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ERBIL,
Kurdistan-Iraq, For centuries, the mountains
were the Kurds' only friend, as their saying goes.
They endured the repression of stronger neighbors
and saw their landcarved up and made parts of
Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Now, in an ironic twist, Iraqi Kurds have emerged as
the power brokers holding one of those countries
together.
The leaders of the two main Kurdish political
parties in Iraq, dismissed not that long ago as mere
warlords, are courted by the Americans, and they
have been key mediators between bickering Sunni and
Shi'ite Muslim Arabs in negotiations to form a
coalition government.
Yet Iraqi Kurdish leaders don't enjoy that same
respect among their own people. Kurds are
complaining about the economy and corruption. They
wonder whether deep divisions among their people can
be bridged.
Kurdish disconnect
It's not even possible to make a telephone call
between Erbil and Sulaymaniyah -- cities 95 miles
apart that are the capitals of the two rival Kurdish
provinces in Kurdistan (northern Iraq). Differing
dialects separate Kurds across the region, making it
difficult to have a unified school curriculum.
But politicians are upbeat. They say the
amalgamation this year of the administrations of the
two major parties -- Massoud Barzani's Kurdish
Democratic Party (KDP) and Jalal Talabani's
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) -- will bring the
two Kurdish regions closer. "It's the best time for
Kurds since the First World War," said Adnan Mufti,
speaker of the Kurdistan regional parliament.
Many people are skeptical.
Kurds have a reputation of being master politicians
but terrible administrators, and corruption is
widespread in the region. That has many complaining
that the union of the Kurdistan administrations will
mainly protect powerful financial interests.
"It's a unity between the leaders of the two parties
to preserve the status quo," said Sardar Mohammed,
an elementary school teacher in Sulaymaniyah.
Growth at a price
Kurdistan has flourished in many ways since it came
under U.S.-British protection in 1991 to stop a
brutal crackdown by dictator Saddam Hussein's army
after the Persian Gulf War.
In contrast to the rest of Iraq, hotels, offices,
houses and apartment buildings are going up at a
frenzied pace. Erbil and Sulaymaniyah both boast new
airports.
Kurds, who are ethnically distinct from Iraq's
majority Arabs, are returning from exile. Even Arabs
are moving in, many of them professionals seeking
escape from the violence and crime that afflict many
parts of the south.
Still, roads and basic services are poor. Not all
Kurds feel they will get a fair share of the new
wealth from Kurdistan's (northern Iraq's) oil fields
and other businesses. On the outskirts of Erbil,
people live without running water or electricity.
Critics say party membership is the only way for
advancement in Kurdistan. Voicing dissent in KDP-controlled
territory -- especially against party leaders or
their relatives -- can be risky.
Business and commerce don't conform to international
standards. Politicians have profited immensely from
lucrative business deals, and ordinary Kurds say
they have to bribe officials if they want to start a
business venture.
Business is further complicated by tribal ties.
"It's difficult to do business if you don't have
ties with the two big parties," said Mr. Mohammed,
the schoolteacher. Mr. Mufti, the Kurdish parliament
speaker, said it has been difficult to clamp down on
corruption with the region divided into parallel
bureaucracies. Someone in trouble in one part of
Kurdistan can simply take refuge in the other
province.
Also, Mr. Mufti said, Saddam's ouster in March 2003
kept Kurdish leaders preoccupied with more immediate
problems, such as addressing terrorism, holding
elections, dealing with Baghdad and forging
federalism in the new Iraqi constitution.
He insists that the Kurdish parliament will
establish strict guidelines and closely watch
government departments to rein in corruption.
Bridging the gap
But distrust persists between the two major parties.
Four sensitive ministries will remain outside the
united administration -- the peshmerga militia,
which will be under KDP control; the Interior
Ministry and its security forces, under PUK command;
the finance ministry, KDP; and the justice ministry,
PUK.
The peshmerga and the Interior Ministry forces are
thought to be most difficult to merge. Both the KDP
and PUK have their own experienced, battle-tested
militiamen whose loyalties lie with the party
leaders. Critics also worry about the size of the
new united government, which will have 27 ministries
for a small region with a population of just 5
million. They say that is a sign of the continued
efforts by the two parties to exert their
domination.
Observers say the question of the Kurdistani oil
city of Kirkuk, which Kurds insist should return to
Kurdistan, gave urgency to the decision to unite the
two administrations. The Iraqi constitution ratified
last fall stipulates that Kirkuk's status must be
resolved by the end of 2007, and the Kurds want a
strong common front in the negotiations.
Power brokers
It is the Kurds' experience in diplomacy that has
found them friends among former foes and
international heavyweights.
"Kurds are willing to work with anyone who respects
their position -- and now almost everyone does,"
said Harry Schute, an adviser to the Erbil prime
minister's office.
Indeed, the Kurds have gained tremendous influence
in Baghdad, so much that U.S. officials seek their
help on a variety of problems. During last year's
prolonged debate to draft the constitution, a lot of
the negotiations took place at the Baghdad house of
Mr. Barzani, the KDP leader.
Last spring, Condoleezza Rice made Kurdistan her
first stop on her first visit to Iraq as U.S.
secretary of state. She asked Mr. Barzani to
accompany her to Baghdad to mediate between
bickering Sunnis and Shi'ites as they tried to form
a transitional coalition government.
Last month, ambassadors of the United States,
Britain, France and China witnessed the endorsement
by the Kurdistan parliament of the union between the
two Kurdish administrations.
"This meant a great deal to us. It shows we have
international support," said Kamal Kerkuki, deputy
speaker of Kurdistan's parliament.
Eye to independence
For now, Kurds are prepared to see how they will
benefit from a federal Iraq. But their real
aspiration is independence. Last year, about 2
million Kurds signed an unofficial petition
demanding full independence rather than
reconciliation with Arab Iraq.
But Kurdish politicians are well aware that their
U.S. allies will not back independence, mainly
because neighboring Turkey wouldn't stand for it,
fearing it could inspire its own Kurdish population.
And Iraq's Kurds also have close business ties with
Turkey.
Iran and Syria, which have Kurdish populations,
would also oppose Iraqi Kurds going it alone.
"The Kurds are walking a very tight rope because the
majority of the people want independence, and
neighbors and friends are saying 'no,'?" Mr. Schute
said. "They have to make both sides happy."
Even though they don't say it, Kurds have many of
the trappings of independence.
Throughout Kurdistan, especially in KDP-controlled
regions of Erbil and Dohuk, Iraqi flags are
conspicuously absent. Instead, flags of the
political parties and the Kurdistan Regional
Government fly atop government buildings and
military installations.
Kurds associate the Iraqi flag with tanks flying the
banner as they leveled villages during Saddam's
ethnic-cleansing campaigns.
Despite the division of their land among four
countries, Kurds have persevered as a distinct
people and culture. Their language differs from
Arabic, a tongue that is alien to most Kurdish
youngsters.
AP
Kurdistan: "South Eastern Turkey" is Northern
Kurdistan. "Western Iran" is Eastern Kurdistan.
"Eastern Syria" is Western Kurdistan. "Northern
Iraq" is Southern Kurdistan
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