Iraq: the Hanging of “Chemical Ali”

INSTITUT KUDE RPARD IS E

Information and liaison bulletin N°298 JANUARY 2010 The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCID) aqnd the Fonds d’action et de soutien pour l’intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (The Fund for action and support of integration and the struggle against discrimination) This bulletin is issued in French and English Price per issue : France: 6 € — Abroad : 7,5 € Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 € — Elsewhere : 75 € Monthly review Directeur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN Numéro de la Commission Paritaire : 659 15 A.S.

ISBN 0761 1285

INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: [email protected] Bulletin 298 January 2010

Contents

• IRAQ: THE HANGING OF “CHEMICAL ALI”.

• SYRIA: THE KURDS ARE IN AN INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION.

• IRAN: 18 KURDS ARE WAITING FOR EXECUTION IN THE IRANIAN “DEATH ROWS”.

• CULTURE: METIN MIRZA IS STAGING A SECOND PLAY IN ISTANBUL.

• DIPLOMACY: MASRUR BARZANI’S SPEECH AT THE SENATE HOUSE.

IRAQ: THE HANGING OF “CHEMICAL ALI” li al-Majid, nicknamed December 2008 for war crimes tal and bloody repressions “Chemical Ali”, a during the Shiite uprising that throughout the country. In A cousin of Saddam was drowned in blood in 1991. March 1987 he was given full Hussein and the main In March 2009, another court powers to crush the Kurdish organiser and enforcer found him guilty of murdering rebellion in the North of the of the Anfal campaign, was exe - dozens of Shiites in 1999 in country. Arrested in August cuted by hanging on the 25th of Baghdad’s Sadr City quarter. 2003, he was one of the 52 most this month. This was the fourth wanted people sought by the death sentence passed on Ali al- As one of the principal public Coalition forces, whose pictures Majid, all of which were for figures of the Baathist regime, had been printed on a set of crimes committed against Iraqi considered to be Saddam playing cards. Ali al-Majid was Kurds or Shiites. Thus he was Hussein’s right hand man, he the King of Spades on this set. sentenced to death in June 2007 was a member of the Command for having ordered the gas attack Council of the Revolution, the While the majority of the on the Kurdish town of Halabja highest organ of the Baghdad Kurdish and Shiite population on 16 March 1988, and then in regime, and ordered several bru - received with some satisfaction • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 298 • January 2010

the announcing of his execution, team supported the sentence but that time, the Iraqi President, the Kurdistan Regional that they were, nevertheless fil - Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and his Government expressed its regret ing an appeal to secure a verdict Sunni Arab Vice-President Tariq about the terms of the sentence of genocide, even thought the al-Hashemi, had refused to sign itself, which does not include the recognition of “ crimes against the sentence, to eventually sign crime of “genocide”. This has humanity ” at Halabja could, it in February 2008. been demanded all along by the according to the lawyers, still Kurds, for the actions committed give the victims the possibility of in the course of the Anfal cam - filing civil suites to secure com - However, some political paign. Majid Hamad Amin pensation for their sufferings: observers consider that the Jamil, Kurdistan’s Minister for “We are suing the foreign compa - determination to press on rapid - Martyrs, stated: “ After having nies [that sold the chemical gases ly to carry out this execution is consulted several lawyers, we think used as weapons] and the Central not without some electoral ends, that the individual sentences are fair Government as well as the with the approach General enough but we have reservations Kurdistan Regional Government Elections in March 2010, espe - about the charge of “crimes against before International Courts ”. cially as the debate about the humanity” since we consider that banning of some candidates the gassing of Halabja, which killed The Kurdistan Regional close to the old regime has over 5,000 people, was an act of Government’s spokesman, Kawa revived anti-Baathist feelings, genocide aimed at the Kurdish peo - Mahmud, also expressed his particularly in Shiite circles. ple. We have decided to appeal government’s support of the against this sentence ”. appeal against this sentence: “ We “The death sentence passed on Ali consider the verdict a just one but al-Majid in the Halabja case, could The issue of recognising the the failure to officially recognise this be used by Prime Minister Nuri al- genocidal nature of the Anfal case as being one of genocide has Maliki in his election campaign ”, campaign would also allow an aroused fears among our people. We wrote the analyst Haj Jelow Mari increase in the compensation to are thus glad that the prosecution in the Iraqi daily Al-Mada. its victims as well as bringing has filed this appeal ”. “Maliki will thus be able to tell the about greater international street that it was he who that he was recognition of this dark page of The determination to appeal the one who had secured the execu - Kurdish history. Thousands of against the verdict does not, tion of Saddam Hussein and that he people are still suffering from however, mean a postponement would continue to take strict mea - physical after-effects due to the of the sentence. Goran Adham sures against Saddam’s former chemical gasses, let alone the even said he was convinced that assistants ”. psychic consequences, as the execution would be carried out even before the court of The execution finally took place The Kurdish jurist, Bakir Hama appeal had made its ruling as a week after the sentence was Sidiq, who himself had lost 23 the latter process would take passed. This time, unlike the members of his family during several months; as indeed was execution of Saddam Hussein, the 16 March 1988 attack on the case. no videos were shown of the Halabja, explained in his plea hanging and only two still pic - during an appeal: “ It is important Other sentences had disappoint - tures were shown on Television, that the criminal charge of genocide ed the Prosecution. Both the for - both showing the condemned be retained because there is no doubt mer Defence Minister, Sultan man before his execution. that what happened at Halabja in 16 Hashim al-Tai and the former march 1988 was an act of genocide. Secret Service chief, Aziz al-Duri At Halabja there feelings were This will help the victims to secure were sentenced to fifteen years mixed between satisfaction and compensation. The government (of imprisonment each, which the indifference to this execution, the day) claimed that Halabja was Public Prosecutors considered together with disappointment a military base, but in fact this insufficient. Thus, Goran Adham that the charge of genocide had action was a message to Iran, to also has appealed for stiffer sen - not been accepted. The day of show that the Iraqi leaders had no tences in their cases. the execution a commemoration pity, even towards their own sub - took place at the town cemetery, jects. It was an act of genocide ”. Hashim al-Tai was sentenced to where thousands of victims of death with Ali al-Majid in 2007 the 16 March were buried, The Attorney General, Goran for crimes committed during the including some unidentified Adham, stated that he and his Anfal campaign. However, at ones in mass graves. n° 298 • January 2010 Information and liaison bulletin • 3•

“I am not happy about this exe - dict. What counted for us was the mayor, Khidr Karim cution since it will not change recognition of the genocide ”. Muhammad stated that he was anything for us”, explained optimistic about this question, Yahya Nawzar, a Halabja school - During the ceremony, in fact, thinking that the Supreme Court master. “ He could even have been banners were waved demanding would end up by deciding in executed without the Halabja ver - this recognition. The town’s their favour.

SYRIA: THE KURDS ARE IN AN INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION mugglers landed 123 aged by the State in partnership with the fate and liberties of the refugees who said they the Red Cross ”. “undocumented” Kurds. S were Kurds from Syria on the Corsican coast. Quite apart from this purely Following this, the four political Immediately transport - French politico-legal controversy, leaders were arrested, although ed by the French authorities to the fate of these 123 Kurds has no direct link could be made several administrative detention briefly put the fate of the Kurds between the position they took centres without being allowed to in Syria, especially with regard to and their arrest. The four politi - apply for asylum within the legal the “undocumented” Kurds — cians arrested are: Hassan time limits, the refugees were that is, those arbitrarily stripped Ibrahim Saleh, born in 1947, finally released by the courts as of their Syrian nationality in the Mohamed Mustafa, born in 1962, the result of a heated controversy early 60s, who now number over Maruf Mulla Ahmed, born 1952. between the Minister of 300,000. All three are members of the Immigration, Eric Besson, and Yakiti Political Committee and the associations for the defence of Persecution of Kurds, whether live in Qamishlo. The fourth, refugees and the right of asylum, stateless or not, is undiminished Anwar Nassi, a political activist, like the CIMADE or the Forum in Syria and the pressure on was born in 1962 at Amude. des Refugiés. political movements and against Human Rights activists there is All the Syrian Kurdish political In fact, the procedure for asylum accentuating, though without parties and NGOs that defend seekers provides for the appli - being able to stifle their human rights in Syria con - cants to be placed in reception demands. Paradoxically enough, demned their arrest. centres while applying for asy - this can even lead them to formu - lum — not in detention centres… lating new political objectives, Trials are also being held, for The Minister of Immigration had hitherto taboo in the allowable even more arbitrary reasons. then tried to argue that: “ it was Syrian political area, possibly Thus seven men, some of whom impossible, in a few hours, to take, to inspired by the Kurdish experi - were members of a group of pro - the Southern end of Corsica, dozens ment in Iraq. Thus four members fessional musicians, were arrest - of interpreters, lawyers, doctors of to of the (banned) Yekiti party were ed in October 2009 for having find premises locally for detaining arrested this month — not, in sung in Kurdish during a wed - them that met all the legal itself, an unusual occurrence — ding party. The celebration was standards ”. However, the for having expressed the wish for then broken up by the Syrian Freedom and Detention Judges of political autonomy of the Security forces. The musicians Marseille, Nimes and Rennes Kurdish regions in Syria. and the brother of one of the best decided to free all the refugees, men were detained in a prison in considering that they had not Qamishlo. Some local NGOs been informed of their rights and This demand was openly formu - have received testimony attesting that they were not in detention — lated in December 2009 during to the torture being inflicted as a which implied that their deten - the 6th Congress of the Yeketi result of which one musician, tion had no legal context. party. The four men had argued Jamal Sadun had to be sent to in favour of autonomy as a solu - hospital, where several physical Eric Besson was thus obliged to tion to the Kurdish question in lesions, particularly on the feet, retreat by cancelling the decree Syria, an idea that was being dis - were noted. ordering their expulsion and by cussed inside the party, hitherto accepting that the refugees be inclined to concentrate on the On 17 January, the Qamishlo housed “ in places of reception man - issues of Human Rights and on Army Judge interrogated the • 4 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 298 • January 2010

detainees about the charges population has worrying reper - Financial Times. In addition to against them, namely “ inciting cussions, not only on its health funds from UNO the countries sectarian conflict ”. The prisoners but also on its access to treat - making donations are, for the Jamal Sedum, Mihad Hussein, ment. The bulk of the families moment just Australia, Ireland, Jawar Munir Abdullah, Jiwan cannot afford to go to private Saudi Arabia and Sweden. Munir Abdullah, Hossam clinics, which are extremely Further aid is expected from the Ibrahim, Zahid Yussef, all musi - expensive, and so depend on United States and the European cians, and Abdel Latif Malako public hospitals and dispensaries Union. Yaco, the owner of the restaurant where treatment is poor. UNO’s World Food Programme where the wedding party took also expects aid to the tune of 22 place, all pleaded not guilty. The situation also affects educa - million dollars for next July to Despite the lack of any evidence tion. The schoolteachers testify cover the regions of Raqqa, Deir the Judge did not annul the trial that a growing number of chil - Ezzor and Hassakeh, The WFP but merely postponed it till 17 dren are missing school, being official for Syria, Mohammad March to give the lawyers time to pushed by their families to work. Hadi, explained that “ the majority prepare the defence. Moreover, schoolbooks and sta - of the population affected is facing tionary are too expensive for extreme difficulty and has exhausted On the same day, the same judge needy families. its resources for survival. The WFP sentenced other detainees of has launched a new emergency oper - opinion to prison. They were Yet the Jezirah has a rich agricul - ation to make up for the nutritional Khalil Ibrahim Ahmed, tural soil, with abundant supply deficiencies of the most vulnerable Mohamed Shekho Issa, of watercourses. Traditionally part of the population, with special Abdelsalam Sheikhmus Issa and they cultivate wheat, cotton, fruit attention to the women and children Rami Sheikhmus al-Hassan, in and vegetables here — in fact under five years of age ”. detention since mid-March 2009. 30% of Syria’s agricultural prod - They had taken part in a com - ucts come from this region. In the However, local officials estimate memoration of 16 March 1988, opinion of experts, the drought that this aid is insufficient com - the day when the Kurdish town has been aggravated by an inade - pared with the needs of the pop - of Halabja was wiped out by the quate policy of irrigation. ulation living in the disaster Iraqi Army’s chemical bombs. According to government stricken areas. “ It is no exaggera - They had already been sentenced sources, backed by UN estimates, tion to say that people are dying of to 6 months jail for having incited over a million people are said to hunger here ”, states a Jezirah offi - sectarian conflicts but their sen - be hit by this drought, 800,000 of cial of the Baath Party speaking tences had been reduced to 3 whose conditions of survival are off the record. According to him, months each. They have all very shaky. According to UNO, the local authorities have warned appealed. between 40,000 and 60,000 fami - the central government of the lies may have left their homes for seriousness of the situation sever - Moreover, added to the political a hand to mouth existence in the al times, but without effect, even pressures, the Kurds in Qamishlo large towns. though in June 2009 the govern - are suffering from serious eco - ment had distributed additional nomic difficulties aggravated by Lat August, Syria had sounded rations of flour, sugar, oil and a drought for which the farmers, the alarm, backed by humanitari - other foodstuffs for the hardest who make up the majority of the an organisations, describing the hit families: “ the food distributions region’s population, receive no situation as a “humanitarian cat - were insufficient because corruption government assistance. Many of astrophe”. UNO had initiated an is generalised and part of this food them have left their home village appeal for aid in the form of food was stolen ”. for the capital, Damascus, or supplies to the tune of some $53 another of the larger cities, being million, for both the population However the drought is not the unable to earn a living from their and their livestock. However, in only reason for the impoverish - land. Smuggling with Iraq in cig - view of the tensions between ment of the Jezirah. Many people arettes, household products and Syria and its neighbours as well criticise the absence of any pro - appliances, petrol or even sheep as its bad reputation internation - grammes for the development of is also rife. Many villages in this ally, it is taking a long time for industry or tourism in the region, Northern part of Syria look like the funds to be released. This was which is, nevertheless rich in nat - semi-desert ghost towns. confirmed last October by a UN ural resources like gas or sulphur official stationed in Damascus, in as well as archological remains The impoverishment of a whole an interview given to the that could attract tourists. n° 298 • January 2010 Information and liaison bulletin • 5•

IRAN: 18 KURDS ARE WAITING FOR EXECUTION IN THE IRANIAN “DEATH ROWS ” eath sentences continue 20 years imprisonment before Habibollah Latifi is charged with to be passed and being re-tried and sentenced to membership of PJAK, the armed D Kurdish activists are be executed on the 16th of this wing of the Iranian branch of the amongst the groups month as a “ threat to national PKK. Arrested in Sanandaj in hardest hit. In its latest security ” and “ actions against October 2007, he was tried in report, Human Rights Watch God ”. Ghader Mohammadzadeh, camera without even his lawyer highlights the breaches of 32 years of age, was originally being present. Human Rights and freedom of sentenced to 32 years jail but the expression directed at the same Urmiah court retried him At the present time there are 18 Iranian Kurds, who are some 12 and sentenced him to death. Kurdish political prisoners million strong — about 7% of the These second trials, aimed at awaiting execution in “death total Iranian population. increasing the sentence, are part row”. of a practice that is becoming Thus Shirin Alan Hove, at the generalised. They recall the cir - Furthermore ten Kurdish moment detained in Teheran’s cumstances of Ehsan Fatahyan’s activists from Sanandaj, Evin Prison, was sentenced to execution on 11 November last. Kermanshah and Urmiah were death by the revolutionary court As with Ehsan Fatahyan and all arrested on 14 January as they as a “moharab” (enemy of God). the political detainees, the two were paying tribute to a student, She had been arrested a year and condemned men had been tor - Ebrahim Lotfollahi, who died a half earlier in the town of tured and subjected to great while being tortured exactly two Maku, in Western Azerbaijan pressure during their interroga - years earlier in the premises of province where she lived. tions. the Sanandaj Secret Service. These activists had gathered at Two other Kurdish detainees, Amnesty International has, the Nehesht Mohammadi ceme - Mohammad Amin Abdollah and moreover, appealed to Iran not tery in front of Ebrahim Ghader Mohammadzadeh, origi - to execute another Kurd, Lotfollahi’s tomb for a minute’s nally from Mir-Abad (Bokan) Habibollah Latifi, who was silence. It was then that they were sentenced to death by the transferred this month from were brutally assaulted by the Urmiah Court. Mohammad where he had been detained in security forces and ten of them Amin Abdollah, who is 25 years Sanandaj to solitary confinement taken away. Their families have old, was originally sentenced to —the last stage before hanging. had no news of them since. CULTURE: METIN MIRZA IS STAGING A SECOND PLAY IN ISTANBUL

etin Mirza, who had success in the Van theatre a few the theatre in Turkey I will know directed and acted in a months ago. The dialogue was that things have become normal in M Kurdish language entirely in Kurdish, with sur - this country ”. play, Rese Seve , which titles in Turkish. created quite a stir in Asked about the government’s Turkey, has returned to the stage This second play, Cerb , which “Kurdish initiative ”, Metin Mirza with another play, this time lasts for 70 minutes, shows four expressed his doubts: “ Unless the without any dialogue, apart prisoners in a cell, forbidden to State takes concrete measures, the from two words pronounced in speak. In an interview given to initiative will be no use ”. Both Kurdish. Performed in Istanbul, the daily paper Hurriet , Metin Metin Mirza and his co- with the Destar Company, the Mirza, who wrote and directed authoress Bertin Zenderlioglu performance had a grant of the play, explained: “ Because of only learnt Kurdish at the age of 21,000 Turkish lire (about 10,000 our identity, we have become 20 years. Metin admits to having euros) from the Ministry of involved in politics though we did great difficulty in performing in Culture. not want it. I wished only to speak Kurdish on the stage: “ A theatri - about the theatre here with you, but cal artist normally masters his own Rese Seve (nightmare) had been I know that this is impossible, for language. He or she is playing with performed without any unto - you as well as for me. The day when words. But we have tried to learn ward incident and even with I can succeed in only speaking about Kurdish on the stage of a theatre. • 6 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 298 • January 2010

Thus some Kurdish intellectuals nourished by its own culture’s past, Cerb stages four prisoners in a criticised our speech — but it is bet - but unfortunately this is impossible cell forbidden to speak. If they ter that we should be able to do it ”. for us. That is why we make the contravene this prohibition they most of the wealth of Anatolian cul - are in danger of all kinds of psy - Even more than is the case with tures ”. In addition to these prob - chological and physical violence. film, the Kurdish theatre has lems, Kurdish society does not “We want to show that people can developed in the diaspora and really support the theatre. communicate without words ”. The does not have deep-rooted tradi - “Unfortunately, our people’s the - advantage of this absence of dia - tions. Metin indicates he had dif - atrical culture is too weak. No one is logue is that the Istanbul public ficulty in finding subjects: “ The interested in it, even if you give can follow the play, whatever theatre is a form of accumulation away free tickets. In fact, we have might be their speech. and expression of news. It must be lost before we start ”.

DIPLOMACY: MASRUR BARZANI’S SPEECH AT THE SENATE HOUSE conference took place political institutions and no man found not unity, but division in Paris, at the Senate suffers brutal injustices by those and ruin. A over 28 and 29 January entrusted to protect, preserve, on the nuclear issue in and promote the common good. The results have been devastat - the Middle East. Those ing for all concerned – hundreds taking part included several Inherent in the struggle to realise of thousands massacred - the diplomats, research workers, these goals and the Declaration vast promise of our people and and analysts of the Middle East itself, are the warnings of the oil wealth squandered. As one of as well as the French Foreign Baron de Montesquieu that “ con - the main components of Iraq, the Minister Bernard Kouchner and stant experience shows us that Kurds have been the subject of a Javier Solana, formerly responsi - every man invested with power is genocide war. They have been ble for the European Union’s apt to abuse it, and to carry his the victim of chemical attacks Foreign policy. The speeches authority as far as it will go .” He and a series of infamous Anfal mainly covered Iran, Palestine wisely recognised and history operations during which more and Iraq. Masrur Barzani, who has since proven, that no gov - than 182,000 people, mainly runs the Security Services for the ernment can aspire to the most women and children , perished, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, took the basic of democratic ideals and and 90 % of our villages were floor as spokesman for the Irbil no people can realise the most destroyed and levelled to the government. fundamental of human rights ground. without adhering to a separation Ladies and Gentlemen, of power – without the knowl - This is a well-known history, one edge that the government that has resulted in a deep sense Welcome to you all. “should be set up so that no man of mistrust and fear between need be afraid of another.” individuals, communities, the It is an honour to address you people and the government – today, in the birthplace of many Few places so clearly symbolise where the disadvantaged, weak of the democratic ideals towards the inherent danger of ignoring or vulnerable expect the strong which we now strive. As I stand this edict than Iraq. Since Iraq’s to pillage. Where a culture of before you, I am reminded of the independence, Kurds, Arabs, revenge and retaliation have great traditions of the French and other communities have suf - ruled. people. The commitment to “lib - fered from the unwillingness of erty, property, security and resis - some of the Iraq’s leaders to It has been our hope that this tance to oppression” for all men accept these basic principles. tragic cycle would be broken by laid out over 200 years ago in the the adoption of federal democra - “Declaration of the Rights of Religious and ethnic minorities tic principles in the 2005 Iraqi Man and of the Citizen.” These have faced genocide at the hands Constitution, ratified by over values, based in fraternity and of leaders intent on creating an 80% of the voting Iraqi elec - equality, remain the foundation idealised strong, central state out torate. That a new era would for all those seeking a more just of the post-war fabrication that begin where our differences world — a world where all men is Iraq. In their never-ending would no longer be miscon - are represented fairly by their quest for uniformity, they have strued as our greatest weakness, n° 298 • January 2010 Information and liaison bulletin • 7•

but instead become our greatest the unity of the country. It is Iraqi people that the new Iraq strength — each component today the safest and the most will avoid the over-centralisation competing peacefully and con - secure part of Iraq , which in turn of power that has brought such tributing to the betterment of the has helped the economy of the devastation. For the betterment whole. A future where power region to flourish. This was of all Iraqis, it lessens the ferocity would be dispersed and limited, mainly possible because of the of the competition over any par - where, as Montesquieu advocat - dominant culture of tolerance ticular office, by delegating ed, no man need fear another. and religious coexistence. The authority and responsibility more whole Kurdish experience and widely. This delegation is essen - However, the last few years the national reconciliation prac - tial for addressing corruption have shown that many chal - ticed in Kurdistan could be a and creating the virtuous cycle of lenges remain. The security vac - clear indication of how Iraq peaceful competition that uum that has existed in many could move forward. reduces incompetence over time. parts of the country has proven an invitation to international At its heart, this is our struggle — My message to you today is not and local terrorists, who have to establish the sort of division of pessimistic then. In many ways, played on our history of mis - power and rule of law that char - we are at an advantage. We have trust and won over segments of acterize modern democracies. the answers to our biggest prob - the population. Their repugnant These values are embodied in our lems, we have voted on them attacks have rejuvenated the Constitution, but it is only in their and agreed to their promise. We sense of insecurity between full and just implementation that know what we must do. All that Iraq’s communities, especially we can find peace and progress. remains are the fortitude, wis - Shia and Sunni, which under - Without embracing these values, dom, and courage to implement mine even a basic sense of frater - we will inevitably slide again the democratic and federal sys - nity between us. Weak leaders toward despotism, regardless of tem proven so effective to gov - have turned abroad, allowing who leads. erning diverse societies and pro - foreign entities with dubious tecting individual rights. intentions to play a role in For the Constitution is greater directing our development. than any one conflict, issue, or Ineptitude has bread invasive law – it extends beyond oil and This is the only way forward, corruption that has permeated gas, Parliamentary seat alloca - the only hope Iraq and its peo - our bureaucracies, attracting tion, or budgets — it ’s about ple have to creating the sort of profit-seekers rather than civil what type of state, what type of unity and progress found else - servants. Under these circum - people, what type of community where. We as Kurds, and more stances, loyalty to sect and eth - Iraq will become. It is the source broadly as Iraqis, and you as nicity not surprisingly continues of our ability to feel confidant Frenchman, Europeans and to come before country. and safe, to know that the new more broadly the international Iraq will be a break from the community cannot waiver in our This is the reality of Iraq. repressive past. It binds us commitment to these shared val - Wishful thinking and lofty solu - together as different communi - ues. To overcome its most tions cannot change this legacy. ties, secure in our differences but important hurdle of disunity, We must accept and understand united in common goals of Iraq must be able to protect its it, if we ever want to move progress and justice … I stand people and give them confi - beyond it and change the course before you committed to the fed - dence in its benevolence. It must of history. None of Iraq’s people eral and democratic principles reassure us that the powerful can thrive, while some languish laid out in the Iraqi Constitution, will no longer be oppressors. in fear. No progress or develop - not because I am a Kurd, but That regardless of origin – all ment can be realised without because, like all Iraqis, I am a Iraqis from Basra to Zakho, from confidence in the fundamental victim of a despotic past. Erbil to Baghdad, will have a say rules of the system. in their fate, will have the rights In its recognition of the impor - granted to them by our Kurdistan region, however, tance of strong local and regional Constitution. This is the basis for despite all these challenges has governments, the Constitution our fraternity and the only hope managed largely to contribute to thus reassures the long-suffering for Iraq’s future. Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

~ lrllrCJlIi~ INTERNAnONALES DÉCEMBRE 2009 Les Kurdes veulent plus que des symboles

La volonté d'adhérer à l'Union européenne et l'autonomie du Kurdistan irakien poussent les dirigeants turcs à préparer la société à une décentralisation et à l'octroi de plus de droits culturels aux 12 millions de Kurdes de Turquie.

Depuis JUillet2009, l'vouverture camp (du moms pour un temps) de sa capacrté à produire kurde» promise par le gouverne- un discours hégémonique sur l'unité nationale, ce qUI a ment d'Ankara ague la Turquie. élargi le champ de manœuvre du gouvernement. Enfin, les Personne pourtant ne cannait élections murncipales du 29 mars 2009 se sont soldées au avec précision les contours de Kurdistan par la victoire écrasante du parti kurde DTP (Paru cette nouvelle pohnque tantôt de la SOCiété démocratique), montrant que la République, présentée comme un «projet d'unité nationale», tantôt qualifiée qUI avait toujours rné l'existence d'un «fait kurde» dans d'

1 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti nIn Tu rg uie IHTERHAnONALES DÉCEMBRE 2009 Les Kurdes veulent plus que des symboles

Depuis JUIllet2009, l'

1 Revue de Presse-Press Reuieto-Berheooka Çapê-Rioisia Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

ne se confond pas avec le PKK, mais n'est pas non plus totalement disnnct de lui Obtenant Jusqu'à 75 % de votes dans certaines Villeskurdes ct contrôlant près d'une centaine de rnumcipahtés, Il dispose d'une mdéruable capacité représentative au sem de l'électorat Certains de ses membres sont ISSUSdes rangs de la guérilla, mais d'autres, de 10m majontaires, sont le produit de vagues successives de pohnsanon des années 1970 à nos Jours. Et nombre d'entre eux sont opposés à la lutte armée Bien qu'il existe comme acteur politique à part entière, le IJfP se considère comme l'émanation d'une lutte qui l'englobe 5 000 combattants du PKK, pUISune graduelle mtégranon de mais le dépasse. VOire comme un Simple médiateur entre le PKK et l'Etat Enfin, d'autres acteurs, comme le Hak-Par ses dingeants dans le système politique, une décentralisation poussée accordant une large autonomie aux mumcipahtés [Parti du droit et des libertés), proche du Parti SOCialistedu am SI qu'aux futures régions à créer (aussi bien dans les Kurdistan (Illégal), résolument hostiles à la lutte armée mais provinces kurdes que dans le reste du pays), enfin l'élar- formulant des revendications plus radicales que le PKK - à gissement des droits culturels au domaine de I'éducanon, commencer par un statut de fédération pour le Kurdistan -, pourraient permettre une «dé-radicalisatIOn» accélérée du sont également actifs sur la scène kurde. mouvement A l'inverse, le retour à une politique répressive, L'évolution de la question kurde et l'avenir de la lutte année dépen- notamment à l'encontre du DTP, légmmerait l'opnon de la dront autant des choix du PKK que des transforrnauons que connaîtra la Turquie. Une amnistie, notamment pour les lutte armée Avec ou sans l'aval des dmgeants du PKK. •

LE GOUVERNEMENT TURC FACE A DES QÉFIS POLITIQUES, DES ELECTIONS EVOQUEES ANKARA, 9 janvier 2010 (AFP) - vision politique pour régler un problème gangrené par plus de 25 ans de lutte armée kurde, et un lourd bilan de 45 000 morts.

