KDP confirms government rotation - Kurdish Globe

From the Heart of Kurdistan Region 

The only English paper in Iraq - No: 335 Sat. January 07, 2012 

KDP confirms government rotation 

Key posts set to 

change in January 

Kurdistan Region's two governi 

ing parties are ready to change 

key posts in the government this 

month. Spokesman of Kurdistan 

Democratic Party, Jafar Ibrahi 

him on Jan. 3 confirmed that the 

change in posts will take place 

in January. He also said KDP is 

ready to take the post of prime 

minister of Kurdistan Regional 

Government. 

Ibrahim added that the party’s 

only candidate to take that posi 

sition is Nechirvan Barzani, a 

former KRG prime minister and 

KDP vice president. The spokesmi 

man said Barzani was out of the 

country but "he will return in 

coming days." 

P 3 

KDP Vice President and incoming Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani 

GLOBE PHOTO/ Safin Hamed

The Kurdish Globe No. 335, Saturday, January 07, 2012 2 

Kurds must “use their aces wisely” 

Globe Editorial 

The fear of the disintegration of 

Iraq is hardly breaking news. A 

persistent theme of the past nineor 

so years of the new Iraq has been 

how to preserve unity and bring 

about true national reconciliation 

amongst a climate of deep misti 

trust. 

Iraq in its transition to democri 

racy may have achieved historical 

junctures, but it has often stumbled 

to its milestones as opposed to a 

painless arrival at its new dawn. 

More often than not, the major 

achievements in Iraq were undersi 

scored by heavy U.S. pressure 

and much political jockeyingand 

drama in Baghdad. As successive 

crises have brewed, asemblance 

of calm was somewhat reinstated 

in the short term by last-minute 

dealings,but too often at the expi 

pense of any long-term benefits. A 

policy of brushing key issues undi 

der the political rug always ran the 

risk of haunting the Iraqi political 

arena at some stage,and just days 

after the U.S.symbolic withdrawal 

from Iraq, another explosive crisis 

reared its ugly head in Iraq. 

If the issues are assessed at the 

surface, then one can argue that 

current turmoil was instigated 

by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri 

al-Maliki’sissuance of an arrest 

warrant against Iraq's Sunni Vice 

President Tariq al-Hashemi and the 

subsequent ploy to sideline Sunni 

Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al- 

Mutlak from power. However, 

the water has been boiling on the 

sieve for several months, and for 

one reason or another, it wouldn’t 

have taken much to tip sentiments 

over the edge. 

Just take the current brittle coai 

alition that was remarkably conci 

cluded after 11 months and set an 

unwanted world record. That in 

itself sums up all that is needed to 

explain the current upheaval and 

instability. 

Even though Iyad Allawi’s predi 

dominantly Sunni-based al-Iraqiyi 

ya group was the ultimate victor 

at the polls, they were threatened 

withbeingmarginalised by al-Mali 

liki’s Shiite Coalition. Months of 

wrangling ensured agreement on 

power-sharing but more through 

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki delivers a speech during a ceremony at Al-Shaab stadium complex in central 

Baghdad on December 31, 2011. 

gritted teeth than true brotherly 

reconciliation. 

Once al-Iraqiya didn’t get the 

power it demanded and real deci 

cision-makingauthority, it was 

only a question of time before 

the political landscape would be 

rocked once more. Almost two 

years since the national elections, 

a number of key positions remain 

unfilled and still in the hands of 

al-Maliki in what was supposedly 

a temporary basis. 

Turkish anxiety has dramatically 

increased by unfolding events, 

leading Ankara to go back and 

forth between Baghdad and Washi 

ington in recent weeks and warni 

ing about the dangers of an Iraqi 

disintegration. Although Turkey 

may have chosen to ignore reality 

for a while, the writing has been 

on the Iraqi wall for decades and 

particularly these past nine years. 

There is no danger of Iraqi fragmi 

mentation. It is already fragmentei 

ed, and now it’s only a question 

of just how far the disintegration 

will go; regional countries must 

accept that reality sooner or latei 

er. Democracy has been fraught 

with difficulty in Iraq with voting 

along heavy sectarian and ethnic 

lines. Voting has been almost akin 

to a de facto national census than 

a true national voice gathering exei 

ercise. 

While Turkey and neighbouri 

ing countries seemingly worked 

to promote national harmony and 

reconciliation in Iraq, ironically 

they have been responsible for the 

entrenchment of camps in Iraq. 

Successive Shiite governments 

have swayed heavily toward Tehri 

ran, whilst Sunni groups, essenti 

tially marginalised from power 

from their heyday under Saddam 

Hussein, have worked to force a 

hand at the political table through 

the threat of insurgency or 

through jockeying in the political 

chambers. Turkmen have used the 

big brother threat, calling on the 

support of Turkey to ensure their 

cards on the table are not ignored, 

while for the Kurds it has been a 

case of not letting the rest of Iraq 

drag the prosperous Kurdistan 

Region down with them and at the 

same time building strategic ties 

to boost their autonomous status 

and growing economic clout. 

How regional sectarian influence 

continues to grip Iraq can be seen 

with al-Maliki’s persistent support 

of the much maligned and underfire 

Bashar al-Assad in Syria. 

This week al-Iraqiya kept up 

their boycott of Iraq’s Parliament 

and Cabinet, accusing al-Maliki 

of monopolising power and not 

abiding by the terms that led to 

the eventual breakthroughof the 

current coalition. 

Accusations of the centralising 

of power by al-Maliki are hardly 

new; it was a frequent criticism 

throughout the last election term. 

With the importance of upholdi 

ing calm and dialogue seemingly 

at large, a national conference has 

been proposed that should be held 

sometime this month. A national 

conference may save the day in 

the short term as did the Erbil 

agreement, but true concord may 

prove elusive once more. 

No amount of political mani 

noeuvring at the end of the day 

can paper over deep mistrust and 

animosity. Even if national electi 

tions were held early, the end 

game would be the same. There is 

no guarantee that Iraq would not 

end up at the same juncture after 

new elections are held whilst the 

key ingredients that continuousli 

lypoison the political atmosphere 

remain. 

As for now, it is unlikely that 

al-Maliki will relinquish his firm 

grip on power. While al-Maliki 

has been under intense domestic 

and regional spotlight, he may esci 

cape this current escapade largely 

unscathed. Al-Iraqiya have used 

the threat of boycott, but with so 

many Sunnis in their ranks badly 

scarred from the boycott campi 

paignsof the previous campaigns, 

it is unclear just how far the loyai 

alty of their MPs stretch. 

The current political tension 

ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images 

may have hurt al-Iraqiya further 

with 11 politicians already revi 

voking their ties to the alliance. 

Al-Iraqiya MPs are mindful that 

further boycotts or spotlight may 

see more positions of power reli 

linquished to the powerful Shiite 

alliance. 

The biggest danger is a coaliti 

tion without al-Iraqiya altogether 

where al-Maliki musters suppi 

port from Kurds and al-Iraqiya 

dissidents,a scenario that would 

certainly place sectarian tensions 

into overdrive. The recent spate 

of initiatives toward autonomy by 

predominantly Sunni provinces is 

an indicator of growing Sunni fear 

that preservation of local power 

aside, they may be confounded 

to a running battle to avoid being 

sidelined in Baghdad. 

The Kurds, who have attempted 

to remain neutral, once again 

find themselves with all the aces. 

Only with Kurdish support could 

al-Iraqiya spearhead a new govei 

ernment and only with Kurdish 

support could al-Maliki be ousted 

from government. 

Logic would dictate that after 

many failed promises by al-Mali 

liki toward the Kurds, including 

the lack of implementation of the 

vast majority of conditions that he 

signed up to as a prelude to Kurdi 

ish support, the Kurds would side 

with al-Iraqiya. However, the new 

crisis and the key Kurdish role of 

calming tensions, gives the opporti 

tunity for the Kurds to preserve 

al-Maliki’s seat and the current 

coalition, but no doubt with much 

sterner warningsand conditions 

for the Shiite Alliance and al-Mali 

liki. 

The fact remains that all too ofti 

ten al-Maliki has boldly reneged 

on agreements with Kurds and has 

simply gotten away with it, even 

as the Kurds have saved al-Mali 

liki’s political skin on more than 

one occasion. The issue of dispi 

puted territories remains as open 

and pertinent as ever, Baghdad 

remains at loggerheads with the 

Kurds on oil sharing, and Baghdi 

dad has hardly provided a positive 

endorsement of growing Kurdish 

strategic clout and prosperity. It 

is time for the Kurds to use their 

aces wisely. 

Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel 

Weekly paper printed in Erbil 

First published in 2005 

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The Kurdish No. 335, Saturday, January 07, 2012 3 

Key posts set to change in January 

KDP confirms government rotation 

Kurdistan Region's two 

governing parties are 

ready to change key 

posts in the government 

this month. Spokesman 

of Kurdistan Democi 

cratic Party, Jafar Ibrahi 

him on Jan. 3 confirmed 

that the change in posts 

will take place in Januai 

ary. He also said KDP is 

ready to take the post of 

prime minister of Kurdi 

istan Regional Governmi 

ment. 

Ibrahim added that the 

party’s only candidate 

to take that position 

is Nechirvan Barzani, 

a former KRG prime 

minister and KDP vice 

president. The spokesmi 

man said Barzani was 

out of the country but 

"he will return in comi 

ing days." 

KDP, led by Kurdistan 

Region President Massi 

soud Barzani and Patrioi 

otic Union of Kurdistan, 

led by Iraqi President 

Jalal Talabani, are tied 

according to a strategic 

agreements to rotate 

high posts in the Region 

every two years. After 

the two parties won 2009 

elections, PUK’s Dr. 

Barham Salih took the 

position of prime mini 

ister and Kamal Kirkuki 

from KDP became parli 

liament speaker. 

There were discussi 

sions about the rotation 

in September, but Presidi 

dent Massoud Barzani 

recommended delaying 

the issue to early 2012. 

The KDP spokesmi 

man said the post of 

the parliament speaker 

will also go to someone 

from PUK but it hasn’t 

suggested a candidate 

yet. 

On the possibility of 

inviting opposition parti 

ties to share the governmi 

ment after KDP takes its 

leadership, Ibrahim said 

this issue has not been 

discussed with the oppi 

position parties. 

In the former cabini 

net of the KRG, when 

KDP's Nechirvan Barzi 

zani was prime ministi 

ter, PUK compromised 

its right to take the premi 

miership after the first 

two years, so Barzani 

completed his full term 

of 4 years. PUK's compi 

promise came due to 

internal problems in the 

party because of splits 

and factions, mainly the 

separation of leaders 

who later founded Gorri 

ran Movement. 

KDP now insists on 

implementing the agreemi 

ment with PUK and 

aborting expectations of 

another compromise, alli 

lowing the KDP choice 

of prime minister to 

take the post. 

By Ako Muhammed 

KDP Vice President and incoming Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani 

PRESS PHOTO 

Negotiations on hold in Kurdistan 

Opposition insists on preconditions; region’s president asks public opinion 

Kurdish parties 

emphasize on 

maintaining unity as 

Iraq goes through a 

difficult political 

turmoil. But at home, 

the three opposition 

parties in Kurdistan 

Region are refusing 

to resume meetings 

with the two main 

governing parties 

unless the way is paved 

for such meetings. 

The three parties say that 

the presidential decrees 

have yet to be implementei 

ed completely as well 

as their reform project. 

Therefore, on December 

31, they announced they 

would not return to the 

meetings; this came after 

a meeting of leaders of the 

three parties. 

Kurdistan Region Presidi 

dent Massoud Barzani 

asked people to comment 

on his personal Facebook 

page on the oppositions’ 

stance. Most comments 

praise the survey and hope 

for unity among Kurdish 

parties. But several commi 

ments also repeated the 

oppositions' demands. 

The opposition parties- 

-Gorran (Change) Movemi 

ment, Kurdistan Islamic 

Union and the Islamic 

Group in Kurdistan--want 

the government to fulfill a 

number of demands before 

The main opposition groups in Kurdistan have boycotted the so called 5-sided Meetings with the government parties. 

entering another round of 

talks. They mostly take a 

stance on one of the presidi 

dent's decrees, which asks 

that anyone suspected of 

violence that occurred 

during the spring antigovei 

ernment demonstrations 

be handed over to justice. 

On July 11, these three 

parties, which together 

hold 35 of Parliament's 111 

seats, suspended meetings 

with governing Kurdistan 

Democratic Party and Pati 

triotic Union of Kurdistan. 

That time they raised four 

demands as preconditions. 

Submitting accused peopi 

ple of February 17 demoi 

onstration to court and reallowing 

an annual budget 

to the three parties were 

main demands. On August 

27, President Barzani issi 

sued four decrees meeting 

the oppositions' demands 

as a step for reconciliation 

among the parties. 

Before suspending the 

meeting, both sides in 

several meetings were disci 

cussing a 22-item project 

presented by the oppositi 

tions for the purpose of 

conducting reforms in the 

region. 

