achieve one day." The KDP chief also reiterated earlier statements, saying that the Kurds remain committed to the Iraqi state. "We consider the interim government our government and we are part of this government, starting with the prime minister down to all the brother ministers." He did admit however, that the Kurds felt slighted over the awarding of posts in the interim government named on 1 June (see http://www.rferl.org/specials/iraqcrisis/iraqi_inter_gov.asp), saying that one of the top two posts should have gone to a Kurd. "The important question is: are the Kurds partners in the central decision [-making apparatus] or not? The answer is yes, the Kurds are now partners. This is the basic issue and this is what concerns us more than the position we occupy," Barzani contended.

On the question of Kirkuk, Barzani said, "This issue is very important and must be solved as agreed," but did not elaborate further. The issue appears to have been placed on the back burner by all parties involved in recent weeks, but remains a hotly debated issue in the Iraqi media, with Iraqi Arab media contending that Kurds are buying up land in the city and forcing Arabs to leave the city. One website operated by supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr alleged on 21 June that Arabs were being forced into refugee camps by Kurds in the city. The report further claimed that Kurdish returnees to Kirkuk threatened the Arab residents with death if they refused to leave. Thousands of Kurds were forced out of Kirkuk by the Hussein regime's Arabization program in the 1980s (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 19 April 2003)."

Document(s): original document

16.01.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

AGREEMENT ON KIRKUK ("original document") [ID 10473]

"(...) GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER SAYS TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ON KIRKUK. Iraqi Governing Council member Nasir Kamil Chadirchi told Beirut's "Al-Mustaqbal" newspaper in an interview published on 12 January that a Governing Council delegation has reached an agreement with the Kurdish parties in northern Iraq regarding Kurdish autonomy and the status of the highly contested city of Kirkuk.

The agreement calls for the postponement of Kirkuk's inclusion within any Kurdish federation until a population census can be held to determine the composition of the city's inhabitants. Iraqi Kurds, Arabs, and Turkomans all claim rights in the city, and the two latter groups have fought recent attempts by Kurds to claim the city as part of a possible future autonomous Kurdish territory. "The Kurds are prepared to have the population census act as the decisive arbiter whether the city of Kirkuk should join the Kurdish federation or not," Chadirchi said. "If the population census showed that the Kurds constitute a majority in Kirkuk, then it should be merged. The opposite is also true."

The Governing Council also said that "several conditions" would have to be met for the census, including that the census "should go back to 1968 and 1970 and refer to all the documents regarding the residents of Kirkuk." In addition, those citizens moved to Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein's Arabization policy should be returned to their original towns of residence inside Iraq, and those displaced from Kirkuk under the same policy, should be returned to their homes in the city, the daily reported. Iraqi Judge Dara Nur al-Din confirmed to AFP on 9 January that the issue of Kirkuk would not be decided until the new census is held, probably in 2005 or 2006. (...)"

Document(s): original document

16.01.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

IRAQI KURDISH PARTIES AGREE TO UNIFIED ADMINISTRATION ("original document") [ID 10474]

"(...) Iraq's two main Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), have reportedly reached an agreement to merge the administrations of their two regional governments in northern Iraq, international media reported on 13 January.

The parties will now run the three northern provinces of Irbil, Dahuk, and Al-Sulaymaniyah under a unified regional administration. Officials said that a few details still need to be worked out, including the assignment of ministerial posts and the establishment of a unified judiciary, KurdSat television reported. The plan calls for a rotating Kurdish presidency, which will first be chaired by the PUK.

The new cabinet will consist of 14 ministries, six run by KDP officials, four by PUK officials, and four by officials from the Kurdistan Communist Party, the Islamic Union, the Turkomans, and the Assyrians, "Al-Sabah" reported. While plans for a unified administration have been under way for years, the Kurdish parties in northern Iraq see the move as part of a larger drive for autonomy. (...)"

Document(s): original document

09.01.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Kurdish, Arab, and Turkoman leaders in Kirkuk held emergency talks ("original document") [ID 10475]

"(...) EMERGENCY TALKS ARE HELD IN NORTH FOLLOWING VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS... Seven people were killed and dozens more wounded when violence broke out between Kurds and protesting Arabs and Turkomans in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on 31 December, AFP reported, quoting Kirkuk police chief Turhan Yussef. The clashes erupted when about 2,000 Turkomans and Sunni Arabs were demonstrating against a drive by the city's Kurdish majority to integrate the northern oil center into a future autonomous Kurdish province.

Police said Kurdish peshmerga fighters opened fire on the demonstrators, who appeared to have come from towns around Kirkuk to join the rally near a police academy on the southern edge of the city. Four people were killed during the demonstration, Yussef said. AFP also reported on 1 January that the bodies of two Kurds were found stabbed to death in Kirkuk, and an Arab was killed in clashes with police in separate incidents.

