Erbil: The host city of sports t ournaments - Kurdish Globe

From the Heart of Kurdistan Region 

The first and only English paper in Erbil - No: 276 October 09, 2010 

GLOBE PHOTO/Safin Hamed 

Erbil: The 

host city 

of sports 

t ournaments 

P 15 

Displayed are medals for Arab Weightlifting Championship winners in Erbil on October 5. 

The KRG capital 

city proudly shows 

the region what it’s 

capable of 

Business P 9 

First Kurdistan- 

Korean Business 

Forum meeting 

National P 3 

KRG 

representative 

office opens 

in Rome 

opened a KRG representative office in 

Rome on October 6 in an official cere 

emony attended by high-ranking Italian 

officials. 

In his speech, Barzani hoped the openie 

ing could build a bridge to tighter relate 

tions between the Region and Italy. 

Barzani, also President of the Kurdiste 

tan Democratic Party, arrived in Rome 

to participate in a general meeting of the 

Alliance of Democrats held in Rome on 

October 2. There, he also met with top 

Italian officials to discuss relations and 

current political situations in Iraq. “I am 

pleased to see that Italy is very interested 

and willing to support Iraq and Kurdistan 

Region in particular,” stated President 

Barzani, following a meeting with Italy’s 

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. The 

Italian Minister also described the meetie 

ing as “very constructive,” and praised 

the stable security situation of Kurdistan 

Region.

The Kurdish Globe No. 276, Saturday, October 09, 2010 2 

Breaking up or democratic pluralism 

Globe Editorial 

Following the inconclusive rese 

sults of Iraqi general election 

in March this year, the formate 

tion of a new government is in 

tatters in Iraq. The struggle for 

power and patronage within 

Iraqi political actors, regional 

interferences in Iraqi politics, 

and the U.S. position within all 

these are some of the main facte 

tors in this delay. The deadlock 

of a government formation, 

however, seems to be coming to 

an end as the National Alliance, 

a combination of various Shiite 

groups, decided to nominate 

current Prime Minister Nuri al- 

Maliki for the premier post. 

Since the official announceme 

ment of election results, Shiite 

groups failed to agree on a singe 

gle candidate for the premier 

post, and torturous, prolonged 

negotiations and bargaining 

within over the issue of who is 

going to get the top position bece 

came one of the main obstacles 

in the way toward forming the 

new government. 

Resolution amongst the Shiie 

ites on Maliki has removed this 

obstacle, but it is not the end 

of the game. Maliki still has to 

make serious decisions before 

he can assure his position and 

form a new Iraqi government. 

One of the most serious and 

fundamental decisions includes 

the role and place of the Kurds 

in the new government. 

An influential Kurdish leade 

er, Nechirvan Barzani, former 

KRG premier and now Kurdiste 

tan Democratic Party’s vice 

president announced his pleasue 

ure of Maliki’s candidacy. The 

Kurdish support for Maliki is 

essential as the Shiite coalition 

cannot alone secure the majorie 

ity seats at the Iraqi Parliament 

to form the government. For 

Maliki to get the support of the 

Kurdistan Alliance, he has to 

accept the proposals presented 

by the alliance as a prerequisite 

to join or participate in a new 

government formation. 

Maliki had already met Kurdie 

ish President Massoud Barze 

zani and other leading Kurdie 

ish political actors to conceive 

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gestures as he speaks during a joint press conference with Massud Barzani (unseen), 

president of Kurdistan Region, in the northern city of Erbil on August 08, 2010. 

their support and coalition. 

Throughout his meetings with 

the Kurds, Maliki seemed to 

accept Kurdish demands. But 

this is not clear or easy. 

Maliki could also opt to get the 

support of the Sunnis or the al- 

Iraqiya list led by former Prime 

Minister Iyad Allawi. Though 

Allawi himself is a Shiite, the 

list that he leads is a conglome 

eration of Sunni groups in Iraq. 

Most groups within Iraqiya list 

are accused by many Kurds of 

being Baathists and chauvinie 

ists, such as Mosul Governor 

Athel al-Nujaifi. 

Despite the fact that al-Iraqiya 

representatives announced that 

they will not join in any potente 

tial government led by Maliki, 

there were some reports that 

indicate negotiations between 

Maliki’s State of Law and offe 

ficials of al-Iraqiya discussie 

ing a possible deal to form a 

new government. According 

to a “Washington Post” repe 

port last Monday, Allawi had 

a phone call with the leader of 

the Sadrist movement, Muqtade 

der Sadr, who is living in Iran, 

in which he reiterated that his 

support for Maliki was condite 

tional on including Allawi as a 

key player. «Muqtadar said he 

won>t keep the alliance with 

Maliki unless Dr. Allawi is the 

president with more authorite 

ties,>> the report quoted from 

an anonymous Iraqiya official. 

Such a possible deal between 

Maliki and Allawi without a 

doubt will sideline the Kurds. A 

Shiite and Sunni alliance could 

not only strip the Kurds from 

the presidency post, but more 

crucial than that the Kurdish 

demands, including the impleme 

mentation of the Iraqi Constite 

tution, the position of Kurdish 

Peshmerga forces, the oil deals, 

and power sharing will also be 

jeopardized. Sunni groups are 

vehemently against Kurdish 

demands. A possible deal bete 

tween Maliki and Allawi would 

be a serious and dangerous deve 

velopment for the Kurds. 

In such eventuality, the only 

path that would remain for the 

Kurds is to go their own way; 

in other words: secession from 

Iraq. Kurdistan Region is ready 

in terms of its institutions, culte 

ture, manpower, and social, pole 

litical, and economic structure 

to establish its own independe 

ent statehood. 

However, for the Kurds to reme 

main as part of Iraq and within 

the Iraqi political establishment, 

Iraqi political actors should reae 

alize the genuine national rights 

of the Kurdish nation. Rather 

than pursue exclusive Arab 

nationalism, the Iraqi actors 

should pursue multi-cultural, 

multi-national, democratic, and 

inclusive policies to keep Iraq 

integrated and united. 

Sidelining the Kurds and their 

demands will tear Iraq apart. At 

the same time, lack of Sunni 

participation in the new Iraqi 

government would also cause 

serious problems and destabile 

lize Iraq. A broad, countrywide 

coalition includes all the main 

components of Iraq; however, 

this is a very difficult task. 

The demands of each of them 

are irreconcilable. For exampe 

ple, most Sunni groups--as the 

practice of Mosul Governor 

al-Nujaifi and his Hadba List 

indicate--are against the impe 

plementation of certain articles 

of the Constitution and federal 

structure of Iraq. Without fede 

eralism and implementation of 

the Iraqi Constitution, there is 

no way the Kurds can be part of 

government or remain as part of 

Iraq as a whole. It is high time 

SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images 

for Sunnis to give up on their 

exclusive Arab nationalism and 

adapt to the new realities and 

conditions of Iraq in the 21st 

century. 

Hypothetically, the Sunnis 

could play an effective role 

of opposition in Parliament to 

check the government action 

and policies and bring them 

into accountability. Any proper 

functioning democratic system 

needs proper and strong oppose 

sition. 

Arab nationalism and centralie 

ism brought Iraq during the 

20th century nothing but disaste 

ter and chaos. A chance must be 

given to democracy and pluralie 

ism to get Iraq out of its current 

state of affairs and into a peacefe 

ful and democratic country. 

Some of Iraq’s neighbors and 

the U.S. fear that a Maliki-led 

government with the support of 

the Sadr movement may lean 

toward Iran and intensify Iran’s 

influence in Baghdad. Probably 

because of this fear alone, they 

wish to see Allawi and Sunnis 

participating in the government 

formation and rebuke Iran’s infe 

fluence in Baghdad. 

A potential Shiite and Kurdie 

ish coalition government with 

the application of Kurdish deme 

mands would be a better and 

more effective way to curb 

Iran’s influence in the country. 

A more democratic, plural, and 

federal Iraq means less influe 

ence by Iran or other regional 

powers in the country. 

After almost seven months 

following the general election, 

Iraq is still in search of forming 

a new government. There are 

still serious challenges ahead. 

With complete U.S. troop withde 

drawal on its way, Iraq remains 

a fragile country on the brink 

of disintegration. Two solute 

tions can remedy this fragility: 

either breaking up the country 

into three, or establishing a 

democratic and plural political 

system. The political mindset 

of most of the Iraqi political acte 

tors unfortunately indicates the 

former option is more likely 

than the latter. 

Azad Amin 

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KRP PHOTO 


KRG representative office 

opens in Rome 

Kurdistan sends 116 

students abroad 

Iraqi Kurdistan Region 

has allocated US$100 mille 

lion every year with the 

aim of sending students to 

study in other countries. 

On Wednesday, October 

6, government officials 

held the first ceremony to 

send 116 students abroad 

as a first stage. The proje 

ect is part of the Kurdistan 

Region Parliament and 

Council of Ministries proje 

ect entitled “Empowering 

Youths.” Students mainly 

will be sent to universities 

in Europe, the U.S., and 

Australia. 

In the ceremony, Kurdie 

istan Region Prime Minie 

ister Dr. Barham Salih 

requested that European 

countries, the U.S., and 

neighboring countries help 

Kurdistan Region students 

get visas and entry into 

their universities. 

Dr. Salih added that in 

the coming weeks the 

representatives of many 

of the world’s universite 

ties will visit Kurdistan 

to better understand the 

“Empowering Youths” 

project. The Kurdish gove 

ernment has a plan to send 

1,200 students every year 

abroad in order to study in 

well-known universities, 

and after their graduation 

the students will return to 

Kurdistan Region to serve 

their country. 

Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani delivers a speech while opening the KRG representative office in Rome. 

Kurdistan Region Preside 

dent Massoud Barzani 

opened a KRG represente 

tative office in Rome on 

October 6 in an official 

ceremony attended by 

high-ranking Italian office 

cials. 

In his speech, Barzani 

hoped the opening could 

build a bridge to tighter 

relations between the Rege 

gion and Italy. 

Barzani, also President 

of the Kurdistan Democe 

cratic Party, arrived in 

Rome to participate in a 

general meeting of the Alle 

liance of Democrats held 

in Rome on October 2. 

There, he also met with 

top Italian officials to disce 

cuss relations and current 

political situations in Iraq. 

“I am pleased to see that 

Italy is very interested and 

willing to support Iraq and 

Kurdistan Region in parte 

ticular,” stated President 

Barzani, following a meetie 

ing with Italy’s Foreign 

Minister Franco Frattini. 

The Italian Minister also 

described the meeting as 

“very constructive,” and 

praised the stable security 

situation of Kurdistan Rege 

gion. 

Frattini announced atte 

tempts by his government 

to open a consulate in 

Erbil as soon as possible. 

His government “will conte 

tinue to encourage Italian 

companies and businesses 

to seek investment opporte 

tunities in Kurdistan Rege 

gion, and the opening of 

a consulate in Kurdistan 

will greatly facilitate this,” 

he stated. “I reassured him 

[President Barzani] that 

Italy will continue to suppe 

port Iraq and Kurdistan 

Region in their efforts to 

rebuild their country,” 

said Frattini, adding that 

Italy will also continue to 

help rebuild the Iraqi sece 

curity forces, especially in 

training 

Asked about security 

risks for foreign compane 

nies in Kurdistan Region, 

Minister Frattini said that 

security is very good in 

Kurdistan and there is no 

comparison with the rest 

of Iraq, thereby reassuring 

Italian companies. 

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Dr. Barham Salih 

KRG.ORG PHOTO 

Kurds fume over census delay 

Population count to be held on December 5 instead of late October 

Iraq’s general 

census has been 

postponed until 

December 5 due to 

Arab and Turkmen 

party demands, an 

official declared. 

Kurds expressed 

worry on the 

delay of the proccess, 

which was 

expected on Octobber 

24. 

A delay of the October 

24 census appears to be 

a political decision and 

apparently has nothie 

ing to do with technical 

problems as has been 

announced, according to 

several Kurdish political 

experts. The KRG plans 

to discuss the challenges 

of the delay and will dele 

liver its stance over the 

issue soon, stated Sirwan 

Muhammad, head of the 

Kurdistan Region Adminie 

istration Census Board. 

In a meeting in Erbil last 

week, officials revealed 

that KRG census officials 

discussed challenges 

facing the process with 

the Iraqi Central Census 

Board delegation. 

According to Muhamme 

mad, the meeting highle 

lighted interferences 

made by Mosul Governe 

nor Athel al-Nujeifi in 

the census process. “It 

was concluded that the 

demands of some Arabs 

and Turkmen in Mosul 

and Kirkuk delayed the 

census in the country. 

The meeting helped dece 

cide to have more bilate 

eral understandings with 

the Iraqi Central Census 

Board so that the census 

can be held at the precise 

time.” 

This is the second time 

the census has been postpe 

poned since last year; the 

Iraqi government decided 

to delay the census for one 

complete year because of 

security issues. Kurds 

feel cheated in regards of 

the census, which conseqe 

quently affects budget alle 

locations and distribution 

of parliamentary seats. 

“Delaying the census is 

due to political purposes, 

and we, as Kurds, will 

have our own stance. For 

a long time now, no cense 

sus has been conducted 

in Iraq, and it is seriously 

affecting many aspects 

in the country, like electe 

tions,” said Hazha Suleime 

man, a member of Kurdie 

istan Parliament. “A big 

change has happened 

to the Iraqi population 

over the past few years, 

and it means a census is 

an urgent need. In previoe 

ous Iraqi elections, there 

was inconsistency in the 

population of Iraqi and 

Kurdistan provinces that 

was really doubtful.” 

The census can reveal 

facts about ethnicity that 

will influence disputed 

areas in Kirkuk, Ninewa, 

and other provinces, acce 

cording to Abdulzahra 

Al-Hindawi, the spokesme 

man of the Central Cense 

sus Board. 

Arif Taifur, a highranking 

Kurdish official, 

described the parties deme 

manded the postponement 

as “chauvinists.” “They 

want to hamper all type 

of progression in Iraq,” 

he said, warning that the 

delay leaves a “negative 

impact” on future relate 

tions between Erbil and 

Baghdad. He accused the 

Iraqi government of viole 

lating the Constitution in 

reply to party demands. 

Nujeifi welcomed the 

decision to delay by the 

Minister of Planning, and 

described it as a “positive 

step.” “We have asked 

for a specific time to dele 

lay the census. The time 

during which the census 

is delayed is enough for 

us to fulfill our demands. 

We can collect all the infe 

formation about the area 

during this time.” 