REVERS sur une initiative en faveur des Kurdes, turbulences avec l'ar- L'année a par ailleurs débuté par de nouvelles tensions entre l'armée et le pou- mée et hésitations sur le rapprochement avec l'Arménie: le gouverne- voir politique L'étau Judiciaire s'est resserré autour de l'état-major, avec des ment islamo-conservateur turc entame une année difficile et l'éventualité perquisitions sans précédent dans les archives secrètes de l'armée d'élections anticipées est de plus en plus évoquée. Il s'agirait celle fois d'un complot d'officiers visant le vice-Premier mrnistre, 'Que personne ne rêve, les élections auront lieu en temps normal', c'est-a-cre BülentAnnç en 2011, a voulu rassurer vendredi le Premier ministre Recep Tayylp Erdogan, DepUIS 2007, plus de 200 personnes, dont bon nombre de militaires, ont été Interpellé à répetmon ces derniers jours par l'opposition et une partie de la écrouées dans le cadre d'une vaste enquête sur un réseau clandestin cher- presse sur l'éventualité d'élections législatives anticipées. chant à déstabiliser le gouvernement. L'armée turque qUI a renversé quatre Aux derruères législatives, à l'été 2007, son Parti de la justice et du dévelop- gouvernements en 50 ans, est quotidiennement montrée du dOigt. pement (AKP, ISSUde la mouvance Islamiste) avait obtenu 47% des voix, s'as- 'L'Hstone se souviendra de celle période comme d'une pénode très sombre", surant quatre ans de plus d'un pouvoir qU'II détient depuis 2002. commente Mme Mert, accusant le gouvernement d"autoritarisme' MaiS le parti est depuis en perte de vitesse et n'a rassemblé que 39% des suf- "L'AKP nous dupe en se posant en champlon de la démocratre, alors que le frages aux élections municipales de mars 2009 pays se dlnge à grands pas vers un régime de parti unique', dlt-elle, évoquant L"ouverture démocratique' visant à mieux respecter les droits des 12 millions une lutte de pouvoir entre l'exécutif et les forces laques telles que l'armée et de Kurdes (sur 71 millions), annoncée cet été, s'est heurtée à la vive opposi- certains corps de l'Etat tion des milieux nationalistes mais aussi d'une Importante partie de la popula- Sur le plan extérieur, le rapprochement entre la Turquie et l'Arménie vorsme, tion qUI y VOit une menace à l'unité nationale. lancé en fanfare en 2009 après une longue hostilité autour de la question du Celle Initiative a accouché, en novembre 2009, de réformes en demi-teinte, génocide arménien sous l'empire ottoman, est suspendu à une hypothétique avant de sombrer avec la dissolution par la jusuce du parti pro-kurde, accusé avancée sur la question du Nagorny Karabakh, qui divise toujours l'Arménie et de collusion avec la rébellion armée. Des émeutes et incidents meurtriers ont l'Azerbaïdjan, aillé d'Ankara SUIVI "Les accords ne seront pas ratifiés au Parlement (turc) tant que nos frères azé- La crédibilité du gouvernement en a souffert ris n'auront pas obtenu gain de cause au Karabakh", a indiqué à l'AFP le vice- président de l'AKP Huseyin Cellk "Nous sommes auiourdfun dans une situation pire qu'avant dans le dossier kurde, mal géré par le gouvernement", estime l'Intellectuelle Nuray Mert, dans La normalisation turco-arménienne semble auiourdhu: incertaine, alors qu'ap- le journal Vatan proche le 24 avnl, date limite pour la ratification des textes signés par les deux pays Pour ce professeur de sciences politiques, le gouvernement a manqué de

2 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

ft 1Jlonde Dimanche 3 -lundi 4 Janvier 2010 De la contestation électorale à la revendication des libertés dans la rue: en six mois est née une opposition populaire aux autorités de Téhéran Ceux qui défient le pouvoir en Iran

e 12JUIn2009, l'Iran s'est rendu aux urnes pour éhre son prési- dent de la Répubhque sans se douter que ce banal exercice électoral serait le coup d'envoi d'une des plus massives et san- glantesLcontestations qu'ait connues la République Islamique en trente ans d'existence Dans les heures qUIont suivi le scrutin.des permanences de candidats réforma- teurs ont été attaquées, l'Internet brouillé, Téhéran quadnllée par les forces de sécun- té Peu après, le président fondamentaliste, Mahmoud Ahrnadmejad, réclamait la VIC- torre avec un score écrasant (63 %) Les autres candidats dénoncèrent une «fraude» Ce fut le début de marufestations de masse dans le pays, répnmées par la force La photo de Neda, une Jeune femme tuée par balles, fera le tour du monde Ce qUI n'était qu'un mouvement de contesta- non électorale avait trouvé son martyr, sa couleur fétiche aussi.le vert, couleur de la campagne de celui qUI firura deuxième à l'élection, l'ex-premier rmmstre Mir Hos- sein Moussavi, appuyé par les réforma- teurs Etlorsque le GUIde suprême, Ali Kha- mener, arbitre supposé de la VICpolitique narre de la premiere heure, Il avait quitté la vier, Il propose un plan de sortie de cnse iramenne, faisant la sourde oreille aux pro- scène pohtique depuis plus de vingt ans En hbération des prisonniers politiques, res- testations. avalisera l'électron, le mouve- 1989, devenu GUIde suprême, Ali Kharne- pect des libertés, obhgation pour le gouver- ment prendra un ton plus pohnque Une nei, successeur de Khomemy, avait décidé nement de rendre des comptes opposition populaire, Informelle et pacifi- de supprimer le poste de premier rrurustre que était née Plus que des chefs, elle trouve- Homme de sérail (Il fut conseiller occulte ra en M Moussavi, mais aussr en Mehdi Karoubi, l'imprécateur des président Hachemi Rafsandjaru et Karoubi (candidat réformateur rnalheu- Mohammad Khatarru), Il se consacrera à Natif du Lorestan, cet hodjatoleslam reux,enJum)etMohammadKhataml,l'ex- l'art Une passion partagée avec sa femme, (rehgieux de rang Intermédiaire) atypique président réformateur, non des meneurs, Zahra, docteur en sciences pohnques, elle et résolument réformateur, auquel on a pu mais des symboles de ralhement aussi engagée dans le mouvement En SIXmOIS,5000 arrestations, des dizai- parfois reprocher, dans le passé, un dis- Lorsqu'Il annonce sa candidature à la nes de morts et des procès arbitraires n'ont cours popuhste et un goût prononcé pour présidentielle, car rl croit la République Isla- pas eu raison du mouvement Pour l'A- la gestion de grasses fondations révolution- mique « en danger» en dépit du soutien choura,le 27décembre 2009, la situation a naires, s'est révélé, à 72 ans, comme le repré- dérapé sans respècter la trêve de la fête reh- des réformateurs, peu croient à son succès sentant le plus courageux et combatif de la gieuse.la pohce a tiré sur la foule Des marn- Mais cet homme, nanonahste Irréprocha- nouvelle opposition populaire festants ont agressé les forces de l'ordre ble et professionnel (Il géra l'économie de Homme du sérail, lUIaussi (Ila été prési- Assez pour que l'ex-président Hacherni Raf- guerre) a gardé une réputation Intègre Son dent du Parlement de 2000 à 2004),11 avait sandjaru, proche du mouvement vert, s'in- discours d'ouverture envers les Jeunes et la mis en cause l'Ingérence des rruhciens Isla- quiète et appelle au calme, estimant que SOCiété,pétn d'Idéal et de justice, sera, mal- mistes à la présidentielle de 2005, gagnée personne n'a nen à gagner par la Violence gré lUI,le catalyseur des espérances d'une par M Ahmadinejad, dont Il n'a eu de cesse QUIsont les personnages phares de cet- foule d'Iraniens pnvés de liberté de critiquer les dénves en matières de sécu- te opposition en marche ~ On le croyait timoré, la confiance des ntéet d'économie Populaire auprès des étu- manifestants en fera un tnbun contre la diants et des férmmstes, Il a, Juste avant la fraude et l'arbitraire La répression (Il Vit présidentielle de JUIn2009, Signé une pétr- Moussavi,la figure de proue sous haute surveillance) révélera son coura- tionavec le PrIXNobel de la paix, Shinn Eba- Apnon, nen ne prédisposait, à 68 ans, le ge et une rare ténacité Il se dit prêt à aller dl, pour demander l'arrêt des exécutions de tranquille technocrate Mir Hossem Moussa- «Jusqu'au martyre» pour faire entendre la crirrunels rruneurs au moment des faits VI,cet Azén, devenu premier rmmstre de la cause du mouvement populaire Pas un lea- Le premier à dénoncer publiquement République Islamique pendant la guerre der, un «accompagnateur» «C'est vous les tortures et les VIOlsen pnson des maru- contre l'Irak (1980-1988), à prendre la tête qill m'avez donné la force, Je ne fais que festants arrêtés, en depit des pressions et d'un grand mouvement populaire de reven- vous SUIvre» Pour arrêter le cycle contesta- des menaces.il a accumulé preuves et dos- dication En fait, bien que proche du fondation-répressronqui entraîne une radicalisa- Siers, obhgeant le gouvernement à fermer teur, l'ayatollah Khomeiny, et révolution- tion dangereuse de part et d'autre.le 1"Jan- un des centres de détention les plus arbi-

3 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii

traires et sanglants, la pnson de Kharizak Il tielle de JUin, mais son entourage a estimé à la mort de Khomeiny, en 1989, de façon à est, avec M Moussavi.la CIblede comman- que les nsques étalent trop grands, et Il évincer le dauphin désigné, l'ayatollah dos de nervis à la solde des ultra-fondarnen- s'est désisté pour M Moussavi Les mena- Montazen (mort en décembre 2009). tahstes En début de semaine. sa voiture a ces contre lut étalent explicites AinSI, le Mais entre le nouveau guide et son été attaquée alors qu'II était à l'mténeur. En Journal officiel Kayhan, dont le directeur encombrant mentor, la nvahté s'est vite une autre occasion, des miliciens ont fait est directement désigné par le guide, a-t-Il Installée, s'exacerbant lors de l'élection de voler son turban Son Journal, Etemad-e publié, en févner, un éditorial conseillant à juin 2009, lorsque M Ahmad mejad, « pou- Meil!, a été fermé Il y a quelques mOISet, à Mohammad Khatarru de «penser au sort Iain» du guide, dénonça avec VIOlence, à la présent, une procédure judicraire est ouver- de Benazir Bhuttoau Paetstan ", assassinée télévision, les anciens dmgeants «corrom- te contre lui Sa réponse à tout cela «Je ne en campagne électorale en 2007 pus" qtn avaient « tenté de vendre lepays à me tQlml que mort » Même SI son nom est moins VIlipendé l'OCCIdent" M Rafsandjam, dont la réputa- que ceux de MM Moussavi et Karoubi, non voyante d'affairiste est devenue un Khatami, le symbole M Khatarm est la cible principale du pou- handicap, et ses ouvertures vers l'étranger, VOIrfondamentaliste en pleine radicalisa- pour sortir l'Iran de l'Isolement, un sujet de L'ex-président de la République tion qut veut, à travers lui, abattre le symbo- critique des fondamentahstes, était le pre- (1997-2005), réformateur, bien qu'apparais- le du réformisme Des VOIX,parmi les reli- mier visé Le ranger aujourd'hui dans la sant rarement en première ligne, a Joué les gieux extrémistes et les Gardiens de la révo- catégone des «opposants» mcondrtion- deus ex machina de la contestation des der- nels serait excessif, surtout qu'en théorie, il lution, l'armée Idéologique, ont réclamé niers mOIS,faisant Jouer ses réseaux et son reste un piher du pouvoir II préside deux son Jugement et son execution avec ses aréopage de technocrates pour aider les can- rouages essentiels, le Conseil du discerne- «complices» Moussavi et Karoubt didats réformateurs Fm lettré, ce rehgieux ment et l'Assemblée des experts affable et habile tacticien né près de Yazd, Toutefois conscient de ce que le guide en 1943,et qill a étudié dans les écoles corani- Rafsandjani, un appui veut, à la faveur de l'épuration en cours, en ques de Qom, la VIlle sainte, avant de deve- au cœur du régime finir avec lui. M Rafsandjam, déjà proche nir mimstre de la culture et de l'orientation des réformateurs,leur a offert un appui tac- Hacherm Rafsandjaru, 76ans, ex-prési- Islamique, a représenté une certame ouver- tique Il se bat aussi pour la survie du régi- dent de la République (1989-1997), ture au sein de la République Islamique. me, menacé, à ses yeux, par les dénves auto- ex-ministre de l'mténeur, ex-président du Sa présidence a été marquée par un ntaires actuelles, en prêchant l'unIté. Parlement, est le Janus par excellence regam de liberté dans la société, la presse et Marie-Claude Decamps d'une révolution Islamique à laquelle son l'édition, et une meilleure Image de l'Iran à pragmatisme, son clientélisme bien rodé l'exténeur Même SI les étudiants, dure- et son art consommé de la volte-face politi- ment répnmés pour s'être révoltés en que « raisonnée» ont permis de survivre 1999,lUl ont reproché de les avoir « lâchés », Tous les autres fils ou presque de la révolu- tandis que certains le critiquent pour non se sont entre-dévorés n'avoir pas eu la force de faire évoluer les Passé par les séminaires religieux de institutions et de redresser l'économie A Qom - Ilfit aussi de Juteuses affaires Immo- l'exténeur, son engagement pour le dialo- bilières dans la ville samte-, l'hodjatoles- gue des civrhsations et une suspension tem- lam Rafsandjam a été, dès les années 1960, poraire de l'ennchissement d'uranium lui un adepte de l'ayatollah Khomeiny Ila ten- ont ouvert des portes té de hbérahser l'économie pour remettre Elu contre la volonté du guide Khame- le pays sur pieds après la guerre avec l'Irak ne i, en 1997, Il est vite devenu sa « bête noi- (1980-1988) C'est lui qut favonsa l'arnvée re» M Khatarru avait même annoncé, en au pOUVOIrdu guide actuel, Ah Khamenei. févner 2009, sa candidature à la présiden- Six mois de manifestations et de répression

Juin2009 çaise, Clotilde ReiSS,arrêtée le 1"JUillet, est tations Le 8, le pouvoir lance un avertisse- Le12, élection présidentielle Le 13, Mah- Jugée à Téhéran pour avoir participé à des ment à M Moussavi Interdiction du JOur- moud Ahmadinejad se dit vamqueur manifestations Elle est assignée à résiden- nal réformateur Hayat e No avec 63 % des VOIXMir Hossein Moussa- ce à l'ambassade de France, en attendant Le13, Ah Khamenei lance une mise en VI,appuyé par les réformateurs, et Mehdi son Jugement garde sévère aux dingeants de l'opposi- Karoubi, autre candidat réformateur, Septembre I tian Le grand ayatollah dissident Hos- dénoncent une «fraude" Début des Le8, arrestation de collaborateurs de sem-Ah Montazeri meurt le 19 Ses funé- marufestations massives hostiles au pou- MM Moussavr et Karoubi DIXJOurs railles rassemblent des dizaines de mil- voir qUi font 36 morts, selon les autontés, après, marufestations à Téhéran l'ex-pré- liers de personnes et se transforment en 72 selon l'oppositron 4000 personnes sident réformateur, Mohammad Khata- mamfestanon antigouvernementale arrêtées Le 19,1e GUide suprême, Ah Kha- .»ml, est agressé par des nervis du régime Le 27, Jour de la fête religieuse de l'Achou- mener, confirme la victoire de M Ahmadi- Des manifestants, battus et arrêtés ra, de violentes manifestations ont lieu à nejad qu'II appuie sans réserve Le20, la Novembre Téhéran et dans d'autres villes Les forces Jeune Neda Agha-Soltan, tuée par balle en Pour l'anniversaire de la pnse de l'arnbas- de l'ordre tuent sur la foule On compte marge des manifestations, devient le sym- sade améncaine en 1979,le 4,I'OPPOSI- huit morts (officiels) dont un neveu de bole de la contestation non «vampmse » les rnarufestations offi- M. Moussavi Les manifestants attaquent Août cielles et cne « mort au dictateur» les rruhciens bassidjis Le1", ouverture du procès d'une centaine Décembre Les JOurs suivants, des arrestations de pro- de manifestants devant le tnbunal révolu- Le7, J'opposition manifeste lors de la ches de MM Khatarm et Moussavi se tionnaire de Téhéran La chercheuse fran- Journée des étudiants Nombreuses arres- poursuivent •

4 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii

mord] 5)anv]er 2010 LE FIGARO I

La Turquie saisie par l' « ottomania » L'opposition de pays européens à l'entrée d'Ankara dans l' UE contribue à mythifier l'âge d'or de l'empire perdu.

LAURE MARCHAND I, TANBUL TURQUIE Les visiteurs, ravis, en pren- nent plein les yeux et les oreilles. Réglée au volume maximum: la bande-son fait gronder les canons et rouler les tarn- bours. Le sultan Mehmet II le Conqué- rant chevauche fierement son destner blanc, les murailles byzantines cèdent à l'assaut des janissaires. Sur 360' et en trois dimensions, une fresque géante reproduit la conquête de Constanti- nople c'est l'attraction phare du Musée historique panoramique de 1453. Depuis son inauguration il y a un an par le premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan, il VOitdéfiler toutes les ecoles d'Istanbul. « On revit la bataille en direct, c'est in- croyable, s'enflamme Mutlu Turkoglu, L'arrivée au pouvoir en 2002 du Parti l'un des succès du cinéma turc, La Ré- professeur, aussi enthousiaste que ses de la justice et du développement publique ottomane, vu par 1,65 million élèves. Les jeunes Turcs doivent être fiers (AKP), aux racines islamistes, et l'as- de spectateurs en 2008. Dans son film, de leur histoire, c'est primordial pour leur cension d'une bourgeoisie musulmane, la Turquie moderne n'a jamais existé et identité » concurrençant l'élite traditionnelle lai- Osman VII, un souverain fictif et in- Ce musée, fonde par la municipalité que, ont contribué à alléger le joug ké- compétent, règne sur un pays am; d'Istanbul, est révélateur de l' cc otto- malis te qui pesait sur l'histoire. La nou- mains des États- Unis. Pour le réalisa- mania» en vogue en Turquie. Après velle diplomatie turque, conduite par teur, dont les ancêtres au Kosovo avoir longtemps méprisé .« l'homme Ahmet Davutoglu, active au Moyen- étaient sujets du sultan, assumer son malade de l'Europe ». les Turcs redé- Orient comme dans les Balkans, est identité ottomane est essentiel: «J'ai couvrent leur passe ottoman et se pen- souvent qualifiée de cc neo-ottomane ». grandi dans le quartier de Phanar, à Is- chent avec nostalgic sur un empire qui, « La Turquie réintegre des espaces où elle tanbul, au milieu des Grecs, des Armé- au faite de sa puissance, rayonna des a été présente pendant des siècles», sou- niens, des Juifs et des Kurdes .. Voila l'hé- Balkans a la pérunsule arabique. «A lignait récemment Suai Kiniklioglu, ritage ottoman. Aujourd'hui, il ne faut partir de 1923, tous les efforts ont été porte-parole du comité des affaires pas ignorer cette dïmenston culturelle. » concentrés sur la construction de la jeune étrangères au Parlement. Plutôt que la décadence ou l'affaiblis- République et sur son avenir, explique sement de l'empire au XIX' siècle, sa to- Nilufer Narli, sociologue. S'en est ensui- Tolérance religieuse lérance religieuse ou la Pax ottomana vte une sorte d'amnésie. Aujourd'hUi, on L'Empire ottoman devient un argument qui régnait sur le pourtour méditerra- revient à une image plus positive .» marketing. Pendant Ie ramadan, Burger néen sont mis en avant L'opposition de La solenruté des derniers honneurs King a concocté un menu du Sultan. pays européens à l'entrée de la lurquie rendus a Ertugrul Osman, le petit-fils Avec ses guerriers stylisés et enturban- dans l'Union européenne contnbue a du sultan Abdullamid II, en septembre, nés, les tee-shirts de la marque Otto- mythifier un âge d'or perdu cc Le mes- illustre le retour en grâce de l'Empire man Empire proclament que «l'Empire sage envoye est "Vous n'appartenez pas ottoman. En 1924, alors enfant, il avait contre-attaque ». La jeunesse turque à l'Europe", analyse Nilufer Narli. Le eté expulsé de Turquie avec les autres adore Dans les rues d'Istanbul, les fon- sennmenr de rejet conduit à se tourner membres de la famille royale. En ordon- taines, bijoux d'architecture ottomane, vers le passé pour trouver les élements nant l'exil, Mustafa Kemal, le fondateur qui, au mieux, avaient éte laissées à gloneux de son Identité Certains n'y de la Republique turque, liquidait défi- l'abandon et, au pire, avaient été recon- voient qu'un État ISlamique. ». Pour les nitivement les restes de l'empire. Pour verties en poubelles par les habitants, Turcs, plongés en pleine introspection, les funerailles de l'héritier du trône, dix sont aujourd'hui restaurees ... la prochaine étape de la reconcilianon mille personnes et plusieurs rrunistres se cc Rêver d'être de nouveau un empire historique passera par la redecouverte sont massés à la cérémonie organisée a est irréaliste, l'époque et les acteurs ont de la dimension europeenne de l'Empi- la Mosquée bleue. changé, estime Gani Mujde, auteur de re ottoman js

5 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti Mir Hossein Moussavi Le mal parti khomeyniste "Accompagnant" le peuple sans le guider, cet ancien Premier ministre de Khomeyni, devenu opposant en chef par la grâce des manifs, est contre Ahmadinejad mais pour la république islamique. E n'ai pas peur de ministre de Khomeyni de 1981 TlI~~ mourir pour défendre à 1989 pendant la guerre Iran- r..'G)" J les aspirations du Irak, fut associé à la féroce ré- ~ = peuple." Le 1"janvier, Mir Hos- pression des opposants : des e'; sein Moussavi, ce petit archi- communistes du Toudeh aux ~.c' tecte barbichu de 68 ans devenu nationalistes et aux libéraux, U0 I le panache blanc de l'opposition jusqu'au massacre des prisons = iranienne, s'est de nouveau dit en 1988 qui fit entre 15 000 et m0 prêt à aller «jusqu'au martyre", 30 000 morts, notamment chez ..J tout en proposant une démo- les Moudjahidmes du peuple. cratisation progressive du ré- Un massacre que l'ayatollah gime en cinq points. DepUIS Montazeri avait eu le courage qu'il s'est fait voler son élection de dénoncer sur le moment, ce à la présidence, le 12 juin, par qui lui avait valu de perdre Ahmadinejad, ce technocrate aussitôt son statut de dauphin sans charisme, porté presque du guide Khomeyni: les fu- malgré lui par les manifesta- nérarlles de Montazeri, le tions msurrectionnelles, s'est 20 décembre, ont d'ailleurs re- vraiment révélé, alors que lancé les manifs ... Tandis que c'était un « conservateur réfor- Moussavi, lui, a toujours refusé miste » (sic !) issu du sérail, de revenir sur ces carnages, choisi comme le candidat des même devant les étudiants qui réformateurs par défaut seule- l'ont vivement interpellé lors meyru et de l'ayatollah Behe- régime), c'est encore lui qUI rement, et par calcul stratégique. de meetmgs en mai : « Où étiez- shti, le théoricien du régime donne une impulsion décisrve Dénonçant mlassablement vous en 1988, et combzen de per- Lors de la révolution de 1979, sur le nucléaire en 2004 en les fraudes et la violence, il a sonnes avez-vous tuées ? » il dirige le bureau politique du poussant le président Khatami fait preuve de courage face aux C'est tout le paradoxe Mous- Parti de la République isla- à S'Impliquer. nervis à moto bloquant son bu- savi : qualifié en 1988 de mique : apparatchik pur jus, il Conseiller honoraire du pré- reau le 8 décembre. « Vous avez « Saint-Just de l'islam" par est le fondateur et rédacteur en sident Rafsandjani 0989-1997) une mission, accomplissez-la: « L'Express », il a un lourd chef du quotidien du parti, la et plus écouté de son successeur tuez-moi, blessez-moi ou mena- passé, que vingt années pas- " Pravda » khomeyniste. Ingé- réformateur Khatami (1997- cez-mot !"Trois semaines plus sées ensuite dans l'ombre du nieur et architecte de formation 2(05), Moussavi, auréolé de son tard, lors des manifestations de régime à pratiquer de nouveau devenu universitaire, il fut passé de Premier ministre de : l'Achoura, le 27 décembre, c'est la peinture abstraite ont eu ten- aussi l'un des leaders de la « ré- guerre, avait déjà été lui-même son neveu qui a été tué par dance à faire oubher ... Heu- volutwn culturelle" consistant sollicité pour être le candidat balles... Dernier avertisse- reusement pour lui, l'Iran à fermer pour deux ans toutes des réformateurs en 1997, et ment? compte 70 % de moins-de-30- les facs du pays ... surtout en 2005. S'Il s'est fina- « Mort, il serait un symbole ans qUI ont donc la mémoire Promu mirustre des Affaires lement dévoué en 2009, c'est, beaucoup plus fort que vwant ", courte! Après avoir été briève- étrangères en 1981 contre la vo- dit-il, pour sauver la « Répu- juge le professeur à la Sorbonne ment emprisonné sous le chah, lonté du président Bani Sadr blique islamique en danger ", yann Richard, qui rappelle ce- Moussavi est d'abord et avant alors démis, il défend la prise en se réclamant de Khomeyni pendant que Moussavi, Premier tout le poulain de l'imam Kho- d'otages à l'ambassade améri- jusque sur ses affiches. Son caine dans les colonnes du « He- choix du vert, couleur de l'islam, rald Tribune» (10/10/1981). pour sa campagne n'pst pas seu- C'est ensuite à Khomeyni en lement tactique' Il souhaite personne et à son fils Ahmad toujours réformer le régrme de MOlJRIR EN ...... ""TVO qu'il doit d'être bombardé Pre- l'inténeur, et non le renverser. mier ministre trois mois plus Malgré une partie de la rue tard, pUIS maintenu en 1985 qui réclame la « République contre la volonté du président £ranzenne » et non plus « isla- Ali Khamenei (aujourd'hui mique », il ne semble pas prêt Guide suprême), qUI l'exècre pour l'mstant à jeter aux or- déjà! Partisan de l'étatisation, ties le « velayat e [aghi. ", qui Moussavi soutient l'effort de consacre la préémmence du guerre (41 % du budget en religieux sur le politique. 1987) d'une main de fer en ins- Fine observatnce de l'Iran, taurant contrôle des prix et où elle a mené des enquêtes so- cartes de rationnement. ciologiques, Azadeh Kian Thié- Sitôt Khomeyni mort et son baut nuance: « Les événements ennemi Khamenei devenu ont transformé Mousscun, Ù m'a GUIde suprême, Moussavi pst bluffée , " Une preuve entre congédié, et le poste de Prenuer toutes: il met désormais en ministre supprimé MaIS Il a eu avant son épouse émancipée, le temps m extrenus de relan- Zahra Rahnavard, docteur en cer en juin 1989 le programme sciences politiques, qUI fut la nucléaire Civil voulu par le deuxième femme présidente chah, que Khomeiny avait d'université d'Iran. abandonné. Membre du Conseil De là à voir ce digne « fils » suprême de la défense natio- de la révolution laiciser l'Iran, nale et, jusqu'à aujourd'hui, du cela risque de ne pas Allah de Conseil de discernement isla- soi ! mique (mstance d'arbitrage du David Fontaine 6 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti ITODAIS ZAMAN Gov't to forge ahead with Kurdish 02 january 2010 initiative in 2010 ERCAN YAVUZ The AK Party is also planning to replace the coordmator of the Kurdish The Justice and Development Party initiative, Interior Minister Besir Atalay, with a more proactive figure from the (AK Party) IS resolute In ItS plans to bring about a conclusion to the long- Cabinet to give some impetus to the standing Kurdish question through a plans. Atalay has been criticized for fai- massive dernocratizatron package In ling to establish strong ties with the 2010. To this end, the party IS working opposition to gain their support for the on a new roadmap to Win the support of initiative. the opposition parties. If the governing Since the government announced Its party fails to Win the support of the ambition to peacefully settle the Kurdish Republican People's Party (CHP) and the ced Its intention to settle the Kurdish question, Atalay has spoken with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), It question through peaceful methods various civil society representatives, will ask them not to stand In the way of dunnq the summer but has not yet political party leaders, mtellectuals and government efforts to resolve the Issue. detailed Its plan. The expectatrons are researchers to gather their opinions. He The greatest support for the dernocratr- that the democratie initiative will grant also met with academics, media repre- zatron package will come from President the country's Kurds increased cultural sentatives, journalists and writers In Abdullah Gül. and hnquistic rights. August at the Police Academy In Ankara Turkey's Kurdish question has exis- to hear their contributions to the initia- The president IS planning to hold a ted since the first years of the republic, tive. The government will make the summit for political leaders at the but It turned violent In 1984 after the details of the initiative more concrete In Çankaya presidentral palace, although establishment of the outlawed Kurdlstan 2010 to refute criticrsm from opposition the date of the summit has not yet been Workers' Party (PKK). More than 40,000 parties that the ruling party is not clear made public. Gül Invited the leaders for civrhans and security forces have been on the content of the package. The a summit to reach a consensus on the killed in clashes so far. move will also be aimed at gaining the Kurdish Initiative in 2009, but the invita- The government IS also pinning high support of circles who have given the tion was rejected by CHP leader Deniz hopes on the General Staff to support its initiative the cold shoulder because of Baykal and MHP Chairman Devlet initiative. There are claims that the its ambiguity. Bahçell. General Staff Will hold secret meetings Though not officially confirmed, The two leaders define the Kurdish with high-level offlcials from the OPPOSI- among the concrete suggestions of the Initiative as a "foreign-backed plan to tion parties on the details of the initia- initiative are: Turkey's unitary govern- divide the country" and accuse the AK tive package, although there IS little ment will be protected; political cam- Party and Prime Minister Recep Tayylp hope that the meetings Will secure the paigns in Kurdish will be allowed; Kurds Erdogan of"hlgh treason." The president opposrtlon's support. will be allowed to be educated In their is also planning to host prominent figu- last week, the National Security mother tongue; Kurdish IS to be allowed res In the country's executive, legisla- Counctl (MGK) announced full support in prisons; place names Will be restored; tive and judicial bodies at the palace on from the military brass for the govern- Kurdish Institutes will be established; Jan. 5. He IS expected to request har- ment's Kurdish initiative. The council IS children Will not be classified as terro- mony among the state bodies from the also to present a roadmap In 2010 to nsts: the Active Repentance law Will be participants. prevent the obstruction of the initiative put Into effect; hate crimes will be out- The AK Party government announ- by the main opposition parties. lawed; and Kurds Will be allowed freedom of expression.

