Saturday 31 October 2009

Brian Haw, peace protester, arrested!

Posted on Indymedia U.K.

Brian Haw Arrested
Peter Marshall 30.10.2009 23:28 Anti-militarism Iraq
Brian Haw was arrested around 7pm this evening - Friday 30 October 2009 - in Parliament Square. Photos Copyright (C) 2009 Peter Marshall, All rights reserved.





FLASHBACK



FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE U.K.





Indymedia reports:

Police tonight arrested peace protester Brian Haw who has been carrying out a permanent protest in Parliament Square opposite the Houses of Parliament since 2 June 2001, 3072 days ago.

After a lengthy argument, Mr Haw, who now walks on crutches, was walked away by two officers, pushed still protesting into the back of a police van and driven away. The arrest at around 7pm was witnessed by several of Brian's supporters in the square, one of whom filmed the event, as well as several photographers including myself who were present in the square for another protest.

This is not the first time that Brian Haw has been arrested, and throughout his protest he and his supporters have been subjected to considerable legal and illegal harassment by the police. The arresting officer is one against whom allegations have been made by the protesters of misconduct in previous incidents. I expect that further details will be posted here shortly.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/10/440918.html



see Brian's website:



http://www.parliament-square.org.uk/index.htm

For WHEN a Turkish consulate in KERKÜK?

Davutoğlu shaking hands with Barzani during his visit to Erbil



Mr. Davutoğlu, beware!

Barzani is a criminal, he has Turkmen blood on his hands !!!



For when a Turkish consulate in Kerkuk?

Turkey already has an embassy in Baghdad and a consulate in Mosul.

It has recently opened a new consulate in Basra and will soon be opening a consulate in Erbil
yet KERKÜK, the Turkmens' capital city in Iraq, still doesn't have a Turkish consulate...

WHY?

Friday 30 October 2009

KERKUK: Voices from a Divided City

October 30, 2009

BBC News


Iraqi lawmakers have been in deadlock over laws covering nationwide elections in January, with one of the thorniest issues being the vote in the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk.

Control of the city is contested between ethnic Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, which has been complicated by major demographic changes under Saddam Hussein’s “Arabisation” programme and a large influx of Kurdish since the fall of the regime.

Here, Kirkukis from different ethnic backgrounds share their thoughts on the city’s political future.

ARAB: ABU ALI AL-BAYATI, 25, DOCTOR
Kirkuk is not for anyone to claim, it’s the land of all Iraqis, whether they are Arab, Kurd or Turkmen.

We cannot give the vote to Kurds who have recently come to this city from other parts of Iraq
The same argument goes for the oil and all the natural resources of the region. It should not be monopolised by any group.


I realise some Kurds want the city to be part of Iraqi Kurdistan. But any attempts to separate Kirkuk from the rest of Iraq will only lead to clashes between the different ethnic groups.

People here are trying to get on with their lives but tensions are being heightened by the rhetoric of different ethnic factions who are stalling the elections.

There will be major problems if the elections go ahead in Iraq’s 18 provinces but not Kirkuk. This may become a flashpoint of future violence.

I would participate in the elections but only with the “open” lists.

We cannot give the vote to Kurds who have recently come to this city from other parts of Iraq or neighbouring countries. That movement of people has affected the ethnic make-up of the region and will impact on the election.

But I do not mind the participation of those Kurds who left during Saddam’s rule and are now returning.

KURD: HAWAR, 60, KIRKUK
According to the Iraqi constitution each person will have one vote in the upcoming elections. So it is important that all Kirkukis have the right to elect our own representatives to the parliament.

The ultimate future of this city must be decided by the people in a referendum

There must also be a reversal of the Saddam-era Arabisation of the area – as outlined in the constitution. It is only a handful of Turkmen and pro-Saddam Arabs that do not want this to take place.

The ultimate future of this city must be decided by the people in a referendum.
If people want Kirkuk to return to Kurdistan then I will support it. If the majority want it to stay under the authority of Baghdad, or become a separate federal entity then I would support that as well.

Some people think Kurds want Kirkuk just because of its oil. This is not true. Today oil is being found at a rapid rate across Kurdistan. This city has always been part of Kurdistan – this is shown on Ottoman maps.
There is tension, but it is between political parties not ordinary people. Any anger between ordinary people is limited and based on racist perceptions.

I have Arab and Turkmen friends who I have known since Saddam’s reign. Today we invite one another to our houses and spend time together.

TURKMAN: NERMEEN AL-MUFTI, 49, JOURNALIST

Nermeen says Kirkuk should remain an Iraqi city

There can be no stability in the area, the country and the wider region as long as the Kurds claim Kirkuk for their own.
I am not against an autonomous Kurdish region, but I do not think it should cover this city.

Kirkuk should have a special status and should remain an Iraqi city. The various ethnic groups must be protected.

For hundreds of years different groups lived here side by side. I have friends of other backgrounds. There has been years of inter-marriage.
There has been a fabricated division between people since the Saddam-era Arabisation of the area. The problem today is not between the various ethnic groups who have always been here, but between the general population and the Kurds who have recently settled here.

There have been too many Kurds coming to this area in recent years. It is unfair to allow them all to vote in the election as this may tip the balance away from the other communities.

Power in the city should be shared between the various ethnic groups. The temporary power-sharing agreement between [Muslim] Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians should continue.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8328762.stm

Yetenekli Küçük Türkmen Şairimiz Hüseyin Bayatlı




Mehmet Samet


Hollanda’da düzenlenen bir şiir gecesinde sahneye yakışan bir şekilde gayet sakin ve soğukkanlılıkla Türkmence şiir okumanız bizleri çok duygulandırarak etkilemiştir, dolayısıyla sizinle bir görüşme yapma fikri aklımıza gelmiştir, sizin gibi yetenekli gençlerimizi milletimiz ve diğer milletlere tanıtmak bizlerin görevidir, ayrıca milletimizin sizin gibi gençlere ihtiyacı olduğunu halkımıza hatırlatmalıyız, onun için görüşmemize razılık göstermeniz bizleri çok mutlu etmiştir.
./...

Objections by the Kurds, the IHEC and UNAMI; the Legal Committee Comes Up with Two More Alternatives on Kerkuk

Posted by Reidar Visser on October 29, 2009

Today’s brief proceedings in the Iraqi parliament made it clear that it was indeed the objections of the Iraqi elections commission (IHEC), supported by UNAMI and the Kurds (who boycotted), that prevented a vote on the elections law. Meanwhile, the legal committee came up with two more alternatives on Kirkuk.

The first alternative involves holding a vote using the 2009 registers, to be followed by a scrutiny of those registers within one year to find whether there are irregularities amounting to more than 38% “in the registers” (a little unclear what the percentage really refers to, given as واذا كان هناك خلل بنسبة 38% في السجل يتم الغاء نتائج) in which case the annulment of the result will follow.

The second alternative is another creative multi-constituency arrangement. Once more, an explicit ethno-sectarian distribution formula has been avoided, even if three of the four proposed constituencies seem intended to guarantee some kind of minimum communal representation: Hawija, Taza and Shwan will each have three deputies (apparently aimed at Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish constituencies) whereas Kirkuk itself will remain fully competitive with 5 representatives. This seems to over-represent the peripheral constituencies to a certain extent over Kirkuk, but the proposal has the clear advantage of keeping the potential for cross-sectarian voting in Kirkuk alive, while at the same time apparently offering each of the main communities a minimum fallback position in their areas of demographic concentration. In the case of the Turkmens it is particularly easy to sympathise with this approach: As a medium-sized minority they are in many ways the bravest of the Iraqi nationalists since they so far have been competing without guaranteed quotas of the kind offered to the micro-minorities (Shabak, Yazidis, Christians, Sabaeans), and also without a de facto guaranteed minimum vote in bastions of governorate-level territorial concentration (of the kind enjoyed by the Shiite and Sunni Arabs and the Kurds).

All in all, while both of these options do preserve a special status for Kirkuk, the first one seems highly diluted given the high threshold for annulling elections (if correctly specified in the official report from today’s proceedings). One can get the impression that the second one could conceivably have greater appeal to Iraqi nationalists. Be that is at may, the rapidity with which the Iraqi parliament seemed to accept today’s highhanded intervention by the IHEC is quite shocking. The Sadrist Fawzi Ikram Tarazi, himself a Turkmen, has been one of the few parliamentarians to protest to the Iraqi press so far, suggesting that at least some of the non-Kurdish members of the legal committee would be more than happy to see endless procrastination and a reversion to the closed-list system of 2005 by way of timeout. In this they are ably assisted by the Kurds, who appear to receive full support from UNAMI and IHEC in torpedoing any proposal that does not conform one hundred per cent to their own preferences.

A new element in the mix is the release by the US embassy in Baghdad of a somewhat cryptic joint statement by General Ray Odierno and Ambassador Christopher Hill. It goes as follows: “As Iraqi authorities prepare to adopt an elections law, we reiterate our view that the rules, procedures, and decisions adopted for the January elections should apply only to that election. They should not serve as precedents for future elections or for future political settlements related to Article 140, demographic change, disputed boundaries, or other contested issues.”
In the first place, this is a flagrant and remarkably public interference in Iraqi affairs of a kind not seen since the Bush days (and the 2003–2005 period in particular). Secondly, the statement really is quite hard to decipher! The first sentence and the first part of the subsequent one seems to suggest that this election law should be unique to the January 2010 elections, thereby presumably opening space for special treatment of Kirkuk (the Kurds want it to be treated as an ordinary governorate; if that procedure had been acceptable to others and therefore was adopted there would have been no need to restrict the application of the law to 2010 as per the Odierno/Hill recommendation). The second part of the second sentences raises doubts, however. One would expect the logic to continue to flow in a consistent fashion, i.e. a reassurance to the Kurds that any special arrangements arrived at for Kirkuk should not prejudge the outcome of future negotiations over the city (the Kurds want to keep article 140 of the constitution sacred). But is that what is being said? After all, the standard argument by the Kurds and UNAMI has been roughly “the election law should not serve as diversion or substitute for political settlements related to Article 140, demographic change, disputed boundaries, or other contested issues”. But the American statement clearly says “precedents”, which seems to create the exact opposite logic, i.e. a rather indiscreet American initiative to convince the Kurds to be more accommodating. So far, the PUK has published the statement on its website without adding any comment.

http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/objections-by-the-kurds-the-ihec-and-unami-the-legal-committee-comes-up-with-two-more-alternatives-on-kirkuk/

Wednesday 28 October 2009

UNHCR News Story: UNHCR builds new homes for Iraqis left homeless in attack in Taza

UNHCR / M Sidky
UNHCR builds new homes for Iraqis left homeless in attack.

TAZA, Iraq, October 26 (UNHCR)

– Barely three months after a massive explosion ripped through Taza, killing around 90 people, most of the scores of destroyed homes have been rebuilt and business is thriving once more in the northern Iraq town's main market, which was heavily damaged.

The bombing was the worst attack in Iraq since March 2008, and the majority of victims were from the dominant Turkmen community. But, with the help of UNHCR and its partners, the town in Kirkuk governorate is recovering remarkably quickly from the outrage.

Immediately after the blast, UNHCR field staff visited Taza to assess the damage and to distribute emergency aid to the survivors. The team found that about 160 houses, mostly made from mud bricks, had been totally destroyed and some 400 damaged. As a result, around 3,500 people were left without shelter.The refugee agency immediately swung into action, funding the reconstruction of 150 collapsed homes and the renovation of 73 shops and two other buildings in Shorja Market.

