Should
Iraqi Kurds be allowed to establish an independent homeland? The
state of corruption?
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Should Iraqi Kurds be allowed to establish
an independent homeland? The state of corruption? 11.4.2008
Report by Sophie McNeil
Journalist Sophie McNeil tackles the perplexing
question of independence of Iraq's Kurds.
Tariq Fatih says
the Kurdish leadership is both oppressive and
corrupt. This is the biggest problem for the Kurds.
They have a corruption needle and they try to inject
with it wherever they can. People feel there are
corrupt elements in government. How can America work
with such a government when you have situation where
the Prime Minister and the President just give all
the best positions and most important positions to
their families?
April 11, 2008
Five years since the end of Saddam Hussein's rule,
the Kurdish region in northern Iraq is one of the
country's success stories; stable, secure and
prosperous.
Have Your Say: Should the
Kurds in northern Iraq be allowed to establish an
independent homeland?
However, the question of reintegration remains
uncertain.
Flash Video. Report from
SBS, Australia, English, Kurdish
“The local political parties and the local
population were very happy with the overthrow of
Saddam Hussein and [with] the opportunity to
reintegrate into the rest of Iraq,” Jon Cebra a US
official in the region tells McNeill.
However the Kurds tell a different story. The Iraqi
flag is nowhere to be seen in the Kurdish Autonomous
Zone.
Furthermore Arabs wishing to enter are treated with
suspicion, the Kurds have their own government, army
and taxation system, and they’re signing their own
oil deals.
The Kurds’ increasing independence is causing
growing alarm in Baghdad, which wants control of any
oil deals, and in Ankara, the Turkish capital.
But what is America’s view? Washington is annoyed
with the Kurds’ ongoing battles with Baghdad and
believes that the Kurdish government has turned a
blind eye to its rebels, who are attacking Turkey
from Iraq’s northern mountains.
The Kurdish government disputes this, and the
Kurdish people feel betrayed by the Americans.
TRANSCRIPT
With Iraq still mired in violence, in the north of
the country the minority Iraqi Kurds have been
building - believe it or not - a quite stable,
reasonably prosperous and even relatively safe
society. But after surviving Saddam's violent
efforts to wipe them out and then playing a key role
in his downfall, the Kurds don't see themselves as
part of any unified Iraq. In fact, as Sophie McNeill
reports, their push for independence is ringing
alarm bells in both Baghdad and Washington.
REPORTER: Sophie McNeill
This is the border of what's known as the Kurdish
Autonomous Zone that separates northern Iraq from
the rest of the country. Those entering the zone are
examined as if they were passing an international
border. Security is stringent, and anyone slightly
suspicious is refused entry.
PERSHMERGA, (Translation): Get a screwdriver, we
need to remove the number plates.
MAN, (Translation): Why?
PERSHMERGA, (Translation): Just pull your car over
there and park it. That's problem.
CAPTAIN, (Translation): We won't let them into
Kurdistan region because cars like that will make
troubles for Kurdistan. Maybe cars like this are
suspicious,www.ekurd.net
and we suspect them of causing
explosions, terrorist's acts, sabotage acts. Maybe
tomorrow they will TNT this car and explode it and
no one knows who that car belongs to. So we will not
let this car enter the Kurdistan region.
Arabs from the south are treated as dangerous
foreigners in their own country – after all, this is
still Iraq.
CAPTAIN, (Translation): The Arabs are more dangerous
than the Kurds, Assyrians or Turkmen. The Arabs are
t he most dangerous.
It's a tough approach, but it seems to be working.
The capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Erbil, is by far the
safest city in the country.
JON CEBRA, SPOKESMAN FOR US RECONSTRUCTION: Since
2003, there have been zero casualties of US
soldiers. There have been some terrorist attacks,
most recently in May of 2007 here in Irbil. Those
have not been targeting international groups.
Jon Cebra is the spokesperson for the US
reconstruction team in the Kurdish north. He says
life here is a different world compared to Baghdad.
JON CEBRA: This is also a region in which the
liberation was extremely popular that the local
political parties and the local population were very
happy with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the
opportunity to reintegrate into the rest of Iraq.
But after suffering for years under Saddam Hussein's
brutal rule, the Kurds aren't interested in
reintegration. On the streets of Irbil, the message
is clear – they want independence.
