The Misrule of Massoud Barzani: Iraqi Kurdistan's Yasser Arafat

[Rumtaya]

Once an oasis of stability in Iraq, the Kurdish north is increasingly a source of unrest. Because of the misrule of Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq (KRG) who may go down as the Yasser Arafat of the Kurdish people, the region is becoming a danger both to the country and to its own people.

The contrast between Barzani and Iraq's president, Jalal Talibani, is striking. Talabani, the scion of Kurdish Iraq's other political dynasty, has spent the years since liberation from Baathist rule in Baghdad, earning a reputation as one of the great uniters of a fractious Iraq, often serving as mediator between the various sects, the Americans, and others in the region.

Massoud Barzanai, on the other hand, has spent the past five years amassing power and influence in Erbil, the capital of the increasingly independent Iraqi Kurdistan, where he has focused on conducting oil deals beyond the reach of the central government, and has refused to cooperate with Turkey to combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists that operate from safe haven in territory ostensibly under his control.

Corruption in the Kurdish region is rampant, and many of the Turkish firms that rushed in after the liberation of Iraq, eager for contracts, have gone unpaid for work already completed. Luxury cars are appearing on the streets while many ordinary Iraqi Kurds are increasingly disillusioned with the continued lack of development. Opposition parties rooted in Islamist politics -- perceived as immune from corruption -- are springing up across the political landscape, but no elections are scheduled (the Kurdish region will not hold elections with the rest of the country in January) and it's likely that even if elections were held, the outcome would be predetermined.

Most recently, Barzani has demanded that the central government pay for his Peshmerga forces, still likely the best trained and most disciplined in Iraq. He argues that these forces are for the greater good of all of Iraq, but has simultaneously taken to deploying them in contested areas outside the established borders of the Kurdish region. This has resulted in a heightening series of clashes with Sunni Arabs, mainly focused in Diyala province. Barzani claims that the Peshmerga are fighting al-Qaida, and that their role in the stabilization of Iraq continues to be underappreciated. While some Peshmerga were folded into the Iraqi Army and have fought bravely and died for the security gains in Iraq over the past year, for the most part Barzani has jealously guarded his forces in a region that doesn't especially need them. Barzani's true goal is clear: expand the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan into oil-rich areas before the state of Iraq and a more capable central government solidify.

Massoud Barzani's son and the prime minister of the KRG, Nechirvan, has shown himself to be a far more reasonable man, serving as a key link in talks with Turkey about the PKK issue. But he does little to temper his father's excesses. Cause for greater concern are the continued health problems of Jalal Talibani, whose exit from the scene would truly leave Masoud Barzani's ambitions unchecked. Such a situation would be perilous not only for Iraq's immediate stability, but for the long-term prosperity of the Iraqi Kurdish people as well.

by Sam Brannen
www.worldpoliticsreview.com



http://www.aina.org/news/20081001124726.htm

 

[GGBW]

Iraqi Kurds Speak Out Against Kurdish Nationalism, Separatism


Manifestations of nationalist separatist sentiment have grown increasingly prevalent among Iraqi Kurds, who, since the first Gulf War, have enjoyed autonomy in the governorates ofSulaymaniyah, Irbil, and Dahuk in northern Iraq. Many regard this as reflecting a Kurdish aspiration to establish an independent state, first in Iraqi Kurdistan, and later in Greater Kurdistan, encompassing additional Kurdish-populated regions in Turkey and Iran. Separatist tendencies among Kurds therefore arouse considerable apprehension among Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, in both Iraq and neighboring countries.

Several Kurdish writers have warned of the dangers of unilaterally declaring an independent Kurdish state in Iraq. Prominent among them is Kurdish liberal Dr. Hussein Sinjari, president of the NGO Tolerancy International. Sinjari is also a former minister in the regional government of Kurdistan and owner of the liberal Baghdadi Arabic-language daily Al-Ahali.

On August 13, 2008, Dr. Sinjari published an article dealing with the various aspects and repercussions of Kurdish nationalism, and with the corruption in the Kurdish leadership. The article - which sparked a lively debate in Kurdistan - appeared on his recently established website (www.tolerancy.org ) and on several other Kurdish sites.

Articles about corruption in the Kurdish leadership were also penned by two other prominent Kurdish writers: Mahmoud 'Othman, an independent Iraqi MP, and Nusherwan Mustafa, who until a year ago was the No. 2 man in the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

Following are excerpts from the three articles.

