Erbil, Kurdistan Region (Iraq) , -- A political
uproar has erupted in the Kurdistan Region of
northern Iraq after newspapers published a list of
people accused of spying on fellow Kurds for Saddam
Hussein's intelligence service. Some of the alleged
informers now hold important public offices.
Two local newspapers published the names of 162
people who allegedly informed on fellow Kurds for
Saddam Hussein's mukhabarat intelligence service
after the 1991 Kurdish uprising.
The service apparently tried to recruit people who
were close to the leaders of the two main rebel
groups, Massud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party and Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan. Mr. Talabani is now Iraq's president.
Many members of the regional parliament, from both
main political parties, are demanding an
investigation. And Kurdish Region President Massud
Barzani has ordered formation of a fact-finding
committee to see if the allegations are true. That
committee is to include members of the regional
parliament and be headed by a judge. |
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
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The list has names from across the political
spectrum.
It includes a current member of the Kurdistan
Regional Parliament, Farhan Abdula al Sharafani,
from the KDP who allegedly informed on other
political figures. And a former small town police
chief, Sabah Jalao Garib, is listed as keeping track
of fellow members of the PUK. A former Interior
Ministry official who now heads a police academy is
accused of spying on his ministry colleagues.
The head of the United Islamic Movement, Abdul Ghani
al Bazaz, was supposedly reporting on the Kurdistan
Islamic Movement - and became its leader. While the
Kurdistan Regional Government's former Industrial
Minister, Unadan Yousif Kanna, is listed as keeping
track of various Christian groups in the north. He
is now a member of Iraq's parliament.
The head of the political science department at
Salhuddin University's in Irbil, says he will not be
surprised if some allegations turn out to be true.
Professor Saleh Omar Issan says recruiting people in
political organizations to inform on others was a
common practice for Saddam's intelligence service.
Professor Issan says it is a good idea to hold an
investigation, and if the allegations are proven
true against some individuals, then the Kurdistan
Regional Government has a duty to hand down
appropriate punishments. He says this is a nation
that believes in law, and he expects justice to be
done.
The allegations come at a sensitive time for Kurds,
as former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is on trial on
genocide charges, accused of orchestrating a
military campaign that killed more than 180,000
Kurds in 1988.
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