Baba Bugün Kebapçıyam Közüm Yok (Kerkük Hoyratı).
Monday, 28 November 2011
Sunday, 27 November 2011
NASEER SHAMMA & THE BEAUTIFUL STRINGS
NASEER SHAMMA & THE BEAUTIFUL STRINGS
FESTIVAL DU MONDE ARABE DE MONTREAL
Naseer Shamma:
Naseer Shamma is a renowned Arab Iraqi musician and oud player. He was born in 1963 in Kut, a city on the Tigris River. He is born to a Fayli Kurdish father and a Khazrajite Arab mother. He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Jamil and Munir Bashir. When he was 11-years old, Shamma saw an oud for the first time, in the hands of a stylish music teacher. Although Shamma's father, a shop owner, was religiously conservative, he did not object to his son's artistic ambitions. In 1985, Shamma played his own compositions at his first concert, attended by several renowned Iraqi artists. At the time, he worked closely with the late Iraqi master Munir Bashir. But Shamma wanted to blaze his own path. Master Munir invented the technique of contemplation with oud, but Shamma wanted his music to carry content, an idea or image that is shocking. He received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He began to teach oud after three years at the academy, as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has composed music for films, plays and television.
Ashraf Sharif Khan:
Ashraf Sharif Khan is the worthy son of the Sitar maestro Ustad Muhammad Sharif Khan Poonchwala of the famous Poonch Gharana who has been a contemporary musician of late Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ashraf has been a child prodigy and has shown his immense talent in playing the sitar at the age of ten. He has been brought up in the Guru Sishya / Ustad to student tradition, inheriting a musical tradition handed down from father to son. Ashraf's music combines an astounding technical proficiency with perfection in musical expression. The melodic beauty of his style, accentuated by his dynamic rhythmic development and the virtuoso technique provide an unique style of his own. His music transcends regional boundaries, and is accessible to all. His first performance at the age of ten left a lusty impression on the music lovers of Pakistan. He has toured all over Pakistan extensively after that.
Romero Iglesias:
Born in Montellano in the area of Sevilla (Andalusia, Spain), Romero Iglesias learned the ways and skills of the guitarra flamenca with Master Manuel Morilla from Moron de la Frontera. He has given concerts all over the world, from Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico and Spain. Romero also has done several recordings for R.N.E. (Spanish National Radio) and WDR (German National Television).
FESTIVAL DU MONDE ARABE DE MONTREAL
Naseer Shamma:
Naseer Shamma is a renowned Arab Iraqi musician and oud player. He was born in 1963 in Kut, a city on the Tigris River. He is born to a Fayli Kurdish father and a Khazrajite Arab mother. He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Jamil and Munir Bashir. When he was 11-years old, Shamma saw an oud for the first time, in the hands of a stylish music teacher. Although Shamma's father, a shop owner, was religiously conservative, he did not object to his son's artistic ambitions. In 1985, Shamma played his own compositions at his first concert, attended by several renowned Iraqi artists. At the time, he worked closely with the late Iraqi master Munir Bashir. But Shamma wanted to blaze his own path. Master Munir invented the technique of contemplation with oud, but Shamma wanted his music to carry content, an idea or image that is shocking. He received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He began to teach oud after three years at the academy, as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has composed music for films, plays and television.
Ashraf Sharif Khan:
Ashraf Sharif Khan is the worthy son of the Sitar maestro Ustad Muhammad Sharif Khan Poonchwala of the famous Poonch Gharana who has been a contemporary musician of late Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ashraf has been a child prodigy and has shown his immense talent in playing the sitar at the age of ten. He has been brought up in the Guru Sishya / Ustad to student tradition, inheriting a musical tradition handed down from father to son. Ashraf's music combines an astounding technical proficiency with perfection in musical expression. The melodic beauty of his style, accentuated by his dynamic rhythmic development and the virtuoso technique provide an unique style of his own. His music transcends regional boundaries, and is accessible to all. His first performance at the age of ten left a lusty impression on the music lovers of Pakistan. He has toured all over Pakistan extensively after that.
Romero Iglesias:
Born in Montellano in the area of Sevilla (Andalusia, Spain), Romero Iglesias learned the ways and skills of the guitarra flamenca with Master Manuel Morilla from Moron de la Frontera. He has given concerts all over the world, from Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico and Spain. Romero also has done several recordings for R.N.E. (Spanish National Radio) and WDR (German National Television).