Demonstrations in Suleimi 

maniya and in other towns 

continued for nearly two 

months starting on Febri 

ruary 17 last year. There 

were demands for reforms 

in what appeared to in acci 

cord with the Arab Spring. 

Ten people were killed and 

hundreds were wounded, 

mostly from the demonsi 

strators. 

A few days after the oppi 

position leaders' last decisi 

sion, the leader of Islamic 

Group, Ali Bapir, appeared 

again on his Facebook 

page with an article desi 

scribing the five-side 

meetings as "essential, effi 

fective and important." 

He urged the removal of 

obstacles preventing the 

meetings from resuming; 

thus, he called on governi 

ing parties and the governmi 

ment to quickly submit to 

justice those suspected of 

firing at demonstrators as 

a step toward resuming 

the meetings. 

"The Kurdish leaders 

can play their role only [if 

they] are united. Therefi 

fore, it is necessary to remi 

move the obstacles in the 

way of this unity," said 

Bapir, emphasizing the 

necessity of meetings beti 

tween opposition and govei 

erning parties. 

A politburo member 

from Bapir's party, Tofiq 

Kareem, admits that the 

oppositions' reform projei 

ect, also known as the oppi 

positions' six packages, 

require time to be implemi 

mented. 

"The oppositions wanted 

the negotiations to prodi 

duce practical results; for 

that we demanded a full 

stop to the unstable situai 

ation, which means the 

PRESS PHOTO 

end to chasing and arresti 

ing people and submitting 

shooters who fired at demoi 

onstrators, but no step for 

that has been taken," said 

Yusif Muhammad, a Gorri 

ran leader. 

"There are always 

grounds to hold meetings. 

When we meet we build 

grounds for working not 

only for the sake of further 

talks," said Arez Abdulla, 

a PUK leader, in reply 

to the oppositions' decisi 

sion. He urged both sides 

to meet and then discuss 

their conditions through 

projects they raise. Abdi 

dulla admits that some of 

the oppositions' demand 

and complaints are "vali 

id," but without meetings 

nothing will be achieved. 

"Now is not the right 

time to harm the Kurdish 

unity," said Firsat Sofi, a 

lecturer of politics who 

is close to the KDP. He 

named the current situati 

tion in Kurdistan and Iraq 

as "crucial and decisive". 

The KDP, in a New 

Year’s announcement, anni 

nounced that their efforts 

will continue in order to 

bring the Kurdish parties 

together, mainly with its 

strategic ally, PUK. 

Ako Muhammed 

Erbil 

ako.kurdishglobe 

@gmail.com


Kurds to stay clear of Iraq sectarian strife 

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has been a outspoken critic of the embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Maliki. 

Iraq's Kurds are determi 

mined not to get dragged 

into a sectarian conflict 

over Shi'ite Prime Mini 

ister Nuri al-Maliki's 

attempted arrest of the 

Sunni vice-president, 

and the Kurds' leader 

said failure to implement 

a federal system would 

lead to disaster. 

Nine years after the 

U.S.-led invasion, much 

of Iraq is still plagued 

by Sunni insurgents and 

Shi'ite militias, but Iraqi 

Kurdistan has enjoyed 

relative peace and prospi 

perity after successfully 

rising up against Saddi 

dam Hussein in 1991 and 

achieving federal autonoi 

omy under Iraq's 2005 

constitution. 

Unless their interests 

are directly affected, the 

Kurds have tried to remi 

main largely aloof from 

the interminable political 

wrangling that has beset 

the central government 

in Baghdad, attempting 

to act as a mediator to resi 

solve potential conflicts. 

But Vice President 

Tareq al-Hashemi's flight 

to Kurdistan last month 

after an attempt to arrest 

him on accusations of 

running death squads has 

thrust the Kurds centre 

stage in a political drama 

that could descend into 

sectarian violence. 

"I don't want to be 

dragged into this," 

Masoud Barzani, presidi 

dent of the Kurdish regi 

gion, told Reuters in an 

interview on Wednesday. 

"We are not part of the 

sectarian struggle that is 

there. Of course we are 

part of the political disai 

agreement and political 

struggle, but not of the 

sectarian one." 

The Kurds have called 

for a national conference 

to settle the differences 

between Maliki and the 

cross-sectarian Iraqiya 

bloc which is boycotting 

parliament and cabinet 

meetings, accusing Mali 

liki's Shi'ite-led governmi 

ment of concentrating 

power. 

"We are all waiting for 

the concerned groups 

to reach an agreement 

on when and where to 

meet," Barzani said. 

Barzani said he was 

ready to host the conferei 

ence, but political sources 

said Maliki was against 

meeting in the Kurdish 

capital Erbil and wanted 

the issue of Hashemi 

cleared up first. 

"If they decide to have 

it somewhere else, then 

it is up to them, but as 

far as we are concerned, 

the venue is not a probli 

lem," said Barzani, weari 

ing traditional Kurdish 

costume of khaki baggy 

trousers, waistcoat and 

cummerbund. 

"I believe many of the 

concerned groups are not 

ready to go to Baghdad," 

he said. 

As for the fate of Hashei 

emi, "this something that 

the judicial system and 

the courts have to deci 

cide," Barzani said. "We 

will not interfere in whatei 

ever proceedings the judi 

dicial system decides." 

Hashemi says he is willi 

ing to be tried inside the 

Kurdish zone, and insists 

a fair trial is not possible 

in Baghdad. 

OIL DEAL, FEDERAL 

SYSTEM 

The crisis put the Kurds 

in a precarious, but potenti 

tially powerful position 

as brokers if any political 

deal can be reached, and, 

if not, both Maliki and 

the Iraqiya bloc would 

need Kurdish backing in 

parliament to overcome 

the other side. 

The Kurds may use this 

as leverage to win conci 

cessions on their own 

strategic interests, such 

as control of oil resourcei 

es and territories disputei 

ed between Baghdad and 

Iraqi Kurdistan. 

While relatively secure 

in the mountains of northei 

ern Iraq, the Kurds are 

upset by the Baghdad's 

failure to resolve the stati 

tus of Kirkuk, the city at 

the centre of large oil resi 

serves, which the Kurdi 

ish government claims as 

part of Kurdistan. 

A referendum set in Arti 

ticle 140 of the constituti 

tion for 2007 has still not 

been held. 

"We as Kurds we have 

opted for a voluntary 

union between Arabs and 

Kurds and for the system 

of governance in Iraq to 

be federal. This is a consi 

stitutional right therefore 

for us and for the people 

of Iraq, we support a fedei 

eral system in this counti 

try," said Barzani who 

led Kurdish peshmerga 

forces fighting Saddam 

from 1979 after the death 

of his father who fought 

Baghdad-rule from the 

1940s onwards. 

"Preventing the implemi 

mentation of constituti 

tional articles, this will 

lead the country to face 

huge problems," he said. 

"This will bring about disi 

sasters." 

With political wrangling 

in Baghdad also holding 

up a long-awaited law on 

the future exploitation of 

oil riches, the Kurdistan 

government has gone 

ahead and signed a seri 

ries of its own oil deals, 

most notably with Exxon 

Mobil, much to the anni 

noyance of others in the 

central government. 

Barzani said there was 

an agreement with Baghdi 

dad that each side could 

continue signing such 

contracts until the oil law 

was passed. The Exxon 

deal also encompasses 

areas whose control is 

disputed by Erbil and 

Baghdad. 

"As for places that are 

called disputed territori 

ries by others, for us they 

are part of the Kurdistan 

region," said Barzani. "If 

they have got any disai 

agreement with this then 

let them come and implemi 

ment Article 140 as it 

says in the constitution." 

(Editing by Louise Ireland) 

Reuters 

Courts to decide on Zakho events 

Presidential committee sees "Negligence" and "provocations" committed by local officials 

Some media channels 

and local officials 

seen as the 

provocateurs of 

events in Duhok 

and Zakho that led 

to the destruction 

of several businesses. 

A presidential committi 

tee announced a report on 

the investigations on the 

Duhok and Zakho events, 

putting the blame on sevei 

eral media channels and 

some local officials. In the 

mean time, Kurdistan Regi 

gion President Massoud 

Barzani asks the public to 

give their opinion on the 

report. 

On December 2, a group 

of people rushed into street 

after Friday prayers and 

burned a number of massi 

sage centers and liquor 

shops in Zakho and later 

in other towns in Duhok 

province. Late in the night 

on the same day, a numbi 

ber of offices belonging to 

Kurdistan Islamic Union 

(KIU) in the province 

were burned as well. 

The presidential committi 

tee says there were provoci 

cations by some news 

websites and TV channi 

nels as well as a number 

of KIU members that led 

to the torching of liquor 

shops. But names of the 

media channels weren’t 

published. For the events 

in general, the committi 

tee confirms "negligence" 

on the part of the security 

forces as they were unable 

to control the mayhem. 

The report adds that Kurdi 

istan Democratic Party loci 

cal leaders were also "negli 

ligent" in stopping party 

members from attacking 

KIU buildings. 

The committee, empi 

ployed by President Barzi 

zani, didn’t give any clear 

conclusion but submits the 

issue and their report to 

court as the final word. For 

detained KIU members, 

the committee demands 

the court finalize their casei 

es. Committee head Azad 

Malafandi, a legal advisi 

sor to the president, began 

visiting and meeting with 

relevant sides for three 

weeks in Duhok a day afti 

ter the events. 

On his Facebook page, 

President Barzani asks for 

comments on the committi 

tee's report and also on 

opposition parties' boycott 

of meetings with governi 

ing parties. Thousands of 

comments were published, 

most of them about the 

second issue. Generally, 

commentators praise the 

President's survey more 

than the committee’s repi 

port. 

Hussein Balisani, a univi 

versity law lecturer, told 

the Globe that there is no 

need for such a committee 

to investigate the case. "In 

burning issues, the courts 

are competent enough," he 

said. 

Another lecturer, Abdulfi 

fatah AbdulRazaq, said 

that the court couldn’t 

count on a report by such 

a committee he called "illi 

legal." He sees the report 

as "not neutral," although 

it keeps some balance 

between accusations exci 

changed by both KIU and 

KDP.


During New Year celebrations, 

Kurds and Arabs joined together 

Despite the rain, Erbil’s Shanadar 

Park hosted thousands 

Erbil, the capital of 

Kurdistan Region, 

hosted around 30,000 

foreign and internal 

tourists for the New 

Year celebrations. 

Colorful light 

displays and 

fireworks were part 

of the festivities. 

Despite the rain, 

people in Kurdistan 

took to the streets 

to welcome 2012. 

Thousands gathered in Erbi 

bil’s Shanadar Park to enji 

joy dancing, celebrations 

and a fireworks display at 

midnight. 

“There wasn’t a single 

incident in Erbil during 

the New Year parties,” Abdi 

dulkhaliq Tala’t, chief of 

Erbil Police Directorate, 

told The Kurdish Globe. 

The police had a security 

plan in place to keep the 

city under control in case 

of any problems. The plan 

was apparently a success. 

Tala’t said police forces 

performed well and acted 

according to the plan. He 

said hundreds of police 

were deployed across the 

city in case of terrorist atti 

tacks. 

“Police forces were in a 

state of emergency from 

Dec. 22 to provide securiti 

ty for people for the night 

of celebrations [New Year 

parties],” Tala’t told the 

Globe. According to informi 

mation from Suleimaniyi 

ya’s hospital, 20 people 

were injured in different 

incidents during New Year 

celebrations. 

Kurds and Arabs 

celebrated together 

While people in other 

parts of Iraq decided on 

an early night because of 

the rain, Kurds and Arabs 

in Kurdistan saw the New 

Year in together. 

At the festivities in Shani 

nadar Park, the smoke and 

explosions were not from 

terrorist attacks, but from 

the fireworks show. 

Rad Abdullah, his wife 

Swailah, and their childi 

dren, an Arab family, visitei 

ed Erbil to join in the New 

Year celebrations. They 

wished better days for Iraq 

and Kurdistan in 2012. 

“My family is very happy 

tonight. We all feel comfi 

fortable and are having a 

good time. It is a chance to 

partake safely in the parti 

ties and fireworks. Thank 

God Iraqis have a place 

[Erbil] to have fun and enji 

joy themselves,” said Rad 

Abdullah. 

He said his family 

planned a week ahead to 

come to Erbil. “There are 

also some celebrations 

for greeting the New Year 

in Baghdad, but no one 

dares to go to the parties 

because of the fear of terri 

rorist attacks. Then, all the 

joy turns to explosions and 

blood,” he said. 

Elas Mosana, also an 

Arab, was accompanied 

by his wife and children. 

He parked his car near 

Shanadar Park and was 

watching the firework dispi 

play. Mosana and his fami 

ily came from Diwaniya, a 

province in southern Iraq. 

It was their first visit to 

Erbil. They were surprised 

by the changes in Kurdisti 

tan since 2003 compared 

with other parts of Iraq. 

“For years, the Iraqi peopi 

ple were constant victims 

of bad policies and sectari 

ian conflicts between Shii 

ites and Sunnis. Developmi 

ments are obvious in the 

Region, and now I guess 

it is not so strange when 

we hear foreign media 

call Kurdistan ‘The Other 

Iraq,’” Mosana said. 

