Kurdistan independence related articles & photos

[jjmuneer]

Are there not Kurds there?

not many no , they have all left to baghdad , if you want it back 1st go make yourselves majority then ask for peshmerga . its hardly any feylis living their and you want peshmerga to fight over what exactly ? yes kurds and arabs know the identity of the city , but the arabs want to take towns and cities that are currently under kurdish control let alone the ones under their control given back to us ? like i said KRG wong go to war over Mandali , its not even continuous with KRG , its isolated by arab land in between .

and i say it again , Feylis suffered a lot too as a Kurd been deported and killed but from what i hear it was mainly deportations , there are gas attacks on villages that resulted in 100s dead , killing young kurds in day light in front of their families etc , but Halabja and Anfal are the biggest so will be used mainly .

Are you sure about that my friend check the historical background of that region. You will see that is has been inhabited by the Kurd faylis for centuries, even though it is not a majority. It is still technically apart of what we call 'Kurdistan', so to exclude one part based on political divisions is ridiclous. I mean yeh sure there aren't as many faylis as compared to Khanaqin, but again it is like not having Kirkuk because there are Arabs in it. What would be the exact problem? Military confrontation? Well we have that in the North, the PKK don't just lay down their weapons based on the fact that N.Kurdistan is being occupied by Turkey.

Well I don't understand your second point or if your trying to tell me that us Faylis didn't suffer as much compared to Sorani Kurds or any other Kurd. Anfal and Halabja were horrid crimes committed against us, I agree and they should never be repeated again. Though please do you have any statistics on the amount of Fayli Kurds executed? The amount went missing? The amount deported? Exactly, your assuming we didn't suffer as much just because we weren't gassed. Again not attempting to downgrade the pain that those people in Halabja and Anfal suffered. Well if you want to get personal I'll tell you about my cousin who got executed when he was 17 years old, he got hanged. Not just my family members were affected, many faylis were effected aswell. So I don't see why the KRG doesn't attempt to represent us. I mean is it even morally right to marginilze the sufferring of one particular people? It is like saying the Jews suffered the most, so no one else has suffered. To sum up sadly those victims of Anfal 'have suffered', we however 'have suffered' and 'still sufferring'. We are still denied our rights in this "new Iraq", which you seem to fail to see or understand. The Kurds in the KRG have their rights now and are much happier than they were before in those times of darkness. The KRG is seen as one of the few lights in the Middle-east. I hope you see that Kurds outside the KRG including even outside 'Kurdistan' it self are sufferring, mentally, emotionally and phyiscally. I hope you take all this into account.

Here are some protests by Kurd Faylis in Sweden(And they're speaking Arabic because they are also addressing Iraqis):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD1j6BRios0&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvbDWNfqwdw&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBioKkYxiaQ&feature=plcp

[alan131210]

sad videos and sad story , im sorry for what happened to your cousin , but never mind you missed my point .

[jjmuneer]

sad videos and sad story , im sorry for what happened to your cousin , but never mind you missed my point .

What was your point heval? That it would cost the KRG to annex those regions? If that is the case, I understand the point you make, but I myself cannot allow such things. Not that I'm saying KRG isn't doing a good job.

[diako_ber]

I'm sorry to hear that bro, I know faylis have suffered a lot. I personally know a family who were deported and 3 of them were killed.

[jjmuneer]

I'm sorry to hear that bro, I know faylis have suffered a lot. I personally know a family who were deported and 3 of them were killed.

I never knew my cousin sadly, I wasn't even born, but none the less it is sad for my uncle and aunty.

[alan131210]

i know Feylis have suffered , been killed and deported under the 'persian' banner , but all kurds have regardless , my point is not who has suffered or not for eg the barzanis were also killed in large numbers , but the main atrocities that KRG can use is halabja and anfal , its not bcoz the victims are 'sorani' as you put it , but bcoz the number of kills is just massive .