The work was carried out by an Iraqi implementing partner as part of UNHCR's emergency shelter programme which has helped rehabilitate some 10,000 conflict-damaged buildings for refugees and internally displaced Iraqis and aims to double this figure in 2010."The aim is to mitigate displacement, encourage returns and build confidence in disputed areas," said one UNHCR official, adding that the programme focused on the most vulnerable families.

Where possible, the agency uses materials procured locally and hires local labour to carry out the work.The shops in Shorja Market were handed back to their owners in a simple ceremony attended by UNHCR staff and local officials on September 30.

Thirty-year-old Mohamed Ali was among an estimated 400 people injured by the bomb blast. The family breadwinner was evacuated for medical treatment in Turkey, where he spent his time fretting about his relatives. He was not convinced when they said an outside organization – UNHCR – was helping to rebuild their house.When he finally returned home in mid-August, he was astounded to see the new one-storey house. "Had it not been for my elderly father sitting in front, I would have thought I was in the wrong street," he said, adding: "I have to send a thank-you letter to UNHCR."

Taza's Mayor Talib, who attended the hand-over ceremony last month, was also grateful for UNHCR's help. "Your intervention helped people who lost one or more of their family members," he told Daniel Endres, UNHCR's representative in Iraq.

Endres, who toured the rebuilt and renovated buildings, pledged that the refugee agency would continue "to assist those affected by the blast and help them settle back in their homes."

As of the start of September, UNHCR had helped more than 2,950 families (18,700 people) with shelter intervention, including members of local communities, internally displaced people and returnees from overseas or elsewhere in Iraq.

By Younis Ahmed in Taza and Maha Sidky in Baghd ad, Iraq

Tuesday 27 October 2009

ŞEHİT YARBAY PİLOT AYDIN MUSTAFA HAMİD’İN 20. ŞEHADET YILI ANISINA




Annemle konuştuk. “20 yıl oldu” dedi. Tam 20 yıl! Hafızamda 20 yıl öncesine ait sadece bir kare vardı: babamın cenazesi. Herkes ağlıyordu. Hatırladığım tek yüz, hüngür hüngür ağlayan ablamınkiydi. O, 7 yaşındaydı, bense 5. Kalabalığın ortasına tabutu getirdiler. Kapak yarısına kadar açıldı. Beyaz birşeyler gördüm, kefen denen. İşte 20 yıldır BABA denilince benim aklıma gelen!

Sabrettik, gördük. Hainler buldular cezalarını. Kılık değiştirenler sanmasınlar kurtulduklarını. 5 yaşında yetim kalan, babasını başkalarından duyup tanıyan Funda gibi şehit çocuklarının, aylarca hapis yatan, yetim yavrularına hem anne hem baba olan cefakar Türkan gibi şehit eşlerinin ahı, elbet bir gün bulur onları da!

Heyecanla çağırdı bizi bir gün annem. “Kızlar gelin, işte bu babanızın yattığı hapishane”. Gözleri dolu dolu haberleri izliyordu. “Abu Garip!” dedi. Bu hapishane babam için son durak olmuştu. Diğer şanlı, şerefli şehitler gibi. Ben çok geç başlamışım konuşmaya. Babam duyamamış benim sesimi. O benim sesime, ben O’nun sesine hasret kaldık. Sesi güzelmiş babamın. Şarkı söylemeyi sevdiği kadar müzik aleti çalmayı da severmiş. Şimdi Çiğdem ablam ud çalıyor tıpkı bir zamanlar babamın çaldığı gibi. Benim konuşmaya başladığımı bin bir zorluk ve tehlikelerle kaçak yollardan gidip gelen yasak mektuplardan öğrenmiş. Tıpkı Çiğdem ablamın ilkokula başladığını öğrendiği gibi.

İsmi gibi AYDIN babam, hapishanedeyken bile aklından çıkarmamış bizleri. Tek korkusu bizim başımıza kötü birşeylerin gelmesiymiş. Aslında ben yıllarca bizi umursamadığını düşünüp, kızdım babama. Ülküsü uğruna şehit olup, adımızın YETİM kalmasına sebep olduğu için kızdım. Sonra anladım. Meğer bizim

geleceğimiz için şehit olmuş babam. Meğer “önce can, sonra canan” diyen ödleklerden değil, ölümü yenen KAHRAMANlardanmış AYDIN babam!

Her kızın babası kendi kahramanıdır. Her kızın baba acısı büyüktür. Benim babam sadece benim kahramanım değildi ki acım diğer kızlarınki gibi olsun. Benim acım hepsininkinden daha büyük. Benim babam Türkmen milletinin kahramanıydı. Benim acım Türkmen milletinin acısıydı. Çünkü benim babam Yarbay Pilot ünvanını haybeden almamıştı. Benim babam SATILIK değildi! Benim babam “Neden hep ön sıralarda Türkmen askerleri savaşıyor” diye baş kaldırmıştı bazı köpeklerin uşaklık ettiklerine! Zulümlere karşı sessiz kalmamıştı. Muhtaç olanın yardımına koşmuştu. Canı pahasına cananını, yani milletini korumaya çalışmıştı. Dayanılmaz işkenceler karşısında bile pes etmemiş, hiçbir itirafta bulunmamıştı. Hapishaneler arası nakil sırasında hiçbir belgeye imza atmadığını söylemiş Rahmetli Yaşar Cengiz’e.

Benim cesur babam, tıpkı milleti gibi kendisinin de özgür kalacağını ümit etmiş. Dimdik ayakta duran Aydın Tayyar, korkutmuş bazı soysuzları. O kadar korkutmuş ki, 3 ayrı ölüm tarihi verdiler bize. Demek ki öldüremediler Aydın’ı! Öldüremezler Aydın’ı. 20 yıl geçti ama hala herkes biliyorsa, tanıyorsa Aydın’ı; kim diyebilir ki hainlerin muratlarına erdiğini.

Adı gibi kendisi de AYDIN Yarbay Pilot’un bedeni 20 yıldır yok aramızda. Önemli olan bedenler değil zaten. Çünkü bu AYDIN millet var oldukça, AYDIN Funda, AYDIN Çiğdem huzur buldukça var olacak AYDIN MUSTAFA! Kızların, milletin ŞEREFLİ adını onurla taşıyacak GERÇEK ŞEHİT YARBAY PİLOT AYDIN MUSTAFA!


Yorumlar:
YOLUNUZ YOLUMUZDUR...
Her Türkmen genci, şehidine bakıp bu satırları okumalı... "Dağlar lisana gelse de anlatsa hepsini , Binlerce can dirilse de nakletse geçmişini ! Garbın cebin-i zalimi affetmedim seni , TÜRK'üm ve düşmanın sana kalsam da bir kişi..! Ben şurezar-ı kalbimi kinimle süslerim , Kalbimde bir silah ile ferdayı beklerim . Kabrinde müsterih uyu ey namdar atam ! Evladının bugünkü adı sade intikam..! " kahpelik bitmedi bitmiycek, YOLUNUZ YOLUMUZDUR...
Türkmenata
Allah rahmet itsin
Allah rahmet itsin, Topragin Nurla Dolsun Mofak Salman
mofak salman
mekanı cenettir
bütün türkmenlerin yasıdır üzüntüsüdür..ama unutmaki herkese bu klahraman insan gibi onur verici ölmek nasib olmaz..türkmen milletinin gurur simgelerinden biridir yeri cenettir...
pnar abdullah
Ruhun Sadolsun
Ruhun Sadolsun Mekanin Cennet. Ne Mutlu Sizlere Topragin Nurla Dolsun. Sevgi ve saygi herkese...
Abbas Kasap

http://www.bizturkmeniz.com/tr/index.asp?page=article&id=18003

Sunday 25 October 2009

TURKMEN KARAR PARTISI

TURKMEN KARAR PARTISI

بيان
ـــــــــــــــــــــــ
إن ما تجري من مداولات في مجلس النواب العراقي والأمم المتحدة حول قانون الانتخابات نرى أن الحل الأمثل في هذه المرحلة هو:-

1- العمل على إصدار قانون خاص بالانتخابات في محافظة كركوك وتدقيق سجلات الناخبين من قبل لجنة محايدة.
2- إن نقل ملف قانون الانتخابات إلى المجلس السياسي للأمن الوطني دليل على عدم إمكانية مجلس النواب لحل الموضوع من جهة ولعدم وجود ممثل للتركمان في هذا المجلس سيسبب إلى خلق تساؤلات عن عدم الأخذ برأي التركمان في القرارات المصيرية التي تهم وحدة العراق وبناء العراق الجديد بجميع مكوناته.
3- إن ما ذكره الناطق باسم الجنرال لاندا الأمريكي بتقديم مقترح لنشر قوات ثلاثية مشتركة في المناطق المتنازع عليها نجدها مخالفة للاتفاقيات السابقة ومجحفاً ومهمشاً للتركمان حيث أن جميع المناطق المتنازع عليها فيها ثقل تركماني لذا نقترح إشراك التركمان في هذه القوات أو حماية هذه المناطق من قبل القوات العراقية حيث انها مسؤولة عن حماية جميع مناطق العراق وهذا الطلب ما هو إلا حماية لوحدة العراق وإرساء السلام العادل والعيش الرغيد لجميع المكونات .
والله الموفق



المكتب السياسي
لحزب القرار التركماني
24/10/2009

Saturday 24 October 2009

Thursday 22 October 2009

Iraqi Parliament gives up on drafting Electoral Law

Juan Cole’s comment on Thursday, October 22, 2009:
http://www.juancole.com/

Iraqi Parliament Gives up on Drafting Electoral Law; Cross-Sectarian Political Coalition Announced

President Barack Obama's meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday generated few deadlines, but some important things were said.Obama stressed the need for the Iraqi parliament to pass an election law to enable parliamentary elections to be held on January 16. If the law isn't passed soon, the elections won't be held on schedule.

This delay would be a severe problem for the US military, which is stuck in Iraq without much to do but waiting to play one last big role, in closing down the country and providing enough security so that elections can be held. While the Iraqi army has gotten better at doing independent patrols and taking on gangs and militias in Shiite areas, it still is not very much in control of the Sunni regions, and it is not clear that it could oversee elections even in the wilder Shiite provinces such as Maysan. (That Iraq still cannot hope to have a simple election without massive security and the prohibition of vehicular traffic for 3 days speaks eloquently to how hard a row genuine democracy still has in that country.

That US troops are available for joint patrols with the Iraqi army, which it helped train, but that the Iraqi army is studiedly disinterested, shows how much Americans are actually disliked in Iraq, a very nationalistic country that feels itself run roughshod over)

.Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament has thrown up its hands in despair about crafting an election law. Many parliamentarians haven't even been coming to the sessions, because there is such bad blood among the MPs over this and other issues. Some blame the intransigence of the Kurdistan Alliance, which is sensitive about the conditions under which elections are conducted in Kirkuk Province, which the Kurdistan Regional Government wants to annex, but the annexation of which is opposed by Arabs and Turkmen.

So parliament is asking the Political Council for National Security to draft the legislation, and to have parliament simply conduct an up and down vote on the resulting bill. The PCNS consists of President Jalal Talabani, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, Vice President Adil Abdul Maliki, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and Kurdistan Regional Government president Massoud Barzani. The council is not specified in the constitution, much less having been given a legislative role, and some critics of this plan are complaining that it is unconstitutional.

It takes 90 days to organize an election in Iraq, so last Monday was technically the deadline for the passage of the legislation. The election must be held by Jan. 31 to be constitutional. The prospect of another sketchy election, after the fiasco in Afghanistan, is worrying the UN and the US military.

