Exode (des Kurdes d'Irak) - Institut kurde de Paris

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04
REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS
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REVlEW-BERHEVOKA
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ÇAPÊ-RIVISfA STAMPA-DENTRO DELA PRENSA-BASIN ÖzETi
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The world.fails Kurdsagain
< ' Once again.. progranulle on which all Iraqi
"" the Kurds Thewestshould have ensured opposition groups are agreed,
~'.. have been left th t th' 0 01 0 I ", namely respect for human.
r.tJ. to theirfate. It 'a .e ,CIVlwar In raq ""as rights, free elections and,
is such a C' ht' '. It'" . .' autonomy'with'a full share in
familiar, pat- lOUg .. on more equa erms central government' for the
tern that they
Kurds, making it clear that. in
FOREIGN cannot really basedopposition movements .. With overwh~y superie>r their eyesthe territorial integ-
~ AF"l:''Al'RS be surprised. What they. were not prepared allied forcés. still qccupying .. ' rityof Iraq must be maintained
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3 . But they for werethe following Ameri. .part of the countrY', itwas throûgh the free consentöf its
might have. cari attitudes: " appalling to hear a White. peoples. ;'
.... thoUght that things had. Public statements of cold House spokesman say last Fri- • They could have made sure )
changed with the Iraqi filva" neutrality or refusal to inter.day:. "Itis for tboselraqi pea- that food; fuel and medical sup- '.
osion of Kuwait last August: ferefilIraq~s "~temalaffairs"; Ille tomakea decision as to plies reachedthe areasheldby :
'Their capacity to. tie dOwn.,sub" • Disclosure of Pentagon their political .future," as if the rebels, directly through,
stantial Iraqi forces by guer- '. intelligence assessments,. pre-" some kindof peaceful élection. alliedlines in the south, and
rilla activities in the moun- dicting the regime'svictory orreferendum~ere being held. through Turkey, Syria and
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tains had been ,proved, and over the rebels; When. one' puts these points Iran in the north. Even now
their desire for saddam Hus- • Repeatedunattributable to US representatives, they they coUld make an effort to
~ ,sein's downfall'could not. be. briefings to the effect that the say: "OK, but what would you supply the Kurds who have
.-! doub~. SUrely they were nat~ US hoped the armed forces have us do? Everyone has fled to the mountains,
ural allies for the anti-Saddam ,wouldcrushthe ins~on , warned us to stay within the • They could have, and
coalition. ' before overthrowing Saddam; terms, of t}le UN mandate, should even, now, give clear
. They were not treated as .Continued refusal to meet which. confined our war aims warning that from now on both
:such. Indeed, the US adminis. Iraqi opposition spokesmen,' to the deliverance of Kuwait, fixed-wing aircraft and helicop-
:tration until last weekwas followed by a public claim that and not to occUPY'Baghdad or ters taking part in operations
;firnJly refusing tohave any norequèst for such a meeting .impose a government of our against the rèbels will auto-
'contact with their leaders or " had been received. . ch60smg on Iraq." 'l'bat is true. matic8llybe shot down, and
.rèpresentatives. On February . Things seemed to be' chang- . and I. am the last person who that any use of ,chemical weap-
15, however, }»resident Bush iog when Mr .Bush publicly can deny it - having spelt out ons will lead to a resumption
,did publicly urge the Iraqi poo- denounced Iraq's use of heli- ,atsome length ~he dangers of. of allied airattacks. (;)0 pro-govpIe
"to force Sad~ the dicta~ copter gunships against the trying to remove Saddam Hus-.. ernment units.
tor,to step aside ... Obviously" rebels, and especlally when the sein by direct military action' o. They should make it clear
wbat he had in mind was not a US shot down two fixed-Wing" in this cohunn on February 5. that they hold Saddam Hussein
popular uprising but amilitary aircraft. ~ut then last Tuesday' What I cannot accept is the' and other named individuals
coup followed byin Order to,personally, rather than the
Inlqi 'fol't':es "tO' withdraw from. It. was 'appallin'. 0 g
to' hear' t.he White' House Iracii. people .co~lectively,
Kuwait, 'thùs averting theresponsible for atrOcities and
necessity fötll,groundwar.' . say: 'It is for those Iraqipeople to make violations ofinternationallaw
. {fhat ,did fl9t:happen. The committed in,Kuwait and elseglQ~d
wlil'Fwent ahead with a decision as.to theirpolitical future,' where,ändthat thereforetheir
lightiling speed;and on Febru., Of kind f fi:'';) l' ti attitude both to the lifting of .
