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Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti dlicago SBrttmM August 19, 2007 By Liz Sly | Tribune foreign correspondent Oil-rich Kirkuk a thorny issue for Kurds A vote on whether the city should be absorbed into Kurdistan is likely delayed, leaving Kurds to wonder if Kirkuk is worth risking civil war IRBIL, Iraq - The Kurdish constitution, a vote is due by separatists based in Iraq. But minister. flag, not the Iraqi one, flutters December on whether Kirkuk many Kurds believe the troops over government buildings should be absorbed Into hère in Kurdistan because the Kurdistan. The city was home Iraqi flag was banned last to thousands of Kurds until year. Yet when the Iraqi the late 1980s, when they soccer team won the Asian were driven out by Hussein's Cup last month, the Kurds government. took to the streets to Yet already it is August, and celebrate with their fellow the complex process of Iraqis some even waving organizing the référendum has the forbidden flag. barely started. The committee Kurds tout their région as "the established to implement it other Iraq," the one part of has not met since March, the country where foreigners when its chairman resigned. are both welcome and safe. "If you ask me, it is With their autonomous status impossible," said Ahmed al- enshrined in Iraq's Baraq, the chairman of the constitution, they function Iraq Property Claims virtually as an independent Commission who sits on the nation, with their own laws, committee charged with their own government and implementing the référendum. their own parliament. The Kurds smell a rat. As the While much of the rest of the months drag by without country is mired in sectarian progress, they are fretting violence, the Kurds hâve that référendum opponents achieved almost everything including Shiites and Sunnis they could hâve dreamed of who believe Kirkuk is an Arab except for one key prize, the and Turkmen city hâve oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which conspired to let the deadiine some hâve called Kurdistan's slip and perhaps defer Jérusalem. Indefinitely the Kurds' dream Now, amid signs that a of annexing the city. constitutionally required "We feel there is a deliberate référendum on the city's delay on this issue, and I don't status may not be held on think anyone has been schedule by the end of the courageous enough to tell us," year, the Kurds face a said Safeen Dizayee, a conundrum: spokesman for Barzani's Should they take a stand and Kurdistan Démocratie Party. perhaps trigger a civil war, as "We are becoming suspicious Kurdistan Président Massoud of this process." Barzani threatened last Time is not the only problem. month? Or should they come A groundswell of international to terms with what appears to opposition has emerged, with be reality, that Kirkuk may be the International Crisis Group, beyond their grasp for now? the Iraq Study Group and the The problem goes to the core United Nations ail warning of the Kurds' schismatic that holding the référendum in identity as a people with the ethnically mixed city could aspirations to independence provoke new bloodletting. who also happen to be citizens An escalation of bombings in of Iraq. areas where the référendum is "We are a différent nation," due to be held including the said Falah Baqir, the foreign devastating attack last week minister in the Kurdish in the Yazidi community of régional Cabinet. "We are Sinjar has underscored the Kurdish and not Arab. But the dangers: Kurdish officiais say fact is that we are a part of the attacks are an effort by Al this country and we do not Qaeda in Iraq to deter the want history to repeat itself," référendum from going ahead. he said, referring to how the In addition, Turkey has Kurds were persecuted during massed troops on Kurdistan's the rule of Saddam Hussein. borders, ostensibly to guard Under the terms of Iraq's new against attacks by Kurdish are also there as a warning not to allow a vote that might advance Kurdish independence by giving Kurdistan control over Kirkuk's oil. The U.S., a strong Kurdish ally, is an architect of the Kirkuk référendum proposai. Preoccupled with securing Baghdad, Washington has no wish to see violence erupt in the one part of the country that is considered safe, and U.S. officiais hâve fallen silent on the issue. They hâve much to lose Officially, the Kurds say they will not budge from their insistence that the référendum be held soon. After so many warnings that the référendum could trigger violence, Barzani warned that not having it also could lead to a "real civil war." But the Kurds recognize that they hâve much to lose from provoking a fight that would jeopardize the substantial though fragile gains they hâve achieved since the fail of Hussein. They hâve worked hard to ensure constitutional guarantees for their autonomous status, to lure foreign investment and to keep at bay the violence that has engulfed most of the rest of Iraq. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Leslie Gelb, président emerltus of the Council on Foreign Relations, hâve devised a plan to secure Iraq by partitioning it into three sections, creating separate Shiite and Sunni régions modeled on the success of the Kurdish enclave. Yet even as Iraq's Kurds hâve moved to secure their autonomy, they hâve become active participants in the effort to forge a new democracy at the center, albeit one that protects their interests. Some of Kurdistan's best leaders hâve been dispatched to Baghdad to serve in the Iraqi government. Iraq's président, Jalal Talabani, is a Kurd, as are the army chief of staff and the Iraqi foreign Kurdish pesh merga forces are helping secure threatened oil pipelines and divided Baghdad neighborhoods. One possible step if the référendum does not proceed, Dizayee said, would be for Kurds to withdraw from the government. That would not amount to a déclaration of independence, but it is a substantial threat. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dépends on the Kurdish parliamentary bloc for its survival. Kurds would be ready to carry out the threat, according to Nouri Talabani, an independent legislator in Kurdistan's régional parliament. He notes that Kurds won autonomy after the 1991 Kurdish uprising against Hussein that saw Kurdistan become a UN-protected haven. They agreed to "rejoin" Iraq after the U.S. Invasion on condition that the new constitution was implemented, including the Kirkuk référendum, he said. If Baghdad strays from the constitution, "then in ail honesty we say that we don't want to be part of this state," he said. Kurds reliant on Baghdad Kurds hâve become dépendent on Baghdad in ways they can't ignore, making it hard for them to contemplate substantive changes to the status quo. Despite Turkey's suspicions, "nobody in their right minds believes the Kurds are going to daim independence," said Joost Hiltermann, Middle East director of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "They are very dépendent on Iraq for their revenues and they dépend on Turkey for their trade and fuel." Phebe Marr, a Washingtonbased Iraq expert, said Kurdistan cannot afford to offend its neighbors because it cannot défend its borders. "Realism is settling in," Marr 27
Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti said. "They happen to be sitting in an area with a border around it called Iraq. Syria, Iran and Turkey are not going to let them déclare independence." With that in mind, Kurds are also anxiously watching the debate in Washington over whether to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, which would leave Kurds even more vulnérable. They are hoping that another option redeploying U.S. troops to Kurdistan -- becomes reality. But so far no such plans hâve been formally proposed, Kurdish officiais say. With so many uncertainties ahead, Kurds say they recognize that they need to remain a part of Iraq, and to that end they are putting ail their efforts for now into trying to salvage al-Maliki's government, most recently by renewing their alliance with his bloc in parliament. "Let Turkey come hère and [look] into our hearts to see if we hâve a plan for independence. They will find that we hâve no such plan," said Gen. Aziz Weysi, commander of the Kurdish pesh merga's border forces. Despite the Kurds' disavowals, however, the possibility of future independence is never far from the discourse. "A country has to be pragmatic and take into account the realpolitik of Iraq," said Dizayee, the KDP officiai. "We know a lot of challenges are facing us. Can you imagine what challenges would face us when we do déclare independence, if and when that happens?" Though the Kurds appear to believe that Kirkuk would help guarantee their future, Hiltermann believes it would hâve the opposite effect, by creating new enemies. "More than Kirkuk, the Kurds need security," he said. "One way or another they can't get Kirkuk and they need to wise up to that." Michael Howard in Irbil Auaust 20, 2007 Guardian Kurds fiée homes as Iran shells villages in Iraq Guerrillas in clashes with Revolutionary Guards Conflict threatens stability of Kurdistan région Iraqi Kurdish officiais expressed deepening concern yesterday at an upsurge in fierce clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and Iranian forces in the remote border area of north-east Iraq, where Tehran has recently deployed thousands of Revolutionary Guards. Jabar Yawar, a deputy minister in the Kurdistan régional government, said four days of intermittent shelling by Iranian forces had hit mountain villages high up on the Iraqi side of the border, wounding two women, destroying livestock and property, and displacing about 1 ,000 people from their homes. Mr Yawer said there had also been intense fighting on the Iraqi border between Iranian forces and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Iranian Kurdish group that is stepping up its campaign for Kurdish rights against the théocratie régime in Tehran. On Saturday the Iranian news agency Mehr said an Iranian army helicopter which crashed killing six Republican Guard members had been engaged in a military opération against PJAK. Iranian officiais said the helicopter had crashed into the side of a mountain during bad weather in northern Iraq. PJAK sources said the helicopter had been destroyed after it attempted to land in a clearing mined by guerrillas. The PJAK sources claimed its guerrillas had also kilied at least five other Iranian soldiers, and a local pro-regime chief, Hussein Bapir. "If this escalates it could pose a real threat to the Kurdistan région, which is Iraq's most stable area," said Mr Yawar, who said he expected the Iraqi government and US officiais in Iraq to make a formai protest to Tehran about the "blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty". The escalation of tensions in northern Iraq came as a senior US army officer renewed allégations of Iranian support for Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards participate in military training at an Shia militias in the undisclosed location near the Gulf. Photograph: AFP/Getty south. Major-General Rick Lynch told démocratie and secular Iran." reporters in the capital that up to SO 'No Saigon moment' members of the élite Revolutionary Guard corps had crossed into Iraq and were The forces chief who planned Britain's part training Shia militia members. in the invasion of Iraq has rejected claims that Britain's withdrawal will be ugly, Analysts believe PJAK is the fastest embarrassing and akin to America's "Saigon growing armed résistance group in Iran. As moment" in 1975. "I don't think it's well as the 3,000 or so members under sensible to draw any parallels between arms in the mountains, it also claims tens Saigon and Basra", Lord Boyce, who served of thousands of followers in secret cells in as Chief of the Defence Staff between Iranian Kurdistan. Its campaigning on 2001 and 2003, said yesterday. "The women's rights has struck a chord with British are not facing what the Americans young Iranian Kurdish women. The group were facing in Saigon, which was a well- says 45% of its fighters are female. Iranian equipped army as opposed to disparate authorities regard the group as a terrorist murderers and terrorists". He was outfit being sponsored and armed by the responding to claims by Bush adviser US to increase pressure on Iran. Stephen Biddie, who warned the British On a récent visit to PJAK camps in the would hâve to fight their way out in an Qandil mountains the Guardian saw no "ugly and embarrassing" retreat. US hawks évidence of American weaponry. The hâve been expressing concern over British majority of its fighters toted Soviet-era plans to eut forces in Iraq and hope to Kalashnikovs. In an interview Biryar Gabar, a press Gordon Brown not to withdraw member of the leadership committee, said completely. the group had no relations with the Americans, but was "open to any group that shares our ideals of a free fédéral 28
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