P 3 - Kurdish Globe

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 2Globe EditorialAzad AminWho is behind Kirkuk Bombings?Terror campaigns haveturned Kirkuk into one ofthe most dangerous citiesin Iraq. The intensity andfrequency of the attacks inthe city has increased inparallel with the formationof Dicle Operation Forces(DOF), which was formedby the Iraqi Prime MinisterNuri al-Maliki. The governvnor of Kirkuk issued warnivings that with the arrival ofDOF, it will be extremelydifficult to protect the city,and maintain stability.The city witnessed anotherbloody attack on the morniving of February 3, wheremore than 30 civilians werekilled, and dozens injured.The timing of the attack isquite calculated becausethe giant Exxon Mobil oilcompany alongside Kurdivistan Regional Government(KRG) officials visitedQara Hansher oil exploratvtion bloc to discuss buildinga camp there. Qara Hansheris located in the north ofKirkuk.Kirkuk and other parts ofKurdistan are not under thecontrol of KRG becausethey are classified as ‘dispvputed territories’. This hasbeen considered as one ofthe key issues which aredisputed by Baghdad andKurdistan.During the opposition toSaddam Hussein, and follvlowing the toppling of Baathregime Iraqi politicianspromised Kurds that Kirkukand other areas of Kurdistanthat were not under the effvfective control of KRG willeventually be incorporatedinto Kurdistan. The Iraqiconstitution included an artvticle (Article 140) wherebythe disputed territories wereset to be resolved througha referendum. This articlehas not been implementedby the Iraqi government,and they have continuouslyendeavored to disregard itssignificance.REUTERS/Ako RasheedIraqi security personnel are seen at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north ofBaghdad February 3, 2013.Maliki has tried to avoidthe referendum in boldterms, and his actions speakquite loudly. He has triedto reduce the role of Kurdivish forces within Kirkukprovince by attempting tooccupy it through the formvmation of DOF. He haseven threatened to occupythe whole of Kurdistan, anddestroy the federal structureof Iraq. It seems, if Malikihas sufficient strength andsupport he will not hesitateto replace Saddam Hussein.His policies towards Kurdsare reminiscent of SaddamHussein, who ethnicallycleansed Kurds, and startedan ‘Arabization’ process inthe region during his reign.The resistance of Kurdistvtan region to comply withMaliki’s dictatorial ordersand tendencies illustratesthat Kurds will not giveup their rights easily. Wewill not compromise ournational territory or naturvral resources, and the moreobstacles Baghdad tries tocreate for Kurds, the lesslikely it will be for Malikito implement his policy oferadicating Kurdish influevence in the region.The city of Kirkuk hasbecome a playground forterror groups that are oftvten manipulated by variouspolitical forces within andoutside of Iraq. These militvtia groups are not so-muchthe result of religious radicvcalization in the region, asmuch as they are of politicvcally orientated policies thataim to propagate violencefor the sake of instilling fearin the people. One thing isfor sure, whoever pulled the‘trigger’ in recent bombingsin Kirkuk, the main culpritis Maliki and his dictatorialpredisposition.KRG has developed its oilpolicy successfully, and it isthe foundation of becomingeconomically independentin Kurdistan. Despite threatsfrom Baghdad, and the consvstant wooing that is goingon behind doors by Malvliki with the CEO of ExxonMobil to continue pumpingoil in Southern Iraq, Kurdivistan has managed to pullseveral giant oil companies.Kurdistan offers stability,and this is KRG’s victoryover Baghdad in the battleof oil contracts.Exxon Mobil’s entry toKurdistan opened doorsfor several other giant oilcompanies such as Chevrvron, France’s Total andRussia’s Gazprom Neft.This has caused tensionsto grow between Kurdistanand Baghdad because oilcontracts inevitably changethe balance of powers in theregion. Baghdad is afraidthat Kurdistan will becomestrong, independent andpowerful. This is why, terrvror campaigns seem polvlitically orientated becausethey cause instability in theregion, which could potentvtially ‘scare off’ oil companvnies in Kurdistan.Consequently, KRG mustensure that Kirkuk regainsstability, and maintains it.There would be anti-terrorteams and intelligence forceves deployed into the provivince to prevent more deadlyattacks, and provocations inthis city.Kurds disagreewith amendingconstitutionKurdistani Alliance rejectMaliki’s calls for amendingconstitutionKurdistani Alliance Bloc in the Iraqi Councilof Representatives (Parliament) has rejecteda call by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Malvliki to amend the country’s permanent consvstitution, and argue that the document is aguarantee for overcoming the current crisis.In a statement the Kurdistani Bloc annvnounced through its official spokespersonMuayad Tayyib, the Bloc argues the consvstitution does not need to be changed oramended, and that the constitution is thebest tool for resolving the current politicaldeadlock. According to the Bloc, the reasonIraq is in a crisis is because the constitutionhas not been followed. The statement reads,“While due to the current political disagreemvments we cannot decree some of the veryimportant laws such as the federal court law,oil and gas law and many others laws, howcan we draft a new constitution or amendone?”. The solution according to the Bloc isin, “following and implementing the constitvtution, as well as ensuring that existing lawsare appropriately followed”.Maliki has called on the Iraqi politicalgroups to amend the constitution in an attvtempt to put an end to the current politicvcal deadlock in the country. However, theamendment of the constitution is likely toexclude Kurdish and other ethnic groups.This is particularly obvious in that, the distvtribution of Iraq’s budget excludes minoritygroups, and therefore Kurdish people aregiven no reassurance that through amendingthe constitution their rights will be enshrined.On the contrary, it seems that the Maliki-ledgovernment wants to make changes withinthe constitution that particularly pertains toresolving certain issues that involves Kurdivish people, such as Article 140.At this stage it is unclear what amendmentsor changes Maliki wants to implementwithin the Iraqi constitution, but one thingis for sure, he does not have the support ofKurdish people. In the past months Malikihas threatened Kurdish people, and tensionsbetween Baghdad and Kurdish authoritieshas fueled. It is therefore quite unreasonablefor Baghdad to believe Kurdish politicianswill be forthcoming in amending the Iraqiconstitution.Weekly paper printed in ErbilFirst published in 2005www.kurdishGlobe.netinfo.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comAddress:Erbil, Bakhtiyari QuarterEXECUTIVE EDITORJawad QadirEDITORAzad Aminazad.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comSenior U.K. EditorBashdar Pusho Ismaeelbashdar@hotmail.comManaging EditorAiyob Mawloodi+964 750 4776905aiyob.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comARTS EDITORDiyaco Qayoumy+964 750 4036252diyaco.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comSTAFF WRITERSZakaria Muhammed+964 750 475 3897zakaria.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comSazan M. Mandalawisazan.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comSalih Waladbagi+964 750 4912996salihas2006@gmail.comAdvertisementFor information and prices of ad spots, please contactGlobe’s Advertisement section: Rizgar Yahyainfo@glitter-iraq.comCell: +964 750 4055888SubscriptionThe Kurdish Globe can be delivered to your office orhome address, whether in Kurdistan or abroad.To subscribe: Please contact the Globe DistributionSection: Rauf Aspindarairauf.kurdishGlobe@gmail.com+964 750 4497976You can also subscribe by logging onto:kurdishGlobe.net/subscription

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 3Region’s budget share is lower than expectedKRG seeks economicindependenceThe financial policy ofBaghdad towards Kurdivistan is increasingly unpvpredictable. Every yearKurdistan Region’s sharein the country’s budgetis decreasing despite thesteady increase in thecountry’s revenues andbudget. More than 96%of Kurdistan RegionalGovernment’s (KRG) revevenues come from the budgvget share given by Baghdvdad’s central government.According to an agreemvment between Erbil andBaghdad in 2006, centralgovernment has to share17% of its annual budgetwith Kurdistan.As per Finance and Econovomy Ministry of KurdistanRegional Government’sreport on the draft budgetof Kurdistan region for2013, one of the most impvportant strategies of KRGin remedying this problemis to head towards establvlishing the foundations foran independent economy.Calculating Region’sbudget in BaghdadKurdistan’s budget deficvcit has lowered by 17%,but the reason there is adeficit is because the Iraqigovernment is not commvmitted to giving all therights of this region in calcvculating the budget. It hasalways tried to reduce thebudget, and this is causingproblems within Kurdistvtan Region. Consequentlymembers of the Kurdistanparliament are currentlyworking on the region’s2013 budget to push foreconomic independence.Baghdad’s Finance Minivistry’s budget report statesthat nearly 30% of the 2013budget of Iraq is allocatedto sovereign expenditures,of which KRG is excludedand does not receive anyshares. Omar Nuraddini,member of Kurdistan Parlvliament on the KurdistaniBloc argues that the Iraqigovernment has increasedsovereign budget in orderto reduce KRG’s share inthe budget.MP Nuraddini explainedthat the Kurds have usedall means of dialogue, anddiplomatic methods to putan end to this situation,but unfortunately theyhave not been successfvful. As a result of this, theonly solution that remainsis to return to domesticresources, and start aimiving for economic independvdence.KRG authorities havecontinuously organizedtalks with Baghdad at diffvferent levels, in an attemptMembers of Kurdish parliament exit the building in this file photo.to claim their rights, partvticularly with the budgetof Peshmarga. However,Baghdad has unilaterallydetermined Kurdistan Regvgion’s share in the budgetwithout involving Kurdsin settling the country’sbudget policy. Sozan Khalvla Shahab, member of theKurdistan Parliament onthe majority KurdistaniBloc, strongly supports theidea of economic independvdence, and suggested thatthe region should have aplan for securing its rightsin Iraq’s budget.The main source of Iraq’srevenues is the oil pumpedfrom both Iraqi and Kurdivish oil fields on a dailybasis, which is exported toworld markets. KurdistanRegion has recently starteved to export its oil to Turkvkey without the consent ofthe central government. Ithas attracted several oilcompanies to its regionbecause of the stabilityit offers. Safin Dizayee,the official spokespersonof the KRG announcedthat the Ministry of Naturvral Resources of KRGwill continue to exportits crude oil to Turkey.Dizayee explained thatKRG is doing this out ofnecessity because Baghdvdad central governmenthas not considered theregion’s 17% share in thebudget, and consequentlythey are merely exercisingthe region's rights to theirbasic needs.Reduction in theregions budget sharecompared to IraqIraq’s federal budget hasincreased from its 2012value of IQD 117,123 billvlion to IQD 138,424 billvlion in 2013, which showsan 18.1% increase. Howevever, Kurdistan’s share inthe budget has increasedby only 14.2% from its2012 value of IQD 12,604billion to IQD 16,406 billvlion. According to the Iraqiconstitution, KRG’s budgvget share should increasein proportion