IRAK I PÉTROLE: TENSIONS COMMUNAUTAIRES APRÈS L'ARRIVÉE ml D'UN NOUVEAU DIRECTEUR KIRKOUK (Irak) -04 janvier 2010 -AFP aprèsleurdépartà la retraite,a ajoutéM. Jihad.

LE MINISTÈREdu Pétrole a annoncé lundi la nomination d'un nouveau Mais la nominationd'un nouveau direc- directeur à la tête de la Northern Oil Company (NOC), appartenant à la teur chme à la tête de la Northem 011 communauté chiite, provoquant des tensions communautaires dans la Compagnya provoquédes vagueschez ville à majorité sunnite de Kirkouk, QGde la société. les employés au siège de la société, situé dans la ville de Klrkouk, dans le Manaaal-Obeidi,un sunnitequi dmqeaitdepuistrois ans la NOCaprèsl'enlè- nord,que se disputentkurdes,arabeset vementde son prédécesseuren 2007,a été remplacépar son adlomt,Hamid turcomans. al-Saadi, un chiite, a affinné à l'AFP le porte-paroledu ministèredu Pétrole, AssemJihad. Des employés ont rejeté la nomination dans cette ville à majoritésunnite. M. Obeidi 'a atteint l'âgede la retraiteet a été remplacépar son adjoint. M. Saadi possède une grandecompétencedans le secteurpétrolieraprès avoir 'Nous refusonscette décision. La situationà Kirkoukest compliquéeet dan- passé40 ans à travaillerpourla NOC', a-t-il ajouté gereuse, la ville fait partie des zones contestées. Nous avons besoin ici de consensuset non de crises supplémentaires',a affirmé SabahAbdel Ali le Trois autres directeurs-les chefs des départementsde la prospection,des directeurdes transportsà la NOC,lors d'une conférencede presseà Kirko'uk. contratset de l'expertisetechniquedu ministèredu Pétrole-ont été remplacés 'Nous allonsprotesterface à ces agissements',a-t-il ajouté.

7 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

e~fii?03 JANUARY 2010 President Jalal Talabani Talks to Asharq AI-Awsat

Asharq AI-Awsat ...... By Ma'ad Fayad

Baghdad, Asharq AI-Awsat-Iraqi President Jalal Talabanihas saId that hIs personal wish is not to nominate himself for another presidentIal term unless he is commissIoned to do so by the main IraqI political blocs, because he wants to dedicate himselfto the Patriotic Umon of Kurdlstan [PUK] and to wntlng his memoirs. Talabaniadds: "However, I will relinquish my personal wishes for the sake of public interests, as I have done all my life.' President Talabani, who will move to AI-Sulaymamyah to start his partisan duties as secretary general of the PUK as soon as he concludes his politIcal work as president of Iraq in Baghdad, has favored Asharq AI-Awsat wlfh a poli- Council to be successful? tIcal interview, which is the first of its kind to an Arab newspaper before the end [Talabani] I will be frank with you. The experiment of the Presidency Council of his duties as president of Iraq and after his bIlateral meeting WIth Masud has been both, a success and a failure; it is like all aspects of life, they have Barzani, president of Kurdistan, in Dukan resort near AI-Sulaymamyah last their negative and positive sides. Its positive sides include that it matenallzes week. the wish of all the major entities that constitute the Iraqi society, namely the President Talabanitalks about his experience in the presidency, and about the Sunni Arabs, the Shiite Arabs, and the Kurds. This is important at the stage Iraqi Govemment He also talks in detaIl about the split of Nawshlrwan through which we are going until our democracy and constitutional institutions Mustafa, the former leading member of the PUK, and describes mm as 'hos- become well established, until the situation settles in Iraq, and until we reach tile to the PU/(, and hostile to and opposing the Kurdlstan Province the stage Inwhich the parliamentary majority govems the country.At this stage Govemment.' - let us call it interim stage - we consider the experiment to be successful. On the other hand, the negative aspects indude that the objection by one member of the Presidency Counal can hinder the smooth running of the situation, The following is the text of the interview: and the necessary laws and proposals; this hindering from one member of the council could hinder the issues of the state. [Asharq A1-Awsat] How do you assess your presidential term as it approaches its end? [Asharq A1-Awsat] Will the experiment of the Presidency Council be repeated in the upcoming stage after the parliamentary elections? [Talabani] I believe that it was successful In this term, we have played the role of coordinator and reconciliatory in the Iraqi political process, and we have [Talabani) I do not know, because this is one of the powers of the parliament. been able to establish good foreign relations. We have consolidated our rela- According to the Constitution, the Presidency Council has conduded its mis- tions with our brethren in the Arab world, especially our greater sister Egypt, sion, and was installed for one time only; the appendiXof the Constitution says and with our brother, HISExcellency President Muhammad Hosrn Mubarak, as that the Presidency Council is for one parliamentary term, and this term has we have established strategic relations We have done the same with fratemal ended; 'the expression Presidency Council replaces the expression president Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE, and with our neighbor Turkey, as we wherever it ISfound in this Constitution, and the rulings of the president are have laid down the foundation of the strategic alliance between the two coun- restored after one parliamentary term.' This means that In the next parliamen- tries. We have developed our relations with the Importantcountries we visned, tary term there ought to be a president, and the role of the Presidency Council such as China, France, Britain, and the United States We also have given ends. momentum to the continuation of these relations through our monthly mee- [Asharq AI-Awsat] On the basis of your experience, will you nominate tings, which I used to convene with the Arab and foreign ambassadors acere- yourself as a presidential candidate in the next term? dned to Iraq. We have worked to facutate the affairs of the state, whose govemment is presided over by brother Nuri al-Mallkl [Talabani] Let me be frank with you. If It is up to my personal wish, the answer ISno, I Will not nominate myself for the presidency again, because I need [Asharq AI-Awsat] Do you think that your role would have been more to dedicate myself to domq more work at the PUK, being With my family, and effective if you had more extensive powers? to resting and writing my memoirs However, If the main parliamentary and [Talabani] Let me correct something important for you. The powers of the pre- political blocs in Iraq commission me, I will not disappoint them, and I will not sident are already extensive, as ratified by the Iraqi Constitution. They are reject this commission influential and significant powers. It seems that there ISa misunderstanding,or [Asharq AI-Awsat] Will you relinquish your personal wish? lack of in depth knowledge of these powers, or it could be that the people have heard some media statements promoted by some people saying that the [Talabani] By God, I will. The same as I have relinquished my personal wishes powers of the president are ceremonial, however this ISnot true all my life for the benefit of the public interests, Iraq, and the Iraqis. [Asharq A1-Awsat] On the basis of what you said, have you used your [Asharq AI-Awsat] Do you think that the political equation will change if complete powers, which the Constitution has allocated to you? the president is chosen from the Shiite or Sunnl Arabs? [Talabani] Yes, we have used them in everything related to the protection of [Talabani] No, It will not change, because the Constitution is there, and there the higher interests of Iraq and the Iraqis, and in everything related to the will be no changes higher policies and the foreign policies. We have had a decisive decision to be [Asharq AI-Awsat] Do you think that for the Kurds the post of the spea- the guardians of the safety and implementation of the Constitution. The ker of parliament is better than that of the president? government might not have appreaated the role of the presïcency, and disa- [Talabani] This depends on the circumstances. Under the current circumstan- greements have occurred as a result of thrs: however,we do not deny that the ces, the post of the president is better for the Kurds than the post of the spea- pnme minister has consulted the president about many issues, and has been ker of parliament. As for the normal circumstances, the post of the speaker is trying to coordinate with us, Nevertheless, when there are disagreements bet- best for the Kurds. Do not forget that under normal circumstances there will be ween the prime minister's office and the Presidency Council, everyone goes no quotas, and hence it will not be that this post is for the Kurds and that for his own way the Shiite or Sunni Arabs, because the Constitution Will not grant any privile- [Asharq A1-Awsat] Have you found the experiment of the Presidency ges to any constituent group of the Iraqi people.

8 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

[Asharq A1-Awsat) Have you felt from the Iraqis support for Jalal Talabani most of the regions of Iraq. Therefore, there is no security deterioration, but as president of Iraq because of his personal qualities, or because he is a there is incomplete implementation of security. Such terrorist operations occur Kurd? in Algeria, in Saudi Arabia, and in other countries. Therefore, we have to assess the situation realistically. [Talabanij All my life I have struggled within the ranks of the Kurdish revolution and the Iraqi cause for a democratic Iraq, and I have defended the Kurdish As far as the economic situation is concemed, there is improvement in this rights within this Iraq I am proud that my relations with the Iraqi and Arab pro- field The standard of living has improved a great deal since the Saddamist era gressive powers always have been good. Since I was a student at the FacuHy [the era of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) The economic situation of Law at Baghdad University, I have exerted good efforts so that there would has improved, but we have not reached what we aspired for in this field be good relations between the Kurdistan Democratic Party [KDP) - I was a because of many reasons. These reasons mdude that terrorism has not been member of its leadership - and all the Iraqi national parties, such as the eradicated, no five- or four-year plan has been implemented, and we have not Cornrrumst Party, the Democratic National Party, the Independence Party, reached the required standard of 011 production In order to implement the plan- Baath Party, and others As for the Arab arena, I am also proud that I was the ned projects. first leading member of the KDP to travel to Syria and to establish relations With [Asharq AI-Awsat] Does this mean that you are satisfied with the perfor- the then Syrian parties, as I met Akram al-Hurani, Michel Aflaq, and others; I mance of the government? was the first Kurd to contact President Jamal Abdul -Nasser, I met him several times, and I established good relations with the Nasirites. This qualifies me to [Talabani) No, I am satisfied With some aspects, but I have remarks on other be a good lraqt. Before I was commissioned to be the president of Iraq I met aspects of the govemment performance However, In general, as the Iraqis say all the main political blocs In Iraq, and they were unanimous In their agreement 'something covers another thing;' yes, I am satisfied, but there are shortco- to uus commîssion I said to the brethren in the PUK Political Bureau that when mings in the five-year plan, and in the oil policy, which has started to improve I go to Baghdad as a president, I will take off the Kurdish dress, and wear the recently, and it is correct, good, and serves Iraq, and we congratulate those Iraqi doak In order to behave as an Iraqi and as a president of alliraqis. who are administering thiS step. What has taken place in the issue of contracts with the oil companies should have taken place two or three years ago. Yes, [Asharq AI-Awsat) But the Iraqis reproach their president - perhaps a there are achievements and shortcomings, and we ought to mention them all. reproach stemming from love - for the fact that President Talabani has There ISnothing perfect except the work of God Almighty. not visited them in their southern governorates, such as Basra, AI- Amarah, or AI-Nasiriyah. Is this for health or political reasons? [Asharq AI-Awsat) But there are disagreements between you and the prime minister, for instance what happened about the representation of [Talabani] Despite my love for alliraqis, tlus ISonly partly true, because I have Iraq at the Arab summit, which convened in Qatar, and AI-Maliki's insis- VISitedKarbala, AI-Najaf, AI-Hlllah, and AI-Samawah. I have not Visited the tence to attend the summit rather than you? other cities for many reasons, including the fact that the Sunni Arab regions were disturbed, their secunty was unstable, and they could not be visned, and [Talabani) Ttus took place with my agreement. I am the one who told the bro- I had to balance my Visitsto the Sunni and Shiite Arab regions, otherwise my ther Amir of Qatar that the prime minister will represent Iraq at the Arab sum- visits would have been interpreted incorrectly in one way or another. The other mit. This was not because of the insistence of the prime minister; he Wished to reason ISthat when the securny situation Improved in Southem Iraq, for ins- do so, consulted us about this, and he did not impose himself, but we agreed tance In Basra, this (security situation) did not improve in Mosul, and if I paid that he would represent Iraq at the Arab summit. a Visit to Basra, I should visit Mosul, because the two Cities constitute two [Asharq AI-Awsat) What about your contradiction with A1-Maliki in his Important poles in Iraq This reproach is only partly true, and I accept it. accusation leveled at Syria of being involved in the latest explosions in [Asharq A1-Awsat) How do you assess the security situation in the light Baghdad? of the latest explosions in Baghdad and other places, and the work of the [Talabani) There is an important point, let me explain It. I have a special rela- security organizations? tionship With Syria and with the Syrian brethren. I have said repeatedly that I [Talabani) I believe that the current govemment has been able to play an owe a national, personal, and moral debt to the honorable AI-Assad family. I Important role in Imposing security and stability, and in liberating the unstable cannot forget the help and support given to us by President Hafiz ai-Assad regions from the terrorists and the militias. A short time ago, AI-Anbar under extremely difficult circumstances, circumstances under which many Governorate was under the control of the terrorists, Basra was under the Arab countries were not able to give us entry visas. I am proud of thrs relations- control of the militias, and the main roads linking the Iraqi regions were dange- hip, and I understand ItSmotives. Therefore, I have said repeatedly that Syria rous and unusable; today, AI-Anbar has been liberated from the terronsts, IS my identical pnmary homeland, Iraq is my primary homeland, and Syria is Basra has been liberated from the militias, the roads between Baghdad and my Identical primary homeland. Moreover, my philosophy In work and solVing the rest of the Cities of Iraq have been secured, and security has been impo- problems relies on calm diplomacy, and sometimes hidden diplomacy. I do not sed in many regions, such as Baghdad, Karbala, AI-Najaf, AI-Hillah, Samarra, like to solve problems by means of hard-line statements, media escalations, and Tiknt Yes, there are terrorist cells, but such cells exist also in Pakistan and and altercations; I always prefer to solve the problems between the fratemai Algeria There ISa difference between the existence of secret terrorist cells that Arab countnes and the friendly foreign countries In a secret diplomatic amica- carry out explosions, and the existence of entire regions that are under the ble manner away from stirring up problems Therefore, regardless of the claims control of terrorists, as is the case in Afghanistan. Therefore, the national unity about Syria, I believe that solving the problems ought to be done through Iraqi- govemment has succeeded in this field, but It has not been able to put a com- Syrian meetings, whether via a JOintsecunty committee or via mediators we plete end to the terronsts. This has ItSreasons, the security organizations have commlsston played an Important role, and offered hundreds of martyrs, and we ought to [Asharq AI-Awsat) Today, the talk is about the upcoming parliamentary apprecate their role and sacrifices, but are there shortcomings in these orga- elections, and that they are decisive and important Do you think they nizations? Yes, there are shortcomings in the security organizations, and also are? there are claims that terrorists and Baathists have infiltrated these organiza- [Talabani) Yes, I think that they are cecswe elections and they are a matter of tions and hence facilitate the work of the terronsts We cannot deny the achie- destiny These elections will lead either to a setback of the democratic process, vements, but at the same time we do not deny the existence of negative or to ItScontinuation. aspects, such as the exstence of shortcomings In the security plan and in the people who undertake the implementation of this plan. Nevertheless, huge [Asharq A1-Awsat) What is your prediction of the results of these elec- achievements have been accomplished in this field tions? [Asharq A1-Awsat) But after four years of this government, there is dete- [Talabani) Our reading confirms that they will be successful, and will support rioration in the security situation, and the economic situation is bad. the continuation and development of the democratic process. There is a lack of basic services, such as electricity, water, and munici- [Asharq AI-Awsat) Do you think that there will be a change in the politi- pal services? cal process? [Talabani) Allow me to disagree with you on this. Why do you say deteriora- [Talabani) There might be a change in the individuals; for instance, a president tion? Look at the map of Iraq; you Will find that the security situation in the other than Jalal Talabani might be elected, or another person might be elected south is safe, also in Kurdistan Province it is safe, and so it is in most of the as prime minister or as speaker of parliament. We have to be confident that the regions of the country. There are terrorist activities In Ninawa Governorate, and democratic process will continue. We will work to establish a national front in Baghdad, while in the past the terrorists had activities in and control over consisting of the main political blocs that won the elections in order to establish

9 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

compatible, cohesive, and strong national unity, and to form a strong, compa- change, but who can undertake it? We believe that the fundamental change tible, and cohesive parliamentary bloc that Will help the govemment in its work ought to be undertaken by the two principal parties (the PUK and KDP); and in passing the laws. anyone else cannot undertake the change, as he can only shout (scream). [Asharq A1-Awsat] On this basis, will your alliances as "Kurdistan bloc" This is what time proves clearly every day Anyway, this is not the first split in the PUK; this is natural, but whoever split has returned to the party. be the same ones that took place In the previous parliamentary term. Will you form an alliance with the same tendency with which you formed [Asharq AI-Awsat] Did you meet Nawshirwan Mustafa and talk to him a coalition before? before the elections? [Talabani] Our policy always IS to form alliances with all. In the past four [Talabani] Yes I met him, and I said to him at the penultimate meeting: If you years we have formed an alliance With the Unified Iraqi Coalition, which IS want to form a party or a tendency, we are prepared to help and support you; described as Shiite, and With the lslanuc Party. We have had good alliances this is your nght, and if you want the situation to end in a good way, as we that conlinued for periods of time With brother Iyad Ailawi and the National have worked together for long years, and if you want the split to take place In Accord Movement Today we have good relations with the Coalition, with the an amicable way, you may withdraw and form your own organization. He said. State of Law Coalition, with brother Jawad al-Bulam, With the Iraqi Ust, With No, I do not want to form a party, but I want reform; and you alone (Talabam) the lslermc Party, and With the Communist Party. We do not restrict our rela- can undertake the reform. I said. I alone am the one who can undertake tions and alliances to a single side or a specûc direction; our policy ISto hold reform?! He said. Yes. I said: Then, I Will begin the reform, and I want your alliances With all. support for this process. He said: Yes, I support you [Asharq AI-Awsat] There is talk about your participation in the elections We sent him the first plan of reform, he added to it, amended it, and returned with an Iraqi nationallisl How correct is this? It to us after he approved it. We presented the plan to the Political Bureau, and waited for the convening of the political conference, and he supported [Talabani] The current circumstances are not SUitable for participating in an Iraqi national list. God willing, we will pamcpate in the next elections With these steps. Unfortunately, at the end they split in a hostile way, and focused such a list their attack on the PUK. Through their miscalculations, they tried to destroy the PUK, but our party was not destroyed. Despite all thts, we consider this [Asharq AI-Awsat] Let us move to the PUK, whose secretary general you split as a natural occurrence that takes place in political orgamzations. are. What do you think of the experiment of Dr Barham Saleh as prime minister of the government of the Kurdlstan Province? [Asharq AI-Awsat] As the secretary general of the PUK, do you consider Nawshirwan Mustafa as someone who opposes or as someone hostile? [Talabanl] I think thiS is natural. If you go back to the history of Kurdlstan [Talabani] He is hostile to the PUK, and he opposes the government of the federalism, you Will find that from the beginning there was an alternation between us and the KDP in the chairmanship of the government and the parlia- province and is hostile to it. Nawshirwan Mustafa does not believe in the ment. The first government was formed With Dr Fouad Masum as prime concept of coalition; he wants an independent AI-Sulaymamyah Governorate, mimster and the speaker of parliament was from the KDP; then the govern- an independent Dahuk Governorate, and also an independent Arbil ment was formed with brother NeJervan Barzam as pnme minister, and the Governorate that are linked in a sort of decentralized way to Baghdad speaker of parliament from the PUK, In the current government the prime [Asharq AI-Awsat] You have said that leading members had split from minister IS Dr Barham Saleh, while the speaker of the parliament is from the the PUK, and then returned. Do you think that Mustafa will return to the KDP. Thrs is a continuation of the alliance between the two principal Kurdish PUK? parties. [Talabani] In the last conference we decided that they should not return, and [Asharq A1-Awsat] Have you felt some dissatisfaction from some lea- we severed the link With them, because we suffered a great deal because of ding members of the KDP with Saleh chairing the government? them and their disputes for long years. [Talabani] No, we have not felt that Today, I have met brother Masud [Asharq A1-Awsat] It is well known about your wife, Mrs. Hirokhan, that Barzani, president of Kurdlstan, and he stressed his complete support for and she does not appear as a leading member, and she prefers to work satisfaction With Dr. Barham Saleh. behind the scenes in her charities for children and women. This is des- [Asharq A1-Awsat] Are you optimistic about Saleh chairing the govern- pite the fact that she struggled with you in the mountains all along the ment? years of the Kurdish revolution. How was she chosen an official in charge of the party organization in AI-Sulaymaniyah? [Talabani] We are optimistic about tlus government Dr Barham is clever, [Talabani] I have not mtervened at all In this issue, and I did not diSCUSSit effective, active, and broadminded. He has very good capabilities, and I With her. However, the comrades at the party's Political Bureau - especially believe that he Will employ them for making the duty now commissioned to him succeed brethren Mullah Bakhtiyar, Dalir Sayyld Majid, and others In the leadership - talked to her and convinced her to accept this mission despite her reluctance. [Asharq AI-Awsat] The Kurdistan parliamentary elections resulted in the She became convinced after they talked to her, therefore, she accepted thrs emergence of tangible opposition represented by the Change Group mission on the basis of the circumstances of the PUK Our party presented, headed by Nawshirwan Mustafa. What is your assessment of this oppo- and still presents female leading members, we are at the forefront of the par- sition? ties that appoint female ministers, and we have a minister in Baghdad, [Talabani] The fact is that this IS the result of a split In the PUK. These diffe- Minister of Envuonment Nlrmin Khan. rences have existed within the PUK for a number of years, differences in poli- [Asharq AI-Awsat] How do you assess your relations with the KDP? cies and stances. However, we were able to preserve the internal unity of the [Talabani] Our relations With the KDP are more than distinguished, and my party by offering concessions, privileges, and reconciliations. However, we relations with brother Masud Barzani are more than excellent We are pur- reached a stage after which it was not possble to continue, and hence a number of leading members of the PUK split This has led to the formation of a suing the consolidation of these relations, and their transfer from the leadership to the grassroots of both parties; Together with brother Barzani we have tendency called the Change Group. In the beginning there was some kind of decided to form a committee soon to undertake this mission. confusion and reshuffling of the cards, as those who split did not announce that they were outside the PUK, but they claimed that they were the reform wing of the PUK and presented themselves as such They even wanted to sue me because they were removed from the leadership responsbëûes in the PUK, and they ISSUed a statement against me in the name of the reform leadership of the PUK. Thus some of the people who wanted reform became confused, and they believed that if this reform were to come from within the PUK this would be better. This confusion led many members of the PUK to vote for them; however, after It was shown that their claims were not true, hundreds of leadership cadres and thousands of the grassroots, even entire regions, returned In their entirety to the PUK. Other than that, the slogan of change is tempting and desirable. We have not denied the importance of

10 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

~",,~~jtJ~ ~1~~mJI Iraqi prime minister calls for end to oil JANUARY 03, 2010 deal row with Kurdistan

Asharq Al-Awsat Kurdish oil exports will not be paid directly to Kurdish authorities.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister "The revenues will be part of the national Nuri al-Maliki called for an end to a bitter revenues that are distributed equally to all row over oil contracts brokered by Iraqi Iraqis," he wrote. Kurdistan, which has fuelled investor ques- The dispute adds another element of nons about the risks of domg business in uncertainty for investors in Iraq, where vio- war-torn Iraq. lence continues even as the country heads In a rare direct reference to the feud bet- into national elections in March and U.S. ween Arabs and minority Kurds, Maliki forces prepare to withdraw by the end of said on Sunday he had discussed the next year. contracts -- which the largely autonomous Disagreement over the Kurdish contracts is In a move hailed as a Kurd-Arab break- Kurdish region signed with foreign compa- part of the larger conflict between Arabs through last year, oil was briefly exported nies -- with the region's Prime Minister, and Kurds, who make up about a fifth of through Iraq's main northern pipeline. The Barham Salih. Iraq's population, over disputed territories, agreement fell apart and since then oil resources and the strength of the federal "We said it is rime to look at this file and set- Kurdish authorities have demanded they be government. tle it with flexibility and realism, in order to paid for those sales. preserve rights and interests in these The hand of the central government may contracts," Maliki was quoted saying on the have been strengthened last month, when government's national media centre web- EXPORTS HALTED the Oil Ministry awarded a host of site. "We hope to end this crisis." The government's posiuon is that contracts of its own that could help quadru- He gave no details about how the two sides Kurdistan can repay the companies out of ple Iraqi oil output. might settle the long-running feud, in which their regular 17 percent cut of the federal Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister, Iraq's Arab-led government in Baghdad has budget. banned oil companies doing business in labelled Kurdish contracts illegal and DNa, a trailblazer in Kurdistan, said last Kurdistan from that auction. Kurds have demanded reimbursement for month it had stopped drilling there after Yet Barham Salih, who recently stepped exports from Kurdish fields. exports were halted. down as Maliki's deputy prime minister, is Companies such as Norway's DNa, But Maliki, signalling perhaps his federal also seen as a conciliatory figure who might Turkey's Genel Enerji and London-based government has not changed course, also be able to nudge Arabs and Kurds toward Heritage have struck production-sharing wrote in an answer to a question submitted compromise. agreements for a handful of fields in nor- by a local journalist that revenue from

Ap Associated Press Bombs in northern Iraqi city kill three

BAGHDAD -January 4 , 2010 - (AP)

A pair of roadside bombs killed three people in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, including two of the city's police chiers guards, police and hospital officials said. While violence in Iraq has dropped off dramatically since the height of the sectarian tensions of 2006 and 2007, smaller attacks such as those in Kirkuk continue. The northern city has also been a flash point for tension between the country's Arab and Kurdish populations who both claim the city as their own. The first blast took place around 9.30 a.m. targeting a police convoy, a Kirkuk police officer said. The officer said two guards of the city's police chief were in the convoy and both were killed in the attack. The police chief was not in the convoy. Another roadside bomb targeting a police patrol went off minutes later An Iraqi policeman inspects a police vehicle on Monday about 200 meters down the street, killing a policeman, the officer said. damaged in a roadside bomb attack in Kirkuk, 180 miles north The casualties were confirmed by an official at the hospital. of Baghdad. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Under Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's program of Arabization, Kurds were kicked out of the city and Arabs moved in. After the 2003 U.S.- The motive for the attacks was not immediately known, though secu- led invasion, Kurds began moving back to the city, but now many rity personnel have frequently been targeted by insurgents who see Arabs claim there are more Kurds than ever before. them as collaborators with the government. The oil-rich city of Kirkuk has been a center of controversy in Iraq.

