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Iraqi Kurdistan Govt to HRW and Amnesty: We are pro reform,
peace, human rights |
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Kurd Net
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Iraqi Kurdistan Govt to HRW and Amnesty:
We are pro reform, peace, human rights
30.5.2011
By Kurdistan Regional Government KRG |
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May
30, 2011
ERBIL-Hewlêr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — The Kurdistan Regional
Government last week clarified the facts surrounding
regional protests in an official response to
reports by Human Rights Watch and
Amnesty International.
Letter to Mr Kenneth Roth,
Executive Director, Human Rights Watch
May 23, 2011
Dear Mr Roth,
I have been directed by the Prime Minister of the
Kurdistan Regional Government KRG, Dr. Barham Salih,
to write to you in response to Human Rights Watch’s
statement on April 21, 2011 in relation to the
protests in Sulaimaniyah between February and April
of this year.
First and foremost, we reaffirm our gratitude and
appreciation for the work conducted by HRW
throughout the years in defense of Kurdish rights.
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While we take issue with some of the assertions in
your statement, we consider your intervention
consistent with your concern with the human rights
of Kurds and others.
This has been a testing period in so many ways for
our government and the Kurdistan Region’s political
process. We will not deny that a few individuals
from KRG security forces may have committed
violations and might have subjected some protesters
to ill treatment. We can assure you, however, that
these incidents have occurred despite KRG’s clear
directives for strict adherence to the law and the
rights of the protesters. These violations can be
attributed,www.ekurd.netat
least in part, to lack of training and equipment
needed for crowd control, which has also led to the
death and injury of many police and security
personnel. It is also important to recognize that
the protests in the governorate of Sulaimaniyah were
not entirely peaceful. Many of the protest leaders
incited violence, some even called for Jihad. Many
of the demonstrators took part in violent actions
that caused extensive damage to public and private
property as well as hundreds of injuries and even
the deaths of two security personnel.
The protests and opposition
politics
The KRG, since its inception in 1991, has achieved
much progress—despite many setbacks that have been
manifested through internal strife. Nonetheless,
after twenty years, there is still need for change
and reforms. Our constituents legitimately aspire to
better governance, combating corruption, and
preventing the abuse of power. The initial wave of
protests was undoubtedly a reflection of this desire
for reform.
However, the facts show that much of the protests’
organization and motivation, as well as the
degeneration of the security situation, is a result
of political opportunism whereby opposition
political parties and leaders have attempted to
achieve in the streets what they were unable to
achieve at the ballot box. The violence accompanying
some of the protests is not an expression of
democracy—it is a direct challenge to democracy.
Here are some key facts to take into account when
considering what is happening in the Kurdistan
Region:
•The current administration of the Kurdistan
Regional Government came into office in July 2009 as
the result of a competitive election in which the
winning coalition received 59% of the vote.
•More than 320 international observers from 35
countries and organizations, including the UN and EU,
monitored the elections. They praised the high
turnout of the elections and its competitive
environment.
•Opposition parties made significant gains in these
elections, and for the first time in history, the
Kurdistan Region’s Parliament has a large opposition
group in attendance.
•The Gorran Party, the main opposition, first called
for the KRG to resign more than three weeks before
the first protest, and they promised to bring their
people to the streets if the government was not
dissolved.
•The outbreak of violence on February 17th resulted
when a group of protesters left the licensed protest
area and attacked the offices of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) in Sulaimaniyah. A
regrettable shooting incident took place. Of the 64
total wounded (reported by the Sulaimaniyah
Emergency Hospital), 11 were security personnel.
•Some protesters have repeatedly insulted, taunted,
and used violence in attempts to provoke security
officers in order to gain sympathy for their cause.
•In Halabja, two police officers were killed and
many others were wounded during violent protests in
which not a single protester was injured,
illustrating the restraint shown by the police.
•In addition to the two officers who were killed,
almost 500 security personnel have been wounded by
protestors throwing sticks, rocks, glass, and using
knives, guns, and other weapons. Of the 99 persons
reported injured during the events of April 17th and
18th, 66 were security personnel, and two of these
were blinded by broken glass fired from slingshots.
•Of those arrested, over 95% were released almost
immediately. Due process is a fundamental right, and
the government does not hold any persons for
political reasons. Those who have been held are
being detained with charges ranging from carrying a
weapon without a license to assault with the intent
to kill.
•Almost 90% of the demonstrators were male, and 60%
of them were under the age of 18.
•Of the nearly one million residents of
Sulaimaniyah, the usual turnout of less than 1,500
protesters had a devastating impact on the economy
in the Sulaimaniyah area and on the Region as a
whole. Local merchants, shops and service centers
have suffered terrible financial losses, and the
government has received countless calls for action
to be taken to protect their welfare.
The KRG and reform
The government has recognized the need for reform
since long before these protests began, and many
significant reforms have already been passed. Among
these are:
•Before protests began in the region, the government
was already taking steps to initiate many reforms.
The current cabinet, which took office in October
2010, embarked on a series of reform initiatives
aimed at limiting political party interference in
governmental work and promoting new levels of
transparency in public finances.
•On November 23rd, 2010 President Barzani held a
meeting with Prime Minister Salih and the Council of
Ministers urging a wide ranging reform agenda to
improve government services, the unification of
Peshmerga forces, and measures to eliminate
corruption.
