Displaced and refugee families in Suleimaniya ... - Kurdish Globe

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The Kurdish Globe No. 314, Saturday, July 23, 2011 4"Inside the country, the job has beendone — the regime has been destroyed"Dr. Radwan Badini, an inddependent Syrian Kurdishpolitician and intellectual,participated in both of theSyrian opposition meetingsin Turkey, as the representdtative of Kurdish oppositdtion. He was in Antalya onJune 1 and in Istanbul onJuly 16. In an interviewwith the Globe, Dr. Badinidiscusses issues regardingSyria and its future.Globe: You participated in bothof the Syrian opposition meetingsin Turkey, what was the differencebetween the Istanbul and Antalyameeting?Dr. Badini: At the Istanbul meeticing, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhchood Party had a larger presence;they wanted to show their powerand be recognized inside Syriaand internationally. As Kurds, wedon't mind sitting with the MuslimBrotherhood, but we have conditctions and limits. We insist thatKurds in Syria are not a minority,they are one of the main nations,and we want the Kurdish rights to“be written in the new Syrian conscstitution. Right now, the level ofunderstanding between Kurds andthe Muslim Brotherhood is positctive.Globe: Is the Muslim Brotherhchood considered the most powerfcful Syrian opposition party?Dr. Badini: No, but among thetraditional Syrian opposition partcties, the Muslim Brotherhood isconsidered the strongest. Moreocover, the Muslim Brotherhood isthe most experienced Syrian oppcposition.Globe: Which opposition partiesare strong?Dr. Badini: There are no strongSyrian opposition parties becausefor more than 45 years the Syrianregime has monopolized powerin the country and never let anypolitical party beside Baath Party(the ruling party) practice or evenbreathe. In the meantime, theKurdish opposition is the most orgcganized opposition in Syria.Globe: There were reports thatTurkey did not invite Kurdishparities to participate in the opposcsition meetings. Is this true?Dr. Badini: Turkey plays a dualgame with Syrian Kurds. Whatwe want from Turkey is to lookat the Syrian opposition partiesequally. We respect what (TurkishPrime Minister) Erdogan has donerecently to improve the Kurdishrights in Turkish Kurdistan. TurkcTurkey plays a dual game withSyrian Kurds. What we wantfrom Turkey is to look at theSyrian opposition parties equally.Kurdistan Region opposition partcties suspended meetings with theruling parties due to some conditctions not being met. The rulingparties were supposed to statetheir opinion on the oppositions’conditions, but the meeting oftheir politburos hasn’t yet beenheld.The conditions request reinstaticing the budget for the oppositionparties, Gorran (Change) Movemcment, Kurdistan Islamic Union(IKU) and the Islamic Komal(Group) in Kurdistan (IGK). Agovernmental decree stopped payicing the three opposition parties a”key is a neighbor to Syrian Kurdicistan, and Syrian Kurdistan has astrategic place for Turkey becauseit is one of the main gateways toArab countries. With Turkey, wecan be strategic partners based onbilateral interests. Around 15 perccent of Syria's population is KurdicPolitical dialoguefreezesfew months ago. The oppositionparties also demanded the governmcment stop prosecuting demonstratctors and for legal procedures to betaken against gunmen who shotprotestors during anti-governmentdemonstrations in Suleimaniyafrom February 17 until April.“Every case recorded as a resultof the [post] February 17 eventshas been dealt with legally,” commcmented Jafar Ibrahim Imniki,spokesman for the ruling Kurdicistan Democratic Party politburoand a member of the negotiationteam. He said no cases are outscstanding in the Region.ish, and the size of Syrian Kurdicistan is more than 30,000 squarekilometers — the same size asIsrael.Globe: What was the level of Turkckey's role in the Syrian oppositionmeetings?Dr. Badini: Well, only the blindpeople cannot see Turkey's role.The meetings were organized byTurkey and behind the curtain;they (Turkey) were playing animportant role. As the Syrian oppcposition, we visited Germany,Russia and the United States, buteverybody showing us the route toTurkey.Globe: Do you think the Europcpean countries and the U.S. areslow in supporting the Syrian oppcposition?Dr. Badini: The U.S. is busy withother countries such as Afghaniscstan and Iraq. Regarding Europeancountries, among them there aredifferent points of view regardicing how to deal with Syria, as youcan see their different opinions onLibya. However, the Europeancountries told us: "If you want usto interfere, first go and convincethe Arab countries."Globe: How do you describethe situation of Syrian Presidcdent Bashar al-Assad?Dr. Badini: I see him as asick man, dying in bed. Heand his regime are over. Hisregime sent a telegram to themeeting, asking the Syrianopposition for dialogue. Werejected it because we belclieve what the regime is askicing is only monologue, notdialogue.Globe: Four months of violentprotests and the internationalcommunity still has not made anymove to support the protesters. Doyou think the Syrian protestors arebecoming impatient?Dr. Badini: I believe the job insidethe country has been done — the“Protecting people and theirproperties for us is a duty, notsomething the opposition asksus to do,” he said in reply to theopposition’s condition for haltingthe dialogue. On the issue of theoppositions’ budget, the KDP officcial said they support the request.