North Iraq could become center of attraction for some of Turkey's citizens
Land Forces Commander Ilker Basbug signaled Monday that the main worry of the Turkish Armed Forces regarding northern Iraq is the danger of the region becoming a center of attraction for Turkey's Kurds.
The area which is run by the autonomous administration of the Kurdistan Regional Government seems to be regarded as a main threat to Turkish unity.
"It is a fact that the developments in north of Iraq has given political, legal, military and psychological strength to the Kurds living in the region as they have never had or experienced before in the past. We must be careful about the developments in north of Iraq as these may give some of our citizens a feeling of belonging to this region," the Land Forces chief said.
In a keynote speech delivered at the beginning of the 2007-2008 academic year at the Turkish Military Academy, Gen. Basbug stressed that "another problem is the support terrorist organization receives in the north of Iraq and the inaction of the United States Administration and Iraqi government vis-a-vis the terrorist organization (PKK)."
Gen. Basbug stressed the United States must take action against the PKK and understand that the presence of the terrorists in northern Iraq is a serious threat to Turkey.
"The U.S. must understand that a solution reached without Turkey's support in Iraq won't be a lasting one" he added.
The PKK, which is considered as terrorist organization by the US, EU and Turkey, has several scattered terror its bases in northern Iraq.
"The separatist terrorist movement is based on ethnic nationalism. Separatist terror aims to destroy Turkish state and unitary structure of Turkey. Constitutional protection for ethnic identities is required frequently. Such an act openly targets Turkey's nation-state character," he warned.
Basbug stressed that "Ataturk's understanding of a nation-state is not based on religious or ethnic identities. Ataturk's reforms just created a secular nation-state."
General Basbug said the definition of secularism (included in the current Turkish constitution) cannot be made a topic of discussion.
He said Turks always live under the constant threat of terrorism. "As we cannot accept limitations on the rights and freedoms of our citizens we also cannot accept the exploitation of these rights and freedoms."
He recalled a statement by Israeli President Shimon Peres who said political actions can have military repercussions and military actions can have political repercussions. "So we have to have common views and a mechanism for joint decision making by civilian decision makers and the military."
Basbug said terrorism cannot be defeated only by military measures but these have to be supplemented by social, cultural, psychological and political measures.
Basbug warned that developments in northern Iraq have reached a level where they may threaten the security and future of Turkey.
Basbug said the PKK only had 200 members in 1985. This figure went up to 12,000 during the time of incidents in northern Iraq between the Kurds and the Saddam forces between 1993 and 1995. He said in 1995 the terrorists organization decided to concentrate more on cultural and political secessionist actions. After that the PKK was first split into bands of 20 to 30 militants and the down to 7 or 8.
He said the reason why the terrorist organization managed to survive is because it managed to continue recruiting militants and made good use of the instabilities created in the region by the gulf wars.
donderdag 27 september 2007
Contemporary history
Contemporary history
Some key events since the early 20th century.
1918: Sheikh Mahmoud Barzinji becomes governor of Suleimaniah under British rule. He and other Kurdish leaders who want Kurdistan to be ruled independently of Baghdad rebel against the British. He is defeated a year later. [1]
1923: The Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and the allied powers invalidates the Treaty of Sevres, which had provided for the creation of a Kurdish state. [2]
1925: After sending a fact-finding committee to Mosul province, the League of Nations decides that it will be part of Iraq, on condition that the UK hold the mandate for Iraq for another 25 years to assure the autonomy of the Kurdish population. The following year Turkey and Britain signed a treaty in line with the League of Nation’s decision. [3]
1970: The Kurdistan Democratic Party, lead by Mustafa Barzani, reaches an agreement with Baghdad on autonomy for Kurdistan and political representation in the Baghdad government. By 1974, key parts of the agreement are not fulfilled, leading to disputes. [4]
1971-1980: The Iraqi government expels more than 200,000 Faili (Shia) Kurds from Iraq. [5]
1975: The Iraqi government signs the Algiers Agreement with Iran, in which they settle land disputes in exchange for Iran ending its support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and other concessions. [6]
1983: The Iraqi government disappears 8,000 boys and men from the Barzani clan. In 2005, 500 of them are found in mass graves near Iraq’s border with Saudi Arabia, hundreds of kilometres from the Kurdistan Region. [7]
1987-1989: The Iraqi government carries out the genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurdistan’s civilians, of mass summary executions and disappearances, widespread use of chemical weapons, destruction of some 2,000 villages and of the rural economy and infrastructure. An estimated 180,000 are killed in the campaign. [8]
On 16 and 17 March 1988, Iraqi government airplanes drop chemical weapons on the town of Halabja. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people, almost all civilians, are killed. [9]
1991: The people in Kurdistan rise up against the Iraqi government days after the Gulf War ceasefire. Within weeks the Iraqi military and helicopters suppress the uprising. Tens of thousands of people flee to the mountains, causing a humanitarian crisis. The US, Britain and France declare a no-fly zone at the 36th parallel and refugees return. Months later, Saddam Hussein withdraws the Iraqi Army and his administration, and imposes an internal blockade on Kurdistan.