KERKÜK'TE TÜRKMEN GAZETECİLERE BOMBALI SALDIRI

ÇARŞAMBA, 21 EKİM 2009

KERKÜK’ÜN HADRA SEMTİNDE MEYDANA GELEN PATLAMADA, BİR TÜRKMEN KAMERAMAN ÖLDÜ, BİR GAZETECİ YARALANDI. KERKÜK POLİS KAYNAKLARINA DAYANDIRILAN BİLGİYE GÖRE, KERKÜK'ÜN HADRA SEMTİNDE EVİ ÖNÜNE YERLEŞTİRİLEN BİR BOMBANIN İNFİLAK ETMESİ SONUCU ÖZEL EL RAŞİD TELEVİZYONUNUN KAMERAMANI ORHAN HİCARN'İN ÖLDÜĞÜNÜ, ESKİDEN TÜRKMENELİ UYDU TV. DE ÇALIŞAN VE EL BAĞDADİYE TELEVİZYONUNUN MUHABİRLERİNDEN MUHAMMED ABDULLAH ŞEHİTZADE'NİN DE YARALANDIĞI BİLDİRİLDİ.BU ARADA PARLAMENTO SEÇİMLER ÖNCESİ TÜRKMENLERE KARŞI YOĞUNLAŞAN SALDIRILAR PARELELİNDE ESKİ ITC YENGİCE SORUMLUSU ADNAN RIFAT BU GÜN KERKÜK’TE KİMLİĞİ BELİRSİZ KİŞİLER TARAFINDAN UĞRADIĞI SİLAHLI SALDIRI SONUÇU YAŞAMINI YİTİRDİ .

Monday 19 October 2009

The weaseling 5% Porcupine .... إشتم جيفة السمكة من رأسها

Imad Khadduri

October 19, 2009"Porcupine was established in Delaware on June 30, 2004 -- one day after DNO signed its own contract with KRG to drill for oil in northern Iraq....The minutes of the Stock Exchange meeting showed only that the fine was to punish DNO for selling 5 percent of its shares to a publicly undisclosed buyer. "Dagens Naeringsliv" filed a Freedom of Information request with the Stock Exchange and learned that the undisclosed buyer of the shares was the KRG itself.

When "Dagens Naeringsliv" published that news, the KRG reacted vehemently to being publicly named. It threatened to suspend DNO’s activities in Kurdistan and evict the company without compensation. It also set some conditions for continued cooperation with DNO, including one that was completely unexpected: for the company to clear up all conflicts with "third party interests."Again the newspaper’s interest was piqued. This time, the challenge was to find out the identity of the "third party," and why the conflict was so important it needed to be solved immediately.

In the search, the paper learned of an arbitration case in London which started sometime after March of last year and pits DNO against two companies: one called Porcupine, the other belonging to a Yemeni businessman.

[The paper reported last week that Galbraith acquired a 5 percent share in an oil field in the Iraqi Kurdish region at a time when he was a leading voice in the U.S. debate over the structure of post-Saddam Iraq. And he helped draft Iraq’s 2005 Constitution by advising Kurdish leaders on legal language they should seek to insert into it -- including keeping future oil development in their region under their own control].Tracking down Porcupine led to Delaware, where it turned out the company’s incorporation document was signed by Peter Galbraith [Former US diplomat, recently dismissed from his post at the UN mission in Afghanistan]."Iraq Oil Scandal Threatens Former Diplomat, Ocotber 16, 2009

Galbraith is among many senior US officials who are thought to be involved in business relationship with KRG, like Garner and Zalmay Kahlil Zadeh. During past few months, Zadeh has been attending major oil celebrations held by KRG..

ـ"اعترف دبلوماسي امريكي سابق (كان في أفغانستان الى قبل بضعة أسابيع حيث أقيل من منصبه) بأنه مارس نشاطات تجارية في قطاع النفط بكردستان العراق بعد الكشف عن وقوع خلاف بين شركته وشركة نفط نرويجية. واشارت صحيفة فايننشال تايمز الصادرة الجمعة الي أن بيتر غالبريث المدافع عن الحكم الذاتي للأكراد استغل، كما يري النقاد، مكانته السياسية للحصول علي مكاسب مالية وكان يتعين عليه الكشف عن مصالحه التجارية في شمال العراق وقتها، وقبل الكشف عن الخلاف بين شركته وشركة النفط النروجية (دي ان أو) التي تعد أول شركة نفطية تدخل الي كردستان العراق. وأصر غالبريث، السفير الأمريكي السابق في كرواتيا، في مقابلة مع الصحيفة بأن تعاملاته التجارية لم تتناقض مع عمله كمستشار لدي القادة الأكراد في كردستان العراق، وشدد علي أنه سعي دائماً لدعم مصالح الأكراد".ـفايننشال تايمز: دبلوماسي أمريكي يعترف بالتجارة في نفط كردستان
ـ16 تشرين الأول 2009
.
تبين بأن حصة بيتر كالبريث في العقد المبرم بين الأقليم وشركة دي.أن.أو النرويجية هي 5% ، فقط ولا غير! كما كان كولبنكيان مستر فايف برسنت لحوالي 50 عاما.ـ
ها نحن اليوم نرى ظهور أخرين، وهذا أولهم، ممن يضطر للأعتراف ويقر بدوره في اعداد الدستور ( ومعروف أيضا دوره في أعداد مسودة قانون النفط والغاز لا بل ومشاركته في المفاوضات التي سبقت اقرار المسودة )ـً والباقي نتعرف عليهم لاحقا
.
Galbriath had the audacity to demand (in 2006):

"Galbraith recounted some of his experiences from The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End. He contends the Bush administration’s incompetence regarding planning for a military occupation has greatly contributed to the mess U.S. forces currently face. The most glaring example was the widespread looting after the invasion. [emphasis added. Comment: He had already dipped himself in the oil pot]....

Rather than preserving or holding together a unified Iraq, Galbraith believes the U.S. must accept the reality of Iraq’s breakup and work with the Shiites, Kurds, and Sunni Arabs to strengthen the existing semi-independent regions. In addition, he suggests that U.S. forces be redeployed to Kurdistan where they will be welcomed and can keep tabs on al-Qaeda." [emphasis added. Comment: And guard his 5%]
Experts see grim prospects in Iraq, Iran

October 13, 2006
.
وعزى كالبريث (في عام 2006) أحد أهم أسباب هزيمة بوش في العراق الى السماح بالنهب بدون رادع، في حين كان مطمّس إيده بالنفط ... كما وطالب بتقسيم العراق ونقل الجيش الأمريكي الى شمال العراق حيث سيلقى الترحيب وليتعقب فلول القاعدة (و ليحمي الخمسة بالمائة من نفط أبوه)ـ
.
abutamam.blogspot.com/2009/10/weaseling-5-porcupine.html

Saturday 17 October 2009

TELAFER GÜNÜ


Necmettin BAYRAKTAR

Telafer’in günü
Hazin, hazin doğar
Şafak sökerken
Gün batar
Karanlık basar
Gündüzü gece
Gecesi sarar
Açılışını koymadan
Ansızın çakar
Susuzluktan şaşar


Baba bu gün
Vurdular
Kale’sini* vurdular
Bülbül öterken
Balsını boğdular


Baba bu gün
Yıktılar
Yuvasını yıktılar
Can boğazdayken
Boğazını kestiler


Telafer’in günü
Uyanmadan
Balası ağlar
Meme yerine
Kanını emer
Namaz kılarken
Cami’si patlar


Telafer’di günümüz
Bükülmüştü bilmez
Kararmıştı gözümüz
Açılmıştı dilimiz :
Kana kan
Cana can
Güle gül
Derdi bul
Bende yara
Sen de ara
Kandan kan
Cemden can
Bel imkân


Geldik yarım
Kaldık yarım
Bardak yarım
Gün battı
Karanlık bastı
Yarım, yarım …………………………………………………….


*Telafer’in bir mahallesi

يا أهلنا في تلعفر التركمانية تماسكوا



الدائرة الإعلامية

العدد 150
التاريخ 16/10/2009

يا أهلنا في تلعفر التركمانية تماسكوا


مرة اخرى تستهدف عملية ارهابية جبانة التركمان في تلعفر و اثناء تأديتهم لصلاة الجمعة المباركة هذا اليوم.. اذ تمكن ارهابي من التسلسل الى مسجد في حسن كوي اثناء صلاة الجمعة، و اطلق رصاصتين على خطيب الجامع و هو واقف في المنبر و اغتال احد القضاة برصاصتين في رأسه، و حين حاول الشباب من المصلين منعه من الهروب، فجر نفسه بحزام ناسف بينهم. و بلغ عدد الشهداء لحين كتابة هذا البيان 14 شهيدا و الجرحى 74، جروح بعضهم بليغة، مما قد يرفع عدد الشهداء
قطعا لن يجدي الاستنكار نفعا، الا ان الجبهة التركمانية العراقية تؤكد على مطالباتها السابقة بوجوب الاعلان عن نتائج التحقيقات في العمليات الارهابية التي تستهدف التركمان، بل و اصبح هذا الاستهداف واضحا منذ فجيعة تازة خورماتو في 22 حزيران الماضي. و مع استمرار الخروقات الأمنية، فأن اكثر من نصف العمليات الارهابية التي نفذت كانت موجهة ضد التركمان، و مع استمرار عدم الاعلان عن نتائج التحقيقات، تستمر الخروقات الأمنية و يستمر استهداف التركمان اينما كانوا
تطالب الجبهة التركمانية العراقية الحكومة المركزية و السلطات ذات العلاقة باتخاذ اجراءات فعلية لحماية التركمان، و تؤكد ان استمرار استهدافهم سيؤثر سلبا على الوضع الأمني الهش اساسا في العراق و الذي يستعد للانتخابات العامة القادمة
و يا أهلنا في تلعفر التركمانية، شمالا و جنوبا، كونوا متماسكين و لا تدعوا الإرهابيين ان يخربوا الأمان و الوئام الذي حققتموه بدمائكم
نسأل الله سبحانه ان يعيننا على حماية شعبنا التركماني، و نسأله ان يرحم شهداءنا و يسكنهم فسيح جناته و ان يلهم اهلهم الصبر و السلوان و ان يمن بالشفاء العاجل لجرحانا


الجبهة التركمانية العراقية
الدائرة الإعلامية


Adres:Kerkük. Bağdat yolu. Valilik binası yanında
Itc_media@yahoo.com

Erdoğan: Kerkük Iraklılarındır, Irak`ın olmalıdır



Erdoğan, Irak Ulusal Meclisi Binası`nda Irak Ulusal Meclis Başkanı Ayad El Samarrayi tarafından kabulünde yaptığı konuşmada, Irak`ta bulunmaktan duyduğu memnuniyeti dile getirerek şöyle konuştu:``Ay sonunda bir Parlamenter heyeti ülkemize gelecek. İnanıyorum ki aramızdaki güç birliği açısından da anlamlı olacak. Bugünkü ziyaretimiz çok anlamlı ve önemli.

Ayak bastığımız andan itibaren, gerek Başbakan Maliki gerekse Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcılarının, bize gösterdikleri ev sahipliğine teşekkür ediyorum.Şartlarınızı biliyorum. Temmuz 2008`de geldiğimiz gün ile bugünü kıyasladığımızda bir değişimin başladığını da gördük. Temennim şudur ki; bu değişim inşallah süratle gerçekleşir ve Irak geçmişteki o günlerine kavuşur. Bir komşu ülke olarak, aynı değerleri paylaşan bir ülke olarak, akrabalık ilişkilerinin güçlü olduğu bir ülke olarak bizler üzerimize ne düşüyorsa bunun yapmaya hazır olduğumuzu her zaman her yerde söyledik.