to that ofIraq, but this has not beenthe case in 2013’s budget.The reason being, the shareof the country’s sovereignbudget has increased consvsiderably, and this haspushed the region’s sharefrom 10.7% in 2012 to10.4% this year.GLOBE PHOTO/Sleman Tashan“Opposition MPs provide misleadinginformation to the public”The Kurdish parliament isgetting ready to approveKurdistan Region’s budgvget for 2013. Parliamentmembers on the majorivity Kurdistani Bloc arguethat opposition MPs areproviding incorrect andmisleading information,as well as data about thebudget to the public, in anattempt to provoke peopleto oppose the draft budgvget.The draft budget wasprepared by the Ministervrial council of the Kurdistvtan Regional Government(KRG) before the end of2012, and the parliamentcommittees have startedworking on it since. Recvcently the budget discussvsions were brought to theparliament hall and themajority of parliamentmembers have alreadyshared their views regardiving the draft.MPs have been providedwith a copy of the draftbudget, which includesa 94-page report by theFinance and Economycommittee as well as a90-page comparative andanalytical report. Despitethe available data, andanalysis, one Member ofParliament and head ofKurdistani Bloc says oppvposition MPs are providiving false and misleadinginformation about thebudget. Sozan Khala Shahvhab says the figures givenby opposition MPs are notfounded within the availavable documents, and aresimply used as propagandvda against ruling parties.MP Sozan Khala Shahabexplained, “MPs have thefreedom to criticize thebudget” but the problemwith the opposition is thatthey are not providing evidvdence for their claims. Shewent on to add, “What theopposition MPs are sayiving about the budget is notcriticism but rather deceptvtive claims as they providemisleading informationto their people”. One exavample given by Shahab, isthat of the Finance Ministvtry’s allocation of budgetfor events such as Universvsities’ introduction parties,scientific trips and so on.She says the oppositionMPs have tried to forcethe public to understandthis as “night entertainmvment” budget. The situavation has been describedas a “disaster” by Shahab,and that the discussion ofbudget in Kurdistan is notdone on legitimate reasonsbut simply conjecture."Distortinginformation"All MPs are given theopportunity to share theircriticism or commentsabout the draft budget.Some of them talk atlength, going up to 30 minuvutes. Abdulsalam Barwari,member of the parliamenton the Kurdistani Blocargues that the majorityof MPs repeat the samecomments, issues and figuvures without contributinganything new to the discvcussion. MP Barwari toldthe Kurdish Globe, “Thispre-fabricated mindsetand reaction of the oppositvtion would have negativeimpact on the process ofdiscussing and approvingthe budget,” and that “Allthese repetitive discussvsions and statements havetired the public as well.”Budget deficit loweredby 17%The alleged alterationof facts and misinterpretvtation of information bythe opposition MPs forcedKurdistani Bloc MPAmina Zikri to respondto the opposition GorranBloc MPs inside the hallof Parliament. MP Zikritold the Kurdish Globethat opposition MPs arguethat the budget deficit hasincreased in 2013 budgetdraft, while this year’s defivicit has dropped by 17%compared to that of lastyear. MP Zikri concludedby saying. “2013’s budgetis so well-drafted in theinterest of the public thatit has no space for the oppvposition to play politicalpropaganda with figures

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 4Erbil and Ankara to sign a strategic agreementThe Iraqi Prime MinisterNouri al-Maliki has triedto persuade the Americanoil giant Exxon Mobil towithdraw from Kurdistanand resume its investmentin the West Qurna 1 field,which is under the controlof Baghdad. Exxon’s CEORex Tillerson met the IraqiPrime Minister in Januavary, but has not made anypromises, and met withKurdistan Region’s Presidvdent Massoud Barzani inZurich, Switzerland thenext day, where he reiterateved his company’s commitmvment to its contracts withthe Kurdistan RegionalGovernment (KRG). In areport published by Reuvuters on the developmentof Kurdistan Region in theoil and gas industry, ExxonMobil lawyers and top exevecutives have been examivining their decision whichcould change the balanceof power in Iraq if they pullout of Qurna 1 oil filed inSouthern Iraq.Exxon Mobil’s entry intoKurdistan Region’s oilsector has had an significvcant impact on the develovopment of this region. Itconsequently encouragedseveral other oil giants tosign agreements with KRGfor exploring oil, includingFrench giant Total, Russiangiant Gazprom and Americvcan giant Chevron.Safety and Stability inKurdistanKurdistan Region is safe,which has prompted internvnational investors, and theKRG has been very keenon encouraging new businvnesses to start-up. This is incontrast to Southern areasof Iraq, where there is nosecurity or safety for workevTurkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Kurdish Natural Resources Minister Dr. Ashti Hawrami speak during the "KurdistanRegion's Road to Development Conference in Erbil, May 21, 2012.ers. Unfortunately the Iraqigovernment has not playeda positive role in attractinginternational oil companiesto help develop the pooreconomic infrastructureof this war torn country.Consequently, oil giantshave been more keen tosign contracts with Kurdistvtan Region, as opposed tocentral and Southern partsof Iraq.Oil autonomyDuring the last few years,Kurdistan Region has beenrelatively autonomous inthe energy industry, Reuvuters reports. This autonovomy and development inKurdistan has even pushedExxon Mobil to sacrificeits contracts in the southfor the sake of having consvsistent and fast developmvment with a promising enevergy industry in the region.An energy expert arguesthat signing an agreementwith Exxon Mobil was abig step towards developiving Kurdistan region, andsince the agreement thisregion has changed dramvmatically. According to thereport by Reuters, Kurdistvtan Region is very rich inoil and gas resources. Thishas attracted many internatvtional energy companies,with many other companvnies eyeing the region forfuture investments. Thequestion now has become,how Kurdistan can exportits oil rather than whetherit has the ability to produceoil.Kurdistan will not waitfor BaghdadUntil recently Kurdistan’soil was exported via a pipelvline that is controlled by thecentral government. Howevever, this line of exportwas put on hold last monthdue to Baghdad’s refusalto pay oil companies’ fees.Reuters reports that KRGauthorities will not wait forBaghdad any more, and asa result they have started toexport crude oil to Turkeyand get refined fuel produvucts in return. Althoughthe volume of exports issmall but as per Reuters itis an indication for reachiving greater goals in thefuture, and according toan energy expert “Kurdistvtan has reached a point inoil and gas sector, where itwould not return back andthe KRG would no longersupport a centralized oiland gas policy”.Erbil-AnkaraRelationsErbil-Baghdad ties havealmost reached a deadlocksince last year, while KRGhas strengthened its tieswith neighboring Turkeyover the months. A diplomvmat who is aware about thetalks between Erbil and Ankvkara has said that the twoparties are about to sign avery large agreement covevering all major energy aspvpects. The agreement is expvpected to cover all aspectsof exploring and producingKurdistan’s oil by Turkivish companies, marketingand exploring the Region’soil and gas to Turkey. Inthe future this could leadKurdistan to world marketsthrough Turkey. However,in the present KurdistanGLOBE PHOTO/Safin HamidRegion will no longer bedependent on Baghdad foroil exports. ConsequentlyTurkey would not dependon Iranian or Russian oiland gas either.Revenue independencyReuters report argues thatexploring oil is a great succvcess for the Kurds since theregion would receive therevenues of its oil exportsdirectly and it would nolonger depend on its 17%share in the Iraqi budget asthe only source of revenuefor the region. Robin Miles,an exports at the Manavarco consultancy companystates that, “Assume thatKurdistan exports 1 millvlion barrels of oil per day;the revenue of this exportwould be much more largever than the budget sharesit currently gets from thecentral government”.Relations get balancedCommenting on the tiesbetween Kurdistan andTurkey, a senior KRG offvficial says that Turkey hasa significant impact on theeconomic development inKurdistan. The KRG offvficial argues that “Whenwe start exporting oil andgas, everything wouldchange, and our relationswould reach a completebalance”. Reuters alsosays that the Turkish govevernment is eagerly workiving towards improving tiesbetween Ankara and Erbil.Selahattin Cimen, DeputyEnergy Minister of Turkeysays “cooperation betweenthe KRG and the Turkishgovernment for exportingoil to world markets wouldstrengthen the relations thatalready exist between us.”Industrial budget is significantly higher in 2013Trade and industry sectors have developed rapidly in the past eight yearsDler Mahmoud, member ofthe finance committee at theKurdistan Parliament statesthat the Kurdistan RegionalGovernment (KRG) has allvlocated 600 billion IQD (appvproximately half a milliondollars) in the draft budgetlaw of 2013 for improvingthe Trade and Industry sectvtor of the region.According to MP Mahmvmoud, part of this budgetwill be used for implementiving nine new projects thisyear, while another partof the budget will be usedin completing eleven concvcurrent long-term projectsthat were started in previovous years. MP Mahmoudexplained that the governmvment will receive “180 Millvlion IQD of loan repaymentfrom borrowers”. MP Mahmvmoud argues that the industvtrial budget is reasonable,and it would be unfair todeem it as too low. He said,“If parliament memberscomplain about the budgetsector or another, we needto ask ourselves from wherethe money is generated.Some political groups simpvply refuse to acknowledgethat this Region’s budget islimited”.The KRG does not creavate its own revenue butreceives it from Baghdad.According to the explanatvtory report of the governmvment for the budget draft,the number of factorieshave increased by morethan 25% from 2004 until2012. The report explainsthat in 2004 there were only1069 factories while by theend of 2012 this number hasreached 2749. Furthermore,the report indicates an evenlarger increase in the Tradeand Industry sector’s budgvget. In 2004, the Trade andIndustry's budget was only688 million IQD (approximvmately US$ 570,000), whilein 2012 it was a total of 2.3billion IQD (approximatelyUS$ 1.9 million), i.e. morethan 3 times as the 2004budget.MP Mahmoud explainedthat he supports KRG’sTrade and Industry policy,and argued that the govevernment organizes tradethrough monitoring. “Thegovernment has significantlvly supported the businessactivities in the region’smarket”, MP Mahmoudtold the Kurdish Globe.He went on to explain that,“The private sector hasbeen given facilities suchas government support andtax exemptions, which willhelp them with business”.In 2004, there were only1,871 local companies and258 foreign companies inthe region, but in 2012 thenumber of companies registvtered in Kurdistan reached12,348 locals, and 2,028foreign companies, whichshows around 6.5 timesand 8 times increase in thelocal, as well as foreigncompanies respectively.The increase of companieshas led to a huge increase inthe trade volume betweenKurdistan Region and therest of the world. In 2004,the total trade volume wasUS$ 4.2 billion while thisnumber has reached US$14.9 billion in 2012, morethan 3.5 times higher.