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Irak Türklerine Uygulanan İnsan Hakları İhlalleri sürmektedir
Tarihten önce bu topraklarda Yaşayan Irak Türkleri her türlü
Asimilasyon, soykırım, katliamlara maruz kalmışlardı. günümüze
Kadar 24 soykırım, katliam gören Irak Türkleri, şimdide
Türklüğünü, milli mücadele davasını vermiş olduğu şehitlerin kanıyla
Her türlü baskıya rağmen Savunmaktadır.
Irak Türkleri Irak devletinin 1926 yılında kurulduğundan bu yana hiç
Bir Bağdat yönetimine karşı durmayarak,
Silahlı eyleme katılmayan tüm haklarını demokratik yollardan elde
Edilmeye çalışmışlardır.
Türk milletine inanarak, tüm amaç ve arzuları, milli ve kültürel
Kimliklerini koruyarak, kendi topraklarında özgürce yaşamayı umut
Etmişlerdir.
Irak Türkleri her bir dönemde çile acılarla yaşayarak, Irak Türklerine karşı Irak Başına gelen iktidarlar her
türlü baskılarla acımasız, işkence, sinsi yok etme politikayla, insanlık dişi ve ürpertici
Kıyıcı politikalar uygulayarak, bu kimsesiz, tek başına kalan bu
Milleti yok etmeye hala baskılar sürerek ve birçok anayasal haklarına
Kavuşmayarak Irak'ta Saddam döneminde Araplaştırma politikası, yerine
Amerika işgalinden sora Kürt politikası devam ederek, her türlü
Baskılar, Irak Türklerini aleyhine hareket etmektedir.
Irak rejimi, nüfusları 3 milyonun üstünde olan ve ülke toplam nüfusunun %15
ünü oluşturan Irak Türklerinin kimliğini, varlığını açıkça inkâr
Edilerek, Irak'ın hukuk sisteminde Türklerin gözerdi olduğu
Anayasasıyla açıkça meydana koymaktadır.
Irak başına gelen bu dikta rejimler böylece, çok açık ve net olarak
Birleşmiş Milletler tarafından kabul edilen insan hakları Evrensel
Beyannamesi günümüze kadar ihlal etmektedirler.
Aydın Türk insanının baskıyla kaçırtması, para fidye vermesi, baskı
Patlama olayları korkusuyla kendi yerini, yurdunu, köyünü, toprağını bırakarak Türkiye,
ve üçüncü Avrupa devletlerine uzaklaşmasıyla böylece nüfusunun sayımda
çok az görünmesiyle, Ana yurtları Olan, Kerkük, Erbil, Musul,
Altunköprü, Tuzhurmatu, Telafer Türkmeneli bölgelerine yüz binlerce
Kürtler, Araplar yerleşmektedir, günümüze kadar 800 yüz bin olan
Kerkük Türk şehrinin nüfüsü günümüzde 1 milyon 700 bine çıkmış yüzde,
Yüz bir Türk şehri Kerkük'e 700 benin üstünde Irak'ın her bir
Yerinden, komsu ülkelerden Kürtler akın ederek, yerleşmişlerdir tapu,
Nüfus dairelerini yakıp, yandırarak, mezar taşlarını bile kırarak
Türk kimliğini ortadan kaldırmaya uğraşmaktadırlar.
Irak Türkleri ana problemi büyük ölçüde buradan, yani Irak
Anayasasında Türklerinin etnik kimliklerini, anayasal ve politik
Haklarını tanımamasıyla eşit olarak başkaları gibi yaşamayı istiyorlar.
Irak Türkler
1- Doğru bir
Sayım olursa Irak Topraklarında nüfusunun % 17 sini kapsayacaktır.
Baskıyla yok sayılmakta olarak,
Irak içinde hiç bir platformda genel haklarını tam doğruca savunmamaktadırlar, birçok
Toprakları Araplar, Kürtler tarafından el koymuştur hala bu haklar
Almadan verilmemiştir.
2-Irak devletinin kurulusundan bugüne kadar 85 yıl içerisinde Irak
Başına gelen bütün iktidarlar hükümetler tam olarak haklarını
Vermemişlerdir.
3-Irak'ta kraliyet döneminde bile Türkler genel olarak haklarına kavuşmayarak,
Yene o dönemde bir parlamento vardı. Ve Türklerden bile o dönemde iki
Ya da üç milletvekili meclise bulunmaktaydı.