Kurdish officials in 

Ninewa province critice 

cized the Mosul governor 

for demanding the delay. 

“The census has nothing 

to do with politics; rather, 

it relates to services and 

planning for the provie 

ince. Holding the census 

is a civilized phenome 

enon, and it aims to serve 

residents of the province. 

Unfortunately, there are 

some voices in Kirkuk 

and Mosul that demand 

the delay because they are 

afraid of the fact denied 

by the former regime. 

For example, the former 

regime registered Kurdie 

ish tribes in the province 

as Arabs; even Yezidis 

were registered as Arabs 

at that time while they are 

Kurds with different rele 

ligious faiths. Also, Shabe 

baks and Christians were 

registered as Arabs in the 

census held during the 

time of previous regime,” 

said Khasro Goran, head 

of the Kurdish Ninewa 

Brotherhood. 

Goran underlined the 

Kurdish stance over the 

delay. “We are against 

delaying the census and 

we want it to be held tode 

day rather than tomorre 

row. This is a wrong 

decision, and the Iraqi 

government that spent 

millions of Iraqi dinars to 

hold the census on time 

should decree a serious 

decision.” It is unreasonae 

able that the provincial 

council, not the central 

government, decrees the 

decision over delaying 

the census, according 

to Goran. “Delaying the 

census for two months is 

not a big deal, but what 

makes us question all the 

decisions and acts of the 

Baghdad government in 

the future is that it folle 

lowed the demands of 

chauvinists,” said Taifur. 

“This point forces Kurds 

not to believe in any kind 

of government that will 

be formed in the future.”


REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen 

Al-Maliki agrees to most 

of the Kurds’ demands 

Kurds and al-Maliki nearing closer to 

Seven months after 

Iraq’s Presidential Electtions 

were held, political 

blocs take a small step 

toward forming a stable, 

functioning government. 

Chances have increased for curre 

rent Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri 

al-Maliki to remain in the prime 

minister post for a second time 

after Shiite groups joined his 

State of Law alliance and nege 

gotiations stepped forward with 

the Kurds. But further deals 

with other political blocs are yet 

needed to form a government. 

Al-Maliki officially answered 

the Coalition of Kurdistan 

Blocs’ (CKB) letter offered to 

the Iraqi winning lists about 19 

points of Kurdish demands as a 

deal for taking part in the next 

government. He agreed on most 

of the letter’s items proposed 

by Kurdistan Region President 

Massoud Barzani, announced 

Fuad Masum, CKB member, 

saying that they received al-Male 

liki’s answer in an official letter. 

The item that al-Maliki has note 

on is a Kurdish condition for 

resolving the government once 

Kurdish parties decide to withde 

draw from it. Al-Maliki asked 

that this item be rephrased. 

“The State of Law was the 

first to respond to the demands 

among all other blocs,” said Mase 

sum , noting that the CKB will 

government formation 

Members of Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and the State of Law (SOL) coalition hold a meeting in Baghdad October 1, 

2010. 

hold meetings with other politice 

cal blocs, including al-Iraqiya 

list, to discuss the Kurdish issue 

in the country and accelerate the 

formation of the government. 

"Al-Maliki’s position on the 

Kurdish demands is positive and 

considered closest to the Kurdie 

ish people's rights, despite disae 

agreeing on some of the items.” 

Also concerning attempts at 

government formation, al-Male 

liki called on al-Iraqiya List--led 

by former Prime Minister Iyad 

Allawi--to connect its discusse 

sions and submit its notes for the 

previous phase, pointing out that 

the National Coalition and the 

State of Law were able to form 

a coalition and al-Iraqiya should 

negotiate on return. 

The National Coalition is a 

combination of al-Maliki’s 

State of Law list and the Iraqi 

National Alliance led by Amme 

mar al-Hakeem. This combinate 

tion, which involves the Shiite 

parties, recently decided in a 

meeting on al-Maliki as their 

candidate to form the governme 

ment. But al-Hakeem’s Islamic 

Supreme Council of Iraq Party 

and al-Fadhila Party refused 

to attend the meeting, expressie 

ing their refusal of al-Maliki as 

their candidate. Thus, al-Maliki 

and Allawi still are competing 

on guaranteeing enough Parliame 

ment votes for their nomination 

as prime minister. 

In a press conference after his 

visit to the headquarters of the 

Fadhila Party in Baghdad, al- 

Maliki reported: “If al-Iraqiya 

list were able to form the large 

est bloc, we would have joined 

it," adding that "al-Iraqiya list 

should submit its observations 

to be discussed." 

According to al-Maliki, "Not 

all the demands of al-Iraqiya list 

should be implemented, as well 

as the other blocs, because most 

of the demands contradict one 

another. Al-Iraqiya comments 

regarding the right of the Nate 

tional Alliance to form the gove 

ernment are inconsistent with 

the Constitution and the Federal 

Court's discourse. Our meeting 

with the Fadhila Party shows the 

depth of our relationship and the 

confirmation that they constitute 

important partners in the next 

government." 

For his part, the general secrete 

tary of the Fadhila Party, Hashe 

em al-Hashemi, stated at the 

press conference that his party 

“adheres to form a government 

of national partnership and not 

a government of Sunnis, Shiie 

ites, and Kurds," adding that his 

party was “committed to the pose 

sition of the coalition to estable 

lish a national partnership that 

embraces all the winning blocs 

of the elections." 

Iraq held parliamentary electe 

tions on March 7, and winning 

parties continue to struggle with 

who should become the prime 

minister. 

“Not to throw 

garbage is an act 

of nationalism” 

Kurdish youths define “new” 

Showing respect to 

one’s country and 

people is taking shape 

to become part of the 

“new” nationalism, 

according to 

Kurdistan’s youths. 

nationalism 

Hemin Muhammad is a young 

Kurdish boy from the town of 

Halabja. He was not yet born 

when Iraqi airplanes poured 

chemical gas on his city in 

spring 1988. His grandmother 

was one of the 5,000 innocent 

victims of the attacks. The 

chemical attacks, prefaced by 

the mass-murder of hundreds 

of thousands of Kurdish citize 

zens in the Anfal Campaign, 

was another link in a chain 

of ethnic cleansing conducted 

against Kurds in Iraqi Kurdiste 

tan. 

By taking a look back at the 

bitter memories of the past, 

Hemin came to a new and diffe 

ferent conclusion. “It is right 

that we were suppressed and 

oppressed. We lived a miserae 

able life, but we should put a 

full stop to it. It is time to live 

up to the global expectations 

of us,” he said. 

Hemin defines nationalism as 

“being respectful to the counte 

try and people.” “A few years 

ago, I had pure love for my 

country. But nowadays, this 

love needs to be accompanied 

by respect as well. We have to 

love the soil, but the dignity 

of the human beings is much 

more precious,” he explained. 

“I see many people who claim 

to love their country, but they 

don’t respect their country 

in practice. When someone 

throws garbage on the streets, 

he is dishonoring that love. So 

not to throw garbage is an act 

of nationalism.” 

Ahmadi Khani, a famous 

Kurdish poet from the 17th 

century, wrote in one of his 

poems: “Leave it to God’s wisde 

dom. The Kurds in this world’s 

state. Why are they deprived of 

their rights? The Turks and the 

Persians besiege them from 

four sides at once. And they 

both make the Kurdish people 

into a target for Fate’s arrow.” 

It appears that Kurdish youths 

don’t think like Khani. They 

don’t emphasize the ethnic 

background of nationalism. 

“Nationalism is to do what is 

upon you to your country and 

your people. By people I mean 

everyone, regardless of their 

ethnicity and religion,” said 

Bahman Abdulrahman, a unive 

versity student in his 20s. He 

stated that he didn’t have the 

same opinion in the past. He 

doesn’t hide his problematic 

relations with other ethnicities. 

“I had some negative encounte 

ters with other friends from 

other nationalities before, but 

I regret them now. I should 

have been more moderate. We 

have to keep emotions away 

and bring rationality more and 

more into the context.” 

Bilind Ali is another young 

Kurd from Kirkuk. His city 

is still a place for the ethnic 

conflicts between his people 

and other ethnicities. Kurds 

in Kirkuk suffered a lot at the 

hands of the previous regime. 

Bilind’s family was among the 

thousands of Kurdish families 

forced to leave the city “merely 

for being Kurd.” But Ali, who 

is now studying archaeology 

at Salahaddin University, bele 

lieves that ethnic nationalism 

is not the answer to the proble 

lems of his city. “The people 

who are representing these 

nationalist claims are not since 

cere in their causes, and they 

have other private interests,” 

he said. “Nationalism changes 

forms according to the change 

of time and place. The globe 

balization era needs a totally 

different form of nationalism 

from the one we have become 

accustomed to. We can be 

good nationalists by committe 

ting small acts of service to 

our country.” 

When asked whether they 

prefer an independent Kurdie 

istan with no democracy or 

a democratic Iraq, all three 

answered a democratic Iraq 

without hesitating. “In a demoe 

ocratic Iraq, the hope for an 

independent Kurdistan still exie 

ists, but in a country under dicte 

tatorship, there is nothing to be 

hoped for,” said Bahman. 

Dana Jaf 

Suleimaniya 

dananewzer@ 

hotmail.com


Car accidents increase in Kurdistan 

One million vehicles crowd Kurdistan’s roads 

As automobile imports 

from the U.S., South Kore 

rea, and other countries 

rise, cars clog the roads of 

Kurdistan Region, leaving 

little to no room for operate 

tor error. 

The population of Iraqi 

Kurdistan Region is about 

4 million, while there are 

almost 1 million vehicles 

in the region. Drivers say 

driving is not fun anymore 

as too many cars operated 

by poor drivers clog the 

streets. 

“When I drive it is like 

I am at war. I feel my car 

will be hit at any second,” 

said Kawa Hussein. I must 

be extremely careful and 

look in the mirrors all the 

time. Many people do not 

respect the rules and they 

don’t know how to drive,” 

said Hussein, an engineer 

working for a Turkish 

company in Erbil city. 

Hussein has a 2009 Nissan 

pickup and got his driver’s 

license two years ago. But 

since then, he noticed that 

he is stressed out and ange 

gry when he gets behind 

the wheel. 

The General Director of 

Kurdistan Region Traffic, 

Brig. Rizgar Ali, stated 

that in the past 10 months 

more than 400 people have 

been killed in car accide 

dents in Kurdistan Region, 

including in Kirkuk city, 

and about 5,000 have been 

A parking lot near the Erbil Citadel is depicted in this photo. 

injured. “In Suleimaniya 

province, 176 have been 

killed and 2,075 have been 

injured. In Erbil, 116 have 

been killed and 1,675 have 

been injured. In Kirkuk, 

62 have been killed and 

570 have been injured. Rege 

garding Duhok province, 

in the past 10 months 57 

have been killed and 565 

have been injured,” said 

Ali. In the past 10 months, 

140,555 people received 

driver’s licences, added 

the Brigadier. 

People have long compe 

plained of drunk drivers, 

and according to Erbil’s 

main emergency hospite 

tal, the number of car acce 

cidents due to alcohol is 

rising. Because of that, 

the General Directorate of 

Traffic issued a decision 

saying that “anyone caught 

driving under the influe 

ence of alcohol will either 

be arrested and jailed for 

three months to one year, 

or fined for 300,000 to 

500,000 dinars.” 

Meanwhile, cars continue 

ue to flow into Kurdistan 

Region. According to gove 

ernment officials, 11,220 

vehicles, mini-trucks, and 

trucks were imported into 

the Region from different 

Western and Asian counte 

GLOBE PHOTO/Qassim Khidhir 

tries through Haji Omare 

ran, an Iraq-Iran border 

crossing. “From January 1 

to July 1, 2010, there were 

11,220 vehicles imported 

into Kurdistan only from 

this border point,” said 

Salam Arab, manager of 

the Haji Omaran border 

gate. 

Arab said that the cars 

are made in the U.S., 

South Korea, Japan, and 

Germany. They were sent 

through Dubai to Iran as 

transit and then to Kurdie 

istan. Among the most 

prominent cars were the 

Japanese Nissan, Korean 

Kia, and American Ford. 

“The KRG gets tax from 

imported vehicles accordie 

ing to the model and cylie 

inder. They range from 

800,000 Iraqi dinars to 

1,000,800,” said Arab. 

Observers complain 

about importing these 

vehicles into Kurdistan. 

“The over-importation of 

vehicles has caused traffe 

fic jams. We do not have 

enough roads for all these 

vehicles,” said Mussa 

Muhammad, lecturer at 

Salahaddin University in 

Erbil. 

Qassim Khidhir 

Berlin 

qassim. 

kurdishglobe@gmail.com 

The identity of Iraqi cities in danger 

Lack of strategic 

planning, security, 

and income has put 

the identity of many 

Iraqi historical 

cities in danger. 

Before the 2003 invasion, 

Mosul city--some 400 

kilometers northwest of 

Baghdad--had different 

ethnicities, including Arae 

abs, Kurds, Turkmen, and 

Shabaks. It was a city of 

different religions, such as 

Muslims, Christians, and 

Yezidis. Now, the city’s 

identity has changed since 

many Christians, Yezidis, 

and Kurds were forced to 

leave due to threats and sece 

curity deterioration. Moreoe 

over, Mosul is very rich 

in Islamic, Christian, and 

Assyrian history. In Mose 

sul province are many old 

mosques, churches, Iraq’s 

first municipal building, 

and old shrines--includie 

ing a Jewish shrine and a 

Jewish school. Many need 

urgent care and revitalizate 

tion, but lack of security 

and income makes it diffe 

ficult. 

“Over the past four years, 

it has been very difficult 

for us to visit archaeole 

logical sites and other old 

places in Mosul province 

for research and study 

due to lack of security,” 

said Dr. Akram Muhamme 

mad, lecturer at College 

of Archaeology at Mosul 

University. “Fortunately, 

at this time security is impe 

proving slowly. But still 

there is no financial suppe 

port to conduct research 

about the old places in 

the province and renovate 

them,” Dr. Muhammad 

added. 

Dr. Muhammad is conce 

cerned about the identity 

of Mosul city, which is 

going to be permanently 

changed soon if authorite 

ties do not act seriously. 

He said that since 2003, 

hundreds of thousands 

of people from villages 

Archaeological treasures on cusp of disappearing in Mosul 

and towns in the province 

have settled in Mosul city; 

the majority of them have 

built illegal houses in the 

city and in the former milite 

tary bases that belonged to 

Saddam Hussein’s regime. 