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 5Exxon visits disputed Iraqi oil blockExxon Mobil and IraqiKurdistan officials visitedan oil exploration blockcaught in a dispute betvtween Baghdad's centralgovernment and the autvtonomous Kurdish region,and discussed building acamp there, a local officialand sources say.Talks at the Qara Hansvsher block between anExxon executive and a topKurdistan oil official couldprovoke Baghdad at a sensvsitive time for the Arabledcentral governmentand the self-ruled Kurdishenclave in their feud overoil and land rights.Since it signed for sixoil blocks with Kurdistanlast year, Exxon has beenat the centre of the growiving disagreement betweenBaghdad and Kurdistanthat threatens to fracturethe OPEC member's uneveasy federal union a yearafter U.S. troops left.The visit came as Exxonweighs whether to stay orpull out of its huge WestQurna oilfield in the Iraqisouth or keep its Kurdistvtan fields. Iraqi and Kurdivish officials have bothsuggested Exxon will sidewith them.The Qara Hansher field,where the meeting tookplace on Wednesday justnorth of Kirkuk, sits inthe swath of disputed terrvritories, where both regvgions claim jurisdictionand where Iraqi Arab andKurdish troops have reinfvforced positions in a tensestandoff since last year."In the meeting we discvcussed the work of ExxonMobil in Qara Hansherblock and we discussedhow to facilitate thecompany's work," AvestaSheikh Mohammed, thelocal Kurdish major of thearea. "The Kurdistan Regvgional Government has allthe right to sign oil dealsto develop energy resourceves."An Iraqi oil official and aKurdistan oil official confvfirmed the meeting hadtaken place to talk overbuilding a camp in theblock in the low hills.No work or drilling hasstarted at the Qara Hansvsher block - whose namemeans "black fig" in Kurdivish - and the talks were foran initial site, the sourcessaid.Qara Hansher shows thecomplications of workingin the disputed territories.Before the 2003 invasionthat toppled Saddam Hussvsein, Qara Hansher waspart of Kirkuk. Baghdadstill considers it part ofKirkuk, but the Kurdsclaimed it as part of theirregion and the mayor wasapppointed by the Kurdistvtan Regional Government.Baghdad says oil dealssigned with Kurdistan areillegal and warned foreigncompanies they risk losingtheir agreements in Iraq'ssouthern oilfields if theydevelop Kurdistan fields.But fields in the disputedterritories are more compvplicated.Industry sources havesaid Exxon is consideringconcessions from Baghdvdad to keep to stay at the$50 billion West Qurna.One Iraqi oil officialsaid the U.S. major maybe trying to smooth relatvtions with Kurdistan withthe block visit after thecompany's top executvtive meet last month withIraq's Prime Minister Nurial-Maliki."If Exxon visited theblock that does not meanit will actually start upsvstream operations anytimesoon. I think they are comfvforting the Kurds, sayingthey won't abandon them,"a senior Iraqi oil officialsaid. "Let's not jump toconclusions, let's wait andsee."Autonomy And OilAutonomous since 1991with its own regional govevernment and armed forces,Kurdistan says that thefederal constitution ensvshrines its right to developits oilfields.The region is steadilydeveloping more energyautonomy, but still relieson the central governmentfor a share of the nationalbudget from oil revenues.Since Exxon enteredKurdistan, tensions betvtween Baghdad and Kurdivistan have increased, butthe U.S. major's move alsoopened the door for otherlarge foreign companiessuch as Chevron , France'sTotal and Russia's Gazpvprom Neft to sign up.Chevron recently addeda third block to its assetsin Kurdistan.Iraq's oil minister onSunday said during themost recent meeting withExxon, the governmenthad made clear once againthat the U.S. companymust decide between thetwo regions."Exxon Mobil cannotwork in the two fields atthe same time," Oil Minivister Abdul Kareem Luaibisaid.International oil companvnies have been prepared totake that risk in return forKurdistan's better contractterms, security and an easivier working environment,as opposed to the bureaucvcracy and infrastructurehurdles hampering southevern oil projects.The oil dispute has beenaccompanied by an incvcrease in military tensionsbetween the two regions.Last year Iraqi nationalarmy and Kurdish Peshmvmerga forces both senttroops to reinforce their rivval positions around townsdotted along the disputedterritories, including thesensitive ethnically mixedtown of Kirkuk.ReutersPRESS PHOTOKurdistan can quality control all goods in seven yearsDr. Muayad Abdurrahman,Chairman of the KurdistanRegional Government’s(KRG) Quality ControlBoard, says Kurdistan iscurrently not in a positionto control the quality of allthe goods imported intothe region, and to reach100% self-sufficiency hisBoard would need anotherseven year.Abdurrahman argues thatif they didn’t sign agreemvment with some internatvtional inspection companvnies, they would need 35years to reach completeself-sufficiency. QulaityControl Chairman told theKurdish Globe that accvcording to the agreementsthey have signed with theinspection companies, partof the fees charged by thequality control and inspectvtion companies is sharedwith the Board, and canTrucks transporting imported construction material in the border town of Zakho after passing Ibrahhim Khalil Border Point.be used to improve theircapacity.“If we didn’t do that wehave to work for 35 yearswith our own budget sothat our own staff can insvspect all goods,” Dr. Abdvdurrahman told the Kurdivish Globe. He explainedPRESS PHOTOthat if we consider the factthat 95% of all goods usedby the Kurds is imported,they have to inspect goodsof a value of around US$15 billion per annum. “Notall the goods are inspectedin Kurdistan, but rathermajority of them are insvspected by authorized insvspection companies beforethey arrive in the region.We only inspect 10% ofthe goods in-house.”Quality Control Boardworks with an outdatedIraqi law, which accordiving to Abdurrahman isnot suitable for the currvrent conditions of the freemarket and hence createschallenges for the Board.He suggests that Kurdivistan Region must haveits own modern qualivity control law. Althoughthe trade activities on thethree official border pointswith Turkey and Iran arecompletely controlled accvcording to Abdurrahman,but still there are six informvmal border points that areyet to be controlled, henceallowing goods to be impvported without properquality control.In the past the bordersbetween Kurdistan Regionand other parts of Iraqwere not controlled, butsince 2010 quality controloffices have been establvlished between Kurdistanand the rest of Iraq.Kurdistan Region’sQuality Control Boardwas established in 2007and commenced its qualivity control operations in2008, with an initial focvcus on medicine and food,which was later expandedto cover all kinds of goodsand material.

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 6Attackers kill 33 at police HQ in KirkukPRESS PHOTOIraqi security forces inspect the scene of a bombing in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdhdad on Sunday.At least 33 people were killedin the Iraqi city of Kirkuk onSunday when a suicide bombever detonated a truck packedwith explosives outside a polvlice headquarters and gunmendisguised as officers tried tostorm the compound.The blast was the third majvjor attack in weeks in or nearthe multiethnic city of Arabs,Kurds and Turkmen, at theheart of a dispute betweenIraq's central government andthe autonomous Kurdistan regvgion.Police said the bomber triggvgered the huge blast near aside entrance to the policebuilding, demolishing part ofa government office nearby."A suicide bomber drivinga vehicle packed with explosvsives hit the entrance of theheadquarters and after theblast gunmen in explosivevests attacked with AK47sand grenades, but the guardskilled them," a police officialsaid.Guards and emergencyworkers dragged bloodiedsurvivors onto stretchers amidthe wreckage of the blast,which left a large crater in thestreet.Police said 33 were killed,including 12 employees atthe government office. Buta health official said only16 bodies were at a hospitvtal morgue and more than 90were wounded.The attack comes as insurgvgents linked to al Qaeda tryto inflame sectarian conflictin Iraq, where a power-shariving government split amongShi'ite majority, Sunni andethnic Kurds has been in crisissince the last U.S. troops left ayear ago."Two-front" CrisisShi'ite Prime Minister Nurial-Maliki is facing mass protvtests from Sunni Muslims inwestern provinces calling forhim to step down, complainiving of marginalization sincethe fall of Saddam Hussein.In the north, the premier isalso caught in a tense standoffwith the country's autonomousKurdish enclave over controlof oil wealth and land alongthe so-called "disputed territorvries" where both regions claimcontrol.Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles)north of the capital, is at theheart of the dispute. Last yearBaghdad and the Kurdistan regvgional government sent rivalforces to towns close to thedisputed territories.Several armed groups areactive in Kirkuk, and SunniIslamist insurgents linked toal Qaeda often attack securityforces in an attempt to undermvmine Maliki's government andstoke sectarian tensions.Al Qaeda's local wing, Islvlamic State of Iraq, thoughweakened after years of warwith American troops, hasbenefited from the inflow ofSunni Islamists and arms intoSyria where Sunni rebels arefighting President Bashar al-Assad.Suicide bomb attacks are thehallmark of the Iraqi al Qaedawing, and the group claimedresponsibility for a suicidebombing that killed a Sunnilawmaker last month in Fallvluja.But Kirkuk has also beenhome to the Naqshbandi armyor JRTN, one of several insvsurgent groups made up offormer soldiers and membersof Saddam's outlawed Baathparty.Iraqi Arabs, Kurdistan's govevernment and Kirkuk's minorivity Turkmen all lay claim tothe city, known to some asthe "Jerusalem of the Kurds"- a reference to its historicallydisputed status.Last month a suicide bomberdisguised as a mourner killedat least 26 at a funeral at aShi'ite mosque in the nearbycity of Tuz Khurmato, anddays earlier a suicide bomberdriving a truck killed 25 in anattack on a political party offvfice in Kirkuk.The level of violence in Iraqis lower than at the height ofsectarian slaughter in 2006-2007, when tens of thousandsdied. But more than 4,400people were killed last yearin attacks and bombings, thefirst increase in deaths in threeyears.ReutersEIA wins “Fastest Airline Award”Erbil International Airport(EIA) has been labelled as thefastest developing airport inMiddle East, Asia and Africa.An International committee atthe Emerging Markets AirportShow in Dubai selected EIAas 2012’s fastest developingairport with less than 5 milliontravelers. The award was recvceived by Talar Faiq, Directorof EIA. The EIA has 13 flightsper day transferring 2950 travevelers. Its terminal has the capvpacity of 3 million travelers peryear. Currently, EIA has flightservices to 15 countries, and 23cities around the world with 21airlines operating flights.The number of travelers usingEIA increased to 53% in 2012.This means a total of 947,000travelers used EIA last year.The growth in cargo size of EIAhas been remarkable at 54%,with a total cargo transfer of27,489 tons. The positive feedbvback from passengers, and thesteady growth of EIA in a relatvtively short period of time surpvprised the committee. Duringthe award ceremony the headof the committee said, “Theaward we are giving EIA todayis in return to the developmentthis airport has achieved in thisshort period of time. Moreoverit is to reiterate the idea thatbuilding a safe, stable and goodairport like this in a short timeis worth appreciation”.Talar Faiq delivered a succvcinct speech after receiving theaward. She expressed her gratitvtude to the committee, ‘Thisaward is an honor for the ErbilInternational Airport. I wouldlike to thank the head of thecommittee for his kind remarksand his appreciation of the devvelopments that is going on inKurdistan”. She went on to expvplain that “2012 was a year fullof activities and challenges, yetfull of success for the EIA”.Faiq acknowledged the currvrent airlines that have flights toEIA, “We would like to thankthe airlines that have flights tothe EIA and Kurdistan. We areexpecting other airlines to startflights due to the increasing demvmand and fast development ofKurdistan’s economy.”The first female director inKurdistan credited her staffand directors within EIA, andappreciated their hard work,“An airport may have the bestequipment, facilities and infrasvstructure, but without a team ofqualified and experienced staff,the management cannot be succvcessful.”EIA’s Director General alsoexpressed her gratitude towardsthe companies working withthe airport and helping developtheir systems, processes as wellas helping in building a team ofqualified and professional staffin a new specialization that wasnot previously known in this regvgion. This, according to Faiq, isa great success for the airport.On receiving the award shesaid, “This is an honor for ourairport and encourages us totry harder for achieving moresuccess,” Faiq stated duringthe ceremony. “We are a gatewvway to Kurdistan and we willcontinue performing our dutiesin serving all parties using ourservices.”Director of Erbil International Airport Talar Faiq receives the award at the Emergihing Markets Airport Show in Dubai.GLOBE PHOTO

