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Iraqi Kurds wooing suspicious Arabs
12.3.2008
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March 12, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq, --
Holding an Arab conference in Iraq's Kurdistan
Autonomous Region would have been considered an
anomaly a few years ago against a background of
mutual suspicion between Arabs and Kurds deepened by
the 2003 war on Iraq. But this year's annual
conference of Arab parliamentarians is being hosted
by Kurds in Erbil, the capital of their increasingly
independent region in northern Iraq. "The meeting of
the union of Arab parliamentarians in Erbil is very
significant as it gives them an opportunity to see
for themselves the situation here and know about the
region's political will," Zikra Moussa said in an
article in the Kurdish newspaper Holir.
It is precisely this political will that has stoked
Arab fears that Iraq's unity was at stake. Arab
countries have been looking on suspiciously as
Iraq's Kurds backed by the US won long-coveted
autonomy guaranteed by the principle of federalism
enshrined in the new Iraqi constitution. |
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US-Kurdish ties go back to the Saddam era. US and
British warplanes had enforced in 1991 a no-fly zone
over Kurdistan (Kurdish northern Iraq),www.ekurd.net
creating a protective
enclave off limits to the military of the Saddam
Hussein regime. The independent status of the
Kurdish enclave, which evolved after the Iraq
invasion into the Kurdish Autonomous Region, caused
unease in Arab countries.
Syria, which sees itself as a beacon of Arab
nationalism, has been suspicious of the increasing
independence of Kurds in a neighbouring Arab
country. Syria itself has a Kurdish minority that
has become increasingly articulate since the war on
Iraq and the collapse of its regime. But Arab
suspicion seems to be giving way to a pragmatic
approach as they come to grips with the status quo
in Iraq. Three lawmakers from Syria's staunchly
pan-Arab Baath Party are attending the Erbil
conference. Saudi Arabia, another key Arab player,
has sent a high-level delegation led by the deputy
speaker of its consultative (Shura) council, Abdel-Rahman
Al-Barak. Libya is the only Arab country that has
not sent a delegation, saying Iraq is still "living
under occupation".
By hosting the conference, Iraq's Kurds are sending
a message that they as part of a federal Iraq are
seeking to reach out to the Arabs. "The conference
will be the beginning of rebuilding long-lost
confidence between Arabs and Kurds,"www.ekurd.net
commentator Zikra Moussa
said. "Kurds, despite their bitter history with the
Arabs, always welcome dialogue, peace and
coexistence," she noted.
Arabs will be happy to see the national Iraqi flag
flying over the parliament of the Kurdistan region,
which has only recently given up its strong
opposition to hoisting a flag that reminded its
people of the Saddam regime. The Kurds' relations
with Iraq's Arab population are marred by a bitter
chapter that saw thousands of them perish in
Saddam's genocide campaign in the 1980s. "Arabs and
Kurds have lived together for hundreds of years and
will continue to do so for ever. We share with Arabs
so many common ties, mainly our common religion
(Islam)," a Kurdish pensioner, Mostafa Abdel-Wahhab,
said.
DPA
Since 1991, the Kurds of Iraq achieved self-rule in
part of the country. Today's teenagers are the first
generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. Most Kurds
don’t speak Arabic, especially the younger
generation. In the new Iraqi Constitution, it is
referred to as Kurdistan region. Kurdistan region
has all the trappings of an independent state -- its
own constitution, its own parliament, its own flag,
its own army, its own border patrol, its own
national anthem, its own education system, its own
International airports, even its own stamp inked
into the passports of visitors.
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