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SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) Farhad Sangawi,
Kurdistan's best-known newscaster, used to whip up
nationalist sentiment among Kurdish militiamen
fighting Saddam Hussein's army in the 1980s. Now he
says its time to put weapons aside and go to the
ballot boxes.
Campaigning in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region is
in full force with political leaders holding almost
daily meetings with tribal leaders. Advertisements
fill local Arab and Kurdish newspapers, while
billboards show the slogans of secular and religious
political parties.
Iraqis are scheduled to vote Sunday for a 275-member
National Assembly and provincial councils. Iraqi
Kurds will have an additional job to do elect a
local parliament in their autonomous region in the
northern provinces of Sulaimaniyah, Irbil and Dohuk.
The elections will be a chance for Kurds to gain
more influence after decades of oppression and
marginalization under the Baath Party that ruled the
country for 34 years.
The two largest groups in the autonomous region, the
Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan, have formed a coalition with two
smaller groups, the Islamic Union Party and the
Communist Party in Kurdistan, guaranteeing a
majority of seats in the 111-member Kurdish
Parliament.
Unlike other Iraqi provinces where fear of attack by
Sunni insurgents has limited campaigning, Kurdistan
has been relatively quiet. It has not been under
Saddam's rule since the 1991 Gulf war.
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said in a speech
last week in the town of Halabja, where Saddam's
cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical
Ali, killed 5,000 Kurds with chemical weapons, that
''these times are over and forever.''
''We will bring Chemical Ali to put him on trial
here,'' Saleh said receiving a huge applause.
After years as a political refugee in the West,
Sangawi, the newscaster, returned to his homeland
shortly after the fall of Saddam's regime in April
2003. Since his return to the ethnically-mixed city
Kirkuk, the 42-year-old has worked with PUK, the
group he supported for decades.
''The era of revolution and weapons is over. The
dream of our martyrs and the future of our children
is linked to your vote,'' Sangawi said. ''Through
parliament seats and new constitution we can get the
demands and rights of our people.''
Kurdish militiaman Salar Jalal, 45, who fought
Saddam's forces during the Anfal campaign in the
1980s in which 182,000 Kurds were killed, said ''Farhad
Sangawi's voice was our power when we fought against
a large army.''
''He helped us resist a dictatorial regime like that
of Saddam Hussein. Now he is the power that pushes
us to go vote,'' said Jalal.
Saddam's 23-year rule was a nightmare for Kurds,
thousands of whom were buried in mass graves during
brutal campaigns against them. Since Saddam's
ouster, Kurdish leaders have focused on influencing
political decisions in Baghdad with the aim of
reinforcing autonomy in their northern provinces.
Kurds now hold senior government posts, such as
deputy prime minister and army chief of staff, as
well as several ministries such as Human Rights and
the Foreign Ministry.
Iraq's first lady Nesreen Mustafa Berwari is a Kurd.
AP
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