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 7Kirkuk and the politicalstand-offs in IraqKirkuk has an ethnicallymixed population, and hasexperienced dramatic demvmographic changes in thecourse of the twentieth centvtury. Kurds, Turkmen andArabs lay conflicting claimsto this region, and all havetheir historical accounts, aswell as memories to subsvstantiate their claims. SinceApril 2003, thousands ofinternally displaced Kurdshave returned to Kirkukand other Arabized regionsto reclaim their homes andlands which have sincebeen occupied by Arabsfrom central and Southevern Iraq. Kurds make upan estimated 52 percent ofKirkuk’s population. Arabsrepresent 35 percent, whileTurkmen, ethnic Turks withclose ties to Turkey, makeup 12 percent. Other minvnorities include Christians,approximately 12,000 livein Kirkuk currently.USA pullout plan in Iraqpleased most Iraqi factions,but worried Kurdish leadersvship because USA is percvceived as a close and trustedally. Iraq without USA presevence raised many concerns,and has fueled tensions betvtween Kurdish authoritiesin North and central Baghdvdad government. WhileUSA troops were on groundthere were less hostilitiesbetween Baghdad’s centralgovernment and Kurdishleadership and consequentlvly the USA was perceivedas a force for keeping peacebetween different politicalparties, and ethnic groups.One of the reasons Kirkukhas become increasinglyimportant, is in the fact thatit has large oil reserves.This is why the Baghdadcentral government has expvpressed ‘Arab’ claim overthe region because if it didnot have oil reserves, littleattention would be paid toit. However, for Kurds thisregion represents more thanoil. It is the heart of Kurdivistan, where Kurds havefought against Iraqi regimesfor decades and rebelledagainst forced assimilationmovements.In 2010, the United Natvtions proposed a plan to defvfuse tensions in Kirkuk bygiving it a ‘special status’where both Iraq and Kurdivistan Regional Government(KRG) would exercisepower over it while it wasfinanced from Baghdad.The drafted plan was to creavate a power-sharing systemin an attempt to avoid explosvsion of ethnic violence, andpotentially avoid a civil warin the region. This idea wasrejected by KRG’s Ministryfor Extra-Regional Affairs.Mohammed Ihsan did notbelieve political autonomyin Kirkuk is an option, insvstead he argued “UN cannotsolve Kirkuk alone, I callIraqi parties to use dialoguein resolving this issue, andwe should depend on theresults of 2005 election incoming to a decision”.A senior official has said,Kirkuk can only be resvsolved by article 140 inthe Iraqi constitution. Thescheduled Kirkuk referendvdum is a central part of theKirkuk normalization procvcess that will ultimately bethe demarcation of whetherthe Kurdish regions withinthe Iraqi provinces of Diyvyala, Kirkuk, Salahudeenand Nineveh are annexedto the Iraqi Kurdistan regvgion. The referendum wasinitially planned for 15 Novvember 2007, but was delvlayed to 31st of December,and then further delayed forsix months. The Kurdish allvliance has emphasized thatthe delay was for technicalreasons as opposed to recvcent political tensions.Some of the contestedissues between KRG andBaghdad include Kirkuk,article 140, the budget, therole of Kurdish armed andsecurity forces, oil deals,and disputed areas. Tensvsions have persisted anddeepened to an unacceptavable level, prompting Presidvdent of Kurdistan region towarn Baghdad, “Patiencehas limits, the tensions betvtween Kurdistan Regionand Baghdad cannot stayA view of a mosque inside Kirkuk's ancient citadel.unresolved forever”, addiving that the Kurdistan regvgion is always ready to addvdress these issues throughdialogue and constitutionalmeasures.Unfortunately if the currvrent tensions escalate, andlead to a civil war the goalsof USA would be jeopardvdized in maintaining stabilivity across Iraq. This is partvticularly important becausethe elections set for April20, 2013 will change thecourse of Iraqi politics, andcould potentially shift thebalance of powers. Moreimportantly, PresidentBarack Obama promised‘peaceful elections’ andstability in Iraq while USAtroops pulled out. For thisreasons it is vital that stabilivity is maintained across Iraqbecause if civil war eruptsit would taint USA’s imageand show them in a criticallight once more.The United States troopswithdrawal was gradual,and emphasis was put onthe fact that at least 120,000American troops remainedon Iraqi soil until the electvtions of December 2009were finished. Immediatelyfollowing the elections, thepull-out continued and milivitary operations ended on31st of August 2010. Howevever, without the presenceof USA troops, the upcomiving general election couldbe problematic.Although the Obama admvministration expected 35-50,000 troops to remain onIraqi soil after the pull-outplan, the Iraqi governmentpressurized the Bush admvministration into agreeingto remove all USA troopsby the end of 2011. Conseqvquently, regardless of howIraqi politics are shaped,and where it leads to, theObama administration haslittle control over it.Ali Hemdani is a politicalactivist residing in Kirkuk,and he believes that thereare three main concernswhich must be dealt with.The current situation inIraq is unstable, and this isbecause Iraqi politics is notorientated around democvcratic reconciliation, or dialvlogue. Instead the army, andmilitary support is givenpriority, which is why tensvsions in this region couldeasily escalate. Accordingto Hemdani the issues thatconcern Kirkuk are politicvcal instability, terrorism andlack of dialogue.The Kurdish leaders areworried and concernedabout the USA pullout planbecause of the lack of influevence they will have in thefuture. The Maliki adminivistration intends on buyingF16 jets from USA, andthis further worries Kurdivish administration about thefuture intentions of the Malvliki-led government. Nothiving seems certain about thefuture of Iraq in a changingMiddle East, with revolutvtion sweeping neighboringregions such as Egypt andTunisia. However, thereis no doubt that the Kurdswill not give up on reclaimiving their rights in Kirkuk orother Arabized region.Political commentatorshave said, if the USA occvcupation of Iraq was a mistvtake, then the pull-out planis a bigger mistake becausemany sensitive issues withinIraq still remain unresolved.For instance, the existenceof political militias in Iraqis a serious problem thatstill remains.There is an incredibleamount of concern givento the security of Iraq, andwhile we examine the securvrity issues that Iraq faces,what is often forgottenabout is the social problvlems that are neglected inthe process. Iraq was oncehome to a generation of intvtellectuals that were boasteved about throughout MiddleEast. It was a region thatpeople came to be educated,a place where female scholavarship thrived, and wherescientific discoveries wererife. Now this beautiful regvgion has turned into a sickevening game of power. Theissues of security are givenpriority, but in the futurethere will be greater issueswith the culture the past tenyears of war and instabilityhas created.Goran SabahGhafourErbillohangoran@yahoo.comPRESS PHOTO

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 8Facebooking a revolution, and falling in loveSyrian couple decide to get married in Aleppo despite civil war, the strife-torn country’s mainnorthern city, and one-time economic capitalREUTERS/Muzaffar SalmanYoussef, a member of the Free Syrian Army, looks as his wife placehes a ring on his finger during their marriage ceremony in AleppoJanuary 17, 2013.On a Facebook page thatwas originally created tosend updates on the Syrivian uprising, and the ongoiving shelling by the Syrianregime, love flew like thebullets of AK-47’s betvtween two young people.Yusuf and Ghada becamefriends, and soon fell inlove. Both of them posteddaily updates on Facebookto highlight the brutality ofthe Syrian regime, and asan outcry for internationalintervention they collaborvrated their sources to givea clear picture of the brutvtality civilians faced.The wedding ceremonywas organized in accordvdance to Islamic regulatvtions, and procedures. Thecouple were wedded by anImam, who was also theleader of the Free SyrianArmy in Aleppo. Unfortvtunately the bride’s familycould not attend the weddvding because they weresituated in another partof Aleppo that was underthe control of Bashar al-Assad’s mercenaries.Yusuf said, “The ceremvmony was very quick. Wesigned a paper, exchangedrings, and we were marrvried”. In celebration ofthe ceremony, rebel fightevers fired AK-47 rifles intothe air, while cheering“Congratulations, God isthe greatest”. Yusuf, whoworks as a part-time fixerfor foreign journalists,said “We can’t let wardictate our lives. We don’tknow when this war willfinish. It could be a fewmonths, or it might be fiveor 10 years. Do I have towait till then to continueliving”.Ghada explained themystery behind how theymet. She said “Yusuf andI started chatting becausemy Facebook profile pictvture was an image of a littvtle cat. He likes cats,” shesmiled. The love-relationsvship mostly blossomed onFacebook, and throughphone calls because Ghadalived in a part of Aleppothat was controlled by theregime, while Yusuf livedin the liberated areas ofAleppo. He said “We haveonly seen each other fourtimes” and that “Most ofthe time, it is too dangerovous for her to come here,so we’ve spent the pastseven months chatting onlvline and on the phone”.They are both optimisticabout the future of Syria,and Yusuf says if Godblesses them with childrenhe wants them to either rebvbuild Syria or to fight theregime until it collapses.Ghada says, “Deep down,what I want is to build anew country, where ourchildren can live happily.”By Salih WaladbagiPrivate schools increasing in Kurdistan RegionPrivate schools are using TV channels to advertise for their schools, some academics sayadvertising for schools on TV is not legalIn the past years privateschools have increasedthroughout Kurdistan regvgion, particularly after theU.S-led invasion of Iraqin 2003. Some of theseschools have started advvertising on TV channels,and according to the Kurdivistan Regional Governmvment (KRG) Ministry ofEducation’s regulations,advertisement for schoolsis strictly prohibited.Many have been outragedby this new ‘practice’ andwant the advertisements tobe halted as soon as possibvble to ensure fairness andequality in the region.Advertisements forschools on TV channelscreates many problems. Itputs pressure on low-incvcome families, and it glorvrifies one school despitethe credentials being unkvknown while other schoolsare hidden from publiceye. Samira Kareem, amother of three said, “Mychildren asked me to regivister their names in a nearbvby private school becausethey are better than publicschools”. Private schoolsclaim to bring a new educvcational system that isbetter than what the localschools provide. In manyof these private schools,English is spoken as themain language as opposedto Kurdish, which is thelocal language.Kareem explained herfrustration, “The Advertvtisements are aired in theevening when we are allwatching TV with ourchildren”. She added thatthe tuition fees are high,and Middle-class familiesare unable to afford hightuition fees. People havea new heightened awarenvness of the importance offoreign languages, such asEnglish, French and Germvman. However, privateinstitutions opening thatteach these languages orhave a curriculum basedon European system tendto be very expensive andcreate a imbalance withinsociety between the richand poor.The imbalance betweenrich and poor is createdthrough the educationalsystem because from anearly age children are beiving taught that a good eduvucation can only be foundwithin private schools.The teaching standardsat some public schools isquite poorly, Saman Fatahwho is a father of two, andworks in the public sectorsays, “I believe the KRGshould improve the currvriculum of public schools,and to help improve thestandard of teaching, sothat Middle and poor classfamilies are not put at anA view of the building of a private school in Erbil.disadvantage”.Fatah explained that privvate schools can afford topaint their buildings in anattractive, and fun waywhile public schools don’thave this. The Ministry ofEducation should considerimproving the design ofpublic schools, and tomake an effort in raisingscientific and methodicallevels of primary teachers,explained Fatah.Recently the Ministry ofEducation changed all primvmary school books in ordvder to improve the educatvtion system in Kurdistan.The new system is Swedivish, but is still criticizedby many academics. HajarDawood, the Ministry’shead of press departmentsaid the number of privateschools have increaseddramatically, but the numbvber of state schools arestill higher in comparison.She clarified that accordiving to the Ministry’s rulesprivate schools are legallyprohibited from advertisiving for private schoolsnear public schools.Two-shift-schoolhinders educationprogressionIraqi Council of Ministvter’s committee of educvcation has recently annvnounced that there aremore than 13,700 two-shiftstate-paid schools acrossthe country. The councilhas formed a committeeto look into constructioncontractors who allegedlypostponed building newschools. Adil Fahd, headof the education committvtee has said the shortage ofschool buildings has createved many problems acrossthe country. He suggestedthat it is possible for someIraqi ministries to transferpart of their budget into theMinistry of Education’s finvnancial account in order tobuild more new schools indifferent provinces.The head of educationcommittee also revealedthat Arif Tayfoor, a Kurdivish politician and seconddeputy to Iraq’s parliamentspeaker, is assigned as thehead of the new investigvgative committee, addingthat they will definitelyfine negligent companiesthat have not finished consvstruction of schools.By Salih WaladbagiPRESS PHOTO