“From our first meeting to thefourth one, those problems werenot solved while they are key forthe rest of the problems… the govecDr. Radwan Badiniregime has been destroyed. Nowit is the international community'sturn to take a step.Globe: The Syrian regime istalking about possible civil warin Syria, civil war among ethnicgroups. Is it true or it is just theregime's propaganda?Dr. Badini: it is just the regime'spropaganda. In Homs, the regimemade a rouse by killing Allawis(Shiite ethnic group), blamedit on the Sunnis and then killedsome Sunnis and blamed it on theAllawi.Globe: How do you describe thecurrent situation of Kurdish areasin Syria?Delegations from the ruling and opposition parties meet in Erbil, June 27.ernment is not coming forward tomake reforms,” stated Abdul-Sattctar Majid, spokesman for the IGKpolitburo and a negotiating membcber, in an interview with Sulaimacaniya-based Hawlati newspaper.Several opposition leaders saidthey are waiting for an answerfrom the ruling parties. They alsodenied encouraging new demonscstrations.According to media reports,Dr. Badini: They are living in extctreme poverty. For several yearsthere have been droughts in theKurdish areas, and many Kurdishfamilies moved to the big cities,leaving their villages. No Kurdhas faith in the Syrian regime;they believe the only solution is totopple the regime. They are hopefcful and enthusiastic; they believethe regime will be over soon.All Kurdish Syrian parties need tohold a conference soon to betterorganize ourselves and have onevoice when it comes to the Kurdicish issue in Syria.KDP and PUK politburos weresupposed to meet on July 21. Imncniki said it is not clear yet whenthey meet.The ruling and the oppositionparties held the fourth meetingon June 27 during which the KDPand PUK presented a draft propcposal containing reform agendasand replies to the oppositions'previous proposal.PRESS PHOTO GLOBE PHOTO / Qassim Khidhir
The Kurdish Globe No. 314, Saturday, July 23, 2011 5Mass graves containing Kurds unearthedWork continues to find more grave sitesHundreds of Kurds executedby firing squad and buried inthe heart of the southern desecerts were excavated recentlyand the number of bodies isrising as the process continues.Initial signs reveal the victimsare from Kirkuk and Garmiyanareas, according to governmcment officials.The six or seven mass graveswere identified by a local witncness who in late 1987 saw milicitary vehicles coming loadedwith people brought to the area,killed and buried there, KamilAmin, spokesman of the IraqiMinistry of Human Rightstold The Kurdish Globe. Thegraves are near Mihari villageof Al-Diwaniya province andnear the borders of Muthannaand Najaf provinces.Amin said the excavation ofthree of the graves has revealedabout 240 victims, mostly menand dressed in Kurdish clothicing. One victim's identity cardshowed him to be from Kirkukprovince, he added.Human Rights Minister Mohchammad al-Sudani announcedduring his visit to the locationthat the graves are estimated tocontain 900 victims.The excavation has unearthedremains of 400 bodies, accordicing to information recentlyreceived by the Kurdistan Regcgional Government Ministryof Martyrs and Anfal Affairs,said Anwer Omer Saeed, headof the Mass Graves Departmcment in the ministry.Saeed also announced that ahigh delegation from the minicistry will visit Baghdad soon,possibly this week, to meetwith officials in the HumanRights Ministry. “The delegatction will discuss proceduresfor after the excavation, DNAtests for the remains, returningthem back to Kurdistan andhow to rebury them,” Saeedtold the Globe.The excavated bodies andtheir clothes are sent to theforensic laboratories in Najafcity for identification and tempcporarily storage.The Ministry’s NationalTeam for Excavating MassGraves in cooperation withKRG and Dinawania localgovernment operates the exccavation process described as“tough” by ministry’s spokesmcman Amin. The location is in aremote part of the desert, makicing the work hard in the summcmer, he said.Although the national teamhas a governmental budget of5 billion Iraqi dinars for purcchasing excavation equipment,as well as hiring 200 employecees, the operations need moreresources due the large numbcber of unopened mass graves,said Amin.Amin was not sure whetherthe operation will continueduring Ramadan, the Muslimholy month of fasting, whichstarts