Bugün yanımda 9 bakanımla geldim, milletvekili arkadaşlarım var, bürokrat, teknokrat ve 50 kadar iş adamıyla geldik. Arkadaşlarımız birbirleriyle görüşmelerini yapıyorlar.``

-``MİLYONU AŞKIN İNSANINI KAYBETTİ``-

Başbakan Erdoğan, ilk defa bir model üstünde olduklarını belirterek, şöyle devam etti:``44 mutabakat muhtırası bugün imzalanacak. Eğitim, sağlık, tarım, enerji, alt ve üst yapı gibi pek çok anlaşma imzalanacak. Ve bütün bunlarla birlikte şüphesiz ki Irak`ın kalkınması çok daha hızlanacaktır. Bütün bunların görüşüldüğü süreç anlamlı bir döneme rastladı. Irak`ta yapılacak seçimde aday olan partilerin, ön koalisyon çalışmaları bitmiş olacak. 16 Ocak`ta da seçimler yapılacak.

Tabi biz bu genel seçimlerin Irak için hayırlı olmasını temennisinde bulunuyoruz. Irak`ın birliğine, beraberliğine, vesile olmasını temenni ediyoruz. Irak`ın kendi içindeki birlik ve beraberliği bizim için çok önemlidir. Siz güç kazandıkça biz buna seviniriz. Birliğiniz, beraberliğiniz arttığı sürece biz buna seviniriz. Irak özellikle son 8 yıl içerisinde çok büyük kan kaybetti. Milyonu aşkın insanını kaybetti.``

-``IRAK`IN TOPRAK BÜTÜNLÜĞÜNE SAYGI DUYULMALI``-

Yakın bir komşusu olarak Türkiye`nin, Irak`a her şeyiyle her türlü desteği vermeye hazır olduğunu vurgulayan Başbakan Erdoğan, şunları söyledi:

``El ele omuz omuza vereceğiz inşallah bu süreçte Irak`ın yeniden ayağa kalkmasını sağlayacağız. Ben bugünkü anlaşmayı aynı zamanda bunun ön adımı olarak görüyorum. Kerkük konusuna değinmek istiyorum. Kerkük konusundaki samimi gayretlerinizi biliyorum. Ve Kerkük bir özel statüye kavuşturulmalıdır diye düşünüyorum. Ve Kerkük tüm Iraklıların olmalıdır. Kerkük bir etnik unsura teslim edilemez, edilmemelidir. Bir mezhebi unsura da teslim edilmemelidir. Ki aksi takdirde Irak`ın geneli için orası bir sıkıntı kaynağı olacaktır.Bunu kardeş bir ülkenin Başbakanı olarak hatırlatmayı kendime görev telakki ediyorum. Bu seçimlerde isteriz ki etnik unsurların mezhebi unsurların birbiriyle kaynaşabildiği bir süreç ve demokratik bir ortam olsun. Zor gibi görülüyor ama bunun başarılması lazım. Etnik, mezhebi çatışmaların olmadığı bir Irak...Irak`ın toprak bütünlüğüne saygı duyulmalı, milli birliğine saygı duyulmalıdır. Bunun yanında tabi ki terör noktasında bizim de bir sıkıntımız var ve bu konuda da merkezi yönetimin bize bugün kadar vermiş olduğu desteğe ayrıca teşekkür ediyorum. İnanıyorum ki bundan sonraki süreçte de dayanışmamız devam edecektir. Bu arada atacağımız bu ciddi adımlarla birlikte inşallah, gerek Musul`da gerekse Basra da açtığımız başkonsoloslukların, henüz resmi açılışını yapmadık ama buna ilave olarak Erbil`de de bir başkonsolosluk açmanın adımlarını, altyapısını oluşturuyoruz. Bunlar, aramızdaki bağları güçlendirirken, atacağımız adımları da çok daha kolaylaştıracaktır.

Başbakan Erdoğan,

``Kerkük`te bütün Irak halkının hakkı vardır, Kerkük Iraklılarındır, Irak`ın olmalıdır`` dedi.

Başbakan Erdoğan,


``Eğer bunu sadece Kerkük`te yaşayanlara bırakacak olursanız, yarın bir başka sorunla karşı karşıya kalırsanız, içeride çok daha büyük bedellerle karşı karşıya kalırsınız`` diye konuştu.
Başbakan Erdoğan, Irak`lı parlamenterlerin değerlendirmelerinin ardından tekrar söz aldı ve parlamenterlerin gündeme getirdiği sorulara yanıt verdi.Su konusunda Irak`ın güneyinin bir sıkıntısı olduğunu anımsatan Başbakan Erdoğan, son 2 yılda Türkiye`nin fedakarlık yaparak, saniyede 500 metreküp suyun akışına izin verdiğini söyledi.

Bu konuda Irak, Türkiye ve Suriye`nin 3`lü heyet oluşturduğunu kaydeden Erdoğan, Türkiye`den saniyede 517 ile 622 metreküp, ortalama olarak da 550 metreküp suyun Irak`a verildiğini dile getirdi.Atatürk Barajı`ndaki su seviyesinin yüzde 10 seviyelerine düştüğünü hatırlatan Erdoğan, verilen sözü tutmak için Türkiye`nin su konusunda fedakarlık yaptığını söyledi.

Erdoğan şunları söyledi:``Gelirken uçakta şunu gördük: Dicle maşallah iyi akıyor. Basra`da, Dicle ve Fırat`ın birleştiği yer 60 km. Eğer burada tedbirler iyi alınırsa aslında Güney Irak`ın birçok sorununu çözmek mümkün. Açık kanaatlerle suların aktığını gördük. Bunların kapalı sisteme geçilmesi... Çünkü suyun üçte biri buharlaşma ile gidiyor. Bir insanın yıllık su ihtiyacı 10 bin metreküptür. Türkiye`nin şu andaki mevcut durumu bin 700 civarındadır. Bütün imkanlarımız devreye giriğinde 3 bin metreküpe ulaşacak`` diye konuştu.

-KERKÜK SİZİN İÇ SORUNUNUZDUR-
Konuşmasında, ``demokratik açılım`` konusunda atılan adımlara da değinen Erdoğan, şöyle devam etti:``Bu bizim ülkemizdeki Kürt kökenli kardeşlerimize, vatandaşlarımıza yönelik attığımız bir adım değildir, birinci derecede terör soruna karşı attığımız bir adımdır. Bütün etnik unsurların sorunları var, Kürt kardeşlerimizin, Laz`ın, Arnavut`un, hepsinin sorunları var.

Şimdi Irak`ta Arapların, Kürtlerin, Türkmenlerin, Sünnilerin, Şiilerin sorunları yok mu? Diğer grupların sorunu yok mu? Genel olarak söylüyorum: Bunların hepsi sorun alanlarıdır. Bu sorun alanlarına karşı, demokratik açılımla bunları en aza indirmenin gayreti içindeyiz.Bir kardeşiniz olarak şunları söylemek durumundayım: Kerkük sizin iç sorununuzdur.

Kerkük`ün sorunları, Irak`ın sorunlarını çözdüğünüz gibi onu da bugüne kadar çözseydiniz, samimiyetle söylemek durumundayım, öyle sorunlar olur ki kardeşler devreye girer ve oradaki o sorunların çözümünde size yardımcı olur. Biz size ortak bir tespiti söyledik.

Dedik ki `Kerkük`te bütün Irak halkının hakkı vardır, Kerkük Iraklılarındır, Irak`ın olmalıdır.Eğer bunu sadece Kerkük`te yaşayanlara bırakacak olursanız, yarın bir başka sorunla karşı karşıya kalırsanız. İçeride çok daha büyük bedellerle karşı karşıya kalırsınız`. Biz bunu bugünden görür gibiyiz. Biz Irak vatandaşı değiliz ama Irak`ı yaşıyoruz. Çünkü sizlerle ortak tarihi paylaştık paylaşıyoruz. Bunu bir kardeşlik düşüncesi olarak söylüyorum.

``TSK`ya sınır ötesi harekata izin veren tezkereye de değinen Erdoğan, Irak merkezi yönetimiyle mutabık kalarak bugüne kadar bu adımları attıklarını ifade etti.ABD`de, 2007 yılında ``PKK terör örgütü ABD`nin, Türkiye`nin, Irak`ın düşmanıdır`` diye ilan ettiklerini anımsatan Başbakan Erdoğan, ``Hiçbir zaman TSK, harekatlarında bir sivil nokta vurmamıştır. Terör örgütünün yerleşkesi durumunda olan noktalara saldırıda bulunmuştur ama düşünün ki Irak`tan eğer benim ülkeme geçiş yapıyor da terör örgütü benim ülkemde köyleri basıyorsa buna sizin anlayış göstermemeniz lazım ve ``Bu tezkerenin geçmesini kınıyoruz` ifadesini doğrusu ben de kınıyorum. Teröre karşı ortak mücadele vermemiz lazım. Eğer terörün kökünü kazıyamazsak yarın terör bugün onu savunanları vurur.`Benim teröristim iyi, seninki kötü` mantığı olmaz. Terörün dini, ırkı, vatanı da olmaz. Kaldı ki zaten sizler terörle, teröristle baş başa çok yaşadınız. Kaldı ki Irak adeta terör örgütlerinin, teröristlerin antrenman sahasına dönmüştür. Hala da burayı tam terk etmiş değillerdir. Bunları göreceğiz, ortak tedbir alacağız, temizleyeceğiz. Siz de biz de huzur bulacağız. Biz ne Irak`ın ne de Irak halkının mağduriyetine asla göz yummayız, müsaade etmeyiz.``

Friday 16 October 2009

Turkish PM visits Iraq to sign deals

'Pakistan Times' Monitoring Desk

BAGHDAD (Iraq): Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iraq on Thursday to sign a raft of agreements aimed at boosting economic and political ties between the neighbours, an Iraqi official said.

On his arrival in Baghdad, Erdogan went into talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

According to Dabbagh, "about 50 agreements will be signed" between the two countries during the visit by Erdogan, who is accompanied by nine of his ministers.

In September, delegations from the two countries, led by their foreign ministers, held two-day talks in Istanbul to prepare the ground for Erdogan's visit and negotiate the accords to be signed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the time the objective was to "secure a genuine economic integration on the highest possible level" between the two neighbours, whose ties have often been troubled by separatist Kurdish rebels taking refuge in the mountains of northern Iraq.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

UNAMI concerned about Iraq election law

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 07:09 GMT
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-38852-UNAMI-concerned-about-Iraq-election-law.html


While Parliament is due on Tuesday for the second read out of the electoral law amendment before the voting session on Thursday, calls poured in to adopt the open list amidst concerns of hindering the draft law passed by government to Parliament, thus adopting the closed list.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Iraq Ad Melkert has voiced concern about the country’s election laws, saying they lack clarity just three months before parliamentary polls are slated to be held. Melkert proposed to delay the questioning of Independent High Electoral Commission members. “UNAMI believes that significant changes to the institutional set-up in IHEC would severely disrupt the ongoing electoral preparations to the point that it would not be possible to hold credible elections until a considerably later date”, he said.

In a statement to Al Hayat Newspaper, IHEC chairman Faraj Al Haydari stressed that any decision by the Parliament to remove the commission’s confidence or dismiss it would delay elections. The IHEC is working late and during holidays in preparation for elections, he added.

Parliament Speaker Iyad Al Samarraie denied secret ballot on the electoral law reiterating his support to the open list. After meeting with former Speaker Mahmoud Al Mashhadani, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki called not to delay elections for any reason whatsoever. He affirmed as well his support to the open list system.

