Stories Of Human Rights Abuses In Iraq From Amnesty International and the State Department’s Annual Reports

posted on Musings on Iraq http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.be/2013/05/stories-of-human-rights-abuses-in-iraq.html

Amnesty International and the U.S. State Department recently released their annual reports on human rights around the world. As usual, Iraq fared badly. Neither organization found any improvements in the situation within the country. The common charges of mass arrests, arbitrary detentions, holding suspects without charges and access to lawyers, torture and abuse of prisoners, holding people that should be released, corruption, intimidation and harassment of the media, and limiting freedom of speech and assembly were all heard. These abuses occurred at the hands of both the central and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The reason why this situation persists is because there is no due process, and more importantly no accountability within the government to stop and reform any of these practices. Even when parts of the government itself find cases of abuse nothing substantive is done about it. Investigations are always announced for example, but they never lead to anything. Since these types of report have become the norm for Iraq, there is nothing different between this year’s and the last few. What Amnesty and the State Department can provide is specific stories that can humanize the poor state of human rights within the country.

ITF EU Representative Dr Hassan Aydinli met with UN Special Representative Mr Martin Kobler

Martin Kobler UN Special Representative for Iraq at the EU Parliament in Brussels

 Exchange of views with Martin Kobler at the EU Parliament

 ITF EU Representative Dr Hassan Aydinli  speaking with UN Special Representative for Iraq Martin Kobler

 

On 29 May 2013 the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the EU Parliament held an exchange of views with Martin Kobler, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq. Mr Kobler, expressed serious concerns over the situation in Iraq. After 10 years of a challenging transition to democracy, the country stands at a crossroads and might slide toward escalating sectarian strife if decisive action is not taken. Mr Martin Kobler called for a stronger role of the EU in dealing with the developments in the county.

IRAQI TURKMEN: "Our illegally confiscated lands must be returned to us!"

Ali Mehdi - KIRKUK

28th MAY 2013

A FACULTY OF EDUCATION TO BE OPENED IN TUZHURMATU

A FACULTY OF EDUCATION TO BE OPENED IN TUZHURMATU

25 MAYIS 2013

A faculty of education shall be opened in Tuzhurmatu district of Salahaddin province. A mission from the Ministry of High Education visited the district and made necessary studies for the establishment of a faculty of education which is planned to be opened next year.

The visiting mission was accompanied by the Deputy Head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front and Salahaddin Province Assembly Member Ali Haşim Muhtaroğlu and Tuzhurmatu District Governor Şellal Abdül. The Head of the Ministry Inspection Commission Dr. Semir Abdülcabbar provided information on the activities during the field inspection. Abdulcabbar indicated that it was a major development in terms of education to have a faculty of education opened in Tuzhurmatu and that necessary instructions regarding the establishment of the faculty had been given to the district governor’s office and local administration.

The Dean of the Computer and Mathematics Faculty Dr. Hasan Hüseyin said that all initiatives and efforts were continuing for the opening of the faculty.

The Deputy Head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front and Salahaddin Province Assembly Member Ali Haşim Muhtaroğlu said that the works were accelerated and that the building allocated for the faculty would be completed in July.

Tuzhurmatu District Governor Şellal Abdül said that they were pleased with this significant development and added that the faculty would consist of three parts.

Bomba yüklü araç patladı: 3 ölü - TUZHURMATU IRAK

Ahmet Haşim MUHTAROĞLU/ TUZHURMATU IRAK (DHA)

İlçenin doğusunda bulunan Mustafa Ağa Mahallesi'nde bu sabah saat 06:00 civarında park halinde bulunan 2 bomba yüklü araç ard arda patladı, Patlama sivil Türkmenleri hedef aldı. Patlamada 3 Türkmen öldü, 42 kişi yaralandı. Yaralılar Tuzhurmatu Devlet Hastanesi'nde ilk müdahalelerinin yapılmasından sonra Kerkük Devlet Hastanesi'ne kaldırıldı. Şiddetli patlamaların etkisi 12 evin yıkılmasına neden oldu. Ölen 3 kişi için (Muhammed Ali Celal 25, Kerim Enver Mustafa 50, Mehdi Enver Mustafa 33) Tuzhurmatu'da kalabalık cenaze töreni düzenlendi. Cenazeler kılınan namazın ardından Büyük Mezarlıkta toprağa verildi.

