ePaper_2nd Edition_October 12, 2016

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016 DT World INSIGHT In fight against IS, Kurds expand their territory • Reuters, Iraq Like many houses in this northern Iraqi town, the drab concrete building used to be owned by an Arab family. Abu Suhail, a Kurd who owns a small shop, lived down the block. He and his family shared glasses of tea with their Arab neighbours; his two sons played with Arab kids in the streets. But after Islamic State seized Zumar during its lightning sweep through northern and western Iraq in 2014, most Kurds fled, leaving the town to the Sunni militant group. Two months later, the Kurds hit back, pushing Islamic State out. Now, Zumar is populated almost entirely by Kurds, many of whom, like Abu Suhail, have had no qualms about seizing homes. He said the Arab who owned the house he has taken supported Islamic State. The same shift can be seen in towns and villages across the ethnically mixed ribbon of land that divides the autonomous Kurdish area in the north of Iraq from the Arab-majority part in the south. As the peshmerga – Iraqi Kurdistan’s fighting force – have battled Islamic State, many Arabs have been forced from their homes. Ordinary Kurds have come in behind, seizing properties, destroying buildings, and grabbing farmland. In total, Kurds have increased the size of the region they control in Iraq by around 40% since 2014. This is how the map is being redrawn across Iraq and Syria: Groups fighting Islamic State are using the battle to settle older disputes and expand their territory. Tensions have been rising in the past few months as Iraqi government forces, Kurds and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias gear up for an offensive to drive Islamic State from its stronghold in the city of Mosul. The members of the uneasy alliance share a common enemy, but they agree on little else. Falah Mustafa, the head of the Kurdish department of foreign relations, agrees. Many peshmerga have died fighting Islamic State, he said. The Kurdish government “cannot allow the sacrifices to be in vain by reinstituting Arabisation, which is the policy of the former regime. Definitely the Arabisation process has to be reversed.” A troubled past Kurds see consolidating their territory as an important step to statehood, which they have wanted ever since European powers carved up the Ottoman Empire a century ago. The new borders defined modern Iraq but spread the Kurdish people between it and three of its neighbours. In Iraq, Kurds were regularly repressed, especially under Saddam. Zumar is a case in point. The old village was submerged in the 1980s during the construction of Mosul dam, Iraq’s largest. When water levels in the dam are low, the tops of the tallest buildings can still be seen. Saddam built a replacement village on land that the Kurds say was taken from them. There, and in Kurdish areas across northern Iraq, he spent the next two decades resettling Arabs. Things changed after the US-led invasion in 2003 toppled Saddam. After the first Gulf War in 1990, the Kurds had carved out an enclave that was protected by a no-fly zone backed by a US-led coalition. With Saddam finally gone, the Kurds became more powerful. Many returned to their villages, or what remained of them. Arabs left, sometimes under duress, often of their own accord. A new constitutional provision called for a referendum on the future of the border areas. But the process festered because Iraq’s fractious political class could not agree how to implement it. The arrival of Islamic State in August 2014 revived old fears. In an interview last year, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that many Iraqi Sunnis were using Islamic State to strengthen their own claims. Kurds forced Islamic State out of Zumar in October 2014. The town is now tightly controlled by camouflage-wearing Kurdish security forces known as Asayish. Remaining Arab residents say they fear retaliation if they speak out. But quietly some say that Kurdish security forces have expelled hundreds of people accused of links with the militants. Kurds have taken over entire streets and areas that once belonged to Arabs. Amnesty International puts the number of Arab residents barred from returning to their homes in all disputed areas – from the Syrian border in the west to the Iranian frontier in the east – in the tens of thousands. The Kurds say only those with links to Islamic State are not allowed back, and point to the Arab communities who remain as proof there is no policy of demographic change. Kurdish officials deny targeting Arab property. They say the damage was done by coalition airstrikes and fighting against Islamic State militants. History repeats itself The man in charge of security in Zumar is Colonel Noruz Balati, who spent 17 years in prison during Saddam’s rule for his role in the Kurdish independence struggle. Balati said as much as 80% of Zumar’s Arab population had joined or supported Islamic