11 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii

MONDAY, JANUARY 4,2010

could seize on the White House view of Iran's nuclear troubles to resist Mr. u.s. sees troubles in Iran Obama's argument that new sanctions are needed now to pumsh Iran's defiance of the U.N. Secunty Council mandate as opening for sanctions that it cease ennching uramurr Iran's insistence that ItS 'J .lear program IS only for civilian p~rposes IS roundly rejected by Western officrals WASHINGTON and, In internat reports, by mternanonal nuclear mspectors. Yet Washington's White House points assessments of how much progress Iran has made toward a weapon have varied to domestic unrest and greatly over the past two years, partly a setbacks in nuclear effort reflection of how little IS known about the workings of ItS nuclear programs.

BY DAVID E SANGER After reviewing new documents that AND WILLIAM J BROAD have leaked out of Iran and debnefing defectors lured to the West, Mr. Obama's As President Barack Obama faces pres- Sanctions could be focused on forces that advisers say they believe the work on sure to back up lus year-end ultimatum have led the crackdown on Iranian protests. weapons design IS continumg on a smal- for diplornauc progress With Iran, the ad- ler scale - the same assessment reached rrurnstration says that domestic unrest by Britain, France, Germany and Israel. and signs of trouble In Tehran's nuclear The adrrunistranon's current View of heve the problems may have been ac- program make ItS leaders vulnerable to Iran's nuclear program was provided by centuated by a series of covert efforts strong and immediate new sanctions. SIX semor administration officials ad- by the West to undermine the program, The long-discussed sanctions would vising Mr. Obama on his strategy, who inmate the latest phase In a strategy to including sabotage on ItS Imported spoke on the condition of anonymity, The force Iran to comply With U.N. demands equipment and Infrastructure. adrrurnstration's review of Iran's pro- Those factors have led the White to halt production of nuclear fuel. gram, which they Said was based on intel- House policy makers to lengthen their Mr. Obama's strategists said In inter- hgence reports, mformanon from allies estimate of how long It would take Iran Views that Iran's top political and mili- and their own analysis, did not amount to to accomphsh what nuclear experts call tary leaders remained deterrmned to a new formal Intelligence assessment. "covert breakout" - the ability to develop nuclear weapons but that they The offïctals, European officials en- were distracted by turmoil in the streets secretly produce a workable weapon. gaged m the Iran Issue and pnvate ex- "For now, the Iranians don't have a and political infighting and that the perts described Iran's nuclear program credible breakout and we don't dnve to produce nuclear fuel appeared option as being in some disarray. to have faltered In recent months. think they Will have one for at least 18 The biggest disruption carne in late months, maybe two or three years:' The White House wants to focus the September, when Iran's covert effort to said a semor official at the center of the new sanctions on the Islamic Revolu- build an ennchment plant near Qum nonary Guards Corps, the military force White House's Iran strategy. The ad- was exposed. Western intelligence believed to run the nuclear weapons ef- rmmstranon has told allies that the agencies had been studying the under- fort. That force has also played a crucial longer time frame would allow the sane- ground plant from afar for a year, and role In the repression of anti-govern- nons to have an effect before Iran could two European officials say that Iranian ment demonstrators since the disputed develop ItS nuclear ability. nuclear spies recruited by Europe and presidential election In June. Another admirustranon official said Israel provided confirming evidence Although repeated rounds of sanc- that Israeli officials, while still publicly about the purpose of the plant. tions over many years have not dis- hmtmg that they might take military ac- International mspectors who were suaded Iran from pursuing nuclear tech- tion against Iran's nuclear facilines, granted access to the underground site nology, a U.S. offictal Involved In "now feel that what's happening in Iran in October found that the plant was formulanng Iran policy Said the hope makes the country vulnerable to real about a year from operation and that It was that the current troubles "give us a sancnons" and might give Mr. Obama was designed for Just 3,000 centnfuges Window to impose the first sanctions more time to persuade China and Rus- - not enough to produce the large that may make the Iramans think the nu- • sia to go along. A semor Israeli diplomat amounts of fuel needed for commercial clear program Isn't worth the pnce tag." in Washington Said that In back-channel reactors, but sufficient for the stealthy While outsiders have a limited view of conversations "Obama has convinced production of highly enriched bomb fuel. Iran's program, Obama admmistratron . us that It'S worth trying the sanctions, at (By comparison, the Natanz plant, which officials Said they believed that the least for a few months." IS ostensibly for producing reactor fuel, Sanctions will be a difficult balancing ISdesigned for 54,000 centrifuges.) bomb-development effort was derailed act for the United States, since It ac- by the exposure three months ago of the U.S. officials say that the Qum plant is knowledges that three previous rounds now useless to the Iramans. "They spent country's secret ennchment plant under of sanctions have failed to deter Iran, construction near the holy City of Qum. three years and tens of millions of dollars and It also wants to avoid angenng Ira- on a covert plant that they will probably Exposure of the site deprived Tehran of nians protesting m the streets by de- never turn on," said the senior official m- ItS best chance to covertly produce the pnvmg them of Western goods. That IS highly ennched uranium needed to volved In the White House strategy. why the admimstration IS focusing on The official acknowledged, however, make fuel for nuclear weapons. the Revolutionary Guards, who are In- In addition, international inspectors that Iran could have another secret facil creasmgly detested by the protesters ity that Western Intelligence had missed report that at Iran's plant in Natanz, and have built up billions of dollars of where thousands of centnfuges spin to business interests m telecommumca- ennch uranium for nuclear fuel, the nons, 011and construction. number of the machines that are now Washington aims to get Arab and operating has dropped 20 percent Since Asian nations to jom Europe in cutting off the summer, which nuclear experts at- financial transactions with front compa- tnbute to techmcal problems. Others, mes for the Revolutionary Guards. China including some European officrals, be- and RUSSia have been reluctant and

12 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Riuista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti TURKEY: PEACE MAY COME TO PASS IN 2010

DIYARBAKIR, (Eastern Turkey), January 4, 2010 - lities in eastern Turkey. The party could also send 21 members to Turkish parliament.

Analysis by Justin Hyatt (Infer Press Service J In August, Turkey's ruling JustIce and Development Party (AKP) came forward with its "Democratie Opening" uutiative, which is meant to bring the country to a new levels of freedom for Turkey's WITH newCound liberties Cor the Kurdish minority and the vanous minorities, especially the Kurds. In anticipation Turkish government's 'Democratic Opening' initiative the prospects President Abdullah Gül had predicted that "good things will come Corpeace in 2010 are brighter than they have been in the last to pass". 25 years. The fly in the ointment is the ban in December oC Secession from Turkey and complete independence are no longer the pro·Kurd, Democratic Society Party (DTP). the stated aims of the Kurds. They claim their goals are now to The Dec. Il, 2009 decision of the Constitutional Court declanng achieve greater freedom and mamtain their identity and language. DTP illegal was a hard blow for the Kurds, the country's largest Says Ercan Ayboga, a German Kurd formerly employed at the minonty With about 20 million people. Expressmg concern over Diyarbakir municipality: "The important thing is that the Kurdish the court ruling, the Presidency of the European Union called language is taught in schools and that Kurds are treated as upon Turkey to reform its laws governmg pohncal parties. equals m the federal constitution." The court decision was followed by protests and street clashes in Recently, a rule that stipulated a limit to broadcast lengths of which several people died, sparking fears of an extended penod of Kurdish language shows on television and radio was dropped. unrest. Other restrictions on the public use of Kurdish in meetings and The grounds given for ordering the dissolution of DTP were ItS ties elsewhere are also bemg eased. to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), classified as a terronst Official recognition of Turkey's minorities IS a possibility in 2010. organisation in Turkey and in several other countnes. DTP had It has already been armounced that the constitution could be maintained that the PKK should have a seat at the negotiation amended to make it possible to give full official recogrution of the table with ItS mcarcerated leader, Abdullah Ôcalan, given a pro- Kurds as a distinct ethnic group. minent role. In some cases, It is women who are taking the mitiative for peace. Ôcalan - who has been in jail for the last decade - IS a beloved The "peace mothers" in Izmir are callmg for violence in Turkey to figure among the Kurds. It IS feared that Without him unity and be stopped. In their march in downtown Izmir they held SIgnS sta- peace will be difficult to reach. However, the Turkish government ting "we are mothers and we are for peace." remains firm in its unWlliingness to see the PKK as anythmg but an illegal guerrilla orgarusation, despite its urulateral ceasefire Similarly in Istanbul, Turkish and Kurdish women went on the smce March 2009. streets to declare that "women want peace". They began the 'Conscientious Objection for Peace' movement and declared their The Istanbul-based Human Rights Association (IHD) claims that rejection of military service, so as to abstain from "fighting against Without the DTP there IS no chance to carry on the democratie our Kurdish brothers and sisters," - in the words of one attendee. process. "DTP is the natural negotiator on behalf of the Kurds regarding the Kurdish question," explams Ôztûrk Türkdo?an, Sevgim Deruzalti, an Istanbul-based journahst, believes that the chairman of the IHD. voice of people who want peace will be heard more loudly in 2010. '1 think the solution is in the Turkish people's hands, especially Following the ban most of DTP's members switched over to the in that of the women. If they can formulate their Wish for peace Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), a Kurdish back-up party esta- more effectively than the nationahsts, things can become better in blished in 2008. It remains to be seen how this party will be able 2010." to pick up the pieces. Emina Ayna, a leadmg Kurdish politician, is more forthnght: "All For much of2009, however, the Kurds had reason to stay upbeat. policies of assimilation have failed. Democracy m Turkey will In May DTP shocked the political establishment by domg excee- come by way of solvmg the Kurdish issue." dmgly well in the local elections. They were able to place mayors in nme of the provmcial capitals and take control of 98 municipa-

E;lRudavv.Net I_04~ja_n_u_ary~2_0_1_0 ___ U.S. support for Kurds doesn't mean anything: Iraqi PM Rudaw- Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al- that the U.S has promised support to Kurds Maliki, rejected reports that the Obama adrru- and he confirmed those pledges is serious. nistration has grven assurance to Kurds for the ''Those supports are for the Kurds and all implementation of article 140 and other proof it is present in the constitution and this not blems between Irbil and the central govern- only for the Kurds, it's for all Iraq" Fuad ment. Ma'asum the head of Kurdish alliance in In an interview with Rudaw, Nuri Al- Baghdad said. maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister, said "The U.S. Meantime concerning the issue of oil guarantee does not mean anything." contracts between KRG and Baghdad, Maliki In a response to a Rudaw question, about a has revealed the time has come to solve this who is the outsider i it is the U.S. or any other statement from White House in which sup- issue. (country)," Maliki said. ports the implementation of the article 140 of "Right now is the time to open this issue Furthermore he stated that the Kurds are the Iraqi Constitution to solve the issues of the and try to solve it in a logical and peaceful way an integral part of Iraq and they like any other disputed areas between the Kurdistan that can protect all the rights and interests" Iraqi people are governed by constitution, Regional Government and the Central Maliki said, in a exclusive website that is used that's why "the U.S guarantees won't mean Government in Baghda, Maliki said: "I by journalist to contact the Prime Minister. anything". haven't heard anything about those promises." Maliki also confirmed that regarding this Regarding Maliki statement, the head of "It's not logical that a side can get an assu- matter he has spoken to KRG's Prime Minister Kurdish coalition in Iraqi Parliament reiterated rance from an outside (country), no matter Barham Salih. © Rudaw

13 I Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

JA;\'UARY 06, 2010 THE WASHI:'o\GTON i'\OTE

Kurdrstan more thoroughly into Kurdistan in Limbo Iraq's economic and political structure. Furthermore, Kurdistan's current relationship with its neighbors and the rest of Iraq are to the KRGand Kurds' benefit. A landlocked independent Kurdistan, even with the revenue from the disputed city of Kirkuk's massive oilfields, would aggravate tensions with neighboring states while still remaining dependent on these same states for trade and protection. But it is unclear how long this tenuous calm might last, as several unresolved problems could upset Kurdistan's delicate balance and lead to future conflict or an irreden- tist resurgence. (Photo credit: Jan Vidar) oil. In fact, Turkey, despite its large The ICG's Joost Hiltermann, an and historically restive Kurdish Iraq expert, has argued that des- population, has emerged as a key pite a realization among Kurdish Andrew Lebovich economic partner for Kurdistan. The leaders that Independence is not ruling Turkish AKP party sees a via- viable, Kurdish nationalist aspira- raeme Wood has a fascinatmq ble Kurdish region as a way to tie tions live on and are in fact focused G piece in the current edition of Turkey into the world's oil market on the city of Kirkuk. However, the Foreign Policy about his travels in while also maintaining a buffer recently-passed Iraqi election law the "limbo world" of unofficial or against a potentially unfriendly or failed to deal with the status of unrecognized states. These state- unstable Iraq. And as an Kirkuk or the long overdue (and lets, which control territory and International Crisis Group (ICG) constitutionally-mandated) census have at least passably functional report from November 2008 of Kirkuk, instead putting these governments, range from those argued, the AKP now hopes to get issues off until next year. And des- teetering on the edge of irrele- help from the KRGagainst the pite progress in exporting oil and vance--like Somaliland and Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), gas from Kurdistan, Iraq still has no Nagorno-Karabakh--to international which has engaged in sporadic ter- agreement governing hydrocarbon flashpoints like Palestine and Iraqi ronsm in Southern Turkey for the revenue sharing, an issue to which Kurdistan. past 30 years. This potential coope- the final status of Kirkuk, with its Wood writes that these faux sta- ration comes less than two years estimated 13% of Iraq's proven oil tes are united by certain characte- after Turkish forces invaded nor- reserves, is central. ristics, and that, "totems of state- thern Iraq in a bid to wipe out PKK Moreover, the planned 2011 hood are everywhere in these wan- sanctuanes, and even as Turkey departure of American combat for- nabe states: offices filled with func- sporadically bombards Iraqi ces from Iraq continues to loom tionaries in neckties, miniature desk Kurdistan. large; as Iraq's army grows stron- flags, stationery with national Wood also Intimates that inde- ger (in part due to an influx of logos, and, of course, piles of real pendence no longer holds as much American equipment) there is a bureaucratic paperwork designed to sway as it once did with Kurds, as greater risk of confrontation bet- convince foreign visitors like me many realize the benefits of a ween Kurdish forces and the Iraqi that international recognition is strong Kurdistan within an Iraqi army, as occurred in 2008 in parts deserved and inevitable." state. And in an off-the-record brie- of Diyala province as weil as Kirkuk, Yet of all the non-states that fing I attended last month several where the Iraqi Army has streng- Wood visits, only one is now less Kurdish officials sought to confirm thened its presence. And unlike sure than ever of the utility of inde- this view, consistently affirming 2008, Amencan forces might not be pendence: Kurdistan. their desire to be a part of a demo- around next time to keep tensions cratic Iraq (albeit a federated one between the opposing sides from Kurdistan is perhaps the most escalating. official of the non-official states, with strong regional administrations with long-standing autonomy, and generous revenue sharing). Unsteady but real progress has strong security forces and a gro- And at the moment, the KRG been made in Iraq, as Kurdistan wing revenue stream. But as Wood has achieved grudging acceptance continues to integrate itself into points out, Kurdistan and the of its autonomy from the Iraqi cen- Iraqi state institutions while main- Kurdish Regional Government tral government. Despite previous taining partial autonomy from the (KRG) have benefited from their efforts to blacklist any oil compa- central government and control leverage and autonomy within the nies who signed contracts with the over its resources. But care must Iraqi state; Kurdistan has establi- KRG,this past spring the Malaki be taken In the coming months and shed itself within the Middle East as government began allowing the years, lest Kurdistan fail in its tran- a safe place for investment and a KRGto export oil from two fields, sition from limbo to province. potentially large market for the providing needed revenue to the import of goods and the export of central state and helping integrate

14 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

7.l .. tal~~~!~:.Lmr·tbun"JANUARY7,201O Mr. Milam, for example, pointed to lJl ~ U ~ '"" ~ what he said was a credible report based on information from the Military Com- mand for GreaterTehran that the authorities have used criminals and prosntutes Iran's leaders face to murrudate protesters and fill the ranks of pro-government demonstrations. "I was told the police call them 'percentage ladles,' and they come from the erosion of support ranks of women arrested for a variety of petty cnmes," the note said. "The smartest are handpicked and then offered their freedom in exchange for about the trajectory of the crisis or the DUBAI stabihty of the government working for intelligence': or the Revolu- At the moment, at least, few If any ex- tionary Guards. Release of secret dealings perts are predicting the government On Jan. 1, the Rouydad News Web site WIllfall. said that an opposition supporter within shows disillusionment "There ISenough commitment to the the Revolutionary Guards, or I.R.G.C., in hard-line leadership survival of the Islamic Republic among provided a detailed account of the funer- an array of forces in the government al for AlI Moussavi, the assassmated and society to assure the continued use nephew of the opposition leader, which BYMICHAEL SLACKMAN of repression and violence," said was controlled by the Guards' own internal Intelligence service. Beatings, arrests, show tnals and even Farideh Farhi, an Iran expert and author at the Uruversrty of Hawaii. "But it "From early In the morning, the killmgs have failed to discourage Irani- I.R.G.C. Intelligence people arranged ans from taking to the streets In protest. is precisely the ineffectiveness of the methods used in controlling the WIth, the telecommurucations organiza- But those same tacncs may be taking a tion, that mobile phones be cut off In the toll on the regime Itself, eating away at crowds, combined with the unsuccessful effort on the part of some ~!:ry hard- area of Behesht-e Zahra cemetery to its legitimacy within ItS secretive core of make it impossible for the people to re- . lme forces to cleanse the Iranian politic- NEWS ANALYSIS ceive word," the account said. "The al system of all rivals, that may per- I.R.G.C. intelligence people told Mir-Hus- suade some leaders to change their sein Moussavi that he was only to attend powerful insiders, Iran experts are say- minds." at the very last moment for prayers." mg. The evidence? Leaks. So far, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Recently, a memo was leaked from the They began In December. Leaks AlI Khamenei, has shown no willingness state-owned national broadcaster IRIB about pnvate meetings of the intelh- to compromise with the opposition. He that offered a guide for reportmg on the gence services and Revolutionary also retains the allegiance of the protests, including ways to undermine Guards; an ernbarrassmg memo from primary levers of power - the leader- the credibihty of opposition claims of bru- state-owned television on how to cover ship of the Revolutionary Guards, the tality by the Basijis and other secunty the protests; a note about how the secu- intelligence services, the Basij militia, forces. "In continuing WIth the pohcies of rity services have been using petty the regular armed forces and the judi- normahzauon, pacification and clanfica- criminals to fill out the ranks of pro-gov- ciary, Iran experts said. non of national media to confront the ernment demonstrauons. But It is possible that Internal pres- sedition, the propaganda shouJd focus on There ISno way to verify the accuracy sure could - at some point - force a seditious people's hostility toward the Is- of these leaks. But the government ap- political compromise. lamie regime and Islam," the memo said. pears to have grown so angry and frus- "Since June, there has been much an- In another apparent leak, at the end of trated With what It calls a "soft war" to ecdotal evidence that suggests deep drvi- December, the Jaras opposition Web overthrow the state that It has made It a sions between the hard-line commanders site reported on a meeting It said was cnme to be affihated With many foreign of the Guards and between the Guards held to diSCUSSarresting the principal news media outlets, dozens of nongov- and members of the regular armed opposition leaders: Mr. Moussavi; the ernment orgaruzatrons and opposition forces who are dissatisfied WIth the elec- cleric and former Parhament speaker, Web sites deemed "ann-revolutronary," non and Its aftermath," said Alireza Mehdi Karroubi; and the former presi- Iran has always been deeply faction- Nader, an Iran analyst WIth the Rand dent, Mohammed Khatarm. The partie- ahzed; even the Ideologically grounded Corporation m Washington. "The extent ipants were said to Include some of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps IS of these divisions are hard to gauge, but leaders of the Revolutionary Guards far from monohthic, they have the potential to weaken and Intelligence Mimstry, as well as a That may be even more true today, Khamenei's gnp at a cntical Juncture:' representative of the supreme leader's since the outbreak of a political crisis The main opposition leader, Mir Hus- office. The report said that representa- following the disputed presidential elec- sein Moussavi, last week demonstrated tives of the Supreme National Security non in June. Even among the most Ideo- his own willmgness to compromise Council opposed the arrests while oth- logically committed, there are signs that when he ISSUeda statement saying that ers supported the action. some recogmze the government's iron- the leadership could restore its legiti- So far none of them has been arrested. fisted approach to the protests IS not macy If It took several steps to loosen its But If the three are arrested, If the re- working, and Indeed may be backfmng. pression continues and if the chorus of "I thmk the purged and discontented "I think the purged and calls for executing protesters is heeded, officials are the sources of increasingly discontented officials are the some experts predict more leaks and reveahng leaks to the press and to the sources of increasingly perhaps more cracks within the leader- Green Movement of acnvities and plans ship's base of support. by leaders of the regime," said Abbas revealing leaks:' "There will come a point where Milam, director of Iran studies at Stan- people WIthin the system, from the Basij ford Umversity and a sharp ernie of the or Revolutionary Guards, will start to government. gnp on the opposition, freeing political question what they're domg and wheth- The leaks could be a symptom of d1S1l- prisoners and allowing freedom of er they can continue to be loyal to this lusionment and, perhaps, of the su- speech, media and assembly. He did not regime," said Michael Axworthy, a preme leader's decision to margmalize mention his previous demand for a new former Brrtish diplomat and Iran expert all but the most loyal. Yet, while the presidennal election. who lectures at the Uruversity of Ex- leaks provide evidence of divisions, But his overture was ignored, and for eter. they can not answer questions about now the atmosphere remains hostile - how deep the rifts go or what they say and the leaks continue.

15 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

Protesters are seeking Another Iranian revolution? change, not abolition of the Islamic Not likely. Republic.

was upset by the protesters using a sa- Khomeiru's Ideas were well known from Flynt Leverett cred day to make a political statement. his wntings and public statements. After the shah's departure, Khomemi re- Hillary Mann Leverett Vastly more Iranians took to the streets on Dec. 30, in demonstrations or- turned to Iran With a draft constitution ganized by the government to show sup- for the new pohtical order m hand. As a port for the Islamic Republic (one Web result, the basic structure of the Islarmc Republic was set up remarkably quickly, The Islamic Republic of Iran is not site that opposed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election in June esti- Beyond expressmg inchoate discon- about to implode. Nevertheless, the tent, what does the current "opposition" misguided idea that it may do so is be- mated the crowds at one million want? ItISno longer championing Mr. commg enshrined as conventional wts- people). Photographs and VIdeo clips • Mousavi's presidentral candidacy; Mr. dom in Washington. lend considerable plausrbility to this es- Mousavi himself has now redefined his For President Obama, this misconcep- timate - meanmg this was possibly the agenda as "national reconciliation," tion a bit of cover; it helps ob- provides largest crowd m the streets of Tehran Some protesters seem to want expanded scure his failure to follow up on his carn- smce Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomemi's fu- personal freedoms and mteracnon With paign promises about engaging Iran neral in 1989.In its wake, even President the rest of the world, but have no com- With any senous, strategically grounded Ahmadinejad's principal challenger m proposals. Meanwhile, those who have last June's presidential election, Mir prehensive agenda Others - who have never supported diplomatie engagement Hossein Mousavi, felt compelled to ac- received considerable Western press with Iran are now pushing the Idea that knowledge the "unacceptable radical- coverage - have taken to calling for the Islamic Republic's replacement with an the Tehran government nught collapse Ism" of some Ashura protesters. to support their arguments for military The focus in the West on the antigov- (ostensibly secular) "Iranian Republic," strikes against Iranian nuclear targets ernment demonstrations has blinded But University of Maryland polling after and adopting "regime change" as the ul- many to an mconveruent but inescap- the election and popular reaction to the Ashura protests suggest that most Iraru- nmate goal of Amenca's Iran policy. able truth: the Iranians who used Let's start With the most recent Ashura to make a pohtical protest do 'ans are unmoved, linot repelled, by calls events. On Dec. 27,large crowds poured not represent anythmg close to a major- for the Islamic Republic's abolrtion. into the streets of clues across Iran to Ity. Those who talk so confidently about With Mr. Mousavi mcreasingly mar- commemorate the Shiite holy day of an "opposition" m Iran as the vanguard gmahzed, who else might lead tills supposed revolution? Surely not AlI Akbar Ashura; tills comcided With mournmg for a new revolution should be made to Hashemi Rafsanjam, the former prest- . observances for a revered cleric, Grand answer three tough questions: First, dent who became a leadmg figure the Ayatollah Hossem Ah Montazeri, who what does this opposition want? m had died a week earlier. Protesters Second, who leads It? Third, through protests after last summer's election. used the occasion to gather in Tehran what process will this opposiuon dis- Yes, he IS an accomplished political ac- and elsewhere, settmg off clashes with place the government in Tehran? tor, is considered a "founding father" of security forces. In the case of the 1979revolutionaries, the state and heads the Assembly of Important events, no doubt. But as· the answers to these questions were Experts, a body that sertions that the Islamic Republic is clear. They wanted to oust the Ameri- Obamawill can replace the Is- now implodmg in the fashion of the can-backed regime of Shah Mohammed make a huge lamie Republic's supreme leader. But shah's regime in 1979do not hold up to Reza Pahlavi and to replace it With an Is- mistake if he even the most rmrumal scrutiny. Anti- Mr. Rafsanjani lost larme republic. Everyone knew who led waits for government Iranian Web sites claim his 2005 bid to regain the revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Tehran's polit- there were "tens of thousands" of Khomeiru, who despite Irving in exile in the presidency In a ical dynamics landslide to Mr. Ah- Ashura protesters; others in Iran say Pans could mobilize huge crowds in Iran there were 2,000 to 4,000. Whichever es- SImply by sending cassette tapes into to 'solve' his madinejad, and has timate is more accurate, one thing we the country. While supporters disagreed Iranian policy shown no inclination do know IS that much of Iranian society about the revolution's long-term agenda, problems. to spur the masses to bring down the system he helped create. , Nor WIllMohammad Khatami, the re- forrmst elected president in 1997,lead the charge; m 1999, at the height of his populanty, he publicly disowned widespread student demonstrations protesting the closmg of a newspaper that had supported hrs adrmmstranon, Many of the Westerners who see the opposmon displacmg the Islamic Re- public emphasize the potential for unrest during Shiite mourning rituals, which take place at three-, seven- and 40-day mtervals after a person's death. Dunng the fmal months of the shah's rule, his opponents used mourmng rituals held for demonstrators killed by security forces to catalyze further protests. But does this mean that a

16 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Deniro de la Prensa Basin Ozeti

though, the mourrung dates for those name. As a result, support for more co- stream of mourmng rituals for fallen who died did not generate sigmncant ercive options ISbuilding across the protesters today WIllset off a similarly new demonstrations Likewise, after the American political spectrum. The presi- escalating spiral of protests, eventually presidential election In June, none of the dent will do a real disservice to Ameri- sweeping away Iran's pohtical order? deaths associated with security force can Interests if he waits In vam for Ira- That IShighly unlikely. First, Ayatol- action - even that of Neda Agha-Soltan, nian political dynamics to "solve" the lah Montazeri had unique standing in the young woman whose murder be- problems with his Iran policy. the Islamic Republic's history; ItISnot came a cause célèbre ofthe YouIube As a model, the president would do surprising that the coincidence of his age - resulted in further unrest. well to look to China Since President seven-day observance With the Ashura In keeping with this pattern, the sev- Richard Nixon's opening there (wluch observation would have drawn crowds. en-day mourning observances for those took place amid the Cultural Revolu- HIS40-day observance - which will fall killed In the Ashura protests generated tion), successive U.S. adrrurustranons on Jan. 29 - and the early February no sigmficant demonstrations in Iran. have been wise enough not to let politic- commemoration of the 1979revolution Clearly, compansons of the Ashura al conflict - whether among the ruling might also encourage public actrvism. protests to the fall of the Berlin Wall In elite or between the state and the pub- But there ISnothing m the Islamic Re- 1989,projecting a cascade of monument- he, as in the Tlananmen Square public's history to support projections al consequences to follow, are fanciful. protests - divert WasJungton from that future mourning rituals for those The Islamic Republic Willcontinue to be sustained, strategic engagement With killed In the Ashura protests will elicit Iran's government. And, even Ifthere Beijing. President Obama needs to be- similar attention. were changes In some top leadership gin displaying Similar statesmanship In For example, In late 1998four promi- positions - such as the replacement of his approach to Iran. nent intellectuals were assassmated, al- Mr. Ahmadmejad as president by Ali legedly by state intelligence officers, Larijam, the speaker of the Parliament FLYNT LEVERETT directs the New Amenca prompting public outrage. Yet the - this would not fundamentally change Foundation's Iran Imtiative and is a pro- mourrung ntuals for the Victims did not Iran's approach on regional pohtics, its fessor of international affmrs at Pennsyl- prompt large-scale protests. In 1999,na- nuclear program and other matters. vama State Unive~slty. HILLARY MANN tionwide student protests were violently The Obama adrmmstranon's half- LEVERETT heads a political risk con- suppressed, With at least five people hearted efforts at diplomacy With sultancy. They publish the Web site The killed and 1,200detained. Once again, Tehran have given engagement a bad Racefor Iran.

