The Kurdish Case Against Turkey

By: Dr Nazhad Hawramany
Switzerland
April 13, 2007

The Turkish political and military establishments have made their hostility towards Iraqi Kurdistan their first priority. There is no day goes by, without hearing outrageous threats and intimidations by Turkish officials against the Kurdish federal region in Iraqi Kurdistan ( which the Turks insist on calling it North Iraq, and will get mad if they hear the name of Kurdistan attached to this region). They use different excuses to warrant their interventions in the Kurdish affairs in Iraq, either it's the presence of PKK fighters in remote mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan and the blatant lies that they are getting logistic support from Iraqi Kurds or it's the issues of reversal of Arabization in Kirkuk, the Kurdish- majority city in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is still outside the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan federal region, or attempts to delay or cancel implementation of article 140 of Iraqi constitution, which draws a road map for constitutional solution of this sensitive and vital issue, or by arranging dubious meetings in Turkey and other countries , organized by Turkmen front, an organization for some of Iraqi Turkmen , sponsored and funded by Turkish intelligence services, alleging that Kurds are trying to change the demographic balance of Kirkuk in their favour, without being able to provide any solid proofs to substantiate their claims, ignoring the facts that Kurds, who were deported during Saddam Hussein` regime are simply going back to their own villages and homes in and around Kirkuk, after the fall of the regime. The Kurdish authorities challenged the Turkish authorities many times to give evidences to these allegations , without response fro Turkish authorities. The fact is, that Kirkuk is an Iraqi city which is geographically , historically and demographically, a part and parcel of Iraqi Kurdistan, and any unbiased observer can walk into the city, and will soon realize the Kurdish flavour of the city, not denying of course that there are too other ethnic minorities like Arabs, Turkmen and Christian Assyrian minorities with their sizes approximately in the same order mentioned. Recent Iraqi and local elections in the city showed a majority of about 65% for Kurds. The Kurdistan regional government president, Mr Masood Barzani, was simply drawing logical conclusions and tried to tell the Turks once and for all, to realize the facts on the ground, to simply acknowledge the Kurdish reality in Iraq. Mr. Barzani simply asked the Turks to stop interfering in the inner affairs of Iraqi Kurdistan, because Iraq is a sovereign state and not part of the infamous dead and buried Ottoman empire anymore and told Turkey that it has every thing to lose , if she decided to continue this path of confrontation and threats of military intervention. He simply mentioned a fact that every one in the world knows, but the Turks prefer to ignore, that there are 30 million Kurds in Turkey, who are looking passionately towards their Kurdish brethren in Iraqi Kurdistan, and that any Turkish military adventure against Iraqi Kurdistan , is going to elicit a strong reaction among Kurds in Northern Kurdistan ( what is incidentally called by Turks, South East Turkey).

Iraqi Kurdistan is probably one of the biggest trade partners of Turkey and the gate to the rest of Iraq. Here again the Turks are using all means available, to put economical pressure and bullying of Iraqi Kurdistan, by periodic blocking of gasoline and electricity supplies to Iraqi Kurdistan, or arbitrary closures of the Khabur border crossing for days and weeks to humiliate Iraqi Kurds or by pursuing efforts to open a new crossing gate between Turkey and Syria and then to Arab Iraq, thereby bupassing Khabur gate, and so trying to strangle Iraqi Kurdistan economically. They simply refuse to acknowledge the fact this part of iraq, is a federal entity called Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraqi Kurds fought successive Iraqi governments from 1961 and till the fall of Ba`ath regime in April 2003, and they were able to hold the huge and well armed Iraqi army in checks, if it wasn't for international conspiracies to abort Kurdish uprisings like the Algiers agreement between Saddam Hussein and Shah of Iran in 1976 , which was brokered by the infamous American secretary of State then, Henry Kissinger, or the brutal suppression of Kurdish and Shiite uprising in 1991, which managed to control 80% of Iraqi soil, if it wasn't for the malicious Saudi interventions , which led the American administration of George Bush senior, to abandon them to the mercy of Saddam's republican guards and his brutal tanks and military helicopters, when the naive American General Schwarzkopf, was outmaneuvered by Saddams`s generals and was tricked to allowing them using their weapons against the uprising Kurds and Shiites, thereby slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocent Kurds and Shiites.

My point is, that any Turkish military adventure into Iraqi Kurdistan, will be met by fiercest resistance by 5 million Kurds in the region. The Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani are not warlords or militia leaders, as the some Turkish media or politicians sometimes likes to call them, but they are very popular politicians, who enjoy very wide support and respect in Iraqi Kurdistan, and to that effect even in Turkish part of Kurdistan. and people of Kurdistan will certainly heed their calls to resist Turkish aggression, which certainly will cost Turkey dearly in lives and costs.


http://kurdistanobserver.servehttp.com/april-2007/13-4-07-op-ed-hawramany-is-there-limit-tky.html

Mr. Barzani and Mr. Talabani were guerrilla leaders Talabani is always backed by Russians and lead the sorranis tripe and Barzani is backed by Iran & USA and lead to kirmanchos tripe. They were both carried Turkish diplomatic passport till 2002 with the support of the Turkish government.. I think author forgot the couple of important points. When Saddam hussein's army attacked to Kurds (1991) result of this attacked almost two million of the Kurdish refugee went to Turkey and Turkish government has taken care of them for a year. Aftermath of the first gulf war who will protect to Kurds against to saddams army? Answer: "Hammer Force" American and the British air force used air bases located in southern Turkey to protect to "No fly zone".You got to have a red face when you claim to be Kerkuk was a Kurdish city. This is a big lie Kerkuk never been a Kurdish city in the history of Iraq Kerkuk always been a Turkmen city. History speaks it self. This is a regular Kurdish attitude lie, steal, smuggle, and back stamping. I hope Americans and the World will find out soon about the kurdish lies like 30 million kurds lives in Turkey actual number is 7million kurds lives in Turkey. Kurds are first class and equal citizens in Turkey and they have all the rights.

K. Saatci