Separatism - A Destructive Policy

Dr. Sinjari argued that the nationalism of the Kurdish leadership, and its implicit threats to secede from Iraq, were provocative and arrogant and could lead to disaster. He wrote:

"[At demonstrations organized by the two Kurdish parties, people waved] hundreds of Kurdish flags and signs exhorting Baghdad to recognize Kurdish rights. The question is why the organizers did not arrange for a few Iraqi flags to be flown as well. You demand that Baghdad [recognize] your rights, but at the same time you provoke Baghdad and others. [I say,] enough with this arrogance. True, we have legitimate rights, but [how do you expect to achieve them] when we behave inappropriately?

"These implied threats to secede or to [declare] independence are destructive. Instead, we should first of all incorporate into the political reform of the [Kurdish] region an educational program [inculcating a sense of] Iraqi nationality and faith in the Iraqi homeland based on equality, recognition of rights and duties... tolerance towards all [ethnic] identities, and the restoration of patriotic Iraqi sentiment among the Iraqi Kurds..."

Reliance on Foreign Forces - A Grave Mistake

Sinjari went on to warn the Kurdish leaders against relying on foreign forces to help them attain their national aspirations, arguing that the best course of action for any leadership was to ensure the satisfaction and gain the support of its own people:

"...The [Kurdish] leaders rely too heavily on their American and British allies, and that is another great mistake. The best guarantee [for a secure existence] is the people's satisfaction with their leadership... [Moreover,] it is Baghdad, not Washington or London, that will determine the status of the [Kurdish] region, which is part of Iraq. The Kurds are suffering from the arrogance and boastfulness of their leaders..."

Nationalist Discourse Is Deceptive and Harmful

Sinjari also discussed the priorities set by the Kurdish leadership, warning against prioritizing the nationalist agenda over social and administrative issues. He argued that the focus on nationalist aspirations had made the Kurds indefinitely postpone developing their region, and urged them to learn from the bitter experience of the Arab countries, who had made the same mistake:

"The Kurdish argument that we still face national challenges pertaining to our very existence, and that reform should therefore be postponed until the 'main struggle' is won, is flawed. The pan-Arab movements demonstrate the deceptive and hypocritical [nature] of this [sort of] nationalist discourse.

"The Arab leaders have oppressed, and are still oppressing, their people under the pretext that [precedence must always be given to] Palestine and to the struggle against Zionism, colonialism, and imperialism, and that 'no voice should rise above the voice of battle.' In the name of this hypocritical [cause,] labeled 'national security' or 'supreme national interest,' rights have been usurped, while [issues of] democracy, development, and rule of law have been deferred indefinitely.

"Why do we wish to repeat this wretched experience? Why do we want the situation in our country to resemble that of the Eastern European societies in the past? Why have we allowed ourselves to become so immersed in our own lies that we have begun to believe them, and our whole society is living a lie? We call for nationalism, but do the opposite; we call for responsibility, but our real [concern] is for our pockets and our privileges."

Kurdish Writers: Our Leadership Is Corrupt

Kurdish writer Mahmoud 'Othman likewise criticized the corruption in the Kurdish leadership. In a September 23, 2008 interview for the independent Kurdish paper Hawlati, he predicted that "many Kurds will refrain from voting [in the upcoming elections for the parliament] because they think it is useless. People would have preferred a parliament with an opposition to a parliament that is [jointly] controlled by [the two Kurdish parties, namely] the Kurdistan Democratic Party [headed by Mas'oud Barzani] and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [headed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani]... There are more freedoms in Baghdad than in the Kurdish region, and much greater freedom of the press..." [1]

Nusherwan Mustafa wrote in a similar vein in the Kurdish paper Roznama: "[The two Kurdish parties] are striving for greater and greater control over all aspects of government and [all aspects of] the people's daily lives... We want justice and [a fair] distribution of the national wealth... [while] they want to use this wealth, and [to exploit] their positions, in order to promote their private affairs and control people... We want transparency and openness in the financial, economic, business and political spheres... while they want to handle everything in [complete] darkness..." [2]

Sinjari too devoted a large portion of his article to this topic, saying: "[Our leaders] claim that they are sacrificing themselves and giving their very lives for the people - yet [in actuality] they are deceiving the people, usurping their rights, and [violating] their honor.

"They talk of law, of economic growth, of developing agriculture, of building schools and universities, of [encouraging] civil organizations, of nurturing democracy, and of long-term strategic [planning for the benefit of] the nation. How deceptive are these words and phrases! But they cannot hide and distort the facts... There is no rule of law [in our region], but only personal connections, bribery, and favoritism...