Salih Waladbagi 

Erbil 

salihas2006 

@gmail.com 

Fireworks during the New Year’s celebrations in downtown Erbil, Jan. 1, 2012 

GLOBE PHOTO/ Safin Hamed 

The Traveler 

“Politicians: The main reason for 

conflict” — Orhan Coral 

Professor Orhan Coral is 

a Turkish traveler, born 

in 1950. He recently visi 

ited Kurdistan Region after 

touring 226 countries. He 

told The Kurdish Globe 

Kurdistan is one of the 

places in which he feels 

comfortable. He has some 

concerns about Kurdistan 

and its people, even though 

he noticed many positives 

in Kurdish society. 

Advocating 

environmental protection 

Coral has made eight televi 

vision shows in Turkey on 

ecology and the impact of 

environment on human bei 

ings and vice versa. He has 

also managed 3,000 conferei 

ences on ecology and effi 

fects on the environment. 

He is staunchly against 

cigarettes and influenced 

the president of Bhutan to 

ban smoking in the country. 

During his first two days in 

Kurdistan, Coral held two 

seminars at Erbil’s Ishk 

University to warn students 

about the dangers of cigari 

rettes. 

Some concerns 

“People of Kurdistan 

are very respectful, warm 

and hospitable. However, 

Kurds, like Turkish people, 

are gluttonous and eat more 

than necessary,” he said. 

He believes if people only 

eat as much as they need, 

there will be enough food 

to feed everyone. 

He also urged the people 

of Kurdistan not to buy luxui 

ury cars and not to waste 

money. 

Coral leaves Turkey at the 

end of each year. He wants 

to raise awareness around 

the world about needlessly 

spending money and fritti 

tering away their wealth. 

He told the Globe he wants 

to write a travel book about 

Kurdistan and its customs, 

culture and people. 

Friendship of nations 

Coral’s main reason for 

travel is to study and experi 

rience the culture and custi 

toms of different nations of 

the world up close. 

The main things he 

learned during his travels 

are friendship and peaceful 

coexistence of nations. He 

added “there is no dispute 

between different nations, 

instead smuggling weapoi 

ons and tricks of politicians 

are the main causes of dispi 

putes and conflicts between 

peaceful coexisting nati 

tions.” He also expressed 

his dislike of politics. 

Coral recalls how he was 

eager to travel to find out 

more about people. “When 

I was in primary school, I 

told my mother that I was 

already grown but hadn’t 

visited another country,” 

he said. He has written 13 

travel books on his travels 

to 226 countries. 

At the end of his intervi 

view, Coral encouraged the 

people of Kurdistan to visit 

other places in the world 

because he thinks this is 

a good way to form links 

among different nations to 

be familiar with each other. 

He believes this helps previ 

vent spreading “racism” 

and calls on people to live 

peacefully. 

Coral is head of the Mines 

Engineering Department 

at Technical University of 

Istanbul. He is also chairmi 

man of a civil society orgi 

ganization to protect the 

environment. He owns a 

travel company in Turkey. 

Coral is also a professionai 

al photographer and has 

held exhibitions in several 

countries. Orhan also is 

filmmaker and a critic of 

cinema and theater. In addi 

dition to Turkish, he also 

speaks English, Italian and 

German fluently. 

By Salih Waladbagi


Gridlock worsens in Suleimaniya 

No relief on the 

horizon as traffic 

on Suleimaniya’s 

city streets comes 

to a screeching 

halt on most days. 

Despite the bad conditions 

of Suleimaniya city streets 

and the fact that most of the 

streets in the city are very 

narrow, the number of vehi 

hicles flowing into the city 

is increasing rapidly on a 

daily basis. The result is 

a huge traffic problem in 

Suleimaniya both on the 

main streets and in city 

neighborhoods. 

The main rush hours in 

the city include 08:00 to 

09:00 a.m., when business 

starts and offices open; the 

two early afternoon hours 

are between 01:00 p.m. 

till 03:00 p.m. when most 

of the government offices 

close, and the early eveni 

ning hours before sunset 

when a majority of people 

are heading home. During 

these hours the city streets 

are almost completely 

blocked. 

Officer Bakhtiyar Mohi 

hammed, a traffic police 

officer at the Media Depi 

partment of Suleimaniya 

Traffic Police Directorate, 

stated in an interview with 

The Kurdish Globe that 

the traffic situation in the 

city is terrible and worsei 

ening daily. “The streets’ 

infrastructure should be 

improved in parallel with 

the developments of the 

traffic sector,” Mohammi 

med told the Globe. “And 

“People’s lives and safety” threatened by lack of traffic control 

A traffic police officer fills out an accident form for a traffic accident in Erbil. File photo. 

they should meet the 

needs and expectations of 

the public.” 

Major traffic problems 

in Suleimaniya occur in 

areas such as Azadi Park 

Street, Kareza Wshk 

Street, Zargata Highway, 

some streets in Bakhtiyari 

Quarter and others. Acci 

cording to Mohammed, 

besides the huge traffic 

in these areas, in some of 

the intersections in those 

streets there are no traffi 

fic lights and there is lack 

of sufficient traffic police 

to control the situation, 

something that has “made 

the problem more serious 

and results in traffic accidi 

dents and threatens peopi 

ple’s lives and safety.” 

Officer Mohammed also 

argues that when law is in 

place there will be no need 

for traffic police to control 

everywhere, “for instance 

the right hand law should 

work automatically withoi 

out an officer enforcing 

it. Besides, it is impossi 

sible to put an officer in 

every intersection of the 

city.” Right side law frees 

drivers not to stop at cross 

roads; they just pass at the 

right side. 

Despite the fact that there 

are currently six overpassei 

es and four underpasses 

on the main streets in Suli 

leimaniya, the traffic is 

still a major issue in the 

city and on 60 Meter Ring 

Road, which is outside the 

city and is supposed to be 

a high speed road. Someti 

times traffic on this street 

is not much different than 

other streets downtown. 

Shamal Ali, a taxi driver, 

says that sometimes he 

decides to use 60 Meter 

Ring Road to escape the 

city center’s traffic, but he 

realized this is no longer a 

useful alternative. 

While overpasses and 

underpasses constructed 

in the city have helped 

reduce the traffic in Suleimi 

maniya, they have always 

faced problems; the Khasri 

raw Khal Overpass facing 

the Rand Gallery is curri 

rently under construction. 

Recently, the Suleimaniyi 

ya Municipality decided to 

construct more overpasses 

and underpasses, but acci 

cording to Sheikh Azad 

Naqshbandi, Chair of the 

Traffic Committee at the 

Suleimaniya Municipality. 

He said that these projects 

are currently on hold due 

to lack of sufficient funds. 

Figures at the Directorai 

ate General of Traffic 

Police reveal that there 

are currently 1.43 million 

vehicles in Kurdistan Regi 

gion, 250,000 of which 

are inside the center of 

Suleimaniya. Every day 

some 1,000 cars are impi 

ported into the region, 140 

of which are brought into 

Suleimaniya. 

Meanwhile, the region’s 

authorities have granted 

one million driver’s lici 

censes all throughout 

Kurdistan Region.Halkawt 

Abdulla, a traffic and road 

expert, complains about 

having two different systi 

tems for licensing in Suli 

leimaniya and Erbil, and 

he also thinks that there 

are many shortcomings in 

the system. “In my opini 

ion, 70% of license holdei 

ers know how to drive but 

are ignorant how to deal 

with other drivers, as they 

do not abide by the traffic 

laws, they drive fast and 

they do not respect road 

signs,” stated Abdulla in a 

Globe interview. 

But statistics show that 

the number of traffic-acci 

cident victims in 2011 was 

lower than that of 2010. In 

2011, a total of 758 people 

died and 8,817 were inji 

jured in traffic accidents, 

while in 2010 total deaths 

were 817 and injuries were 

12,000. 

Speaking of the negati 

tive aspects of traffic 

and increased number 

of vehicles in Kurdistan, 

Abdulla mentioned that 

the increased traffic and 

number of cars is having 

a serious impact on the 

environment.“In many 

countries, the exhausts 

of vehicles are equipped 

with a filter that filters the 

poisonous and harmful 

elements,” explained Abdi 

dulla. “However, majority 

of vehicles imported into 

Kurdistan are not equipped 

with this filter.” 

Director Nassir Hassan tells about his projects 



Nassir Hassan, Kurdish filmmaker 

In an interview with The 

Kurdish Globe, Nassir 

Hassan, a famous Kurdi 

ish filmmaker and the formi 

mer General Directorate 

of Cinema at the Ministry 

of Culture and Youth, disci 

cussed closing the directi 

torate in 2012 and his work 

in the future. 

Globe: What are reasons 

behind closing the Directi 

torate of Cinema? 

Nassir: Closing the Diri 

rectorate of Cinema makes 

me anxious because cinei 

ema works are still in the 

early stages.We have many 

successful productions that 

participated in internationai 

al festivals. I hope the Mini 

istry will have a successful 

plan for cinema production 

and moviemakers. 

Globe: Why has this diri 

rectorate lasted only two 

years? Was it careless in its 

duties or were there other 

reasons? 

Nassir: I think we did 

our best. There are many 

finished works to be menti 

tioned; for instance, we 

produced 75 short films 

and 15 feature films. And 

we conducted many film 

festivals all over Kurdistan 

cities. 

Globe: Why is there nopi 

proper cinema hall in Erbi 

bil? Did you request the 

government to build a new 

hall? 

Nassir: Actually we suggi 

gested building a cinema 

hall two year ago, and then 

the KRG contacted compi 

panies. But still, there is no 

hall in Erbil. 

Globe: Are you going 

to take any position after 

closing this directorate? 

Nassir: From now on, I 

will dedicate my time with 

art and never take any admi 

ministrative position. 

Globe: What art? What is 

your new production? 

Nassir: I am preparing to 

direct Kirkuk 4,The Biogri 

raphy of Ali Mardan and 

Abdul-Kareem Qasim’s 

Biography. 

Globe:You mentioned 

the drama Kirkuk 4, when 

will it be finished and 

screened? 

Nassir: The drama Kirkuk 

4 consists of four parts 

within 30 series. It talks 

about the history of Kirkuk 

from 1979 to 2003, showi 

ing all political and social 

changes in the city. I have 

finished the artwork of the 

first part. If the first part is 

successful, I will continue 

the rest. The Ministry deci 

cides on which channel to 

broadcast the film. 

Globe: In your other artwi 

works you referred to Abdi 

dul-Kareem Qasim’s Biogri 

raphy; what it is about? 

Nassir: This drama is 

about Abdul-Kareem Qasi 

sim’s life and his political 

work. And also it has some 

scenes of Erbil, Suleimaniyi 

ya and Kirkuk. Arabic is 

the language of the movie. 

Globe: A cinema festival 

under the name of Stop 

Violence Against Females 

was held in Erbil. After it 

was over, some said sevei 

eral of the films might win 

awards, but they didn’t. 

What is your precise commi 

ment? 

Nassir: This festival was 

like a workshop. The aim of 

this festival was to convey 

messages through the presi 

sented films. Awards were 

not a measurement for the 

success of the works. The 

contributors need to think 

of improving their future 

works instead of busying 

themselves with winning 

awards.


Government to close unlicensed 

pharmacies and clinics 

Some fear more pressure on hospitals 

As part of efforts to 

revamp Kurdistan’s 

health system, more 

than 4,000 illegal 

pharmacies and 

unlicensed 

neighborhood clinics 

will be closed down, 

said Khalis Qadir, 

spokesman for 

Kurdistan’s Ministry 

of Health. 

“Our teams are working 

now to close down the illi 

legal pharmacies,” said Qadi 

dir. “The pharmacies have 

to work according to the 

law from now on.” He said 

only pharmacists should 

run pharmacies and that it 

is up to the Syndicate of 

Pharmacists to ensure pharmi 

macies adhere to the new 

guidelines. 

Qadir said the sale of 

drugs by persons other than 

trained pharmacists will be 

“harmful” as many individui 

uals have been affected by 

improper prescriptions and 

use of drugs. 

The government has notifi 

fied pharmaceutical compi 

panies and wholesalers not 

to sell drugs to unlicensed 

neighborhood pharmacies 

and clinics. Only the graduai 

ates of pharmacy schools 

and assistant pharmacists 

will be allowed to set up 

pharmacies and they will 

only dispense medicine to 

patients based on prescripti 

tions from doctors. 

Some citizens are unhappi 

py with the government’s 

decision. 

Zardasht Mirza believes 

neighborhood clinics and 

pharmacies are necessary 

because “without these 

clinics, we will need to go 

to doctors and there will be 

a lot more pressure on hospi 

pitals.” 

Neighborhood clinics and 

pharmacies in Kurdistan 

are generally run by medici 

cal staff such as physicians’ 

assistants, not licensed physi 

sicians or pharmacists. 

Barzan Abu Zed Ali, diri 

rector of East Emergency 

Hospital in Erbil, says the 

closure of neighborhood 

pharmacies and clinics will 

not increase the burden on 

emergency rooms at hospiti 

tals. 