1958 de Irak
Cumhuriyetinin kuruluşu ile böylece Türklere hiç bir zaman mecliste
Temsil hakkı verilmedi,
Irak Türkleri, kraliyet döneminde her türlü anayasal haklardan yoksun
Kalarak, bu dönemde de 1924 ve 1946 yıllarında Türklere karşı iki
Katliam gerçekleşti ve Türk aydınları işlerinden oldular ve Irak'ın
Güneyine sürüldüler ve zorunlu olarak yaşadılar.
Cumhuriyetin döneminde Irak rejimi Türk aydınlardan yüzlercesi sürgüne
Gönderildi, memurları toplu olarak güney atandılar. Kerkük'te Türkçe
ve Arapça çıkmakta olan gazeteler, dergiler kapatıldı 14 Temmuz 1959
günü Kerkük'te korkunç bir katliam 3 gün geceli, gündüzlü olarak
Yaşandı. Yüzlerce Türkler her türlü baskıyla, canavarca öldürüldü,
Sürüklendi,
Asıldı, kesildi, bu katliamı, Komünistler ve Kürtler Molla Mustafa
Barzani tarafından uyguladılar.
Irak Türkleri daha acısını 35 yıl çile, baskısı, katliamı, soykırımı,
Baas partisinin 1968 yılında yapmış olduğu bir darbeyle Irak
yönetimini ele alarak, kıyıcı rejim 1968 ve 1990 tarihli
Anayasalarında, 3 milyon Türkleri yok sayarak, Irak halkı Arap ve
Kürtlerden oluştuğunu söyleyerek, Türkleri anayasal haklarından yoksun
Ederek, ve dünyanın gözü önümde Türkleri asimile etme, Türk
Bölgelerini Araplaştırma ve 3 milyon Türkü çeşitli yollarla yerinden
Yurdundan ederek, bölgenin etnik yapısını değiştirerek, oraları
Araplaştırma çalışarak yüz binlerce Arapları, Arap devletlerinden ve
Irak'ın güneyinden ev, para vererek Kerkük ve öteki Türk bölgelerine
Yerleştirildi,
1970 tarihinde beri en ağır ve çirkin biçimde
Uygulamaya başladı,
1975 tarihinde gizli bir kararla Irak'ın kuzeyinde bir Türk kalmayacak
Diye 10 yılık bir proje uygulamayı planladı.
Irak Türklerinin kimlik varlığını yok etmekle
1947.1957.1965.1977 ve 1987 yıllarında yapılan nüfus sayımlarında Irak
Türklerinin sayısını az sayarak % 2 olarak gösterilişlerdir,
Yalnız 1957 nüfus sayımında Türkmen'lerin nüfusu, resmi açıklamaya
Göre 500.000 olarak toplam Irak nüfus sayısı ise altı buçuk milyon
idi. Irak'ın nüfusu 25 milyon olarak Türkmen nüfusu günümüzde ne kadar
Artmıştır acaba binlerce Türkmen aşiretleri, oymakları zorla, baskıyla
bir dönem Arap, yazar şimdide Kürtlerin baskısıyla Kürt yazmaktadır.
1987 Irak nüfus sayımında Türklere "kendinizi ya Arap ya da Kürt
yazdırın" diye her türlü tehditleri, öldürme korkusu yapılmıştır.
Nüfusta Türk yazanlar sürgün, hapishane, idam, tutulmakla tehdit
Edilirdi.
Saddam’a karşı çıkan birçok köy ve yerleşim bölgeleri,
Köyleri zorla boşatılarak, köyler yıktırıldı, Türkleri Arap
Bölgelerine askeri araçlarla dağıtarak ve oralarda zorunlu yaşama
Mecbur ettiler.
Irak Saddam rejimi, Türk şehir, kasaba ve köylerin Türkçe olan
Adlarını Arap adlarıyla değiştirdi. Onlarca mahalle, cadde ve
Sokakların adı Arapça oldu.
Bu arada Kerkük'ün, Altunköprünün adı
değişildi,
1980 -16 Ocağında, Irak Türk lider ve aydın kesimlerini oluşturan
Onlarca insanimiz gizli yargılama sonunda idam edildi. Bunların
Başında: Emekli Albay Abdullah Abdurrahman, Doç. Dr. Necdet Koçak,
Ziraatçı Dr. Rıza Demirci, Adil Şerif, Yarbay Halit Akkoyuncu ögretmen
Mehmet Korkmaz gelmektedir.
