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A Flag without a country
14.7.2007
By Svetoslav Ivanov, Darik Radio
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July
14, 2007
There is a tree in a village some 30 kilometers away
from the city of Erbil on the road to Iran's border.
This tree, however, is not like all the others. The
Muslims in the region avoid talking about it. There
is no even a single leaf on its long branches, which
stick up just like a sinister looking wizard's
fingers. The culm is so dry that hordes of ants
tightly cover its bark.
This tree is a ghost that makes people believe it
has mysterious power pray to it. While I was taking
pictures of the strange plant, my guide pointed at
something I have not noticed before - there were
thousands of rotten nails, stuck into the bark under
the dense ant cloak. " People used to come here,
stood next to the tree and prayed to make their
dreams come true," the guide explained to me. "For
us the tree is a symbol of life, family and nature.
In the northern Iraqi village of, however, "the tree
with the nails" symbolizes the agonizing death.
Soaked into so many human wishes, ambitions, dreams
and pains, stabbed with so many nails, the plant
died and nowadays its dry culm stands alone along
the road, abandoned from all those, who were praying
to it not long ago. Even a cheap coffin could not be
made of this wood."
This tree is Iraq itself, the country, where
violence, power, dictatorship and war stuck their
lethal nails killing all hopes of beauty and life.
There is however, a place in Iraq, where hope is
still alive in spite of the chaos and the
sufferings. This place is called Kurdistan. The
Iraqi Kurds rule their region since 1991, when a
flight restricted area has been separated above the
district. Now, four years after Saddam's regime end,
more than four millions Kurds face a crucial choice.
On one hand, they can finally enjoy the chance of
living on a relatively calm and quiet territory (as
far it is possible in the Iraqi reality), their
leaders were democratically elected and the elite
also exists. On the other hand, however, the
citizens live next to their hostile neighbors, who
cannot accept the prosperity of the Kurds in
northern Iraq.
As I mentioned in my previous reportages from Iraq,
the city of Erbil welcomed me with its indescribable
heat and dry winds, waving a flag, which could be
seen anywhere in Iraq. That is the Kurds' flag with
a yellow sun against red, white and green
background.
The Speaker of the Kurdistan Regional Assembly Adnan
al-Mufti welcomed me in the building of the regional
council in the center of the city. I went through
four points, where I have been checked for weapons
before reaching the spacious office of the speaker.
"Where am I at the moment - in Iraq or in
Kurdistan?"- I asked provocatively.
"First of all, welcome to Kurdistan! Of course, you
are in Kurdistan, but it also could be said it is
Iraqi territory at the same time. But that's the new
Iraq we decided to build. It should be a federal,
democratic country."
The new Iraq the speaker mentioned should be a
federal state, where the Kurds could feel
autonomous. As they should have felt so for 15 years
now. The Kurds held elections throughout the whole
region and appointed their own government, headed by
a prime minister and a president. The question that
arises however is: how the Kurds would be convinced
to be part of United Iraq that is planned to be
formed in the future?
The majority of the Kurds, especially the young
ones, want to live in their own separate country.
They gain confidence, as they know they are the
balancing power in Iraq. The Kurds take the highest
positions in the state - those of the president, the
prime minister and the foreign affairs minister.
Except, as much as the other Iraqi areas get
involved in the Civil War, as stronger the Kurds
striving for political and economic independence
becomes.
That was the opinion of a 20-year-old boy, called
Adnan, who I met in the canteen in a university in
Erbil. "I expect that in 10 or at most 15 years
Kurdistan is to be an independent country," the
student shared. He is one of hundreds young Kurds,
who feel they do not belong to Iraq.
Actually, there is dramatic difference between the
Kurd autonomous region and the other parts of the
country. Several bombs explode in Baghdad every day,
while in Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Duhok the
construction works are constantly developing. The
citizen of the Iraq's capital do not leave their
homes for weeks while the Kurds, secured by their
police authorities, called Peshmerga (those, who
stands against death), go shopping in large modern
malls. Religious fanatics kill innocent people "in
the name of Allah" only half an hour away from
Erbil, while the Kurd girls enjoy the articles and
the photos in foreign fashion magazines.
"The worldly way of life is our escapism from the
religious fanaticism," told me Professor Abbas Vali,
the Rector of the new English-language University in
Erbil.
"The religion is a very important factor in
Kurdistan. It is a popular religion and not a
political one. The people pray, go to the mosques,
observe the traditions and the rules of the Koran.
They live as the Islam enjoins. In our region the
religion is not likely to be politicized. That is
why Kurdistan is a worldly place. After the
interview, go to visit our students and you will see
that most of the girls are dressed just like their
coevals in Paris and London. There are also some,
who wear kerchiefs. But it is only because they want
so - nobody can tell them how to dress," the rector
explained.
It was at the afternoon. The students from Hawler
were having lunch in the new canteen of the only one
new university in Iraq. Nejdel, Mohamed, Ali and
Adnan invited me to sit at their table. Nejdel, who
did not wear a kerchief, told the life in this city
was relatively calm and she could study without
being afraid of going to classes in the university.
That was so until the previous month.
"There was detonated a bomb in our region about a
month ago, which scared us a lot," shared the
student.