The head of the Syndici 

cate of Health Professionai 

als, Zana Khalid, said his 

organization will oppose 

any government decision to 

close down neighborhood 

clinics and pharmacies opei 

erated by health professionai 

als. He said according to 

the ministry’s instructions, 

health professionals have 

the right to have private 

health-related businesses 

after completing their hours 

at government hospitals. 

It is mandatory for health 

professionals in Kurdistan 

have to serve in government 

health institutions but they 

can have their own busini 

nesses in their free time. 

By Salih Waladbagi 

A pharmacist arranges medicine in his pharmacy in Erbil. File photo. 


Rising generator fees compound 

electricity problems 

Reduced national power supply increased costs 

Complaints about 

increasing monthly 

back-up generator 

fees have increased 

in Kurdistan 

Region in the first 

month of 2012. 

Due to the reduced national 

power supply since late Deci 

cember 2011, the owners 

of the back-up generators 

supplying power when grid 

power is off have raised 

their fees significantly and 

have set a record-breaking 

rate of 10,750 Iraqi dinars 

(approximately $9) per ampi 

pere per month. 

The news was shocking to 

residents of Erbil and they 

raised their voice of protest 

and the Committee on the 

Follow Up of Private Genei 

erators was informed about 

the situation. 

The committee organized 

a joint press conference 

with authorities from the 

Kurdistan Regional Govei 

ernment’s Ministry of Electi 

tricity to give some clarifici 

cation to an angry public. 

Though it did not change 

the rate, it explained duri 

ing the press conference 

that 2,000 ID of the 10,750 

ID was for December 2011 

which was not collected befi 

fore the end of the year. 

Committee chairman Qari 

raman Mawlood said the 

January rates were set to 

8,750 ID per amp per month 

for supplying electricity to 

households for seven and a 

half hours per day. 

Regarding the 2,000 ID 

charge, Mawlood says this 

is the fee for the supply of 

December that compensatei 

ed the hours during which 

national electricity supply 

was cut. 

“If people were informed 

about this issue in advance, 

I believe this misundersi 

standing and escalation 

would not have happened,” 

explained Mawlood in a 

Globe interview. 

“I have never paid 43,000 

ID for 4 amps of electrici 

ity,” said a street vendor 

who was selling vegetables 

and fruit a few hundred 

meters from the Erbil Govei 

ernorate building. “This is 

not to mention the national 

electricity charges, house 

rent, food and clothing for 

our children.” 

A woman in black who 

was buying tomatoes from 

the vendor said the govei 

ernment is acting against 

the poor instead of helping 

them out. 

Suleiman Aziz, a journali 

ist who reports on people’s 

daily problems, says the 

public should not pay for 

the government’s actions 

and inabilities. 

“The government was 

supposed to supply electrici 

ity to the public, but now as 

it cannot, it should provide 

fuel to generator owners to 

remove the burden from the 

people and prevent them 

from paying higher chargei 

es,” said Aziz. 

Mawlood, on the other 

hand, says the government 

supplies subsidized fuel to 

generator owners to control 

the prices and that it has inci 

creased the amount of fuel 

since February 2011 and it 

has had a significant positi 

tive impact. 

“We are currently distribui 

uting fuel twice a month, 

and the governorate is tryi 

ing to persuade the Council 

of Ministers to further inci 

crease the amount of subsidi 

dized fuel for generators,” 

stated Mawlood. 

This effort by the govei 

ernment comes at a time 

when the KRG Ministry of 

Natural Resources failed to 

provide Ministry of Electi 

tricity with sufficient fuel 

for power production that 

resulted in reduced national 

power supply. 

Mawlood admitted it canni 

not do anything to reduce 

the 10,750 ID for January, 

but he was optimistic that 

the governorate’s effort is 

most likely to work and 

prices would go down in 

February. 

However, the problem is 

not the same everywhere 

in Erbil, as some neighbi 

borhoods have better relay 

stations installed that bear 

higher loads and do not enci 

counter problems frequentli 

ly. Some of those neighbi 

borhoods get 20 hours of 

national power per day and 

the remaining four hours is 

covered by back-up genei 

erators, for which they are 

charged only 500 ID, while 

some other neighborhoods 

have exhausted power netwi 

works and their supply is 

turned off from time to time 

to prevent faults, which 

means they need more 

back-up power, and they 

need to pay more. 

To solve this issue, Yassi 

sin Siddiq, director of Erbil 

Power Distribution Directi 

torate, says that a tender to 

purchase 73 relay stations 

has been approved though 

the governorate, and that 

the project is being implemi 

mented. 

This comes at a time when 

103 relay stations in Erbil 

are faulty. 

During sessions of the 

Kurdistan Parliament regi 

garding the 2011 budget, 

Parliament decided the 

revenues of the Ministry of 

Electricity would be used 

for the ministry itself to 

solve electricity problems 

and develop the electrici 

ity infrastructure in the 

Region. Parliament also 

allocated the largest share 

in the budget to electrici 

ity ministry projects of 603 

billion ID (approximately 

$500 million). 

Despite this, electricity is 

still an issue in the Region 

and majority of problems 

are still unresolved.


Wanted official appears in TV interview 

Former chief of Kurdistan 

Democratic Party’s fourth 

branch in Suleimaniya, 

Hiwa Ahmed, appeared 

in an interview on Zagros 

TV channel explaining his 

and his party's stance on 

demonstrations from Feb. 

17, 2011. Ahmed, who is 

wanted by the courts, expi 

pressed his readiness to 

go to court to defended 

his innocence. 

In the interview with 

the pro-KDP Zagros TV, 

Ahmed remarked he nevei 

er ordered the shooting of 

demonstrators and what 

they did on that day was 

"self-defense." 

In February 2011, antigovernment 

demonstrati 

tors attacked the KDP 

office in Suleimaniya; 

a demonstrator was 

killed and more than 10 

people were wounded 

when guards and security 

forces attempted to scatti 

ter crowds. Demonstrati 

tions continued for two 

months in Suleimaniya’s 

Sara Square and in other 

towns. More than 10 

Hiwa Ahmed ready to go to court when his party tells him to 

died and hundreds were 

wounded in the demonsi 

strations. 

Ahmed explained that 

they never expected to be 

targeted in that demonsi 

stration and they were goi 

ing about their daily busini 

ness. "We were inside and 

had a guest" when people 

gathered in front of the 

office, he said. 

Concerning the young 

man, Rezhwan Ali, who 

was killed in front of the 

office, Ahmed said he 

and Rezhwan were both 

"victims" of that violi 

lence. "Rezhwan lost his 

life and I am damaged 

internally," said Ahmed. 

He described the death of 

the young man as an "acci 

cident" they didn’t want 

to happen. 

Ahmed admitted that 

his office’s guards were 

shooting to disperse demoi 

onstrators and they didn’t 

intend to kill anyone. 

"Why did the guards carry 

weapons? Why did they 

have bullets in their guns? 

To defend themselves and 

the places they guard," 

noted Ahmed, justifying 

the guards firing on the 

crowd as resistance and 

defense. "I never ordered 

the shooting." 

The guards acted wisely 

when they stayed inside 

the building, said Ahmed, 

explaining that confronti 

ing the demonstrators 

or any attempt to evacuai 

ate the office could have 

resulted in more bloodsi 

shed. 

Regarding the arrest 

warrant, Ahmed said he 

will go to court and he 

will "return clean" and inni 

nocent. But he awaits the 

KDP leadership's decision 

for him when to surrender 

to the warrant. 

He said his case is not 

personal but is a "KDP affi 

fair" and he acts however 

the party orders him to. 

Ahmed also denied a 

media report that he had 

accused members of Pati 

triotic Union of Kurdisti 

tan, KDP's ally, for provi 

voking attackers on the 

Suleimaniya branch; he 

said that only the court 

can find who was responsi 

sible. 

Kurdistan Region Presidi 

dent Massoud Barzani, 

also president of KDP, issi 

sued four presidential deci 

crees late August, one of 

them ordering for the arri 

rest of suspects who may 

have caused the violence. 

Barzani's decrees came 

as a concession to Kurdi 

istan Region's opposition 

parties, which put the arri 

rests of those responsible 

for the violence as a condi 

dition for resuming meeti 

ings with the governing 

parties. 

After the demonstrati 

tions, opposition and govei 

erning parties met several 

times, aiming to resolve 

political problems and to 

seek reforms in the politici 

cal process. The meetings 

were stopped because the 

conditions were not yet 

met, according to oppositi 

tion parties’ statements. 

By Ako Muhammed 

Former chief of Kurdistan Democratic Party’s fourth branch in Sulleimaniya, 

Hiwa Ahmed 

Gorran chairman discusses political situation 

Nawshirwan Mustafa: Independent committee can solve issues between Erbil and Baghdad 

PRESS PHOTO 

In an interview with KNN 

satellite channel, Nawsi 

shirwan Mustafa, chairmi 

man of Gorran (Change) 

Movement, discussed the 

political situation in Iraq 

and Kurdistan Region. 

Mustafa says the U.S 

government removed a 

dictator and, as a result, 

many people’s lives impi 

proved. Democratic electi 

tions were held, a new 

constitution was drafted 

in which human rights 

were a focus, and econi 

nomic sanctions on the 

country were lifted. But 

after the U.S. troop withdi 

drawal from Iraq, several 

issues still remain outsi 

standing. 

Despite the improvemi 

ments, Mustafa thinks the 

U.S. left a country that 

still suffers from serious 

problems. "Iraq is still a 

sectarian country and is 

one of the countries that 

comes first as far as corri 

ruption is concerned. The 

government hasn't been 

able so far to provide 

general services, like 

water and electricity; it 

hasn't created enough job 

opportunities, especially 

for the young people." 

PRESS PHOTO 

Nawshirwan Mustafa during an interview with the KNN TV channel, Jan. 2, 2012. 

More importantly, Musti 

tafa says, the U.S. has 

left Iraq with several confi 

flicts; conflicts between 

Shiites and Sunnis, and 

disputes between Kurds 

and the federal governmi 

ment. 

"Since Kurdistan is still 

part of Iraq, if any events, 

whether related to terror 

or corruption take place, 

they will affect Kurdisti 

tan Region as well. We 

still have problems with 

the central government 

in Baghdad concerni 

ing power, property and 

wealth," he said. 

Concerning the existing 

problems between Shii 

ites and Sunnis, Mustafa 

says most of the time, 

Kurds play a mediation 

role; whenever Sunnis 

and Shiites are at peace, 

Kurds are the creators of 

the peace. 

"I believe Kurds have 

to bring their issues up 

while trying to solve the 

Sunni and Shiite issues. 

Kurds need to use these 

chances by relating their 

issues with other Iraqi 

general problems aimi 

ing to find solutions for 

them," noted Mustafa. 

In Mustafa's view, 

Kurds haven’t benefited 

from playing mediation 

role between Sunnis and 

Shiites, but on the conti 

trary, some Arabs think 

the Kurds like deepening 

the problems between 

Sunnis and Shiites. 

When asked if Kurds 

are closer to Shiites or 

Sunnis, Mustafa said, "It 

depends on the time. In 

the past, when the Baath 

Party was ruling Iraq, 

Kurds and Shiites were 

thinking similarly. They 

both attempted to topple 

the regime and found 

a federal government. 

But with the passage of 

time, Shiites changed 

their views because they 

are the first power in the 

country. I believe it is not 

in our favor to take sides 

but we need to deal with 

both sides equally." 

Although Kurds have 

been having power and 

authority problems with 

Shiites, and property and 

land issues with Sunnis, 

according to Mustafa, 

Kurdish political leaders 

have tried to take highranking 

posts and control 

finances; they haven't 

been able to return any of 

areas that have been atti 

tached to Arab areas back 

to Kurdistan Region. 

In Mustafa's perspecti 

tive, Kurds can solve 

their problems with the 

Iraqi federal government 

if they change their relati 

tionship with the central 

government from politici 

cal parties' relations to 

national ones. 

"Kurds have taken high 

posts and obtained their 

share in the Iraqi resourcei 

es but I don't think if we 

have been allowed to 

share in making political 

decisions. In the past, we 

also had the same probli 

lem." 

Because Kurdistan has 

independent committees, 

like the Integrity Commi 

mittee and Human Rights 

Committee, which are 

responsible for finance 

issues and human rights, 

Mustafa thinks an indepi 

pendent committee also 

can be formed and be in 

charge of negotiations 

between Kurdistan Regi 

gion and the Iraqi centi 

tral government, observi 

ing and following up the 

works of Kurds' officials 

in the Iraqi government 

and Parliament. 

By Zakaria Muhammed


Iraq’s factional chaos threatens to 

disrupt a Kurdish haven 


People celebrate the New Year in downtown Erbil, Dec. 31, 2011. 

By Tim Arango 

The New York Times 

For the Kurds here in this 

ancient city, the rewards of 

war are numerous and obvi 

vious. Construction cranes 

rise from the cityscape. 