MAN, (Translation): Whether we ask for independence
or not, independence is on its way because Iraq’s
future is to be divided.
The Kurds now have their own regional government,
their own army, and they collect their own taxes.
But more significantly, they're signing their own
oil deals and it's a very sensitive issue.
KEMEL AFARACI, TTOPCO: We have drilled six wells in
total since the beginning of 2006.
Kemel Afaraci works for TTOPCO. A joint
Canadian-Turkish owned company, it was given the
contract by the Kurdish regional government to run
Taq Taq, Kurdistan's largest oil field.
KEMEL AFARACI: When you compare with south Iraq, I
mean, Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk - it's really like a
paradise to work here.
Security might not be an issue, but oil production
here in northern Iraq requires negotiating a
diplomatic minefield.
REPORTER: But is it with the Kurdistan Government or
the Iraqi Government? Sensitive.
It's an awkward question for Kemel because
technically the land being drilled here is still
inside Iraq and Baghdad is outraged, labelling the
Kurdish oil deals as illegal and unconstitutional.
On January 17 this year the Iraqi oil ministry in
Baghdad issued a new order saying that it would end
cooperation and effectively blacklist any foreign
oil company that had signed deals with the Kurdish
Government here in north Iraq.
MASSOUD BARZANI, KURDISH LEADER (Translation): We do
not think anything unconstitutional happened.
Kurdish regional government leader Massoud Barzani
insists his government oil deals are not illegal,
and is refusing to halt production.
MASSOUD BARZANI (Translation): We would like to
cooperate in every way with Baghdad. But if it's a
political position to tie up the hands of the Kurds,
we will not accept it.
I'm now heading out of the Kurdish zone, south to
the city of Kirkuk. It's home to some of the largest
oilfields in the country. Past the Kurdish line of
control, it's much more dangerous this side of the
border. My driver is used to the daily threats on
this road, but for my protection, he's organised a
car of plainclothes peshmerga - Kurdish soldiers -
to trail us on our journey.
AZADEEN (Translation): Because of the terrorists.
The terrorists now they would pay millions for you.
So if they are with us they will defend us. And
protect lives.
Both the Iraqi Government and the Kurds claim these
rich oilfields that lie just outside Kirkuk. Since
2003, the city has been plagued by car bombings and
attacks as Iraqi Arabs and Kurds battle for control.
REPORTER: So Azadeen, this is Kirkuk?
AZADEEN (Translation): Yes, this is Kirkuk and the
area is called Rahimawa. All Kurds.
Today it's a dangerous, run-down place, but for the
Kurds, an important symbol of their oppression and
the struggle for recognition. To stake claim over
the oil fields, Saddam Hussein deliberately altered
Kirkuk's demographics by forcibly expelling
thousands of Kurdish families and moving Arabs in.
AZADEEN (Translation): This is the stadium. They
were displaced long ago, expelled from Kirkuk, but
now they've come back and they have no place to go
to so they have come here.
With Saddam gone, thousands of Kurds want to return,
but many of their former homes have been given to
Arabs. Over 500 Kurdish families are now squatting
in the grounds of Kirkuk's main stadium. I want to
take a look, but it's only possible with the
well-armed peshmerga guarding our every step. Open
sewerage runs through the makeshift houses, there is
no running water, and electricity is only available
a few hours a day.
The family of this 6-year-old boy, Omar, returned to
Kirkuk after being expelled by Saddam in 1988. They
have been living at the stadium since 2003.
WOMAN (Translation): There is no way to live. Our
lives are not good. What kind of life can you expect
here?
Omar's sister is severely handicapped but there is
no health care available.
WOMAN (Translation): No, no one has helped. The name
was written many times but nothing happened.
AZADEEN (Translation): Is it nice living here?
OMAR(Translation): No, it's not.
AZADEEN (Translation): Where would you like to live,
Omar?
OMAR (Translation): Apartments.
The Kurdish regional government is desperate to win
control of Kirkuk and is doing anything it can to
increase the Kurdish population.
AZADEEN (Translation): Yes, the Kurdish regional
government gave $10,000 to people to come back but
not all of them, because the government can't do
that. But for some who are building houses, yes.
As well as paying people to come back, the Kurdish
Government is also using other methods. This man
says Kurdish authorities forced him to return.
MAN (Translation): They sent us to Kirkuk, even cut
our salary. I'm a peshmerga, they’ve cut my salary.