“Now in Mosul city, there 

are a lot of slums; there is 

no clear master plan for 

the city,” Dr. Muhammad 

noted. 

Currently, Iraq faces a 

huge housing problem. 

The Iraqi Ministry of Rece 

construction and Housie 

ing stated that Iraq needs 

more than 2 million housie 

ing units, and the Ministry 

said it has talked with 300 

international companies to 

build those units. 

On October 3, Iraqi unive 

versities in Baghdad, Diye 

yala, Duhok, and Mosul, 

and the TU Dortmund Unive 

versity in Germany, held a 

three-day joint conference 

on planning in Duhok city. 

The conference dealt with 

sustainable revitalization 

of historic cities within a 

regional context. In Februae 

ary 2009, the German and 

Iraqi governments signed 

a memorandum of unde 

derstanding on university 

cooperation with the longterm 

goal of establishing a 

German-Iraqi university in 

Iraq. As a preparatory step, 

five German universities 

were commissioned to deve 

velop specific components 

for this future university. 

TU Dortmund University 

was tasked to design the 

planning education and 

research component. 

Professor Christa Reiche 

er from TU Dortmund said 

historic cities can only be 

successful within context. 

Professor Reicher pointed 

out that people are leaving 

the historic towns and citie 

ies to live in big cities, in 

particularly young people, 

for job opportunities. She 

complained about the way 

the historic Erbil citadel 

is being renovated. “The 

Kurdistan Regional Gove 

ernment shouldn’t have 

forced Citadel inhabitants 

to evacuate in order to renoe 

ovate; inhabitants should 

have stayed so that they 

could be involved in the 

renovation.” She added: 

“Strategic planning is cruce 

cial to sustain the historic 

cities--strategic planning 

not only for the building, 

but also for the people 

who are living in the histe 

toric cities.” 

The Erbil Citadel in Erbe 

bil city is now under renove 

vation by UNESCO. The 

estimated 8,000-year-old 

Citadel, located in the 

center of Erbil, claims 

to be the oldest continuoe 

ously inhabited city in the 

world. There are over 500 

residential buildings inside 

the Citadel, most of which 

are built around courtye 

yards and made of brick 

and short-span timber with 

mud roofing. Many buildie 

ings have opulent interior 

decoration with painted 

ornaments, colored glass 

windows, carved doors, 

arcades supported by timbe 

ber, and marble columns. 

Now the Citadel is «tempe 

porarily» listed on UNESCe 

CO’s World Heritage List. 

After the conference, 

participants will tour the 

Erbil Citadel and visit histe 

toric cities and towns in 

Duhok and Suleimaniya 

province. Chairman of the 

Higher Institute of Planne 

ning in Duhok Universe 

sity, Dr. Nazar Numan, 

described the conference 

as a great opportunity for 

Iraqi universities to hold a 

conference together with a 

German university in this 

difficult time for Iraq. He 

remarked that five students 

from Duhok University 

are now studying in TU 

Dortmund in Germany-- 

three of them are studying 

for their bachelor’s dege 

gree, and the other two are 

Ph.D. students studying 

urban planning. This is the 

first time Iraqi universities 

and a German university 

discuss urban planning. 

A similar conference is 

planned soon in Erbil city.


Rosary sales continue under cardboard shade 

Lean-to’s serve as cover 

for sellers of prayer beads 

With the 

temporary closure of 

Suleimaniya’s Great 

Mosque, rosary 

vendors take to the 

opposite side of the 

street to hawk their 

wares. 

After the demolition of the 

outside walls of the Great 

Mosque for renovation purpe 

poses, rosary sellers in Sule 

leimaniya have built small 

huts on the adjacent street 

curb near the mosque to 

keep their businesses goie 

ing. 

Normally the sellers stand 

near the main gate of the 

mosque holding rosaries or 

scattering them on a sheet 

on the sidewalk. But since 

the start of renovation, the 

mosque has been sealed off 

with corrugated-iron barrie 

ers, forcing rosary sellers to 

do their selling elsewhere. 

Centered in Suleimaniye 

ya’s city center, the Great 

Mosque--the oldest mosque 

in the city--welcomes thouse 

sands of visitors daily. 

Renovation is scheduled 

for completion in June 

2011, which is when the 

mosque is expected to reoe 

open. “We do not sell as 

much as we used to. Some 

of our customers were tourie 

ists visiting the shrines in 

the mosque,” said Karim 

Penjweni, 80, selling rosare 

ries under a small hut. 

Sharif Mahmud, 70, has 

been in the business for 

about eight years. His hut, 

he said, “does not protect 

me from hot or cold weathe 

er…neither does it protect 

me from dust on the street.” 

His hut was just a little 

more than a square meter 

long and a meter high, built 

of cardboard tightened to 

the street barrier on one 

side and the corrugated 

iron barriers behind him on 

the other side, covered with 

plastic sheeting. 

“Now people cannot wait 

too long to see what we have 

for sale. We were doing 

better when we were standie 

ing free, near the gate of the 

mosque,” added Mahmood. 

He explained that because 

of the location of the huts 

right on the street, where 

lots of cars and push-carts 

pass by, people don’t stand 

GLOBE PHOTO/Salam Abdulqadir 

An elderly rosary vendor relaxes in his workplace in downtown Suleimaniya. 

around and browse as long 

as they used to. 

“Sometimes cars park too 

close to us. We get their 

heat; it is so infuriating,” he 

noted. 

Penjweni complained 

about his space as well, 

saying he feels “uneasy” 

under his cardboard. He 

mentioned that business has 

declined since he moved 

his location. 

Mahmud mentioned that 

sometimes he sells no more 

than two rosaries a day. 

“The money I make from 

this is not enough to even 

buy my water.” Like many 

other people in the market, 

Mahmud buys bottled wate 

ter for drinking. 

Playing with rosary, or 

prayer beads, while speakie 

ing, sitting, or walking is 

common among Kurds. 

Even leaders are seen somete 

times in press conferences 

with prayer beads in their 

hands. Young people wear 

the beads on their necks for 

beauty. Mahmud said that 

women often visit, looking 

for nice rosaries. 

Originally, prayer beads 

were--and are still--used 

for counting prayers. Musle 

lims mention the name of 

God and praise him with a 

number of prayers, using 

beads instead of fingers to 

count them. A normal rosare 

ry has 101 beads. But there 

are longer and shorter ones. 

The number comes from an 

Islamic tradition that a singe 

gle prayer is to be repeated 

a hundred times. There are 

five main prayers, and thus 

a reciter finishes one prayer 

by completing a round. 

Rosaries range from 

US$2 to around US$100 

in Suleimaniya. The price 

is determined by the rarene 

ness, quality, and beauty 

of the beads. And they are 

homemade. “We buy rosare 

ries made in different areas 

in Kurdistan like Qaradagh, 

and then we sell them rete 

tail,” Penjweni said. Under 

his hut, Mahmud rested 

his back on a pile of little 

sacks, saying he is fine with 

business the way it is. “God 

will not let me down.” 

Salam 

Abdulqadir 

Suleimaniya 

salam.abdulrahm 

man@gmail.com 

GLOBE PHOTO/Duraid Salman 

Boys collect recyclables from garbage in a Baghdad neighborhood. 

Toxic reactions 

and other consumer 

health issues are 

results of household 

products made 

from Baghdad’s 

recycled garbage. 

Children and youths note 

ticeably move in between 

garbage piles in Baghdad 

city, picking up recyclable 

metals and plastics to sell 

to factories. With the help 

of his donkey and carriage 

loaded with bags filled 

with metal cans, Wisam 

Hassan, 21, sifts through 

several garbage places eve 

ery day. He holds a stick 

with which he turns over 

trash, seeking cans and 

anything made of copper, 

aluminum, or plastic. 

“I owe my faithful donke 

key. Without it I would be 

exhausted. And it never 

complains,” said Hassan, 

waving his hand to swat 

away mosquitoes. “This 

is the source of my living 

and I cannot find a better 

job” because of lack of job 

opportunities in the city 

and he knows no professe 

sion, said Hassan. 

But he can earn 15,000 

to 40,000 Iraqi dinars depe 

pending on the quantity 

of the collected metals. 

Many people have taken 

to doing this job. On the 

same garbage Hassan 

was searching, a boy of 

about 10 looked happy as 

Living on garbage 

Factories in Baghdad produce unhealthy 

materials recycled from trash 

he carted off a car radiate 

tor (part of which is coppe 

per) he found. “This looks 

heavy. It sells well and is 

copper,” shouted the boy. 

Thanks to the garbage 

seekers, recycling has also 

been revived. Factories 

locally known as Kurat 

receive recyclable trash 

to dissolve and turn into 

plastic bags, pots, among 

other things. But the proce 

cess of collecting, dissolvie 

ing, and remaking continue 

uously circles away from 

sanitary observations. 

The products of the small 

factory, which depend on 

trash as raw material, are 

dangerous to consumer 

health, commented Dr. 

As’ad Sameer, from Baghde 

dad. The plastic products 

stink and the metal pots 

change color because 

of oxidation operations. 

Ahmed Muhan, a chemiste 

try expert, warns that such 

products either must pass 

through necessary tests for 

quality control or they will 

cause toxicities. “Recyce 

cling metal never should 

be done in a random ope 

eration. Many of such 

products have the ability 

to interact with foods that 

are acidic…then they will 

become like time bombs 

in consumers’ stomachs,” 

Muhan explained. Plastic 

bags made out of recycled 

plastic are easy examples 

to test, he added. For exae 

ample, by putting hot 

bread in such a bag, it can 

cause melting of the nylon 

and toxic materials are 

then emitted. 

But owners of the recyce 

cling factories defy the 

warning and defend their 

products as clean. Sales 

are good and complaints 

are few, they say. They 

also deny using trash as 

raw material. Qais Faisal 

owns a factory that makes 

plastic and aluminum 

products in Baghdad. 

They import raw material 

and aluminum plates for 

their factory and somete 

times mix them with rece 

cycled materials so as to 

sell them cheaper. The 

local products are “excelle 

lent and better quality than 

the imported ones,” said 

Muneer Qassim, praising 

his own factory. 

Salman Haitham has his 

doubts, however. “Where 

does all the material 

picked up from the trash 

go to?” he asked, questionie 

ing the supposed healthy 

conditions of local produe 

ucts. Based on a doctor’s 

advice, Haitham recently 

decided to change all the 

pots in his house after 

one of his children tested 

positive for toxins. He expe 

plained that the pots in his 

house had turned black. 

Duraid Salman 

Baghdad 

duraedabrahem 

@yahoo.com


Resort Review 

Akre-- 

ancient town of Zarathustra 

“Green belt” to aid Erbil’s 

natural barriers to sand storms 

Detailed plan suitable for indigenous trees and 

animals as well as humans 

A diagram by the KRG Ministry of Municipality and Tourism depicts Erbil’s “Green Belt” project 

Houses built one next to the 

other like stairs make Akre-- 

located among mountains 120 

kilometers north of Erbil city 

and 175 east of Duhok—the 

special place it is. Numerous 

orchards and historical sites 

create an incredibly attracte 

tive resort out of this town. 

Historically, Akre--2,500 

years old--has been the center 

of Zarathustrian followers. 

The name Akre is derived 

from Agir, which was the 

name a Zarathustrian temple. 

Agir literary means “fire” in 

Kurdish. 

Several temples of that old 

religion still stand as well as 

many other ancient sites, such 

as Qala (a castle), Kavn, Qala 

Akre, Qala Shush, the Zarate 

thustra temple, and the Buka 

Jwa statue. But most importe 

tant among them is Akre, 

a castle located on top of a 

mountain that is 450 meters 

higher than the current town. 

The castle was constructed 

by Meer Zand in 580 B.C. 

(Meer is a Kurdish title for 

governor.) The castle consists 

of several big rooms; the uppe 

per part is the Meer’s house, 

the lower room is storage. 

Around a big plain stone is 

the meeting room. There is a 

jail, and above its door is the 

sculpture of an eagle’s head. 

Eleven wells used to irrigate 

the castle still can be seen. 

Many resorts are inside and 

outside of the town, including 

Sipa, Razi Meere (the Meer’s 

orchard), the Bjel waterfall, 

Gali Zanta, Gribish, Gweze, 

and Bakirman. A tourist canne 

not visit all the sites in one 

day. The Sipa of Akre is the 

most famous. The resort is 

also called Tavgay (the water 

of) Akre, and is located half 

a kilometer east of the town. 

It consists of a green area of 

dense trees; in its middle, a 

stream of water falls from 30 

meters high. A pool is built 

around this, with ample tree 

shade. The resort is wide 

enough to cater to around 500 

tourists, as services projects 

are provided. The road from 

the town is asphalted, and cafe 

fes, restaurants, and restrooms 

are built in several spots. Seve 

eral mineral springs in Akre 

attract visitors who seek rele 

lief for skin diseases, yellow 

fever, and rheumatism. Kani 

(spring) Zartik, Kani Maime, 

and Kani Shekhman are exae 

amples of such springs. 

By Nadir Rosti 

nadr_rwsty@yahoo.com 

Pending government approval, a 

project to fill the “green lungs” 

of the city should improve the 

health and well-being of its reside 

dents. 

A general master plan to redese 

sign Erbil city with a so-called 

green belt awaits government 

approval, said one official. The 

project will improve environme 

mental standards and reduce sand 

storms as well as add beauty to 

the landscape. 

“This is one of the biggest proje 

ects and a grand overarching 

strategy for Erbil,” KRG Ministe 

ter of Municipality and Tourism 

Samir Abdullah said, describing 

the importance of the master 

plan. He announced that they 

will start executing the project as 

soon as the ministry receives appe 

proval from the KRG Council of 

Ministers. Then companies can 

apply their tenders. He didn’t say 

when government approval will 

come. 

The project aims at prevent furte 

ther urban sprawl, increase green 

lungs within the area of the city, 

preserve the biodiversity of and 

around the city, revitalize the agre 

riculture culture among Kurds, 

create a shelter belt from sand 

storms by planting forests, and 

create recreational activities. 

Regarding its first goal, Mr. 

Abdullah said: “The project will 

become a border for the further 

horizontal growth of Erbil and 

we can start thinking of vertical 

development.” He added that the 

green belt will define a balance 

for the agricultural lands of Erbe 

bil and the municipalities of the 

city. 