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 9Latvian environmental companies launch training courseErbil governorate hasconducted several trainingcourses with leading envirvronmental Latvian compvpanies to improve envirvronmental conditions. Thegovernorate has launchedthree training courses fora number of Engineers,directors and several otheremployees. Two trainingcourses were launchedin the capital city of Erbvbil, and the third one waslaunched in Latvia.Latvia is one of the threeBaltic countries -- Lithuavania, Astonia and Latvia.The political system isan democratically electedparliament. The number ofits population is estimatedto be around 2,240,000and Latvia became an indvdependent country in 1991after the fall of the SovietUnion. It became a membvber of the European UnionPRESS PHOTOA view of a natural attraction in Rawanduz, north of Erbil.in 2004.Arta Dizofsica is the dirvrector of Vintico Companywhich is one of the leadingenvironmental companiesin Latvia. Dizofscia cameto Kurdistan in 2008, andmet with the Minister ofEnvironment. He told theminister that his companyis fully ready to cooperavate with the KurdistanRegional Government’s(KRG) relevant parties.He also recounted that hediscovered several historicvcal similarities betweenLatvia and the Kurdistanregion. He added, “In avery short time after webecame independent in1991, we endeavored hardto become a leading countvtry in the world in the fieldof environment sector.”In 2009, the companylaunched its first trainingcourse, and the ministryrecommended 37 employevees to participate in thecourse. Although Dizofscvcia has stated that no formvmal agreement has beensigned between KRG andVintico to launch trainingcourses. In a press conferevence, he told Kurdish newsoutlets that he is happy todevelop mutual relationswith Kurdistan. He said,“There are many professvsional people in Kurdistanjust like that of Latvia.The current developmentin Latvia is the productionof such professional peopvple, and I hope the samehappens in Kurdistan”.Dizofscia stated that thetrainers are both qualifvfied and skilled, addingthat one of them was thehead of municipality forthree years, as well as aminister of regional devvelopment for severalyears. According to him,his company has tried toteach employees on twolevel - theoretical andpractical. He believes thepeople are responsible forprotecting Erbil city, andother cities in Kurdistanfrom being polluted. Heexplained that “There aremany professional peoplein Kurdistan just like thatof Latvia. The current devvelopment in Latvia is theproduction of such professvsional people, and I hopethe same happens in Kurdivistan”.By Salih WaladbagiNGOs institution has been officially announcedIn a recent press conferevence in Erbil, the institvtution of Non-Governmvmental Organizations hasbeen announced for thefirst time in KurdistanRegion. Kurdistan Parliamvment passed NGO Law in2011, and it has recentlycome into effect. FadhilOmer, head of the institvtution announced this on27th of January 2013. Hesaid ‘After implementatvtion of legal procedures,we officially declare aninstitution in the hope ofdeveloping organizationalprofession in the region’.This is an extraordinarystep in encouraging nongovernmentalorganizatvtions to start, and developKurdistan region. NGOstend to have social aimswith a political outlookbut are not part of politicvcal parties or movements.NGOs usually work withHuman rights, environmvmental or developmentalwork. Consequently, sinceKurdistan is in a transitoryphase, the announcementof NGOs institution beiving established is significvcant for several reasons.Namely, NGOs have aninstitution to take theirpaperwork, and will nowhave clear regulations onhow to start.According to FadhilOmer, the institution willbe supervising all the intvternational, regional andlocal NGOs working in thesemi-autonomous Kurdivistan region. All NGOsshould visit the institutionin the beginning of Februavary in order to implementnew regulations, and thosewho want to establish aNGO must prepare a propvposal.The Kurdistan RegionalGovernment (KRG) has allvlocated a specified amountwithin its budget for NGOsannually. According tonew regulations, all theNGO’s payment will becut on May 1, 2013. Thismeans, based on the newlaw, which was passed lastyear, NGO’s will not bepaid on a monthly basis.Instead they have to sendtheir proposal to the institvtution and it will evaluatethe proposal later. Afterfinishing the assessmentprocess, the institutionwill fund them based ontheir proposal.There are around 675NGOs which have beenofficially registered inthe region, out of whicharound 204 NGOs recvceived payment from theKRG alone. Each of themreceive a sum of 2,500,000IQD. KRG has allocated asum of 15 billion IQD forthe NGOs project annuallvly. The delay in announciving the establishment ofNGOs institution was dueto official procedures andpaperwork according toFadhil Omer. Secondly,he explained that the manavagement board of the insvstitution had sought to findskilled, qualified and expvperienced people to workwithin appropriate positvtions at the institution.Based on the old regulvlation, NGOs had to visitthe KRG’s Ministry of Intvterior to register the nameof their NGOs. In keepingwith the new regulations,NGOs have to be registvtered by the institutionalone. As a result the estvtablishment, registrationand all legal paperworkis now dealt with at oneinstitution, and this encvcourages NGOs to branchout to Kurdistan, or localNGOs to start.By Salih WaladbagiKurdish celebrity wants to take part in Miss Kurdistan Pageant ShowDilniya Kamusi, an IranianKurdish actress, has recentlvly expressed her desire totake part in Miss KurdistanPageant Show in 2013. Shetold Kurdish media outletsthat she is getting ready toparticipate in the beautypageant, not because shewants to win the crown, butbecause she wants to takepart in this ‘new culturalphenomenon’. She said ‘Ido believe that I am prettyqualified to partake in thecoming beauty pageant,which will be most probavably held in the capital ofErbil”.In 2012, the first MissKurdistan pageant show washeld on June 28 in RotanaHotel. There were twelveparticipants from SouthernKurdistan, and the showattracted nationwide attentvtion. The competition wasorganized by a Lebanesecompany, and attended bydiplomats, singers, actorsas well as governmental offvficials. Shene Aziz Ako, an18-year-old from the city ofRaniya, was the winner.This was not the firstpageant show in Kurdistvtan because in 1974 therewere similar local pageantshows within the city. Andin the 1970s, Miss Iran wasa Kurdish woman fromKermanshah. Therefore,pageant shows are not anew cultural phenomenon,but rather ‘Miss Kurdistan’pageant show is new, whichideally represents womenfrom different parts ofKurdistan.Kamusi was born in 1992in the Iranian Kurdish cityof Bokan. She is now livivPRESS PHOTODilniya Kamusi, an Iranian Kurdish actressing in the semi-autonomousKurdistan Region’s secondlargest city of Sulaimaniyvyah. She has up to now partvticipated in 10 Kurdish andPersian movies, and wonseveral cinema awards asthe best actress.In 2012, Miss KurdistanPageant show was consistvtent with Kurdish cultureand tradition because thewomen wore traditionalKurdish clothing. The attirewhich they wore were diffvferent from Western countvtries where the participantstend to wear Bikinis or revvealing clothes. KurdistanRegion is still conservative,and women consequentlyface restrictions. Although,the restrictions are not similvlar to the rest of Iraq wherewomen are socially ostracvcized for not veiling, or insome instances where theyare sexually harassed on thestreet if they don’t wear thesocially appropriated attire.In Kurdistan, the restrictvtions which exist, and arecontinuing to ease, are ona different level. At times itincludes the hours in whichyoung girls go out or the socvcial activities that they areallowed to partake in.By Salih Waladbagi

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 10Improving internet servicesThe Ministry of Transportand Communications hasannounced that 4G LTEwireless communicationwill start its services inKurdistan region soon.This move is expected todevelop the wireless servvices in the region since4G LTE is considered asthe best wireless communvnication system that canprovide users with highspeed wireless services.In order to improve intvternet service in KurdistanRegion, the ministry hasdecided to “oblige all thecommunication agenciesto work by LTE system.This move is based on theinstruction No.1 whichhas been approved by theKurdistan Regional Govevernment Council of Minivisters in 2012” accordingto a recent statement. Theannouncement also statedthat, “We ask all companvnies that are working inthe internet field to visitthe Ministry to get a licvcense if their frequenciesare suitable for workingby LTE system”.LTE, which stands forlong-term evolution andis marketed as 4G LTE,is a standard for wirelesscommunication of highspeeddata for mobilephones and data terminvnals. Most of the internetcompanies in Kurdistanregion are working byEvolution Data Optimvmized (EVDO) systemwhich is not popularamong people due to theslow speed.Reber Quick is an internvnet brand which is run byAllay Newroz companyand has a huge share ofthe internet and Telecommarket, supplying morethan 70,000 connectionsto customers. AlthoughReber Quick has manygood features and has diffvferent plans with differentprices, people are generavally not satisfied with it.The monthly offer ofReber Quick with 24/7internet services comesup to 25,000 IQD. Theusage cap is limited to7GB per month. In caseswhere the customer excvceeds the cap during theservice, a charge of 5 IQDper extra downloaded MBwill be imposed. It alsohas hourly subscription,where users are charged250 IQD per hour from2AM until 10AM andfor the rest of the day theprice is doubled per hour.Although internet downlvloads capacity is unlimiteved in hourly subscription,people blame the hourlyplan for the connectionbeing extremely slow indownloading.Dashti Aziz has beena Reber Quick user forthe past two years, hesays “Internet services inKurdistan is terrible fortwo reasons, the speedand and usage cap. ReberQuick is very slow. Youcan’t download anythingeasily, and at times evenopening a website takes avery long time”.Aziz has lived in Englvland for eight years,he believes internet inKurdistan makes peoplepsychologically ill. HeChildren use computer in an Erbil school.explained, “In Englandyou can open websites inseconds, and this is extvtremely important whenresearching or for leisureyou can watch a film onlvline. However in Kurdivistan, I face difficultiesthrough the poor internetservices in even watchinga 2-minute clip on YouTvTube”.Despite new internetcompanies, Reber Quickhas dominated the internetmarket for the past sevenyears, and has been workiving in all provinces of Erbvbil, Duhok and Silemani.Hazhar Harki, a softwareengineer believes that,“We have been deprivedfrom having good internetdue to greedy companieswho have monopolizedthe internet market. I amvery glad that the governmvment has finally realizedthat current internet servvices can’t win people’ssatisfaction at all, and Iam happier that the minivister eventually decidedto bring an LTE system tothe market”.Harki believes that theKurdistan Regional Govevernment could have impvproved internet servicesprovide within Kurdistvtan sooner by inviting asmany international compvpanies that work in theinternet field as possible.He explained, “Wherethere are many compvpanies working in oneplace, there will be compvpetition, and where thereis competition the peoplewill benefit because manyoptions will be availablefor them. Whoever provvides better services witha an acceptable price willhave the most customers.Unfortunately in Kurdivistan, only a few companvnies with very low qualitysystem have managed todominate the whole markvket”.One of the main obsvstacle in installing anelectronic government inKurdistan has been thebad system of internet.People in Kurdistan stillneed to take huge numberof hard copied documentsto finish their paperworkin governmental agencvcies without having anydata available online. AnLTE system is expectedto create a chance forthe Kurdish Governmentto consider installing anelectronic government.The Kurdish GlobeZakariya MuhammedGLOBE PHOTO/Safin HamidGLOBE PHOTO/Zakaria MuhammedTourists visit Ahmad Awa village in the Hawraman district.Over two Million touristsvisited Kurdistan in 2012Kurdistan is becoming a hotspotfor tourists, and locals are goingto great lengths to make sure theregion is ‘tourist friendly’. NadirRosti, the spokesman for Kurdivistan Region’s General Board ofTourism has said, “Year by yearthe number of tourists to Kurdistvtan has increased. In 2012 nearly2.17 million people visited theregion’s tourist attractions. 80%of the visitors were local peoplewhile 20% were from outside”.According to Rosti, the numberof tourists has increased by 30%in 2012 since 2011. Approximatelvly 1,702,390 people visited theregion, and the Board’s strategicplanning has indicated that theyare hoping the number of tourivists would increase by 4 millionin 2015.Every year, different figures areannounced by the Board, trafficpolice and security officials. Thefigures are not always consistent,but the Board’s figures are confvfirmed by Kurdistan RegionalGovernment’s Bureau of Statisticsand the Ministry of Planning.There are 444 hotels, 242 motvtels, 54 tourist villages, and 1480restaurants and cafeterias in Kurdivistan Region. This year, 41 MillionIraqi Dinars were allocated for 47tourist projects, adding up to 77tourist projects in total -- currentlythere are 30 tourist projects whichare under construction, costing 27million Iraqi Dinars.Kurdistan Region has seen agreat boost in tourism over thepast few years. It has been recovognized for its impressive naturallandscapes and more importantlybecause it is the only region inIraq that offers security.During the spring and summerseasons, every day, thousands oftourists from Middle and Southevern Iraq, and many others fromoutside of the region visit Kurdivistan. The region has beautifulmountains, and landscapes. Locvcal businesses have been set upto offer tourists mountain biking,hiking, and many other excitingactivities.The Kurdish GlobeZakariya Muhammed