On Friday, even Shute lawmakers Mr. Mutlaq vowed to appeal the de- seemed to be divided over a move that cision and assured his supporters that Mr. Mutlaq's allies warned could worsen he would eventually prevail. "I will fight Iraqi Sunni sectarian tension in a country still shad- until the end," ha said at a news confer- owed by the horriftc bloodletting of 2006 ence Friday surrounded by aides and and 2007. While some insisted that the supporters. "I WIll fight in Parliament committee's decrsion simply upheld the vows to fight and outside Parliament and I calion ban against Baathists participatmg in everybody to vote." Sunnis largely boy- politics, others worned about the back- cotted the 2005 elections, handing his exclusion Shutes and Kurds drsproportionate lash from Mr Mutlaq's supporters. Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi power In the National Assembly. suggested that a compromise was pos- The decision by the Accountability sible. "I believe that this issue is still from election and Justice Committee could be ratified withm the corridors of power," he said by the electoral commission as early as after meeting Grand Ayatollah AlI al- 'BAGHDAD Sunday, a step seen as a formality. Once Sistaru in Najaf on Friday. "It hasn't be- It IS, Mr. Mutlaq can appeal the decision come offrcial yet." BY NADABAKRI 10 court, whose decision would be fmal. A decision to ban a promment Sumu Muslim pohucian from Iraq's parliamentary elections In March stirred an- shoe at him - a grave insult throughout ger among his followers Friday and di- Gunmen fire the Muslim world. But this was the first vided rival lawmakers, some of whom time someone had shot at him. feared the repercussions of the move. at opposition The attack occurred in Qazvin, where A parliamentary committee endowed . Mr. Karroubi had traveled to attend a With the power to vet candidates an- rnournmg ceremony for eight protest- nounced Thursday that the National leader in Iran ers who were killed durmg a demonstra- Dialogue Front, led by Saleh al-Mutlaq, non on Dee. 28, his Web site reported. It said that about 500 pro-government was one of 15 electoral lists that would BY NAZILA FATHI be barred from taking part in the elec- demonstrators gathered outside the nons because It promotes the Baath In yet another sign of escalating ten- building where Mr. Karroubi was stay- ing, chanting slogans against him and Party of Sadd am Hussein, which is sions 10 Iran, pro-government demon- banned by the Constituuon. strators shot at the armored car of the throwing bricks and rocks at the third- Mr. Mutlaq had entered a coalition country's most outspoken opposition floor apartment where he was. The po- with former Prime Mimster Ayad leader, Mehdi Karroubi, his Web site, lice mtervened after four hours to try to Allawi that many expected to fare well Saham News, reported Friday. help him leave the city, but his armored In predorrunantly Sunni provinces. No one was hurt m the attack Thurs- car was shot twice. Even moderate success could have en- day night, which appeared to reflect "Many of the demonstrators were armed and kept daring Mr. Karroubi to sured Mr. Mutlaq a say 10 deciding growing frustration that the recent gov- Iraq's next prime minister. ernment crackdown on dissent has leave the apartment building,' the Web site reported. "The security forces were "There IS a great popular resentment failed to stop the opposition from lashmg toward this decision, which lacks any le- out at the country's leaders and occa- not able to disperse the assailants." gal Justification," said Najirn al-Harbi a sionally staging protests that bring tens Mr. Karroubi said his guards refrained supporter of Mr. Mutlaq's party in Diy- of thousands of people mto the streets. . from returning fire, the Web site report- ala Provmce, "The Iraqi street is now Mr. Karroubi, a rmdlevel elene who ed. "If my guards had engaged rn shoot- boiling and demanding to go out in mass ran in the disputed June presidennal mg, unlike the assailants who shot with- protests." election, has been pushed and shoved out fearing arrest, they would have been by entres since then, and one threw a summoned to court and tried," he said.

17 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Ritnsta Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti I~ Designer of Kurdish flag passes away January 6,2010 - www.ekurd.net

BERLIN, - A German citizen who designed the Kurdish flag and organized a Kurdish uprising against the British, passed away at age 95. On 26th September 2009 Gottfned Johannes Müller dies after a long and fulfilled live in the bosom of his family Gottfried Johannes Muller along with Ramzi Fatth, a Kurdish citizen, designed the Kurdish flag In the early 1940s. Since then the flag with colors red, white, yellow and green, has been recognized by majority of Kurds in the world as their national flag. Frank Haller, a close fnend of Muller, told Rudaw that in the last days of rus life Muller asked him to bring him a Kurdish flag so that he can take it Withhim to rus grave. Empire. It is said to have been created in the 1920s by the organisation "I was one of those people who talked With Muller and he asked for a of Xoybûn (Khoyboon). An earlier version of this flag was flown by the Kurdish flag,· Muller said. ·When I took him one, he kept It until his death break-away Republic of Ararat in Turkey dunng the period 1927-1931. and he still has it in his grave", Haller, 53, said. Gottfried Johannes Muller (1914-2009) In 1943 he, as a German Major and Ramzi Nafie Agha carried out a mis- It was later the flag of the Soviet-backed Kurdish state known as the sion to start an Kurdish uprismq and to gain control of the oil fields for the Republic of Mahabad In 1946. It is flown by the Kurdistan Regional Germans. In return,www.ekurd.netthe Kurds would be assisted in crea- Government in Iraqi Kurdistan The flag is banned In Syna. ling an independent Kurdistan. But the operation failed and he was betrayed He was captured by the British and Iraqi forces and sentenced The main Kurdish characteristic of the flag is the blazing golden sun to death, but escaped out of pnson. Later he was captured again and he emblem at the center, which ISan ancient religious and cultural symbol among the Kurds The sun disk of the emblem has 21 rays, equal in size was sent to a military pnson In Hamburg In Germany after the end of the World War. He was freed in 1948. and shape. The number 21 holds importance In the ancient Yazdani religious tradIlions of the Kurds.(4) Muller has wntten a few books about his expenence in Kurdistan and Kurdish issues and Kurdish people were close to his heart. Later he The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP), which has used this tn- founded the non-prout Christian welfare organization Salem International color flag for more than a half century, explains the symbolism of the colors as following: In 1957 www.saleminternational.org Red symbolizes the blood of Kurdish martyrs and the continued struggle The Kurdish flag flown officially In Iraqi Kurdistan region ( Southern Kurdistan) but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is banned for Kurdish freedom and dignity. In Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is a criminal offence· Green expresses the beauty and the landscapes of Kurdistan. According to Wiklpedia, the Kurdish flag (also flag of Kurdistan, Kurdish: White expresses peace and equality. Alaya Kurdistanê, also called Alay Rengin ("the colorful flag·) first appea- Yellow represents the source of life and light of the people. red dunng the Kurdish independence movement from the Ottoman

l Th'_ENDENT 17 january 2010 Opinion Gareth Stansfield: With US support, a brighter future beckons for the Kurds Talabani faced a strong challenge in tions of support. olitics and diplomacy take unex- the form of the GOITan party. Perhaps This does not mean independence for pected turns in Iraq's Kurdistan the most pressing concern for the Kurds. But it does mean that, follo- P President Barzani, however, remains Region Government (KRG). The wing the 2010 parliamentary elections the dispute over oil exploitation with President of the Kurdistan Region, in Iraq, the political process will be Massoud Barzani, and his counterpart the Iraqi government, which refuses to one in which the Kurds enjoy conside- accept the legitimacy of contracts Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish President rable US support. Of course, the Kurds signed by the KRG with international of Iraq, had a troublesome 2009. They have heard promises from the US in oil companies. failed to implement Article 140 of the the past (most notably in 1991) that Iraqi constitution that specifies a pro- But once again since 2003, US inte- failed to materialise. Yet this time cess for the resolution of the status of rests have coincided with Kurdish seems to be different - if only because the "disputed territories of Iraq", a expectations. Needing elections to the US needs the Kurds to help main- huge swath of land that, most irnpor- take place early in 2010 in order to tain the trajectory of Iraq's political tantly, includes Kirkuk and its oil- maintain some semblance of norma- development. It will be interesting to field. lity in Iraq, the US desperately needed see if the Kurds can make durable rea- the Kurds to support the passing of the lities while their alignment with US elections law. This they did and interests lasts. Ethnic tensions were heightened by Barzani duly received a visit from the January provincial elections, from Robert Gates and spoke with Biden which Kirkuk was excluded. In Gareth Stansfield is Professor of Ninevah the Kurds were removed and Obama. The statements that followed made a perfect Christmas present Middle East Politics at the University from the provincial council and repla- for the Kurds - unequivocal support of Exeter and Associate Fellow at ced by the Arab nationalist party Chatham House Hadhba. And, in the Kurdistan on the disputed territories and oil National Assembly, Barzani and questions, and a clear attempt to calm Kurdish leaders' nerves with affirma-

18 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

By Wladimir van Wilgenburg website to the statements of the PUK-leader. On Gorran's tv-channel KNN, Nawshirwan Rudaw, Erbil - Two months ago during the Mustafa said he wondered why his friends with plenum of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the whom he had relations for more than 40 years, Iraqi president JaIaI Talabani said his former can blame all responsibilities of the former don't endorse these statements, but friend and former senior PUK leader, was authoritarian regimes on him. Change list MP Nawshirwan's statements are highly supported behind the civil war and responsible for the Kardo Mohammed Pirdawed says both PUK by the people. The response to it is necessary, bombing of Halabja Something which the lea- and Gorran are not responsible for the crimes since the mass media of both parties try to der of Kurdish opposition movement Gorran of Saddam's regime, whose leaders were puni- depict Gorran as a bad movement." shed by the Iraqi court. Pirdawed says the his- denies in a short interview. The rivalry conti- The media war of the former Kurdish elections tory of the PUK doesn't need explanation. nues between PUK and Change while the Iraqi still continues. After these elections of 25 July, elections are approaching, despite the fact they Fareed Asasard, a prominent leader of the the PUK controlled media said Gorran mem- have a shared history. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party (PUK) and bers were returning back to PUK. Senior PUK A lot of the Change list leaders still have director of Kurdistan's Strategic Studies Center, leader Mustafa Bakr said that Change cannot contacts with their former friends of the PUK. said that the people within the Change list and deliver on it's promises of reform, because they Most of them come from the same party PUK, the PUK do not like the media war between the do not have the power to implement projects. which fought a civil war with the Democratie PUK-leader and the Change list head in the "They were not able to carry out these promi- Party of Kurdistan (KDP) in the 1990s, but they media of both Gorran and the PUK. ''This is not ses, and returned to PUK." But the senior recently decided to split off the PUK, because good. Not only me, but also people in the PUK Change list leader Mam Rostam from Kirkuk they say the party was unable to do reforms and and Change do not want to read this." Asasard said these people only returned because they combat corruption. also says the Change wants to show it's diffe- needed money and jobs and that the PUK fired rent from the PUK, while the PUK also tries to people in government institutions for voting for The senior PUK leader based in Erbil Mustafa distance itself from Gorran. the Change Iist movement. Bakr still has a picture of Nawshirwan Mustafa in Peshmerge clothes with other PUK-leader on The senior Change list leader Safeen Malaqara After Change won 25 seats in the Kurdish elec- his table, during an interview. Nawshiran based in Erbil said that it's true that the people nons, it's planning to continue to win seats in Mustafa says he still has contacts with his for- don't like the former friends talking bad against the Iraqi elections, dividing the Kurdish bloc in mer friends in the PUK. "We have political dif- each other and that it could damage the image to competing factions. Recently there also have ferences, but still contacts on the social level," of both political movements. But he said the been violence in the PUK-ruled province of says the Gorran leader. Change list leader didn't reply yet to the state- Sulaymania, which Gorran blames on the ments of the PUK-leaders Kosrat Rasul Ali and ruling parties. The Change list was blamed for But the political rivalry is becoming increasin- Jalal Tai aban i and just answered propaganda the violent demonstrations in the town gly personal. During the plenum the Iraqi pre- against him. "But your analysis is true, that's it Piramagrun on 24 December against the PUK- sident heavily attacked the Change list leader bad for all of them, but the reason people vote ruled local government, something which the and accused him of all the dark episodes in the for Gorran is not because of Naswhirwan. The residents of the town denied. history of PUK, like the civil wars and the che- main reason is that the people are tired of the While the PUK says the Change list cannot be mical attacks in Halabja. In a short interview corrupted political parties. Why did the people able to carry out it's promises to the people, the from his major power base in Slemani, vote for Change in Erbil? While the KDP is in Change says it created an active parliament and Nawshirwan Mustafa said the allegations of power?" JaIaI Talabani weren't based on facts or docu- a voice of the unrepresented people in ments. The Change list leader said that it was Change list MP Pirdawed adds that the PUK- Kurdistan. It's likely the competition between Saddam that threatened Halabja with chemical leaders want to damage the image of Change PUK and Gorran will continue, especially in bombing and he is thus not responsible for the and want to show the Kurdish people the formerly PUK-dominated regions like Kirkuk Halabja bomb attack in 16 March 1988, which Change list is just a copycat of PUK and not and Sulaimanyah. © Rudaw killed thousands of people. Until recently, the anything new. Still he doesn't endorse the sta- Change list leader responded on the Sbeiy.com tements of the PUK and Change list heads. "I

[i] Rudaw.Net! 10 JANUARY 2010 ------war, the Kurdish political parties fought in the Barzani calls for 1990s Barzani's decision came after an extended mee- end of internal ting was held in Erbil joining Barzani, Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Kemal Kerkuki Kurdish fighting and political parties participating in Kurdistan Parliament. Erbil - The Kurdish president Massoud Earlier Kurdish MPs asked Nawshirwan Barzani affirmed that he will not allow internal Mustafa and Jalal Talabani in a letter to stop the fighting to resurge among Kurds calling to political statements and to respect the achieve- resolve political issues inside the Parliament The Kurdish president called to halt all media ments the Kurdish politicians have made in the reports Al Sumaria. debates among political parties after a stepped- past. "The situation Kurdistan is in today, is not thanks to one party, but to all those that have In a statement by Kurdistan Presidency Office, up tone between Patriotic Union of Kurdistan fought for Kurdistan," the letter said. © Rudaw Barzani stressed that no party should be allo- Secretary General JaIaI Talabani and his rival wed to use present rows in aim to destabilize Nawshirwan Mustafa, head of the Change security in the region. Movement (Gorran), reviving fears of the civil

19 I Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti THE JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION JANUARY 7, 2010 Iraq's Security is Kurdistan's Security: An Interview with KRG Intelligence Chief Masrour Barzani

By: Wladimir van Wilgenburg

CCORDING to Masrour Barzani, director of the Ajansi Parastini A Asayistn Heremi Kurdistan (Kurdistan Region Security Protection Agency) of northern Iraq, Kurdish security agencies have the legal right to operate outside of the borders of the three provinces of the KurdlStan region. Barzani IS the son of the current president of the Kurdlstan Regional Government (KRG), Masoud Barzani.

Barzani is also a leading member of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which established the Parastln ("Protection") agency in the late 1960s as the intelligence arm of the KDP. Barzani is also director of the Parastin, which became a leqal msntution in 2004 and focuses on KRG Intelligence Chief Masrour Barzani intelligence gathering, while the KRG's Asayish counterterrorism and internal secunty directorate has executive power and carnes out opera- That IS the intention of the Kurdish leadership and what our agency is tions against security threats. After 9/11, the KRG established an also advocating. We are not there to do any harm to anyone based on umbrella organization that coordinates between the security and intelli- their ethnic backgrounds. Our rmssion and duty is to fight terronsts. If gence bodies of the KDP and the Dazgay Zanyari ("Information someone happens to be a terrorist, they are treated as terrorists, not Agency") of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the KDP's onetime because of their religious or ethnic background. rivai and current partner, now led by Jalal al-Talabani, President of Iraq. JF: In the last elections In January 2009 the Sunni Arab fist al-Hadba JF: Why IS Iraq's Kurdistan region so safe? You can go out late at night won the majof/ty in Ninawa Province. Is this a threat to Kurdish security? here, while the Kurdistan region borders with dangerous areas like Mosul, Klfkuk and the Sunni tf/angle. MB: When al-Habda won the rnajonty In the last provincial election, they decided not to include any Kurdish representatives that had won votes MB: This is a collective work of all people involved in providing security in their districts. [2]lt was the decrsion of al-Hadba that the Kurds should for this area But the main reason is the culture of our people and our not be part of the Mosul government. They decided to boycott the region. The people In the Kurdistan region do not support radicals or Kurdish representatives in their own local government. The Kurdish extrermsrn. There IS very good cooperation between our agency and our reaction was not to participate if they are not Included in the govern- people The support we get from our people is the key. ment. It was their choice.

[There is also] the good system and mechanism that we have put in The Kurds have not been complaining much. Despite atrocities and alle- place, so that all organizations that are working in thiS field are closely gations and complaints against the Kurds, the Kurds have not been so coordlnatmq and have joint centers to share information and to perform vocal and bold, complaining about their situation. This is not widely according to different situations that come up and to respond and face reported In the International community, but the truth is that Kurds are the challenges that we have still victims of ethnic cleansing In Mosul and many of the disputed territories where the Kurds are not well protected. JF' The Kurdistan region borders Klfkuk and Mosul. Some say the Sunni Arabs have gf/evances against the Kurds. Do you have a policy JF: Is this one of the reasons you also operate outside of the Kurdistan of accommodation towards the Arabs? region, because of the huge attacks against Kurds in Ninawa, while the Iraqi government does not want you to operate in the disputed regions? MB: This IS a political decision. The Kurdish leadership has been trying tirelessly and will [continue to] try to make sure that this conflict will MB: There IS not a clear Indication of who should run those areas in the never become an ethnic problem between the Arabs and the Kurds. disputed regions, because the fate of those areas is not yet clear. So we After 1991, there were more than 70,000 Iraqi troops that surrendered have to expedite the process of unplementmq article 140 to determine to the Kurdish forces, but the Kurds did not [take] revenge despite the who will be responsible for the secunty and the political affairs of those fact that the wounds of the chemical bombardments and Anfal campaign areas. [3] For as long as these areas remain in ambiguity, there will be were still fresh in the Kurdish mind. [1] a problem or challenges [over] who controls these areas.

Secondly, there was a major drought here and in the rest of the country In the areas that are predormnantly Kurdish, the Kurdish security forces and many Arab tribes asked for Kurdish support. President [Masoud] and Kurdish administration have the right to protect their constituencies Barzani called on the Kurdish leaders and requested that if Arabs want and Kurdish populations from the threats we have witnessed [bomb to come, they should make a good gesture and open our land to them. attacks against Kurds]. In those areas, we have tried and have expres- The third Instance was in 2003, after the fall of the Saddam regime, sed our willingness to closely coordinate and cooperate with other legal [when] the Kurds were the only organized people With the most power institutions in those areas, namely our Iraqi military, security or police at hand, they could really do much more [politically] than they did. They and the Coalition forces, for providing security. So It IS a joint effort to left all disputed, outstanding issues to the political process and to the protect those people In these disputed terntories. More recently there Iraqi government to solve this problem, rather than taking over. The have been attempts to form Joint committees. Kurds showed that they were here to create peace, harmony with other components In Iraq. JF: A New York Times editorial says Kurdish troops should be reintegra- ted into the Iraqi army, while Kurdish President Barzani has called for a

20 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti unified Kurdish army. [4J The United States is also trying to integrate the are saying indicates that although there is a democratic process and the Kurds into the Iraqi security apparatus. How do you see this? Kurds will probably Win, we should not let them win. This is against democracy; this is hypocrisy ... They have to make up their mind, do they MB: Most of that stems from misunderstanding the Iraqi constitution or believe in democracy or not? misreading it. The President never said he IS going to create an anny. He said he is going to reintegrate the anned forces of the Kurdistan And why it is perceived that Article 140 is pro-Kurdish, who knows? Is region rather than having different groups [with] their own forces. That is there any indication in Article 140 that favors the Kurds? No. Article 140 his idea of creating the unified armed forces of the Kurdistan region. asks for nonnallzation of the Situation, which means undoing the inJUS- That does not mean It will be an army. Iraq will have one army. The tice to the people in Kirkuk Conducting the referendum means letting Kurds were the very first ones who fonned the core of the Iraqi military the people of Kirkuk make the decrsion of where they want to be In the when nobody was willing to become an Iraqi soldier. Some of the end; whether part of the Kurdistan region or not, either way It Will still be Peshmerga [Kurdish militias) already joined the Iraqi anny. If there is a part of Iraq. need to reintegrate more troops, then obviously mrs IS something which Will happen. Why IS there so much sensitivity over why Kirkuk should not be part of the Kurdistan region? Is it a separate state? Is it different? No. They Now when you look inside the security of Kurdistan, according to the have to understand that Iraq, which includes Kurdistan, is one country. Iraqi constitution, Kurdlstan has the right to be responsible for the inter- Kirkuk being [part of the Kurdistan region) or not, It would not make a dif- nal security of Kurdistan. It is the responsibility of the Kurdistan region to ference. Kirkuk would still be part of Iraq. I am calling upon the provide that secunty. Kurdistan IS part of Iraq, so if we have security [for- conscience of the intemational community to make a Judgment. OK, we ces) operating in the Kurdistan region or other parts of Iraq, that is secu- have a democratic process and now they say you cannot apply the rity operating in Iraq collectively. democratic process to this problem because they do not like the results beforehand. Once Kurdistan is secure and you have security forces operating in Kurdistan, they should be included in the overall defense policy of Iraq JF: The conclusum of some foreign analysts is that if Kirkuk becomes because Kurdistan cannot be seen as a separate entity-it is part of Iraq part of the Kurdistan region, Iraq could fall apart. In terms of nghts and duties. Protection of Kurdistan in this region ISthe- refore protection of a part of Iraq. For as long as Iraq is a united coun- MB: OK, can you make important decisions based on assumptions? try, obviously this is the mission of all of us to protect the country in the Then how can they give themselves the nght to make such important best possible way we can. When you look at the defense policy of Iraq, decisions based on assumptions, but they will deprive or prevent the there is a budget that is supposed to be spent on defense, which IS dis- Kurds or forbid the Kurds to make similar assumptions. The Kurds will tnbuted from the overall budget So this also should Include the also assume that they do not want a solution, because they have In mind Kurdistan region, but unfortunately, until now the Kurdistan region has to once again overrun the Kurds or to repeat the Anfal operations [or) been depnved of this budget. repeat chemical bombardments.

JF: The White House declared it would support Article 140 and Article JF: Human Rights Watch says Kurdish security eçenctes mistreat mino- 142 (on constnutumst amendments) of the Iraqi constitution Some say rities and çnnsûsns in Mosul, while the Cnristums support the Kurds In it is a clear signal of U.S. support for the Kurdish position on Kirkuk. But general. Whafs your response to this? on the other hand, you have people saying that President Obama wants a special status for Ktrkuk. MB: We say, let the facts speak. Our counterargument IS: the majonty of the Yezldls, Shabaks, Christians and Turkmen [ethnic and religious MB: Well, I am not In the position to be speaking on behalf of the minorities) have voted for the Kurdistan list In the Kurdistan region, in Americans, but they tell you what is right. Iraq has a constitution; this Kirkuk and in Mosul. So, I do not credit these cntics, who are cnticizinq constitution determmes which way we should move to solve outstanding and accusing the Kurds of mistreatment. Issues with the federal govemment The best solution for the disputed terntones IS what the Iraqi constitution laid down through Article 140; It OK, here is a question to them: If Kurdistan is so bad, why do so IS very clear. The constitution should be the only way forward to solve many Arabs, Christians, Turkmen, Shabak and Yeztdls who are fleeing those outstanding issues. those areas which are known for violence [come) to Kurdistan to seek protection, secunty and stability? We have the facts to speak. Every other article, including article 142, whatever IS In the constitution, Everybody can say what they want, but they have very little to prove. we have accepted that constitution. Most lraqis, 80% of the lraqis voted We have much [evidence] to prove [our case) and many facts on the for that constitution So we cannot be selective in picking one article or ground. We are not in need of talking so much. Ignoring another.