The master plan was studied 

and conducted by Khatib & Alae 

ami, a Lebanese company with 

ample experience in designing 

mater plans. The project has a 

circular shape, and is 75 kilomete 

ters in length and 2 kilometers in 

width, so an area of 150 kilomete 

ters square of greenness will ince 

crease in Erbil city. All of this is 

12 kilometers from downtown. 

The world standard for greenne 

ness of cities should be 30 perce 

cent. But all of Kurdistan’s cities 

and towns lag behind. “Greenne 

ness in Erbil is 8-9 percent, but 

with the implementation of this 

project it will increase to 48 

percent,” said Abdullah. Such a 

change will have great impact 

in the change of temperature and 

provide suitable places for famie 

ily picnics, he added. 

The project is divided into diffe 

ferent units. According to the 

master plan, there will be sports 

fields, especially for golf, a mode 

ern zoo, horseback riding, picnic 

areas, pedestrian and bicycle 

lanes, and farming. 

The master plan has a highly dete 

tailed morphology for trees and 

animals that are suitable for the 

region’s environment. Abdullah 

noted: “The master plan is in its 

final phase and soon will be open 

for companies to compete for it 

through investment. The contract 

is that the master plan should be 

completely implemented, and for 

sure its implementation is goie 

ing to be by levels.” He refused 

to say what the exact cost of the 

project will be, leaving that up to 

investors. 

“In all of Kurdistan Region 

there is now work being done to 

increase the greenness. But the 

reason we chose Erbil to impleme 

ment the first green belt is bece 

cause its topography is suitable 

to build such a green belt for the 

city; because Erbil’s topography 

is a plateau while that of Suleime 

maniya and Duhok is mountainoe 

ous. Hopefully we are going to 

build in the other cities as well, 

especially Kirkuk, whose topogre 

raphy is somehow similar to that 

of Erbil.” 

Global warming has forced peope 

ple to be careful with how they 

use water. Meanwhile, manmade 

projects like the green belt reqe 

quire lots of water. But Abdullah 

refuted concerns that the project 

will dry the Greater Zab passing 

halfway around Erbil city. “The 

project’s water sources are rainwe 

water and underground water of 

non-deep layers so that it won’t 

affect the clean underground wate 

ter--that water is never stored; 

rather, it falls back into the rive 

ers and is recycled. Nevertheless, 

for recycled water we will have 

to wait until the completion of 

Erbil’s sewage project.” 

Current farming production in 

Kurdistan Region is 90 percent 

composed of wheat. But after the 

implementation of the green belt, 

wheat production in Erbil will 

decrease to 60 percent, and the 

rest 25 percent vegetables and 15 

percent orchards, respectively. In 

addition, plant nursery and fish 

farms are also designed to be ince 

cluded. Projects of this kind are 

also built in Milan, Italy; Rennes, 

France; Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; 

and a few other cities. All of them 

seek to preserve the biodiversity 

of the area, create recreational are 

eas, and increase agriculture. 

Ari Mamshae 

Erbil 

mamshae.kurdishgm 

globe@gmail.com


Donkeys’ utopia to be established in Kurdistan 

Association forms to defend donkeys’ rights and educate people 

GLOBE PHOTO/Ako Muhammed 

Omer Klol, leader of the Kurdistan Donkeys Association, observes the crowds passing through the main street of Kalar’s central market. 

Saving donkeys and 

ensuring they are 

treated in a humane 

manner becomes 

the main task of the 

Kurdistan Donkeys 

Association. 

Donkeys in Kurdistan 

await government appe 

proval of financial support 

to help establish a shelter 

project for all donkeys—a 

project that will ensure 

their survival--said leader 

of the Donkeys Party, 

Omer Klol. 

“The best time is when I 

speak to people and they 

understand me without 

hurting my feelings,” said 

Klol, founder of the socalled 

Donkeys Party, who 

spoke about problems donke 

keys suffer in Kurdistan. 

“People don’t understand 

because they have learned 

wrong about donkeys. Bece 

cause a donkey is unfortune 

nate and obedient, people 

have no respect for it. But 

I say the donkey is clever 

and better than a human 

being. It has descriptions 

that do not exist in man.” 

For over 20 years, Klol 

has struggled to spread the 

principle attributes of donke 

keys: patience, obedience, 

satisfaction, and a “work 

without reward” attitude. 

Thanks to his efforts, his 

goal is partially achieved- 

-but only in the benefit of 

one type of donkey—the 

mankind members. He 

was granted with a license 

by the KRG to officially 

establish the Kurdistan 

Donkeys Association in 

2005. The association 

strives to bring back rese 

spect for donkeys when 

they are used for work; it 

seeks the rights of feeding, 

shoeing, and rest. But, the 

right of freedom for donke 

keys has a different meanie 

ing, according to Klol. 

“Setting a donkey or anime 

mal at large does not mean 

you have given it freede 

dom; it means you made 

it homeless, down and 

out, and exposed to being 

mocked by the people. 

Donkeys do not deme 

mand that type of 

freedom. It is free 

when it used for 

work. It starts 

braying from 

early mornie 

ing, asking 

for work.” 

Klol este 

t i m a t e s 

to have 

a b o u t 

1 0 , 0 0 0 

members 

of his asse 

sociation 

across Iraq, 

but mostly 

in the areas 

of his influe 

ence, including 

in the Suleimaniya 

and Garmiyan are 

eas. The association curre 

rently distributes forms 

to its members to fill out 

so as to specify who is 

taking the issue as a joke 

and who is serious about 

defending the donkeys’ 

rights. Each member can 

submit a photo and basic 

information in order to 

have party identity. The 

members call each spece 

cial titles such as big 

brother or big sister. 

By the number of 

legs, they describe 

the type of donkeys 

(four-legged as in 

the animal, or twolegged 

as in membe 

bers of the party). 

Sometimes, Klol 

reports to the media 

about the party’s intente 

tions of participating in 

elections. 

But the real struggle still 

remains in its early stages, 

and the four-legged type 

of donkeys is vanishing, 

warned Klol. “I am so late. 

Donkeys are vanishing… 

the other day, a man came 

from Suleimaniya seekie 

ing a donkey. He couldn’t 

find one.” Klol cried for 

his “big brothers and big 

sisters” while being inte 

terviewed in downtown 

Kala. “They [donkeys] 

were all killed in car accide 

dents or by children offense 

sively. And a large number 

of them have been taken 

away to southern cities.” 

Consequently, Klol’s asse 

sociation has come with a 

solution to save the fourlegged 

animals. The Donke 

key Party was granted a 

piece of land--25 dunams– 

on which to build a shelte 

ter. But Klol complained 

that the KRG has not spent 

enough on the project, and 

he said the KRG hasn’t 

answered a petition about 

a budget he reqe 

queste 

ed two 

months 

a g o . 

“I have 

r a i s e d 

many lette 

ters through 

the ministries 

and political 

parties, but all 

die at the Counce 

cil of the Ministe 

ters…Barham is not 

signing it,” he noted, 

in reference to KRG 

Prime Minister Dr. 

Barham Salih. 

“I am afraid I’ll 

find no donkeys left 

to put in the shelter. 

After years of braying, 

they have done this to 

me…wasting my time 

with red tape,” compe 

plained Klol. “When 

they give the approval, 

it will be too late; then I 

think I would be obliged 

only to put two-legged 

donkeys in the shelter,’ he 

said, laughingly. 

Klol knock on the door 

of every high-ranking offe 

ficial, demanding a budget 

with which to complete 

the donkey shelter, as 

well as monthly budget 

of three million Iraqi 

dinars for the associate 

tion. He recently sent a 

letter to Kurdistan Region 

President Massoud Barze 

zani and Iraqi President 

Jalal Talabani. Klol also 

sent a letter to U.S. Preside 

dent Barak Obama. Asked 

why he sent a letter to 

Obama, Klol replied: “For 

two reasons: His Democe 

cratic Party has a donkey 

as a symbol, and because 

Africa is where his father 

is from, which is the main 

homeland of donkeys.” 

Donkey town 

As for the shelter, Klol 

said it is located atop a 

hill in the Qaradagh area, 

although he preferred a 

place in a valley. “I have 

a nice design for it. I will 

make rooms all around… 

and in front of them there 

will be places for eating 

and drinking, and just as 

important--brothels. And 

in the middle I will make 

flower gardens and passe 

sageways, making it to 

look like a resort.” 

According to Klol, the 

shelter will become a 

haven for donkeys and 

an entertaining place for 

people—“especially for 

the elderly people who 

have turned powerless to 

practice sex,” he insisted. 

“Instead of watching porne 

nography, they can come 

to see the big brothers and 

big sisters while doing sex 

and enjoy it. It is not haram 

for them,” he laughed. 

When asked if gathering 

donkeys in such a place 

might mean imprisoning 

them, Klol replied: “No. 

You serve them with food 

and drink, allow them 

to have sex, and the land 

is wide.” The donkeys 

might become lazy, but 

there is no other solution. 

“When they are not used 

for work, why should they 

be mocked by children? I 

even say they will become 

stronger there. They will 

be fed well there.” 

If anyone such as “a rese 

spectable villager” needs 

a donkey, he must commit 

to the shelter’s conditions 

before he is given one, 

said Klol. “A donkey costs 

an amount of money that 

obliges the buyer to be rese 

spectful to it. Also, the appe 

plicant must sign a deal in 

court, vowing not to make 

the donkey homeless after 

his needs are met,” expe 

plained Klol. He advised 

human kind with a poem: 

“Enough for shedding 

blood…let us all live like 

donkeys. If we do so, we 

will not kill each other 

anymore…donkeys don’t 

kill themselves.”


First Kurdistan-Korean Business Forum 

The business 

gathering allows 

Korean and 

Kurdish delegations 

the opportunity to 

“exchange ideas, 

find solutions, and 

work hand-in-hand 

with the Kurdistan 

Region.” 


ernment officials hosted a 

delegation of prominent 

South Korean companies 

in the first meeting of the 

Kurdistan-Korean Busine 

ness Forum in Erbil on 

Wednesday, October 6. 

South Korea’s Ambassade 

dor Suk Bum Park, Chairme 

man of the Investment 

Board Minister Herish 

Muharam, and Head of 

the KRG Department of 

Foreign Relations Ministe 

ter Falah Mustafa Bakir 

presided over the forum 

at Erbil's Convention 

Center. 

Ambassador Park said: 

“I am pleased to return 

meeting explores opportunities 

Commercial business possibilities dominate first business forum between the two delegations 

KRG.ORG PHOTO 

South Korea’s Ambassador Suk-Bum Park, Chairman of the Investment Board Minister Herish 

Muharam, and Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir 

attend the Kurdistan-Korea Business Forum in Erbil on October 6. 

once again to Kurdistan, 

and I am very thankfe 

ful for the warm recepte 

tion and the hospitality. 

I suggested having such 

a gathering so that we 

could exchange ideas, 

find solutions, and work 

hand-in-hand with the 

Kurdistan Region.” He 

added: “It also gives Kore 

rean companies a chance 

to ask questions and get 

more details about investme 

ment and doing business 

here.” 

Minister Bakir thanked 

Korea's ambassador and 

the Embassy Liaison Offe 

fice in Erbil for suggestie 

ing and promoting the 

initiative. He explained 

that the Kurdistan Region 

Investment Board and the 

Department of Foreign 

Relations had worked 

closely with the Korean 

Embassy, and the level of 

cooperation between the 

KRG and South Korea 

A pair of Emirati energy 

companies producing natue 

ural gas in Kurdistan Rege 

gion said on Tuesday, Octe 

tober 5, that they expect to 

boost the output capacity 

there by 50 percent within 

two years. 

In an update marking 

two years of production in 

the self-ruled Kurdish rege 

gion, Dana Gas and Cresce 

cent Petroleum said they 

are currently able to pump 

200 million cubic feet of 

gas daily. They expect that 

level to rise to 300 million 

cubic feet daily by 2012. 

Existing production of 

between 160- to 180-mille 

lion cubic feet daily is 

used to power two regional 

electricity plants in Erbil 

and Chemchemal, accordie 

ing to the firms. They say 

they have invested $850 

million in the project so 

far. That included building 

is rising at an impressive 

rate. 

Minister Muharam outle 

lined the locations and 

sectors ideal for Korean 

investment and comme 

mercial activity, inviting 

Korean firms to do more 

business with the Kurdiste 

tan Region. He said: “The 

Kurdistan Region, as you 

may know, now engages 

in about US$12 billion 

per year in trade. Korean 

brands have earned an 

excellent reputation in 

this Region, and I want 

to emphasize that we will 

support your efforts to loce 

cate investment opportune 

nities here.” He added: “I 

encourage Korean firms 

to prepare proposals for 

further discussion, espece 

cially regarding our strate 

tegic projects.” 

Minister Bakir said: 

“The KRG desires a longterm, 

strategic relationse 

ship with Korea. We are 

pleased to see a marked 

increase in the presence 

of Korean private sector 

activity. I believe this is 

only the beginning. The 

people and the governme 

ment of the Kurdistan 

Region look forward to 

a sustained partnership in 

diverse sectors.” 

Officials from several 

ministries also gave their 

a 110-mile (180-kilomete 

ter) pipeline across mounte 

tainous terrain, which at 

times required them to 

clear areas riddled with 

land mines. 

The Sharjah-based compe 

panies highlighted the 

support provided by the 


ernment, which has been 

successful in attracting fore 

eign business to its region. 

But many of those deals 

have caused friction with 

Baghdad because they ofte 

ten bypass the oversight of 

national ministries. 

Crescent's executive dire 

rector, Majid Jafar, said the 

Emirati companies' proje 

ects have delivered tange 

gible benefits to the counte 

try by boosting the north's 

electricity supply--a serve 

vice that remains spotty 

and scarce in much of the 

rest of Iraq. «This shows 

views at the forum, conte 

tributing to a lively exce 

change about commercial 

needs, opportunities, and 

mutual desire for further 

cooperation. 

The forum continue 

ued with a visit to Erbil 

Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry for a matchmaking 

session with local 

companies interested in 

joint ventures and other 

collaboration. Korea’s 

Embassy Liaison Office 

in Erbil is led by M Dukhe 

ho Moon, who helped to 

organize the event. Represe 

sentatives from the Korea 

International Cooperation 

Agency, Korea National 

Oil Company, Incheon 

Airport, LG Internationae 

al, Daewoo Construction, 

SK Construction, and 

other companies participe 

pated in the forum. 