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 11A new Syria in a newMiddle EastAs the West remains idle, Syrians continue to suffer at largeBy Bashdar Pusho IsmaeelThe international communitycontinues to tip-toe around theSyrian crisis, while almost twoyears into the bloody conflict,the death toll rapidly increasesand thousands more refugees areforced to flee across the borders.Syria may have much greatersocio-political, sectarian andstrategic connotations thanLibya, but the ironies cannot beoverlooked. Just when will theUnited States, the E.U. or theU.N. deem enough is enough?60,000 deaths, 700,000 refugvgees and masses amounts of desvstruction and suffering later andyet the current conflict in Syriais intensifying and worsening bythe day.Failings of the WestThe Western powers havegreatly encouraged the Syrianrevolution and the overthrow ofBashar Assad but have failed totake practical steps that wouldlead to the ultimate end-goal– the end of the regime.The current predicament inSyria has echoes of the 1991uprising in Iraq, which was encvcouraged and promoted by theUS led coalition at the time,but as the brutality of SaddamHussein’s arsenal sliced throughKurdish and Shiite ranks, killingthousands and sending hundredsof thousands of Kurdish refugvgees into desperate situationsin the process, the West stoodlargely idle.The images of bodies of overa hundred executed men, recovevered from a river in Aleppo, isa disturbing summary of whereSyria finds itself today or in thewords of UN special envoy forSyria, Lakhdar Brahimi, the "unpvprecedented levels of horror"that Syria has reached.Ironically, as the Syrian confvflict rumbles on, Western powevers have hailed the impact ofthe intervention, unity and coovordination between NATO, EU,UN and regional African forcesin Mali. Such was the deemedurgency that the intervention inMali was relatively swift andwithout contention.Such urgency is needed inSyria, if not for the sake of therebels, then to alleviate the humvmanitarian crisis of millions ofinnocent civilians. It is the dutyof all those who believe in demvmocracy and human rights.divide over Syrian remains great.The Syrian opposition and theWestern powers have long insvsisted that Assad’s days are numbvbered and any little legitimacyhe had left has long evaporated.The current stalemate is owed tothose who staunchly support Damvmascus – Iran, Iraq, China and inparticular Russia.Russia is the key denominatorto finding an end to the Syrianstruggle and the party that hasalready vetoed three UN Securvrity Council resolutions.The West, having recognisedthe newly formed Syrian Natvtional Coalition as the legitimaterepresentatives of the Syrianpeople, remain wary of directmilitary intervention, the setupof a humanitarian corridor oreven the arming of the rebels.The current vicious cycle inSyria is not about to break. Thereis no way back for Assad now.Syria will never be the sameagain and outgunned rebels willeventually topple Assad one wayor another. The end game is clear,the only thing not clear is whenand how many thousands morelives will be sacrificed and howmuch more suffering the populatvtion will endure in the process.Positive signsAt the recent Munich SecurityConference, US Vice-PresidentJoe Biden reiterated that Assad“is no longer fit to lead the Syrivian people and he must go.” Thegulf between US and Russia isone of the reasons for the protvtracted nature of the struggle.Russia has been insistent that atransitional plan or negotiationsshould not have the removal ofAssad as a prerequisite. Thisnegates the whole purpose andmotive of the Syrian oppositvtion. How Russia can continueto believe that Assad can be partof any future democratic framewvwork or Syrian transition smacksof delusion.In a symbolic step for the firsttime, Sergei Lavrov, the RussianForeign Minister, held talks withleader of the Syrian NationalCoalition, Sheikh Ahmed MoazAl-Khatib. Al-Khatib’s remarksthat he is prepared for dialoguewith the Damascus regime, creavated furry among the Syrian oppvposition. Khatib later back-pedavaled and insisted any talks wouldmerely be on the proviso of apeaceful exit of Assad’s regime.Either way, there is no doubtthat the key to the toppling ofAssad lies in building positiveties between Russia and the Syrivian National Coalition.As the Syrian conflict rages on,even Russian ranks are increasivingly divided, with a stark realivity that Moscow does not wantto risk burning bridges with afuture Syria, in spite of its rhetorvric. Just recently, Russian PrimeMinister Dmitri Medvedev hitout at Assad’s lack of reach-outto the opposition and deemed hischances of staying in power as“shrinking day by day”.A new Syria in a new MiddleEastWith the Syrian Kurds finallyfree from the chains of dictatvtorship and enjoying symbolicautonomy that they are unlikelyto relinquish after decades ofsuffering, Alawites likely to regvgroup in their strongholds andSunnis ascending to power, thenew fragmented Syria will be afar cry from that of yesteryears.With the new Syria and theArab Spring, strategic and sectvtarian alliances of the MiddleEast are undertaking a drasticshift. Syrian Kurds will movecloser to the Kurdistan Region,Turkey’s Kurdish policy both intvternally and externally will needa major rethink with the realivity of Kurdish autonomy on itssouthern border, Sunnis in Iraqwill naturally move closer to thenew Damascus regime just asBaghdad will move increasinglycloser to Tehran.Then there are the ramificatvtions for the Palestinians, Hezbvbollah and Israel. The shifts inthe Middle East are unavoidable.The Western powers and regionaval forces most move quickly, toharness such inevitabilities inthe most constructive way, orrisk more turmoil and destructvtion in a future Syria and the newMiddle East.A continual policy of stickingto the side-lines in the currentconflict will greatly encourageextremists in the Syrian struggleand risk the possibilities of warwithin a war, as dangerouslywitnessed with al-Qaeda backedelements fighting Kurdish forceves in Kurdish populated areas,seemingly on a drive to escalatethe Syrian war and pour fuel onArab, Kurdish hostilities.REUTERS/Goran TomasevicInternational divideThe regional and internationalA Free Syrian Army fighter gestures in front of a burning barricade during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 12Two racist discourses ofTurkish nationalism:milliyetçilik and ulusalcilikBy Behrooz ShojaiThere are two notions of nationavalism in Turkey; one is basedon some kind of religious affinivity called “milliyetçilik”, and theother is grounded on leftist ideas,known as “ulusalicilik”. The firstnotion is derived from the Arabicword “millet”, which originallymeant tribe, but through time itsmeaning has changed both in Persvsian and Turkish language. It nowtranslates to nation, as opposed totribe. Consequently, “milli” (natvtional), and “millyet” (nationality)alongside “milliyetçi” (nationalivist) are various derivations fromthe modern notion of “millet”.The Turkish far-right party MHP(Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi – Natvtionalist Action Party) uses theold Arabic word for denoting itsnationalist discourse. The Leftcurrents (including both socialdemocrats of CHP and marginavalized New Left organizations)usually consider “milliyetçi”organizations as backward andreactionary. As a result they usethe new Turkish neologism “Ulusvsalci”. The world “ulus” is oldTurkish, and similar to the Arabic“millet” it translates into “tribe”in the English language. Surprisivingly the word “ulus” is still in useamong some Iranian ethnic groupsdenoting tribes. There is a tribe inKhanaqin called Qara-ulus (blacktribe) and Baluchi people in Iranand Pakistan use the word “ulus”for different Baluchi tribes.However, according to the newTurkish linguistic discourse basedon Kemalist ideology the “ulus”was adapted by liberals, “progressvsive” currents and the left. Mustafvfa Kemal’s own political party thesocial democrat CHP (RepublicanPeople’s Party) also used thisentry. The Kurdish movement inTurkey, filtered through KemalistLeft, also frequently used “ulus”in its political discourse. Hence,the Kurdish national movementused “ulusal” (national), “ulusvsalci” (nationalist) in its politicvcal discourse as contrasting toTurkish “milliyetçi” (nationalist)movements.Traditionally the “milliyetçi”movements in Turkey were consvsidered as racist, because of theaffiliation with the far-right MHP,but the CHP “ulusalci” discoursehas been considered as progressvsive. Of course this is only inwords, since the origin of CHP`snationalist discourse is based on aKemalist racism. Turkish neighbvbors may object to this statement,Two females hold a number of Turkish flags.but I urge them to interpret Mustvtafa Kemal´s speech in September30 in a meeting: “The importantsport activities are even moreimportant to us. Because it is aracial matter. It is a matter of racvcial hygiene and racial relief. Itis certainly a matter of [racial]selection (purifying) and indeedto some degree it is a matter ofcivilization.” The racist discourseis implied in Mustafa Kemal`sspeech a year later in a speech addvdressing the Turkish Youth: “Oh!Turkish Youth, the strength youneed exists in the pure blood inyour veins!”Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, theMinister of Justice in Turkey1930, declared in an article thatthe Kurds “have never learnt themeaning of mercy in their lives.They are bloodthirsty, aggressive,wild and ferocious. If they captureyou, they will not kill you by onebullet, rather they will pull outyour yes, cut off your nose, pullout your nails and only then theywill kill you!” The same ministerof justice later on went as far assaying: “this is my firm convictvtion that this country is originallyTurkish. Those, who are not originvnal Turks, have only one right andthat is to be servants and slaves[of the Turks].” The state-sponsvsored Turkish racist policies evenused anthropology and race-biolovogy to maintain the purity of theallegedly “Aryan” Turkish race.The Turkish social democraticCHP party is the product of theabove mentioned political discvcourse and it is in alignment withthis discourse that one of its MPs,professo Birgül Ayman Güler addvdressing the pro-PKK BDP stativing that “you cannot convinceme that Kurdish nationalism (sheuses the older notion milliyetcilik)is progressive and independenceoriented.You cannot force me toconsider The Turkish nation (ulus)and the Kurdish nation (milliyet)as equals with equal value. Byapplying two different words fornations in Turkish, Ayman probavably makes a distinction betweennation-as-state (Turkish nation= ulus) and nation-as-people(Kurdish nation = milliyet). Butthe distinction goes deeper thanthat. The Ottoman rulers labeledthe non-Turkish, but Muslim,nations of the empire as “millet”to denote their vassalage and depvpendence on the Turkish OttomanCaliphs. These “millets” were Aravabs, Kurds, Albanians, Lazes andetc. After establishment of the repvpublic, the Armenians were wipedout from Anatolian geography, allMuslim nations left the empireand the only remaining “millet”was the Kurdish one.The modern Turkish state-buildiving was based on an assimilationpolicy; small patches of Anatolianethnic groups were assimilated,but the Turks were less successfvful with the numerous Kurds,who managed to pass the era ofassimilation and submission. Theglobalization and to some degreethe struggle of Kurdish nationalmovement made the existence ofKurdish nation a reality of Turkvkey. The officials had to admit the“Kurdish reality”, the “KurdishQuestion” and the existence ofa language called Kurdish. TheKurds were too many to be ethnvnically cleansed like Armenians,or assimilated like small ethnicgroups of black sea. It followedthat the Turkish mainstream politvticians started to implement theOttoman notion of “millet”, asubordinated group that are ratherthe subjects of the ruler than equalcitizens of the republic.However, what is striking isthe response from Kurdish MPsof Peace and Democracy Party(BDP). The Kurdish MPs ansvswered: “we are not nationalists”.The Turkish sociologist IsmailBeşikçi, who has spent nearly twodecades of his life in prisons fordefending the Kurdish cause, hasin an article in response to the astvtonishing Kurdish stance. Here Iwill try to translate his thoughtsinto English, and highlight whathe said succinctly.“First of all, one should askwhy aren´t you nationalists? [TheKurdish] language is forbidden. Itis impossible to discuss educationin Kurdish. You cannot expressPRESS PHOTOthe name of your country [Kurdivistan]. Every morning the Kurdivish children continue to chant inthe schools: I am a Turk, I am therighteous… I shall sacrifice myexistence for the Turkish… Afterso many years of struggle you stillcannot give names containing the[Kurdish] letters W, X, Q to yourchildren. Naming the parks, publvlic gardens after Kurdish writersor Kurdish patriots is still considevered to be against the Turkish cultvture and Turkish values and hencerestricted. Governors, deputy govevernors [appointed by the TurkishState] still prevent enforcementof decisions made by municipalivity councils [elected by Kurdishvoters]. They even go to courts inorder to annul these decisions. AllKurdish names have been replacedby Turkish names in the geograpvphy of Kurdistan. You have beenexposed to an intense assimilatvtion policy, which still is continuiving. Prohibition of mother tongueeducation is part and parcel of thisassimilation policy. But don’t youdefend these [rights]? Aren’t yougoing to defend these? When youdefend these basic rights, you willbe called a nationalist. The mostvaluable discourse for the Kurdsis exactly this [nationalism]. Theonly promising discourse for thefuture of the Kurds is this [nationavalist] approach”.Twenty years ago while I wasstudying at a Swedish high schoolmy teacher of Social Sciencetalked about Kurdish nationalivism. I remember that I laughed,upon this my teacher asked why?My answer was if there were anyKurds who labeled themselvesas nationalist. The political pervversion of New Left in all partsof Kurdistan has influenced theKurds to such a degree that theyfeel ashamed to express their natvtionalism or to be labeled as natvtionalists. Our nationalism is notexpansionist like Arab, Turkish orPersian. We have not conqueredor suppressed other people. Wehave not fought any battle outsideour territories. Our nationalism isan honorable undertaking. Kurdivish nationalism means promotionof human rights, democracy andpluralism. We should be Kurdivish nationalists with pride. DoesTurkish nationalism entail humanrights, linguistic rights, equality,democracy and pluralism? Is thereany pride in being a Turkish natvtionalist? The answer is clear.