ary28 MiBtisb called a b8J.t as.1 some . 0 peace w e ec on or economic sanctions and to aid
Allied .commanders 'had .referendum were being held for. the reconstruction of Iraq,
'claimed the:~qi ai'my was,tO willdepend on whether those;
:all intents and. purposelI; , . individuals remain in office or •
destroyed. Within 'days yirtu~ the White House announced suggestion that an allied are brought to accoUnt.
: ally the whole of Iraq was ina thatUS forces wouldnot attack .' march on Baghdad was the • They should state that
,stateof insurrection, where. , helicopters' unl~s they' posed' only alternativeto the policy allied forces will not. withdraw '
.upon'the Kurdsjoinedin.animmediate. threat toallied in fact adopted. Therearé so from Iraq untiltherè isa stable,
C1êarlY ,they did not do 'so on' .forces. It is bardtosee what many' thi:ngs that .could. and goveniment eDjoyingthe confi- '
thebasis of any specific prom. effect .could have been .expec- should have been done short of denceof neighbo~ring counrise.'
of allied support; They. ted from' this announcement that to ensurethat. the civil tries.' '. ..
mUst siDiply have thought thatother than tor:emove any war was foUght on moreeq1ial • They could have supplied
this was thebest chance ever resti'ainton .the use of helicop- terms, with at least a chance weapons to the insurgents, to
,of gettingridof Saddam, and tersagainst the insurgents, for the Iraqi people to throw off enable them to defend them-
; that their childrenwould not, and t}lus to strike a bodyblow . their oppressors. Here ,are selves andt,heir people against,
forgive them.if tJ1ey let it pass. against theirmorale. ' some suggestions, starting weapons previously supplied to
In addition, they were Although large parts, of. the with what is, ~d was, politi- the government from outside
encouraged by an .apparent Iraqi army baddisintegratèd or cally the easiest: sources.
Change of heart in the Turkish even gotte Qver' to the rebels ,. The US president and Brit- All these options have been
!capital, Where two of their 'with their weaporis, it is clear ish prime minister could emu- rejected, apparently because
leaders were told by foreign that the most disciplinedand late their Turkish colleague by the priority was to "prevent
, ministry officials thatPrèsi. heavily armed unitsremainedstating their preference for a the disintegration of Iraq". The
deIlt Tul'gut Ozal favoured any . on the. government sleie. . democratic solution for Iraq; repeated statements of opposi-
:democratic solution of the Also, they bad plentiful sup- and Mr Bush should publicly tion leaders thatthiscoup is
,Kurdish problemwithin Iraq; plies of food and fuel, both of disavow statements by his sub- their objective~ave been sim-
;:provided that it did.not lead,to. which -' as weU as medical ordinates sUggesting that they ply brushed aside, while the
an' indepe;ndent Kurdish state. " equipment - the insurgents regarded a governmentvictory methods used by Saddam Hus-
This ~wasno problem, since all acutely lacked. The UN decl. as necessary or preferable to sein "to hold the country
the Kurdillh partias in Iraq' sIon to llftsanctions on iooci vi,ctory for the insurgents. The together" have been given an
accept that the 'territorial .. deliveries' was certafilly justi. least that Britain and the US .implicit endorsement If this is
.integJ;ity of the country should fled on b,umai1itarian grounds, .could do is to support the the "new world order'" that we
be maintafi1ed,. and in récent but was. appliedonly to' the French call for an emergency .fought the Gulf war' to estab.
months ,they bave been co-op- governmerit.bel!l areas. . UN Security COUDOn session.J,isb" it is bar:dly .an improve.
eraUDg, closm .vdth ...