The Kurdistan Region 

and Korea have already 

established very good 

relations. Korean forces 

were based in the Kurdie 

istan Region from 2004- 

08 as part of the multinate 

tional force. During their 

four-year mission, the 

Zaytun Division provided 

vocational training, ran a 

hospital, and helped to 

build social infrastructure 

including schools and a 

library. 

Emirati firms to boost Iraqi 

Kurdistan gas capacity 

what can be achieved by 

the private sector, even 

under difficult circumse 

stances, when the right 

policies and investment 

framework are adopted,» 

he said in a statement. 

Dana Gas and Crescent 

hope to eventually prode 

duce enough gas for expe 

port. The companies last 

year signed a deal with 

Austria's OMV AG and 

Hungary's MOL to export 

gas from the Kurdish rege 

gion as part of an $8 bille 

lion project. Some of the 

gas would be directed to 

the planned Nabucco pipele 

line linking Turkey to cente 

tral Europe, expanding the 

continent's energy supply 

options. Iraq's Oil Minie 

istry has called that deal 

illegal because it doesn't 

carry Baghdad's approval.

ً 


It’s “show time” 

First International Monte Carlo Circus in Erbil 

Hundreds of Erbil 

residents experience 

their first circus at 

Martyr Sami Abddul-Rahman 

Park, 

but the low number 

of circus attendees 

disappoints organizeers. 

“Show time in five minue 

utes. Five minutes till 

show time!” called a voice 

over the microphone as 

the crowd went wild, 

whistling and clapping. 

Minutes later, performers 

came out holding flags 

of different countries of 

the world in costumes of 

different colors and mate 

terials, beginning a show 

over 90 minutes long. 

The Monte Carlo Interne 

national Circus came to 

Erbil’s Martyr Sami Abde 

dul-Rahman Park, with 

performers from Spain, 

Italy, Austria, Germane 

ny, Kenya, Russia, and 

Ukraine to name a few. 

From animal acts to rope 

dances and clowns, the 

circus is one of the first of 

its kind in Kurdistan Rege 

gion. “Business has been 

bad here!” complained 

Souheil Obeid, owner of 

the circus. Obeid has been 

in the circus business for 

30 years, with experience 

in managing many circe 

cuses in the world. 

Zina Hassan, 9, excite 

edly clapped as she took 

a seat after being called 

up by two clowns to do 

tricks on the skipping 

rope. She had already 

asked her father to bring 

her back once more. 

“I have not seen a circus 

like this before. I enjoyed 

it but I think it was more 

for little kids, except the 

magician at the end. I 

couldn’t work out how he 

made the girl disappear,” 

said Shirwan Yousifi, 18, 

who went to the circus 

with a group of friends. 

“I thought I was goie 

ing to see elephants and 

lions,” said one of his 

friends. 

The circus includes 

43 staff members and 

27 animals. Advertiseme 

ments filled all corners 

of the city for tickets for 

two shows a night. Front 

row VIP seats cost about 

30,000 Iraqi dinars per 

person and 12,000 for 

other seats in the large 

tent. 

“The Monte Carlo circe 

cus only uses performers 

awarded by the Monte 

Carlo festival, who advise 

es us on which performe 

ers and artists to have in 

our circus,” explained 

Obeid, emphasizing 

that these artists are the 

best in their fields. “We 

faced many problems 

when trying to assemble 

the circus in Erbil. The 

first was that there were 

no cargo planes to Erbil 

to carry the big animals 

like lions and tigers. The 

border from Turkey does 

not allow big animals to 

cross into Kurdistan. It 

was difficult to arrive, 

but in the end we arrived 

with the smaller animals. 

The monkeys had a 20- 

day road journey from 

Ukraine to Erbil,” says 

Obeid, pausing to signal 

to the magician to begin 

the circus in two minutes 

time. “Two minutes until 

show time; two minutes 

until show time,” someoe 

one yelled into the micrope 

phone, followed by large 

applause from the audie 

ence. The cheer came just 

as 42 children arrived in a 

mini-van rushing into the 

circus tent with enthusiae 

asm. The children, Obeid 

said, were from the Erbil 

orphanage. 

The show has attracted 

people of different backge 

grounds. About 15 minue 

utes before the show’s 

commencement, the 

crowd looked at the ente 

trance as singers Dashne 

Murad and Loka entered 

to have a seat in the VIP 

section, followed by a 

renowned politician with 

his three children. 

“People in Erbil do not 

have the circus culture 

yet,” said Obeid, reflectie 

ing on their previous 

successful experience 

in Lebanon. “In Beirut, 

one advertisement can 

make the entire city talk 

about the circus. They 

often have to book seats 

a month in advance. But 

here, people don’t care.” 

As the tent darkened 

and the spotlight shown 

on a snake performance, 

Tara Nasir, 37, watched 

with astonishment. “This 

is the second time I come 

with the children,” she 

remarked. “The performe 

mances are risky and 

dangerous but also enterte 

taining. I am enjoying it 

more than the kids.” 

Obeid said those who 

did come and watch the 

show have now gained a 

GLOBE PHOTO/Safin Hamed 

Circus performers at Erbil>s International Monte Carlo Circus 

new idea of what a real 

circus looks like, and 

their views have changed. 

“The experience was 

very difficult. Equipment 

came from France, the 

tent from Italy, and artists 

from different parts of 

the world.” The majority 

of the staff is from Lebane 

non and Russia. 

The circus tent has 1,700 

seats for every show. But, 

Obeid, noted: “On averae 

age we have 150 to 200 

people for each show, 

and it reached just over 

300 on Thursday and Fride 

day nights.” 

When asked if the circe 

cus will come back to 

Erbil, Obeid sighed a 

long “no,” emphasizing 

that this week will be the 

last. “Having worked in 

45 countries around the 

world, here [Erbil] was 

the biggest loss. The soce 

ciety here is not yet prepe 

pared for circus culture.” 

Having completed 22 

show days, on Sunday 

the last show will be perfe 

formed in what was origie 

inally set to be a 45-day 

journey with 90 shows. 

It has been cut short--alme 

most by half. The group 

of performers, clowns, 

magicians, and artists 

will move to Suleimaniya 

for 20 days in hopes that 

a better reception awaits 

them in the cultural capite 

tal of the Kurdistan Rege 

gion. 


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Iraq and its Kurdish Question will continue to 

be an important foreign policy issue to the U.S. 

- Sean Kane, Program Officer with USIP’s Iraq programs 

Interviwer: 

Wirya Rehmany 

What is the place and 

importance of the Kurdiish 

question in U.S. foreeign 

policy? Do the U.S. 

and European counttries 

have any policy or 

strategy toward Kurds 

as a nation? 

The Kurdish question 

in Iraq, and Iraq in gene 

eral, remains important 

to the foreign policy of 

the United States. This 

is especially because the 

Obama Administration 

sees unresolved Arab- 

Kurdish issues as one of 

the greatest risks to Iraq’s 

stability. However, the 

extraordinary amount of 

attention and resources 

that the U.S. devoted to 

Iraq over the last seven 

years will not be repeate 

ed. This level of focus 

on one country and its 

internal politics is almost 

unparalleled in U.S. histe 

tory. Iraq and its Kurdish 

Question will continue to 

be an important foreign 

policy issues to the U.S., 

but one of several priorite 

ties rather than the No. 

1 concern. In addition, 

U.S. domestic politics 

are turning away from 

foreign policy and secure 

rity issues to local issues 

like the difficult economie 

ic situation back home. 

How do you see the situaation 

of Kurds of Iraq? 

The Kurds and Kurdie 

istan Region have made 

tremendous progress over 

the last 20 years--espece 

cially since 2003. Iraq is 

now a federal country and 

Kurdistan Region has a 

high degree of autonomy 

to manage its own affairs. 

Iraqi Kurds also have sene 

nior positions in the Iraqi 

government and army. In 

many ways, given the inte 

ternational environment, 

this is the best possible 

situation for the Kurds of 

Iraq. However, the overae 

all environment in Iraq is 

evolving as U.S. troops 

are withdrawn. There 

are major outstanding 

issues between the fede 

eral government and the 


ernment, including relatie 

ing to oil contracts and 

disputed territories. How 

these issues are handled 

could determine whether 

the Kurds can be successfe 

ful in creating the politice 

cal conditions for another 

20 years of progress. 

How do you see the imppact 

of the departure of 

U.S. forces from Iraq on 

the Kurdish region and 

U.S.-Kurdish relations 

in the future? 

The U.S. forces’ departe 

ture affects the strategic 

situation of the Kurdistan 

Region, which had hoped 

to see a long-term U.S. 

troop presence to help 

guarantee its security. 

In my view, the Kurdish 

leadership took a very 

strategic approach to the 

2003 U.S.-led invasion. 

Their challenge now is 

to be equally strategic in 

handling the departure 

of U.S. troops so that 

past achievements can be 

consolidated. Kirkuk and 

the other disputed territore 

ries are very important 

in this respect. The conte 

tinuing lack of agreement 

about the southern limit 

of the entire Iraqi Kurdie 

istan Region is a major 

source of uncertainty and 

tension today, and could 

be a source of damaging 

instability and even confe 

flict in the future. 

What will be U.S. policcy 

toward the struggle 

between Baghdad and 

Erbil, especially conccerning 

the Kirkuk 

question? 

In my opinion, the U.S. 

message to Baghdad and 

Erbil will be that these isse 

sues can only be resolved 

by internal agreements 

among Iraqis themselves. 

The U.S. will support 

Iraqi efforts to resolve this 

struggle, but is unlikely 

to present its own plan. 

In the near term, I believe 

that the U.S., along with 

UNAMI, will encourage 

Baghdad and Erbil to este 

tablish a political process 

on their outstanding isse 

sues once a new governme 

ment is formed. If the 

parties are willing to do 

this and both sides show 

flexibility on difficult 

subjects like Kirkuk, the 

U.S. would likely activele 

ly support the process and 

could be open to providie 

ing some guarantees for a 

negotiated agreement. If 

the parties are not, U.S. 

involvement on these isse 

sues might become rede 

duced over time. 

What are your expectattions 

and advice for the 

Iraqi KRG (especially 

on dealing with us in 

the future)? 

My advice to the Kurdiste 

tan Regional Government 

is to be fully aware of the 

changing place of Iraq 

and the Kurdish Queste 

tion in U.S. politics. The 

U.S. wants to help Baghde 

dad and Erbil resolve 

their issues and prevent 

any repeat of past trage 

edies. But it is no longer 

the case that U.S. leaders 

will be judged politically 

on events in Iraq as was 

the case three or four 

years ago. As a result, 

the policy decisions and 

actions the KRG takes are 

more and more important 

in determining what kind 

of long-term relationship 

will develop. 

Sean Kane is a Program 

Officer with USIP’s Iraq 

programs. Prior to joini 

ing the Institute, he worked 

as a Political Affairs Offi 

ficer with the United Nati 

tions Assistance Mission for 

Iraq (UNAMI) in Baghdad, 

Erbil, Mosul, and Kirkuk 

from 2006-09. At UNAMI, 

Sean worked on a range of 

political issues including 

advising the Iraqi Parliami 

ment during the 2007 consi 

stitutional review, analysis 

of oil and revenue sharing 

legislation, monitoring the 

2009 provincial elections, 

and preparing UNAMI’s 

reports to the government 

of Iraq and the Kurdistan 

Regional Government on 

Kirkuk and other disputed 

internal boundaries. From 

2009-10, Sean also served 

as a Middle East Desk Offi 

ficer with the United Nati 

tions Department of Politici 

cal Affairs, covering issues 

related to the Middle East 

Peace Process and supporti 

ing the Secretary-General’s 

participation in the Middle 

East Quartet. 

From 2005-06, Sean was 

a Program Officer with the 

U.S. government’s Millenni 

nium Challenge Corporati 

tion (MCC). At MCC, he 

conducted economic growth 

analysis and designed moniti 

toring and evaluation systi 

tems for Millennium Challi 

lenge Compact proposals 

from the governments of 

Mali, Senegal, and Sri Lanki 

ka. During the summer of 

2004, he worked for the Offi 

fice of the High Representati 

tive in Bosnia-Herzegovina 

on internal debt and propei 

erty restitution issues resulti 

ing from the 1990s conflict. 

He was previously an Assi 

sociate Lecturer/Researcher 

with the University of the 

Witwatersrand in South Afri 

rica, and a Senior Research 

Analyst at the U.S.-based 

strategy consulting firm 

Dove Associates. 

Sean has written on the 

subjects of natural resource 

negotiations and Iraqi politi 

tics. He has a Bachelor of 

Arts from Bowdoin College 

and a Masters in Public Affi 

fairs from Princeton Univi 

versity’s Woodrow Wilson 

School. He has also studi 

ied at the London School of 

Economics. 

President Barzani addresses meeting 

of Alliance of Democrats in Rome 

Full speech by 

Massoud Barzani 

delivered on 1 

October 2010 to the 

Alliance of 

Democrats 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It is a pleasure to join you, 

my fellow Democrats, 

here today. 

I often hear it said that 

there are no universal 

human values. That the 

world’s people are divided 

by cultural, ethnic, and 

religious fissures so deep, 

that common ground is 

impossible to find. With its 

tragic and long history of 

dictatorship and conflict, 

Iraq is often used as one of 

the most prominent exampe 

ples of these irreconcilable 

divisions. 

But I stand here today 

to tell you that is not true. 

As someone who has witne 

nessed the darkest side of 

man, who has witnessed 

the attempted exterminate 

tion of my people, witne 

nessed the destruction of 

almost every village in 

Kurdistan, witnessed the 

brutal slaying of women 

and children discarded in 

mass graves…. 

I can tell you that as hume 

man beings we all share 

some values, unequivocalle 

ly: the desire to know that 

we can sleep safely in our 

beds at night; that our childe 

dren won’t be cut down in 

their youth because of their 

name, religion, political 

views, or birthplace; that 

we will have opportunities 

not afforded to our parents 

and provide new opportune 

nities for our children. 

The question, however, is 

how to pursue these values 

and ensure their provision 

throughout society. I bele 

lieve Iraq’s history proves 

to us the wisdom of the old 

democratic adage that no 

man can be secure while 

another man fears. Security 

must be universal. Which 

means that while security 

is necessary for the deve 

velopment of our society, 

security is nothing without 

democracy and freedom. 

Without the ability for all 

to choose our leaders and 

hold them accountable. 