Saddam dikta rejimi yüzlerce Türkmen genci
ve aydını idam ederek, Birçok Türkleri hapiste iken işkence sırasında
Hayatini kaybetmektedir. Yapılan yargılama herkese kapalı yürütülmekte
ve sanıklara avukat tayin etmek hakki tanınmaktadır.
Abu Garip Hapse mahkûm edilen aydınlar arasında Çok sayıda gemç öğrenciler, yaşlılar:
Türkçülük,
Türkiye'den dolayı Abu Garip siyasi hapishanesinde yatmışlardıt, ve daha
nice suçsuz gençler idam olmuşlardır.
Son senelerde, tutuklandıktan sonra kaybolan Türkmen'lerin sayısının
çok olduğu bellidir. Birleşmiş Milletler tarafından görevli özel
Raportör’ün 13 Temmuz 1994 tarihli raporunda: 27 Kasım 1993 tarihinde
Ordunun yüksek rütbeli birçok Türk subaylar tutuklanarak idam
Olmuşlardır.
1991 ayaklanması sırasında Kerkük, Erbil, Kifri, Tuzhurmati,
Altunköprü şehir ve kasabaları ordu tarafından top ateşine tutularak,
Binlerce Türk şehit olarak 28 Mart 1992 tarihinde Altunköprü
Katliamında Ramazan ayında oruç sırasında, Kuran okuyarak, iki yüzün
Üstünde Saddam rejimi tarafından kuşuna dizilerek, şehit olmuşlardır,
Ve çok sayıda Saddam idam, kurşunundan kaçarak Türkiye'ye göç etmeye
Mecbur kalarak yollarda yüzlerce Saddam helikopterlerden açılan ateşle
Öldürülmüştür.
Açlık ve hastalıktan da onlarca insanimiz dağlarda can
Vermiştir ve üçüncü devlete gitmek için denizde boğulmuşlardır.
Ayni günlerde, Altunköprü kasabasında Kürtlerin ve ordunun iki ateşi
Arasında kalan ve bir binaya sığınan 80 Türkmen genci Irak
Askerlerinin yaylım ateşine tutularak, korkunç bir katliam sonucu şehit
Olmuşlardır.
Ve Son yıllarda Saddam rejiminin aldığı ve resmi gazetede yayınladığı
Karalar gereğince yüzlerce Türkler ailesi, güneydeki Arap bölgelerine
Sürülüp orada zorunlu yaşamaktadırlar.
Saddam döneminde acılar, işkenceler bitmeyerek 3003 Saddam dikta
Rejimi düştükten sonra demokrasi söylenen Irak Milleti özellikle Türkler
bu baskılardan, acı, işkencelerden kurtulur diye sevindi mutlu oldular,
Saddam düştü ve işgalci Amerika geldi Kürtleri yanına alarak
Kullanarak yine Saddam döneminde Irak Türkleri görmüş oldukları baskı,
Çile acıyı yaşayarak 2004 yılından 2007 yılana kadar Telafer katliamında
Binlerce Türkler şehit olarak çok sayıda Telaferli Türkler Kürtlerin
Hapishanesine atıldılar günümüze kadar 24 katliam Telafer, Musul,
Erbil, Kerkük, Şirinhan, Karatepe, Karakoyunlu, Yengice, Amirli, Tuzhurmat, Tazehurmatu, Kerkük, ve
Birçok Türk bölgelerinde uygulanarak, binlerce Türkler şehit olmuştur.
Amerika'n Demokrasi sistemiyle baskıları artarak günümüzde Aydın, önemli Türk şahsiyetler
Dokturlar, gençler kaçırılarak şehit olmaktadır ve tüm Türk bölgelerinde
Patlama, suikast ve fidye karşılığında yüzlerce Türkler kaçırılarak,
Öldürülmektedir.
Saddam Rejimin Araplaştırma politikası yanında günümüzde Mesut Barzani
Ve Peşmergeler tarafından Kürtleşme politikası artarak 31
Ağustos 1996 tarihinde çok sayıda Erbil Türkleri şehit edilerek, şimdi
tam olarak Türk şehri Erbil Barzani yönetimi eltinde her türlü
Baskılar, haksızlıklar uygulanmaktadır.
Kerkük Türk şehri Araplaştırmadan sonra şimdi Kürtleşme politikasıyla
Asimilasyon, baskı sürerek ,tüm resmi daireler, kuruluşlar tam olarak
Kürtlerin yönetim altındadır baskıyla, zorlukla patlama, kaçırma
Olaylarıyla Türkler yerlerini, toprakları bırakarak göç etmektedirler.