Meanwhile, Kirkuk issue is still debated on the table. Legal committee member MP Ayman Al Assadi noted that the committee agreed during the last meeting on all provisions. Yet, Kirkuk issue spurred deep rows as Kurdistan Alliance is calling to consider the city as one District while Arabs and Turkmen are calling to divide it into four Districts. The final resort is to refer to the majority and voting, he added.

Read article in Arabic

ERBIL RAPORU

Wed, 14 Oct 2009

Erbil Gözlemleri
Bölgesel Kürt Yönetiminin başkenti Erbil, Zagros Dağları’nın eteklerinde, Aşağı ve Yukarı Zap suları arasında kurulmuş tarihi bir Türkmen kentidir. Şehrin demografik dokusu, 1970’li yıllardan itibaren değişmeye başlamış ve Türkmenler şehirde azınlığa düşmüşlerdir. Erbil’in Kuzeybatısından Büyük Zap’ın Güneydoğu’sundan ise Küçük zapın geçmesi bölgenin verimli toprağa sahip olduğunun göstergesidir. Tarım ürünleri olarak Buğday,arpa,darı,tütün yetiştiriciliği göze batmakta. Kentin kırsal kesimlerin de ise küçük baş hayvancılığının yapıldığını söyleyebiliriz. Bulunduğu konum itibariyle Musul, Bağdat ve Basra yollarının kesişmesi noktası olması ve karayolu ile İran’a ulaşması kentin stratejik önemini arttırmaktadır.

EKONOMİ
Erbil bulunduğu konum nedeni ile tarıma elverişli bir alana sahip. Fakat, Bölgede tarımsal üretim yapılmasına karşın yeterli olmadığı gözlenmekte. Temel tüketim maddelerinin büyük bir kısmı Türkiye sağlamakta. Petrol yasasının çıkması ile birlikte hükümet gelir kaynağının büyük bir kısmını petrolden sağlamaya başlamıştır. Dış sermayeyi bölgeye çekebilmek için 2006 yilinda yürürlüğe giren “Yatırım Teşvik Yasası” adı verilen kanun, yabancılara bölgede yatırım yapmaları için hiçbir bedel ödemeden toprak ve araziler sağlıyor. 10 yıl boyunca vergiden muaf olma ve 5 yıl boyunca gümrüksüz dışardan mal getirebilme ile dışardan yabancı personel alabilme hakki tanındığını belirtti. Bölgede tarım,gıda ve Kırtasiye ürünlerine gümrük uygulanmamakta fakat diğer ürünler içinse % 5 oranında gümrük uygulanmakta.

Erbil, savaş sonrası geniş bir şantiyeyi andırıyor. Bölgede yeni yapılanmalar dikkati çekiyor. Özellikle yeni yollar, ve yeni konut yapılanmalarına hız verilmiş. Fakat, seçim öncesi Bölgede tüm inşaatların durduğunu söylemekte fayda var. Bunun nedeni incelendiğinde seçim sonuçlarının beklendiğini belirttiler. Eğer seçimlerde Mesut Barzani kazanamazsa inşaatların duracağı belirtilmekte. Çünkü Mesut Barzani’nin tüm şirketlerde yarı yarıya ortak olduğu belirtilmekte. Şehirde göze çarpan en önemli hususlardan birisi alt yapının eksik olması. Bölgede yeni binalar, alışveriş merkezleri, yollar ve havaalanı yapılmasına karşın, Alt yapıya yönelik hiç bir çalışmanın yapılmadığı gözlenmekte. Şehrin atık suları kaldırım kenarlarına yapılmış oyuklar tarafından atılmakta.

İnşaatların bir kısmı bitmesine rağmen teslim edilmediği gözlenmekte. Bunun nedeni araştırıldığında firma ve sözde hükümet arasında bir güvensizliğin olduğu gözlenmekte. Erbil de başta ABD olmak üzere , Türkiye, Lübnan, Fransa, İngiltere, Almanya, Suudi Arabistan, Kore,İsrail, Japonya ve Çin şirketleri farklı alanlarda hizmet veriyor. Halkın refah seviyesinde her hangibir artış olmadığını açık bir şekilde söyleye biliriz. Halkın %90 lık bir kısmı hükümet adına çalışıyor. Erkeklerin büyük bir kısmı peşmerge olarak görev yapmakta ve aldığı maaş ise 300 ile 400 dolar arasında. Refah seviyeside ki artış belirli bir zümrenin elinde olduğunu söylemek mümkün. Bunların başını çeken ise Barzani Aşireti gelmekte.
Bölgede kaçakçılıkta ön plan da, özellikle elektronik ve telekomikasyon ürünlerinin cook ucuz olması bölgeyi cazip kılmakta.

SOSYAL YAPI
Bölge karışık bir etnik yapıya sahip, Bölgede ağırlıklı olarak; Türkmenler, Araplar ve Kürtler yaşamakta. Sayıları az olmasına karşın Bölgede Hıristiyan ve Yahudi mahalleleri de bulunmakta. Erbil sokaklarında kadına rastlamak pek mümkün değil fakat Hırıstiyan mahallesinde durum daha farklı. Kadının sosyal bir statüye sahip olduğu gözlenmekte. Bölgenin en gelişmiş ve güvenlikli alanı ise Hıristiyan mahallesi. Erbil de Saddam Hüseyin dönemin de olan 3 sinema yıkılarak otopark olarak kullanılmakta. Halkın büyük bir kısmı şehrin en eski yapısı olan kale civarında yer alan çarşılarda ve aynı yerde yer alan kapalı çarşıda bulunmakta.

Genç nüfusun büyük kısmı Türk müziği dinlemekte. Ağırlıklı olarak İsmail YK, İbrahim Tatlıses ve Mahsum Kırmızıyüz tercih ediliyor. Halk bu sanatcıları dinlediği gibi büyük kesmi de bu sanatcıları model aldığı gözlenmekte. ( Saç traşları, giydikleri kıyafetler vb) Bölge televizyonlarında Türk dizileri yakından izlenilmekte, diğer yabancı diziler alt yazılı yayınlanmasına karşın Türk dizileri Kürtçe dublaj yapılıyor. Halkın bir kısmı Türkiye ye karşı sempati ile yaklaşsa da büyük bir kısmı tepkili.
Bunun nedeni ise PKK ve Barzani.
Öte yandan kendi içinde bir çelişki gibi görünse de Türkiye bir hayranlık ve çekim merkezi. Halkın büyük bir kısmı Türkiye’ye gelmek istemekte. Bunun en önemli nedeni ise pasaportlarında Türkiye vizesi bulunanlar diğer komşu ülkelere rahatlıkla vize alabilmekte.

TERÖR ÖRGÜTÜ PKK
Terör örgüt PKK’nın bölgede etkin bir ağırlığa sahip olduğu gibi halk üzerinde de sempati oluşturduğu gözden kaçmamakta. Barzani ise bölgenin ekonomik durumunun zayıf olmasından dolayı halkı bir arada tutmak için bir tehlike yaratma cabası içinde bu tehlike de Türkiye olarak lanse ettirilmekte. Konu ile ilgili yapılan görüşmelerde Türkiye’nin askeri operasyonları bölgenin işgal edileceği korkusu yaşanmakta ve bu operasyonlar tepki ile karşılanmakta.

PKK’nın bölgede ki durumu ise, irtibat ofisleri kapanmasına karşın yasadışı olarak faaliyetlerine devam etmekte. Terör örgütü tüm ihtiyaçlarını Erbil’den karşılamakta. Zira Kandil Dağı ile Erbil arası yaklaşık 3 saat. Örgüttün kaçanlar ise Erbil de yaşıyorlar. Kuzey Yönetimi, PKK’nın faaliyetlerinden korktuğu için kazandırma yasası çıkartarak örgütten ayrılmak isteyenlere vatandaşlık hakkı tanımakta.

PKK Erbil'den ziyade Musul da güçlenmiş durumda. Musul da ki karışık durum PKK’nın o bölgede güçlenmesine neden olmakta. Türkmen kenti olan Taleferde de PKK’nın bir irtibat bürosuna sahip olduğu, buradan Suriye ve Kandil bağlantısı sağlanmakta olduğu ileri sürülüyor. Suriye de yaşayan Kürtlerin vatandaşlık hakkı olmadığı için örgütte katıldığı iddialar arasında. Suriye’den Kandil Dağına giden yol olarak Musul ve Telafer’i kullandığı belirtilmekte.

DİL
Bölgede ağırlıklı üç etnik yapının baskın olmasına karşın bölge de kullanılan dil Kürtçe. Erbil’de Kürtlerin büyük bir kısmı Sorani’ce konuşmakta. Fakat Erbil’den Kuzeye doğru çıkıldıkça Kırmanci daha fazla konuşulmakta. Bölge yönetimi Kırmançi ve Soranice’nin birleştirilerek yeni bir dil oluşturma çabası içinde olduğu öğrenildi; Fakat bu çalışma başarılı olamadığı gibi ileriki zamanlarda da başarılı olamayacağını değerlendire biliriz. Çünki bölge aşiret yapısına sahip olduğu gibi her aşiret farklı lehçelerde konuşmakta.
Üniversitelerde de sosyal bilimler Kürtçe olarak okutulduğu gibi mühendislik dersleri İngilizce olarak verilmekte. Bir diğer husus ise Bölgede yeni pasaport çıkarma yolunda, buna gore pasaport bilgileri üç dilde olacak, Kürtçe, Arapça ve ingilizce, Bölgede yoğun bir Türk nüfusu olmasına karşın Türkçe’ye yer verilmemesi ayrıca haklın büyük bir kısmı Türkçe bilmesine karşın peşmerge baskısından dolayı konuşmaması Türk dil birliğinin yok edilerek Türkmenlerin asimile çalışmalarının yoğun bir şekilde yapıldığını gösteriyor.

TÜRKMENLER
Erbil’de Türkmen kimliğini silmek için yoğun şekilde çalışmalar sürmekte. Erbil’in en eski yeri olan kale içerisinde yer alan ve Türkmenlerin yoğun şekilde yaşadığı yerler boşaltılmıştır. Seçimlerden bir kaç gün önce şehrin Türk olduğunu kanıtlayan kitapların olduğu kütüphane yakılmıştır. Resmini aşağıda görebilirsiniz.

GÜVENLİK
Erbil, bölgenin en güvenlikli alan olduğunu söyleye biliriz. Şehirden ABD orduları tamamen çekilmiş durumda ABD ordusu, Bağdatda bulunan Anakonda üssünde yer almakta. Şehrin güvenliğini peşmergeler sağlamakta. Saat 22.00 dan itibaren yaklaşık 100 ile 150 metre mesafeli güvenlik noktaları bulunmakta.

Peşmergelerde kendi aralarında ayrılmış durumda bunlar;

1- Polis

2- Asayiş

3- Açil Müdahale ekipleri

4- Özel Birlik ( Zawita )
Peşmergeler ne kadar düzenli olduğu söylense de disiplinsiz yapıları ile dikkati çekmekte. Göze çarpan bir şekil disiplinin olmadığı gözlenmekte. Başlarına buyruk bir yapıya sahip. Yaş ortalamsı ya çok küçük ya da ilerlemiş bir yaşa sahip. Peşmergeler içinde PKK üyeleride mevcut bunlar kendi aralarında devşirme olarak nitelendirilmekte. Peşmergelerin eğitimi ABD ve İsrail tarafından verilmekte.