This recognition has alwe 

ways been at the heart of 

the Kurdish struggle and 

it remains our vision for 

the future of Iraq. It is why 

we have fought so hard for 

an Iraq that is governed 

by laws and ruled by the 

compromises embedded 

in our Constitution. We 

know from experience that 

any movement towards a 

winner-take-all mentality 

will mean disaster, not just 

for the Kurdistan Region, 

but for all the people of 

Iraq. While we may not alwe 

ways agree with the decise 

sions taken throughout the 

country, we must learn to 

respect the rights of people 

to choose who will lead 

them and how their comme 

munities will be tied in the 

federal structure to other 

communities. 

There are some who disae 

agree with us on these value 

ues. Who out of ignorance, 

hunger for power, fear 

of change, or plain evil 

would like to see Iraq slip 

back into the ways of the 

past, but I believe that the 

people of Iraq want their 

leaders to look to the fute 

ture. They want a security 

apparatus that has strong 

ties between itself and the 

public - that is committed 

to entrusting their human 

rights rather than abusing 

them. They want an end 

to the abhorrent plague of 

terrorism and radicalism, 

which seeks to re-create 

divisions in our society 

and destroy our opportune 

nity to develop. 

We will not let those who 

seek to derail the political 

process succeed. We must 

continue to build up trust 

amongst our communities 

by strengthening our instite 

tutions and commitment to 

the rule of law. We must 

make it clear that minorite 

ties and the vulnerable can 

feel safe in our society, 

that we will not only prote 

tect their right to exist but 

provide their communities 

with the opportunity to 

thrive. This means that eve 

eryone in Iraq must have 

the right to determine the 

form and structure of their 

government. We must 

avoid all attempts to inse 

stall mechanisms into the 

political process that will 

disenfranchise any compe 

ponent of Iraqi society. 

That is why I have been 

willing to work with any 

and all blocks in the Iraqi 

Parliament that are prepe 

pared to commit to our 

values. We are fully prepe 

pared to join any governme 

ment in Baghdad that will 

uphold the Constitution of 

our country and work in 

consensus with all groups. 

In the end, it’s not about 

the specifics of one particue 

ular policy or person. It’s 

not about oil, it’s not about 

administrative structures, 

it’s not about who is Prime 

Minister – it’s about a basic 

and complete commitment 

to freedom, democracy, 

and the rule of law. These 

policies demonstrate to us 

the intentions of the gove 

ernment. We have fought 

too long and witnessed 

too many times in the past, 

what “compromises” on 

those fundamental values 

leads to. The Kurdistan 

Region since 1991 has 

taken the road to democrace 

cy, joined by Iraq in 2003, 

and our people will not go 

back. We cannot afford to 

compromise on the very 

nature of the federal structe 

ture of the state – if there is 

ever a need for a “red line” 

it surely must be that. 

In the Kurdistan Region, 

we have come a long way 

in establishing democratic 

institutions. We have expe 

perienced an economic 

boom, begun to rebuild 

our infrastructure, institute 

ed protections for minorite 

ties and the rights of our 

religious communities to 

study in their own native 

tongues, and begun a proje 

ect designed to increase 

the transparency and rese 

sponsiveness of our instite 

tutions to the people. We 

have passed pro-trade and 

investment laws to attract 

the world’s top business 

leaders. 

Still, we are just at the bege 

ginning of a monumental 

undertaking to re-structure 

our society. For over 100 

years, we were deprived 

of access or participation 

in our government. We 

need culturally sensitive 

help from other democrats 

with the technical experte 

tise to help us build up our 

human capacity and instite 

tutions. After decades of 

living in a non-democratic 

state, we are striving to 

find private opportunities 

for our people, not just 

for our economic developme 

ment, but also to provide 

people with opportunities 

independent of the governme 

ment or politics. 

We also have a long way 

to go to shake off the viole 

lence and abuse of our 

past. Children in Halabja 

are still born with deforme 

mities and defects caused 

by the use of chemical 

weapons. Adults throughoe 

out the country suffer from 

the physical and mental effe 

fects of years of violence 

and dictatorship. Our socie 

ety is just beginning a long 

process of reconciliation. 

But we are resolute. We 

can overcome the bloody 

past. We will no longer be 

victims to our state. I am 

proud to stand here today 

as a committed member 

of a global alliance of 

democratic movements. It 

has been a long and tragic 

road to this day, but it is 

the very difficulty of our 

struggle that daily reminds 

us of its importance. 

Finally please allow me 

to repeat my gratitude for 

this invitation. I humbly 

thank you for this opporte 

tunity and ask for your 

support to establish and 

enhance bilateral relations 

with the Kurdistan Region. 

It is indeed an honor to be 

amongst you today. Let us 

all work for the day when 

the ballot box is the sole 

triumphant over all else 

and everywhere.


Iran, the U.S invasion and 

expected possibilities 

By Bahman Abdulrahman Hassan 

The invasion of Iraq was 

schadenfreude for many. 

Unremittingly, it has been 

stated that the foray was 

a necessary messiah, and 

also it was the only way 

to abolish human rights 

abuses, WMD programs, 

and civil mass carnages. 

Saddam Hussein’s regime 

was constantly accused 

of not cooperating with 

the International Atomic 

Energy Agency, and the 

IAEA many times halted 

its operations in Iraq. In 

addition, the U.S administe 

tration showed Hussein’s 

regime as an undeniable 

threat not only to the rege 

gion, but to the security of 

the entire globe. On April 

5, 2003, coalition forces 

entered Baghdad, and on 

April 9, Saddam’s statue in 

Al-Mansur square, which 

was standing for more than 

30 years, was torn down by 

Iraqis with the help of U.S 

marines. Hitherto, searches 

for Iraq’s weapons of mass 

destruction started and all 

turned to be unrewarding. 

Over the course of the ince 

cursion, reasons changed, 

and the Baath Regime was 

brutally fought back by its 

atrocious history. Anfal 

operations, Halabja town 

chemical bombings, and 

the 1991’s uprising oppe 

pressions in the northern 

and southern provinces lay 

among major reasons or 

justifications. Moreover, 

although, reasons couldn’t 

cover the economic and 

political motivations, the 

war prolonged. 

Sparking the light of freede 

dom operations, later invase 

sion operations, was the 

easy part, but restructuring 

the tattered land remains 

daunting. The invasion 

of Iraq has detonated the 

region’s stability bomb. 

The imposed despotic harme 

monious atmosphere was 

ruined, and the silenced 

and suppressed voices of 

minorities rose. American 

warships turned toward 

the East along cargos of 

U.S. doctrines shipped to 

the area. Middle East deme 

mocratization started with 

war and triggered with the 

war on Iraq. The occupate 

tion of Iraq brought a grave 

danger to the authoritarie 

ian powers of the region. 

Post-Saddam events have 

signaled a new era for the 

Middle East, and tyranne 

nical regimes are on the 

edge of radical changes. 

While most of the Western 

nations intensively fueled 

and participated in reshapie 

ing the new Middle Easte 

ern order and installing 

their values, Iraq neighbe 

bors criticized the invase 

sion. Syria, for instance, 

was on one hand against 

the occupation, fearing 

to be the next, and on the 

other hand to some scope 

was involved in the escale 

lating violence in Iraq by 

offering training and safe 

haven for Arab insurgents. 

Perchance, Syria is on the 

list of regimes to be reme 

moved by the West (West 

throughout this article ince 

clude Israel) and replaced 

with a pro-Western regime 

with very little intention of 

democracy. 

Momentarily, though 

most of the blame goes to 

Iran, Iran continues playie 

ing a critical role in the rege 

gion, especially in the post- 

Saddam Iraq epoch. The 

subjugating of Iraq, on one 

side, was in the favor of 

Iran, as one of its old rival 

regimes utterly ceased to 

exist, and the new installed 

system is fragile and can 

be influenced effortlessly. 

On the other, the war on 

Iraq brought its ends even 

closer. Iran, now, is the 

only strong opposition or 

barrier to the American 

Democratizing Package 

(ADP), and clandestine 

economic, cultural, or pole 

litical purposes. Therefore, 

perhaps the possibility of 

another war in the nonappe 

pearance of negotiating 

is present. Consequently, 

if this conception proves 

its actuality, similarities 

would overcome the long 

history of rivalry between 

Iraq and Iran. Although, 

experts believe waging a 

complete war on the Isle 

lamic Republic of Iran 

is not widely expected, 

a strike on its nuclear face 

cilities is to some extent 

indispensable. Conceivae 

ably, this argument is not 

realistic--seeing that in 

case its nuclear positions 

are attacked Iran won’t sit 

idle, its reactions may go 

beyond expectations, thus 

wider scale war would be 

necessary to secure the 

outcomes. 

Also, a “shock and awe” 

strike on Iran’s nuclear 

facilities might delay or 

cripple its quest for a few 

years, but in the long run 

it will not stop Iran’s dese 

sire for nuclear warheads. 

Hence, just war can upre 

root the Iranian threat and 

generate a fundamental 

change, which is heard 

from U.S and Israel offe 

ficials, if not only White 

House neoconservatives. 

Thus, what should be done 

about Iran? Should the 

U.S. as delegate or shield 

of Western countries attack 

Iran? And will the U.S. inve 

vade Iran? Can a nuclear 

Iran be tolerated? Millions 

of dollars and lives are at 

stake, and perhaps an errone 

neous decision would lead 

us to unprecedented bitter 

results. 

Will the U.S. 

attack Iran? 

While Iran is discussed in 

the media more than Holle 

lywood star divorces, it 

would make definite sense 

to anticipate this question. 

Yet it’s hard to answer; 

later mentioned reasons 

might un-cloud envisionie 

ing the future Iran-U.S. 

scene. People are suspice 

cious, and experts try to 

elucidate and decode signs. 

The choice of attacking 

Iran has never been off the 

table, neither in the U.S. 

nor in Israel. All are of the 

view that military assaults 

will be catastrophic, more 

personnel and advanced 

military arsenals are neede 

ed, and this war would be 

the most detrimental ever. 

And if this war sparked, it 

will be the biggest military 

and weapon display of the 

century. If diplomatic inqe 

quiries failed and if the 

Iranian regime Mullahs 

continues disobeying the 

international community 

standards or interests, the 

chance of assaults grow 

greater. Iran seems challe 

lenging to the West, plus 

Israel. In the words of 

Johanna Macgery, quoted 

from the Bush Administe 

tration’s National Secure 

rity Strategy: “Iran is the 

most challenging ‘single 

country’ to U.S. interests.” 

It might be worth the U.S 

air force flying over Iran 

delivering Christmas misse 

siles. 

Pre-emptive air strikes on 

the regime’s nuclear plants 

by Israel are expected. Bese 

sides, many times, Israeli 

officials gave watchfulne 

ness to the international 

community. If serious acte 

tions are not taken, unilate 

eral action will be pursued, 

namely military assaults 

on the Iranian nuclear face 

cilities, and its military 

and intelligence positions. 

Experts also say the U.S. 

and Israel--as two attached 

politically and militarily 

bodies--will do this war 

together. Afterward, other 

countries may join in. 

Therefore, Israel’s threats 

of attacking Iran cannot be 

approved without a “go” 

from the U.S administrate 

tion, which can be granted 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and officials from Iran's atomic organization applaud during a ceremony to mark the National Nuclear Day in Tehran on April 

9, 2010. 

easily. In 1981, the Israeli 

army obliterated the Iraqi 

nuclear plant in Osirak. 

Perhaps similar actions 

might be taken against 

Iran as Israeli officials prone 

nounce that Israel will not 

take the “Osirak option” 

off the table. The Iraqi 

nuclear plant may prove 

that attacking specific targe 

gets is not unthinkable, 

but it won’t stop future 

adventures. In 1988, the 

Iraqi military used chemice 

cal weapons against its 

citizens and Iranian forces 

BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images 

>>


>> 

in the eight-year Iran-Iraq 

War, as well as its huge 

military exhibition in the 

Kuwait invasion. Regardie 

ing the Iranian desire and 

position, it would be widele 

ly expected to reconstruct 

its weaponry treasure 

with new visions and targe 

gets. And this action may 

empower the permanent 

regime, and the regime’s 

counterattacks might cost 

more of the U.S and Israel. 

Then, prior to the attack 

it would be imperative to 

ponder who will be more 

at risk. Will the threat of 

Iran stop with limited aerie 

ial strikes not followed by 

ground invasion? And what 

will happen to the U.S.’s 

unfinished projects in the 

region? Hence, again, limie 

ited airborne strikes won’t 

utterly stop the permanent 

Iranian regime, which is 

more of the purpose, from 

being a threat to Israel or 

U.S. interests. 

Many believe the U.S. 

military buildup in the rege 

gion is either preparation 

for a war on Iran or a way 

used by the U.S. to remind 

Iran of the superiority of 

the West. And the U.S. 

for many years refused to 

involve direct diplomacy 

with Iran. This may give 

the assumption that the 

U.S. doesn’t want compe 

promise, whereas the U.S. 

officials accuse Iran of not 

giving much. 

Although a considerable 

majority, especially pro- 

Iranian countries, insists 

on peaceful resolutions, 

the international commune 

nity is divided into two 

groups. One is calling for 

a clean sweep strike--not 

only strikes on the Irane 

nian nuclear facilities, but 

a complete ground invase 

sion. And others persist 

on giving Tehran more 

time, assurances, or severe 

sanctions. Now, Iran is in 

an embarrassing situation. 

The media and Western 

countries have shed light 

on Iran more than ever. 

Iran is surrounded from all 

sides. Thousands of U.S. 

combat troops are in Iraq, 

and there is a huge chance 

of instituting a permanent 

U.S. military base in Iraq, 

which will back up if not 

all then definitely some 

U.S. armed interferences 

and intelligence operate 

tions. Kuwait, Qatar, Bahre 

rain, and U.S. bases in 

Central Asia (Uzbekistan 

and Kyrgyzstan) would 

assist any move from the 

West. From an American 

perspective, these make 

attacking Iran easier than 

ever, and lessons taught 

from the modern warfare 

in Iraq and Afghanistan 

can be implemented in the 

war on Iran. Even though 

President Obama’s adminie 

istration might to some 

extent look different from 

the Bush administration, 

the new administration, 

like Bush’s, maintains 

that the Iran crisis must 

be addressed utterly. And 

this mission cannot be acce 

complished through negote 

tiations, as Iran uses talks 

either to buy time so that 

more feats are gained in its 

nuclear research centers 

or to impose its wishes, 

which seemingly won’t 

be in the favor of Western 

powers. 

Will sanctions 

affect Iran? 

Sanctions imposed on 

Iran would not debilitate 

the country, and now Iran 

is stepping forward faster. 