Saddam dönemi giderek, ama her türlü acılar, baskılar, çileler Irak
Türklerine karşı ve Tüm İnsan Hakları ihlalleri günümüze kadar
Sürmektedir.
Not:
Bu yazı olduğu gibi II. Türk Dünyası Hukuk Kurultayında dile getirilerek, okunmuştur.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Saturday, 19 November 2011
IRAQ: No easy solutions to the chaos created by the US-led invasion
Break-up of Iraq?
As Iraq's Sunni Arabs bid for autonomy within a federal Iraqi state, is this the prelude to the country's balkanisation, asks Salah Nasrawi
________________________________________
Since the modern Iraqi state came into being in the 1920s, the country's Sunni Arabs have prided themselves on being a bulwark of Arab nationalism and the guardians of Iraq's unity in the face of Kurdish secessionism and Shia disenchantment with Sunni domination.
Most Sunnis boycotted the referendum on the new constitution drafted after the 2003 US-led invasion on the grounds that the document was a recipe for the end of Iraq as a unitary state as it allowed ethnic groups, or provinces, to set themselves up as autonomous regions under a federal system, something argued for by the Kurds and backed by the Shias.
The country's Sunnis abandoned their boycott and participated heavily in last year's elections, later joining a "partnership government" in the hope of ending their marginalisation under the Shia and Kurdish-controlled governments that came to power in the country after the ousting of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
But over recent months many Sunnis have been breaking a national taboo by declaring that the country's Sunnis should secede from an ethnically-divided and violence-ridden Iraq and seek their own autonomy.
On 2 November, a Sunni-dominated province of Iraq created uproar when its local council voted to establish itself as an "independent region within a unified Iraq."
The provincial council of Salaheddin, which hosts Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, voted by 20 votes out of 28 to set up the new federal region, sparking speculation that other Sunni provinces may now follow suit.
In trying to explain the shift, the council's leaders said that the establishment of an autonomous region was a reaction to the Iraqi government's negligence, exclusion and marginalisation of Sunnis.
They said that the request to set up an autonomous region had been intended to boost the province's share of federal revenues and to protest against the domination of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's Shia-led government.
Coming in the aftermath of a nationwide crackdown on former Saddam loyalists, the timing of the vote seemed to have been spurred by the firing of more than 100 lecturers at Tikrit University for alleged Baath Party connections and a roundup of suspected Baathists in the province.
Hundreds of former Baathists have been arrested in recent weeks following government reports that they were conspiring to overthrow Al-Maliki's government.
The move to set up an autonomous Sunni province prompted criticism from Iraqi Shia leaders, who accused the Salaheddin provincial officials of sectarianism and separatism.
Al-Maliki rejected the decision, accusing Sunni politicians of seeking a safe haven for members of the banned Baath Party. Radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr also voiced concern and urged council members to "work to preserve Iraq's unity." Other members of his political bloc accused neighbouring countries of seeking Iraq's partition.
In protesting against the Sunni move, the Shias may be contradicting themselves, however, since it was they who argued for a federal Iraq after Saddam's ouster in an attempt to decentralise the government's policy and decision making.
Four predominantly Shia provinces -- Basra, Maysan, Thi Qar and Muthanna -- have discussed plans to make themselves autonomous regions, and some Shias have advocated the construction of a larger federal region that would include all nine southern and central provinces, which are predominately Shia.
Although the mainly Sunni Iraqiya parliamentary bloc did not support the Salaheddin province's decision, the move received wide support from fellow Sunni leaders. Officials and tribal leaders in the predominantly Sunni province of Anbar have said that they are also considering a request for their province to be given autonomy.
Iraq's Sunnis have been increasingly showing interest in autonomy from the rest of Iraq, with some even calling for Sunni provinces to secede from the Iraqi state.
In June this year, Osama Al-Nujaifi, a leader of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya List and speaker of the Iraqi parliament, announced that Iraq's Sunni minority felt "frustrated" and might declare "a region" of its own in the country.
Al-Nujaifi said that Sunnis had strong feelings that they were being treated as second-class citizens in Iraq and not partners in the government. He warned that if things got worse the country's Sunnis might even think of separation.
On Monday, Al-Nujaifi chaired a meeting of provincial officials to discuss decentralisation policies and called for the abolition of five central government ministries, which he accused of mismanagement. The meeting was boycotted by representatives of the Shia and Kurdish provinces.
