|
How to resist Baker-Hamilton dangerous
recommendations?
12.12.2006
By Mala Bakhtiar, Translated by Dr. Kamal Mirawdeli,
Chawder weekly newspaper |
|
|
|
December 12, 2006
After a week of anxious waiting, the Report that had
been awaited by the whole world and, in particular,
the political forces in Iraq and Kurdistan, was
published. The Baker-Hamilton report, comprises 79
recommendations, all of them concern Iraq and the
region including Kurdistan. Some items in the report
have created various reactions and have worried the
public opinion in Kurdistan.
The writers of the report have analysed the
situation in Iraq from every angle and have
suggested solutions. The completion and publication
of the report for the US, Iraq and Kurdistan, takes
place in very sensitive complicated times. In the
US, the Democrats won the elections. In Iraq the
security situation has deteriorated. Concerning
Kurdistan, the issue of the Arabised areas, property
rights issues, and the way of exploiting oil
resources and making use of fuel resources, have not
been sorted out.
It is bad to look at the report in total pessimistic
way. It is worse to ignore understanding and
analysing its background and context. We need to
talk to the American and Western officials and
discuss the issues with them, one by one, and convey
to them a more decisive position regarding about the
issues that affects the future of our nation. How?
The recent elections in the US and the publication
of this report have acted as a good political shock
regarding two important issues in Kurdistan.
First: it is not possible for the people of
Kurdistan to tie its future to the future of Iraq
only. The political leadership of Kurdistan, on
behalf of the people of Kurdistan, must reach a
joint concrete political understanding with the US
and the West about the present and future status of
Kurdistan. And assure the public opinion of our
people accordingly, because the world of politics
sometimes hides more unexpected events than the
predictable ones.
Secondly: the events and specifically this
report must act to calm down the extremist mentality
within the public opinion and make everyone
understand that the events are not driven by
nationalist romanticism. But still the interests of
countries in the region and in Kurdistan have their
impact on the course of events and decisions.
If these two facts are taken into consideration and
a correct policy is elaborated to deal with them,
then the political leadership of Kurdistan will not
only be able to face up to some dangerous elements
in the report but would be able also to change and
amend them and ensure victory against any dangerous
possibilities.
The report suffers from the intrinsic fault line of
being written in a way that it would satisfy both
the Democrats and the Republicans. For a field
report aiming at achieving objectivity this has been
a big mistake. There are certain issues that, if
they were to be imposed and implemented, would have
very serious bad effects for the people of
Kurdistan. Among these:
1) The delay in the implementation of clause 140 [of
the permanent Iraqi constitution regarding the
status of
Kirkuk].
2) Emphasis on strengthening the central government
3) Pulling the involvement of regional powers in
Iraqi political and reconciliation processes
4) The return of the higher Ba’th officials and
extreme nationalists
5) Dealing with the issue of oil through the central
government
These are among the most dangerous points in the
report which directly concern Kurdistan. Of course
these and many other recommendations are against the
approved Iraqi constitutions. The odd thing is that
most of these points are in the interests of the
Sunni forces that are fighting the Americans and of
the Arab Sunni countries who are against the process
of the democratisation of Iraq and Kurdistan!!
It is the patriotic and constitutional
responsibility of the political leadership and
parliament of Kurdistan to study these points one by
one especially the above sensitive points. They must
oppose them and refuse to accept verbal promises to
tolerate the report.
In the current circumstances, the political
leadership of Kurdistan can depend on the support of
the people of Kurdistan, friendly countries and
political forces inside and outside Kurdistan to
insist on the clause of the constitution and reject
any change in the democratically approved
constitution of Iraq in response to such a report.
It is obvious that the focus of the report is the
interests of America and the American soldiers.
Compared to this consideration of the interests of
the Iraqi and Kurdistan peoples is less than a
quarter per cent.
There are some important points about which we can
have honest talk with the Americans and compromise
such as the military plan for uprooting terror,
diplomatic relations with regional powers, the
training of the Iraqi army.
We can start a more active and effective cooperation
to ensure the victory of the new plan of the US and
its allies in the4 interests of democracy and
defeating anti-democratic forces.
But it is not possible after all these changes and
costs to let the direction of events go backwards
and by doing this only give even more opportunities
and facilities to the terrorists and regional
powers.
I believe that the problem with fighting terror is
not that no flexibility has been shown towards
terrorists but the problem is that the fighting
against terrorists has not been conducted in a right
and effective way. The crux of the problem is in
fact that too much flexibility and soft approach has
been used with terrorists.
Times have shown that the attempts made to bring the
terrorists, ex-Ba’thists and Sunni nationalists to
the political process have had more destructive
negative effects than positive ones. Comprise with
looting criminal militias was a mistake. The most
problematic and dangerous point in Baker-Hamilton
report is its recommendation to bring these forces
deeper into the political process.
This will only create new opportunities and gaps for
looting, chaos, criminal acts, acting as agents on
behalf of rival regional powers, intensified
sectarian killings, etc
That is why these issues regarding how terrorism is
dealt with are very crucial for the Kurds and for
the future of Iraq. This [erroneous] approach must
be rejected along with the issues that affect
Kurdistan. They must not be ignored. We must act
urgently and rationally unless the scenarios behind
the curtains of the political stage make time run
out.
* Translated from Chawder, Sulaimaniyah, weekly
newspaper in Sorani Kurdish, 11 Dec 06, p 1+4
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 