Past decades prove that 

political and economical 

restrictions were inappe 

propriate, and Iran could 

survive and send its oppone 

nents shocking gestures. 

Therefore, controlling Iran 

through sanctions is less 

realistic. America has not 

much in the way of direct 

links with Iran. The U.S. 

argues with Iran through 

public media; it pressures 

Iran by threatening capital 

sources, which were mostle 

ly European investors and 

bankers. The European 

Commission in 2006 repe 

ported that “the EU makes 

up 27.8% of Iran’s trade.” 

Meanwhile, the new sancte 

tions are expected to be put 

into place soon, “disruptie 

ing exports of gasoline and 

other refined petroleum 

products,” (Hosted News) 

might not stop Iran from 

moving on. Moreover, the 

EU is the regime’s biggest 

trading associate. It is a 

huge leap and risk for the 

EU to withhold its comme 

mercial relationships with 

Iran. Will EU countries 

submit to the U.S. and 

give up their profits? If 

so, the EU free and sovere 

eign states would be queste 

tioned, and they automatice 

cally would be counted on 

the U.S. side and dragged 

to become part of the next 

war. 

Why attack Iran? 

Iran may probably be occe 

cupied with similar justifice 

cation as used once against 

Saddam’s Iraq. Restriction 

of individual boundaries 

including religious freede 

dom, nuclear weapon proge 

grams, and minority rights 

possibly would be a worthwe 

while reason to invade 

Iran. Meanwhile, perhaps 

many could add two more 

serious reasons: interferie 

ing with Iraqi affairs and 

supporting or funding viole 

lent groups. 

One hardly can find any 

more debated topic other 

than the Iranian nuclear 

program. “From the afterme 

math of the U.S. failure in 

Iraq, Islamic Republic of 

Iran has emerged as a rege 

gional superpower.” Thus, 

its attempts are calculated 

and become apprehensive. 

Though on more than one 

occasion, Iran—assurie 

ing of its peaceful purpe 

poses--has been portrayed 

as a growing threat. The 

regime’s nuclear inquiry 

has covered most of the 

regimes faults, and it is 

misrepresented and mystife 

fied by the West. 

In 2010, Iran built two 

nuclear bombs. Iran does 

not have enough expertise 

to build nuclear warheads. 

Iran seeks nuclear weapons 

and is a violent country. If 

it gained nuclear weapons, 

the Iranian regime will 

pose wider threats, or they 

may put it into practice. 

Momentarily, its heard 

from all that a nuclear Iran 

is entirely repudiated by 

Western superpowers. Perhe 

haps these are a bunch of 

perplexities that manipule 

lated the Western political 

arena. Barely a newspaper 

passes a day without news, 

mostly misleading and 

not based on solid details, 

about the Iranian nuclear 

programs, and they succe 

cessfully contribute in 

misinforming the public. 

Western nations’s threats 

and sanctions resulted in 

negative outcomes to this 

day. The menace is viewed 

bigger than it is in authente 

ticity. Then, will the West 

debilitate extreme relige 

gious zealots and the hardle 

liner President Mahmoud 

Ahmadinejad and bring an 

end to the Iranian nuclear 

program? 

Furthermore, human 

rights organizations conte 

tinuously accused Iran of 

arbitrary imprisonments, 

high execution ratio, and 

restriction of religious 

freedoms. Still, no reason 

could evoke the call for an 

action against Iran as deafe 

eningly as its uranium enre 

richment procession. The 

human rights activists perse 

sist on reporting massive 

abuses inside the country. 

However, Amnesty Interne 

national is not allowed to 

conduct research in Iran, 

China, Myanmar, North 

Korea, or Turkmenistan. 

The organization’s UK 

director, Kate Allen, clarife 

fied 30 years after the Isle 

lamic Revolution of Iran 

that wide use of torture 

and arbitrary detentions 

still exist, and Iran in 2008 

executed at least 346 peope 

ple. In addition, whereas 

security forces tightened 

their measures and methoe 

ods, Allen insisted that 

they continue recording 

changes. 

After the 2009 presidente 

tial election, Tehran brutalle 

ly suppressed opponents, 

human rights organizate 

tions, civil society activie 

ists, and journalists. Acce 

cording to Human Rights 

Watch reports, hundreds 

of Iranian activists fled to 

neighboring Turkey or rece 

ceived lengthy imprisonme 

ment, were sent to death, 

or are on death row. Any 

dissent could be followed 

by severe punishment, 

and the regime launched 

a huge operation against 

all means of communicate 

tion. Internet servers were 

kept under surveillance so 

as to minimize the flow of 

information. Emails and 

phone calls were under 

scrutiny to crackdown on 

dissent. As stated by Joe 

Stork, deputy Middle East 

director at Human Rights 

Watch, “Journalists, lawye 

yers, civil society activie 

ists who used to speak to 

foreign media and human 

rights groups increasingly 

fear phone and Internet 

surveillance.” 

Moreover, Amnesty Inte 

ternational reported, “Slande 

der, defamation of state offe 

ficials, insults to Islam and 

other aspects of freedom 

of expression, association, 

and belief are used to prose 

ecute those who dissent, 

including those seeking to 

promote and protect hume 

man rights.” And maltreatme 

ments reported by former 

detainees include sexual 

abuse, insult, torture, sleep 

deprivation, and “suspense 

sion from height.” Meanwe 

while, still-minority nate 

tions, Kurds, and religious 

minorities like believers in 

the Baha’i faith face huge 

discrimination and represse 

sion. Whereas hundreds 

of Kurds were executed or 

incarcerated due to holdie 

ing anti-regime slogans, 

a huge portion of Baha’i 

believers were forced to 

convert to Islam or they 

are not allowed to practice 

their faith unreservedly. 

Possible portrayals 

and outcomes 

of the war 

The occupation of Iraq 

would guide the possible 

war on Iran. Perhaps all 

modern wars share simile 

lar tactics to the Iraq War 

in one way or another. The 

invasion of Iran, like Iraq, 

will begin with intensive 

air strikes on military base 

es, intelligence positions, 

and suspected zones, but 

how accurate they can 

be is dubious. The effort 

would be partially to sece 

cure the pass for ground, 

but the post-invasion situae 

ation would be more dise 

sastrous than Iraq due to 

population, geopolitical, 

and militarily differences. 

An internal revolution or 

coup is not expected, but 

Iranians might have a dese 

sire to replace the existing 

regime. Iran is a multinate 

tional and religious counte 

try, and if the occupation 

is triggered, components 

might ask for privileges. 

The 2003 Iraq subjugation 

would depict this point, 

evidently. Iraq for more 

than four years was on the 

edge of a civil war and 

sectarian division. Kurds, 

Sunnis, Christians, Assyrie 

ians, and Shiites claimed 

they had superiority, but 

there was not a true call 

for fraternity. Iraq was 

about to alienate into three 

regions, northern province 

es for the Kurds, southern 

provinces for the Shiites, 

and middle provinces for 

the Sunni population, and 

even the feeble federal 

Iraq was expected to disie 

integrate. Therefore, Iran 

might divide into as many 

independent districts as 

nations, and religious 

groups exist in the counte 

try. Every group will take 

the stage and endeavor to 

obtain the occupiers’ suppe 

port to put its plans into 

effect. Therefore, chances 

of waging a civil war reme 

main muscular. Kurds, 

with more than 7 percent 

population, might declare 

their free state; meanwe 

while, Sunnis, after more 

than 30 years of represse 

sion, will take the chance 

to build a Sunni region 

supported by Sunni neighbe 

boring countries, possibly 

most of the Arab World. In 

addition, many yet believe 

Iranians are well cultured; 

they may want the regime 

change, but the likelihood 

of an internal war or dishe 

harmony is weak. Iranians, 

unlike Iraqis, will not surre 

render and be lured into a 

civil war. Therefore, most 

likely, a group of leading 

reformists who definitely 

could fulfill the invaders’ 

expectations will lead the 

country. 

Furthermore, hundreds 

of thousands of sacrifices 

are needed to engage this 

huge alteration. The inve 

vasion of Iran will not 

destabilize just Iran or 

change the regime, but the 

entire region will face unpe 

precedented change. The 

strongest anti-West power 

would die off and the prese 

ence of U.S. and Western 

superpowers would double 

in the region. Meanwhile, 

Israel would protract its 

expansions fearlessly, as 

there would be no country 

to wipe it out on the world 

map. It is all positive up 

to this point, but we must 

compose Iranians’ capabe 

bilities. For more than 30 

years now, Iranians have 

worked on their intellige 

gence and military mace 

chine; therefore, a bloody 

and unparalleled counterae 

attack is expected. 

Bombings and destabile 

lizing the dwellers’ bases 

would be the Iranian prioe 

ority, as was the case in 

Iraq. Those thousands of 

revolutionary guards and 

regime affiliates would 

finally find something 

worthy to do and resist. 

Temporarily, on one hand, 

U.S. forces in Iraq would 

be an attackable and realie 

istic target of the Iranians, 

perchance through re-dese 

stabilizing Iraq. No matte 

ter if Iran loses its laser 

guided missile arsenals, Jihe 

had would remain a lethal 

weapon. Iranian religious 

figures might announce a 

wide range Jihad against 

the West, and this will defie 

initely have lingering effe 

fects. In the Iraq-Iran War, 

Iran rerecorded tangible 

successes through using 

religion. Iranian soldiers 

were ready to cross mined 

fields and give their lives, 

imagining a safe place in 

heaven. On the other hand, 

other U.S. bases, embasse 

sies, and citizens in the 

East will be embattled. 

And while Kuwait, Qatar, 

Bahrain, and Central Asia 

U.S. bases would offer a 

huge backup for troops on 

the ground, they will be on 

the Iranian hit list. Thus, 

the Iranian counter-offense 

sives might exceed expecte 

tations. 

Israel, expectedly, would 

be the Iranian determined 

target. Many times the Irane 

nian disciplinarian Preside 

dent Ahmadinejad promie 

ised to “wipe Israel off 

the map.” Undoubtedly, 

if Israel doesn’t initiate, 

definitely it will partake 

in the war; thus, its secure 

rity would be disturbed. If 

Tehran, by itself, could not 

compose attacks against 

Israel, its extreme organize 

zations are ready to carry 

out the mission. On one 

side, Hezbollah, from the 

south of Lebanon, will 

compile raids on Israel 

and involve Israel in a war 

not of its interests. On the 

other side--the Palestinie 

ian side--Hamas suicide 

bombers and local manufe 

factured missiles could 

create chaos in the heart of 

Israel. 

Politically, when the war 

comes to the region, the 

political procession will 

take a vacation. For countle 

less years the war might 

wage, and the peace proce 

cess and IDP would stop. 

Not just Iranians, Iraqis, or 

Palestinians, but all would 

have to pay the price. The 

new Middle Eastern orde 

der would depend on the 

newly established Iran, as 

Iranians will keep their rege 

gional influential role. 

Economically, the inve 

vasion will affect those 

Western countries that 

depend on oil. Iran is the 

fourth-largest oil produce 

er, and any attack on the 

country will undoubtedly 

affect its oil production. 

Iran--through its huge natue 

ural gas and oil reserves 

and exports--can affect 

markets. And if the counte 

try faced invasion, oil and 

gas prices will surely rece 

cord first-time, shockingly 

high prices. As the “USA 

Today” editorial board 

stated, oil prices might 

shoot to “$100 a barrel.” 

Meanwhile, “Iran grips 

the 20 percent of global oil 

supplies that are shipped 

through the Straits of Horme 

muz.” (Seumas Milne) 

Therefore, Iran might try 

to seize the Straits and creae 

ate a global energy crisis. 

But the Iranian navy might 

be crippled by the invade 

ers. This quest would be 

backbreaking for the inve 

vaders, and Iranians may 

succeed for a short time.


Chopy and an 

album in English 

Singer Chopy Fattah anne 

nounced that she is close 

to publishing an album in 

English. The album conse 

sists of seven songs, one 

of which she has videoed 

in Beirut. A number of 

British and Dutch compane 

nies have invited Chopy 

to perform concerts in 

their countries, but she 

hasn’t replied yet, saying 

she is too busy at the prese 

ent time with deadlines. 

The Kurdish female 

singer said happily: “I had 

a year very good. I was 

able to finish college and 

receive a degree in psyce 

chology. I want to conte 

tinue studying next year, 

and I have dedicated this 

year to take some rest and 

work on my art; I had dele 

layed some of my art bece 

cause of my studies.” Bese 

sides the English album, 

Chopy is also working on 

another album of Kurdish 

songs. This album, which 

is going to involve 14 

tracks, includes a number 

of Kurdish maqams. 

Singer and 

Peshmarga 

Hamajaza 

passed away 

Paywand Jaff prefers 

working behind the camera 

Singer Paywand Jaff anne 

nounced he would like to 

find a job at a Kurdish TV 

station--not as a presenter, 

but behind the camera. 

Paywand revealed that the 

time has come for him to 

think about returning to 

Kurdistan after spending 

17 years in Europe. But 

first he has to find a job. 

But he has one condition: 

“I cannot do any job that 

has no relation to my art. 

I don’t know any other 

job than art, and I have 

spent all my life on it.” He 

would like to work at one 

of the Kurdistan TV state 

tions where he can keep 

his ties with art. He rejecte 

ed the idea of working as 

a presenter, as “it is hard.” 

Instead, he said: “I want 

to be behind the cameras 

to create programs with 

new ideas.” Paywand anne 

nounced that he is putting 

the final touches on a new 

album. 

“Scenarists are afraid of writing” 

Necessity has pushed Naje 

jim Hogir to become an 

artist with multiple professe 

sions. Hogir has worked 

as an actor of theater and 

drama, a scenarist, a directe 

tor, and also a poet. 

“If you notice, you easie 

ily see gaps in the fields 

of art. I have tried to fill 

some of the gaps,” stated 

Hogir, who has nearly 40 

years of acting experience. 

“I always believed that we 

shouldn’t remain on the 

stage, acting in theaters, 

but also needed to have 

TV and cinema works. But 

there we had a shortage of 

scenarist and directors.” 

Concerning scripts, Hoge 

gir admits there are compe 

petent story writers among 

Kurds. But the problem, 

he said, is that they do not 

dare to write scenes for theae 

ater or film. He explained 

that stories and novels sell 

better and are more profie 

itable for writers when 

printed in books. “I don’t 

say I am a good scenarist 

or a good director. This is 

something people have the 

right to decide. But what I 

have done is try to fill in 

the gaps,” said Hogir. 