Kurdish, Arab, and Turkoman leaders in Kirkuk held emergency talks on 1 January with representatives of the Iraqi Governing Council to find ways to quell the latest wave of violence in the area, a senior Kurdish official told AFP. U.S. troops have been maintaining a heavy presence in the city since the beginning of the demonstrations on 31 December, particularly on all roads leading to the Kirkuk offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). (...)"

Document(s): original document

08.11.2003 - Source: Wadi e.V.

Ethnic conflicts in the regions of former arabisation ("Irakische Flüchtlinge nach dem Regime Change - Vorläufige Einschätzung (überarbeitete Fassung eines Beitrags zur Asylfachtagung in Stuttgart-Hohenheim, September 2003)") [#17670],  [ID 10476]

"Bereits im Zusammenhang mit der Befreiung der Stadt brachen erste Konflikte aus. Viele arabische Familien sind während der ersten Wochen nach Ende der direkten Kriegshandlungen aus der Stadt geflohen. Obwohl die kurdischen Autoritäten die »Rückeroberung« von Häusern und Grundstücken ausdrücklich untersagte, kam es dennoch immer wieder zu wilden Restitutionen. So kam es in Hifa, nördlich von Kirkuk, Anfang September beispielsweise zu bewaffneten Auseinandersetzungen zwischen arabischen Familien, die dort im Verlauf erster Arabisierungsmaßnahmen in den Siebziger Jahren angesiedelt wurden, und Kurden, die das Land für sich beanspruchten. Bei Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Kurden und Turkmenen in Kirkuk und Tuz Ende August wurden 11 Menschen getötet. Erst der Einsatz amerikanischer Kampfhubschrauber konnte die Auseinandersetzungen beenden. Auseinandersetzungen zwischen turkmenischen und kurdischen Gruppen brechen regelmäßig gewaltsam aus. Etwa 250 kurdische Familien aus Kirkuk, die in den vergangenen Jahren in den kurdischen Nordirak vertrieben wurden und dort in Lagern lebten, campieren im Stadium der Stadt, da ihre Häuser von der irakischen Armee zerstört wurden."

Document(s): Open document

29.08.2003 - Source: BBC News

Province of Sulaymaniyah: deputy chief of security and a child killed by Islamic militant group Ansar al-Islam ("Militants 'kill Kurd police chief'") [#15638],  [ID 10308]

Document(s): Open document

25.08.2003 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Ethnic Tensions In Northern Region Complicate U.S.-Led Stabilization Efforts ("Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Ethnic Tensions In Northern Region Complicate U.S.-Led Stabilization Efforts") [ID 10478]

"At least 12 people have been killed in two days of clashes between Kurds and Turkomans in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz takes a closer look at the violence and the complications it poses for post-Hussein stabilization efforts in Iraq."

Document(s): Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Ethnic Tensions In Northern Region Complicate U.S.-Led Stabilization Efforts

24.05.2003 - Source: BBC News

Ethnic tension divides Kirkuk ("BBC World News: Ethnic tension divides Kirkuk") [ID 10480]

"The withdrawal of the Peshmerga forces from the city compelled the Americans to create a police force of 800 members equally divided between the four main ethnic groups in the city; Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Assyrian Christians. [...] About 200,000 Kurds are now trying to return to their homes, shops and farms. [...] The Arab tribal leader, Burhan Ubaydi, considers the plight of the newly-brought-in Arabs a humanitarian one. "Some of them have been here for over 20 years. They have nowhere to go," he said. [...] This unsettled issue is causing tension between the Kurds and the Arabs in the city."

Document(s): BBC World News: Ethnic tension divides Kirkuk

12.2002 - Source: Middle East Review of International Affairs

Article discussing the recent history and future of Iraqi Kurds ("The Kurds of Iraq: Recent History, Future Prospects - by Carole A. O'Leary (MERIA, Vol. 6 No. 4, December 2002)") [#17912],  [ID 10481]

Document(s): Open document
PDF

12.2002 - Source: Alliance Internationale pour la Justice

The Kurds of Iraq: Recent history, future prospects ("Alliance Internationale pour la Justice: The Kurds of Iraq: Recent history, future prospects") [ID 10482]

"The Kurds, an Iranian ethno-linguistic group--like Persians, Lurs, Baluch and Bakhtiari,--inhabit the mostly mountainous area where the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria converge. Following World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, the Kurds were promised their own country under the terms of the 1920 Treaty of Sevres only to find the offer rescinded under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. Numbering at least 25 million people, Kurds are mostly divided among Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.The main area they inhabit is about 230,000 square miles, equal to German and Britain combined. The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without a state. The term "Kurdistan" is widely used in Iraq to refer to the Kurdish area of northern Iraq and in Iran to refer to the Kurdish area of northwest Iran. Turkey and Syria, however, avoid this term for political reasons, although under the Ottomans it was widely used."

Document(s): Alliance Internationale pour la Justice: The Kurds of Iraq: Recent history, future prospects