They said they’d fire me if I didn’t go.
Meanwhile, Kirkuk's Arab citizens fear losing
control of the city and accuse the Kurds of playing
dirty.
RAKAN SAYED ALI, DEPUTY MAYOR OF KIRKUK
(Translation): What's happening in Kirkuk is
worrying. The provincial government is involved in
monetary payments. It happens. It even carries out
projects in disputed areas for party gain. It also
facilitates transgressions by people who come from
Sulaimaniyah and Erbil and gives them money to
build. These things are being done by the government
of Kurdistan.
The Iraqi Government is supposed to hold a
referendum over the future of Kirkuk so citizens can
vote to either remain under Baghdad's control or to
become part of the Kurdish Autonomous Region. But
the vote, due to be held by December 2007, has now
been postponed indefinitely. And the Arabs say they
will boycott the referendum anyway.
RAKAN SAYED ALI (Translation): We reject the
referendum. We reject it because we see its basis as
erroneous, its methods as erroneous and it will not
be in anyone's interest.
The Kurds are outraged over the referendum's delay,
and President Massoud Barzani has this veiled
threat.
MASSOUD BARZANI (Translation): Again I say we hope
this will be implemented, because if it's not
implemented we are afraid that something will
happen. What may happen, I can't tell you now. But
for sure it will not remain like now.
Threats of violence are coming from both sides.
Kirkuk's Arabs say if the referendum is held and the
Kurds win - as they are tipped to do – there will be
bloodshed.
RAKAN SAYED ALI (Translation): Without a joint
special administration, if it becomes nationalistic
or sectarian in character, there will be problems in
Kirkuk and there will be a civil war, I believe.
As I leave Kirkuk, I can't help feeling that there's
no simple solution in sight for uniting this divided
city. Back in the autonomous zone, I'm about to get
a very different picture of the Kurdish success
story, touted as a thriving and prosperous
democracy. This is the office of Kurdistan's only
independent newspaper, 'Hawlati', a constant thorn
in the side of the regional government. Tariq Fatih
is the editor. He's reviewing pictures of an
anti-government demonstration he says was brutally
broken up by the police.
TARIQ FATIH, EDITOR
‘HAWLATI’
(Translation): The government reaction towards these
demonstrations was very strong. There was gunfire.
Especially in Halajba and Kalar - one person was
killed in Halabja and one in Kalar.
Tariq Fatih says the Kurdish leadership is both
oppressive and corrupt.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): Yes. This is the biggest
problem for the Kurds. They have a corruption needle
and they try to inject with it wherever they can.
People feel there are corrupt elements in
government. These people work in government offices.
They copy documents and bring them to us.
Tariq's reporters were given these secret documents.
He says they show the Ministry of Tourism extorting
money from a local businessman
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): The problem is, this guy
wants to do the project himself and he was told by
the Ministry of Tourism that if he didn't give them
part of the contract he won't be allowed to do the
project.
MAN (Translation): They told him to sell his project
to them but he doesn't want to do that.
Kurdistan has the trappings of an open society,
including this smooth-functioning parliament, but
democracy here is tightly controlled by two parties
and two families. Kurdish Regional President Massoud
Barzani is from the KDP party, while Jalal Talabani,
from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is the other
Kurdish leader and also the Iraqi President. Their
pictures are everywhere and their close relatives
control Kurdistan's state media as well as their
security and intelligence agencies.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): It's a totalitarian
system. All the media, all the institutions and most
civil organisations belong to the parties. And a lot
of people are bribed and they're entangled in this
corruption.
REPORTER: How can America work with such a
government when you have situation where the Prime
Minister and the President just give all the best
positions and most important positions to their
families?
JON CEBRA: Do you want an answer on that?
John Cebra simply doesn't have an answer to that
question, but corruption and nepotism in Kurdistan
is a big concern for 'Hawlati' editor Tariq Fatih.
The newspaper recently published an article that
contains controversial allegations by a leading
American neo-conservative, Michael Rubin. The paper
is now being sued. Tariq reads me part of the story.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): "The Kurdish leaders
aren't trusted by America. Barzani possesses $2
billion and Talabani $400 million."
With claims of corruption swirling, Massoud Barzani
denies any impropriety and tries to hose down the
accusations against his government.
REPORTER: What is your response to allegations that
the Kurdish leadership is corrupt and there's a lot
of nepotism?