"The [leadership's] greatest crime is not the destruction of the government institutions - i.e., the ministries and the public facilities - or [even] the bankruptcy of the government and the economy. [The greatest crime is] the moral deterioration... The inculcation of religious and national values has deteriorated [to such an extent that people] have no scruples about stealing public funds, no sense of responsibility, and no work ethic. [They have] no commitment to the development of their homeland, to the progress of its people, or to the spreading of noble values [such as] serving mankind.

"This moral deterioration means lying to the [Iraqi] leadership in order to win privileges; in other words, [people] steal public funds, fail to work faithfully, lie and distort facts, and lack any national, human or religious responsibility...

"There are no regional or international conspiracies against us. The [only] conspiracy - which is as clear as day - is the one we are plotting against ourselves [with such poor] management of our human and material resources. It is not the institutions that manage them - for these are non-existent - but villains whose only interest is in accumulating illegal wealth..."

The Order of the Day - Reform in the Kurdish Region

Alongside his criticism of the Kurdish leadership, Sinjari also made suggestions for internal political reform and democratization:

"First, the leaderships of the two [Kurdish] parties must rethink their strategic agreement, which is to run in the next elections as a single bloc. In other words, instead of competing and allowing for peaceful government turnover in accordance with the results of the elections, they have decided to perpetuate the existing situation for at least another 15 years. This is a serious strategic flaw in [our] democracy...

"As the first step in political reform, the parties must announce that they both agree to compete [in democratic elections], to accept the election results, to facilitate the work of the international observers by holding free and fair elections, and to allow for a peaceful change of government. Politics, like the economy, is corrupted by monopolies and thrives with free and fair competition.

"Democracy will thrive in the [Kurdish] region only when the majority rules and the minority is [represented by] a parliamentary opposition that will supervise and monitor [the government] and prepare for the next elections..."

The Nationalist Discourse Will Destroy Our Region, Just as the Pan-Arabist Discourse Brought Ruin to the Arab Armies and Peoples

"The only guarantee for national security is democracy and more democracy - not the stale discourse about threats [hanging over] our region... When we educate ourselves to believe that our region is part of Iraq, and act and plan [accordingly], nobody will dare to threaten our security, and vice versa.

"The nationalist discourse will destroy our region, just as the pan-Arabist discourse brought ruin to the Arab armies and peoples and to the Arab revival. The leadership must know that it will never produce victory as long as it is detached from the people, for eventually it will be left alone to face its unknown fate by itself...

"Reforming the [Kurdish] region's administration is a crucial need, [a matter] of life and death... Lack of reform will lead to four disasters... of which every contemporary politician must beware: a) internal crisis in the region, [with] acts of violence and disruption of public order; b) internal Iraqi crisis instigated by this violence; c) regional crisis caused by the unrest [in Iraq]...; [and] d) international crisis caused by the previous three... especially since Iraq is occupied by foreign forces and [therefore] subject to international laws, resolutions and commitments." [3]

[1] Hawlati (Kurdistan), September 23, 2008.

[2] Roznama (Kurdistan), September 20, 2008.

[3] www.tolerancy.org, August 13, 2008.

www.memri.org

 

[ASHUR]

The article posted by Waleeta clearly illustrates the rampant corruption of the Kurdish leaders against their very own people.

Now imagine what they're doing to Assyrians and other minorities.

 

[GGBW]

The Misrule of Massoud Barzani: Iraqi Kurdistan's Yasser Arafat

Once an oasis of stability in Iraq, the Kurdish north is increasingly a source of unrest. Because of the misrule of Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq (KRG) who may go down as the Yasser Arafat of the Kurdish people, the region is becoming a danger both to the country and to its own people.

The contrast between Barzani and Iraq's president, Jalal Talibani, is striking. Talabani, the scion of Kurdish Iraq's other political dynasty, has spent the years since liberation from Baathist rule in Baghdad, earning a reputation as one of the great uniters of a fractious Iraq, often serving as mediator between the various sects, the Americans, and others in the region.

Massoud Barzanai, on the other hand, has spent the past five years amassing power and influence in Erbil, the capital of the increasingly independent Iraqi Kurdistan, where he has focused on conducting oil deals beyond the reach of the central government, and has refused to cooperate with Turkey to combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists that operate from safe haven in territory ostensibly under his control.