There IS a mechanism In the Iraqi constitution on how the amendments Notes: should be made. As long as we are commrtted to protecting and imple- menting the constitution, there should be no problems. The problems 1. Anfal was the codename of the brutal and repressive campaign car- arise when there are alternative solutions to the constitution that have ned out against the Kurds of northern Iraq by forces of Saddam Hussein been pushed from time to time. These types of efforts are comphcatmq between 1986 and 1989. the issue and they are contrary to the principles of democracy. This is 2. Al-Hadba IS a Sunru Arab political party formed to reduce Kurdish running away from the principles of the constitution. As long as the Influence In the contested governate of Nlnawa. constitution is the arbitrator, I do not think anybody would have any pro- 3. Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, related to the means of deterrm- blems with It. ning the status of contested areas of the Ninawa, Diyala, Kirkuk and Salah al-Dm govemates. Article 140 also seeks to nonnalize the situa-

JF: So In general, you are saymg we should support the IraqI constitution in these areas by undomq the administrative changes and demogra- tion, whIle the New York Times says that the Umted States should not phic policies introduced by Saddam Hussein. support Article 140, because the Kurds WIll use Kirkuk as a steppmg- 4. "Iraq, the Kurds and the Americans," New York Times, December 17, stone for independence. [5J 2009 5. Kirkuk has significant oil reserves that could provide the financial MB: My question to them: Do you want democracy or do you Insist that basis of an independent Kurdish state. the Kurds should never get Kirkuk? My question to those people who wrote that article is this, are you against the Kurds in Kirkuk? What you

21 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti • Rudaw.Net I 08 JANUARY 2010 Mutlak blames Iraqi gov't for making concession to Kurds

in this. Baghdad - The Sunni politician Salih AI- Recently an Iraqi parliamentary committee Mutlak blamed the government for making has prevented al-Mutlak from running in concessions to the Kurds. He was recently elections due to his alleged connections with expelled from Iraqi politics, for being alle- the deposed government of Saddam Hussein. gedly a Baathist. Mutlak wants to the federal status of the Iraq 'The Iraqi government has made too many government and end the autonomy of the concessions to the Kurdish authorities in Iraqi Kurds. North-Iraq," he told Al Jazeera. 'This is not Mutlak is part of the Sunni Iraqi National in the national interest [of Iraq]," he added. Movement, which brings VP Tariq al- According to AI-Mutlak the Kurds want to Hashimi, ex-Iraqi premier Iyad AIawi and divide Iraq in several regions with the sup- Salih al-Mutlak's National Dialogue Front Sunni unrest and disillusionment (Photo: port of the Shia-dominated government, he together. AI Jazeera warns that the banning Rudaw). warned the Kurds are becoming successful al-Mutlak from Iraqi politics could result in

Il Rudaw.Net I 10 JANUARY 2010 Earlier the governor said he would not give Iraq deputy 'one inch of land' to the Kurds and said the Kurdish armed forces in the disputed speaker: Ethnic regions, should be replaced by the Iraqi government. cleansing against The Kurdish intelligence chief Masrour Barzani told the American thinktank Kurds continues Jamestown last week, that the ethnic cleansing of Kurds goes unreported, despite Bagdad - The Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi claims of Kurds threatening minorities in the Parliament Arif Tayfur said that political Kurdish families to leave the regions Jalawe disputed regions. In the last few months groups use violence against Kurdish families and Saidiye," he said. there have been an increased violence in the provinces of Diyala and Nineveh and against Kurds and Kurds are forced to leave force them to leave. The Iraqi politician asks the Iraqi govern- regions, inhabited by a majority of Arabs. ment to end these 'Baathists practices' and to Tayfur says this could result in unfair Iraqi Kurds fear this will influence their number secure these regions and to let the Kurdish elections. "In the last period, there was of votes during the upcoming Iraqi elections families return and protect them. Tayfur also found proof of commando's, formed by ex- on 7 March 2010 (Photo: newsmatique) criticized the governor of Nineveh Asil al- Baathists of the Iraqi government and AI- ©Rudaw Nujaifi for failing to protect the Kurds. Qaida groups, that forced thousands of

a Rudaw.Net I Possible Shia-Kurdish alliance in 13JANUARY 2010 upcoming Iraqi elections By Kovan Selim after the elections. AI-Hakim said he was sure that the problems between Baghdad and Erbil will be solved by democracy and dialogue. Erbil - Shia and Kurdish parties want to cooperate for the upcoming elections in Iraq. Ammar al-Hakim wants an united list to Ammar ai-Hakim has been visiting Erbil for ensure Kurdish and Shia rights are guaranteed days, to discuss a possible alliance. and this would change the policies of Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Hakim's party is part of the big- AI-Hakim leads the Islamic Supreme Council gest Shia list, the Iraqi National Alliance, uni- in Iraq (lSCI), the second biggest Shia party, ting the Badr organization, the Sadrists and next to the Al-Daawa party of the Iraqi Prime parties. The Iraqi national Alliance chose Miruster Maliki. AI-Hakim hopes to continue Abdul-Mehdi as a candidate for the Prime good cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds, a thers of the SIIC give us this proposal, and we Ministership of Iraq, while the State of Law policy that was set up by his father, who died are convinced that our long cooperation will Alliance, which includes Maliki's Dawa of cancer last year. "We, the ISCI, have had continue," said the Kurdish president party, will probable again choose Maliki as a good relations with the Kurdish parties for a Barzani. candidate. long time. Together we fought against Saddam and build up Iraq. We want to conti- According to press reports, AI-Hakim made After the Iaqi elections of 15 December 2005, nue this," AI-Hakim said during a press the ruling Kurdish parties KDP and PUK a the Kurds didn't want a Prime Minister from conference in Erbil. proposal to participate in the upcoming Iraqi the Dawa-party, and wanted Abdul-Mehdi to elections in March, with one list. The Kurdish become the new PM. But eventually Al- AI-Hakim spoke with both the Kurdish presi- political parties think cooperation after the Maliki replaced the former PM AI-Jaafari, as dent Massoud Barzani and the Iraqi president elections is better. But AI-Hakim ensured the a compromise candidate (Photo: Rudaw). JaIaI Talabani. "We are happy that the bro- Iraqi Kurds it will support the Kurds, also

22 ' Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti II Rudaw.Net I 09 JANUARY 2010 cies and the lynch attempts do not stop, the PKK: "The Kurds will defend themselves," the PKK said. According to the PKK, the Kurdish Kurdish people population would not be responsible for the results, if anything happened. should defend The PKK also criticized the Iranian government for executing the PJAK-member Fesih itself' Yasamini (28) and bombing the border regions, which killed Kurdish border inhabi- Behdinan - The Kurdistan Workers Party tants. Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PKK) declared in a statement, that the (PJAK) is an Iranian offshoot of the PKK. Kurds should defend themselves against the trying to eliminate the PKK and the Kurdish Yasamini was the second Kurdish activist 'provocations' of Turkey and Iran reports people by pressuring them, referring to the executed in Iran in recent months. At least 17 ANF. closure of the DTP-party and mass arrests of other activists are on death row. © Rudaw The PKK said that the Turkish government is Kurdish politicians. "If the assimilation poli-

Guardian january 13,2010 Ba'ath saga haunts Iraq's future De-Ba'athification is derailing the national reconciliation process, but Sunnis will not necessarily choose to boycott elections deep-rooted regime loyalists even if they thought they were (that is the Shia tribes, Kurdish Jash, and so on).

•Ranj Alaaldin Moreover, the list issued by the commission also includes non- ...... Sun ni Arab groups. It includes, for instance, Jawhar al-Harki, a Kurd who calls himself a former adviser to Saddam; it also includes Arshad al-Zibari, again a Kurd who has been cited as a close friend and ally of Saddam's. Both are allied with the al-Hadba The Iraqi government is treading a fine line after its group in Mosul, which controls the provincial council there. AI- Accountability and Justice commission (also known as Hadba, dominated and funded by Ba'ath loyalists, is also part of the "de-Ba'athification" commission) moved to bar a pro- the INM. Curiously, the commission does not ban them outright. I minent Sunni politician, Salah al-Mutlaq, and 14 others from contesting the national elections in March because of their Historically, the Ba'athists have a habit of resurfacing and exploi- ties with the outlawed Ba'ath party. ting state and military structures, and there is still a significant group of Ba'athists within and/or beyond Iraq's borders that Mutlaq heads the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, which in last continue to prepare and mount terrorist atrocities. What is diffi- year's provincial elections performed well in Sunni-dominated cult to determine is whether those seemingly reconciled areas. He is considered a key player, and for the forthcoming elec- Ba'athists have truly changed their colours, and herein lays the tions has joined forces with fellow former Ba'athist and former concerns of not just Iraq's Shias and Kurds but also of current Iraqi premier Ayad Allawi, along with current vice-president British ambassador to Iraq John Jenkins, who last week gave evi- Tariq al-Hashimi. Both command a significant following and the dence to the Iraq inquiry. Further, Mutlaq himself has courted grouping, named the Iraqi National Movement (INM), should be factions that still support the Ba'ath party, suggesting it continues a force to be reckoned with, especially if previous election results to be a key component of Iraqi society. are anything to go by. What is not clear at this point is how the Arab street feels, an It is no surprise then that Sunni officials consider this another important factor in determining how the Sunni electorate will plot by the Shia-dominated government to outmanoeuvre and react on 7 March. Iraq's other dominant Sunni groups, such as marginalise the Sunnis, who this time round are expected to the Anbar Awakening Council, led by Abu Risha, and the Iraqi come out and vote en masse and, therefore, threaten the domi- Accord Front coalition, which used to include Tariq al-Hashimi, nance of Iraq's other major groups. have so far provided a relatively muted response. They may see The whole affair may indeed seem like a sinister anti-Sunni cam- no reason to boycott the elections; the latter took part in the 2005 paign in anticipation of the coming elections. After all, Mutlaq's election despite a Sunni boycott, while the former will point out Ba'ath history has been known all along, and never stopped him that Mutlaq himself decided to contest the 2005 election while from contesting the 2005 elections. INM officials have linked the they, along with the rest of the Awakening forces, were busy figh- decision to Iranian foreign minister Manuchehr Mottaki's visit to ting coalition forces. Baghdad, just one day before it was made. Mutlaq's coalition partners in the INM, made up mostly of prag- Prolific Iraq commentator Reidar Visser refers to the "selective matists, are also unlikely to withdraw from the political process, de-Ba'athification" process being pursued in Iraq, given that his- despite threatening to do so. Further, it is hoped the Sunnis have torically, he notes, the Shias and Sunnis alike co-operated with largely left, or hope to leave behind their violent, exclusionary the old regime in their millions. He criticises the Iraqi govern- past in the new Iraq. It is difficult to imagine that they would ment for singling out Sunni political opponents as Ba'athists and make the same strategic mistakes. for silently co-opting political friends without mentioning their Still, Iraq's electoral commission will decide whether to press Ba'athist ties at all. ahead with the ban after it has received the commission's formal But while Visser's argument holds water to some extent, it is report. Suspected parties can then launch an appeal. However, important to draw a line between those Ba'athists who were dee- the saga has already hurt the process of national reconciliation, ply embedded within the regime through and throughout (that is imperative for long-term stability and US withdrawal plans, and Mutlaq) and those that may have served the regime's opportunis- as a result the damage may have already been done. tic endeavours at any given point and who were not, therefore,

23 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii 06Sëivateur DU 7 AU 13 JANVIER 2010 C'est un changement de régime. depuis le début des troubles, les gardiens IRAN de la révolution - les fameux pasdarans - ont confisqué le pouvoir aux mollahs, piliers de la République Islamique Et désormais Ils font régner la terreur rendu la semame derruere, malgré l'mterdic- non formelle du régime, au CImetière de Behecht e Zahra où a été enterré le neveu de MIr Hossein Moussavi, tué par balle lors des Lordre des célébrations de la fête de l'Achoura, le 27 dé- cembre. Selon lUI, lors des derniers rassem- blements, c'est à peine SI ses amis opposants évoquaient encore la fraude électorale qui a pasdarans déclenché la cnse pohtique, il y a sept mois, Ce qu'Ils réclamaient, c'est la démocratie et la fm du uelayai, ce pouvoir suprême du GUIde qui demeure le fondement du régime. SI bien en'est plus seulement un bruit de IlLaissez-nous les mains libres pour rendre qu'aujourd'hui, dans les rues de Téheran ou bottes Venue des casernes, la aveugle l'œü de fa discorde Il, demande aussi menace se répand désormais par l'editoriahste de «Sob-e Sadegh » (« Matin d'Ispahan, on ne se demande plus si mais tous les canaux officiels du ré- smcere »), la revue politique des gardiens de quand le Guide suprême va lâcher les pasda- gime de la Répubhque Islamique. la révolution. Une pnere adressee au GUIde rans sur l'oppositton. CUn appel aux armes qui a pns ces derniers suprême pour lui signifier que l'armée idéolo- Est-ce pourtant SI SImple de donner carte JOurs la forme d'un appel au meurtre. C'est gique du régime, pas encore directement rm- blanche aux ultras de la nouvelle nomenkla- l'ayatollah Haen Shirazi, par exemple, qUI af- phquée dans la répression, s'impatiente. Car tura rmhtaire, des jusqu'au-bounstes qui veu- firme récemment sur la télévision d'Etat que jusqu'ici les assassmats, les milliers d'arresta- lent éradiquer la révolution de velours à les arrestations d'opposants sont une mau- tions, les fermetures de journaux ont été com- l'arme lourde? Pas sûr. Car cela sigmfierait vaise stratégie parce qu'elles transforment mis par les miliciens de quartiers, les bassidji que le GUIde décide de laisser les mains libres ces contestataires en victimes, qu'II vaut ou les forces de sécurité en civil, les leba- à un homme comme Abdollah Araghi, le com- mieux élnmner sans autre procés :« Le faü de schahsi. Or, loin d'intimider les protestataires, mandant des gardiens de la révolution de les tuer est commande par l'obéissance à Allah cette répression a au contraire renforcé la dé- Téhéran, qUI a prétendu que les contesta- et au Prophete Ne pensez pas que le GUIdesu- termmation d'une opposition peu structurée taires avaient prévu de renverser le régime prême SOIt coiffé d'un turban moelleux dont tous les observateurs avalent prédit bien avant le résultat des elections du 12Juin, L'Imam caché le soutient et son turban est de l'épuisement. affirmant: IlLe régime n'est pas en posüum de fer. fi bnsera vos têtes. Il Ou l'ayatollah fonda- perdre du temps en Jugeant les saboteurs. La mentahste Ahmad [annan, chef du Conseil La « république des képis )) Sécunté nationale exige que ces saboteurs des Gardiens, qui, pendant son préche du «jusqu'à quand le régime va-t-u tolérer soient pums aussi tnie que possible Il Ou au gé- vendredi à la grande mosquée de Téhéran, d'entendre les opposants appeler de leurs néraI Massoud ]azayen, chef de la propa- menace ouvertement de mort les leaders de la gande du régime, qUI a exige des services de vœux sa chute » Il,s'interroge Ramin, qUI s'est révolte renseignement et de la Justice une plus grande sévénté, declarant : IlLes traîtres ne detmuent pas être autonsés à faire fa fête. Il Pour ces anciens commandants de la guerre contre l'Irak, la révolte verte n'est pas une affaire politique mais un simple problème sécuntaire. C'est aussi ce dont Moshtaba Khamenei, l'héritier, celur qui commande à tout l'appareil securitaire des gardien~ de la révolution, voudrait convaincre son père Tous appellent de leurs vœux l'mstauration d'un etat d'urgence qUI les affranchirart une fOISpour toutes du carcan jundique MaIS en Iran la Constitution ne permet la declaration dt' l'etat d'urgence qu'en temps de guerre, et pour moms de trente JOurs Et l'ayatollah AlI Kharnenei salt qu'une 101 rnaruale nsque de provoquer un embrasement D'ou sa volonte de temponser, en ordonnant des assassinats CIbles, comme celui du neveu de MIr Ilossem Moussavi, ou des arrestanons penphenques, comme celle de la sœur de Shinn Ebadi, pnx Nobel de la paix, qUI \ isent a mnrrnder les me- L'AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI SAIT QU'UNE LOI neurs de la contestation Surtout, Il voudrait eviter d'Imposer un regime d'exception qUI le -: ._.-hl.~: L _-- PI{(\VOQUi:n. <'::-1 EHt.t',{S:.g;:;vi~~ '" D'OÙ SAVOLONTÉ DE TENIR PRISE rendrait hu-même pnsonruer de cette armee à

24 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti laquelle Il devrait sa survie politique premiers entrepreneurs de l'Iran. Ils ont no- Neanmoins, l'omrupresence d'une Junte mi- tamment le monopole du commerce illégal de litaire devient de plus en plus evidente au fur Les chiens de garde contournement de l'embargo Il us sancttons, et a mesure que la République Islamique dl- du régime lam d'affaiblir la nomenklatura milüaire du vorce de son clerge Il Depuis les evenements pays, la renforcent et transforment les géné- de l'Achoura, la République ISlamique n'est de ,= 10 000 membœs raux en mtllumnatres dont vous pouvez uotr culémeni plus celle des mollahs mais celle des les placements fructifier d011Sles pays du Golfe képIs JI, analyse un militant de l'opposmon Bassidji 1 200 000 ou s'effondrer comme dans la cr/se de Car en ceJOur sacré entre tous pour les chutes, Dubai _Il, explique un econorruste trarnen. les nervis du régime ont ouvert le feu sur la ••tttt,.t.ttttt'tt.t Cette mainmtse des gardiens de la révolution foule, ce que même la Savak, la redoutable po- ttttttt""tttttt,tt sur l'économie de l'Iran, favonsée par le pre- lice politique du shah n'avait pas ose faire à sident Ahrnadmejad, a ete confortée par le dé- la veille de la revolution de 1979 Un tabou a t.ttt.tttttt't,tt,t. cuplement de leur mfluence politique à la eté levé Et dans un pays ou l'on revit de ma- ttttttt,t,tt.t",t,t faveur de la cnse politique de ces derrners mère passionnelle et incarnee la tragedie de mois. Hussem, le petit fils du Prophete, assassiné en ttttttt,tt,tttt,t,tt Pourtant, les gardiens de la révolution ne 680 a Kerbala, chaque camp accuse l'autre tttttttttt.t"'ttttt sont pas encore prêts à prendre seuls les rênes d'être son Yazid, le calife omeyyade qui assas- Gardiens de la révolution 400 000 du pouvoir : Il Ils n'ont pas produü de person- sma Ie samt t,ttt,.tttt,ttt",tt nalüés représentant les differents courants Qom, centre de la contestation poliuco-nuùtaires qUIpourraient être les chefs d'une Junte, assure un analyste iranien, mats A coup d'anathèmes, le régime excommu- tttt,tt"t",tt,tt., avec l'affatbhssement de Khamenei, cela ne me desormais les plus hauts dignitaires reh Armée de métier 300 000 sauraü tarder Il Certams proches du régime greux qui osent condamner la repression admettent que Kharnenei est déjà de plus en Comme a Shiraz, ou les bassrdji ont chante ,~"ttttttttttttt~t~ ~Utttttt,tï plus dépendant de sa garde rapprochee, la dl- des slogans contre l'ayatollah Dastgheib, un vision Mohammad Rassoul Allah comman- des marla (source d'mutation) d'Iran, membre Police, gendarmerie 250000 dee par le géneral Arahi. Avec la cnse, le de l'Assemblée des Experts. Une autre fois, GUIde suprême a aussi perdu son rôle d'arbi- c'est la maison de l'ayatollah Sanei qui était ~'1~'1~~t.t~"'~~1t~tre entre des factions nvales qUI se neutrali- .l';..~.~.4~ attaquee par des miliciens en civil Il Sur huit J: or '! '~I: saient Jusqu'a présent. Et depuis qu'il est sources d'mutation religieuse en Iran, zl n'en pnve du soutien des mollahs, donc de sa légi- reste plus qu'un, l'ayatollah Noun Hamadani, tirmté religieuse, Il est autant cerné que pro- pour soutenzr mcondiiumnellemeni le regime tégé par ses gardiens. Reste que, comme tous La legitmuié religieuse de la Republique ISla- les centres de pouvoir de l'Iran, les gardiens mique s 'érode un peu plus chaque Jour JI, dé- casquette JI, assure un universitaire tramen, en de la revolution sont dIVISés Les idéologues crypte un Journaliste Ira men qUI préfère prenant l'exemple du general-ayatollah Saleh, sectaires et les securitarres s'opposent aux af- garder l'anonymat membre des gardiens de la révolunon, et qUI fairistes pragmatiques qUI, ne pouvant quit- Qom, le Vatican iraruen, est devenu l'un des supervise les questions nucléaires Les gar- ter le pays leur fortune sous le bras comme centres de la contestation. Le 21 décembre diens sont-Ils devenus les nouveaux apparat- l'avalent fait les barons du shah, sont enclins dernier, les funérailles du grand ayatollah chiks de ce régime en cnse? Selon Mohsen a trouver un compromis avec l'OPPOSition. drsstdent Hossein Ali Montazen ont tourné a Sazegara, un dissident qui fut l'un des fonda- Face à ce pouvoir sous pression, la straté- la marufestation antigouvernementale. teurs des gardiens de la révolunon, cité par le gie de l'opposition est de gagner du temps, Theoncien de la revolution Islamique de 1979 rapport de la Rand Corporation . Il ils sont Comme l'explique un etudiant de l'universite et artisan de la Consutunon de la Republique comme un croisement entre le Parti commu- de Tehéran: Il Nous devons rester un mouve- Islamique, l'ayatollah devait succéder a mste, le KGB, une mulimatumale et la mafia Il ment de désobéissance cunle Durer coûte que l'Imam Khorneim Jusqu'a ce qu'II prenne Déja, plusieurs mois avant les elections de coûte. En attendant qu'tls se dechirent. Il ses distances avec les dénves du régime et jum 2009, la nuhtansation du pays etait effec- SARA DANIEL son pnncïpe fondateur du veJayal-e faqlh, le tive C'est à ce moment-là que les diVISIOns Ilgouvernement du docte Il qut confère au re- des gardiens, auxquelles ont été incorporées ligieux la pnmaute sur le pouvoir politique les milices des bassidji, ont investi chacune Il Moniazen n'est pas mort, c'est legouverne- des trente provinces d'Iran Les gardiens ont

ment qUIest mort JI, scandait la foule qui SUI- alors formé un gouvernement de l'ombre qUI vait son enterrement en arborant des a peu à peu dommé toutes les autres instances foulards, écharpes ou bracelets verts, signes du pOUVOIr.Ils contrôlent non seulement des de ralliement de l'opposinon. pans entiers du secteur Judiciaire -les quartiers des pnsonruers politiques, comme les Un gouvernement de l'ombre sections 209 et 601 de la pnson d'Evme à Il Ily a encore des mollahs autour du Guu1e Tehéran - mais aussi les mstallations por- suprême, mats Ils ont faii toute leur carriere tuaires, les telecornmumcanons et le bâtiment dans les casernes. Sous le turban, on VOltleur C'est le Il miltbusmess Il : les gardiens sont les

25 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieto-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti Iran: ~ _'_Jan_v_ie_r_20_1_0 _ Ces minorités qui peuvent tout faire basculer Les différents groupes ethniques pourraient soutenir le mouvement démocratique. Mais cet engagement ne sera pas sans contrepartie.

Selig S. Harrison The New York Times

ans l'Iran multiethnique actuel, la Dplus grande menace qui guette les ayatollahs et les généraux ne vient pas du Mouvement vert, mais des groupes sépa- ratistes de plus en plus actifs dans les régions kurde, baloutche, azérie et arabe. Les minorités ethniques représentent environ 44 % de la population iranienne, majoritairement perse. S'ils s'associaient, le mouvement pour les réformes démocra- tiques et les insurgés ethniques pourraient sérieusement ébranler la République islamique. Toutefois, le Mouvement vert - tout comme une grande partie de l'establishment clérical, militaire et des affaires - est dominé par une élite perse bien éta- blie qui, jusqu'à présent, a toujours refusé d'apporter son soutien aux revendications des minorités. Celles-ci réclament des investisse- ments plus importants pour assurer le développement économique des régions non perses, une part plus importante des profits générés par le pétrole et par les autres ressources naturelles exploitées dans leurs régions, la liberté d'utiliser sans entraves des langues autres que le persan dans le système d'éducation et le fait de ne pas être persécuté pour ses croyances religieuses. Au sein de ces minorités, certains responsables estiment que de tels objectifs peuvent être atteints par l'attribution d'une autonomie régio- et en Irak. Mais les Etats-Unis souhaitent autres minorités, mais ils ont l'impression nale dans le cadre de l'actuelle maintenant un Irak uni au sein duquel les que les Perses les méprisent. Les Arabes Constitution, mais la plupart d'entre eux Kurdes, les chiites et les sunnites coopè- qui vivent dans la province du veulent faire de l'Iran une confédération rent. L'Iran veut lui aussi d'un Irak uni Khouzestan, dans le sud-ouest du pays, décentralisée ou obtenir leur indépen- parce qu'il craint que ses propres ressor- appartIennent eux aussi à la confession dance. Les Etats-Unis devraient-ils four- tissants kurdes ne se rangent derrière chiite. Comme la province génère 80 % nir des armes et des ressources financiè- ceux de l'Irak et de la Turquie pour créer des revenus du pétrole brut iranien, la res aux insurgés ethniques Pendant la un Kurdistan indépendant. Ainsi, le fait menace séparatiste qu'ils représentent est présidence de Bush, un débat a fait rage d'apporter son aide au PJAK [Parti pour celle que craint le plus Téhéran. Jusqu'à entre ceux qui, à la Maison-Blanche, se une vie libre au Kurdistan], principal présent, les factions arabes, divisées, montraient favorables à un "changement groupe rebelle kurde en Iran, pourrait à n'ont pas réussi à créer une milice. Elles de régime" à Téhéran et privilégiaient les l'avenir nuire à la coopération entre l'Iran effectuent cependant périodiquement des interventions secrètes à grande échelle, et les Etats-Unis, en plus de compliquer raids sur des installations de sécurité du afin de diviser le pays, et les modérés du les négociations sur le nucléaire. gouvernement, bombardent des sites de département d'Etat, pour qui toute mani- Les Baloutches et les Kurdes appar- production pétrolière et diffusent de la festation de soutien à l'égard des minori- tiennent à la confession musulmane sun- propagande en arabe sur les chaînes de tés risquait de compliquer les négocia- nite. Ils se battent contre la violente télévision satellite depuis l'extérieur de tions pour l'obtention d'un accord répression religieuse et la discrimination l'Iran. nucléaire avec l'élite perse. Depuis que culturelle et économique exercées par les Les affrontements militaires les plus les Etats-Unis et Israël ont cherché à chiites. La plus importante des minorités, graves entre les gardiens de la révolution déstabiliser les zones kurdes de l'Irak de les Azéris turcophones, appartient quant à et les groupes séparatistes se sont dérou- Saddam Hussein, le Mossad [les rensei- elle à la confession chiite, et l'ayatollah lés sur la frontière kurde. En septembre gnements israéliens] entretient des Khamenei en est lui-même issu. Les 2007, l'Iran y a bombardé à plusieurs contacts avec des groupes kurdes en Iran Azéris d'Iran sont plus riches que les reprises les repaires du PJAK. Au

26 I Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti Baloutchistan, les gardiens de la révolu- les actions désordonnées des insurgés Obama devra faire preuve d'une grande tion subissent régulièrement des pertes ethniques peuvent sembler mineures. prudence au moment d'aborder la ques- importantes à cause des milices du mou- Mais, si les différents groupes ethniques tion. Les Etats-Unis seront en effet obli- vement Jundullah [Armée d'Allah], qui parviennent à former un front uni et que gés de prendre conscience qu'il est opèrent de l'autre côté de la frontière, l'opposition démocratique se joint à eux, impossible, d'une part, d'apporter son dans les zones baloutches du Pakistan et les chances de réformer ou de renverser la soutien aux groupes séparatistes et, de de l'Afghanistan. République islamique, aujourd'hui fai- l'autre, de maintenir des relations diplo- Lorsqu'on les compare aux énormes bles, deviendront une réalité. matiques avec le régime actuel. manifestations qui ont eu lieu à Téhéran, Voilà pourquoi l'administration

I ODSéivateur I Le président irakien veut lever 12 Janvier 2010 l'lrnmunlté de députés baassistes

cihanon avec ceux qUI veulent ramener le Par Walld Ibrahim I (Reuters) pays à l'ère du crime et de la tyrannie', a déclaré Djalal Talabani dans son communi- BAGDAD - Le président Irakien Djalal qué. Talabani a demandé au parlement de lever S'II ne cite pas le Baas dissous, Talabani l'Immunité de certains députés accusés de épingle nommément le député sunnite Dhafer propager des Idées proches du Baas, l'ancien al Ani, l'accusant d'avoir fait l'éloge de la parti au pouvoir sous le régime de Saddam guerre Irak-Iran de 1980-88, du massacre de Hussein. Kurdes durant la même décennie et de l'inva- Le chef de l'Etat, un Kurde, estime que sion du Koweit de 1990 comme des accom- ces parlementaires, ISSUSde la rmnonté sun- plissements de l'ancien régime. être contestées devant les tribunaux, comme nite qui dominait le pays jusqu'à l'Invasion "Nous constatons qu'Ani et ses arms, au compte le faire la Liste iranienne dirigée par anqlo-arnéricame de 2003, nuisent au pro- lieu de s'efforcer de stabiliser le processus le vice-président sunnite Tarek al Hachémi. cessus de normalisation politique, à moins de démocratique et de participer à la lutte contre Ce mouvement laïque à dominante sun- deux mois des élections législatives de mars. le terrorisme et la cnmmanté, consacrent tou- nite, qui compte dans ses rangs d'autres per- En vertu de la Constitution adoptée sous tes leurs forces à porter atteinte à la situation sonnalités Influentes comme le député sun- la houlette de l'occupant américain après actuelle", afürme-t-u. nite Saleh al Moutlak, considéré comme pro- 2003, les députés irakiens Jouissent d'une Ani a pour sa part accusé Talabaru de che du défunt Baas, et l'ancien Premier Immunité judiciane pour leurs déclarations s'en prendre à hn parce qU'II avait appelé à ministre chiite Iyad Allaour, menace de boy- politiques et le président n'a pas les pouvoirs son remplacement. 'Demander au parlement cotter le scrutin. de les en priver. de lever l'Immunité de députés parce qu'us Dans un communiqué diffusé lundi SOir, la expriment librement leur opinion est une VIO- "VIOLATION CONSTITUTIONNELLE" présidence ne s'est pas référée directement lation constitutionnelle caractérisée', a-t-il Un tel boycottage reproduirait une situa- au Baas, Interdit, mais demande au parle- ajouté. tion qui avart grevé politiquement les législa- ment d'agir contre des députés qui "portent Alors que les tensions pohtrques s'avivent tives de 2005, risque de relancer les tensions atteinte à la base du système actuel'. à l'approche du scrutin de mars, le Premier mtercommunautaires, alors que la participa- L'Initiative du président Talabani inter- ministre chute Noun al Mallkl a estimé diman- tion de la communauté sunnite, cette fOIS, vient quelques Jours après les recommanda- che que les baasistes devaient 'exclus du était censée couronner un retour la nor- nons de la commission ad hoc chargée de à processus démocratique'. male. passer au crible les candidatures en faveur 'Ils veulent ramener la Violence et la dic- 'Nous confirmons une nouvelle fois que de l'lnéglblllté d'une qumzame de partis soup- tature. Croyez-rnor, SI nous ne faisons pas le la réconciliation nationale est Indispensable. çonnés de liens avec le baassrsrne. bon chOIX à cette élection, nous en revien- Mais nous disons que cela ne veut pas dire Ces recommandations, SI elles sont rati- drons à la case départ •• pour autant un retour au passé ou une récon- fiées par la commission électorale, peuvent Le Premier recensement depuis 1987 en Irak ::~,)~;REUTERS '.: . réalisé en octobre BAGDAD, 16 janvier 2010 (Reuters) ne ra la part des revenus de l'Etat qw leur revient - actuellement 17%. Mais, a souligné Alak, le recensement ne s'occupera pas de savoir si Les autorités irakiennes procéderont en octobre prochain au pre- telle ou telle région appartient à telle ou telle communauté. "C'est l'af- mier recensement depuis 23 ans, une opération qui devrait notam- faire des hommes politiques", a-t-u souligné. ment fournir la réponse à des questions politiquemement délicates comme celle du nombre de Kurdes vivant dans la région riche en Le recensement de 1997 avait établi que l'Irak comptait 19 millions pétrole et ethniquement divisée de Kirkouk. d'habitants et seulement "estimé" que trois millions de plus vivaient dans le nord. n s'agira donc du premier recensement compatabilitant Différé depuis un an en raison précisément de ses implications poli- la population kurde depuis 23 ans. tiques, le recensement, selon son responsable, Mehdi al Alak, devrait en outre mesurer le nombre d'Irakiens poussés par l'invasion de 2003 Selon Alak le nombre total d'Irakiens dépasserait actuellement les 30 à quitter le pays où à y revenir. millions. Les opérations seront menées par 200.000 à 250.()()0 institu- teurs et 1O.()()0à 15.000 autres fonctionnaires, qui ne poseront pas de Si les Kurdes sont plus nombreux à Kirkouk que les Arabes et les questions sur l'appartenance des sondés à telle ou telle secte (chiite Turkmènes, cela renforcera leur revendication sur la région. De ou sunnite) mais seulement à leur religion principale (chrétienne ou même le nombre total d'habitants au Kurdistan autonome détermi- musulmane, par exemple). 27 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