Geçtiğimiz 28 Nisan'da Mustafa Ağa Mahallesi'nden geçen ve otomatik silah taşıyan kimliği belirsiz yasa dışı silahlı kişiler sokakta bulunanlara ateş açmıştı. Saldırı sonucu 2 kişi hayatını kaybederken, 5 kişi de yaralanmıştı.

http://www.bizturkmeniz.com/tr/index.asp?page=article&id=27639

Final Results of the Iraqi Provincial Elections 2013

Final Results of the Iraqi Provincial Elections 2013

Posted by Reidar Visser on Saturday, 4 May 2013 18:05

The Iraqi elections commission IHEC today released the final results of the provincial elections on 20 April. The seat distribution, presented below with figures from 2009 in parentheses, largely confirms the picture that emerged from initial results.

Among the Shiite Islamist parties, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has lost some seats in some governorates but is still the biggest seat winner, with particularly strong positions in the governorate councils of Baghdad and Basra. Despite internal splits, ISCI has done a moderate comeback in several governorates. The Sadrists won back Maysan but otherwise are not making big advances; in Najaf, a local list is the biggest winner, exactly as in 2009.  It is noteworthy that the Shiite parties that ran together in Diyala managed to emerge as the biggest winner with 12 seats; this will certainly be seen by some as an indication of increased sectarian polarization.

With respect to parties associated with Sunni-majority areas, it is noteworthy that the Mutahiddun list headed by the Nujayfi brothers has emerged as the most formidable force nationwide, with more votes than competitors like Salah al-Mutlak and including a very respectable result in Baghdad. In Salahaddin, a local Sunni list emerged as the biggest winner, whereas in Diyala forces associated with Nujayfi and Mutlak joined together, though without beating the pan-Shiite list.

The traditional secular parties have fared poorly. Especially noteworthy is the decline of the Iraqiyya list of Ayyad Allawi, which has now only 2 seats south of Baghdad (Basra and Babel), and which was eclipsed by parties with more pronounced Sunni profiles north of Basra. Similarly, none of the breakaway parties from the Iraqiyya coalition such as Free Iraqiyya or White has achieved particularly good results. Similar to the various alliances associated with the Iraqi communist movement, these parties are reduced to isolated seats in a small number of governorates.

It seems worth mentioning that the Kurds lost a few seats in the two governorates where they competed (Salahaddin and Diyala).

The process of forming coalitions and new local governments now begins. In 2009, this lasted 3 months in total. However, in some governorates negotiations are already underway, with parties in Basra even holding press conferences for the announcement of coalitions and job distributions before the official result was ready! In Shiite-majority provinces, a key question is whether Maliki will this time turn to ISCI rather than to Sadrists as his main partner; in Diyala, there is the possibility that the pan-Shiite list may try to circumvent the biggest Sunni parties to build alliances with the Kurds and smaller Sunni parties. Whichever strategies are chosen, the effects on Iraqi political dynamics are likely to be huge – at the heated national scene as well as in places where the local elections were postponed (Anbar and Nineveh).

Divide & Ruin: 'Iran main reason West eviscerates Mid East'

April was the deadliest month in Iraq in nearly five years - with more than 700 people killed and another 1,600 injured according to the UN. And that is decade after US-led war there was over.The country's also been gripped by political unrest - with calls for Prime Minister Maliki's government to resign. For more, RT talks to political analyst and activist Sukant Chandan.

Census of Population and Land in Kirkuk subdivision at the time of Sultan Suleiman The Magnificent

How the Turkmens were dispossessed of their Properties and Lands in the north of Iraq


A personal example:

The lands of my husband's family (mother's side) in LEYLEN(number 32 in the table below) are occupied by Kurds since 2003 and the properties and lands of his family (father's side) in BESHIR (number 22 in the table below), for which they hold the deeds dating from Ottoman time, have been confiscated and are occupied by Arabs since 1986.