Corruption in the Kurdish region is rampant, and many of the Turkish firms that rushed in after the liberation of Iraq, eager for contracts, have gone unpaid for work already completed. Luxury cars are appearing on the streets while many ordinary Iraqi Kurds are increasingly disillusioned with the continued lack of development. Opposition parties rooted in Islamist politics -- perceived as immune from corruption -- are springing up across the political landscape, but no elections are scheduled (the Kurdish region will not hold elections with the rest of the country in January) and it's likely that even if elections were held, the outcome would be predetermined.

Most recently, Barzani has demanded that the central government pay for his Peshmerga forces, still likely the best trained and most disciplined in Iraq. He argues that these forces are for the greater good of all of Iraq, but has simultaneously taken to deploying them in contested areas outside the established borders of the Kurdish region. This has resulted in a heightening series of clashes with Sunni Arabs, mainly focused in Diyala province. Barzani claims that the Peshmerga are fighting al-Qaida, and that their role in the stabilization of Iraq continues to be underappreciated. While some Peshmerga were folded into the Iraqi Army and have fought bravely and died for the security gains in Iraq over the past year, for the most part Barzani has jealously guarded his forces in a region that doesn't especially need them. Barzani's true goal is clear: expand the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan into oil-rich areas before the state of Iraq and a more capable central government solidify.

Massoud Barzani's son and the prime minister of the KRG, Nechirvan, has shown himself to be a far more reasonable man, serving as a key link in talks with Turkey about the PKK issue. But he does little to temper his father's excesses. Cause for greater concern are the continued health problems of Jalal Talibani, whose exit from the scene would truly leave Masoud Barzani's ambitions unchecked. Such a situation would be perilous not only for Iraq's immediate stability, but for the long-term prosperity of the Iraqi Kurdish people as well.

by Sam Brannen - www.worldpoliticsreview.com

Sam Brannen is a fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' International Security Program- www.csis.org/isp/

 

[baklawa]

Ummmm, Waleeta?  If you scroll down just a wee bit you'll notice that not only has this been posted, but you replied in that thread!

Vodka......it's not just for breakfast anymore  :razz:

 

[GGBW]

Kurdish Land Grabs Leave Assyrians Dependent on Food Aid

Northern Iraq (AINA) -- In the village of Hamzie in northern Iraq, just a half hour drive south of the Iraqi-Turkish border, 23 Assyrian families line up for a package of food aid delivered by the Assyrian Aid Society. Most of them fled from the ethnic cleansing in Baghdad and Basra.

It's odd to see Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) line up for food aid in a village which boasts rich agricultural lands and plentiful water. The explanation can be seen just a few meters from the center of the village, where 15 Muslim Kurdish families have built their houses. The Muslim Kurds have forced themselves into the village and have taken control of all the farming land and the water sources belonging to the village. The Kurdish families have also built a mosque. In Muslim tradition, once a mosque is built it may never be destroyed; thus the Kurds have announced to the Assyrians their intention of staying permanently.

The case of the Hamzie village is one of many similar cases in northern Iraq (the ancestral land of the Assyrians), where the original inhabitants of the area, the Christian Assyrians, find themselves pushed out. The extent of the Kurdish land grabs is alarming and the pace indicates it is not a few isolated cases but part of a policy which is methodically carried out.

While Kurds allow the Assyrians to enjoy several rights, such as teaching the Assyrian language, celebrating Assyrian feasts, displaying Assyrian symbols, they silently sanction actions that will ultimately lead to the complete destruction of a 6000 year old civilization. The Kurdish leadership manages to portray itself as democratic while it is in fact pursuing policies that will make it impossible for Assyrians to remain in northern Iraq in the long run.

As reported by several independent reports by human rights organizations, the two main Kurdish political parties, the PUK and KDP, maintain total control of the area using their armed muslim militia, the Peshmerga. The land grabs could therefore not occur on such a scale without the silent approval of these parties.

The Assyrians have no chance against the tide of aggression and land seizure by the Kurdish majority. When the Assyrians try to fight the land seizures they encounter hostility and a Kurdish bureaucracy which is a dead end. Even when Assyrians have been successful and won court cases, there is no will from the Kurdish power holders to enforce the judgments. The court system is only used to stonewall Assyrians when they register complaints.

Most of the Assyrian families in the village of Hamzie fled from killings, kidnappings and rapes in other parts of Iraq only to face oppression by Muslim Kurds and become dependent on food aid for their survival.