For the Salaheddin council decision to take effect, it must be approved by a referendum of residents of the province, and the council has asked the country's independent elections commission to set a date for the referendum.
Under Article 119 of the Iraqi constitution, "one or more governorates shall have the right to organise into a region based on a request to be voted on in a referendum."
If the Salaheddin province succeeds in its bid, it would be the second designated autonomous region in Iraq after Kurdistan, the northern Kurdish region which now almost enjoys the status of being a separate state.
The move in Salaheddin comes as political tensions and violence are escalating in Iraq as the United States prepares to withdraw its remaining forces from the country by the end of December.
In a bid to defuse the dispute, Al-Maliki met with the Salaheddin governor and lawmakers from the province on Friday to discuss the situation.
A statement from his office said that Al-Maliki had explained the "internal and external challenges and dangers facing Iraq" and that he had promised to travel to Salaheddin to discuss the province's grievances further.
However, governor of Salaheddin province Ahmed Abdullah Al-Jubouri said that the decision to declare the province a region was final and it should be determined by a referendum.
Judging by the vehemence of the arguments on both sides, the issue looks to be much more than a Sunni outcry against mismanagement or against a new campaign of arrests of former Baathists.
As American troop withdrawal nears, Sunnis fear that the Shia-led Iraqi government will exploit the political and security vacuum to set further limits on their status, further unbalancing the partnership between the two communities that will shape the new Iraq.
Sunni Arabs are afraid of a complete Shia takeover of the state and their being pushed aside. In resorting to federalism, they may have come to realise that establishing autonomous regions is fundamental to their well-being and protection.
The country's Shias need to alleviate concerns among the Sunnis in order to advance the development of a cohesive Iraqi national identity and to reduce feelings of deprivation and exclusion among Sunnis.
However, in order to understand what is happening to relations between the diverse ethnicities in Iraq and the structure of the state, it is also necessary to look at regional forces.
Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia all have stakes in Iraq, and they fear that separatism in the country may spill over into their territories even as they are seeking to expand their spheres of influence within Iraq.
The ongoing Arab Spring is also expected to create further instability in the region by increasing social and political cleavages in other countries.
In the light of these developments, Iraqis are confronted with fateful decisions relating to their vision of the country: either they entertain catastrophic sectarian and ethnic agendas, or they engage in genuine nation-building.
There are no easy solutions to the chaos created by the US-led invasion, but Iraq is not yet doomed to balkanisation.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1072/re3.htm?
As Iraq's Sunni Arabs bid for autonomy within a federal Iraqi state, is this the prelude to the country's balkanisation, asks Salah Nasrawi
________________________________________
Since the modern Iraqi state came into being in the 1920s, the country's Sunni Arabs have prided themselves on being a bulwark of Arab nationalism and the guardians of Iraq's unity in the face of Kurdish secessionism and Shia disenchantment with Sunni domination.
Most Sunnis boycotted the referendum on the new constitution drafted after the 2003 US-led invasion on the grounds that the document was a recipe for the end of Iraq as a unitary state as it allowed ethnic groups, or provinces, to set themselves up as autonomous regions under a federal system, something argued for by the Kurds and backed by the Shias.
The country's Sunnis abandoned their boycott and participated heavily in last year's elections, later joining a "partnership government" in the hope of ending their marginalisation under the Shia and Kurdish-controlled governments that came to power in the country after the ousting of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
But over recent months many Sunnis have been breaking a national taboo by declaring that the country's Sunnis should secede from an ethnically-divided and violence-ridden Iraq and seek their own autonomy.
On 2 November, a Sunni-dominated province of Iraq created uproar when its local council voted to establish itself as an "independent region within a unified Iraq."
The provincial council of Salaheddin, which hosts Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, voted by 20 votes out of 28 to set up the new federal region, sparking speculation that other Sunni provinces may now follow suit.
In trying to explain the shift, the council's leaders said that the establishment of an autonomous region was a reaction to the Iraqi government's negligence, exclusion and marginalisation of Sunnis.
They said that the request to set up an autonomous region had been intended to boost the province's share of federal revenues and to protest against the domination of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's Shia-led government.
Coming in the aftermath of a nationwide crackdown on former Saddam loyalists, the timing of the vote seemed to have been spurred by the firing of more than 100 lecturers at Tikrit University for alleged Baath Party connections and a roundup of suspected Baathists in the province.
Hundreds of former Baathists have been arrested in recent weeks following government reports that they were conspiring to overthrow Al-Maliki's government.