The Records of Census of Population and Land in Kirkuk subdivision at the time of Sultan Suleiman The Magnificent (*) clearly demonstrate that the region was overwhelmingly inhabited by Turkmens.

Below are notes by Prof. Dr M. Akif ERDOGRU who made some research in the Ottoman Archives:


Prof. Dr. M. Akif Erdogru of
Aegean University, History Section of Faculty of Letters, 
Historical Studies Periodical
Volume xıx, Number 2
December 2004, pp 186-189

A NOTE ON THE POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF KIRKUK SUBDIVISION

Since the U.S.occupation of Iraq in 2003, a lot of theses and publications were made regarding Kirkuk being a 'Kurdish city' both in domestic and foreign press. It is clear however that these claims are conflicting with the reality.


A census of population and of land in the Kirkuk subdivision, which concerned the cities of Dakuk and Kirkuk, was published by the General Directorate of State Archives under the name of “Detailed Writing Book of Kirkuk Subdivision numbered as 111 (Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent time), the General Directorate of State Archives, Ankara 2003”.
This precious source was preserved in the archives of the General Directorate of Title-deeds at the Cadastre of Turkey, it was the only detailed census of population and land made for Kirkuk and Dakuk. The General Directorate of State Archives did a very appropriate and useful study by submitting this census to the scientific world. At least interested parties at that time were reminded of the Turkish and Muslim cities of Kirkuk and Dakuk together with their environments.


As it was known, these regions have a special importance for Turks and Muslim people, because places of worship, dervish lodges and tombs of numerous Turkish and Muslim leaders are found in this area. There were small dervish lodges in the area such as Imam Ismael, Imam Mohammad Seydhi Hattali, Imam Zeynelabidin, Salbartu, and Sheikh Mekkhi who was the standard bearer of Prophet Mohammad, Nure, Father Zhunun, Sheikh Majidee Kurevi, and many descendants from Prophet Mohammad's family.

Not only were these regions sacred for Anatolian Muslims but also for Muslims and Turks living in Iran. There were many historical associations to Shah Ismael in the region. It should also be noted that this region continuously changed owners during the skirmishes between Ottomans and Iranians but that no radical changes occurred in the ethnic and religious components.

The population of Kirkuk and Dakuk and their surrounding villages were mainly constituted from Muslim Turks, the names recorded in the census indicate that these were the Shiite Turcoman people who had relationship with Iran and Eastern Anatolia.

Arabs and Kurds were rarely mentioned in this census and their numerical proportion was under 1%. Non-Muslim people (Christians and Jews) also lived in some places in this region. In those years, in Kirkuk city centre there were 183 houses of Muslim-Turks, 104 houses of Jews and 53 houses of Christians.There was no mention of Kurds and Arabs.

In Tercil village 43 Jewish houses were mentioned.

There were 35 Christian families in Dakuk's Kilise village, while in the centre of Dakuk their number was only 18.

In those days both Kirkuk and Dakuk, with the said figures, appeared as proper Muslim Turkish cities and the presence of some Christians, Jews, Arabs and Kurds had no effect on the two cities and on their surrounding villages.

The overwhelming majority of the people using the hamlets and high plateaus around the cities were Shiite Turcoman people.

The said census, likewise, gives information about these semi-nomads: Turkish tribe Lek, Mongol-Turkish tribe Sulduz, Turkish tribe Doger, Turkish tribe Karaca Bayad, Azerbaijan-Turkish tribe Gilevan, Turkish tribe Black Mansur, Azerbaijan-Turkish tribe Zengene and many subdivisions of it which were settled in the area, and Central Asian Turkish tribe Nilkaz were among these big groups. Especially the Kalender Beg, Kulu Kethuda and Kethuda Shah Ali congregations connected to Zengene heavily used Kirkuk and Dakuk regions in the 1560s.

Besides these, there were also semi-nomadic Turkish tribes with their cattle grazing in Iran and Anatolia but registered in this region. There was no mention of Kurdish tribes among them.
I should point out that a few Kurdish families were registered in the Kirkuk-Jewish congregation. The religious structure of the region is shown in the table below.

