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

The Kurdish Globe No. 276, Saturday, October 09, 2010 4
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