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 13Turkey’s KRG energy partnershipBy Gonul Tol – Foreign PolicyOnly a few years back, the ideaof an independent Kurdistanbordering Turkey would havehad Ankara up in arms. Not anymvmore. Past tensions have beensupplanted by a new energypartnership and Turkey seemsfar less worried about the prospvpect of an independent Kurdistvtan. In May 2012, Turkey andthe Kurdistan Regional Governmvment (KRG) cut a deal to buildone gas and two oil pipelines dirvrectly from Kurdish-controllednorthern Iraq to Turkey withoutthe approval of Baghdad, takingthe rapprochement started betvtween the two in 2009 one stepfurther. If realized, the Kurdishpipelines will for the first timeprovide the Kurds direct accessto world markets, bypassing theBaghdad controlled Kirkuk-Ceyhan (Turkey) pipeline bringiving the KRG one step closer tothe long-held dream of Kurdishindependence.Some pundits have argued thatfor this very reason Turkish appvproval of a Kurdish pipeline is along shot. But the constructionseems to be underway. Accordiving to Turkish press, the KRGhas already begun constructionon the oil and gas pipelineswhich are due to be operationalby early 2014.A couple of factors account forthe sea change in Turkey's KRGpolicy. The first being Turkey'senergy strategy. Turkey is anenergy hungry country with asix to eight percent annual incvcrease in demand. In order tosustain its economic growth,Ankara wants to strengthen itsenergy security, ensure diversvsification of suppliers, and estvtablish itself as an energy hubbetween the energy-producingcountries to its east and the enevergy-consuming countries to itswest. Currently, Turkey reliesheavily on imported energyfrom Russia and Iran. Recently,however, Iranian sanctions havedriven up Turkey's energy costs.Moreover, the Syrian crisis hasrevealed that energy dependvdence on Iran and Russia mightrestrict Turkey's room for diplomvmatic maneuver. This is wherethe Iraqi Kurdish energy supplycomes in handy. The Kurdishregion sits on significant, nearlyuntapped oil and gas reserves.The KRG would offer Turkeya high quality low cost energyalternative to Iran and Russiawhile Turkey might serve as aconduit for KRG energy exportsto Europe.There are also geostrategicconsiderations behind Turkey'svolte-face. The Syrian uprisiving has strained Turkey's oncestrong ties with Iran and Syria.In retaliation for Turkey's suppvport of the Syrian opposition,Bashar al-Assad has given theDemocratic Union Party (PYD),the PKK's Syrian offshoot, afree hand to establish itself inthe country's north. Turkish intvtelligence reports indicate thatIran has been providing shelterand logistical support for thePKK to launch attacks againstTurkey as well. The KRG, onthe other hand, has banned pro-PKK political parties, arrestedPKK politicians, closed downPKK offices, and closely monitvtors pro-PKK activities. Againstthe backdrop of shifting dynvnamics in Turkey's immediateneighborhood and mountingPKK attacks, cultivating closerties with the KRG has becomeone of the most important compvponents of Turkey's anti-terrorstrategy and the government'smost recent "Imrali process,"the peace talks with the PKK'sjailed leader Abdullah Öcalan.Yet another intricacy for Turkvkey's regional policy has beenthe face off with Baghdad. Analready strained relationship betvtween Ankara and Baghdad dueto diverging stances over Syriacame to a head after the U.S.withdrawal. In an effort to consvsolidate his power, Iraqi PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki issuedan arrest warrant for Sunni VicePresident Tareq al-Hashemion terrorism charges. Turkeygranted refuge to Hashemi andrefused to extradite him dealiving yet another blow to bilateralrelations. The energy deals Turkvkey signed with the KRG arethe latest in the Baghdad-Ankvkara confrontation. Baghdad isaccusing Ankara of meddling inIraqi affairs by "backing radicalSunni elements" in the countryand signing "illegal" energydeals with the Iraqi Kurds,while Ankara is charging Malikiof provoking sectarian tensionsand leading Iraq into civil war.Maliki's growing tilt towardIran has only exacerbated thetension.Facing a host of new challengeves including an increasingly antvtagonistic Maliki government,growing Iranian influence inIraq, mounting PKK attacks,and increasing energy demand,Turkey seems to have found anunlikely ally in its ordeal.Strange as it may sound, theUnited States is not happy aboutTurkey's courtship with IraqiKurds. Since the first Gulf War,Turkish-U.S. relations sufferedmultiple crises over the latter'ssupport for Iraqi Kurds. Thistime, however, it is the otherway around. Last week, FeridunSinirlioglu, Undersecretary ofthe Turkish Ministry of ForeignAffairs, had a meeting with theState Department in which theUnited States reiterated its oppvposition to the energy deals dirvrectly between Ankara and theKRG fearing that closer energyties might push Baghdad's Shiivite government closer towardTehran and threaten Iraqi unity.Despite opposition from Baghdvdad and the United States, thereseems to be little that can stopthe ball from rolling on energycooperation between Ankaraand the KRG. In an interviewwith Turkish daily Hurriyet onJanuary 8, Namik Tan, Turkey'sambassador to the United States,made it loud and clear: we willnot turn our back on the KRG'senergy resources.The energy deals foreshadowa major shift in Turkey's Iraqpolicy. Gone are the days whenthe KRG was seen as part ofthe problem; it is now viewedas part of the solution. Turkeycannot only tolerate an independvdent Kurdistan but also benefitfrom it, as long as it remains depvpendent economically on Turkvkey. An independent Kurdistancould offer a source of energy,a buffer against a hostile Baghdvdad and Iran, and an importantally in Turkey's fight against thePKK.Yet it is not all roses; risksabound for both parties. Theoil pipeline deal will allow theKurds to export up to one millvlion barrels per day, but it mightalso make reconciliation betvtween Erbil and Baghdad harderto achieve. If the KRG does notfind a constitutional solution toits dispute with Baghdad overits contentious hydrocarbon law,the conflict will become regionavalized inviting further meddlingin Iraqi politics by neighboriving powers. Ensuing instabilivity carries the risk of scaringaway badly needed foreigninvestment. Additionally, bybypassing Baghdad in its bilateveral agreements with the KRG,Turkey risks losing investmentin southern Iraq which holds thecountry's largest explored oiland gas reserves.Regardless, Turkey seemsready to take the risk. In light ofTurkey's long tortured historywith the Kurds, such a radicalshift seems nothing short of astvtonishing.* Gonul Tol is the foundingdirector of the Center for Turkiish Studies at the Middle EastInstitute.Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural ResourcesTaner Yildiz speaks at the "Energy and the Kurdistan Region's Road to Development" Conference in Erbil,May 21, 2012.PRESS PHOTO

The Kurdish Globe No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 14hopeDiane RahTraffic and Roads From HellIn midst of all optimism for peace andstability in the Kurdistan region, the fearthat was once geared by war and dictatorsvship has now shifted to the fear caused bythe war on the roads. In 2012 between theperiod of January to July more than 400people died on the roads and highways,leaving thousands injured.Whether young or old, female or male,educated or illiterate the roads in Kurdivistan seem to have no mercy on the livesof thousands of drivers and passengerscrossing them daily. The ingredients tosuch fearful disasters are many and ifno further measures are taken, the roadahead will remain a horror.Despite the shocking statistics, l willnot overlook the initiatives the KurdistanRegional Government has made in orderto prevent road casualties. The Ministryof Interior in the past few years ordered alarge number of speed cameras and withrecent rules and regulations in place theprocess of getting a license has changed.There are now both practical and theorvretical tests similar to European countriesprior to a license being granted. Nonetvtheless, 300 new mobile PoliScanspeedsystems, which are proven to be far moreeffective than conventional radar devicesin detecting road offenses, are to be inplace by May 2013. The question thatremains is whether these measures havebeen enough or effective in tackling theescalating numbers of car accidents.In 2009 the number of deaths causedby car accidents was reported to be morethan 500 people, however only a yeardown the road the numbers have almostdoubled. Worryingly, there are currentlyabout 1 million cars in Kurdistan wherethe overall population is just over 4 millvlion. A constantly increasing number ofcars are being imported from neighboriving countries, and with no imposed taxregulation and demand this region is aheaven for car businesses but hell for alacking traffic system. According to recvcent research, traffic fatality in Kurdistanis nearly six times higher than in the UK.Comparing the Kurdistan region’s 4.5million population to the UK’s 64 millionthe picture is undoubtedly catastrophic.Besides installing speed cameras andadvancing driving schools, there are otherfar more important factors that the govevernment can introduce in order to put theKurds on a safer roadmap. Firstly, regulvlating the import of cars and ensuring thesafety of the vehicles entering the region.Secondly, enforcing greater and strictertraffic laws and monitory systems and offvficers that would not let traffic offensesgo unchecked. And of course promotingpublic transport in the main cities, buildiving an advanced traffic and road infrasvstructure that attracts passengers to saferand more comfortable public transport.Death is inventible, but traffic accidentsshouldn’t be. We Kurds have a long wayahead of us and learning is an integralpart of the way forward, but first the govevernment needs to do its homework andintroduce the lessons to a society that isclearly in need of strict homeschooling.International recognition of Genocideagainst Kurdish peopleFormer French ForeignMinister Dr Bernard Kouchnvner supports the campaignfor recognition of Kurdishgenocide in Iraq. Dr Bernvnard Kouchner, the formerFrench Foreign Minister,in London joined eye-witnvnesses, survivors, ministvters, MPs and experts fromseveral countries in callingfor the international recognvnition of the Kurdish genocvcide in Iraq.Speaking at a major confvference in London on theKurdish genocide in Iraqheld on January 17, DrKouchner said, “We were awitness of mass murder inHalabja, it’s time to have anexamination of the facts. Ofcourse it was genocide. InIraq, who was supposed toprotect the Kurds? The intvternational community.”Dr Kouchner, the cofounderof the internationalNGO Médecins Sans Frontvtières, said, “I am not a specvcial guest here today, I am aspecial friend of the Kurdivish people.” The conferencewas supported by PresidentMasoud Barzani, PrimeMinister Nechirvan Barzvzani and Britain's Ministerfor the Middle East AlistairBurt, all of whom wrotemessages in the conferenceprogram.The Kurdistan RegionalGovernment’s (KRG) Minivister of Martyrs and AnfalAffairs, Aram Ahmed Mohvhamed, spoke about whyrecognition of the genocideis so important to the peopvple of Kurdistan: to preventmore genocides, to honorand compensate the victims,to send signals to potentialperpetrators and to work forreconciliation.The KRG’s Head of Foreveign Relations MinisterFalah Mustafa Bakir paidtribute to the Kurdish Diavaspora for highlighting thegenocide to foreign governmvments and the public. Hesaid. “Our tragic past tookplace before the rise of theinternet, social media, mobvbile phones and satellitetelevision…The challengefell to the Kurds abroad,particularly those in Eurvrope, to bring the plight oftheir fellow countrymen tothe world's attention. Theydidn’t give up. They weredriven by the injustices carrvried out against what mostof the world knows now asthe largest nation without astate.”The Deputy Speaker ofthe Norwegian Parliamvment, Akhtar Chaudhry,and Swedish MP FredrikMalm spoke about howrecognition of the Kurdishgenocide was achieved intheir countries’ parliaments.British parliamentarians,many of whom were at theconference, are supportinga campaign to achieve recovognition in the UK as wellthrough an online petition.Baroness Morris, chairmvman of the ConservativeMiddle East Council andthe UK's trade envoy to Kuwvwait, Jordan and the Palestvtinian Territories, attendedthe conference to publiclysign the petition calling onthe UK to recognize theKurdish genocide.Bayan Sami Abdul Rahmvman, the KRG’s High Reprvresentative to the UK, andher team organized the intvternational conference. Shesaid, "This year, 2013, isnot only the 25th anniversvsary of the poison gas attvtack on Halabja and the Anfvfal genocide campaign, it isalso the 30th anniversary ofthe abduction and killingof men and boys from theBarzani clan and the 10thanniversary of the West’sintervention in Iraq, whichwe Kurds refer to as theliberation. Apart from notiving this unusual coming togvgether of memorable dates,we see this conference asan opportunity to revealthe horrific crimes that theKurdish people have fallenvictim to since the 1960s,to tell the secret story of lifeunder Saddam Hussein’sbrutal dictatorship, to givethe victims and survivors avoice and to have a debateon the issues that surroundgenocide."The conference heardfrom survivors KamaranNawrooz Haider, the UKRepresentative of the Halavabja Chemical VictimsSociety, and Thana Al-Bassvsam, a Faylee-Kurd, whorecounted their experievences of the atrocities theyand their families suffered.Richard Beeston, foreigneditor at The Times newspvpaper, recounted the horrorthat he saw on arriving inHalabja immediately afterit was attacked with poisongas and Tom Hardie-Forsvsyth, who was in the Britivish army, described how heand his colleagues workedto establish the safe havenfor Kurdish refugees whohad fled in fear of chemicalattacks in 1991. Dr ZryanYones, former KRG HealthMinister, testified in Saddvdam Hussein's trial aftertreating people who hadchemical wounds.Dr Mahmoud Osman, anMP in the Iraqi Parliamentand longtime Kurdish politvtician, said he would speak‘as a victim of the regimeand a witness of the genocvcide’. As a political opponvnent of Saddam Hussein, hewas poisoned with thallium(rat poison), only survivingwith the help of smuggledmedicine from abroad. Ofhis time with the Peshmargvga, he recalled watching themustard gas bombs beingdropped on villages and hisattempts to help the doctorstreat the civilians, wearing arudimentary gas mask madeof coal and wet cloth.Peter Galbraith, formerUnited States diplomat,witnessed the genocide asit unfolded when workingfor the US Senate ForeignRelations Committee. Hesaid: “The US governmentacknowledged that chemicvcal weapons had been usedagainst the Kurds but decvcided against imposingsanctions.”The conference was alsoaddressed by numerous Britivish Parliamentarians, internvnational genocide and legalexperts and eyewitnesses.Together they highlightedhow, during Saddam’s Hussvsein’s regime, thousands ofordinary Kurdish peoplesuffered unspeakable crueltvty and violence with manyending up in mass graves ordying from chemical weapovons attacks, while the worldremained largely silent.Many speakers called forformal recognition of thegenocide and compensationfor the victims.The conference was attvtended by 300 people incvcluding 40 journalists, andseveral hundred watched itlive via the internet.