Peşmergelerin hepsi devlet tarafından maaş almakta. Kendi aralarında ki derecelemeye gore 350 ila 400 dolar arasında maaş almakta.

Ayrıca, Parastina adlı bir istihbarat örgütüne de sahip. Bu örgüt israil tarafından eğitilmekte. Alınan bilgilere göre parastina mensupları Türkçe ve Farsça bilmekte. Sınır boylarında görevlendirildiği gibi turist ve iş adamlarının kaldığı otellerde garson olarak çalıştırılmakta.

Peşmergelerin en güvendiği birlik ise özel eğitimli olan zawitalar, sözde komutanı Aziz veysi, eski PKK lı istihbarat raporlarına göre de birliğin büyük bir kısmını PKK dan ayrılan teröristler oluşturmakta. Zawitaların eğitimini ABD özel kuvvetleri vermekte. Alınan bilginin kaynağı tartışmalıda olsa şu an ki eğitimleri Dahuk’ta Türk Özel Kuvvetlerince verildiği bildirilmiştir.

Bölgede dış istihbarat servisleri yoğun bir şekilde faaliyet göstermekte. Özellikle Mosad ve CIA açık olarak çalışmakta. Diğer İstihbarat birliklerinde irtibat ofisleri bulunmakta. Alman istihbaratının da bölgede faaliyet göstermekte olduğu ileri sürülüyor.

EĞİTİM
Bölgede okuma yazma oranının çok düşük olduğu söylemek mümkün. Seçim sırasında seçim kayıt defteri incelendiğinde halkın büyük bir kısmı imza yerine parmak bastığı görülmekte. Bir lise de yapılan görüşme neticesinde lisede 19 öğrencinin okuduğu ve 54 öğretmenin olduğu öğrenilmiştir. Erbil’de bulunan üniversiteler ise, Kürdistan Üniversitesi, Selahattin Üniversitesi, Gülen Cemaatine ait olan Işık Üniversitesi, eğitimler Kürtçe olarak yapılmakta.

Haberiniz.com temsilcisi özel Erbil raporu

Water shortages causes 100,000 to flee homes in Iraq: UN

AFP
October 13, 2009
PARIS — More than 100,000 people in northern Iraq have abandoned their homes since 2005 because of water stress, after drought and over-extraction of groundwater caused the collapse of an ancient water system, UNESCO said on Tuesday."Drought and excessive well pumping have drawn down aquifer levels in the region, causing a dramatic decline of water flow in ancient underground aqueducts" known as karez, the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said.

The karez system, designed in ancient Persia to cope with an arid climate, is a man-made underground system that for centuries has provided Iraqis with drinking water and irrigation needs.

A single karez is able to provide water for nearly 9,000 individuals and 200 hectares (500 acres) of farm land, the UN agency said in a press release.

The system, already badly affected by political turmoil and neglect, has been dealt a devastating blow by over-pumping of aquifers by modern wells at a time of drought, UNESCO said.Since the onset of the drought four years ago, 70 percent of the functioning karez in northern Iraq have dried up, specialists found. By August this year, only 116 of 683 karez systems in northern Iraq were still functioning.

"The rapid decline of karez is forcing entire communities to abandon their homes in the pursuit of new sources of water," it said."Population declines have averaged almost 70 percent among the communities adversely affected since 2005."It added: "An additional 36,000 people are on the brink of abandoning their homes if conditions do not rapidly improve."

Beyond the trickle of water that they receive from their karez, these people are relying on water tanks, which must be refilled several times by trucks travelling long distances, or pumped wells, which often need to be dug deeper. For many, neither option is financially viable."

Copyright © 2009 AFP.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

La répression se poursuit en Chine contre les Ouighours (video)

La répression se poursuit en Chine contre les Ouighours (video)

Cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous pour la vidéo
http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/0,,4847289,00-la-repression-se-poursuit-en-chine-contre-les-ouighours-.html


Comme au Tibet, Pékin veut mettre au pas la région autonome du Xinjiang. Première étape : la destruction de la vieille ville de Kashgar, berceau de la culture ouighoure..

Par TF1

مسلمة تتقاسم حزن المسيحية، والاستهداف مستمر



مسلمة تتقاسم حزن المسيحية، والاستهداف مستمر

كتابات - نرمين المفتي

و يستمر استهداف العراقيين اينما كانوا و من كانوا. و يكبر الوجع حين يستهدف مكون ضعيف استمر متمسكا بالعراق بالرغم (تمتعه) بامتياز الحصول على ( اسرع) لجوء انساني او اعادة توطين في اروربا و دولة الاحتلال امريكا، و اقصد اخوتنا في الله و الوطن: المسيحيين

لا يوجد اسهل من استغلال المسحيين ضد العراق و الاسلام، خاصة و هناك ( منظمات) دينية غربية مسيسة لهذا الغرض. لكن المسيحي العراقي الذي امتزج عرقه مع عرق بقية العراقيين في بناء حضارة الوطن منذ الاف السنوات، و امتزج دمه بدم العراقيين المسلمين و تراب الوطن مدافعا عنه، رفض و ما يزال ان يكون أداة لإلحاق الأذى بالوطن. و هو اذ يخطف و يقتل و يهجر، فأنه نادرا ما يذهب الى الوقوف امام السفارات و بعثات الأمم المتحدة في دول الجوار، بالرغم من يقينه بأن انتظاره لن يطول، انما يذهب للسكن في عين كاوة، في الشمال العراقي او لدى اقرباء، فلا مساومة عنده على الوطن

في الصورة المنشورة مع هذه المادة، زوجة الشهيد عماد ايليا عبد الكريم، الذي اختطف في كركوك يوم الثالث من هذا الشهر و تم العثور على جثته ليلة اليوم التالي و عليها اثار تعذيب بشعة، الزوجة ( السيدة المسيحية) في المقبرة و تسندها سيدتان مسلمتان، وتعلو وجوه السيدات الثلاث حزن لا يوصف و دموع جامدة. و سؤال الى متى يستمر استهداف العراقيين؟ و لا جواب. من يبحث عن السبب و الحل، لا جواب ايضا. و ستتشكل لجنة تحقيقية، مثل آلاف اللجان التي تشكلت و تتشكل منذ ان استباح العنف و الفساد الدم العراقي و لم يسمع العراقي اية نتيجة. و لماذا البحث عن حل و نتيجة طالما توفرت تهما جاهزة مثل التكفيريين و السلفيين و ازلام النظام السابق و معارضي العملية السياسية و مناهضي الديمقراطية و غيرها لاطلاقها و التظاهر بأن العراقي صدقها! هل يقتل المسلم الحقيقي شخصا لكونه مسيحيا فقط، و هو الذي يقرأ في القرآن الكريم قوله تعالى " لتجدن اشد الناس عداوة للذين آمنوا اليهود و الذين اشركوا و لتجدن اقربهم مودة للذين آمنوا الذين قالوا انا نصارى ذلك بأن منهم قسيسين و رهبانا و انهم لا يستكبرون" صدق الله العظيم (المائدة- 82)

. المسيحيون و بعد ان اغتصبت اراضيهم في الشمال العراقي على مدى القرن الماضي و ما يزالون، لم يحتجوا و لم يحملوا السلاح، انما نزحوا بهدوء الى بغداد و المدن الأخرى، و لم يحاولوا السكن ضمن غيتوهات، انما كانوا مثل باقي العراقين، يسكنون متجاورين و يتبادلون التحية و الضحكة و يتقاسمون الدمعة و اللقمة. ة اسارة لابد منها، و هي ان اليسدة باسكال وردة، العراقية المسيحية التي تسنمت منصب وزيرة الهجرة و المهجرين في الحكومة الانتقالية الأولى، كانت الوحيدة من بين الوزراء المنصبين تحت الاحتلال تزين ياقة سترتها او رقبتها بخارطة العراق

لأنني لا اعرف عماد ايليا و لا اعرف زوجته، حصلت على الصورة من خلال زميل صحفي، سألت عن السبب الذي دفع الى خطفه، و ان لا سبب يبرر ان يصدر احدهم حكما ضد أي شخص آخر، و قيل بأنه غني! و قال آخر بأنه مقاول، و لكن هل يكفي ان يكون احدهم غنيا او مقاولا سببا ليخطف و يقتل؟ و اكدت الأخبار بأنه موظف في دائرة صحة كركوك

من المستفيد من ادامة العنف في العراق؟ و من المستفيد من خلط الأوراق في كركوك؟ و من و من؟؟ و في جرائم مماثلة سابقة اصدرت جميع الأحزاب و المنظمات الدينية الاسلامية بيانات استنكار و تنديد، لم تكن هذه الأحزاب و المنظمات تحاول ابعاد الشبهة، ابدا، انما لايمانها بما تقول. و استمر رجال الدين المسيحيين يحثون المسحيين على عدم مغادرة العراق و بأن الاسلام دين حنيف يحرم هذه الجرائم

من المستفيد؟ و الدكتور لويس ساكو، رئيس اساقفة كركوك للمسيحيين الكلدان، قال يوم الاحد الماضي لصحيفة الزمان " ان موجة جديدة من النزوح والهجرة الي الخارج بدأت بين المسيحيين المقيمين في المدينة بسبب الخوف من استهدافهم وتعرضهم للخطف والاغتيال". واضاف " ان عشر عائلات اي حوالي ستين شخصا غادرت المدينة خلال الاسبوع الماضي فقط نظرا للخوف السائد في اوساطهم واستمرار استهدافهم لدوافع سياسية او بسبب الجهل الديني". و كشف المؤلف الألماني يورجن تودينهوفر في كتابه ((لماذا تقتل يا زيد؟ قصة حقيقية للمقاومة العراقية)، و الصادر الصادر في القاهرة وبيروت عن ان اعداد المسيحيين في المقاومة العراقية كبير جدا مقارنة بعدد نفوسهم في العراق. و الف تودينهوفر كتابه بعد معايشته للجماعات المسلحة في العراق و لمس بنفسه أن مسيحيين ينخرطون في المقاومة ومنهم يوسف (35 عاما) الذي لم يكن عضوا في حزب البعث بل يعتبر صدام دكتاتورا عنيفا. وقال يوسف للمؤلف ان "عدد المقاومين المسيحيين في العراق يفوق بكثير عدد مقاتلي بعض التنظيمات التي تعتبر مسيحيي العراق "جزءا من الاحتلال" بحجة أن معظم قوات الاحتلال مسيحيون". ويضيف يوسف في حديثه الي المؤلف الألماني فيما يشبه النصيحة "قل للألمان أن الذين يحاربون الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في العراق ليسوا مسلمين فحسب وانما يحارب معهم المسيحيون جنبا الي جنب. اننا نحن المسيحيين نريد أن نحرر بلادنا من قوات الاحتلال الغربي ومن الارهاب الغربي."

دائما، تكون الحوادث المفجعة و ما اكثرها، فرصة لنطالب اصحاب المقامات العالية و الرواتب الأعلى أن ينتبهوا الى العراقيين الذين يتعرضون الى العنف و التهحير و التغقير و البطالة و الترهيب, و لكن هل هناك من يسمع؟ و تكاتفوا ايها العراقيين و تماسكوا، فالله سبحانه يمهل و لا يهمل

Saturday 10 October 2009

الجموع الحاشدة التركمانية الشابة...تطالب بأدراج اللغة التركمانية في لوحات الدوائر الحكومية



الجموع الحاشدة التركمانية الشابة...تطالب بأدراج اللغة التركمانية في لوحات الدوائر الحكومية



See :


http://www.bizturkmeniz.com/ar/showArticle.asp?id=17855

KHASA ÇAI Dam in KERKUK Province

On 9th October 2009 the Iraqi cabinet approved the implementation of the KHASA ÇAI Dam project in Kerkuk Province.

