Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti
There are other new faces,.as well.
"All the intelligence services are here making problems:
the Mossad (Israel), the CIA, (the Russian) FSB, the
(Turkish) MIT. It only takes one of these agencies to make
a lot of mischief," said. Mahmoud Chalabi, a Turkmen
political analyst.
Tahssin Kahya, the chief of the Kirkuk city council,
believes al-Qaida and Ansar al Islam terror cells are
operating in the city. Muhammad Ihsan, the minister for
human rights in the Kurdistan regional government, also
blames "ex-Baathists, Iran, Saudi fundamentalists and
Syrian agents" for inciting ethnic hatred.
The 40-member Kirkuk city council, which will take over
from the CPA, is composed of 13 Kurds, 10 Arabs, 10
Turkmen and seven Assyrians. The council has been
fractious, dithering and ineffective.
"Every council member comes to meetings representing
only his own nationality," said Kahya, a Turkmen. "It's like
all these uneducated policemen we had to hire. They're
out there representing only their own nationality, not the
law."
The immediate future of Kirkuk will have a direct bearing
on the possible creation of an independent Kurdistan.
There are some 25 million Kurds spread across eastern
Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria, Iran and Azerbaijan.
They're a distinct nationality, but they've never had their
own nation.
"We have the right to have our own country. It's the dream
of every Kurd," said Jabar Abdullah, a senior Kurdish
leader in Irbil. "But for the time being, our future is with
Iraq."
And with the United States. The Kurdish leadership is
hoping that a new airport being built outside Irbil will
double as a permanent base for the U.S. military.
"Kurds represent the nucleus of a democratic, pluralistic
system, and our values match those of the Americans,"
said Abdullah. "Until now, the U.S. has had only one
democratic ally in the Middle East - Israel. Now it has
two."
But even with U.S. backing, Kurdistan would have no
direct access to the sea, complicating its oil exports,
trade relations and economic viability.
What's more, Kurdistan would find itself in a tough
neighborhood: Iran, Turkey, Syria and a new, Arabdominated
Iraq aren't likely to tolerate an independent,
oil-rich Kurdish nation in their backyards.
If nationhood is the Kurds' No.1 goal, then having Kirkuk
as their capital runs a close second. Future petro-billions
from Kirkuk's oil fields are critical to Kurdish
independence.
"This Kurdish compulsion to join Kirkuk to Kurdistan is a
major problem," said Kahya. "The Kurds believe that
unless they achieve this goal, they'll have achieved
nothing."
Political fiction
Washington Times
By Hiwa Osman
June 23, 2004
A sense of shock and humiliation swept through Iraq's
Kurdish population this week following the New Yorker
magazine report that alleges their sheep-like cooperation
with Israeli intelligence and security agencies, ostensibly
so the Kurds can "kill off the leadership of the Shiite and
Sunni insurgencies."
Ignoring any possible Kurdish motivations and depicting
them as Israel's "Plan B" guns for hire, the Kurds are
accused of allowing their territory to be used as a base
for covert operations to "target suspected Iranian nuclear
facilities" and "incorporate anti-Syrian and anti-Iranian
activity."
To many Kurds, these allegations echo the fearmongering
conspiracy theories that have been floating
around Iraq like stale smoke in a Baghdad tea house;
conspiracies generally fueled by neighbors who've been
doing their utmost to deprive Iraq of any possible post-
Saddam success.
Any intelligent reading of the history of the Kurds and a
reasoned assessment of their current situation would
raise serious questions about the veracity of the
information upon which the story is based.
Although there is no anti-Semitism in Kurdistan, it is
simply illogical and unreasonable for the Kurds to
become embroiled in covert ventures for Israel against
their fellow Iraqis and neighboring countries.
The premise of the story runs contrary to the Kurdish
strategy for their place in the region and in the new Iraq.
For better or for worse, the Kurds have made a concerted
decision to be part of Iraq. Kurdish performance in
Baghdad over the past year demonstrates that they are
keen to forge a new relationship with their Arab
compatriots.
Dodgy deals with Israel, which is roundly vilified by the
Arabs of Iraq, would do little to encourage this new
partnership.
Despite the noise the Kurds made about their exclusion
from top government posts and of the U.N. Security
Council resolution that lacked the guarantees they
demanded, they did not pull out of the government. This
illustrates their commitment to the project. of building a
united Iraq that is democratic, federal and pluralistic.
For now at least, Iraqi Kurds have eschewed a future as
a tiny enclave surrounded by hostile neighbors.
Independence, despite shrill media reports -- usually
instigated by the neighboring countries -- is simply not on
the Iraqi Kurdish plate.
Since the early 1!;}90s, the Kurds have bent over
backward to ensure good relations with Syria, Turkey and
Iran. Going against Kurdish popular sentiment, the Iraqi
Kurds went so far as to engage in armed clashes with
outside Kurdish opposition groups to prevent them from
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