State when they occupied the town. Most of them, he said, had been settled in the area by Saddam and were not “original” Arabs whose families had been there for generations. Only 50 Arab families, a minority of the town’s former population, have been allowed to return to Zumar, he said. He admits that others are displaced within Kurdish territory and have not been allowed home. “We are suspicious of them,” he said. At the same time, Kurds whose own homes in villages outside Zumar were damaged or are still close to the front line have moved into the town. “History repeats itself: The Kurds were displaced and now they have returned,” said Adnan Ibrahim, 39, a tailor’s tape measure draped over his neck. “Things have returned to their natural order.” Zumar’s commercial district used to be predominantly Arab. Now shops have been renamed to reflect their new Kurdish proprietors. A middle-aged Kurd arranging goods on a shelf in a small supermarket said the shop was not his but he felt entitled to it because his own business had been destroyed by Islamic State. Earlier that day, the real owner of the shop had come to ask for rent, but the Kurd had refused to pay, reasoning that the money could end up in the wrong hands because the Arab’s brother is living in Islamic State territory. The Arab, whose house has also been occupied by Kurds, confirmed his brother is living under the jihadists’ rule, but said he was trapped there and did not back them. He later obtained permission from the Asayish to collect the rent, but the Kurd still refused to pay, he said. ‘Duhok supports me, Peshmerga protect me’ Zumar officially remains under the jurisdiction of Baghdad, which pays the salaries of most state workers, makes official appointments and is meant to fund local government budgets. But there is little doubt who controls the town. The Iraqi flag is nowhere to be seen and Zumar’s administration is increasingly integrated into the neighbouring Kurdish province of Duhok. Ahmed Jaafar, the Kurd who heads the Zumar sub-district, said Baghdad had done nothing for the area. But Duhok had given him a 50 kilowatt electricity generator, ambulances and medicine. “Administratively, officially, I belong to Nineveh province, but in practice Duhok supports me and the peshmerga protect me. This is the reality.” Some Arabs living under Kurdish rule support the Kurds. “They A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces gestures in Zumar, Iraq THE KURDS HDP The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was established in 1946. Its leader. Massoud Barzani. is the president of Iraqi Kurdistan. Gorran, the second-largest Kurdish party in Iraqi Kurdistan, split off from the PUK in 2009, undermining the PUK and KDP's dominance in Kurdish politics. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is a pro-minority opposition party, wrth 59 seats in Turkey's 550-seat parliament. HOP has criticised the government's handling of milrtancy in Turkey's primarily Kurdish southeast. KDPI KDP GORRAN POLITICAL PARTY PYD The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was founded in 1975 by Jalal Talabani. The civil war between the KDP and PUK tasted from 1994 to 1998. The peshmerga are Iraqi Kurdish military forces. Many brigades are under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs' control, though some serve as milrtary wings of the PUK and KDP. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan. waged an insurgency against the Turkish state from 1984to 2013. Turkey broke the cease-fire. in 2015 when it bombed PKK camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) claims to be separate from the PKl< but is in fact the PKI
World EU sanctions against Russia over Ukraine 11 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016 DT • Tribune International Desk The European Union’s indignation over Russian air strikes against rebels in Syria has shifted its debate on sanctions against Moscow over a different conflict - in Ukraine. Any extension of sanctions requires unanimity of all 28 EU countries. The United States has introduced similar sanctions, reports The Associated Press. Below are details of the EU sanctions on Russia. Economic sanctions The main EU sanctions against Moscow restricting the access of the country’s banking sector to international money markets. They also include an embargo on most arms trading with Russia and prohibition of exports for the so-called dual-use goods that can be used for military means. The sales of some energy-related equipment and technology are also not allowed. The economic sanctions are in place until January 31, 2017. Blacklist of people end entities A list of 151 people and 37 entities subject to visa bans and an assets freeze in the EU for their role in the annexation of Crimea or the Russia-backed rebellion in eastern Ukraine. The blacklist covers advisers and close aides of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian parliamentarians, defence and intelligence officials, army