1992: The Iraqi Kurdistan Front, an alliance of political parties, holds parliamentary and presidential elections and establishes the Kurdistan Regional Government.
1994: Power-sharing arrangements between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fall apart, leading to civil war and two separate administrations, in Erbil and Suleimaniah respectively.
1998: The PUK and KDP sign the Washington Agreement, ending the civil war.
2003: The Peshmerga, Kurdistan’s official armed forces, fight alongside the coalition to liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s rule.
2006: At the start of the year, the PUK and KDP agree to unify the two administrations. On 7th May, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announces a new unified cabinet.
[13] Gareth Stansfield, ‘The Kurdish Question in Iraq, 1914-1974’, The Middle East Online Series 2: Iraq 1914-1974, Thomson Learning EMEA Ltd, Reading, 2006.
[10] Library of Congress Country Study: Iraq.
[11] Northedge, F. S. . The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920-1946 Holmes & Meier. 1986
[12] No Friends but the Mountains: The Tragic History of the Kurds. John Bulloch and Harvey Morris.
[13] Human Rights Watch report, Whatever happened to the Kurds? 11 March 1991.
[14] David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds.
[15] Saddam’s Road to Hell: Documentary film by Gwynne Roberts.
[16] Kurdistan Regional Government estimate. Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign against the Kurds. Middle East Watch Report, Human Rights Watch, 1993.
[17] Human Rights Watch report, Whatever happened to the Kurds? 11 March 1991.
Some key events since the early 20th century.
1918: Sheikh Mahmoud Barzinji becomes governor of Suleimaniah under British rule. He and other Kurdish leaders who want Kurdistan to be ruled independently of Baghdad rebel against the British. He is defeated a year later. [1]
1923: The Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and the allied powers invalidates the Treaty of Sevres, which had provided for the creation of a Kurdish state. [2]
1925: After sending a fact-finding committee to Mosul province, the League of Nations decides that it will be part of Iraq, on condition that the UK hold the mandate for Iraq for another 25 years to assure the autonomy of the Kurdish population. The following year Turkey and Britain signed a treaty in line with the League of Nation’s decision. [3]
1970: The Kurdistan Democratic Party, lead by Mustafa Barzani, reaches an agreement with Baghdad on autonomy for Kurdistan and political representation in the Baghdad government. By 1974, key parts of the agreement are not fulfilled, leading to disputes. [4]
1971-1980: The Iraqi government expels more than 200,000 Faili (Shia) Kurds from Iraq. [5]
1975: The Iraqi government signs the Algiers Agreement with Iran, in which they settle land disputes in exchange for Iran ending its support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and other concessions. [6]
1983: The Iraqi government disappears 8,000 boys and men from the Barzani clan. In 2005, 500 of them are found in mass graves near Iraq’s border with Saudi Arabia, hundreds of kilometres from the Kurdistan Region. [7]
1987-1989: The Iraqi government carries out the genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurdistan’s civilians, of mass summary executions and disappearances, widespread use of chemical weapons, destruction of some 2,000 villages and of the rural economy and infrastructure. An estimated 180,000 are killed in the campaign. [8]
On 16 and 17 March 1988, Iraqi government airplanes drop chemical weapons on the town of Halabja. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people, almost all civilians, are killed. [9]
1991: The people in Kurdistan rise up against the Iraqi government days after the Gulf War ceasefire. Within weeks the Iraqi military and helicopters suppress the uprising. Tens of thousands of people flee to the mountains, causing a humanitarian crisis. The US, Britain and France declare a no-fly zone at the 36th parallel and refugees return. Months later, Saddam Hussein withdraws the Iraqi Army and his administration, and imposes an internal blockade on Kurdistan.
1992: The Iraqi Kurdistan Front, an alliance of political parties, holds parliamentary and presidential elections and establishes the Kurdistan Regional Government.
1994: Power-sharing arrangements between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fall apart, leading to civil war and two separate administrations, in Erbil and Suleimaniah respectively.
1998: The PUK and KDP sign the Washington Agreement, ending the civil war.