According to Ali Al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government’s official spokesman:

The project should deal with the probems of drinking water scarcity and farmland irrigation.
Part of the dam waters will be used to irrigate 3,000 Donums of argricultural areas in TAZA.


Dabbagh noted that the volume of water stored in KHASA JAI DAM – 38.85 million cubic meters, amount to 2.59% of water stored in al-Adhim dam of 1.5 billion cubic meters – is very little.


Note: one Iraqi Donum equals 2,500 square meters

THE STRUGGLE OF THE TURKMENS OF IRAQ by Orhan Ketene




Orhan Ketene

Union of Diaspora Turkmens (UDT) Coordinator




For the Power Point Presentation please click on the link below:



Text only :


THE STRUGGLE OF THE TURKMENS OF IRAQ


Who are the Turkmens?

The Turkmens are a Turkic people living in Iraq, they are mostly concentrated in Northern Iraq and parts of Central and Southern Iraq (East of Himrin Mountains and North of Jazeera desert is Northern Iraq). They are the second largest nationality in Northern Iraq after the Kurds and the third largest in Iraq after the Arabs and the Kurds.

Turkmeneli
The areas of Northern Iraq where Turkmens live is called TurkmeneliThe Turkish speaking Turkmens currently inhabit a diagonal line that starts from Telafer in the north on the Syrian border eastward to Musul, Erbil, then southward to Kerkuk, Khaneqin and Bedre on the Iranian border.
The Arabic speaking Turkmens exist in every major city of Central and Southern Iraq.


Turkmens used to be the majority in Northern Iraq, but due to political and military reasons, continuous population exchange of the Turkmens with the Kurds from Iran and the Arabs from Arabian Iraq over the centuries, reduced the Turkmens nowadays to one third of the Northern population.


Currently their population is estimated at 2.5-3 million.

Kerkuk-Political and Cultural Center

Their political and cultural center is the city of Kerkuk which is the center of the oil wealth of Northern Iraq. Usually they work as professionals or in agriculture. They have the highest ratio of educated people than any other community in Iraq. The largest Turkmen tribes are the Bayat and Qara Qollu (Qaraghulli). They are non-violent, peace-loving and friendly people.


Turkmen Cities


Other Turkmen cities are Telafer, Musul, Erbil, Altun Kopru, Tawukh, Tuz Khurmatu, Kifri, Qara Teppe, Qaraghan, Qizlarbat, Khanaqin, Mendeli and Bedre. They also exist in Baquba, Baghdad, Tikrit, Ramadi, Aziziyya, Mahmudiyya, Iskenderiyya, Yusufiyya, Kut, Hilla, Diwaniyya, Nasiriyya and Kerbela.


The Place of the Turkmens in the Turkic World


- Oghuz = Turkmens


Western Turkmens: Turkey, Cyprus,Western Syria, Eastern Bulgaria, WesternThrace (Greece), Dobruja (Romania),Gagavuzia & Gok Oghuz (Moldova),

Central Turkmens: Azerbaijan, SouthernAzerbaijan (Iran), Southern Iran (Qashqais),Turkmeneli-Northern Iraq, NorthernCaucasia (Russia)

Eastern Turkmens: Turkmenistan,Southern Turkmenistan (Khorasan-Iran)Southern Turkistan(Afghanistan)


- Karluks : Uzbeks (Uzbekistan, TajikistanSouthern Turkistan (Afghanistan)Uyghur(Eastern Turkistan-Northwest China)


- Kipchaks: Kazaks (Kazakistan andEasternTurkistan),

Kirghiz,Karakalpaks of Uzbekistan, Tatars (Tatarstan, Crimea,Siberia), Bashkurts, Karachays, Balkars, Kumukand Nogays of Northern Caucasia (Russia)


- Siberians: Altay-Sayan (Tuvans, KhakasiaAltais)and Sakha-Yakutians (Russia)


- Chuvashians: Chuvashia (Russia)

The Position of the Turkmens in the Turkish World


Iraqi Turkmens


History of the Turkmens in Iraq


The Turkmens came to Iraq from Turkestan (Central Asia) and particularly from today’s Turkmenistan, in successive waves.
The first recorded document of their existence as “Turks” in Iraq was in 632 AD in a peace treaty of “Banuqia”, between the Turkish prince Bozbörü Sülübay and Khalid Bin Walid, mentioned in the book of “Mu’jamul Buldan- Dictionary of the Countries” written by the Muslim historian Yaqut Al-Hamawi who mentioned about the existence of several Turkish principalities in Iraq and emphasized on two of them in central Euphrates called the Banuqlu and Batuqlu which were allied with the Sassanid Persian Empire.


Turks took high positions up to the level of prime ministry in the Sassanid Empire and portrayed the fiercest resistance against the Islamic Arab conquest of Iraq.


The high military capabilities of the Turkish soldiers attracted the attention of the muslim Arabs, so, the Umayyad Arab Empire recruited large numbers of Turkish military experts from Turkestan (Central Asia).

They became highly influential in the army and the administration of the Abbasid Empire which followed the Umayyads.


The Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad asked for the help of Tughrul Beg, the chief of the Seljuk Turks to remove the Persian Buwaihids who dominated Baghdad for a century. In 1055 the Caliph of Bagdad declared Tughrul Beg as a “Sultan” (the master of power) and from that day on, the Turkish era began and the Turks became the rulers of the Middle East.

The Turkish Era in Iraq
The word Turk and Turkmen became synonymous in the Middle East, one means the other.


The Turkmens established 6 states in Iraq:


1- The Seljuk Empire: 1055- 1149 94 years
2- The Atabegs (of Musul, Erbil and Kerkuk): 1149- 1258 109 years
3- The Ilkhans (Mongol and Turkish mix): 1258- 1336 78 years
4- The Jalairids (Mongol and Turkish mix): 1336- 1360 24 years
5- The Barans (Qara Qoyunlu) : 1360- 1469 109 years
6- The Bayindirs (Aq Qoyunlu): 1469- 1508 39 years


. The Safawid Turks of Azerbaijan ruled Iraq: 1508- 1534 26 = years
1623- 1638 = 15 years
Total : 41 years.



Ottoman Turks ruled Iraq until the end of WWI: 1534- 1623 89 years
1638- 1918 280 years
Total: 369 years.


Total Direct Turkish/Turkmen rule: 863 years


TURCOMANIA:


The Turkmen identity of today’s Northern Iraq was so evident, that it was known as “Turcomania” by the European geographers such as William Guthrie who issued his famous map of the Middle East in 1785 in London, Great Britain.


Map of Turcomania (Turkmenia) in 1785
By British Geographer William Guthrie
Magnified map of Turcomania
Showing Kerkuk
Kerkuk


The Contributions of the Turkmens to the Iraqi Civilization


Turks, then known as Turkmens were defenders and builders of Iraq for over a millennium.During the Seljuk era, Nizam-ul Mulk, the prime minister of the Seljuk Sultan Melik Shah, built the first university in the world in Baghdad, in 1127 AD, called Al-Mustansiriyya, which stands even today.


Turkmens defended every part of Iraq against all foreign invasions for more than 1500 years. That is why they are spread all over the country.
The Atabegs of Musul were the first state in the Middle East to react to the greatest European invasion in history, the Crusades, which lasted for 200 years.


Nureddin Zengi the Atabeg of Musul built the leaning minaret mosque in 1172 AD.


The “Gok Kumbet”(Blue Dome) a tomb of a Turkmen princess “Bugday Khatun” in Kerkuk castle surrounded by a school, reminder of the Bayindir (Aq Qoyunlu) Turkmen state era (1469- 1508).

The “Chol Minare”(Desert Minaret) built by Muzaffereddin Gokboru the Atabeg of the Beg Tigin Atabegs of Erbil in 1200 AD. In which Erbil lived its’ golden age. It was the center of wealth, prosperity and science.

End of the Turkish Era:

During the Ottoman era, Northern Iraq was called the “Musul Province”.
In WWI, the British occupied Basra and Baghdad provinces and the southern part of the Musul Province.


Cease fire was declared on Oct.30.th 1918. However, the British army occupied the city of Musul on Nov. 11, 1918 which created the “Dispute of Musul” between Turkey and Britain which lasted for 8 years.


The Resistance:


The people of Musul resisted occupation through a series of revolts;

After 6 months from the occupation, the first revolt was started by the Soran Kurds of Suleymaniya in May 1919. Followed by The Turkmen revolt in Telafer in June 1920 which spread to the whole of Iraq. Followed by the revolt of the Behdinan Kurds in Imadiya in March 1921.


In June 1922, all peoples of Musul (Kurds, Turkmens, Arabs) united under the command of Shafiq Ozdemir, the administrator of Rawanduz, who won the victory of “Derbend” on August 31,1922, against the British army, liberating most of the mountainous parts of Musul. This resistance was the longest one and lasted until April 1923.


However, all those revolts were suppressed by the overwhelming British military power, especially the Royal Air Force and the use of poisonous gas.


Shafiq Ozdemir, the guerrilla leader of the Musul Resistance


The Breaking of the Resistance:


- In August 1921 the British installed Faisal as a king in Iraq, Turkmens of Kerkuk refused allegiance and the Kurds of Suleymaniya refused to participate in the referendum.


- The cooperation between Kurds and Turkmens was creating big problems for the British to establish their authority in the North. So, they divided the two by promising the Kurds a separate Kurdistan. Most of the Kurds stopped fighting thus breaking the resistance.


- The first mass killing of the Turkmens happened on May 4th, 1924 in Kerkuk by the British Army legionnaires called the “Levies” who killed 100 Turkmens in one day.


- To pacify the North and the Turks, the British prepared a very liberal constitution for Iraq in 1925, where the country had 3 official languages (Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish) with full rights for all minorities.

Musul Incorporated into Iraq:


- Exhausted by 11 years of continuous wars since 1911, Turkey, opted for peace and good relations with the west, relinquishing its’ claim on the Musul province at the Ankara Treaty of June 5, 1926.

- Musul was incorporated into Iraq since then.


- The Ankara Treaty gave the people of Musul, one year to choose Iraqi or Turkish citizenship. Turkmens choose to remain in Iraq and become Iraqi citizens as long as their constitutional rights are respected.



The Start of the problems for the Turkmens in Iraq


The Monarchy Era (1921-1958) 37 years

Although Turkey declared that it was no longer interested in Musul anymore, the successive Iraqi governments (even today) were haunted by the paranoia that Turkey, one day, would reclaim it back.This fear lead them to marginalize Turkmens, on the suspicion that they might support Turkey in case Turkey reclaimed back Musul. Although Turkmens were loyal citizens they were barred from high and sensitive government positions.


Kurds continued rebellions as the British did not fulfill their promise of establishing Kurdistan.


The first demographical change was the settlement of the Assyrians in Kerkuk in a newly built suburb called “New Kerkuk” in the Arafa district, as employees of the oil field facilities.


After becoming a sovereign country and entering the League of Nations in 1932, Iraq amended the 1925 constitution to remove Turkish from the official languages.


The second demographical change occurred as the Arabization policy started with the settlement of the Bedouin Arab tribes west of Kerkuk in the Hawija district in the Forties. Kerkuk, Erbil, Khaneqin and Kifri were still majority Turkmen cities.


However the third demographical change happened after the Barzani rebellion was suppressed in 1949. Vast numbers of rebel Kurdish villages were destroyed and the villagers forcefully settled by the Iraqi government in those cities. Thus changing the ethnic balance.

