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Muqtada Sadr opens the eyes of the Iraqi
Kurds
21.2.2006
Ilnur Cevik - Opinion
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By announcing that he
doesn't recognize the Iraqi constitution, radical
Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr has let the cat out of
the bag for the Iraqi Kurds. In the past we warned
that this could become a serious issue for the Kurds
of Iraq, who have made substantial gains through
this constitution.
Kurdish leaders justifiably felt very comfortable
because for the first time the Iraqi Arabs
recognized their right of existence as full citizens
of Iraq, and the constitution provided them with
guarantees that the Arab majority would never
dominate them or pose a threat to their existence
again.
It seems Kurdish leaders were overconfident as they
played key political roles in Baghdad and enjoyed
American support, which allowed them to become more
independent minded.
That is when we started warning our friends in Erbil
and Sulaimaniyah that they should not fall into a
false sense of security because the Turkish Cypriots
experienced a similar situation until Archbishop
Makarios dumped the Constitution of Cyprus and ended
the partnership deal with the Turks.
The Kurds of Iraq have managed to get the Iraqi
Sunni and Shiite Arabs to agree to share power with
them. The Shiite majority seems to have accepted
this for the time being. There is nothing, however,
to prevent the Shiite leadership from tearing up the
new constitution and throwing it into the garbage.
So when Muqtada Sadr says he does not recognize the
Iraqi constitution we could take this as the
utterances of a young radical, but at the same time
it could be regarded as a statement that many Shiite
leaders would like to make but feel it's not the
time. From our talk with Iraqi Shiite leaders in
Baghdad recently we got the impression that there is
some kind of resentment among them about the strong
ties between Kurdish leaders and the U.S. and what
they regard as excessive Kurdish demands from Iraqi
Arabs.
Muqtada Sadr on his own is not a strong political
force. His party only managed to win fourth place in
the Shiite Alliance while followers of his late
Ayatollah father have won more seats than he has. He
represents a radical wing of the Shiite alliance,
but still we feel the Iraqi Kurds should start to
see the danger looming on the horizon. There is
nothing to prevent a Shiite leader from rising to
power a few years later and declaring the
constitution null and void …
Both Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani are again
working hard in Baghdad to forge a new viable
government that will rule Iraq for the next four
years. Their contributions are well appreciated by
everyone as constructive and show that the Kurds are
eager to participate in the Iraqi political process.
This should continue, but we feel the Kurds have to
make contingency plans.
Iraqi Kurds have to forge closer relations with
Turkey but of course this also means the Turkish
leadership should start accepting the realities
about the Kurdistan region of Iraq. In the future
Turkey may once again emerge as the most trusted
ally and friend of the Kurds.
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