The incident, mentioned by Nejdel, occurred in the
beginning of May when a bomb-truck exploded in front
of the Interior Ministry's building. 12 people were
killed and other 80 - severely injured. That assault
reminded to the Kurds about the place they lived in
and showed them nobody intended to let them exist
freely in a country, which sunk into the chaos. The
Kurds are part of this chaos as they are involved in
the complex ethnic pattern in contemporary Iraq.
A mini-model of contemporary Iraq is the city of
Kirkuk. It is situated on 9 billion barrels of
petroleum and is populated by an explosive mixture
of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrian Christians and Turkmen. In
the past Kirkuk was the center of the Kurd culture
but today it is broken by numerous ethnic fights.
In the 80s Saddam Hussein deported thousands of
Kurds, forcing them to abandon their homes, in an
attempt at turning the city into an entirely Arab
one. Now, after the end of the dictatorship, those
Kurds return to their places, which have already
become homes for the Arabs. As a result, bloody
fights occur in the streets every single day. A
total of 18 children died in an assault on April 1.
The Kurds, however, are explicit on the point that
Kirkuk should go under the jurisdiction of
Kurdistan. That becomes clear from the worlds of the
chairman of the Kurd Regional Assembly Adnan
al-Mufti.
"In historical and economic respect, Kirkuk is part
of Kurdistan. The historical documents read so. The
old maps of the Ottoman Empire and whole Europe show
that. A separate article in the new Iraqi
constitution defines the statute of Kirkuk.
There should be conducted census, the situation must
be brought to the normal and a referendum should be
organized until the end of the year," the chairman
explained.
The referendum over Kirkuk's statute is scheduled
for November 15. The value of the oil fields is set
at more than USD 500 B. This money could guarantee
the Kurd autonomous region full finance independence
- the independence of a future Kurd state. Actually,
the Kurds are hardly working on the economic
development of their area.
Mohamed Hersh is the president of Businessmen's
Union in Kurdistan, being responsible for the
investments in the region.
"We are now suffering because of the notorious image
the west media gave to Iraq," Hersh said, leaning
back in the big black chair in his cabinet.
"Stability in the whole country is the main priority
of Iraq's government. The situation in Mosul and
Kirkuk differs from this in Erbil and Sulaimaniya.
Security does not depend on the location but on the
people's mentality and their feeling of belonging to
one community or another. In Kurdistan there are
special units, which keep the security and supervise
all that happens in the region. We enjoy the support
of our society, which works with us. We do not allow
any suspicious individuals entering our area. That
is our most powerful mean of defense and what is
missing in the other part of the country. The people
there do not cooperate with the authorities, which
causes the chaos. The situation is getting more and
more complex," the financial expert shared.
The economic priorities of the Kurds are closely
related to the need of the population and the
region's strategic development. There are serious
problems in the education sphere as far as the
infrastructure is concerned. Another negative point
the foreign investors face is the lack of energy
capacities.
"The power will be cut off in a while," told me the
waiter in a small restaurant in Erbil I have visited
in my first evening, spent in Iraq.
"Cool!" - I thought - "I am in Iraq in the evening,
knowing nobody and the power is to be cut off..."
"In order to solve the problem with the power
supply, the Kurd government issued licenses to
foreign investors, who are to build 200-megawatt
facilities," Hersh explained.
The road and bridge infrastructures are also in an
extremely poor condition. There is not a single
highway in the whole region. The agriculture needs
serious improvements as well. The soil is fertile
but it has not been cultivated yet.
"Our farmers cannot sell their production because of
the transport's high prices. As a result we are
forced to import all the cultures needed," Hersh
added.
The dream of being independent is closer to the
Kurds than it has ever been. This dream, however, is
limited, as they know if it comes true that could
unleash a conflict with Turkey. More than eight
million Kurds leave on Turkish territory.
The authorities there call these Kurds "mountain
Turks".
The Iraqi Kurds have already gained enough
confidence to approach Turkey with their heads up as
you can hear in the statement of Parliament's
Speaker Adnan Vali.
"Turkey should understand it could not deny our
existence. That would be impossible nowadays. The
world has changed, it went through two wars, burring
millions. Today, the European rival countries
created a common area, use common currency and
strive for sharing common values. Why cannot we do
the same? It is all a matter of time. As I always
say - we are ready to negotiate with Turkey and to
develop our friendly relations with Ankara. We were
rivals of Iraq before but now we are building
together the new "federal Iraq", which borders on
Turkey. It is important also that the security in
Northern Iraq is a responsibility not only of the
country itself but also of the allied forces. That
neutralizes possible Turkish invasion to Iraq," the
Kurd claimed.
Kurdistan should be part of federal Iraq but if this
project is not realized, we will take on our own
way," Professor Abbas Vali from Hawler University
added.
"The idea of a federal state is the only way to
Iraq's rescue. If that project defeats, there will
not be any premises to live on one and the same
territory. At the current moment, 95% of the Kurd
population wants to be independent. That would be
the second great historical change in the region
since 1922. After all, the political maps were
created to be changed," the professor reasoned.
Anywhere in Kurdistan one can feel the spirit of the
national debate on the country's independence. That
matter will get more and more topical. The peaceful
solution of the problem that about 30 million
citizens face, depends on numerous internal and
external factors. For the time being, the Kurd flag
continues to wave only in Northern Iraq. The red
colour on it stands for the blood of the Kurd
martyrs, who lost their lives in the fights for
freedom, the green - for the beauty of Kurdistan's
nature and the yellow - for the light on the
country's way. Where does this way end? The way of
the flag that has not its own land yet.
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