Highway medians are 

green with shrubbery. A 

glittering shopping mall 

with an indoor ice skating 

rink stands as a totem of 

American-style consumeri 

ism. The only blast walls in 

sight are those that protect 

the regional parliament, 

decorated by sunflowers 

painted in muted shades of 

yellow. 

Among Iraqis, the Kurds 

benefited the most from the 

war, and now may have the 

most to lose if the political 

chaos that followed the depi 

parture of American forces 

metastasizes into civil war. 

“Are we worried? Yes, we 

are worried,” said Barham 

A. Salih, the prime ministi 

ter of the Kurdish regional 

government. “Our national 

interest as Kurds lies in a 

democratic, federal, peacefi 

ful Iraq. We still have a 

long way to go before we 

get there.” 

The end of the Americi 

can military role here is an 

anxious turning point for 

the Kurds, who were proti 

tected by the United States 

for 20 years, beginning 

after the Persian Gulf war 

of 1991, with a humanitari 

ian operation and no-fly 

zone that halted Saddam 

Hussein’s killing machine. 

Now, the consolidation of 

power by Prime Ministi 

ter Nuri Kamal al-Maliki 

evokes painful memories 

of Kurdish suffering at the 

hands of a powerful central 

government in Baghdad. It 

also places the Kurds in the 

delicate position of acting 

as peacemakers between 

warring Shiite and Sunni 

Arab factions, a battle in 

which their own future is 

at stake. 

“Every Kurd yearns for 

an independent homeland, 

no doubt,” Mr. Salih said. 

“But we have also acceptei 

ed living as part of a demoi 

ocratic, peaceful, federal 

Iraq. If this hope vanishes, 

I don’t think the Kurds will 

be willing to risk what we 

have.” 

The current crisis, which 

politicians say has brought 

the country to the brink of 

civil war, erupted almost 

two weeks ago, just as the 

last American troops were 

leaving. Maliki’s governmi 

ment issued an arrest warri 

rant for Vice President 

Tariq al-Hashimi, the top 

Sunni politician, accusing 

him of running an assassi 

sination squad. Hashimi 

fled north, to the semiauti 

tonomous Kurdish region, 

to escape arrest. Maliki, a 

Shiite, warned the Kurds 

that there would be “probli 

lems” if they did not turn 

over Hashimi. 

The Kurds, who have 

no intention of complyi 

ing with Maliki’s demand, 

were not happy about bei 

ing dragged into the dispi 

pute between Sunnis and 

Shiites. “We are not part 

of the problem,” insisted 

Massoud Barzani, presidi 

dent of the Kurdish regionai 

al government. 

But with the future of 

postwar Iraq hanging in the 

balance, they cannot avoid 

being part of the soluti 

tion. American diplomats, 

whose influence is vastly 

diminished here since the 

American military withdi 

drawal, have called on a 

Kurdish leader, Jalal Tali 

labani, who is president of 

Iraq, to convene a meeting 

of Iraq’s leadership. 

But so far there is no 

agreement even on where 

the meeting should be held: 

the Kurds say it should be 

in the north while Maliki is 

pushing for Baghdad. 

A unity government 

formed last year at the initi 

tiative of the Kurds, which 

included meaningful roles 

for all three of Iraq’s main 

factions, is now teetering. 

Maliki has threatened to 

form a new government 

controlled by the Shiite 

majority that would effi 

fectively marginalize the 

Sunnis. To do so, he would 

need the support of the 

Kurds in Parliament, an 

unlikely prospect. 

“This would be the most 

dangerous step,” Barzani 

said in an interview at his 

sprawling palace outside 

Erbil, surrounded by snowtipped 

mountains that have 

served as the terrain for 

generations of guerrilla 

fighters. “It has to be a partni 

nership between the Shias, 

the Sunnis and the Kurds. 

Anything contrary to that 

would be disastrous.” 

Salih, the prime minister, 

said a Shiite-Kurdish alliai 

ance that shut out the Sunni 

nis would mean “the end 

of Iraq as we know it.” 

Depriving the Sunnis, 

who dominated under Mr. 

Hussein’s government, 

of a political voice would 

be likely to revitalize the 

Sunni insurgency, which is 

already showing new signs 

of life. Four days after the 

American withdrawal, 

coordinated bombings in 

Baghdad killed at least 63 

people, the deadliest attack 

there in more than a year. 

The Kurds have no great 

love for the Sunnis. Even 

though the Kurds are 

mostly Sunni Muslims 

themselves, it was the 

Sunni-Arab government of 

Mr. Hussein that was acci 

cused of committing genoci 

cide against the Kurds. But 

they would rather have 

the Sunni Arabs safely ensi 

sconced in a power-shari 

ing government rather than 

risk renewed violence and 

instability. 

Kurdistan, long a bastion 

of tolerance and a haven 

for the aggrieved and oppi 

pressed of all stripes, has 

lately become a sanctuary 

for Sunnis. Mr. Hashimi 

remains encamped at Mr. 

Talabani’s guesthouse in 

the hills outside Sulaimai 

aniya, where he said he 

alternated wearing the two 

suits he packed for a trip 

he thought would last two 

days. 

Sunni leaders from Diyi 

yala Province, a mixed 

region that has sought 

greater autonomy from the 

central government, have 

also fled to Kurdistan after 

a crackdown by state securi 

rity forces. 

The Kurds have deep 

emotional ties to the Unitei 

ed States, and in many 

ways they subscribe to the 

vision of the pluralistic soci 

ciety the Americans tried 

to construct here. 

Salih lived in Washington 

for years; his daughter atti 

tended Princeton and his 

son Columbia. He was 

close to the writer Christopi 

pher Hitchens, who wrote a 

book on the Kurdish cause. 

Explaining the view of the 

Sunni elite that leadership 

is their birthright, Salih likei 

ens them to “the WASPs of 

the United States.” 

Objects that in Baghdad 

would offend the religious 

and invite terrorists are 

abundant here. Christmas 

trees were on display at 

the mall and elsewhere. An 

American school openly 

flies an American flag, and 

not behind blast walls and 

checkpoints and razor wire. 

Not a single American soldi 

dier died in this region. 

“If you ask most Kurds, 

they will say that Americi 

ca’s military left Iraq too 

soon,” Salih said. 

Kurdish leaders believe in 

federalism and support the 

efforts of other provinces, 

like Diyala and Anbar, 

both with Sunni majoriti 

ties, to gain autonomy, a 

status Maliki opposes as a 

threat to Shiite dominance. 

While most Kurds ultimi 

mately wish for their own 

state, a move toward indepi 

pendence carries the risk 

of provoking a regional 

war with Iran, Turkey and 

Syria, countries with their 

own substantial Kurdish 

minorities. These countries 

would be likely to view an 

assertion of statehood by 

Iraqi Kurds as a provocati 

tion. 

For now at least, the 

Kurds see their best hope 

in maintaining their autonoi 

omy within a united Iraq. 

“If Iraq ends up being 

broken apart, it’s not beci 

cause the Kurds wanted 

it,” said Dr. Najmaldin 

Karim, an American citizi 

zen from Silver Spring, 

Md., who is now the govei 

ernor of Kirkuk, a city divi 

vided by Kurds, Arabs and 

Turkmen. “It’s because the 

others couldn’t get along.” 

Omar al-Jawoshy contributed 

reporting.


Kurdistan mourns the loss of 

35 civilians 

Kurds mourned the 

deaths of 35 Kurds 

in southeast Turkey 

following an airstrike 

conducted by the 

Turkish warplanes 

against a group of 

civilians in Shrank 

province, near the 

Iraqi border. 

According to initial repi 

ports, the victims of 

the attack, aged 17 to 

20, were a group of 40, 

smuggling cigarettes 

loaded onto donkeys and 

mules when the Turkish 

warplanes struck them 

overnight on Dec. 28 in 

Kurdish territory near 

the Iraqi border. Thirtyfive 

were killed. 

The Turkish attack 

spurred a wave of demoi 

onstrations around the 

world, in Turkey and 

Iraq’s Kurdistan Region 

in particular. Thousands 

of mourners took to the 

streets of Istanbul, Anki 

kara and other Kurdish 

provinces of southwest 

Turkey to condemn the 

killing of Kurdish civili 

ians. 

Hundreds of mournei 

ers attended the funeral 

in Gulyazi village, near 

the Iraqi border. "I will 

tell the head of the genei 

eral staff that my son is 

a martyr and he didn't 

have any kind of weapoi 

on,” a father shouted as 

his son was placed in 

the grave. 

A week after the incidi 

dent, Turkish governmi 

ment officials offered 

an apology, saying the 

strike was not carried 

out intentionally, and 

that the civilians were 

mistaken for rebel 

groups who operate on 

the Iraqi border. The 

villagers say it was no 

mistake. 

"It is impossible to 

kill them mistakenly. 

The jets were flying 150 

meters above the caravi 

van and had a perfect 

view," said 20-year-old 

Mohemed from Ortasu 

village. 

A woman whose cousi 

in was killed in the airsi 

strike told media the 

bombing was not a misti 

take: “They were killed 

intentionally, when they 

were just trying to make 

People mount bodies onto mules after Turkey's air force attacked suspected Kurdish rebel targets across the border in Iraq, killing some tens of people, many of them 

believed to be smugglers mistaken for guerrillas, near the Turkish village of Ortasu in Sirnak, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 29. 2011. 

a little money.” 

Amnesty International 

urged Turkish authoriti 

ties to carry out an indepi 

pendent and transparent 

investigation immedi 

diately. “The circumsi 

stances of the military 

operation that caused 

the death of so many civi 

vilians, some of whom 

were children, must be 

urgently investigated in 

a full, independent and 

transparent manner,” 

said Nicola Duckworth, 

Europe and Central Asia 

Programme Director. 

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish 

Peace and Democracy 

Party (BDP) described 

the strike as a crime 

against humanity. “This 

is a massacre," BDP 

Deputy Chairwoman 

Gultan Kisanak said at 

press conference held in 

Diyarbakir. 

"This country's warpi 

planes bombed a group 

of 50 of its citizens to 

destroy them. This is a 

war crime and a crime 

against humanity." Kisni 

nak further added. 

The Shrank attack furti 

ther escalated conflicts 

between Turkey’s ruling 

party and the pro-Kurdi 

ish one; during BDP 

party meeting, head 

of the party Salahadin 

Demirtash accused 

Turkish Prime Minister 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan 

of hypocrisy: “Erdogan 

tells the Syrian authoriti 

ties to stop using violi 

lence against its people, 

while he is committing 

crime against his own 

people in Turkey.” 

Erdogan described the 

strike as “an unfortunate 

result,” speaking to medi 

dia in Istanbul, pledging 

that the government will 

conduct a full investigati 

tion. 

Turkish Foreign Mini 

ister Ahmet Davutoglu 

also remarked that they 

will investigate the inci 

cident. "Whatever the 

requirements are of 

state law, these will be 

done. No one can claim 

that such an event was 

intentional," Hurriyet 

newspaper quoted Davi 

vutoglu as saying. "This 

is a sad event; it should 

not be made a subject 

for political exploitati 

tion. The incident will 

be investigated and 

whatever is necessary 

will be done." 

Although Turkish offi 

ficials admitted the raid 

was a mistake, Turkish 

Deputy Prime Minister 

Bulent Arinc says the 

government offers no 

official apology for the 

attack, instead it will 

compensate the victims’ 

relatives. 

“It would be very negai 

ative anticipation if we 

officially apologize,” 

Arinc remarked in a 

statement. 

Arinc did not specify 

how much money will 

be paid to the families of 

the victims, but said the 

payments would come 

within days. He also 

said the government 

was exploring ways to 

increase the amount of 

the compensation. 

Kurdistan demonstrati 

tions 

The images broadcast 

on television showed 

a line of dead bodies, 

covered by blankets, on 

a barren hillside, with a 

crowd of people gathei 

ered around, some with 

their heads in their hands 

and crying. It garnered 

an emotional response 

from Kurds around the 

globe and in Kurdistan. 

Thousands of people 

from the three Kurdisti 

tan provinces took part 

in protest last week, 

mourning the deaths, 

condemning the Turkish 

airstrikes against civili 

ians in Turkey, and demi 

manding the Kurdistan 

presidency and the govei 

ernment take a stand. 

“What happened to the 

Kurds in Shrank was 

a massacre. The Turki 

ish government showed 

once again that it will 

never hesitate to kill 

Kurds,” said a man proti 

testing in Erbil. 

Many protesters critici 

cized Kurdistan Regi 

gion’s official stance and 

described it as “weak,” 

for not condemning the 

attack. “The Region’s 

official stance was not 

up to our expectations, 

because they did not 

literally condemn the 

massacre. They should 

have denounced the atti 

tack with the strongest 

words,” the protestor 

added. 

In a statement publi 

lished on its website, 

The Kurdistan Region’s 

presidency office offi 

fered the president’s 

condolences to the fami 

ilies of the victims and 

called on the Turkish 

government to come up 

with a peaceful solution 

for their internal issues, 

so the disputes do not 

result in civilian deaths. 

“While we offer our 

deep condolences to the 

relatives of the victims 

who were killed in a 

heart-stopping incident, 

we urge a swift and a 

peaceful resolution,” 

the statement said. 

