Kurdistan-Iraq, August 1, -- The
tiny town of Shaqlawa had 1.2 million visitors last summer, mostly
from other parts of Iraq. They came for the mild climate and
mountain vistas, but the big draws were peace and safety.
Shaqlawa is in Kurdistan, a fertile region of northern Iraq that was
once the target of Saddam Hussein's chemical attacks.
Since the Gulf War, Kurdistan has been largely on its own. Iraq's
new constitution gives the region virtual independence, which the
local Kurds are eager to exploit with foreign investment.
"We know what the potential is," said Bayan Rahman, chairman of the
Kurdistan Development Corp. "We know what we had before, and we know
what's needed in Iraq."
Open, Safe For Business
The KDC has funded a major ad campaign in Britain and the U.S. to
thank both countries for overthrowing Saddam and to introduce
investors to "the Other Iraq." Kurdistan has its own parliament,
legal system, security forces and revenue sources. It hosts just a
handful of coalition soldiers; not one has been kidnapped or killed
in Kurdistan since the invasion.
Violence has flared just outside the region, in Kirkuk, where Kurds
and Arabs mix uneasily. Saddam drove out hundreds of thousands of
Kurds from the oil-rich city during his reign. Many have returned
since his ouster.
But in the north, where Kurds rule, local authorities have kept a
tight lid on things.
"The reason they're so safe and secure is that they pretty much have
a six-deep system of roadblocks that makes certain that people who
create trouble don't get in," said Andrew Apostolou, a Washington
analyst on Iraq.
Kurds also are far different from the Arabs of the south. They speak
an Indo-European language similar to Farsi and claim descent from
the ancient Medes.
They had an empire of their own five centuries before Christ, but
have been a subject people since.
Today the world's 30 million Kurds are divided among several Mideast
countries. About half live in eastern Turkey. Most of the rest live
in Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Kurds make up 15% to 20% of Iraq's population.
Most Iraqi Kurds are Sunni Muslims. Some practice an ancient pagan
religion, Yazdanism. There are also a few Christians and Jews.
But most are Kurds before anything else.
"Religion actually isn't the issue for us. It's a private matter,"
Rahman said.
Kurdish separatism invited trouble from Baghdad until the 1991 Gulf
War. The Kurds then came under U.S. protection, but they still lived
in Saddam's shadow.
"Where my parents lived, if they looked out of the window, they
could see the tanks half an hour's drive away," Rahman said. "While
we were out of his grasp, the fear was always there that he would
come back. Now things have changed."
Business is picking up in the region's leading cities.
When the region opened its first international airport near Erbil a
year ago, planners expected one arrival and departure a week. Now
they see about 65 to 70 flights a week to a dozen or more
destinations. You can fly directly to Frankfurt, Germany; Stockholm,
Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Vienna, Austria; Athens, Greece;
Istanbul, Turkey; Amman, Jordan; and Tehran, Iran.
The extra traffic has boosted demand for hotel and office space.
Firms make do by renting apartments and villas.
"While there is still a long way to go, things are moving at a much
faster pace," said the KDC's Douglas Layton.
Untapped Crude
Kurdistan has proven reserves of oil and gas, which are only now
being developed by Norwegian, Turkish and British firms.
The region was once the breadbasket of Iraq, but agricultural output
dived under Saddam. The United Nations' oil-for-food program was
also hurt by depressing prices.
To woo investors, the region's parliament recently passed a 10-year
tax holiday on new investments. The law, which isn't subject to
Baghdad's approval, also lets foreign firms own land and repatriate
100% of profits.
"What they've got at the moment is pretty good. They've got a de
facto form of independence," Apostolou said. "They can pretty much
do as they please."
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