MASSOUD BARZANI (Translation): I don't say that our
situation is exemplary and that there aren't any
deficiencies. There is many. For sure. But what he
wrote - in fact some of them is right, but most of
its exaggeration. We know we have deficiencies and
they're being fixed.
The authorities constantly harass the newspaper.
Both Tariq and his star reporter, Nabaz Goran, have
been beaten by thugs who warned them not to
criticise the government. This is the result of a
beating handed out to Nabaz. Five years after the
American overthrow of Saddam Hussein, reporters here
are still imprisoned under the former Ba'ath
regime's oppressive media laws.
REPORTER: Is that good enough?
JON CEBRA: Well, it's a work in progress. They do
have democratic mechanisms, they do have democratic
institutions and they have mechanisms for addressing
these issues.
But Tariq Fatih doesn't believe Kurdish leaders have
embraced their new democracy.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): When the revolution
started they didn't have any ideology to run this
country. What they learned, they learned from the
Ba'athists. They were in a fight against the
Ba'athists but what they learnt it was from the
Ba'athists, the system of administration of the
Ba'athists. So it is the same system, with a little
more opening regarding freedom of expression.
He's worried the Kurdish leadership is squandering
the chance of winning Kirkuk and the great Kurdish
dream of independence.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): Yes, it has deteriorated,
breaking little by little and destroying the
historical opportunity of the Kurdish people from
1991 until now that we have reached. At the
international level this performance and method of
running administration and government will hurt us.
Life in Iraqi Kurdistan seems relatively peaceful,
but while I'm here the situation takes a dramatic
turn for the worse
ALJAZEERA NEWS REPORT: Hello again. The top story on
Aljazeera - the Turkish army has launched a major
ground offensive into northern Iraq targeting
Kurdish fighters. The operation could last for 15
days and the UN has urged Turkey to respect the
Iraqi border.
The next morning I join Tariq as he heads into the
mountains with one of his reporters to cover
Turkey's unprecedented invasion.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): Turkey has bombed the
area using jets.
Another well-armed Kurdish group, the PKK, use these
mountains as a base for attacking Turkey. And now
the Turks want to wipe them out once and for all.
Washington classifies the PKK as a terrorist group,
and is annoyed that the Kurdish regional government
seems to have turned a blind eye to the rebel's
activities.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): Behind that mountain is
the Turkish border. We are about 20 minutes away
from it by car.
For Tariq and his reporter Jannour, this new attack
highlights the Kurds' lack of any real independence
and stirs their nationalistic sentiments.
JANNOUR (Translation): With so many bitter events,
like Halabja and Saddam's elimination of the Kurds,
all these events happened under the eye of the
international community. They were quiet, and it's
not the first or last time for us to feel alone
because the international community doesn't support
us.
In response to the Turkish invasion, Kurdish
peshmerga troops have been massing near the border.
They're nervous about journalists and won't let me
film them. From their position we can hear the
Turkish planes in the sky. Up ahead, the Turks have
bombed this bridge – the first time they've targeted
infrastructure like this.
MAN (Translation): Underneath here is a rocket, it
hasn’t exploded since the jets bombed us. It’s under
ground and it hasn’t exploded yet.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): I can hear the sound of
jets.
It's not safe here, and we have to move quickly.
TARIQ FATIH (Translation): There are explosions on
the other side. I can hear it.
MAN (Translation): Another four bridges were
destroyed there.
With his land under attack regional President
Mazzoud Barzani says he has no influence over the
situation.
MASSOUD BARZANI (Translation): We have helped the
PKK but we also don't go to fight against PKK. This
is not our business. It's not our problem.
After decades of repression, the Kurds have a strong
sense of their history. In the teahouses, these men
remember a close relationship with America. Now
they're outraged that their once-great ally has
given Turkey the green light to invade.
MAN IN TEASHOP, (Translation): Turkey and America
exchanging information on the PKK was another
betrayal of the Kurds. It's not something that
people are happy with.
The Kurds were once said to be America's best
friends in the Middle East, but now wonder whether
their independence was ever part of America's plans.
Once again they feel abandoned by the world.
MAN 2 (Translation): Our population is 40 million,
but we're not free. Why? Why should Kurds be
controlled by Arabs are Persians or Turks? We have
all the elements to establish a government. All the
elements... we have the right to be free. We have
the right to be independent.
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