•President Barzani called parliament together on
February 10th. In addition to the measures listed
above, he asked each party to draw up a plan for
introducing reforms on: improving government
efficiency, creating more jobs, and making public
access to services easier and more convenient.
•In a public meeting on February 14th, the President
reiterated his firm resolve to fight corruption and
stressed that no one is above the law.
•Establishing an independent Judicial Council to
separate the judicial system from the influence of
the Ministry of Justice.
•Promoting the protection, rights, and participation
of women in government through establishing the
Higher Council of Women and a directorate to follow
up on the government’s actions to prevent violence
against women, passing a law to prosecute
perpetrators of honor killings as murderers, and
passing a law requiring 30% of MPs to be women.
•Passing a Press Law ensuring imprisonment is no
longer possible as punishment for press-related
matters.
•Enacting a Code of Ethics and Conduct for greater
accountability of government officials to ensure
separation of public and private interests.
•Establishing a continuing program of training and
mentoring for KRG civil servants with the UK’s
National School of Government.
•Starting a program with the UK’s Westminster
Foundation for Democracy to enhance the Kurdistan
Parliament’s training and capacity-building for MPs
and parliamentary staff.
•Bringing in the independent firm Price Waterhouse
Coopers to advise the KRG on strategies for good
governance and transparency.
Response to criticism
•Since the protests began, the government has
listened closely to the people’s demands and has
taken many steps to address the protesters’ concerns
in a responsible and democratic way.
•Parliament has passed an extensive program to
institute 17 points of reform (see attached
translation – app 1).
•A committee was formed by the Council of Ministers
on February 23rd to investigate the events that took
place in Sulaimaniyah and elsewhere. This report,
based on video footage, health reports, and
interviews with civilian and government witnesses,
has now been presented to the public.
The substantial criticisms of government actions in
this report are a testament to its credibility, and
you can rest assured that we will do everything that
we can to address the issues brought to light in
this report (see attached translation of the
report’s findings summary – app 2).
•The Prime Minister issued a statement to the
protestors responding to their demands and
establishing a committee to work on a mechanism for
coordination (see the translation of the letter –
app 3).
•On February 27th, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK) officially returned a list of party properties
to government control (see attachment – app 4).
•The Prime Minister and Ministers of Peshmerga
Affairs and the Interior have all attended sessions
of parliament to be questioned about events related
to the protests.
•The Ministry of Interior has sought training and
equipment for non-lethal crowd management, and a
directive was sent to all the security forces of the
Kurdistan Region regarding appropriate procedures
for detaining and processing prisoners (see attached
directive – app 5).
•On March 20th, President Barzani laid out a list of
20 reforms that he called on parliament and the
other appropriate entities to enact in response to
many of the legitimate demands of the protesters
(see attached translation – app 6).
•The government has scheduled provincial elections
for September 10, 2011, and President Barzani has
indicated a willingness to consider holding
Parliamentary elections before their currently
scheduled date in 2013.
•The government has repeatedly asked for the
assistance of the people to put an end to the
violence and to address their concerns through
constructive and peaceful dialogue, and in recent
days the local security forces in Sulaimaniyah have
successfully cleared the protest area so that
business and commerce may resume - their restraint
during this action is evidenced by the fact that
more than two thirds of the reported injured were
security personnel.
Concluding thoughts
While this government acknowledges significant
shortcoming and deficiencies in its performance, we
ask that it be viewed with appreciation for the
challenges that it faces and with honest
consideration for the progress it has made. Since
obtaining limited autonomy from Saddam Hussein’s
oppressive regime in 1991, this Region has
quadrupled its number of schools, doubled the number
of hospitals, completed more than 4,000
drinking-water projects, built more than 900 km of
paved roads, made significant improvements in sewage
and waste management, multiplied its average
electricity output by more than 9 times, and has
increased oil exports from zero to 150,000 bpd since
2007. The number of newspapers, magazines and
broadcast media outlets has risen dramatically, and
all of these improvements have been made in order to
enhance the education, healthcare and the provision
of services and infrastructure to the people of the
Kurdistan Region. The KRG is proud to be a
government that puts the security and the needs of
its people above all else.
In addition to the reforms mentioned above, Amnesty
International recognized the region for
discontinuing the incarceration of political
prisoners, for passing legislation to compensate
detainees that have been held without charges, and
for its improvements in human rights overall in its
2009 report. This region has also become a refuge
for tens of thousands of internally displaced
persons (IDPs), particularly those fleeing religious
persecution, and the KRG provides them with food,
housing, and financial assistance.
Progress and reform are not new to this government.
A culture of positive change has been fostered since
well before the protests began. The KRG welcomes the
new opposition as a means of improving the
efficiency of the democratic system, and it is open
to constructive criticisms and cooperative efforts
toward further progress. However, we call on the
opposition to take its responsibility seriously.
They should participate in the coalition government
to help implement the many reforms that are still
needed or win the right to lead the country through
the ballot box. Their calls to dissolve a
democratically elected coalition government are
irresponsible, and ceding to this demand would set a
dangerous precedent for the Kurdistan Region's
emerging democracy.
We would like to thank you for taking the time to
consider these thoughts. I hope that we have been
successful in communicating a more complete picture
of our region. For, as the Prime Minister has
recently stated, “the lives and the safety of the
people, as well as the stability of the region, are
above all of the political positions that we hold.”
Sincerely,
Falah Mustafa Bakir
Head of Department of Foreign Relations
Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
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