Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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64<br />
Revue <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro <strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Basin Öz<strong>et</strong>i<br />
23 March 2013<br />
Iraq 10 years on: Good<br />
times in Kurdish Irbil<br />
By Ahmed Maher BBC Arabic, Irbil<br />
In the troubled security and political landscape<br />
of Iraq, the autonomous northern<br />
province of Kurdistan has emerged in the<br />
past 10 years as an inspiring success story.<br />
The region's progress is on full display in its<br />
capital city of Irbil, some 400km (249<br />
miles) north of Baghdad.<br />
Iraqi Kurds, roughly estimated at five million,<br />
have stunningly rebuilt a dirt-poor<br />
and traumatised soci<strong>et</strong>y from scratch since<br />
they gained their autonomy in 1991.<br />
Irbil is unmatched by any other city in post-<br />
Saddam Iraq and is prospering like no other<br />
part of the country.<br />
'ZERO WORRY'<br />
"We have turned Irbil from a run-down and<br />
shabby place into a little Dubai," Mahmoud<br />
Othman, an MP for the Kurdish Alliance,<br />
said proudly.<br />
The skyline of the city, famous for its cita<strong>de</strong>l<br />
and ancient monuments, is changing<br />
rapidly, with new hotels being built to<br />
accommodate visitors form Iraq and<br />
beyond.<br />
Irbil has a glittering airport, European-styled<br />
traffic lights, well-paved roads and<br />
highly functional infrastructure.<br />
"It is the safest place in the whole of Iraq<br />
and Irbil has been named the 2014 tourism<br />
capital of the year [by the Arab Council of<br />
Tourism]," Mr Othman ad<strong>de</strong>d, a smile breaking<br />
out on his face.<br />
"We have flourished because we are no longer<br />
run with an iron fist or fear."<br />
"Investment is very, very lucrative in Iraq<br />
Kurdistan," said Tony Abu Nakad, a<br />
Lebanese investor whom I m<strong>et</strong> in the lobby<br />
of his luxury hotel.<br />
"In Irbil, you have zero worry. As a businessman,<br />
you don't have to be preoccupied<br />
with the security hassle in other cities like<br />
Baghdad."<br />
Newly discovered oil has fuelled the economic<br />
prosperity.<br />
Kurdish officials predict that Kurdistan<br />
could surpass Libya's output by 2019 by<br />
producing 2m barrels per day, putting it in<br />
the list of oil-producing giants.<br />
But oil is a mixed blessing. It has strained<br />
relations with Iraq's central government in<br />
Baghdad as there is no agreement on how<br />
to share revenues.<br />
KURDISH DREAM<br />
The Kurds have angered Baghdad by striking<br />
lucrative contracts with dozens of oil<br />
companies. Baghdad calls such contracts<br />
illegal.<br />
The Presi<strong>de</strong>nt of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud<br />
Barzani, hinted last month that the region<br />
could seek full in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nce if disputes<br />
over oil revenues and oil-rich territories<br />
like the city of Kirkuk were not resolved.<br />
IRAQ'S KURDISH CAPITAL<br />
Average monthly wage rose from<br />
$300 (£198) to $1,100 over past<br />
<strong>de</strong>ca<strong>de</strong><br />
Government spends tens of<br />
millions sending postgraduate<br />
stu<strong>de</strong>nts abroad<br />
Rated by New York Times as 34th<br />
in a list of tourist <strong>de</strong>stinations<br />
In 2011, appeared on National<br />
Geographic's list of 20 best trips<br />
A stre<strong>et</strong> scene in Irbil Irbil has a rich architectural history<br />
■<br />
■<br />
■<br />
■<br />
The city has changed dramatically<br />
But what is not in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt about Iraq<br />
Kurdistan today?<br />
The region has its own flag, parliament,<br />
government, presi<strong>de</strong>nt, powerful armed<br />
forces and its own language.<br />
Most of the young Iraqi Kurds, like Tazreen<br />
Zaman, a 21-year-old with a <strong>de</strong>gree in<br />
accounting from the prestigious Saladin<br />
University, do not speak Arabic even as a<br />
second language.<br />
"I was more keen on learning English than<br />
Arabic because English is a global language<br />
and can secure me a <strong>de</strong>cent job in such a<br />
comp<strong>et</strong>itive mark<strong>et</strong>," she told me in impeccable<br />
English.<br />
The Kurds are sticking hard to their i<strong>de</strong>ntity<br />
and their mother tongue.<br />
When Shiwan Ismail learnt I was Egyptian,<br />
however, he switched to Arabic, which is<br />
not wi<strong>de</strong>ly spoken across Iraq Kurdistan.<br />
"Our heritage is our only ass<strong>et</strong>," said the<br />
65-year-old, who wears traditional Kurdish<br />
costume, never out of fashion in Irbil.<br />
It has long been the Kurdish dream to establish<br />
"Greater Kurdistan", a land connecting<br />
the Kurdish-inhabited areas of Iran,<br />
Iraq, Turkey and Syria<br />
"It is shame that a nation like us with a<br />
total population of 40 million people in the<br />
diaspora does not have a homeland," said<br />
Mr Othman.<br />
But Turkey and Iran remain opposed to an<br />
in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt Kurdish state.<br />
"I know it is unrealistic to seek in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nce<br />
because we don't want war," said the<br />
Kurdish MP. "Greater Kurdistan is still a fantasy<br />
but we will not give up our dream." ◆