Rawaz Koyee 

Erbil 

shano_koye 

@yahoo.com 

AP Photo


Assad: friend or foe of the Kurds? 

PRESS PHOTO 

Syrian Kurdish protesters rally for self rule. Qamishli, Dec. 29, 2011. 

Phil Sands 

The National 

As Syrian protesters battle 

to overthrow President 

Bashar Al Assad, the 

country's large Kurdish 

minority is struggling to 

decide if its interests lie in 

the fall of the regime or in 

its survival. 

Politically divided and 

uncertain about their futi 

ture, Syria's two million 

Kurds, 10 per cent of the 

population, have played a 

limited role in the uprisi 

ing, analysts, activists and 

Kurdish groups say. 

"Until now we are putting 

about 10,000 people in the 

street for the largest demoi 

onstrations [in the Kurdish 

areas of north-east Syria]," 

said one Kurdish activist. 

"When we really rise up 

there will be hundreds of 

thousands, and there will 

be big Kurdish protests 

in Damascus and Aleppo, 

but we are not at that stage 

yet." 

Mr Al Assad has offered 

concessions to win Kurdi 

ish support - or at least 

entice them to stay out of 

the revolt - granting citizi 

zenship to stateless Kurds 

in April. 

The military crackdown 

has also been less harsh 

in Kurdish areas, in an effi 

fort to avoid inflaming the 

tense situation there, but 

those measures alone do 

not explain the cautious 

involvement in the uprisi 

ing. 

Among those in Syri 

ia with an axe to grind 

against the regime, the 

country's Kurdish minori 

ity would seem to rank 

near the top - a long histi 

tory of state-imposed ethni 

nic discrimination and 

economic neglect put it in 

permanent semi-rebellion 

against Damascus. 

The north-east city of 

Qamlishli in Hasika provi 

ince, the Kurds' stronghi 

hold, has long been one 

of its most impoverished 

areas. 

Over the years many 

Kurds have moved to 

Aleppo and Damascus in 

search of work and educati 

tion, often settling in illegi 

gally built neighbourhoods 

as a poverty-stricken urban 

underclass that derived litti 

tle direct benefit from the 

Baathist rule and its docti 

trinal Arabism resulted in 

discrimination against the 

Kurds, with some 300,000 

left stateless. Until Mr Al 

Assad issued his decree 

recognising them, they 

were officially considered 

foreigners, excluded from 

the basic services and subsi 

sidies granted to Syrians. 

That often uneasy coexi 

istence with Arab neighbi 

bours has been compoundei 

ed by a broader Kurdish 

dispossession. 

The world's 30 million 

Kurds are the largest ethni 

nic community without a 

homeland. 

Divided between neighbi 

bouring Turkey, Iran, Iraq 

and Syria, they have long 

aspired to the statehood 

promised them by the 

victors in the First World 

War, who oversaw the dismi 

mantling of what was left 

of the Ottoman Empire. 

But Britain and France 

reneged when they redrew 

the Middle East. 

That territorial division 

created a source of politici 

cal and ethnic tension that 

continues to exert a major 

influence on the region. 

The four countries view 

with suspicion their Kurdi 

ish populations and the 

separatist movements that 

exist among them. 

The Kurds feel themsi 

selves targets of harassmi 

ment and discrimination, 

and many do want to win 

Kurdish autonomy. 

With a strong sense of 

communal identity, the 

Kurds have been the most 

politically active and wellorganised 

opposition bloc 

in Syria, and played a leadi 

ing role in the short-lived 

Damascus Spring of 2005, 

making unprecedented 

calls for democracy and 

greater freedoms. 

Still, mainstream Kurdi 

ish political parties have 

trod carefully since March 

when the uprising began, 

trying to solve the equation 

of whether their interests 

would be better served by 

a revolt that could yet succi 

ceed or fail, or by trying to 

reform the status quo. 

"It's true that for seven 

months or so some of the 

Kurdish political parties 

were not engaged in the 

uprising. Really, it was 

just the Future movement 

and Yeketi. The rest hadn't 

taken the decision to go 

to the street," said Foad 

Aleko, a senior Syrian 

Kurdish political figure 

and Yeketi party official. 

Of the dozen or so Kurdi 

ish parties in Syria, the 

Future movement is an 

anomaly. 

Founded by Meshaal 

Tammo it quickly and unei 

equivocally joined the revi 

volt, co-operating closely 

with Arab protesters nati 

tionwide. 

It was the only Kurdi 

ish group to join the oppi 

position Syrian National 

Council. 

Unlike other Kurdi 

ish leaders, Mr Tammo 

shunned identity politics. 

He flatly refused to have 

Kurdish flags flown at 

protest rallies, insisting 

instead the Syrian national 

flag be raised. 

Mr Tammo was murdi 

dered by gunmen on Octi 

tober 7, the first national 

level opposition figure to 

be killed in the uprising. 

While his funeral attractei 

ed about 50,000 mourners 

- five were shot during 

the procession by security 

forces - and led to speculi 

lation it would inflame the 

Kurdish street, it did not. 

Instead, allegations about 

who killed him only undi 

derlined divisions among 

them. 

Some blamed the governmi 

ment. Some accused Turki 

key, fighting its own Kurdi 

ish insurgency against the 

Kurdistan Workers Party 

(PKK). 

Others pointed to differei 

ent Kurdish factions, citi 

ing mafia-like entrenched 

interests. 

These schisms, and in 

particular the hostility 

between Turkey and the 

PKK's political wing, the 

Democratic Union Party 

(PYD), one of the largest 

and most influential Kurdi 

ish parties in Syria, have 

helped the Syrian authoriti 

ties to prevent the Kurds 

from fully supporting the 

uprising. 

In an effort to solve their 

lingering divisions, Syrian 

Kurdish political blocs, 

including 10 major parti 

ties and representatives 

of non-affiliated groups 

- doctors, engineers and 

other professionals - met 

in October to thrash out a 

unified position. The PYD 

did not attend. 

In June it had helped 

found the National Cooi 

ordination Committees 

(NCC), an opposition alliai 

ance that the other Kurdi 

ish groups refused to join 

because it insisted Syria 

be defined as part of the 

Arab world. 

The October 26 meeti 

ing declared the Kurds 

were fully committed to 

the Syrian revolution and 

would not negotiate with 

the regime independently 

of other opposition blocs. 

It demanded a new consi 

stitution recognising the 

Kurds and their right to 

self-determination within 

a united Syria. 

"That meeting was a deci 

cisive point and a decision 

was made by all to take to 

the streets and the protests 

have been getting bigger 

and bigger since," said Mr 

Aleko. 

"The protests are big 

now, the regime blocks 

the streets, there is tear 

gas and shooting so the 

accusation that we're not 

committed to the revoluti 

tion isn't true." 

But one analyst said the 

Kurds are still hedging 

their bets. 

"We've seen hundreds of 

thousands of protesters in 

the streets in Homs, Hama, 

Deraa and Idleb despite all 

the dangers they face, but 

in Kurdish areas the numbi 

bers have been nothing 

like as big," he said, on the 

condition of anonymity. 

The Kurds have long 

been better organised 

than Arab groups, so this 

means a political decision 

has been made to pull their 

punches, the analyst said. 

"The Kurds have a foot 

in both camps still, they 

are not sure if the regime 

will survive or fall, and 

they want to be able to 

benefit whatever the outci 

come," he said. "They are 

waiting until they know 

the answer to that big 

question, then they will 

commit themselves." 

Kurdish political leaders 

deny they have cut a deal 

with the regime. They 

say they want to prevent 

the uprising being seen as 

Kurdish, not Arab. 

Despite such assurances, 

deep divisions remain 

among the Kurds. 

"To be honest, the Kurds 

have not decided who the 

real enemy is yet, the [Syri 

ian] regime or the Turks," 

said another Kurdish acti 

tivist. "Both are threats to 

our future but we have to 

decide which is the biggi 

gest and we have to know 

what will happen to us if 

Assad does fall."


As currency 

PRESS PHOTO 

crisis and feud 

with West 

deepen, 

Iranians brace 

for war 

At a time when U.S. officials 

are increasingly confident that 

economic and political pressure 

alone may succeed in curbing 

Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the 

mood here has turned bleak 

and belligerent as Iranians prepi 

pare grimly for a period of proli 

longed hardship and, they fear, 

war. 

This stark contrast has been 

evident in the Iranian capiti 

tal this week as a top military 

commander declared a “critici 

cal point” in the country’s long 

feud with the West and ordinary 

Iranians stocked up on essential 

supplies. Merchants watched 

helplessly as the Iranian curri 

rency, the rial, shed more than 

a third of its value, triggering 

huge increases in the prices of 

imported goods. 

“I will tell you what this is 

leading to: war,” said a merci 

chant in Tehran’s popular 

Paytakht bazaar who gave his 

name only as Milad. “My fami 

ily, friends and I — we are all 

desperate.” 

The sense of impending confi 

frontation is not shared in 

Washington and other Western 

capitals, where government offi 

ficials and analysts expressed 

cautious satisfaction that their 

policies are working. 

Former and current U.S. govei 

ernment officials did not dismi 

miss the possibility of a militi 

tary confrontation but said they 

saw recent threats by Iranian 

leaders — including warning a 

U.S. aircraft carrier this week 

not to return to the crucial Strait 

of Hormuz — mainly as signs 

of rising frustration. U.S. offici 

cials say this amounts to vindici 

cation of a years-long policy of 

increasing pressure, including 

through clandestine operations, 

on Iran’s clerical rulers without 

provoking war. 

“The reasons you’re seei 

ing the bluster now is because 

they’re feeling it,” said Dennis 

Ross, who was one of the White 

House’s chief advisers on Iran 

before stepping down late last 

year. With even tougher sancti 

tions poised to take effect in 

weeks, the White House had 

succeeded in dramatically raisi 

ing the costs of Iran’s nuclear 

program, he said. 

“The measure, in the end, is, 

‘Do they change their behavi 

ior?’ ” Ross said. 

The Obama administration 

is readying new punitive measi 

sures targeting the Central 

Bank of Iran, while leaders 

of the European Union took a 

step this week toward approvi 

ing strict curbs on imports of 

Iranian petroleum in hopes of 

pressuring the nation to abandi 

don what they say is a drive to 

develop nuclear weapons. Iran 

says its nuclear program is for 

peaceful energy production. 

State 

Department 

spokes¬woman Victoria Nuli 

land deemed as “very good 

news” the E.U.’s commitment 

to shutting off the flow of Irani 

nian oil to Europe. 

“This is consistent with tightei 

ening the noose on Iran econi 

nomically,” Nuland told reportei 

ers Wednesday. “We think that 

the place to get Iran’s attention 

is with regard to its oil sector.” 

In Tehran, that tightening is 

being felt by millions of peopi 

ple. Economists and independi 

dent analysts say the sanctions 

have aggravated the country’s 

chronic economic problems 

and fueled a currency crisis that 

is limiting the availability of a 

broad array of goods, including 

illegally imported iPhones and 

life-saving medicines. 

While dollar injections by the 

Central Bank of Iran in recent 

days appeared to stabilize the 

rial, foreign-exchange traders 

said Wednesday that they were 

not selling dollars because the 

rate set by the bank was “artifi 

ficial.” 

Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, faces turmoil both internally and with the international community. 

In a move that underscored a 

lack of options in quelling the 

currency crisis, Iranian authoriti 

ties resorted to ordering money 

changers to post much lower 

exchange rates for dollars in 

their shop windows Wednesdi 

day. Authorities also blocked 

Web sites that listed real-time 

rates, according to Khabaronli 

line, a Web site critical of the 

government. 

In Tehran, where public suppi 

port for the government has 

dwindled since it cracked down 

on large opposition protests in 

2009, many blame Iran’s leadei 

ers and their policies for the 

sanctions, as well as for the 

country’s increasing internati 

tional isolation and tensions 

with the United States. 

Economists and businessmen 

say that after years of erratic 

economic policies by the govei 

ernment of President Mahmoud 

Ahmadinejad, each new round 

of sanctions aimed at Iran’s key 

oil income increases fears of an 

overall economic meltdown. 

“It’s basic economic law,” 

said Jamshid Edalatian, a reti 

tired professor of economics, 

former banker and member of 

Iran’s chamber of commerce. 

“When people start worrying 

about the future, they start buyi 

ing strong currencies to use in 

difficult times, and right now 

everybody is baffled and confi 

fused over the future.” 

Confusion abounded this 

week in the Paytakht shopping 

center, which is Tehran’s main 

computer bazaar. The price of 

the Apple iPhone 4S, reexportei 

ed from nearby Dubai, United 

Arab Emirates, and highly 

prized by many young Iraniai 

ans, had surged, like most other 

imported products. The phone 

now costs 35 percent more. 

The money changer involved 

in most of the merchants’ purci 

chases from Dubai also had 

disappeared with more than 

a million of their dollars after 

the rial suddenly collapsed. 

“Nobody is buying or selling,” 

said Nader Kamali, who owns 

a cellphone shop. “How can we 

live like this?” 

