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The Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC)
held its 17th Annual Conference March 25-26, 2005 in
Nashville, Tennessee, home to the largest Kurdish
population in North America. Speakers and
participants gathered from all parts of North
America, Europe and Kurdistan to focus on the
Conference theme: Kurdish Independence, Democracy
and Regional Stability.
The conference program included presentations by
scholars, speeches by active politicians, and
representatives from various parties and local and
international organizations. The conference was
kicked off by raising the Kurdish flag in front of
the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, the conference
site. The conference included several panel
discussions that provided a forum to exchange dialog
among panels and conference participants Speakers
addressed the situation in Southern
(Iraqi) Kurdistan where the Kurdish government is
firmly involved in the formation of a new Iraqi
government. Panelists and attendees offered a wide
range of opinion on which future the Southern
Kurdish leadership should be promoting, with many
supporting a pragmatic position calling for full
participation within a federal framework, while
others offered the 1.7 million signatures on the
Kurdish Referendum as evidence of the true
aspiration of those in Southern Kurdistan for
independence. The Halabja massacre was brought up,
many ideas revolving around retribution and
compensations were discussed.
Some suggested KNC should take the Halabja file to
an international tribunal, so that it is kept at a
global level. Furthermore, the conference called
for the following actions:
1. Strengthen the unity among the Kurds in
all parts of Kurdistan
2. The Referendum represents the aspiration
and the goal of the Kurdish people in Southern
Kurdistan.
3. Unification of the two Kurdish Regional
Governments in Southern Kurdistan.
4. Kirkuk and all the Arabaized areas of
Kurdistan of Iraq must remain part of Kurdistan.
5. Kurdish Peshmerga must remain as a core
army to protect the Kurds rights.
6. Condemning all kinds of terrorism every
where and the Kurds are joining the international
efforts to fight the terrorism.
7. Calling on the International community and
the UN to support the right of self-determinations
for the all Kurdish people.
Events in all Kurdish regions were analyzed and
discussed. Speakers noted the heightened attention
paid by the West to the Syrian government's brutal
policies towards its population, including a large
Kurdish minority, as well as its role in the
violence in Iraq.
Similarly, the role of the Iranian regime in
suppressing the rights of the 8 million Eastern
(Iranian) Kurds and in fomenting Shiite violence in
Iraq was analyzed. Events in Northern (Turkish)
Kurdistan were discussed, including the steps and
mis-steps made by the Turkish government in its move
to satisfy EU requirements for improvement of the
human rights accorded the largest Kurdish population
in the region.
The conference concluded with a Newroz banquet and
award presentation.
The KNC recognized several individuals for their
contribution to the Kurdish cause. Dr. Saman Shali,
current KNC president made a presentation honoring
the contribution of Dr. Asad Khailany, KNC founder
and former president. Live Kurdish music followed,
many of the attendees danced the evening traditional
Kurdish dances.
http://www.kncna.org
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