and navy commanders, as well as Crimean separatists and rebels in east Ukraine. Putin himself is not on the list. This list is most often looked at by advocates of an easing of sanctions who say that de-listing some Russian officials would send a positive signal to the Kremlin while making little real difference. That, however, has not happened so far and these sanctions are in place until March 15, 2017. Crimea sanctions Restrictions on business dealings with the Russian-annexed Crimea are seen as the least likely to be eased or lifted as Russia says it will never return the Black Sea peninsula to Ukraine. The annexation has not been internationally recognised and the sanctions include bans on importing goods produced in Crimea, investing or providing tourism services there. Most transport, telecoms and energy exports to Crimea are also prohibited, though a Reuters investigation revealed how EU companies are skirting them. This set of EU sanctions is now in place until June 23, 2017. • EXPLAINER Why Ethiopia is under state of emergency • Tribune International Desk One of Africa’s best-performing economies, Ethiopia, has declared a state of emergency, its first in a quarter-century, after months of widespread, often deadly, protests demanding greater freedoms. On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn during a three-nation tour of Africa and said her country has offered to help mediate in the troubled region. Here’s a look at why this East African country, a security ally of the West, is now a target of its criticism, reports The Associated Press. Anger over land turns to anger over rights Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, rose up in protest almost a year ago when the government proposed annexing some of their land into the capital, Addis Ababa, as part of a drive to transform this largely agricultural nation into a regional manufacturing power. While the government later gave up the idea, the protests broadened into a demand for more rights and for the release of detained activists, opposition figures and journalists. The anti-government anger caught fire in other parts of the country. Hundreds of deaths, and a stampede Rights groups and activists have said more than 400 people have been killed in the protests, and some in the international community, including the United States, have called on the government to use restraint. Last week, the protests landed in the global spotlight when more than 50 people were crushed to death in a stampede after security forces tried to disperse protesters during a massive religious festival. The government blamed the stampede on what it called “the action of some hooligans.” The new state of emergency Pressure has grown on Ethiopia since the stampede, and further protests last week targeted both local and foreign businesses suspected of having ties to the government. An American woman was killed in a rock attack by protesters on the outskirts of the capital. On Sunday, after the week of unrest, the government declared a six-month state of emergency, citing “enormous” damage to property. “The recent developments in Ethiopia have put the integrity of the nation at risk,” the prime minister said. No internet ... again The six-month state of emergency is the maximum allowed, though it can be renewed. A government spokesman said Ethiopia’s security forces will be reorganized during this time to better respond to the protests. The government says the state of emergency may include a curfew in some locations, arrests and searchand-seizures without a court order, restrictions on the right to assembly and a ban on some communications. Opposition figures say an informal state of emergency has been in place for some time, and the country’s most recent internet blackout has been in place almost continuously since last week. •
Page 1 and 2: SECOND EDITION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1
Page 3 and 4: News 3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
Page 5 and 6: News 5 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
Page 7 and 8: Four-lane highway turns unfit for v
Page 9: World Soldiers protest army cuts ou
Page 13 and 14: Business 13 DT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1
Page 15 and 16: Business 15 DT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1
Page 17 and 18: Feature 17 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2
Page 19 and 20: Biz Info 19 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12,
Page 21 and 22: Opinion 21 Will a hard Brexit take
Page 23 and 24: Special 23 Act against militants or
Page 25 and 26: ECB declines request for reserve da
Page 27 and 28: Sport 27 DT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12,
Page 29 and 30: Downtime 29 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12,
Page 31 and 32: Showtime 31 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12,

ePaper_2nd Edition_October 12, 2016

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?