The pain extends to the counti 

try’s large industries. Accordi 

ing to the Iranian Labor News 

Agency, high prices for commi 

modities and raw materials, 

caused by the rial’s plunge, have 

led to the closure of 50 percent 

of businesses in the biggest indi 

dustrial zone near Tehran. 

The rial slid as the governmi 

ment ended another year of reci 

cord oil sales that have brought 

in nearly $500 billion over five 

years. Authorities have sought 

to distribute some of the wealth, 

bringing liquidity to unprecei 

edented levels. 

Ahmadinejad has allowed 

domestic energy prices to rise 

and ended massive state subsi 

sidies. But, at the same time, 

he has sought to ease the pain 

through direct state aid, paying 

60 million Iranians nearly $40 

a month. 

The moves have spurred inflati 

tion over the past year, raising 

the prices of food, rent, utiliti 

ties and highway tolls, squeezi 

ing the average urban family’s 

monthly income of about 

$550. 

Edalatian, the economist, 

called for harsh measures to 

weather the storm caused by the 

sanctions and erratic governmi 

ment policies. He said the govei 

ernment should restrict nonessi 

sential imports such as cars and 

televisions and take over the 

foreign-currency market. 

“More sanctions are comi 

ing,” he said. “We must be prepi 

pared.” 

Among those complaining 

about the rial’s drop were prodi 

ducers of medicine, importers 

of foreign cars and food, and 

truck drivers on international 

routes. In some cases, they deci 

cided to stop working because 

they could no longer make a 

profit. 

Siavash Saadat said he did not 

know how he was going to pay 

for the goods he ordered from 

India for his Mina pharmaceuti 

tical factory. 

“We either have to close down 

or I will be forced to lay off 

workers,” he said. 

Warrick reported from Washi 

ington. Special correspondents 

Somaye Malekian and Ramtin 

Rastin contributed to this repi 

port. 

By Thomas Erdbrink and Joby Warrick 

for The Washington Post


Syria says at least 11 killed in Damascus blast 

An explosion ripped through a 

busy intersection in the Syrian 

capital Friday, hitting a police 

bus and killing at least 11 people 

and possibly many more in an 

attack that left pools of blood in 

the streets and marked the secoi 

ond deadly attack in the capital 

in as many weeks, Syrian auti 

thorities said. 

Interior Minister Mohammed 

Shaar blamed a suicide bombei 

er for the blast, which comes 

exactly two weeks after twin 

bombings in the capital killed 

44 people. The bombings mark 

a dramatic escalation of bloodsi 

shed as Arab League observers 

tour the country to investigate 

President Bashar Assad's bloody 

crackdown on a 10-month-old 

popular revolt. 

"He detonated himself with the 

aim of killing the largest number 

of people," Shaar said. 

Syrian television showed residi 

dents and paramedics carrying 

human remains, holding them 

up for the camera. Other footai 

age showed a police bus with 

blood on its seats, and cars with 

blown-out windows and riddled 

with shrapnel. 

An Associated Press reporter 

at the scene said the blast also 

damaged a nearby police stati 

tion, shattering its glass, and that 

there was blood and flesh in the 

streets. Police cordoned off the 

area with yellow police tape. 

Shaar said 11 people have 

been confirmed dead. Authoriti 

ties believe another 14 were also 

killed, based on human remains 

from the scene, which would 

bring the death toll to 25, state 

TV said. More than 60 people 

were wounded. 

In a sign of just how polarized 

Syria has become, the opposition 

has questioned the government's 

allegations that terrorists are 

behind the attacks — suggesti 

ing the regime itself could have 

been behind the violence to try 

to erode support for the uprising 

and show the observer team that 

it is a victim in the country's uphi 

heaval. 

The government has long conti 

More than 5000 people have been killed in the Syrian uprising which started February 17 last year. 

tended that the turmoil in Syria 

this year is not an uprising but 

the work of terrorists and forei 

eign-backed armed gangs. 

A Syrian official, speaking on 

condition of anonymity because 

he was not allowed to speak 

publicly to the media, said the 

target of the attack appeared to 

be a bus carrying policemen. 

The official also said that a 

smaller bomb exploded Friday 

in the Damascus suburb of Tal, 

killing a girl. Security experts 

dismantled another bomb in the 

same area, he said. 

The Arab League observers 

started work Dec. 27, and violi 

lence has spiked since then. Syri 

ian activists saying up to 400 

people have been killed since 

Dec. 21. The U.N. says the overai 

all toll since the revolt began is 

more than 5,000. 

The blast went off at an intersi 

section in the central Damasci 

cus neighborhood of Midan on 

Friday, the start of the weekend 

in Syria and much of the Arab 

world. Midan is one of several 

Damascus neighborhoods that 

has seen frequent anti-Assad 

protests on Fridays since the upri 

rising began in March. 

"I heard the explosion at about 

11:15 and came running here. I 

found bodies on the ground inci 

cluding one of a man who was 

carrying two boxes of yogurt," 

Midan resident Anis Hassan 

Tinawi, 55, told The Associated 

Press. 

Compared to many parts of 

the country which have been 

convulsed by the 10-month old 

uprising, Damascus has been 

relatively quiet under the tight 

control of ruthless security agenci 

cies loyal to Assad. 

But violence in the capital has 

been on the rise over the last two 

months. On Dec. 23, according 

to the Syrian authorities, two 

car bombers blew themselves 

up outside the heavily guarded 

compounds of the country's inti 

telligence agencies, killing at 

least 44 people and wounding 

166. 

If the official account is corri 

rect, they would be the first 

suicide bombings during the 

uprising. State-run TV said the 

al-Qaida terrorist network was 

possibly to blame. 

Adding to the bloodshed in reci 

cent months, dissident soldiers 

who broke from the military to 

side with peaceful protesters 

have launched attacks on govei 

ernment sites, raising fears of 

civil war. 

Air force Col. Riad al-Asaad, 

leader of the main armed group 

fighting the regime, denied resi 

sponsibility for Friday's bus 

bombing in an interview with 

pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV. 

He said his organization, the 

Free Syrian Army, "doesn't have 

the experience to carry out such 

explosions" and said the regime 

"is the plotter for this attack." 

He spoke from Turkey, where 

the group is based. 

Mroue contributed from Beiri 

rut. 

PRESS PHOTO 

U.S. economy gains steam as 200,000 jobs are added 

The United States added 200,000 new 

jobs last month, the Labor Department 

said Friday, a robust figure indicating 

that the economic recovery may finally 

be building up a head of steam. 

The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 

8.5 percent in December, from a revised 

8.7 percent in November, the government 

said. The Labor Department also revised 

the number of new jobs added in Novembi 

ber to 100,000, from 120,000. 

The employment report added to a 

flurry of heartening economic news in 

December, when consumer confidence 

rose, manufacturing came in strong and 

small businesses showed signs of life. 

It was the sixth consecutive month that 

the economy added at least 100,000 jobs 

— not enough to restore employment to 

prerecession levels, but enough, perhaps, 

to cheer President Obama as he enters an 

election year. 

The upward trend restored some of the 

ground lost this spring and summer, when 

global events like the earthquake in Japan 

and domestic ones like the debt ceiling 

debate slowed the American recovery to 

a crawl and raised fears of a second recessi 

sion. Then, even signs of modest growth 

were dismissed as too anemic. Now, they 

are drawing tentative praise. 

“People were very much thinking that 

the sky was falling,” said Tom Porcelli, 

an economist at RBC Capital Markets. 

“It’s no small victory that we’re up here, 

even with all these headwinds.” 

Up here, Mr. Porcelli was quick to note, 

is none too lofty a perch. 

Lowering the unemployment rate signifi 

icantly would require many more jobs a 

month than the economy has been adding. 

And there are several factors that could 

weigh down what momentum there is. 

Congress may yet decline to continue 

extensions of the payroll tax break and 

unemployment benefits that have given 

families a lift and boosted spending. 

Money, in the form of loans, is still hard 

to come by. Home values continue to 

drop. And though the most recent numbi 

bers make it appear the United States is 

shrugging off the troubles in the euro 

zone, a severe slowdown there or, worse, 

a catastrophic financial collapse, is still a 

threat. 

Still, optimists were quick to trumpi 

pet the American economy’s resilience. 

“This is the real thing,” said Ian Shephi 

herdson of High Frequency Economics. 

“This is finally the economy throwing off 

the shackles of the credit crunch.” 

The numbers were foreshadowed in a 

report by ADP, the payroll processing 

company, that showed a whopping gain 

of 325,000 private-sector jobs in Decembi 

ber. ADP’s reports do not always correli 

late closely with the Labor Department’s 

findings, but they can provide additional 

insight. Diane Swonk, an economist with 

Mesirow Financial, said most of the new 

jobs in the ADP payroll report were at 

small businesses and that generally only 

newer small businesses used a payroll 

company.


Iran and Turkey divided 

by ‘Arab Spring’ 

Relationships in the region are changing 

By Salah Bayaziddi 

sbayaziddi@yahoo.com 

It was almost 18 months 

ago that a divided United 

Nations Security Council 

voted to tighten sanctions 

against Iran over its nuci 

clear program. It mostly 

failed because both Turki 

key and Brazil, non-permi 

manent members of the 

UN Security Council, 

resisted U.S.-led efforts 

to push through further 

sanctions over Iran’s failui 

ure to halt its uranium enri 

richment program. While 

it was not the first attempt 

by the international commi 

munity to curb nuclear 

proliferation in one of the 

most volatile regions of 

the world, it was alarming 

news for the West where 

one of the most trusted alli 

lies in the Muslim world 

and a member of NATO 

is siding with Iran. At the 

time, when Turkey voted 

against the further sancti 

tions of Iran on June 9, 

2010, the policy makers 

in the region feared the 

possibility that the new 

Turkish policies were 

linked to a sharp break 

from its secular tradition 

and pro-Western stance. 

Nevertheless, there are 

many signs that the warm 

relations between these 

two neighboring counti 

tries is changing in nature 

and it is moving from a 

relationship of rivalry 

to one based on animosi 

ity and adversary. In line 

with such new developmi 

ments, an Iranian political 

official threatened to atti 

tack Turkey's NATO missi 

sile defense system if the 

U.S. or Israel attacks Iran, 

repeating a similar threat 

from a general a month 

ago. 

It was on Sept. 2 when 

Turkey’s Foreign Ministi 

try announced the counti 

try would host an early 

warning radar as part of 

a NATO defense system, 

which will help protect 

against ballistic missile 

threats and is part of a 

strategic initiative agreed 

upon in 2011. Then it was 

reported that a military 

installation in the Turkish 

town of Kurecik, about 

700 kilometers west of 

the border with Iran, has 

been chosen as the radar 

site. Tehran has made 

clear its displeasure at 

Turkey's decision to depi 

ploy a NATO missile earli 

ly warning system, which 

Iran sees as a U.S. ploy 

to protect Israel from any 

counterattack, should the 

Jewish state target Iran's 

nuclear facilities. 

This war of words beti 

tween Iran and Turkey’s 

officials became more 

serious when Vice-Chairmi 

man of the Iranian Parliami 

ment's National Security 

and Foreign Policy Commi 

mission Hussein Ibrahim 

said Iran is making plans 

to finding ways to neuti 

tralize the NATO missi 

sile defense system to be 

installed in Turkey, and 

warned that in the case 

of any attack on Iran, it 

will definitely hit that 

system. In December, Isli 

lamic Revolution Guards 

Corps Aerospace commi 

mander Brig. Gen. Amir 

Ali Hajizadeh underlined 

Iran's crushing response 

to any enemy aggression, 

and warned that Tehran 

would target the NATO 

missile shield in Turkey 

if it comes under attack. 

"We have prepared oursi 

selves, if any threat is 

staged against Iran, we 

will target NATO's missi 

sile shield in Turkey and 

will then attack other 

targets," Brig. Gen. Haji 

jizadeh said, addressing a 

gathering of 10,000 Basij 

(volunteer forces) membi 

bers in the western town 

of Khorramabad in late 

November. 

However, there must 

more stories inside this 

new round of rivalry 

games between Iran and 

Turkey. As a clear indici 

cation, the rise of “Arab 

Spring” and the new Turki 

key’s policy toward the 

Syrian regime has played 

a major role in changing 

hearts of these once close 

friends. Indeed, Turkey 

and Iran, the Middle East's 

two major non-Arab Musli 

lim states, are vying for 

influence in the post-Arab 

Spring region and it was 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davvutoglu 

at the presidential office in Tehran on January 5, 2012. 

enough to show its serioi 

ousness when Iranian Supi 

preme Leader Ayatollah 

Ali Khamenei's military 

adviser accused Turkish 

Prime Minister Recep 

Tayyip Erdogan of setti 

ting its foreign policy to 

please Washington. It was 

in the early stages of the 

anti-government protests 

across Middle East and 

North African countries 

when the Iranian regime 

clearly was trying to porti 

tray a different view, and 

in fact a more suitable 

one, to its political ideoi 

ology across the Islamic 

world. In the beginning, it 

was viewed that the Arab 

uprisings had been mainli 

ly secular in nature. But 

Khamenei claimed they 

represented an "Islamic 

awakening" against dictati 

torial, Western-backed regi 

gimes, inspired by Iran's 

1979 Islamic Revolution. 

But it seems Tehran is fulli 

ly aware its own model of 

a purportedly democratic 

Islamic government has 

little appeal in the Arab 

world. 