[jjmuneer]

i know Feylis have suffered , been killed and deported under the 'persian' banner , but all kurds have regardless , my point is not who has suffered or not for eg the barzanis were also killed in large numbers , but the main atrocities that KRG can use is halabja and anfal , its not bcoz the victims are 'sorani' as you put it , but bcoz the number of kills is just massive .

Sorry bro I mis-understood. To be honest I think Saddam thought all Kurds were Persian, he just found an easier target with us first. We shouldn't think in the past, now it is only the road to independance.

[alan131210]

Jan Bojer Vindheim is one of the founders of Norway’s Green Party and was head of its foreign relations for more than 10 years. Vindheim was prompted to investigate the Kurdish issue after the gassing of Halabja by Saddam Hussein’s regime. He has since visited Kurdistan several times, met with political factions in the Kurdistan Region and prepared reports on the Kurdish political system. Rudaw sat down with him to discuss the Kurdish issue in Iraq and Turkey.

Rudaw: Are Kurdish authorities up to the challenge the Kurdistan Region is going through?

Vindheim: I have talked to different people during my visits. I have talked to the political factions. Common people talk about administrative and financial corruption among the ruling class, while Kurdish officials speak about Kurds and Kurdistan’s interests. But what is noticeable is that, after several years of governance, Kurdish authorities have not been able to run their affairs with a civil mentality. The mentality of the era of armed struggle in the mountains is still prevalent when it comes to running the affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government. That has had a negative impact on the development and the political system of the Kurdistan Region.

“Today, in the Kurdistan Region, people are ahead of the political factions.”

Rudaw: Do you mean the authorities have not been responsive to people’s demands?

Vindheim: I can say that there is currently an active opposition in the Kurdistan Region that investigates the budget, discusses transparency and makes serious criticisms of the government. That is progress in itself. But the opposition is also behind the people. Today, in the Kurdistan Region, people are ahead of the political factions. After the uprising (in 1991), a new generation emerged that is demanding a new mentality from the administration. Even the Gorran Movement that entered the political arena under the slogan of reform has not been able to satisfy the demands of the new generation and that is why the new generation had to organize the Kurdish Spring.

Rudaw: What were the fruits of the Kurdish Spring?

Vindheim: The Kurdish Spring revealed that the new generation does not agree with the method of administration where two sides decide on the fate of people behind closed doors. The new generation was against the monopolization of power by a few individuals. Thirteen young men were killed but no international news agency covered their deaths. Yet in Tunisia, one person died and all the agencies covered it. That is an important point that needs to be taken into consideration.

Rudaw: The disputes between Maliki’s government and the Kurdistan Region have reached a point where Barzani has floated the idea of turning to the popular will of the Kurdish people. How suitable is that option under the current circumstances?

Vindheim: Kurds have the right to have an independent state like Moldova, Kosovo, South Sudan and other countries. Kurdistan has all the elements of becoming a state ... Can Kurds defend themselves against attacks by the four countries that surround them? Can Kurds attract the support and attention of the U.S. and Europe? There are still Turkish forces in the Kurdistan Region and Turkey regularly bombs the Kurdistan Region ... Can Kurds rely on those countries who have never been their friends? Despite all that, it’s time for Kurds to ask themselves why 40 million people should not have their own state.

Rudaw: It is said that U.S. officials have asked Turkish officials to support independence for the Kurdistan Region. How true is that?

Vindheim: The Kurdish issue is one of the most complicated issues in the Middle East. If this issue is not resolved, the Middle East will not experience peace. But the Kurdish issue has not become a dominant issue for the U.S. and Europe yet. The U.S. supports Kurds within the framework of the Iraqi constitution. A report on Iraq prepared by a commission of the Norwegian foreign ministry says that Kurds should be content with what they have; that is, they don’t support the independence of the Kurdistan Region. Even if Turkey supports the independence of the Kurdistan Region, there will be a heavy price to pay. Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani will then have to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and remove them by force from the Qandil Mountains. That will mean the Kurdistan Region will become part of Turkey. That is one of the possible outcomes of Kurdish independence and has been raised by (Iraqi President) Jalal Talabani, who said that the Kurdistan Region should form a federalist union with Turkey – Turkey, which has never been a friend of the Kurds.