The move to set up an autonomous Sunni province prompted criticism from Iraqi Shia leaders, who accused the Salaheddin provincial officials of sectarianism and separatism.
Al-Maliki rejected the decision, accusing Sunni politicians of seeking a safe haven for members of the banned Baath Party. Radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr also voiced concern and urged council members to "work to preserve Iraq's unity." Other members of his political bloc accused neighbouring countries of seeking Iraq's partition.
In protesting against the Sunni move, the Shias may be contradicting themselves, however, since it was they who argued for a federal Iraq after Saddam's ouster in an attempt to decentralise the government's policy and decision making.
Four predominantly Shia provinces -- Basra, Maysan, Thi Qar and Muthanna -- have discussed plans to make themselves autonomous regions, and some Shias have advocated the construction of a larger federal region that would include all nine southern and central provinces, which are predominately Shia.
Although the mainly Sunni Iraqiya parliamentary bloc did not support the Salaheddin province's decision, the move received wide support from fellow Sunni leaders. Officials and tribal leaders in the predominantly Sunni province of Anbar have said that they are also considering a request for their province to be given autonomy.
Iraq's Sunnis have been increasingly showing interest in autonomy from the rest of Iraq, with some even calling for Sunni provinces to secede from the Iraqi state.
In June this year, Osama Al-Nujaifi, a leader of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya List and speaker of the Iraqi parliament, announced that Iraq's Sunni minority felt "frustrated" and might declare "a region" of its own in the country.
Al-Nujaifi said that Sunnis had strong feelings that they were being treated as second-class citizens in Iraq and not partners in the government. He warned that if things got worse the country's Sunnis might even think of separation.
On Monday, Al-Nujaifi chaired a meeting of provincial officials to discuss decentralisation policies and called for the abolition of five central government ministries, which he accused of mismanagement. The meeting was boycotted by representatives of the Shia and Kurdish provinces.
For the Salaheddin council decision to take effect, it must be approved by a referendum of residents of the province, and the council has asked the country's independent elections commission to set a date for the referendum.
Under Article 119 of the Iraqi constitution, "one or more governorates shall have the right to organise into a region based on a request to be voted on in a referendum."
If the Salaheddin province succeeds in its bid, it would be the second designated autonomous region in Iraq after Kurdistan, the northern Kurdish region which now almost enjoys the status of being a separate state.
The move in Salaheddin comes as political tensions and violence are escalating in Iraq as the United States prepares to withdraw its remaining forces from the country by the end of December.
In a bid to defuse the dispute, Al-Maliki met with the Salaheddin governor and lawmakers from the province on Friday to discuss the situation.
A statement from his office said that Al-Maliki had explained the "internal and external challenges and dangers facing Iraq" and that he had promised to travel to Salaheddin to discuss the province's grievances further.
However, governor of Salaheddin province Ahmed Abdullah Al-Jubouri said that the decision to declare the province a region was final and it should be determined by a referendum.
Judging by the vehemence of the arguments on both sides, the issue looks to be much more than a Sunni outcry against mismanagement or against a new campaign of arrests of former Baathists.
As American troop withdrawal nears, Sunnis fear that the Shia-led Iraqi government will exploit the political and security vacuum to set further limits on their status, further unbalancing the partnership between the two communities that will shape the new Iraq.
Sunni Arabs are afraid of a complete Shia takeover of the state and their being pushed aside. In resorting to federalism, they may have come to realise that establishing autonomous regions is fundamental to their well-being and protection.
The country's Shias need to alleviate concerns among the Sunnis in order to advance the development of a cohesive Iraqi national identity and to reduce feelings of deprivation and exclusion among Sunnis.
However, in order to understand what is happening to relations between the diverse ethnicities in Iraq and the structure of the state, it is also necessary to look at regional forces.
Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia all have stakes in Iraq, and they fear that separatism in the country may spill over into their territories even as they are seeking to expand their spheres of influence within Iraq.
The ongoing Arab Spring is also expected to create further instability in the region by increasing social and political cleavages in other countries.
In the light of these developments, Iraqis are confronted with fateful decisions relating to their vision of the country: either they entertain catastrophic sectarian and ethnic agendas, or they engage in genuine nation-building.
There are no easy solutions to the chaos created by the US-led invasion, but Iraq is not yet doomed to balkanisation.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1072/re3.htm?