As a poet, Hogir works 

Hamajaza Ali, a super popue 

ular Kurdish singer, passed 

away on October 1 after a 

long battle with cancer. 

His national and revolute 

tionary songs, which still 

are remembered, played a 

great role in the Peshmarge 

ga struggle in the 1970s 

and 1980s. “Ho Kaki 

Peshmarga…shorishgery 

qaraman…nawy pirozi 

toya bota wirdi sar zime 

man,” a refrain of his most 

popular song, was chanted 

at the funeral in his homete 

town of Suleimaniya. The 

refrain translates to “Oh 

brother Peshmarga…you, 

the Brave Revolutionie 

ist…your name is always 

remembered.” 

Hama Jaza had nearly 

200 diverse songs, includie 

ing national and love songs 

as well as Maqams, and 

he wrote most of his own 

lyrics. His albums were 

for a different purpose. Alte 

though he has written poe 

ems since the early 1970s, 

none have been printed or 

published in newspapers. 

His poetry skills appeared 

when his lyrics were used 

for songs. He said 30 to 

35 singers have made 120 

songs out of his lyrics, 

including artists such as 

Braym Khayat, Tara Rase 

sul, Bahjat Yahya, Adnan 

always forbidden by Iraqi 

authorities at that time; 

however, they quickly 

spread around Kurdistan. 

The funeral was attended 

by a large number of fans, 

artists, and officials, and 

his death dominated all 

local newspapers and TV 

channels. In Erbil on Octobe 

ber 3, the KRG Ministry of 

Culture held a special cere 

emony to express respect 

for Hama Jaza. The Minie 

istry’s award of respect, 

this year under the name 

“Ho Kaki Peshmarga,” 

was awarded to a number 

of veteran Kurdish artists. 

Hama Jaza born in 1949 

and joined the Peshmarga 

at age 18. He continued in 

a double job as both Peshme 

marga and singer, and left 

behind four girls and two 

boys. 

Karim, Niyan Abdullah, 

and Wushiyar Hamasalih. 

But practicing his multe 

tiple skills simultaneously 

brought Najim Hogir more 

difficulties than benefits, 

he noted. 

His recent work includes 

a scene for a short film 

named “Komak” (or Help), 

which tells about the Halae 

abja tragedy, and another 

short film named “Apora” 

(or Crowd), which tells 

about a statue a crowd is 

gathering around. In one 

scene, when removing the 

curtain, the statue says: 

“With money you have 

spent on this ceremony tode 

day, you could have served 

me while I was alive so as 

I could have lived a few 

years longer and served 

you.” 

Contributions to “The Kurdish Globe” entertainment page come from the weekly art section of “Hawler Newspaper.”

The Kurdish Globe 

No. 276, Saturday, October 09, 2010 15 

Erbil: The host city of sports tournaments 

The Kurdish capital city proudly shows the region what it’s capable of 

Drawn to its beauty 

and—more 

importantly—its 

ability to ensure the 

safety and security 

of players and 

spectators, 

organizers are 

making Erbil their 

top location 

for sports 

championships. 

Over the last decade, 

Iraq has been deprived 

of hosting international 

sports tournaments bece 

cause of inadequate sece 

curity for players and 

spectators alike. So many 

times, Iraqi sports fede 

erations presented official 

letters to the Asian and 

Arab confederations askie 

ing to host competitions. 

But all requests were reje 

jected due to the constant 

fear outside athletes had 

to come to Iraq. Internate 

tional high-ranking sports 

officials thought Iraq was 

too dangerous to host any 

sports event at all. 

Unlike before, there are 

many Kurdish athletes 

managing crucial sports 

offices in Iraqi sports fede 

erations. They have serioe 

ously attempted to explain 

to outside officials that 

Iraq has an autonomous 

region called Kurdistan 

whose security conditions 

meet all requirements 

to hold safe and secure 

sports competitions. 

Over the last two weeks 

alone, the Kurdish capital 

city of Erbil honorably 

hosted two championse 

ships organized for seve 

eral Arab national teams. 

Last week, the Arab 

weightlifting championse 

ship was held at the Blue 

Sports Center, which has 

excellent sports halls and 

has hosted other sports 

competitions successfully 

in the past. 

Participating counte 

GLOBE PHOTO / Safin Hamed 

Arab Weightlifting Championship winners take the stage after getting their medals in Erbil on October 5. 

tries included Iraq, the 

hosts, United Arab Emirae 

ates, Lebanon, Palestine, 

Syria, Morocco, Algeria, 

Jordan, Sudan, and Bahre 

rain. Egypt, Yemen, and 

Somalia also sent their 

representatives to observe 

the events. 

“The Arab athletes 

were pretty much excited 

about the beauty of Erbil 

city. They had nothing 

to say except they kept 

talking about the picture 

esque views and good 

security conditions of the 

city. They did not expect 

Kurdistan to be so safe 

and attractive. Their satie 

isfaction really matters to 

us,” stated Tahir Khoshne 

naw, Iraqi Weightlifting 

Federation (IWF) membe 

ber. 

Khoshnaw said the dele 

egations enjoyed seeing 

some beautiful Erbil loce 

cations, but due to the 

competition they did not 

get to see as much as they 

wanted to. “Since the dele 

egations did not leave the 

region right after the tourne 

nament, we took them to 

Shaqlawa, a resort city, 

and showed them historice 

cal places where sightsee 

ers usually gather.” 

Meanwhile, Akad 

Sports Hall, which is loce 

cated in the Christian 

town of Ankawa in Erbil, 

hosted the Arab badminte 

ton competition with the 

participation of seven 

Arab countries. The tourne 

nament kicked off last 

Saturday and lasted three 

days. Pishtiwan Majeed, 

Iraqi Badminton Federate 

tion (IBF) president, is a 

Kurd from Erbil and leads 

the federation as a loyal 

athlete elected by IBF 

members. His main conce 

cern was trying hard to 

convince Arab and Asian 

sports confederations that 

Kurdistan in general and 

the capital city in particule 

lar is secure enough to 

hold international matche 

es. 

“I have continuously 

tried to bring matches 

to Erbil so that people 

from outside could see 

for themselves how wellprepared 

Kurdistan is for 

embracing any sporting 

event. We always wanted 

to prove ourselves practe 

tically instead of talking 

about our capabilities 

theoretically,” explained 

Majeed. 

Majeed said he heard 

from participating team 

members that they have 

never witnessed bette 

ter organized badminte 

ton tournaments than 

Erbil’s throughout the 

Arab championship histe 

tory. “Unfortunately, the 

teams’ members were told 

in the past that Kurdistan 

is not suitable to play in. 

But our good treatment of 

them last week--especialle 

ly when we received them 

at the airport--made them 

feel as comfortable as if 

they were in their homete 

town,” Majeed noted. 

From Majeed’s perspecte 

tive, the results of the 

matches were not as signe 

nificant as Kurdistan beie 

ing seen as it should be 

by people from outside. 

“From now on I am sure 

the teams, upon return to 

their countries, will have 

a different viewpoint towe 

ward Kurdistan and will 

talk about the region in a 

good way.” 

Majeed is one the very 

first people in Iraq who 

played badminton, and 

he used to be one of the 

greatest Iraqi national 

team stars. Two years 

ago he earned most of the 

votes of his federation 

members and become the 

first Kurdish man to lead 

IBF. He claimed to have 

a strong relationship with 

his counterparts in other 

countries, but he compe 

plained that he was kept 

waiting at reception to 

see Iraqi government offe 

ficials. 

In addition to being succe 

cessful in organizing the 

competition, Kurdistan 

was more honored to have 

Yara Ahmed, who placed 

first in men’s singles 

badminton. Ahmed was 

pleased with his results 

and regarded winning as 

a historical achievement 

for not only him, but for 

all Kurdish and Iraqi peope 

ple. 

The two championse 

ships, weightlifting and 

badminton, at the Arab 

levels, may be followed 

by another great event— 

the Asian weightlifting 

championship—which 

might be held in Erbil in 

2011. 

In a press conference 

held at the Hawler Plaza 

hotel in Erbil city, Ali 

Murad, Asian Weightliftie 

ing Confederation (AWC) 

president, disclosed that 

Erbil is capable of hosting 

the 2011 Asian weightliftie 

ing Championship. “I am 

really happy with all the 

smiling faces I see in this 

city. The sports officials 

in this region look like 

they are active in their 

work; that is why I like 

to cooperate with them so 

that the game can reach 

its peak, and the players- 

-both male and female-- 

can compete internationae 

ally,” stated Murad. 

According to Murad, it 

is in AWC’s program to 

bring the Asian weightle 

lifting teams to Erbil for 

the 2011 Asian Weightle 

lifting events. Arrangie 

ing continuous training 

courses will be another 

issue AWC must work 

on. Murad, just like Arab 

sports officials, confirmed 

that Erbil is appropriate in 

every respect--especially 

in its security condition-- 

to host the Asian champioe 

onships. 

Zakaria Muhammed 


zakaria.kurdishglobe 

@gmail.com 

Erbil FC chasing 

European players 

Erbil FC coach Ayoub Adisho disclosed that his club, 

after signing several Arab players, wants to sign some 

European footballers to the squad for the coming Iraqi 

football league season, which is scheduled to start in 

November. “The club officials already agreed to test 

some players from Serbia, Ukraine, and Romania befe 

fore signing any other contracts,” said Adisho, adding 

that the team lacks new players to strengthen midfield 

and striking lines. 

Erbil governor awards 

Iraqi cycling champions 

On October 6, Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi received 

the Erbil cycling team in his office and awarded them 

with valuable gifts for winning the Iraqi cycling champe 

pionship a few weeks ago. Governor Hadi expressed his 

appreciation for their achievements, and asked Kurdie 

ish sports officials to pay better attention to the single 

games like cycling since Kurdistan constitute most of 

the Iraqi national teams in single games. “I like to suppe 

port this game and its players, and I hope to see greater 

achievements from Kurdish cyclists,” Hadi said. 

Iraq places first at Arab 

weightlifting championship 

In the last round of the Arab weightlifting championship 

hosted in Erbil city last week, Iraqi senior and junior 

weightlifters--after winning 18 gold medals--became the 

champions after gaining 687 points. United Arab Emirae 

ates placed second with 518 points, while Morocco took 

third with 451. Kurdish weightlifters played a significant 

role in adding several medals for the Iraq national team. 

Sirwan Karzan won three gold medals in the 94-kg cate 

egory; Karzan Mariwan also won three other medals in 

105-kg category.

Last page 

No. 276, Saturday, October 09, 2010 

The jewel of Erbil 

M 

emoirs 

By Sazan M. Mandalawi 

You will never imagine where 

I am when writing this week’s 

memoirs. It is like a dream. I 

feel like I am above the clouds 

and I own the world. Welcome 

to another small incident of my 

life, the life of a Kurdish girl in 

the journey of discovery of her 

own nest. 

No, I am not in Venice or 

Paris. I am not in Washington, 

Sydney, or any other place that 

may come to your mind. But 

right now I wouldn’t replace 

where I am sitting with any 

other place in the world. 

No, you did not guess. Let me 

provide you with a major clue. 

I am sitting by a window in 

what is the oldest continuously 

inhabited place in the world. 

Yes, today I came to discover 

what I should have discovered 

on the first day of my arrival in 

Erbil--the Citadel. 

I’m sitting on the dust at 

the edge of an old, shattered 

window of a quiet room of 

what was once an inhabited 

house. The walls are decorated 

with the most amazing designs 

and architecture. The tattered, 

ancient wooden door looks too 

precious for me touch, but I 

can feel my hand shaking as I 

wiped some of the dust on its 

surface. 

I walked alone in the little 

alleyways (I must admit it is 

A tourist in 

my own city 

not easy for someone with a cat 

phobia). I went behind walls, 

looked through windows, and 

sat on stairs. I touched the 

walls like they were made 

of diamonds, and I sat on 

stones observing every inch 

of my surroundings. “Am I 

in a dream?” The experience 

is beyond what words can 

describe. 

I have seen many great and 

ancient places in different 

corners of the world, but none 

of the places I have seen, 

touched, and smelled has been 

as unique as this. “What is it 

about this place that makes me 

feel like this?” I asked myself 

during my lonely journey of 

discovery. 

As I sit by the window, the 

mosques all began echoing 

midday prayers. To the 

background of the sound of 

mosques and as the gentle 

breeze blows through my hair 

and the sun shines on my face, 

I can see the fountains and 

the energy of city life below. 

I see rooftops of mud houses 

alongside the emerging sky line 

of buildings practically made 

of glass. I realize what it is 

about this place that makes me 

feel this way. I feel as though 

it is mine. In fact it is mine, I 

do own it. This place is part of 

who I am; it is my culture, my 

identity, and my heritage. It is 

mine. 

“Why didn’t I take this 

journey four years ago? Why 

today?” I kept asking myself. 

I can imagine just how many 

people have missed the chance 

of walking inside the old roads 

of the Citadel, because once 

you have done so there is no 

way you will look at it like you 

used to. 

I have always been amazed 

by the features of the Citadel. 

The large Kurdish flag in the 

center that can bee seen from 

almost any corner has always 

made me shiver. But after four 

years, walking or driving past 

almost every day I began to 

take it for granted. 

You do not realize the depth 

of its meaning and the specialty 

it holds within you until you 

walk in its roads and see the 

inside with your own eyes. 

Touch the walls, listen to the 

sounds, smell the bricks, and 

taste the water. After all this, 

you will realize that a new 

sense emerges within you, one 

of feelings, love, devotion, and 

attachment. This place feels 

like my own home, with all its 

emptiness. 

For the past three hours I 

have been like a tourist in 

my own city, on my own soil. 

After today’s experience, and 

as I look out at the view of my 

city from above, sitting on dust 

and ants crawling on my jeans, 

I can’t help but say that I am 

sitting in this region’s most 

expensive jewel, and the jewel 

of my life--Erbil’s very own 

ancient Citadel. 

كۆمپانیای 

تارین نێت 

خرمەتگوزارییەكانی كۆمپانیای تارین نێت لەم شارو شارۆچكە خۆشەویستانە كار دەكات 

حاجی ئۆمەران 

رەواندز شەقاڵوە پیرمام سۆران هەولێر سەرسەنگ 

ئامێدی ئاكرێ زاخۆ دهۆك . 

بۆ خزمەت گوزاری ئەنتەرنێتی بێ تەل 

WIRELESS INTERNET 

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Erbil: The host city of sports t ournaments - Kurdish Globe

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