PRESS PHOTOThe Kurdish GlobeCoach fines players forpoor performanceAn unhappy Bassim Qassim criticized hisSuleimaniya players after a 5-2 defeat byAl-Mina FC left them with nine pointsfrom 11 games in the Iraqi Elite league.No. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013 15Sports NewsSpain wins Handball WorldChampionshipSpain won their second World HandballChampionship in grand style after theyblew away favorites and European titleholders against Denmark with 35-19 onSunday. With the lead swelling to 17goals in the closing stages, Spain's benchturned to the crowd and danced joyfullybefore the final whistle as Denmark’scoach Urlik Wilbek motionlessly watchedhis team's collapse.Croatia won the bronze medal on Saturdvday, their third in a row after they finishedon the podium in Euro 2012 and the Londvdon Olympics.This picture shows Bassim Qassim, Suleimaniya FC coach.After winning the Iraqipremier league title for thefirst time in its history, Sulvleimaniyah Football Clubstarted revamping its squadfor this elite league season.The idea of brining in newfaces to the club came afterthe club board members reavalized if Suleimaniya wantsto compete with giant clubslike Erbil, Duhok, and Zakhvho it needs to reinforce allthe lines of the squad.Suleimaniya hoped tocontinue showing strongperformance in the Iraqielite league and Kurdistanpremier league. To do this,the team started changingits lineup, signing severalnew footballers and tryingout others before the leaguestarted. The team startedits string of changes bysigning several new playevers and appointing BassimQassim as head coach. ButAfter playing 11 matches,the team has been successfvful only in two occasions,tied three times, and lostsix times.Suleimaniya's stutteringstart to the domestic campvpaign continued when theylost 5-2 at Al-Mina to slip13 points behind leadersDuhok. After the great loss,coach Qassim lambastedhis players due to theirpoor performances and decvcided to fine all of them."My team showed a verybad performance level inthe previous game againstAl-Mina. The result wasnever expected and it washard for me to believe it,"said Qassim, who accusedhis players for not abidiving by his instructions andcommands.Qassim also said "Theplayers generally are resvsponsible for the resultsbecause they didn't takemy words and plans intoconsideration. For that reasvson I decided to fine eachof them with 200,000 IraqiDinars,". The team's strikever, Ahmad Munajid, wasexceptionally fined with500,000 dinars due to losiving a lot of easy scoringchances in the local leaguematches. In the matchagainst Ali-Mina, Munajvjid was red carded and theteam had to play the restof the match time with 10players.When asked if the punishmvment can make the playersperform better in the futurematches, Qassim said "Wewon't accept disobediencesfrom any footballers. I doeverything for bettering theteam and I hope the playerscan learn from their mistvtakes."Due to administrative andfinancial problems, overthe last seven years Suleimvmaniya was out of the eliteleague. The team decided toplay in the premier leaguelast year and won the title,promoting them to the eliteleague. This year, the club'smanagement board spenta significant amount ofmoney to train players andcoaching staff in order theteam would compete withthe giant clubs.Fans have different viewpoints concerning Qassim'streatment with the playevers; some think he is on theright way while some sayhis action may put playevers in a bad psychologicalstate.The Suleimaniya clubwas founded in 1956 inthe Kurdish city of Suleimvmaniya. Dara Muhammadand Halgurd Mullah Muhvhammad, who used to playfor the Iraqi national team,are two of the biggest starswho have played for Suleimvmaniya.Zakaria MuhammedErbilzakaria.kurdishGlobe@gmail.comBarcelona, Real Madridtie 1-1 in Copa semifinalRaphael Varane scored in the 81st minuvute, givingReal Madrid a 1-1 tie againstBarcelona on Wednesday night in thefirst leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.With Barcelona enjoying the majority ofthe possession, Cesc Fabregas put thedefending champions ahead in the 50thminute off a pass from Lionel Messi, whointercepted a clearance. Messi's streak ofscoring in 16 straight starts ended.Varane's goal was his first since Dec. 20,2011.Balotelli completesAC Milan transferManchester City striker Mario Balotellihas completed his move to AC Milan,signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.The two clubs agreed a deal on Tuesdayafternoon for £20 million that will bespread over five years, while the Italyinternational is taking a pay cut on his£110,000 per-week to join the Serie Aside.The 22-year-old Italy international bringsan end to a controversial two-and-a-halfyearstay in England with Roberto Mancvcini's side, during which he scored 20goals in 54 league appearances, helpingthe club to win both the Premier Leaguetitle and FA Cup, before moving back tohis homeland.Djokovic Wins Australian OpenIraq’s Shakir selects new Squad for indonesia MatchSalih Sadir, Hawar Mullah Muhammad and Nashat Akram out of Iraqi football teamThe Iraqi Football Assocvciation (IFA) has announcedthe names of the Iraqi footbvball team players selected bycoach Hakeem Shakir to faceIndonesia in the World Cupqualifiers on February 6.According to IFA Spokesmvman, Naeem Saddam, thoseselected include: Noor Sabvbri, Jalal Hassan, Muhammvmad Hameed, MuhammadNirbat, Waleed Salem, AliAdnan, Zirgham Ismail, Ahmvmad Ibrahim, Salam Shakir,Mustafa Nazim, Ali Bahjat,Humam Tariq, Hammadi Ahmvmad, Ammar Abdulhussein,Saif Salman, Ahmad Abbas,Khaldun Ibrahim, Ali Hussvsein Rhema, Nabeel Sabah,Muhannad Abdulrahim,Younis Mahmud, Karrar Jassvsim, and Jawad Kazim.The famous midfielder,Nashat Akram has resignedfrom International footballbecause he was not invited toparticipate in the Gulf cup.Coach Hakkem Shakir wasappointed a few months afterIraq parted with the BrazilianCompany Zico, and finishedthe 2013 Guld Cup as runnersup. Since starting Shakir hasmade radical changes in thenew Iraqi team by summoniving new young players, anddismissing several famousplayers such as Salih Sadir,Hawar Mullah Muhammedand Nashat Akram.Iraq comes from GroupC which features two-timeAFC Asian Cup championsSaudi Arabia, China and Indvdonesia.Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray andwon the Australian Open final on Sundvday. No. 1 Djokovic won 6-7 (2-7), 7-6(7-3), 6-3, 6-2, beating No. 3 Murray infour sets.It’s Djokovic’s third-consecutive title inMelbourne and his fourth since 2008. Theonly other men with four titles are AndreAgassi and Roger Federer. Djokovic isalso the first man to win three consecutvtive titles in the Open era. Murray was incontrol of the match until 2-2 in the secovond tiebreak when play was momentarilypaused when a feather floated on court. Itwas all downhill from there.

Last pageNo. 386, Wednesday, February 06, 2013Erbil DelightGetting married and beingsocially activeRuwayda Mustafah RabarI recently graduated from KingstonLaw school, and marriage was the lastthing on my mind. For a long time Iperceived the institution of marriageto be based on inequality and misogynvnistic. When I met my partner my percvception of marriage radically changed,and everything slowly fell in place byitself. I didn’t plan on getting marriedafter graduation, but I do believe marrvriage is something unique that is worthexperiencing. One of the things that Iam struggling with is balancing beingmarried, and being socially active. Itis proving to be hard because I realizethat the choices in my life impact mypartner too, and not just me.Being socially active has alwaysbeen important to me. Ever since Iwas a little girl, I was always different,and I want to stay that way. I believethrough being ‘different’ I can makea difference to society. When I wasnot married, it was very easy to attendpro-Kurdish demonstrations, meetivings, conferences, gatherings, and toplan these events. Sometimes I spenthours researching on the internet onKurdish-related issues, or I spent a signvnificant number of hours writing aboutKurdish issues. I always had time to beactive, but it is proving to be incredivibly hard for me to stay the same way.My responsibilities have changed,and in the beginning we all strugglewith accepting ‘change’. It is scary becvcause you don’t know where each decvcision leads, and what the consequenceves could potentially cause. It has takenme a few weeks to get back on ‘track’,and to continue with being socially actvtive. What is crucial, for anyone whois newly-wed, is to realize their limit.Many active young women are afraidof getting married because they believeit will hinder them from being sociallyactive. It always depends on the persvson you intend on marrying, and whatthey intend to do with their life. Fromthe very beginning I was quite clearwith my partner that my aim in lifewas not limited to having a decentlypaid-job, a fancy car and house. It isnot a medal of achievement that I amafter, but rather fulfilling my desire tobe an individual that strives to eradicvcate societal ills.If you are lucky enough to meetthe right person, you will realize thatgrowing old with someone is wondvderful. Being able to confide in yourpartner comfortably compensates forthe few opportunities that you mightmiss. I think being able to share all thejovial things that are important to you,whether it is a cup of tea on a Sundayafternoon or a song is euphoric. This iswhy no one should be afraid of gettingmarried because with the right person,it will strengthen your activities, andnot weaken it.