2003: The Peshmerga, Kurdistan’s official armed forces, fight alongside the coalition to liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s rule.
2006: At the start of the year, the PUK and KDP agree to unify the two administrations. On 7th May, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announces a new unified cabinet.
[13] Gareth Stansfield, ‘The Kurdish Question in Iraq, 1914-1974’, The Middle East Online Series 2: Iraq 1914-1974, Thomson Learning EMEA Ltd, Reading, 2006.
[10] Library of Congress Country Study: Iraq.
[11] Northedge, F. S. . The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920-1946 Holmes & Meier. 1986
[12] No Friends but the Mountains: The Tragic History of the Kurds. John Bulloch and Harvey Morris.
[13] Human Rights Watch report, Whatever happened to the Kurds? 11 March 1991.
[14] David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds.
[15] Saddam’s Road to Hell: Documentary film by Gwynne Roberts.
[16] Kurdistan Regional Government estimate. Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign against the Kurds. Middle East Watch Report, Human Rights Watch, 1993.
[17] Human Rights Watch report, Whatever happened to the Kurds? 11 March 1991.
US Senate passes legislation backing federal system for Iraq
Senate calls the Kurdistan Region “peaceful and stable” and urges Iraq’s neighbours to support the wishes of the Iraqi people
Washington DC, USA (KRG.org) - The US Senate today continued to show its strong support for a peaceful and prosperous Kurdistan Region by overwhelmingly supporting a bipartisan amendment that calls for the United States to “actively support a political settlement in Iraq based on the final provisions of the constitution of Iraq that create a federal system of government and allow for the creation of federal regions.”
The measure, approved on a 75 to 23 vote, strengthens the overall US strategy for Iraq. While continuing to support a federal, unified Iraq, the Senate measure bolsters the US-Iraqi “bottom-up strategy” of devolving political and economic powers to Iraq’s regions and provinces.
The amendment, part of the Defence Authorization Act, also highlights the success of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), recognised by the constitution of Iraq as the administration of the Kurdistan Region, as a peaceful, stable and vital example of the path that all of Iraq should follow.
Qubad Talabany, the KRG’s US Representative in Washington, said, “We are very pleased that our friends in the Senate recognise and support our long efforts to help democracy, tolerance and freedom take root in Iraq.” He added, “The KRG applauds the US Senate on passing this significant legislation. By building on the example of the Kurdistan Region, together we can pave the way for a peaceful and prosperous future for all of Iraq.”
Introduced by two US presidential candidates, senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), the amendment was sponsored by 15 other senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The plan supports the federal political solution in Iraq that many independent diplomats, academics and observers say is the best strategy to bring calm and progress to region, while soothing anxious political concerns.
Also in the amendment, the Senate calls on those nations with troops in Iraq, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iraq’s neighbours, as well as others in the international community, to strongly support an Iraqi settlement based on federalism and to respect the wishes of the Iraqi people and their elected officials.
For more information contact us(at)krg.org
Washington DC, USA (KRG.org) - The US Senate today continued to show its strong support for a peaceful and prosperous Kurdistan Region by overwhelmingly supporting a bipartisan amendment that calls for the United States to “actively support a political settlement in Iraq based on the final provisions of the constitution of Iraq that create a federal system of government and allow for the creation of federal regions.”
The measure, approved on a 75 to 23 vote, strengthens the overall US strategy for Iraq. While continuing to support a federal, unified Iraq, the Senate measure bolsters the US-Iraqi “bottom-up strategy” of devolving political and economic powers to Iraq’s regions and provinces.
The amendment, part of the Defence Authorization Act, also highlights the success of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), recognised by the constitution of Iraq as the administration of the Kurdistan Region, as a peaceful, stable and vital example of the path that all of Iraq should follow.
Qubad Talabany, the KRG’s US Representative in Washington, said, “We are very pleased that our friends in the Senate recognise and support our long efforts to help democracy, tolerance and freedom take root in Iraq.” He added, “The KRG applauds the US Senate on passing this significant legislation. By building on the example of the Kurdistan Region, together we can pave the way for a peaceful and prosperous future for all of Iraq.”
Introduced by two US presidential candidates, senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), the amendment was sponsored by 15 other senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The plan supports the federal political solution in Iraq that many independent diplomats, academics and observers say is the best strategy to bring calm and progress to region, while soothing anxious political concerns.
Also in the amendment, the Senate calls on those nations with troops in Iraq, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iraq’s neighbours, as well as others in the international community, to strongly support an Iraqi settlement based on federalism and to respect the wishes of the Iraqi people and their elected officials.
For more information contact us(at)krg.org
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