“It’s time for Kurds to ask themselves why 40 million people should not have their own state.”

Rudaw: Hasn’t Kurdish diplomacy been able to present the Kurdish issue in a way that would make it a serious issue for Europe and the U.S.?

Vindheim: Kurds could be a lot more active and efficient in diplomacy ... Kurdish diplomats work for their own interests and those of their party instead of thinking of the interests of all Kurds and Kurdistan. But it should be said that the KRG has tried to keep a balance in their relations with Turkey and Iran to the extent that Turkey and Iran officially accept the (Kurdistan) regional officials and receive them. But all this has not brought about a change in the policies of those states toward the Kurds in their own countries.

Rudaw: Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power in Turkey for nine years. He has talked about resolving the Kurdish issue many times. How serious is Erdogan’s government in this regard?

Vindheim: Although he initially talked about the issue enthusiastically, it became clear early on that he was not honest about it. There are people within both the PKK and the Turkish authorities who do not want any talks to succeed. What is needed is for the PKK to lay down their arms. Then there will be no more excuses for the Turkish military’s attacks on the Kurdistan Region and PKK guerrillas.

Rudaw: But the PKK officials consider that surrender and therefore reject it. What other alternatives are there?

Vindheim: Kurds in Turkey have tried many things, but the Turkish state has put not only ordinary people but even MPs in prison and closed down Kurdish parties. Barzani can play a major role. He can initiate the dialogue between Turkish and PKK officials. Barzani speaks against the PKK, but that is just (playing) politics.

Rudaw

[alan131210]

Is Iraqi Kurdistan going to be the state number 195 in the United Nations? Question comes to mind strongly in light of developments in the Kurdish issue and revolutions Arab spring, talking about the establishment of such a state is no longer just a dream or impossible, also talk about leader of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan in Iran, Dr. Abdul Rahman Qaslmo and who was assassinated by Iranian intelligence in the Austrian capital Vienna two decades ago.

In fact, if the State of Kurdish nationalism constitute is looking old to most of the Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, which prevent the realization of this goal is a number of factors and reasons, on the one hand, the reject these countries to recognize the national rights of the Kurdish people, excluding Iraq, which reached over the past decades to a series of agreements with the most important agreement was the one in 1958 and which provided for the first time to establish autonomy for the Kurds. On the other hand the agreement of these countries together to fight the national activity Kurdish region. It is a third party because of the nature of relations and international alliances that build on own interest, these relationships and alliances has been at the expense of the Kurdish issue, but the Kurds in a lot of historical moments were a victim of it before The conditions change during the last period, particularly after the first Iraq war in 1991 which benefited the Kurds to establish a no-fly zone in the north, and which took off their first steps to build a Kurdish entity, there was an election in 1992 and the establishment of the first Parliament and then a local government, institutions of the Army and security, economy and education , so that the Kurdistan region of Iraq ​​today is best from the rest of Iraqi areas in terms of organization and development, security, stability and development.

Today, by virtue of the accumulation of these experiences on the one hand and current developments in the region, on the other conditions are different, form the factors, paving or the ingredients to a Kurdish state in the region and specifically in Iraqi Kurdistan, perhaps the most important of these ingredients:

1 - exacerbate the differences between the KRG and Baghdad on many issues, most notably oil, Kirkuk, and the border areas, is noteworthy in the current debate between the two sides of equality and a strong tone of the Kurdish leadership.

2 - a relatively successful experience of government in Kurdistan, an experience that has become the Kurds to entice them away from singling out Iraq, and many problems.

3 - availability of primary resources, including oil, gas, water, ports and strong trade ties with Iran and Turkey, giving it all a sense of independence and the ability to acquire his opponents.