Turkish pressure on 

Syria, Tehran's main ally 

in the Arab world, has angi 

gered the Iranian regime. 

Erdogan, with a vision of 

a moderate Islamic poli 

litical system, has taken a 

tough and proactive stand 

against Syrian President 

Bashar al-Assad's bruti 

tal response to the ninemonth 

Syrian uprising. 

The Turkish premier 

predicted recently that 

the Syrian leader will be 

ousted "sooner or later,” 

and is set to impose its 

own sanctions on Damasci 

cus. Turkey is also harbi 

boring Syrian opposition 

groups and army defecti 

tors. Clearly, Iran has a 

huge interest in the survi 

vival of Assad's regime. 

His removal could sever 

Iran's umbilical cord to 

Hezbollah, Tehran's coreli 

ligionist ally in Lebanon, 

which gives the Islamic 

republic a cherished presei 

ence on Israel's northern 

ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images 

border and enables Iran 

to project its power in 

the region. Making the 

situation worse was Turki 

key's decision to deploy 

the NATO missile early 

warning system, which 

has the potential to cause 

more difficulty to already 

troubled relations of these 

rival countries. 

Now with the new devi 

velopments in hand, and 

with the arrival of this 

new phase of post-sancti 

tions of the UN Security 

Council, the prospect of 

future diplomatic efforts 

are more uncertain then 

ever before but most impi 

portantly, the role of Turki 

key will become more 

crucial toward Iran’s 

nuclear crisis. At the momi 

ment, it seems also all 

options in responding to 

Iran's nuclear ambitions 

are wide open, and the 

further intensification of 

this problem will lead the 

entire region to the edge of 

a full-scale regional confi 

flict. Further complicating 

the crisiss, it is crucial to 

remember that Israel has 

long viewed Tehran as its 

greatest strategic threat 

because of Iran's nuclear 

program and its current 

president, who frequently 

has predicted the destructi 

tion of the Jewish state. 

Until now, both Israel and 

the U.S. have refused to 

rule out a military option 

to halt Iran's nuclear capi 

pabilities. At these histori 

ical moments, the policy 

makers are reviewing this 

crucial question: How 

will Turkey respond to 

any military strike against 

Iran? It was not long ago 

when, following the appi 

proval of more sanctions 

against Iran, the Turkish 

government announced its 

refusal to accept any militi 

tary action against Iran 

because it would create 

another Iraq and this time 

result in a wider regional 

war and bleak future for 

the entire region.

The Kurdish Globe 

No. 335, Saturday, January 07, 2012 15 

Erbil football club in crisis 

Financial and coaching problems threaten club 

After failing to keep 

its title in the Iraqi 

football league and 

showing poor 

performances in 

several matches in 

this year's games, 

Erbil FC announced 

the resignation of 

head coach, Ayoub 

Odisho. The club said 

the coach was the 

main reason behind 

the results. 

The club’s officials were 

reported to have been uni 

impressed with the trainer 

and poor performances in 

recent weeks. As a result, 

Odisho decided to resign 

and club officials accepted 

his resignation. 

"Odisho resigned beci 

cause he felt he was incapi 

pable of leading the team 

successfully anymore and 

the team's results under 

his supervision were going 

to worsen," said Mahmud 

Aziz, Erbil club secretary. 

Under Odisho's manai 

agement, Erbil played six 

matches. It won three of 

the matches and the other 

three were draws. 

Asked if Erbil’s board 

members forced Odisho to 

resign, Aziz said, "I don't 

want to hide that Erbil club 

officials wanted him to 

quit, but nobody put pressi 

sure on him to resign from 

his post; he decided to quit 

by himself." 

Another problem Erbil 

FC has been suffering from 

since the beginning of this 

season is insufficient budgi 

Erbil FC endures a training session at Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil. 

get for player salaries and 

new signings. 

"Our club is in a big fini 

nancial crisis. During this 

season we haven't received 

any funds from the regionai 

al government so far. We 

are only using the budget 

the government allotted 

for all the sports clubs in 

Kurdistan," Aziz noted. 

In previous years, Erbil 

FC was paid a better attenti 

tion by high-ranking offici 

cials from the government. 

During the time of Nechirvi 

van Barzani, former prime 

minister, the club had an 

open budget. 

"For this year's activiti 

ties, we have requested 3 

billion Iraqi dinars from 

the government, but we 

haven't heard anything yet. 

If things go on this way, 

I don't think the club will 

compile good records in 

Iraqi premier league and 

the Asian Football Confedei 

eration Cup," Aziz said. 

Although people in Kurdi 

istan think Erbil is still 

well-funded, as the club 

still tries to sign top playei 

ers, Aziz said the club borri 

rows money from wealthy 

fans. 

According to Aziz the 

club received 3 billion ID 

from the government last 

year, but it had to spend 

most of it to repay previoi 

ous loans. 

"The clubs can be run 

successfully only when 

there is a good amount of 

money. A club like Erbil 

spends a lot of money on 

trip expenses since it parti 

ticipates in AFC Cup," expi 

plained Aziz, who hopes 

the government will be 

more responsive to the 

club’s financial needs. 

What worsened Erbil's 

finances were player conti 

tract costs and monthly 

salaries. Player contracts 

cost 60-100 million ID anni 

nually and each footballer 

gets 1 million ID a month 

as salary. 

In Kurdistan, the governmi 

ment generally provides 

better financial support 

for clubs that participate 

in Asian tournaments. Erbi 

bil claims it doesn’t get 

enough to cover expenses. 

Hoping to get back on 

track, Erbil FC is looking 

for a title-winning coach 

to replace Odisho. The 

club has said it is looking 

at Mukhtar Mukhtar and 

Emad Khankani. 

Muhktar is an Egyptian 

trainer, who coached Tibini 

FC in the Egyptian league 

last year. Syrian coach 

PRESS PHOTO 

Khankani has trained the 

Syrian Olympic team. In 

addition, according to Sami 

man Brifkani, Erbil club 

media manager, Erbil has 

also received a resume 

from a German coach. 

"We haven't decided yet 

as to who is going to be 

the coach of Erbil. We are 

in the process of studyi 

ing their capabilities. We 

know that the coaches are 

experienced but the one 

who has better skills and 

abilities will be appointed 

as the coach," Brifkani 

said 

Since Odisho left, Erbil 

has played matches against 

Shargat and Kahraba'a and 

won both of them, but with 

modest results. Omer Maji 

jeed, who was assistant 

coach under Odisho, is acti 

ing as interim head coach. 

Brifkani also said Erbi 

bil is thinking of signing 

the Iraqi national team 

midfielder Hawar Mulli 

lah Muhammad, whose 

contract with Iranian Zob 

Ahan FC, recently ended. 

Muhammad is now traini 

ing with Erbil and has deci 

cided to play for Erbil if he 

doesn't receive offers from 

abroad. 

‎Erbil, known as Yellow 

Castle, is a sports club 

founded in 1968 in the city 

of Erbil. It has won the 

Iraqi premier league three 

times. 

Zakaria Muhammed 

Erbil 

zakaria.kurdishglobe 

@gmail.com 

Duhok basketball starts season with a victory 

The new season of Iraqi baski 

ketball premier league started 

on Jan. 2, 2012, with several 

strong matches. Duhok, last 

year's champions, was able 

to please its fans in the New 

Year, defeating South Oil 

113-71. 

Duhok controlled the game 

from the beginning and kept 

up the pressure until the last 

minute. It finished the first 

period at 31-11. For the othei 

er three periods, South Oil 

played disappointingly while 

Duhok played with confidi 

dence and high morale. It 

ended the other periods with 

scores of 34-19, 25-18 and 

24-23. 

Most of the points were 

scored by the three star playei 

ers: Qutaiba Abdullah, Omer 

and Rezan Haji. Each played 

an outstanding game, contribui 

uting to the team's victory. 

One player who showed a 

strong performance in the 

match and had a huge influei 

ence upon his team's victory 

was Rezan Haji. After the 

match Haji said, "I am so 

happy to win the first match 

in the new league. I believe 

this is a good start and hope 

we will play in the same 

manner in the rest games of 

the league. We need to conti 

tinue training, as we have 

to prepare also for the West 

Asian Basketball Championsi 

ships." 

Duhok player Hikmat Abid 

said, "We didn’t face any diffi 

ficulties in the match but that 

doesn't mean we will win all 

the matches this easily. We 

are champions and if we want 

to remain as champions, we 

need to work hard." 

South Oil coach Aqeel Naji 

jim said, "It is normal to be 

defeated by a team like Duhok 

with this result. Most of the 

Duhok players are Iraqi nati 

tional team players and have 

more experience than my 

players do. We try to work on 

the weak points so we don’t 

repeat the same mistakes in 

coming matches." 

Unlike other Kurdish clubs 

in the past decade, Duhok has 

paid great attention to baski 

ketball. It has won the Iraqi 

league title three times. In 

2011, it was at the top of the 

league throughout the season 

and had 18 points after beati 

ing Karkh in the final game. 

PRESS PHOTO 

A view of Duhok VS South Oil match at the Iraqi basketball league run in Sports Educattion 

indoor hall in Duhok on Jan. 2, 2012 

PRESS PHOTO

Last page 

No. 335, Saturday, January 07, 2012 

M 

e 

m 

o 

i 

r 

s 

By Sazan M. Mandalawi 

In a drive from Iraqi Kurdistan 

into the Iranian side of 

Kurdistan—from Khanaqin 

to Kermanshah—Dad puts 

his hand around my shoulder 

and pulls me toward him. I 

sit comfortably with my head 

against his shoulders. It has 

been a while since I lay against 

dad’s shoulders. As I place my 

hand on top of his, I pause for a 

single second. My father’s hands 

represent the hands of many, if 

not all, Kurdish fathers. 

In their hands you can read the 

story of Kurdistan. 

Looking at Dad’s hands, it 

appears like a complicated map 

created by wrinkles and folds 

in the skin, rough marks, and 

tones of different colours. There 

are little faded wounds here and 

there. His hands are worn out, 

yet they are still softer than 

A father’s hand 

mine. Gently stroking them, I 

ask myself many questions. Not 

just questions of my own father, 

but of many Kurdish fathers. 

How many mountains have 

these hands climbed? How many 

tasbeehs have they carried? 

How many flags have they 

waved while holding sarchopy 

(leading the Kurdish dance)? I 

close my eyes, holding his hand, 

thinking how many snakes this 

hand has killed because there 

was no meat for food. How 

many wounded Peshmerga 

have they helped to heal? How 

many heart-breaking lines were 

written by those fingers holding 

We should 

feel guilt, 

sympathy 

and 

responsibility. 

a pen? I wonder to myself how 

many birds those hands have 

fed, and just how many wings 

they helped to heal. 

These are the same hands that 

carried us when we were young, 

that held our own hands so that 

we could learn to walk; it is these 

hands that guided our first steps 

and the same hands that treated 

our wounds when we fell, that 

took us to the doctors when we 

were ill and helped build, block 

by block, the house we live in 

today. It is these hands that have 

planted the trees our children 

will play under. 

Has it ever been that hands 

seem to speak words? Observing 

and feeling my father’s hands 

didn’t just speak words but told 

thousands of stories. Here we 

are today enjoying the result 

of the pain suffered by these 

hands. 

For a few seconds I was in doubt 

whether I should reach out for 

the hand cream in my bag and 

put some on my father’s hands. 

Can I give something in return 

to let these hands heal? Could 

Nivea really revitalize these 

hands and its tired and worn out 

cells? Could it bring back life 

and its youthful appearance? I 

am embarrassed and in doubt: 

Would he accept it if I offer a 

little Nivea on his weary hands, 

or will he laugh considering my 

action to be silly. 

All this aside, I feel guilty 

seeing my still fresh-looking 

hands holding his. Even a little 

child could tell that that his 

hands suffered and endured so 

mine could remain as they are. 

Maybe with age it is normal for 

hands to become wrinkly and 

shaky; maybe I am thinking too 

deeply. There are many maybes. 

However, there is something 

I am certain about despite 

all the doubts: Today as the 

younger Kurdish generation we 

should feel guilt, sympathy and 

responsibility—guilt for living 

the life that that our fathers, 

mothers and grandparents 

worked hard to obtain, sympathy 

to give something in return, and 

responsibility not to allow the 

tireless efforts of millions of 

those hands that helped create 

today to go wasted. 

Now the shaky, wrinkly hands 

under mine show signs of 

strength from years ago. They 

still yell out “you don’t know 

what I am willing to do for this 

nation.” They probably are still 

ready to sacrifice for the cause. 

After so much thought, I 

decided against Nivea; instead, 

I lifted Dad’s hand to give it a 

gentle kiss. It means I appreciate 

what you have done. But deep 

down I know there is much 

more I can do than just that.

KDP confirms government rotation - Kurdish Globe

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