I Ii?l i (r:ti' ),e] 13}anVler 2010 I Une série télévisée ravive la crise israélo-turque

loups, une série très populaire LAURE MARCHAND disproportionnees et ils s'en ser- dans les foyers turcs, met notam- vent» avait denoncé, lundi, Notez AFIN de s'assurer que la convo- ment en scène des agents du Recep Tayyip Erdogan en faisant qu'il est assis cation de l'ambassadeur turc, Massad enlevant un bébé turc. référence a un raid de Tsahal di- à un niveau lundi, ne passerait pas inaperçue, Un responsable du ministre des manche a Gaza. En janvier 2009, inférieur le vice-ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères a déclaré au au sommet de Davos, le premier Affaires étrangères, Danny quotidien israélien Haaretz que ministre turc s'était emporté au nôtre, Ayalon, a pris soin de faire re- cette réprimande avait un second contre le président israélien, qu'il n'y a marquer aux journalistes le trai- objectif: « Lieberman (le chef de Shimon Pérès, qui justifiait l'of- qu'un drapeau tement réservé au représentant la diplomatie israélienne) veut fensive contre l'enclave palesti- israélien turc : « Notez qu'il est assis à un [aire monter la pression avant la nienne. Depuis, ses critiques ré- niveau inférieur au nôtre, qu'il n'y visite de M. Barak» en Turquie. stu' la table gulières contre Israel, plébiscitées a qu'un drapeau ISraélien sur la Repondant à une invitation du DANV AVALON, par l'opinion turque et celle des table » L'objectif affiché de cet président turc, Abdullah Gill, le VICE-MINISTRE pays arabes, ont mis à mal l'al- accueil, qualifié de «bizutage» ministre de la Défense israélien est ISRAELIEN DES liance stratégique traditionnelle par les médias israéliens, était de attendu dimanche à Ankara À AFFAIRES des deux pays dans la région. Fi- protester contre la diffusion d'un quelques jours de ce déplacement ETRANGÈRES dèle a sa posture, M. Erdogan a téléfilm turc «anti-israélien et censé apaiser la crise que traver- fait savoir qu'il boycotterait la antisémite», selon Danny Aya- sent la Turquie et Israel depuis prochaine rencontre a Davos, Ion. Un épisode de La Vallée des plus d'un an, l'emballement di- comme il l'avait «promlS» l'an plomatique provoqué par La Val- dernier. Réagissant a ses derniè- lée des Loups est révélateur de res déclarations, le porte-parole l'état de leurs relations bilatérales du ministère israelien des Affaires Hier, c'était au tour de l'ambassa- étrangères a rétorqué que «la deur israélien d'être sermonné à Turquie n'{était] pas en position de Ankara pour « l'insolence» avec faire la morale a Israel» -. laquelle l'État hébreu avait traité son diplomate. Et les autorités turques réclament « des excuses». Surenchères turques Le côté turc n'est pas en reste dans la surenchère. Les Israéliens ont «des capacités (militaires)

felJlonde 16 Janvier 2010 Iran: polémique sur la mort d'un physicien M.Mohammadi ne travaillait pas sur le nucléaire, affirme l'opposition

gé dit « ne pas uvorr eu conncnssun- es funérailles de Massoud Ali mathématIque et la physique des ce d'un engagement politIque" de Mohammadï. Jeudi 14janvier hautes énerqies» sa part C'est ausst ce qu'a déclaré à à Téhéran, sous haute sur- La consultation de la littérature L l'Agence France-Presse le direc- veillance policière, ont donné lieu à scientifique confirme que les tra- teur du département de physique de nouvelles tensions entre un mil- vaux du scientifique assassmé, de l'université de Téhéran, où lier de manifestants de l'OPPOSI- acceptés par les meilleures revues, enseignait le chercheur tion, selon des témoms, et les forces ne concernaient pas la physique Au contraire, Ahmad Shirzhad, de l'ordre Ce physicien de 50 ans nucléaire Le chercheur travaillait professeur de physique à l'umversi- est mort le 12 janvier à Téhéran sur les aspects les plus ésoténques té d'Ispahan et proche de l'opposi- seur était l'un des leurs et ensei- dans l'explosion d'une moto pié- de la physique des particules - gnait ill'université Imam-Hossein gée DepUIS,une polémique a surgi considérations théonques très tion, affirme sur son blog que M Ali de Tél-érar., proche de l'aile dure sur la nature exacte de ses activités éloignées des problèmes de physi- Mohammadl a participé aux rnaru- du pouvoir et l'un des lieux où Peu après l'attentat,les médias que appliquée posés par la réalisa- festations contestant l'élection de s'élabore le programme nucléaire. officiels, repns depuis par le prési- tion d'armes ou de réacteurs M Ahmadinejad DessltesWebpro- M Ali Mohammadi avait aussi dent iranien. ont déploré la perte nucléaires Ce fait n'écarte cepen- ches de l'opposition ont également été nommé par le gouvernement d'un «émmentsC/entifique nucléai- dant pas complètement l'éventua- publié un document selon lequel le pour représenter l'Iran au sem du re", dénonçant l'imphcation des lité que le savant ait pu Jouer un chercheur aurait Signé un texte, projet «Sesame", un accélérateur services secrets améncains et Israé- rôle dans le programme nucléaire avec plusieurs centames de SCienti- de particules basé en Jordanie des- liens Pourtant, l'un des paIrS de de son pays fiques, soutenant la candidature, tmé à la recherche fondamentale, Massoud Ah Mohammadi, joint en en [um, de Mir Hossem Moussavi, fruit d'une collaboration entre les Iran par Le Monde, assure que le Engagement politique amvé deuxième à l'élection et deve- pays de la région (Iran, lsrael.lorda- physicien « ne travaillait pas dans Laquestion de son engagement nu le chef de file de \'opposition me, Egypte, Turquie, etc) • le dama me du nucléaire Son sec- politique est aussi au cœur de la A l'mverse, les Gardiens de la Stéphane Foucart teur d'actIvIté était la physIque controverse Son collègue mterro- révolutIOqaffirment que le profes-

28 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieto-Berheooka Çapê-Ritnsia Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

IRAK: "ALI LE CHIMIQUE" À NOUVEAU CONDAMNÉ À MORT POUR LE MASSACRE D'HALABJA

BAGDAD -17 janvier 2010 - (AFP) Ecran de télévi- sion diffusant des images du Ali Hassan ai-Majid, dit "Ali le Chimique", a été condamné dimanche à procès d'Ali mort pour le massacre en 1988 de 5.000 Kurdes, une décision saluée Hassan al- comme une "victoire" et sous les cris de joie au Kurdistan. Majid, dit "Ali 'La haute cour pénale Irakienne (.. ) condamne Ali Hassan ai-Majid à la pendai- le Chimique", son jusqu'à la mort pour avoir perpetré déllbérement des meurtres, un crime 17 janvier 2010. contre l'Humamté', a affirmé le juge Aboud Moustapha Al-Hamarm, lors d'une séance retransmise par la télévision publique irakienne. A l'annonce de la peine, 'Ali le chimique", vêtu d'un keffieh à damier blanc et noir et d'une longe robe noire, a déclaré 'al-hamdouhllah, al-hamdouhllah' (Dieu salt loué) alors que quelques applaudissements étaient entendus dans la salle. tres avalent été grièvement blessées. Il a également été condamné pour 'le déplacement forcé et la disparition de CIVils',a ajouté le juge. A Halabja, des centaines de proches des victimes se sont rassemblés et ont accueilli le jugement avec des cris et des danses de joie 'Aille Chimique', l'homme de main redouté de son cousin Saddam Hussein, a déjà été condamné à mort à tres reprises pour la répression des rébellions kur- 'Je suis ravie de la peine Tout ce que je souhaite maintenant c'est qu'il soit des et cbntes pendu devant mal", a affirmé à l'AFP Chounam Hassan, une femme de 45 ans, ayant perdu son mari et deux de ses enfants. Le tribunal a par ailleurs condamné à 15 ans de prison les anciens ministre de la Défense et chef des renseignements, Sultan Hachrn Ahmed et Saber Abelel 'Je demande au gouvemement qu'il pourchasse tous ceux qUIont aidé à com- Aziz Hussein al-Douri Un autre chef militaire, Farhan Moutlak al-Joubouri, a mettre le bombardement d'Halabja', a-t-elle ajouté. écopé de 10 ans de prison. 'Le gouvemement doit faire que le bombardement salt reconnu comme un Ils ont été reconnus coupables d'un des pires massacres commis en Irak, qUIa génocide', a renchéri Azad Kamal, 40 ans. symbolisé la brutalité du régime de l'ancien président irakien, Saddam Hussein, 'C'est une victoire pour tous les Irakiens, l'Humanité et les Kurdes car Halabja lUi même exécuté en décembre 2006 est le plus grand crime de l'époque moderne', a souligné le ministre des Martyrs Alors que la guerre avec l'Iran tirait à sa fin, les combattants kurdes s'étaient et des Déplacés du gouvernement autonome du Kurdlstan, Majid Hamed Amin. emparé du Villaged'Halabja en mars 1988 Ali Hassal ai-Majid était alors le chef 'II s'agit d'une condamnation histonque et la preuve que justice a été faite. La d'état-major pour le nord de l'Irak et chargé par Saddam d'organiser la riposte. politique de répression est définitivement terminée', a estimé de son côté le L'armée irakienne avait pilonné la locahté, forçant les Kurdes à se replier vers ministre de la Culture du gouvernement kurde, Kawa Mahmoud. les collines alentours, laissant dernère eux les femmes et les enfants. 'Aille Chimique' a occupé le poste de secrétaire général du parti Baas dans le Le 16 mars en fin de matinée, des avions de chasse irakiens avalent survolé la nord (1987-1989), coordonnant à la fois l'armée, la direction de la sécunté zone, lâchant pendant cinq heures un mélange de gaz moutarde et des neure- générale et les renseignements militaires engagés dans la répression contre les toxiques Tabun, Sarin et VX Kurdes, dite campagne Anfal de 1987-1988, qui avait fait près de 180.000 morts Selon les bilans établis après le gazage, 5 000 personnes avalent trouvè la mort, dont un très grand nombre de femmes et d'enfants Des centaines d'au-

agorakurde.com 16 Janvier 2010 Les Turcs approuvent Hommes et femmes poli- l'interdiction du principal tiques kurdes arrêtés et parti kurde de Turquie menottés Hommes et femmes politiques kurdes arrêtés et menottés Un sondage effectué par le Centre de Recherche stratégi- que et social, MetroPOLL(Ankara) réque la rnajonté des Turcs sont opposésà "l'ouverture démocratique" envers les Kurdes et approuvent la dissolution du pnncipal parti kurde (le DTP,Parti démocratique du peuple).

I Pius de la moitié des sondés, 53,8%, ont répondu qu'ils ne tionnelle alors que 25% se sont déclarés opposés à cette I soutenaient pas du tout "l'ouverture démocratique" lancée décision. : par le Gouvernement turc au début de l'automne 2009 et I qui était censée régler "démocratiquement" la question La majonté des personnes interrogées, 66,6%, a déclaré kurde. 7,4% des sondés ont répondu qu'ils n'avaient pas approuver l'arrestation, menottes aux pomçs, de politiciens d'opinion. kurdes soupçonnés de liens avec le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK). Interrogés sur la dissolution du Parti démocratique du peuple (DTP) le 24 décembre 2009, près de 70% des person- (Source : rudaw. net) nes ont déclaré approuver la décision de la Cour constitu-

29 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rioista Siampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

iitralb'~l€ribunt JANUARY 9-10, 2010 A complicated figure reflects Iraq

RAMADI, IRAQ

As March election nears, a Sunni symbolizes the nation's divisions

, BY ANTHONY SHADID In the unforgiving badlands of western Iraq's Anbar Provmce, once a cradle of the insurgency and now a muddled landscape ofcorruption, simmering stnfe and spirited electoral campaigning, no one seems ready to pardon Hamid al- Hais, Mr, Hais is a sheik, a title that conveys his tribal pedigree. But that momker IS too facile in describing one of the more comphcated figures in Iraq today. He IS also a veteran of the American-backed war agamst insurgents, a Sunm Muslim pohtician and now,in his most recent in- carnation, an unhkely confederate of the Iraqi National Alliance, the Shute Wearing his Beretta on his hip, Hamid al-Hais spoke on his cellphone recently in Ramadi, Iraq. Muslim standard-bearer in elections in Mr. Hais says he is working for peace. Many of his neighbors call him a traitor. March for Parhament. A bid for national unity, Mr. Hais calls his foray across Iraq's entrenched sec- suggested they.wouldtrump any misgiv- States. Since then, some neighbors have tanan divide. Many of his neighbors see ings his constituency might have over taken to calhng Mr. Hais's villa, along it otherwise Atraitor to his sect, a stooge his alliance WithShute parties that many the Euphrates, "the Iranian house" or of neighboring Iran's Shiite government Sunms blame for some of the worst sec- "Khomeim's house." and a rank opportumst, they say. tanan bloodletting in 2006and 2007. "Absolutely, he's carrying out an Ira- Mr. Hais ISa bit player In the larger "I can't say all of them, but my feel- man agenda - without a doubt," said drama of Iraq's March 7 elections, mg?" he said. "They'll follow me." Dhan al-Hadi, an adviser to the gov- which U.S.officiais hope willhelp bndge Mr. Hais, 42, still evokes his youthful ernor of Anbar and deputy of Ahmed divisions In the country as the military days as a ne'er-do-well. In his car, he Abu Risha, a leading tnbal figure m the Withdraws its combat troops by August. played loudly a frenetic strain of Arabic province "You wouldn't find anyone In But In Mr. Hats's qUIXOtiCtrek, there ISa pop and, In jest, swerved toward a Anbar who would dare go to Iran." warmng that the elections may Just as neighbor ndmg a bicycle. (The neigh- Mr. Hats's Shute a1hes at times seem easily deepen the cleavages - tribal, bor frowned.) On the trail, he walked baffled by him, In an Iraqi version of cul- ethnic and sectanan - that still with the swagger that a 9-mlllimeter ture shock. They respect his credentials threaten Iraq's stability nearly seven Beretta gun m his leather holster In leading the fight against msurgents years after the American-led invasion. bnngs. Most of his sentences seemed to and feel confident he can Win over Nowhere ISthat warmng more stark end in an exclamation point. enough of his tnbe to capture a seat or than Anbar, once a showcase of Amen- "Listen to me!" the marned Mr. Hais two. But they are often taken aback at his can success in quellmg the Insurgency. barked into the phone at his grrlfrrend. freewheeling comments In the a1hance's It ISnow an increasingly unsettled ter- He hung up, shaking his head. "She's meetings. Atvarious times, he has prom- ram beset by SUIcideattacks, bombings dnvmg me crazy," he said. ised to open bars In Ramadi, stop veiled and assassinanons that prompted a Butbeneath the bluster ISa compelling women from entenng Anbar University, Sunm leader to declare that working as argument for an Iraqi Identity that tran- break the legs of nval candidates and a pohticran here qualifies as the most scends sect and allows a man like Mr. pursue Baathists Inmghtclubs In Syna. dangerous job in Iraq. Hais, from Iraq's most ardently Sunru re- "Crazy," a Shute colleague said on "I always take the path that poses the gion, to join hands with parties led by condition of anonymity, fearful of pro- most obstacles," Mr. Hais said, scoffing some ofthe most dogmatic Shute clergy. voking him. "Then again, If you call at the risk, as he took the wheel of his "We're actually working against sec- someone crazy In Anbar, they consider white sport-utility vehicle and careened tarianism on the ground, not Just It a comphment." For his part, Mr. Hais through back roads of countryside he through the beautiful words of our finds his new colleagues too reticent. considers his. "I always go where no "They're always calculating before one else dares to go." "They're always calculating they say a Singleword," he complained. He quoted a song by Um Kalthoum, before they say a single word." Lately, though, Mr. Hais seems Just as the Egyptian diva. bewildered by his fellow Sunms. "A confident man walks hke a king," On a cnsp winter day last week, he he declared. speeches," he said. "The Interests of made hrs way to the Nineveh Element- Withhands likespatulas and girth that our country require It." Sofar, his words ary School for Girls in a hard-scrabble nvals his height, Mr. Hais struck an Im- and acnons have prompted more out- neighborhood of Rarnadi, Teachers posing figure as he campaigned along rage than reconsideration. Many in An- there unleashed a torrent of com- the irrigated farms and groves of date bar remain angry about a weekJong trip plaints: trash-strewn streets, a lack of palms outside the provincial capital of Mr. Hais took In June to Iran, a country money for schools, and drinking water Rarnadi, popuJated by families that be- that many Sunms believe dommates the that mixed With sewage and, at times, long to his AJbuDiyab tribe, Tribal loyal- government and poses a greater threat blood runmng offfrom butcher shops. ties still run deep in Anbar, and Mr. Hais to Iraq's interests than the United Mr. Hais hstened, shpped the pnncip-

30 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê Rivista Stampa Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti al an envelope with $1,000, then urged don't want Shiite places of worship An hour later, the meeting ended un- the teachers to orgamze demonstra- here." easily. "They're worn out," Mr. Hais tions. "It's up to you to change the real- More cnncism ensued. "We need said, in explanation. But the anger ity," he insisted. someone like Saddam Hussein,' a wom- seemed to be deeper, more intractable, Before long, a former army officer an cried. "He's a son of Ramadi,' one of the spoke up. "Someone who WIllget you into a war teachers said. "We respect him in that "I want to speak frankly," he said. and make you all widows?" Mr. HaIS way." "We hoped you wouldn't abandon your asked, with a gnmace that suggested he "But," she added, "he's made a mis- province and Jam the alliance." Others might want his money back take." ~odded. "We don't want Shutes coming "At least we're frghtmg Iranians and into Rarnadi," a woman shouted. "We defendmg our country," she answered.

Huge plot spurs lockdown in Baghdad

BAGHDAD

Plan included bombings and a wave of political assassinations, Iraq says

BY TIMOTHY WILLIAMS After learmng of what they called a wide-ranging plot to bomb government rrurnstries and other public places, to be followed by a wave of political assassinations, Iraqi officials responded Tues- day by bringing much of the capital to a virtual standstill while security forces conducted raids that they said netted large quantities of explosives. It appeared that at least 4 suicide car Several candidates have been banned from the parliamentary elections, including Nehro Mohammed bombers - and as many as 10 - were a Kurd accused of supporting Baathism. His backers rallied 1\Jesday in Basra. ' on their way to government buildings Tuesday mornmg when they were liamentary committee empowered to speak to the media. stopped by the police and arrested, the "The situauon ISnow stable," said Ali vet candidates rejected Saleh al-Mutlaq, authorities said. al-Dabbagh, the spokesman for Prune a prominent Sunrn, and prevented other During raids on homes and ware- Munster Nun Kamal al-Mahki, "Secun- political parties from running, alleging houses m Baghdad that lasted ty offrcials have now controlled all the that they had ties to the Baath Party throughout the day, the authorities ar- key areas. There IS nothing to worry which IS banned by the ConstitutIOn: rested 25 people and recovered nearly a There have been protests In vanous about." quarter-ton each of TNT and C4 about The government did not imrnediately Sunni areas since the committee's de- an eighth of a ton of ammomum mtrate ascnbe blame for the plot but has said tn cision. solution and 60 mortar shells, accord mg Sunm Arabs largely boycotted the the past that elements of the outlawed to a statement from Maj. Gen. Qassim parliamentary elections in 2005, giving Baathist Party and AJ Qaeda m Meso- Atta, spokesman for Baghdad Opera- Shute Arabs and Kurds disproportion- potarrua were behmd such attacks. nons Command, which IS responsible ate power ln Parliament and prompting A senes of bombings outside or near increased violence m the country. . for security in the capital. government buildings smce August Even by Iraq's violent standards m On Tuesday, the Shute-led govern- have killed more than 400 people and ment forcefully denounced persistent recent years - durmg which mammoth wounded more than 1,500 m Baghdad, explOSIOns have become an everyday rumors that a military umt sympathetic leading to deep public skepticism about to Mr. Mutlaq might have had a role m possibihty in the capital - the plot the capability of the security forces. would have been devastatmg if carried the plot. "AJI these rumors are meant to Mr. Dabbagh said at a news confer- shake the trust of citizens m ItS armed out as descnbed. ence that the plot appeared to have been The U S. military and the Iraqi gov- forces," said Maj. Gen. Mohammed As- hatched to disrupt the March elecnon ernment have said they expect VIOlence kan, spokesman for the Mmistry of De- the third national vote in Iraq smce the to increase sharply with the approach of fense. "The Iraqi Army ISa professronal U.S.-led invasion m 2003. national elecnons scheduled for March organization and takes ItS orders from "These groups that are targetmg the 7, as political parties vie for advantage the commander in chief." election and the political process want Hussein al-Shaalan, a member of the and msurgents seek to spread chaos. to confuse the public," Mr. Dabbagh Government officials said Tuesday Defense and Security Committee of Par- said. "They want to bury this dream that the plot involved sendmg suicide liament who said he was briefed by Iraqi that all of us are waning for." secunty officials about the plot, said It drivers, their vehicles packed With ex- The ballotmg IS regarded as a crucial had been unraveled With the help of the plosrves, to the Defense, Health and test of Iraq's fragile democracy, and ItS Trade mmistries, and to other public U.S. military. The Amencans, Mr. success could determme whether U.S. Shaalan said he was told, notified the places, mcluding markets. combat forces are able to Withdraw Other people would then have been Iraqi government Monday evemng that from the country on schedule by the end sent to assassinate political and tribal eight bomb-laden vehicles had entered of2011. leaders, two secunty officials said, the city. . Plans for the vote have already been speaking on the condition of anonymity The U.S. military in Iraq had no imme- somewhat tarmshed. Last week, a par- because they were not authorized to diate comment

31 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

'ft~."...aumes..(om Maliki grasping at Shi'ite straws JANUARY 12, 2010

Asia Times / Hong Kong includes almost all of his after all, had been brought to ministers, including the power thanks to the support of He is now preparing to court powerful Oil Minister Hussein Shi'ite allies like the Sadrists the recently released Qais .Bys~~ ~~~~~y~_~..._... al-Shahristani, and a handful and SIIC, back in 2006. The Khazali, who is popular at a of Sunni tribal leaders from the Sadrists, popular at a grass- grassroots level within the DAMASCUS - An alarmed Abu Risheh clan. Maliki's roots level in the slums of Shi'ite community. If that also Iraqi Sunni community has team, the State of Law Alliance Baghdad, had helped legiti- fails, he will try to use Khazali cried foul play following last (SoL), had operated on an mize the prime minister four in reverse, perhaps luring him week's mass arrests by Iraqi independent platform during years ago, when he was still a into the SoL so that he can security forces within Sunni the provincial elections in political nobody, marketing challenge the towering districts of the country. January 2009, emerging victo- him in the eyes of young peo- influence of the Sadrists. For Hundreds of young people rious, thanks to a secular plat- ple, and the urban poor. his part, Muqtada has been were arrested in Baghdad, form that appealed to both watching developments in Tikrit, Anbar and Mosul, ail Sunnis and Shi'ites. These young Shi'ites, who relative silence, only saying accused of illegal membership detested the United States that if the INA were to merge in the 170,000-man The prime minister perhaps occupation, were asked to with the SoL, Maliki would Awakening Councils. thought he no longer needed believe in Maliki, whom they need to issue a general Iran-backed politicians who claimed, was not a creation of amnesty, setting hundreds These councils were originally were only popular within the the US. In exchange for Sadrist from the Sadrist bloc free who founded by the former United Shi'ite community, wanting to support, Maliki turned a blind are in jail for having taken up States administration to help come across as a seasoned sta- eye to the state-within-the arms against the Americans, combat al-Qaeda. They have tesman who appealed to all state they had created in Sadr over the past four years. since snowballed to become a Iraqis, regardless of sect or City, rewarding them with stra- nightmare for Prime Minister regional affiliation. Three ter- tegic cabinet posts like Health, Other members ofthe INA are Nuri al-Maliki, who claims that rorist attacks in August, Education and Commerce. The no longer enthusiastic about once through with al-Qaeda, October and December, howe- 30-man Sadrist bloc in parlia- joining hands with the SoL. they will target their guns at ver, whipped up a death toll of ment firmly stood by the prime The Maliki coalition is a losing Shi'ites. Meanwhile, the nearly 400 people - making minister as he faced a barrage horse, after all. Thanks to Judicial Council that Maliki look incompetent of criticism from Kurdish and consecutive bombings, it has is run by the Interior Ministry before his own constituency, Sunni opponents, helping bols- lost support of the Iraqi street, passed 77 death sentences in shedding serious doubt on ter his cabinet during the diffi- and due to Maliki's earlier elec- Baghdad last week, all targe- whether he would be able to cult civil war that took place in tion strategy, tarnished its ting men accused of terrorism, pull through on his own in 2006-2007· relationship with Iran. mostly from the Sunni commu- March. nity. The SIIC did the same within For obvious reasons, the Last week, after meeting the the upper echelons of the busi- Sunnis, who supported the SoL The clampdown on Sunnis Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani ness community in the Shi'ite in the provincial elections one coincides with the release of in Najaf, Maliki said that an community, also helping shel- year ago, are also not going to Qais Khazali, the popular understanding has been rea- ter Maliki from a vote of confi- be voting for Maliki this time Shi'ite cleric who has been in ched between his SoL and the dence within parliament. To because of repeated clamp- jail since March 2007. A for- INA, claiming that they will think that the prime minister downs on the Awakening mer associate of cleric merge ahead of the elections. would now turn his back on Council and former Ba'athists. Muqtada al-Sadr, Khazali was The INA threw dust in his eyes both - seeing them as a politi- expelled from the Mahdi Army three days later, saying that no cal embarrassment - was too Although Maliki and heavy- in 2004 and many now believe such alliance was in the much to digest. By the time weights like Hussein that he will be used by Maliki making. Merging the two Maliki realized that he could Shahristani might win inde- in the March elections to coun- groups, it added, was too late, not win without support ofINA pendently in March, the State terbalance the Sadrist bloc. reminding that it had repea- members last week, it was of Law Alliance - without Iran - tedly tried, and failed, to get already too late for rapproche- is doomed to fail. Observers of Muqtada's team is running for the prime minister to join the ment. the Iraqi scene should start parliament in March in a coali- INA. bracing themselves for a lands- tion that that does not include Maliki tried to salvage what he lide victory of the INA, mea- Maliki. His coalition, the Iraqi Additionally, they noted, such could of his deteriorating posi- ning that heavyweights like National Alliance (INA), was a merger was no longer consti- tion, traveling to Najaf to meet Ammar al-Hakim, Jaafari and founded last August, and inclu- tutionally possible, given that with the grand ayatollah, Muqtada will be back in the des influential Shi'ite parties it passed the given deadline for hoping that by showing up at seat of power until 2014 - only like the Supreme Iraqi Islamic any election list modifications. Sistani's side, he could help this time without Maliki as Council (SIIC), the Badr Qasim Dawoud, a member of polish his own image in the premier. Brigade, the Sadrists, ex-prime parliament and ranking mem- eyes of ordinary Shi'ites. He minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari ber in the INA, expressed sur- unleashed an iron fist against Sami Moubayed is editor-in- and the Fadila Party. prise at Maliki's statement, Sunni youth - regardless of chief of Forward Magazine in claiming that it was "baseless". whether they were in fact Syria. Originally, Maliki had scoffed involved in any terrorist opera- at the INA, refusing to join The INA position had Iran's tions - an attempt to silence them, instead choosing to run fingerprints all over it, signa- Shi'ite fears of the Awakening independently in a 40-party ling how angry Tehran is with Councils, but apparently, that coalition headed by him that the prime minister. Maliki, too did not payoff.