The entire Muslim population was constituted from Turcoman people. 

TABLE: Population of Kirkuk Subdivision in 1560
(Source: Detailed Writing Book of Kirkuk Subdivision, Ankara 2003)

Dakuk Region

Muslim houses - Christian houses - Jewish houses

1. Dakuk center 259 18 -

2. Mutık village 34 - -

3. Dumanli village 158 - -

4. Bozdepe village 11 - -

5. Kushtan village 100 - -

6. Iftihar village 51 - -

7. Sheik Kendi village 38 - -

8. Lasun village 1 - -

9. Ashagi Arab Kendi village 34 - -

10.Yukari Arab Kendi village 39 - -

11. Ali Sarayi village 82 - -

12. Cedie-i Babilan village 54 - -

13. Tuz Hurmati village 229 - -

14. Babilan village 119 - -

15. Bassaa village 5 - -

16. Chisghan village 32 - -

17. Cedide village 16 - -

Kirkuk Region
Muslim houses - Christian houses - Jewish houses

18. Kirkuk center 183 53 104

19. Cherbeklu village 30 - -

20. Meraga village 57 - -

21. Ramadanniye village 33 - -

22. Beshir village 89 - -

23. Cemaliyye village 52 - -

24. Hurmati-yi Tezek village 104 - -

25. Shemsiyye village 56 - -

26. Tis’in village 93 - -

27. Uch Kubbe village 24 - -

28. Pulava village 71 - -

29. Hajji Pusek village 30 - -

30. Tercil village 242 - 43

31. Karalar village 18 - -

32. Leylen village 218 - -

33. Yahya Abad village 67 - -

34. Dephelu village 127 - -

35. Furkan village 60 - -

36.Bari Abad village 45 - -

37. Yarimca village 26 - -

38. Gokdan village 101 - -

39. Telkeshkhan village 77 - -

40. Duhala village 23 - -

41. Kara Hasan village 34 - -

42. Helmin village 100 - -

43. Kuriyye village 1 70 -

44. Kushchu village 11 - -

Nilkhaz Region

Muslim houses - Christian houses - Jewish houses

45. Agcalar village 73 - -

46. Chur-I Dizek village 64 - -

47. Metfak village 56 - -

48. Suslu village 25 - -

49. Keritan village 12 - -

50. Mahmad village 59 - -

51. Gokdepe village 65 - -

52. Chuchurd-I Kuchuk village 59 - -

53. Tulekdan village 46 - -

54. Shud Komu village 122 - -

55. Babik village 68 - -

56. Gulluce village 59 - -

57. Kazan Otagi village 34 - -

58. Kadi Kendi village 60 - -

59.Gurculer village 11 - -

60. Melik Kendi village 62 - -

61. Kurd Deligi village 26 - -

62. Kellebash village 23 - -

63. Abdal village 53 - -

64. Kalender village 38 - -

65. Omar Kamu village 8 - -

66. Sivritash village 9 - -

67. Gechine village 28 - -

68. Kapchikay village 61 - -

69. Evcush village 329 - -

70. Baura village 60 - -

Taxes of a few villages were assigned to Mecca foundation. On the economical side, Kirkuk and Dakuk were the income resources for Ottoman treasure. Water mills, people dealing with the water works, onion fields, cattle, grain, vineyards, vegetables, houses and some crafts in Dakuk were under tax. Ispenche tax was applied to Jews and Christians. Military importance of Kirkuk citadel was low. Houses, cloth weavers, tailors, cattle, grain, vineyards, mills, transit commercial trade were subject to taxes under various names. Tax rates were extremely heavy i.e. in the proportions of 1/7 and 1/8 according to some places of Anatolia. The two most important tax sources among them were onion fields and cotton seeds (cevzeka-i penbe).

The Directorate of Archives as well as the publishing of this study remind us that Kirkuk and Dakuk have been Turkish and Muslim regions for many centuries.


(*) Suleiman Kanuni (The Lawgiver) known as "Suleiman The Magnificent" in the West

was born in 1494 and died in 1566.