|
Kurds living in defiance in
northern Iraq inspire others in region to become
bolder
SULAYMANIA, (Kurdistan) Iraq – The topic of
Israel is still so sensitive in Iraq that people
typically speak in hushed tones and look over their
shoulders for potential eavesdroppers whenever it
arises in conversation. To praise Israel in public
is to invite death.
But this is not Iraq, say many inhabitants of the
ethnically Kurdish enclave of northern Iraq. In the
land known locally as Kurdistan, Arabs are seen as
the enemy, America is a friend, and Israel is the
model for the Kurds' goal of establishing an
independent state amid a sea of hostility.
Iraq analysts say the expanded powers granted to
northern Iraq under the country's new constitution,
combined with louder calls for establishment of an
independent state, are inspiring Kurds elsewhere in
the region to become more confrontational with their
host countries. Fears are growing in surrounding
nations that Kurds are becoming an additional
element of instability in a region already close to
the tipping point.
Sulaymania is one of the rare places in the Middle
East where it is possible to hear Iranians, Syrians
and Iraqis – all Kurds – sing Israel's praises. And
whereas the Arab world is demanding a U.S. military
withdrawal from Iraq, the Kurds are praying the
Americans will stay for a long time.
All around northern Iraq and its neighboring states,
where an estimated 25 million to 30 million Kurds
reside, an air of open defiance prevails against
Arabs, Turks and Iranians. In many respects, the
resentment extends to the greater Muslim world,
which many Kurds regard as having turned a blind eye
to their 83-year fight for independence after the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
"The Arabs call us Israel lovers," said Bradost
Hamou, a Syrian Kurd who sneaked out of his country
last year to attend the University of Sulaymania. "I
don't care. I hate the Arabs, and I love the
Israelis. Most of Palestine belongs to the Israelis.
I think they deserve all of the land from the
Mediterranean to Saudi Arabia. Maybe someday Israel
and Kurdistan will be neighbors."
For the Arab world, the idea of an independent
Kurdish state is condemned widely, as is Israel's
existence, as a sure-fire way to engulf the region
in another prolonged war. Still, the Kurds remain
defiant.
While other parts of Iraq strictly enforce a code of
fasting and prayer during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan, in overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Kurdistan,
restaurants remain open day and night.
"Right now, there's a growing problem all over the
world with Muslim extremism," said Kamal Adi, a
history professor at the University of Sulaymania.
"But you'll never see that here because we don't
define our identities through Islam. All we want is
our freedom."
Liquor stores are enjoying brisk sales despite
Muslim strictures against consumption of alcohol.
However, in Shiite Muslim southern Iraq, militias
and self-appointed enforcers long ago ordered all
liquor stores to close. In central Iraq, alcohol has
become scarce as Iraq incorporates Islamic Sharia
law into its legal code, as permitted in a new
constitution ratified Oct. 15.
But in Kurdistan, "we have no reason to be afraid,"
said Pasha Kamal, owner of a liquor store in central
Sulaymania, who has kept his doors open throughout
Ramadan. "You can see there's a mosque right across
the street, and nobody ever bothers me."
Although liquor consumption is tolerated in
Kurdistan largely because of the region's
longstanding Western orientation, Mr. Kamal said
that Kurds also enjoy thumbing their noses at Arab
or Muslim states whenever they can.
"The Muslim world has ignored us. They never
supported the Kurdish cause," he said. "We defended
the Palestinians, but nobody ever defended us."
Kurdish women say they feel no pressure to wear
headscarves. "You don't have a choice in Iran. Here,
I don't have to wear it, so I don't," said Frishta
Aziz, an Iranian university student. "I enjoy lots
of things about living in Iran, but because this is
free Kurdistan, I prefer to live here."
The Kurds constitute the largest ethnic group in the
world without their own country. Kurdish guerrilla
groups have battled against the armies of most of
the countries they inhabit, but only in Iraq have
they won a significant degree of autonomy after
years of conflict, in which an estimated 350,000
Kurds were killed by the regime of former dictator
Saddam Hussein.
Now, under the new national constitution, Kurds
expect their powers of self-government to increase
dramatically. Neighboring countries have registered
their concern, having worked for decades to quell
domestic Kurdish independence movements.
The Iraqi government, a power-sharing coalition
among Kurds and Arab Shiites and Sunnis, has
carefully avoided any discussion of Kurdish
independence and emphasized the overriding
importance of maintaining Iraqi unity. Top Kurdish
leaders in Baghdad have supported this position,
saying now is not the time to press the independence
issue.
In Turkey, government forces emptied an estimated
3,000 Kurdish villages during the 1980s and 1990s in
an attempt to eliminate possible bases of support
for guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which
Turkey labels a terrorist organization.
In March 2004, widespread protests and rioting in
Syria led to a military crackdown against Syrian
Kurds, prompting many to flee to northern Iraq.
Kurdish migrants from other countries say northern
Iraq has been a source of inspiration for their own
independence movements. But for those governments,
northern Iraq poses a potent security threat.
"For four days, we kicked out all the Baathists,"
said Mr. Hamou, from the northern Syrian village of
Qamishli, referring to the Baath Arab Socialist
Party that governs Syria and previously ruled Iraq
under Mr. Hussein. "We flew the Kurdish flag, just
like they do here. We were liberated. Then the
Syrian Special Forces sent in tanks and helicopters,
and it was over."
Another Syrian student, Muhammad Mahmoud, said the
only reason Syrian Kurds were bold enough to revolt
was Kurdish advances in northern Iraq.
"The more independence Kurds receive here, the more
these protests will happen in our countries," Mr.
Mahmoud said, referring to Iran, Syria and Turkey.
"Our best interest is to establish a strategic
alliance with the Israelis."
An Iranian student, Fashad Alizad, said neighboring
countries are right to be nervous. "We hate the
governments of Iran, Syria and Turkey," he said.
"Iran has 11 million Kurds. People see what's
happening here as a model for Iran. That's a big
threat because this is going to become the base for
Iranian Kurds to launch their own revolution."
Izzidine Barwari, a senior member of the Kurdish
Democratic Party, one of the two dominant political
parties in northern Iraq, said most Kurds view
themselves as living on an isolated island
surrounded by hostile neighbors. Although Kurds want
to achieve independence through democratic means, he
said he expects neighboring states to use military
force to stop it.
"The Arab countries cannot accept the federalism we
have in Iraq. Turkey is looking for any excuse to
invade us," he said. "If they can't accept the
rights of the Kurds living in their own territory,
how can they accept it here in Iraqi Kurdistan? But
they have to understand: We have tasted freedom. We
have entered a new era."
www.dallasnews.com
Top |
® 