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To the Freedom Protestors in Sara Square
7.4.2011
By Michael Rubin
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April
7, 2011
Every generation, Kurds have had to fight for
freedom and liberty. Kurds, more than any other
people, know they cannot take freedom for granted:
Too many people—both outside Kurdistan and inside
Kurdistan—seek to take it away. Neighbors like Iran,
Syria, and Turkey seek to crush Kurdish aspirations
because of racist hatred or because they fear how
their populations will react to the success Iraqi
Kurds will achieve. Alas, Kurdish aspirations too
often are also betrayed from inside Kurdistan by
Kurdish leaders and ministers who seek money and
power, but forget about freedom, justice, and
democracy.
True leaders answer to the people. Both Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak and Tunisian leader Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali believed the people should answer to
them. Both claimed to be democrats, but they rigged
elections and used their personal security forces to
intimidate voters. They bragged to diplomats that
their regions were secure and, for too long,
diplomats did not realize that the security about
which the leaders spoke was only for their political
followers and family. In Tunisia and Egypt, however,
the people rose up. They had enough. So have you
and, even if Massoud Barzani ignores your voice,
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Michael Rubin |
many in the United States and
Europe hear it. American and European newspapers and
websites have reported it. Your protests have not
gone unnoticed.
The United States should be angry with your rulers.
When American forces helped liberate Kurdistan in
2003, we did so for freedom, rule-of-law, and
justice. We did not spend billions of dollars and
sacrifice more than 4,000 Americans to enrich
Massoud Barzani and Ashti Hawrami. We did not seek
to replace a big Saddam with a little Saddam, a
Qusay with a Masrour, or an Uday with a Mansour.
Rule-of-law and justice do not mean the Kurdistan
Democratic Party can kidnap and murder journalists
like Sardasht Osman, or fire into crowds
indiscriminately to kill 14-year-olds. Those who
ordered their murders should be held accountable to
the law. They should face their day in court, and
spend their lives in prison. Whether they are
Barzani’s or Mirani’s should be irrelevant. They may
have American Green Cards and even U.S. passports,
but that does not mean they are immune: Only that
Kurds can sue them in American courts for torture.
You are this generation’s freedom fighters, and your
fight is important. That you embrace non-violence
emphasizes the justice of your cause and the
importance of your struggle. And that the Kurdistan
Regional Government responds with violence
emphasizes the bankruptcy of those who long ago
sacrificed principle for dollars,www.ekurd.netand
their sons who rather party with prostitutes in
Dubai and buy hotels and sports cars rather than
ensure that Kurds have clean water and 24-hour
electricity, and that jobs go to those with merit
rather than political connections.
Victory will not be easy. Kurdish politicians will
promise everything to make you go home, but action
is more important than words. Some Kurdish
politicians may believe themselves reformists, but
they must judge whether they can achieve reform. Are
they simply props? Do they have real power, or does
Massoud Barzani control their cabinet and even their
immediate staff? If well-meaning politicians allow
themselves to be a reformist face to a rotten
regime, they have become part of the problem. They
should resign, reclaim their honor, and join the
people in Sara Square.
Sulaimaniyah has always been the courageous city,
and your struggle will spread. The people of Hawler
[Erbil] and even Duhok long for the same freedoms
which you demand. They will soon realize that they
are the majority, and those on Sar-e Rash are
isolated and scared.
My only regret is that I am currently working in
Afghanistan. This is why I do not deliver this
letter in person. But I follow closely what you are
doing in Sara Square and I know with your courage
and God’s blessing, my next visit will be to a free
Kurdistan where justice reigns supreme.
Sincerely,
Michael Rubin
Resident Scholar
American Enterprise Institute
Michael Rubin
is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise
Institute. His major research area is the Middle
East, with special focus on Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and
Kurdish society. He also writes frequently on
transformative diplomacy and governance issues. At
AEI, Mr. Rubin chaired the "Dissent and Reform in
the Arab World" conference series. He was the lead
drafter of the Bipartisan Policy Center's 2008
report on Iran. In addition to his work at AEI,
several times each month, Mr. Rubin travels to
military bases across the United States and Europe
to instruct senior U.S. Army and Marine officers
deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan on issues relating
to regional state history and politics, Shiism, the
theological basis of extremism, and strategy.
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