at the beginning of Augcgust, but says lots of workremains to be done.This Mihari mass grave isone of 84 graves listed by theMinistry of Human Rightsin Iraq; the ministry previouslyannounced 400 mass graves inthe country.Some of the graves containKurdish people killed in the1980s, particularly from theAnfal operations by SaddamHussein’s regime. The Anfaloperation targeted Kurdishvillagers mostly in Garmiyanarea south of SuleimaniyaRemembering the Anfall. At least 900 corpses were found recently buried in a mass grave.and east of Kirkuk. Kurdishsources report 182,000 Anfalvictims, but this information isnot confirmed yet. The Anfaloperation has been describedas genocide in the country’scourts.Three other mass graves contctaining Kurdish Anfal victimshave already been excavatedand the bodies reburied inspecial ceremonies in Kurdicistan Region. The last onewas a grave of more than 200children found in Dubis nearKirkuk. They were reburiedin the victims' home town ofChamchamal.The KRG’s Ministry of Martctyrs and Anfal Affairs is workicing to unearth around 70 massgraves in the Hamreen hillsbetween Kirkuk and Tikrit, acccording to Saeed. He could notgive an estimate on how manyvictims might be in the Hamrcreen graves but only said: “It isvery huge.”Ako MuhammedErbilako.kurdishglobe@gmail.comPRESS PHOTOSoran city center has problems enforcing traffic rulesSome officials still drive with tinted windows in Soran even after presidential rulingA huge number of cars are bumpcper to bumper, and pedestrianscan barely walk between the cars.The drivers are impatiently honkicing their horns at the crowd ofpeople and cars. When a trafficpolice officer warns a driver not toviolate the traffic rules, he acts asif he hears nothing. This is trafficin Soran city, north of Erbil, thecapital city of Kurdistan Region.Driving violations often go unecenforced in Soran, with a slightsmile from the traffic police. Thisis the reality in Soran. Everyonewho visits the Soran city center,before lunch or in the evenings,can park his car wherever he likesand in return receives a smile fromthe traffic police.Narrow streets, barely usedparking buildings, the powerfultribal system and nearly 50,000cars make Soran's traffic policeineffective. Many unlicensed cars— known as iluuj since 2003— with strange license plates, arelandmarks of Soran. The trafficpolice cannot write a ticket for aplate that says it's imported fromKuwait or Syria.An unhappy traffic police officerwho preferred to remain anonymcmous told the Globe that on July14, a Kurdistan Peshmarga carviolated the traffic rules, and thedriver who had no driving license,quarreled with the traffic policeofficer. Then, the driver shot theofficer.“The driver was arrested afterthe incident and then released aftcter only five days because his fatcther is a high-ranking official,” thepolice officer said. “A pardon forviolators is already how it worksin Soran.”The Soran Traffic Police Directctorate recently set up a speed camecera in front of the directorate onthe double-lane road in Soran.“To enforce the traffic rules, oneneeds something stronger andmore powerful than the so-calledlaws and rules,” said Capt. Parwcwez Abdulqadir Pirot, director ofSoran Traffic Police Directorate.Two parking garages recentlyopened in Soran. The store ownerswho have shops at the city centerdon’t park their cars in those garcrages but in front of their stores,which creates more traffic jams.The main road that leads intoSoran is known as Hamilton Road— constructed in the 1920s. Theroad has many car accidents, somefatal. The road needs to be rebuiltbecause it is a main road for touricists visiting Soran's sites.The head of media at the TrafficPolice Directorate, Lt. Salar Tahscsin calls Hamilton Road “DeathRoad” and stated: “The trafficpolice have recorded 70 car accidcdents during the last six months.Thirteen people died and 120were injured.”According to Tahsin, the roadsare bad and people rarely followthe traffic rules. “The cars outncnumber the streets and roads.”A new traffic violation in theRegion is driving with tinted carwindows. On June 24, KurdistanRegion President Massoud Barzczani outlawed tinted windows inKurdistan Region.Pirot explained that people havetaken the decision into consideracation. “Driving with tinted carwindows has reduced by 95 perccent. The high-ranking officialsare the only people who are nowdriving with tinted windows.”The traffic police try to enforceall the laws and rules, Pirot said,but it needs the cooperation andcoordination from all sides.The Soran Traffic Police Directctorate, established in 2003, has566 employees, but 28,488 peopcple have driving licenses. Dataconfirms around 50,000 cars inSoran, so it seems 20,000 driversare driving without a license.
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Displaced and refugee families in Suleimaniya ... - Kurdish Globe

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