4 - the climate of revolutions and Arab peoples, which sparked demand freedom of tyranny and turn the page no matter what its nature and its form.

5 - experience the independence of South Sudan, which looks for Iraq's Kurds are encouraging and attractive, especially as they have been achieved with the consent of the center (Khartoum) and the regional countries and the international community and without bloodshed.

These factors encouraging, has pressed political demands of the masses Kurdish request independence and the emergence of the movement of the referendum and its strong support for this option, but confirmation of this trend, and checks in an interview with the President of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, a while ago about the right to self-determination for the Kurds, and repeatedly emphasized the right of national Kurdish state only a reflection of growing this option, but far from the Kurds rallied in the last period , many Iraqi voices claim this right for the Kurds, like Hassan Allawi and even the Russian political problematic Vladimir Putin Geronowska who asked to work on the establishment of a Kurdish state in Kurdistan of Turkey.

Without a doubt, talk about these ingredients and the factors does not mean that all the conditions are ripe for the establishment of such a state, despite the preoccupation with regional countries, especially Iran, Turkey and Syria with their own problems , but to establish such a state which means changing the map of the Middle East which is not accepted by these countries , and the international conditions, particularly the close ties between Washington and Ankara is an obstacle in the face of the hopes Kurds, as well as the rejection of the Iraqi official, such as this option for fear of repercussions. But all this does not mean reducing these hopes that moving towards more of the acquisition of skill and power, and perhaps there is a options or ways to see the Kurds are capable to grope their way, perhaps the most important:

1 - may repeat the experience of South Sudan, including the experience of positive features and data available in terms of accumulation of experience and the similarity of the relationship with the Centre.

2 - try to go to the United Nations to achieve international recognition as the Palestinian experience, where the European sympathy with the Kurdish issue and that Israel is not here.

3 - Declaration of one party, especially if aggravated by disagreements with the center of controversial issues, especially Kirkuk and oil.

These introductions and the factors, together constitute something like a creamy paste of Kurdish aspirations to establish an independent state, and that the issue of establishment of this state has moved from dreams and impossible to touch the reality by virtue of circumstances and variables.

http://www.elaph.com/Web/opinion/2011/12/699921.html

[Kurdistano]

i know Feylis have suffered , been killed and deported under the 'persian' banner , but all kurds have regardless , my point is not who has suffered or not for eg the barzanis were also killed in large numbers , but the main atrocities that KRG can use is halabja and anfal , its not bcoz the victims are 'sorani' as you put it , but bcoz the number of kills is just massive .

Why should he care more about Soranis if he aint one himself? It sounds ridiculous to me. Halabja and Anfal are simply more known in the outside world.

[diako_ber]

Is there any news regarding independence?

[alan131210]

Is there any news regarding independence?

well it all ended with barzanis last statement which he said "if by Sept iraq's crisis is not solved , we will hold referendum".

[diako_ber]

Is there any news regarding independence?

well it all ended with barzanis last statement which he said "if by Sept iraq's crisis is not solved , we will hold referendum".

Ok, thank you I was just curious

[alan131210]

24-05-2012

Kurdistan Region Vice President Kosrat Rasul Ali , on Wednesday in Erbil, met with the Czech Republic's ambassador to Iraq Joseph Frabets.

The two sides at the meeting stressed the importance of the joint cooperation in both economic and commercial fields.

Ambassador Frabets said that a Czech high ranking trade delegation will visit Kurdistan Region to discuss horizons of trade cooperation between Kurdistan Region and the Czech Republic.

PUKmedia

[alan131210]

May 26, 2012

ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — The Science magazine (www.sciencemag.org) which is one of the most prestigious magazines in the world, and publishes the highest caliber research investigations and has worldwide distribution.

You can download in PDF a part of an article on Archaeology that puts Iraqi Kurdistan region on the map and highlights the significance of potential historic discoveries in the area.

In any case just seeing Kurdistan as an entity on Middle East map in such a journal is a wonderful thing to see.

http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/mi ... te6245.pdf