In 1957 a census was conducted and the results declared in 1959, showed the Turkmen population at 567.000 when Iraq was 6.5 million. Although the 400.000 Turkmens of Musul and Diyala were not counted. Turkmen population then was 950.000.



The Communist Era (1958-1963) 5 years

The monarchy was overthrown by the Communists in 1958. In a major policy shift towards the minorities, they declared the Kurds as partners of the Arabs, whereas the Turkmens, who remained loyal citizens, were discriminated against and were left as a minority. Thus, a double standard between the two peoples was applied.


Kurdish leader Barzani was brought back from his exile in Russia. He claimed the oil rich Kerkuk to be the capital of his proposed autonomous Kurdistan, which was rejected by the Turkmens.


Turkmens in Kerkuk were attacked by the Communist and Kurdish gangs. All main Turkmen figures were killed in a three day long massacre. It was only stopped by the Iraqi army which came from Baghdad upon fears of Turkish intervention.

President Qasim, tried to appease the Turkmens. He declared that the Turkmens were one million (Iraq was 7 million) and promised to persecute the criminals who conducted the Kerkuk Massacre.


Turkmens formed a secret organization and assassinated a number of Kerkuk massacre criminals.


It was understood that a quick ethnic cleansing of the Turkmens might trigger a Turkish intervention. Therefore, the method was changed to “Minimize them in the official records”. To ignore the reality and manipulate census records to suit the political purposes.


The formerly declared census results were ignored and the Turkmen population was officially recorded as 2% (140.000).


The fourth demographical change in Kerkuk was; building of the “Iskan” suburb east of Kerkuk for the Kurds by president Qasim. Although this concession did not stop the Kurds from rebelling again because the government refused to give them Kerkuk.



The Arab Nationalists Era (1963-1968) 5 years


To appease the Turkmens, president Abdusselam Arif ordered the execution of the Kerkuk massacre criminals.Barzani continued rebellion with military and intelligence help from Israel which was aiming at weakening Iraq on the Palestinian issue.


The Ba’ath Era (1968-2003) 35 years


Application of double standards continued. On January 24, 1970, Turkmens were granted cultural rights. while the Kurds were given autonomy in 3 northern provinces on March 11, 1970 and the Turkmen city of Erbil was made their capital. All those major concessions were given without asking the Iraqi people.


The fifth demographical change was; building of the Azadi settlement for the Kurds, East of Kerkuk.


Kurds continued their rebellion because the government refused “again” to give Kerkuk. This time they were aided by Iran which was after Iraqi border concessions.


Major crackdown on the Turkmens started after a nationwide demonstrations by the Turkmens protesting the reluctance of the authorities in the application of their cultural rights.


The Four top leaders of the Turkmens were hanged on January 16th 1980. Followed by a spree of arrests, torture and executions among the Turkmen rights advocates.


Turkmenian speaking was banned in public and even on phone conversations.Turkmens as a nationality were removed from the official census forms. Turkmens had to choose from either becoming Arabs or Kurds.Turkmens, had to declare “change of nationality” to Arabic in order to get jobs.


Real estate sales were banned amongst the Turkmens. Sale could only be done to Arabs.Turkmens were even banned from repairing their own houses.


Under the pretext of city planning, buildings resembling the Turkish era, were either demolished or modified. The 3000 year old Kerkuk Qal’a (fortress) which was a symbol of Turkmen architecture was demolished.
The sixth demographic change was in the form of settlement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs in Kerkuk by the government.


Turkmen villages and districts inside and outside Kerkuk were demolished; inhabitants were resettled in central and southern Iraq.


The Exiled Opposition and the Safe Haven Era (1991-2003) 12 years

The Iraqi army massacred over 100 Turkmens in the district of Altun Kopru in March 1991.


Free from Saddam’s dictatorship, The “Safe Haven” in Northern Iraq was supposed to be a good model for a democratic and free Iraq. This system was intended to be transferred into the rest of Iraq after liberating from Saddam.


Until 1996 Turkmens thrived in Erbil, they formed their own political parties, free media, democratic institutions and even their own defense militia.


However, after the intervention of the Iraqi army to help Barzani against Talabani on August 30, 1996 in Erbil, 56 pioneers of the Turkmen movement were executed by the Iraqi intelligence.


Barzani took over Erbil from Talabani. This time, supported by the U.S. and U.K., he converted the “Safe Haven” into Kurdistan and tried to impose authority upon the Turkmens, regarding them as a minority of Kurdistan.


Intimidations and clashes with the Turkmens began.Turkmens focus was shifted from helping their brethren under Saddam, into resisting Barzani’s demands of submission in Erbil.


Barzani, who was made a major player in the exiled opposition activities and armed with a veto power and Despite the desire of the Americans and other opposition figures to include the Turkmens, he blocked every effort and prevented the Turkmens from being major players in the opposition activities.


The same old tactic of marginalization was used. It was claimed that the Turkmens were a small minority, that they were not worth having a major say in the new Iraq.


It was even claimed that the Turkmens were only 10.000 in Erbil, whereas they were at least one third of Erbil (pop.750.000)
U.S. and Iraqi opposition figures used the same double standard.


Turkmens were placed in the category of small minorities and treated accordingly in the opposition meetings and decisions. They were never allowed to grow their symbolic and weak militia power to the level of the Peshmergas who were allowed to grow to the level of a professional army.
Although the U.S. gave assurances to Turkey that Kerkuk and Musul were red lines for the Kurds (no entry), the defeat of the bill in the Turkish parliament (allowing the passage of the American forces through Turkey) angered the US and as a result, ignored the Turkish red lines and supported Kurdish demands on Kerkuk and Musul.


Turkmens paid a heavy price for disagreements between US and Turkey and they were completely out of the picture.



The American Era (2003-Present) 6 years

The Turkmens in principle were happy to see the Americans enter Iraq. expecting to see the application of American values of justice, equality and progress in Iraq.


However, the US anger over the Turks blocking US troops passage during the war, lifted the red lines and the Kurds occupied the whole of Northern Iraq including Kerkuk and Musul.The weak and symbolic Turkmen militia in Erbil was disbanded.All high governing and administration positions were filled with Kurds brought from the North.

The seventh and so far the largest demographical change happened in Kerkuk and surrounding Turkmen towns. 600.000 Kurds were brought from other areas and settled in the city.


Americans did not interfere with fraud and violations during the elections in Northern Iraq.


Turkmens are still categorized as a small minority and given symbolic posts and positions in the governing councils and parliament.


Although every major group in Iraq has a strong militia power, Turkmens are still not allowed to form their own defense militia power that makes them vulnerable to terrorist and ethnic attacks which happened many times so far in many Turkmen towns.


Today, there is a lot of tension in the North between the Kurds on one side and the Turkmens, Arabs and Assyrians on the other side.


The same Arab refusal to give up Kerkuk to the Kurds has recurred and a new rivalry between Arabs and Kurds is resurfacing, warning of a new ethnic war.


Some progress has been made recently in Kerkuk only, after declaring Turkish as an official language beside Arabic, Kurdish and Assyrian. But that is too little to solve the problems of Northern Iraq.


Every Turkmen city had been a target of explosions that killed thousands of Turkmens so far.


The Role of the Western Academia and Media:

Northern Iraq is the home of three major nationalities; the Turkmens, Kurds and Northern Arabs. The Turkmens and the Kurds have the same desire of self rule and autonomy.

However, Kurds’ desires of autonomy and self-rule have been promoted and emphasized to the level of “independence” and establishing the “Greater Kurdistan” by some powers which intend to exploit those desires to achieve their own purposes (i.e. the British to occupy the Musul Province, the Soviet Russians to establish a Communist Kurdish state, Israel to weaken Iraq, Shah’s Iran to get Iraqi border concessions, Islamic Iran to weaken Iraq and finally US-UK to remove Saddam from power and control the Middle East).


Whereas, the same desires of the Turkmens of self-rule and autonomy were suppressed and the whole people was marginalized to a symbolic level because they can’t be exploited to serve anybody’s purpose.
Throughout the twentieth century and even today, the western academia and media was and is utilized extensively in this double standard operation.


Too many universities, NGO’s, Think Tanks, and news agencies throughout the western world received astronomical grants to establish Kurdish institutes (Kurdish Institute at the Sorbonne University- Paris, France, Barzani Institute at the American University, Washington DC, US) to do researches promoting and emphasizing the Kurdish cause, hundreds of conferences, seminars, books, brochures, films and documentaries had been produced.


Whereas, there is not a single research done on the Turkmens by the same academia and media centers and not a single book produced about them.On the contrary, those academia and media centers, produce maps and data, showing the Kurds as the absolute majority and dominants of the North. Whereas the Turkmens are either omitted from those maps and data or shown as dots and minute entities.


All those misinformation and disinformation is provoking the appetite of the chauvinistic feelings of some Kurdish political groups that will lead to extreme rivalry between the 3 main ethnic groups of Northern Iraq (The Turkmens, Kurds and Arabs). Which will bring disasters upon all peoples of the North and especially upon the Kurdish people.



Greater Kurdistan Fiction (inspired by the Soviets)


Greatest Kurdistan Fiction (inspired by R. Col. Ralph Peters at Stars & Stripes a Pentagon publication Sep.2006)


Examples of How Western Media Minimizes Turkmen Existence:


Imbalance Created by Excessive Rights to One Minority Only:

Since 1958 there is an imbalance between the minorities in Iraq because one minority only (the Kurds) were given excessive rights (partnership with Arabs, autonomy, federalism, a large share from the national treasury, a separate army…etc.) whereas the Turkmens who are the second nationality of the North and the third nationality of Iraq, got only symbolic cultural rights. This inequality lead to disproportionate growth between the two peoples.The Turkmen language, culture and socio-economic life have eroded to the lowest level in history.

Ethnic pressures from both the Arabs and the Kurds upon the Turkmens resulted in mass Arabization and Kurdification.


After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Kurdish desires have been increased to include all of Northern Iraq into Kurdistan. This endless appetite have lead to violating and confiscating the rights of the Turkmens and other minorities and as well as strong intimidation between the two peoples of the North.


Although the Kurds constitute only 17-18% of the population of Iraq, currently they have more rights than their size.


The President, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of the Military Intelligence, and many important ministries are Kurdish in the Central Government. The army and police force in the North is mostly made up of Peshmergas.


Whereas the Turkmens are 12-13% of the population and have only one symbolic ministry of Youth and Sports. They do not have militias or autonomy.


Since 2003 the Kurds have been trying to include Kerkuk officially into their Kurdistan through a referendum that they are sure of winning.
For that purpose, they settled 600.000 Kurdish emigrants from Iran, Syria and other parts of Northern Iraq in Kerkuk, changing the demographics of the city from 750.000 on April 2003 to 1.35 million nowadays.


The same situation is happening in Tuz, Altun Kopru and other Turkmen towns.



The Solution
The best solution is to bring JUSTICE, EQUALITY and BALANCE between the minorities of Iraq.


The Kurds are given the rights of Federalism, Autonomy, a Separate Army and Police, a Share from the National Treasury and Partnership in the Central Government.


The Turkmens should get the same rights so that Justice, Equality and Balance is established.


Actions

The following actions must be taken in order to reach this solution:

1- Withdrawal of the Kurdish Militias (Peshmergas and Asayish) from Turkmeneli – the Turkmen areas of Northern Iraq.
2- Formation of the Turkmen security forces to act in their own zones.

3- Reversal of the Arabization and Kurdification processes which resulted in mass ethnic settlements in Kerkuk, Musul and Diyala provinces.