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Kurdistan: A state in the making?
12.2.2008
By Crispin Thorold, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan
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February 12, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',-- In
the coming days, a delegation of senior Kurdish
leaders from the north of Iraq is expected to travel
to Baghdad to try to resolve some of the outstanding
issues that divide the country's politicians.
The meetings could be tense. There is growing
resentment amongst Arab politicians about the gains
the Kurds have made since the fall of Saddam
Hussein.
Since then, a combination of canny politics, tough
negotiating and their closeness to the US has
ensured that the Kurds now punch well above their
weight in the politics of Iraq.
The Iraqi president is a Kurd, Kurdish parties are
part of the governing coalition and the Kurdistan
region in the north of Iraq has a high degree of
autonomy. |
An honour guard in Kurdistan parliament in Erbil,
the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan |
However, many issues that are critical for the Kurds
- and Iraq - remain unresolved, including:
• the future of Iraq's oil industry
• the status of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk
• the national budget
• who should pay the salaries of the peshmerga, the
Kurdish fighters
Twin fears
In Erbil, it is easy to forget that you are in Iraq.
The city, which is the seat of the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG), has all the hallmarks of
a capital city in the making.
The Kurdish flag - red, white and green with a
blazing yellow sun - flies from all the government
buildings. The Iraqi national flag is nowhere to be
seen.
At the airport, passports are stamped, Republic of
Iraq - Kurdistan Region. The labyrinthine visa rules
that apply in the rest of the country are not in
force here.
A good place to judge local opinion is Khalil's
teashop in the bazaar. Since the 1930s, Kurds have
been coming here to enjoy the strong and sweet chai.
Khalil's is more than a teashop. It is an unofficial
museum.
The walls are covered in photographs of key moments
and figures in Kurdish history. Even Saddam Hussein
- hated by Kurds - is here.
"Kurds and Arabs lived in this country like
brothers, but when Saddam came he made a lot of
problems between the Arab and Kurds," said the owner
Khalil.
"He killed a lot of Kurdish people. He damaged the
relationship between the Kurdish and Arab people."
Senior Kurdish politicians argue that it is this
history that is shaping Iraq's current politics.
"The Shia are afraid of their past," said Dr
Mohammad Ihsan,www.ekurd.net
a cabinet minister in
the regional government. "They have nothing to be
scared of in the future because they are a majority.
"Sunnis are afraid of the future, but they had a
great past ruling the country. We Kurds are the ones
who are afraid of both the past and the future."
Infuriation
Kurdish fears drove their hard bargaining after the
fall of Saddam Hussein. Their gains were
considerable. But could the Kurds have been too
successful?
Take Iraq's stalled oil law - when there was no
agreement, the Kurds decided to go it alone.
The KRG has negotiated exploration contracts with
international oil firms. That infuriated Iraq's
central government.
"To be frank, the contracts that have been signed by
the KRG have complicated the issue," said Iraqi Oil
Minister Hussain al-Shahristani in a recent BBC
interview.
"They have not been public. They have not been
competitive. They have not been transparent. No
region can enter into contracts for the development
of oil laws without the approval of the central
authority."
Arab politicians are increasingly frustrated. Some
Kurds believe that the resistance they are now
facing in Baghdad is reminiscent of another era.
"There is an alarming rise in Arab chauvinism," said
one senior Kurdish politician.
In the past few weeks there was a glimmer of hope
when Iraqi politicians finally agreed on a new
national flag.
The removal of the three stars on the previous Iraqi
flag, which the Kurds said were linked to the Baath
Party, have made the new design acceptable to them.
Now Muhammad Ibrahim, a tailor in Erbil, is making a
batch of the new flags, which will fly in the city
at a meeting of Arab parliamentarians next month.
Asked if he believes it will ever replace the flag
of the Kurds, he replies with one word: "No".
Back at the teashop there are lots of pictures of
the President of the Kurdistan Region,www.ekurd.net
Massoud Barzani, but
there are none of any of the recent Iraqi prime
ministers. So does the owner Khalil respect the
government in Baghdad?
"No," said Khalil. "We have a relationship with our
prime minister here. Barzani's our leader now, we
don't have anything to do with Baghdad."
BBC
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