Thursday, 17 November 2011
IRAK'TA TÜRKMENLERİN YOĞUNLUKTA OLDUĞU SELAHATTİN İLİ ÖZERKLİK TALEBİNDE
Najat Hussein:We will investigate the spending of funds received as small loans
Posted in Iraqi Turkmen Front newspaper
Najat Hussein, the chairman of the Integrity Committee of the Kirkuk Provincial Council said their committee will investigate the spending of funds received as small loans.
“We suspect that many applicants gained funds through a small loan program of the government, but some of them are not qualified to do so,” Hussein told Kirkuk Now. According to him the Intergrity Committee will hold an investigation into the funding that may have been distributed to fake names.
“We’ve come to the belief that 10.000 USD has been distributed to fake people in the small loan program,” Hussein said and he promised to send their report concerning the issue to the Integrity Committee of Iraq. “This way they can punish such people,” he added
TURKMEN ASPECT
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Bakshi: INTERVIEW WITH BARHAM SALIH PRIME MINISTER OF IRAQI KURDISTAN
CNN
Excerpt:
On the status of Kirkuk
For a long time, the status of Kirkuk has remained unresolved. How long can that go on?
Kirkuk's status is an important issue for Iraq and it is not a Kurdish problem. It is an Iraqi problem, because we have to remember that Kirkuk was the scene of a vile policy of ethnic cleansing. Thousands and thousands of Kurds and Turkmens were deported, replaced by Arab settlers that Saddam Hussein brought in as a way of changing the demographic characteristics.
Ethnic cleansing cannot stand. Sometimes the Kirkuk debate is portrayed as if it is a solely Kurdish issue. I assert to my colleagues in Baghdad whenever I go and talk about this issue, this is an Iraqi issue. This is a test. This is a challenge for the new Iraqi state.
Are we serious about changing the direction of the country from what Saddam Hussein wanted to do or not? This is a moral responsibility. This is a constitutional responsibility. And I daresay, also, an important requirement for political stability.
This has gone on for too long. I was in Baghdad about a week ago or so. I met with Prime Minister Maliki and other colleagues in the government. We have agreed on a set of measures to expedite the implementation of Article 140, consistent with the constitution and the wishes of the various communities in Kirkuk and the region. We do not want to impose a Kurdish solution on Kirkuk. This will not work. There has to be an Iraqi solution. And the Iraqi solution is through the constitution, implementing that provision, but also fundamentally is about bringing justice and eliminating the legacies of that vile policy of ethnic cleansing.
I hope, from what I have heard in Baghdad, that we will be soon moving, starting an important process of some parliamentary laws that needs to be passed, some other administrative decisions that the government of Iraq will have to undertake in order to start this process going and with a settlement of this dispute.
Full article: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/11/bakshi-interview-with-prime-minister-of-iraqi-kurdistan/
Excerpt:
On the status of Kirkuk
For a long time, the status of Kirkuk has remained unresolved. How long can that go on?
Kirkuk's status is an important issue for Iraq and it is not a Kurdish problem. It is an Iraqi problem, because we have to remember that Kirkuk was the scene of a vile policy of ethnic cleansing. Thousands and thousands of Kurds and Turkmens were deported, replaced by Arab settlers that Saddam Hussein brought in as a way of changing the demographic characteristics.
Ethnic cleansing cannot stand. Sometimes the Kirkuk debate is portrayed as if it is a solely Kurdish issue. I assert to my colleagues in Baghdad whenever I go and talk about this issue, this is an Iraqi issue. This is a test. This is a challenge for the new Iraqi state.
Are we serious about changing the direction of the country from what Saddam Hussein wanted to do or not? This is a moral responsibility. This is a constitutional responsibility. And I daresay, also, an important requirement for political stability.
This has gone on for too long. I was in Baghdad about a week ago or so. I met with Prime Minister Maliki and other colleagues in the government. We have agreed on a set of measures to expedite the implementation of Article 140, consistent with the constitution and the wishes of the various communities in Kirkuk and the region. We do not want to impose a Kurdish solution on Kirkuk. This will not work. There has to be an Iraqi solution. And the Iraqi solution is through the constitution, implementing that provision, but also fundamentally is about bringing justice and eliminating the legacies of that vile policy of ethnic cleansing.
I hope, from what I have heard in Baghdad, that we will be soon moving, starting an important process of some parliamentary laws that needs to be passed, some other administrative decisions that the government of Iraq will have to undertake in order to start this process going and with a settlement of this dispute.
Full article: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/11/bakshi-interview-with-prime-minister-of-iraqi-kurdistan/
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