32 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti BusinessWeek JANUARY 14,2010 AN Oil BOOMTOWN IN IRAQI KURDISTAN Erbil is prospering, but tensions with Baghdad are increasing

the late 1980s and the decade of poverty and International sanctions that followed. "A few years ago there was no money, no utside a newly butlt go-kart race- electncity, no banks," said Dara Jalil track in Erbil, the capital of Khayat, head of the Erbil Chamber of ttJ Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, a Commerce. "Now we have lots of industry poster urges would-be dnvers to ''feed the and we're working on setting up a stock need for speed." exchange." Kurds are taking that advice to heart, In the 1990s, when most Iraqi Kurds were racing ahead of the rest of the country in liVing on United Nations handouts In an luring 011 investment and rebuilding after enclave protected by U.K. and U.S. war- decades of war and sanctions. They have planes, Baz Karim turned the offices of hit a speed bump: a four-month standoff his family marble business into distribu- with Iraqi Prime Minister Nun al-Maliki tion posts for food and fuel. over how to share the country's oil Now Karim's Kar Group has about $1 bil- resources and where to draw internal The Kurds responded by halting exports lion In energy and building contracts, and boundaries. In October. DNa and the other producers is mulling a stock market listing -- "maybe The dispute, which led al-Maliki to refuse are supplying the domestic market. in two or three years, maybe in London," Karim said at Kar's office, a villa in Erbil's payments to oil companies hired by the Not repaying the Kurds is "unfair and suburbs. On hrs desk is a model of ItS Kurds, may threaten the boom that has unreasonable and illogical," and hurts the successor, a 13-story skyscraper being given Erbil new homes, conference cen- whole of Iraq by cutting oil sales, said built in Erbil. ters and underground über- optic cables. Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the Kurdish It may also Jeopardize Iraq's stability as it government's foreign affairs department. Kar IS extracting Cil from the Khurmala approaches March 7 elections and the field west of Erbil. Last year it opened a Oil Production pullout of U.S. troops. refinery that Kanm says Will produce The tension "could potentially escalate all output in Kurdistan, which the local 75,000 barrels a day by year-end for Into live fire" if al-Mahki's government authorities say could soar to 450,000 bar- Erbll's growing fleet of private cars. rels a day by the end of this year, has tries to weaken Kurdish self-rule, said Tomato Paste David L. Phillips, a senior fellow at the slumped to 20,000 barrels instead, from a Atlannc Council, a research institute in peak of 100,000 last year. Nationwide, Investors from outside Iraq are seeking to Washington. "Sectarian violence Will Iraq produces about 2.4 million barrels a profit in Kurdistan. never break Iraq but ethnic conflict can." day. Andrew Eberhart's Marshall Fund, a U.S.- Since the U.S. ousted dictator Saddam A dispute over Kurdish borders adds to based private equity firm, runs a tomato- Hussein in 2003, the north has stayed friction between Barzani and the paste plant near Erbil that It took over largely free of the violence between Baghdad government. Barzaru says from the UN food program. Eberhart, a Sunni and Shia Muslims In Arab provin- Kirkuk, a province southeast of Erbil that former U.S. Army officer and later a ban- ces that has killed about 100,000 lraqis, produces about one-quarter of Iraq's 011, ker at New York-based Citigroup Inc., got according to the Web site Iraq Body should be part of Kurdistan because It IS interested after a Defense Department- Count. That stability strengthened the malonty- Kurdish in population. sponsored trip to Iraq in 2007. He's now looking at such opporturuties as fast-food hand of Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani A referendum on that question has been franchises and the dairy industry. and helped attract investors. delayed for two years and, meantime, Early Contracts Barzani and al-Maliki have bolstered their "The level of mstitutional interest in the military forces there. Kirkuk was omitted U.S. and the U.K. is picking up," Eberhart The Kurdish oil ministry started awarding from the 15 oilfields offered by al-Maliki to said. ''There's plenty of really good oppor- contracts to companies such as Calgary, Investors last month. tunrties there right now." Canada-based Addax Petroleum Corp., later acquired by China Petrochemical "If you don't have an agreement between Corp., and Oslo-based DNa International Erbil and Baghdad then all these 011 and ASA as early as 2002 -- the year before gas fields can't be developed," said Hussein's fall. Gareth Stansfield, an analyst at the Chatham House research center In Now, those companies aren't getting paid London. ''They've got each other by the because of the dispute with Baghdad. throat and that's what makes it so dange- AI-Mallkl, whose central government rous." controls export pipelines and collects all 'Lots of Industry' oil revenue, has refused to turn over money pledged by the Kurds to their pro- Those dangers don't overshadow the cur- ducers, saying the Kurdish govemment rent boom for those In the Kurdish region had no right to sign its own contracts. who recall Hussein's chemical attacks In

33 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieto-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii

7{ l~''':~~';~:::'i;tob JANUARY 16-17, 2010 1. rra u~.....,~n une Anger mounts as Iraq vote nears

lak's. "When you ehmmate candidates, exist In Iraq," Hassan Hadi, a professer, BAGHDAD It IS no longer a fair representation of said after prayers In Falluja, west of ------the people." Baghdad. "It will affectthe entire future BY ANTHONY SHADID The dispute began last week when the of the country." AND NADA BAKR! Accountability and Justice Comrmssion, Near the venerated Abu Hamfa A knot of young men stood outside the m a statement to an Arabic-language Mosque In the Baghdad neighborhood Umm al-Qura Mosque on Fnday, once a satellite channel, said It would disquah- of Adharruya, where leaflets In 2005 nest of insurgent fervor where a year of fy more than a dozen' candidates and promising to "wash the streets" with relative tranquilrty has softened the political parties from the vote because the blood of those who dared vote have jagged edges of nearby bullet holes. They of their support of Mr. Hussein's Baath grven way to advertisements for satel- were angry, frustrated and quick to punc- Party. The eventual list forwarded to lite dishes, a religious Instructor de- tuate their denunciations of a decision to electoral officials had about 500 names. nounced the campaign as simple sec- bar scores of Sunru candidates from Iraqi Hundreds more will be forwarded Mon- tarian pohtics. elections rn March WIth a single word: day, said Falah Shanshal, a Shute law- "The defense minister> How can they sharaiyya, Arabic for legitimacy. maker whose committee oversees the bar the head of one of the most Impor- "We're not going to boycott because comrrussron's work. tant ministnes?" asked Ammar Adnan. our candidates were dtsquahfied," said "The commission's work was very "It's a political game.It's not an Issue of one of the men, Suheil Najm. "We'll boy- professronal. They went over 6,500 law." cott because the elections won't be legit- names In 10 days," he said. "All the doc- The question of legitrmacy had be- imate,' uments were carefully checked. They deviled Iraqi msntunons smce the first did a great job." The deCISIOnto drsquahfy nearly 500 days of the U.S. occupation, calling Into But cnncs have questioned the very candidates, many of them Sunm question the credibihty of the secunty Muslim, plunged Iraqi polmcs into tur- legahty of the Accountability and Justice forces, the constitution and the de facto Commission. It mherued the responsi- moil Fnday Leading candidates vowed sectanan and ethnic system it en- a boycott of the vote, perhaps the most bilities of the now-disbanded De- Baathi- shrmed. frcation Committee, but Parliament has Important since the fall of Saddam Hus- In the 2005 election, many Sunms boy- yet to approve ItS members, leavmg the sem. Protests were threatened and an- cotted - out of fear or protest - and previous staff, mcluding ItS director, AJi ger nppled through Iraq's Sunm com- many have blamed their disenfran- Faisal aI- Larm, as powerful caretakers. muruties. chisernent for the onset of devastatmg Hardly anyone seems to believe that But beyond the dm of recnmmations, sectanan carnage In 2006 and 2007. the commission acted on ItS own. That the decision posed an even greater chal- WIth the 2009 provincial ballot In lack of transparency has given nse to a lenge to Iraq's nascent body pohtic.law- January, though, most factions had at raft of conspiracies in Baghdad that has makers, offrcrals and residents say. A least nominally subscnbed to the elec- already frayed electoral alliances, In hard-won legttimacy of the polmcal pro- nons as a tool for peaceful contest. In particular Mr. Mutlak's WIth Mr. Allawi, cess that had fmally turned elections m- Sunru regions, most currents - reli- More troubling, It has hampered efforts to an arena of contest for VIrtually all gIOUS,tribal and neo-Baathist - were factions here looked dangerously to reach a comprorruse, politicians and represented, and Mr. Mutlak fared well tattered Friday, they said. diplomats say, since no one seems to m appealmg to the still substantial sup- "The credibility of the state and the know who ISdnvmg the campaign. port for Mr. Hussein's Baath Party credrbihty of our elections IS at stake," "That's one of the main problems," there. said Mahmoud Othman, an mdepend- said Mr. Othman, the. Kurdish law- U.S. officials, In fact, were less wor- ent Kurdish lawmaker. "TIme IS run- maker. "It's very secret. It's not trans- ned about low Sunm turnout In March mng out,' parent. These deCISIOnsare being made and more that the Sunm vote might be The disquahfications, ratIfied Thurs- behmd closed doors." too splintered among vanous electoral day, were the latest turn m a mercurial Electoral officials say the candidates lists to guarantee an effective say In ne- process that even rivals of the barred WIll have three days, begmnmg Mon- candidates acknowledged has been day, to appeal the decision before a sev- Even rivals of barred shrouded rn secrecy and characterized en-judge panel approved by Parliament. candidates acknowledge the by unpredictabihty, Some Iraqi officials, along With U S. and They took U.S. and United Nations of- UN. diplomats, hope those appeals can process has been characterized frcials by surprise and have left Iraqi secure a last-minute compromise, not by unpredictability. leaders scrambling for some kind of unheard of in a political system accus- compromise weeks before the cam- tomed to bnnkmanship. paign for the March 7 parliamentary But m Baghdad's Sunm neighbor- gotiations over the next pnme rruruster, elections was supposed to officially hoods and In predommantly Sunru Now, diplomats worry that disenchant- start. provinces to the north and west of the ment and even a boycott couJd under- So far, the campaign has targeted capital, where anti-Baatlusm is often mme what they viewed as one of the some of the most prorrunent Sunm polin- seen as coded language for a campaign most remarkable accomphshments CIans, fixtures for years on Iraq's fickle to disenfranchise Sun ms, many viewed over the past seven years. pohtrcal landscape. Among them were the disqualmcations as an indictment of "Dangerous," a Western offictal, Defense Minister Abdul-Kader Jassem Iraq's fledgling msutunons and their at- speaking on condrtron of anonyrruty, al-Oberdi and Saleh Mutlak, the head of tempt to portray themselves as repre- said in describing the ban. "ThIS won't the National DIalogue Front, whose alli- sentative be good for the electoral process." ance With Ayad Allawi, a former prime The dispute has highlrghted an issue Weary and dejected, Mr. Mutlak mimster, was expected to fare well rn that remains unresolved in Iraq: to agreed. Sunm provinces that were underrepres- what degree members of the banned "It's gomg to be very hard to have a ented in the last election rn 2005. Baath Party will be reincorporated Into real democratie process," he said. "If "This IS a perversion of the pohtrcal pubhc hfe Mutlak and big pohtical parties can't process. It IS a perversion of the demo- "If these decisions hold, It will prove protect themselves, how can an Iraqi crane process," said Nada Jbourr, a that democracy, which was built on the CItizen?" Sunni lawmaker and an ally of Mr. Mut- foundation of the occupation, doesn't

34 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Ritnsta Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti lIOUAYS ZAMANI18 January 2010 Kurdish, Turkish journalists call for dialogue

MINHAC ÇELIK

Kurdish and Turkish journalists who met in Istanbul on Saturday to discuss the role of the media put forward suggestions for the purpose of eliminating misperceptions and prejudices that exist both among Iraqi Kurds and in Turkey.

More than 60 journalrsts from both Turkish and Kurdish magazines, television channels and newspapers convened on Saturday for a one-day meeting organized by the Medlalog Platform, an entity affiliated with the Journalists and More than 60 journalists from Turkish and Kurdish magazines, television stations Writers Foundation (GYV) that works to and newspapers convened for a meeting organized by the Medialog Platform. arrange opporturutles for members of the media to discuss new projects and two different approaches In media/state on this fear In order to maintain military exchange opinions. relations. "Either the state follows the tutelage in Turkey. Nevzat Çlçek, ano- In the opening speech, Mustafa media and makes some changes accor- ther journahst, criticized his colleagues Yesn, the head of the GYV, highlighted ding to the reaction of the latter, or the who now oppose the government's the meeting of the Abant Platform, stance of the media towards develop- attempts to resolve the Kurdish ques- which took place In Arbil in February ments IS shaped by the state. tion and applaud past military mterven- 2009 as a first and srqmficant step Unfortunately, the Turkish media have tiens, taken to establish dialogue between not been able to free itself from state Talking about the diffrcultles for Kurdish and Turkish intellectuals, and policy and ItS concerns," said Çubukçu, reporters in getting news from northern expressed the opinion that the Turkish adding that dunnç the '90s, the Turkish Iraq, he said, "It is much easier to be perception of northern Iraq and the media took a provocanve stance Informed about Brazil. Turkish reporters Kurds living there started to change towards the Kurdish issue and generally do not know where the Kandil after this event. Aza Hasseb All, a for- associated northern Iraq With the outla- Mountains are -- this is a big problem. mer minister in the Kurdish govern- wed Kurdrstan Workers' Party (PKK). I suggest a group should be set up to ment, underlined that the negative "However," he emphasized, "after the provide news flowmç from Kurdistan to view of Turkey had diminished when start of the normalization process With Turkey," compared to the past because of the northern Iraq, the media altered ItS line Remarking on how Turkey has been talks. In accordance With the change in state viewed by Kurds in northern Iraq, Bakir All also drew attention to the role of policy." Karim Mohammad Salih, the chairman Turkish schools that have been opera- Drawing attention to the factors of the Mukrlyan Foundation, noted that ting Since 1994 and praised the opening affecting the Turkish view of northern the history books of the Saddam era of Isrk unlversitv in the region. Iraq, socioloçrst and joumalist All Bulaç told the Iraqi people that the Ottoman "Although there is a border between maintained that Turkey's national secu- Empire was a colonial state which Iraq and Turkey, we are closely depen- rity concerns and the threat of separa- exploited Arabs and Kurds in Iraq and dent on each other; thus every deve- tion In the country have been the main attempted to asslrrulate them. lopment In Turkey has a direct effect on influences on perceptions about nor- Sallh referred to the action being northern Iraq," All said. thern Iraq. "Northern Iraq in general taken to secure minority rights and the State-oriented media, a hurdle to was seen as a distant region which was use of the mother tongue, pointing out reflecting developments irnpartlallv very unstable and which constituted a that there are Arabic newspapers in Yavuz Baydar, a columnist for threat to Turkish unity and whose lea- northern Iraq where the population IS Today's Zaman, expressed his cnncrsrn ders were unreliable. This negative composed mostly of Kurds. "We don't of the devastatrnq effect military inter- approach, which IS Onentelist, still pre- see It as a danger," he said. He also ventions have had on media freedom In vails to some extent In Turkey," noted claimed that If Turkey can resolve its Turkey but added that over the course Bulaç, underlining that "Kurdrstan" IS a Kurdish problem, relations between of 20 years Turkey's taboos have begun reality and accepted In the Iraqi Kurds In Iraq and Turkey Will reach a to be abolished. "But we have a very Constitution. "But It IS hard to accept peak, and ttus Will contribute to long way to go to achieve a well-esta- this In Turkey." Turkey's rising influence in the region. blished democracy In Turkey," he sta- Acknowledging that there are fears Fareed Saber Qader, the president ted. among Turks over a Kurdish separatrst of the Kurdrstan Strategic Studies Commenting on the attitudes adop- movement spreading in southeastern Center, noted there is no need for ted by the Turkish media, Mete Anatoha, Mustafa Akyol, an author and Turkey, a NATO member, to see nor- Çubukçu, a veteran journahst with an journalist at the Star dally, condemned thern Iraq as a threat. "The United interest In the Middle East, referred to the military interventions that played Kingdom managed to forge friendly

35 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

relations with its former colonies. negative image of Turkey in the eyes of problem in the country. What we have Keeping In mind that the Ottoman Iraqi Kurds, the ruling Justice and been suffering from is the role of the Empire had never pursued a policy of Development Party's (AK Party) persis- military in the clvihan arena, which we colorualist expansion, Turkey should tent efforts towards democracy in are now challenging," he said. also have mtensifled ties with the coun- Turkey have influenced the Kurds in the Cenqrz Çandar, a columnist at the tries founded In the Ottoman Empire's region. Radikal dally, dismissed assertions that terntones," said Qader, highlighting the The editor-m-chlef of Today's resolution of the Kurdish question is srçruflcance of the resolution of the Zaman, Bùlent Kenes, also cited the not possible through the initiative and Kurdish problem In terms of the nor- lack of democracy and the military's emphasized that It is a long process thern Iraq autonomous administration role In poutres as the main reasons that Includes ups and downs. "It has and Turkey. Although military opera- behind several of Turkey's problems. started, and I believe the process IS tions and the stance of the Turkish "There ISno Kurdish question in Turkey, Irreversible," he added. army towards Kurds may result In a there IS no Armenian or devout Muslim

Iraq Kurds want to resolve oil row, !REUTERS '81 resume exports SULAIMANIYA, Iraq January 17 2010 (Reuters) Prime Minister Mahki on January 3 called for an end to the row over 011 after he met with new KRG Prime MInister Barham Salih.

The government of Iraqi Kurdistan said on Sunday it wanted to reach The Iraqi government briefly allowed the KRG to start exporting oil from an amicable agreement with the Baghdad government over the sharing two fields, Taq Taq and Tawke, over the summer but ItSrefusal to pay the of oil revenue so it could resume exporting crude. private firms runnmg the OIlfield projects led to the suspension of the exports. In a statement responding to a call from Prime Minister Nuri al-Malik! to settle a dispute between Iraq's Arabs and Kurds over the country's oil The dispute over oil ISpart of a larger stand-off between Baghdad and the wealth, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said it was consrdenng Kurdish regIOn over disputed terntories in Iraq's north that U.S. military publishing contracts It has signed WIth foreign 011companies. officials fear could one day lead to Iraq's next broad conflict. 'The KRG is willing to enter a serious dialogue about the subject, and we At the heart of the dispute Ires the city of KIrkuk, which sits over a vast sea of ml and is claimed by the Kurds as their ancestral capital, The city's are willing completely and In the interest of the Iraqi people to renew exports of crude oil from KRG fields at a level of no less than 100,000 bar- Arab and Turkmen populahon fiercely oppose Kurdish aspirations to rels per day," It said. have Kirkuk wrapped Into their northern enclave, which has enjoyed VIr- tual independence SInce after the 1991 Gulf War. The statement added that the Kurdish regional authorities hoped to boost output to 200,000 barrels per day this year and attain an output capacity Sahh was Mahkr's deputy prime rruruster before taking up the KRG posi- of 1 million bpd within the next four years. bon. Analysts had predicted that hIS knowledge of nahonal politics, diplomatie skills and personal connections nught lead to a reduction in Iraq's Kurdish region is believed to be rich WIth 011reserves but develop- tensions between the two SIdes. ment has been stalled by disagreement between the Arab-led government in Baghdad and the serru-autonomous Kurdish authonties over The federal government's hand has been strengthened recently against revenue. the Kurds by the success the Oil MInistry has had In securing agreements with International ml companies to develop oilfields south of the KRG The KRG has signed production shanng agreements with a string of border. foreign companies, includmg Norway's DNO

Il Rudaw.Net I 19 JANUARY 2010 AI-Qaida produces anti-Kurdish video Iraqi Shia and shows parts of Kurdish his- Amsterdam - The terronst group Islamic tory. It also shows militants carrying out State of Iraq's (lSI) produced a anti-Kurdish suicide attacks against Kurds and Kurdish video, called "Vanquisher of the security forces. Peshmerga" which was translated by the graduate student Christopher Anzalona last It also includes older footage of al-Qa'ida Monday. ideologue Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri remin- The video was produced by its media out- ding the Kurds that they have produced let, the Al-Furqan Media Foundation. The some of Islam's greatest figures, including lSI is an umbrella for several of the most the famed medieval military leader Salah militantly radical transnational jihadi-Salafi al-Din Yusuf ibn al-Ayyub (Saladin). The groups operating in Iraq, chief among them suicide bombers are described as "heroes." al-Qa'ida in the Land of the Two ©Rudaw RiverslIraq (AQI). "Peshmerga" are the The video condemns the participation of the Kurdish armed forces, which are protecting Iraqi Kurds with America, Israel and the the border regions of the Kurdistan region.

36 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

1il'Talb':~LŒTibtull' JANUARY 18, 2010 A 4th death sentence for 'Chemical Ali' diet, The Associated Press reported. ment in crushing a Shute upnsmg in BAGHDAD Two other officiais from the Hussem southern Iraq after the 1991GulfWar, and ------regime - Sultan Hashem, who was de- the third m March for hrs role m killing 1988 attack killed 5,000 fense munster, and Sabir al-Douri, the and displacing Shiite Mushms in 1999. in village in Kurd region; military mtelhgence chief - were each Also Sunday, the U.S. military said in a sentenced to 15years m prison for their statement that Mr. Hussem's foreign 3 others get prison time role in the same attack m Halabja, a vil- mmister, Tanq Aziz, suffered a stroke lage m the semiautonomous Kurdistan on Friday. ------region, A third, Abdel Mutlaq al-Jbouri, Mr. Aziz, 74, who is servmg a 22-year BY NADA BAKR! a former regional mtelhgence chief, re- sentence in U.S. detention, was taken to All Hassan al-Majid, the cousm of Sad- ceived a lO-year sentence. a U.S. military hospital north of Bagh- dam Hussem known as Chemical Ali, In Halabja after the verdict, residents dad for treatment, accord mg to the was convicted and sentenced to death cheered and played songs from loud- statement. Sunday for ordenng the 1988 gas attack speakers at a monument commemorat- "HIS condition is improving and he is on a village in northern Iraq that killed mg victims of the attack, The A.P. re- still being closely monitored," Lt. Col. more than 5,000 Kurds. It was Mr. ported. Some m town Visited the Pat Johnson said m the statement. Majid's fourth such sentence smce his cemetery to remember relatives who Mr. Aziz's son and his lawyer said he tnal began in 2007. died m the gassing. had lost his ability to speak. "Thanks be to God," an unrepentant Mr. Majid received his first sentence of Mr. AzIZ IS still a defendant in several Mr. Majid said when the sentence was death by hangmg m June 2007 for his role court cases against the former regime. read. in the military's Anfal campaign in the HIS lawyer, Badil Aref, said that he had Victims' relatives cheered in the late 1980s, which killed as many as asked the court to postpone the prose- courtroom when the chief judge, Aboud 180,000Iraqi Kurds. The second sentence cutions because of Mr. Aziz's medical Mustafa, handed down the guilty ver- came m December 2008 for his involve- condition but that it had refused.

l{l'ratb~Œribun(' JANUARY 18,2010 Israel calms feud with Turkey after snub of Ankara's envoy

Israel said the countnes had managed Mr. Barak said be believed the treat- to move beyond a disagreement after ment of the ambassador "was a mis- ANKARA Israel apologized for ItS treatment of the take, and the right step was taken ac- Turkish ambassador. cordmg to the norms of diplomacy. it IS Both countries express Mr. Barak IS the first Israeli official to appropriate that all the ups and downs VISit Turkey smce a diplomatrc feud in our relanonship over the years should be solved and put behind us." desire to end dispute and erupted last week after the deputy for- Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul of Tur- continue military projects eign munster of Israel, Danny Ayalon, key did not address the diplomatie dis- summoned the ambassador to complain pute directly, but called Israel a "neigh- ._------about a television show depictmg Israeli filE ASSOCIATED PRESS bor" and "strategic ally" with which agents kidnappmg children. Israel and Turkey said Sunday that they The ambassador, Ahmet Oguz Ce- Turkey had common regional mterests. had smoothed over differences caused hkkol, was made to Sit on a low sofa Asked to comment on the state of rela- by a diplomatie dispute and were work- without a handshake. Mr. Ayalon told lo- nons with Israel, Pnme Munster Recep mg to develop relations and further mil- cal TV stations that the humiliation was Tayyip Erdogan said that he was satis- nary projects. mtentional. Outraged, Turkey fied with Mr. Barak labeling the treat- After daylong talks with Turkish offi- threatened to recall the ambassador, ment a mistake and said Turkey would etals, Defense Mimster Ehud Barak of and Mr. Ayalon apologized. not pursue the matter further. A high-rankmg Israeli official who was present at the meetmgs said Israel had received no commitment from Turkey to make an effort to stop the TV portrayals in question. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensruvity of the Issue, said Turkey and Israel were Important partners and that Israel had to use more diplomacy. Mr. Gonul said that Turkey and Israel had completed 7 of 13 planned military projects, mcludmg the upgrade of F-4 and F-5 jets. Israel is to deliver 10 Heron aircraft to Turkey in the first half of this year, he added. Turkey hopes to use the drones Defense Minister Ehud Barak of Israel, center, with Turkish officers and officials Sun- to monitor Kurdish rebel posiuons. day at the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish republic.

37 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Deniro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti Iraq's ban on democracy

Abanon years he has served the new Iraqi gov- a penchant for last-minute compromise Kenneth M. Pollack ernment loyally. that has turned a number of near-catas- 500 Sunni Michael E. O'Hanlon Before the surge of American troops trophes into mere close calls. In every politicians in 2007 and the so-called Anbar one of those instances, however, It re- Awakemng, many Iraqi Sunnis boycot- quired rapid and determmed American IS aseem- ted Iraq's elections In the beliefthat the pressure to avert disaster. ingly small WASHINGTON With Washington's at- system was rigged against them. This The American Embassy in Baghdad problem tention understandably focused on the created a self-fulfilling prophecy when ISworkmg fevenshly to persuade the tragedy in Haiti, Iraq has slipped onto the elections took place WIthout them Iraqis to change course. Time ISof the that could the back burner. Yet there ISa major and the resulting government was essence - especially If the Accountabil- unravel problem brewing there - one that dommated by Shiite and Kurdish rty and Justice Commission's appeals Iraq's polit- could Jeopardize President Obama's groups. This VICIOUScycle helped fuel process ends on Tuesday, If the United plan to draw down American forces and Civil war. States doesn't act before the deadline, ical fabric. even re-igmte sectarian confhct. All of that changed after 2007, when the bans will become much harder to Last Thursday, Iraq's Independent Amencan-brokered cease-fires and roll back. High Election Commission upheld a The threat of crisis is real enough ban on nearly 500 Sunm polrncians political slufts convinced Sunnis that that Vice President Joe Brden, who has handed down (possibly illegally) some they would have a fair opportunity to played a useful role in backing up Am- days earlier by the Accountability and elect their own leaders and participate bassador Christopher Hill on several Justice Commission. They were ac- In government at no disadvantage. In occasions lately, wiJl have to help. It cused of having had nes to the Baath the provincial elections of January even ments direct Involvement by Party of Saddam Hussein. 2009, Sunms finally voted In large num- President Obama Among those proscnbed from run- bers. Their return to the political pro- Itis Just this kind of seemingly small ning In the nationwide elections sched- cess has been a key element In the rap- problem that could unravel the entire uled for March 7 were Defense Minister Id erosion of sectarianism from Iraqi political fabnc of Iraq. Abdul-Kader Jassem al-Obeidi and politics. The end of the Civil war and the need Saleh al-Mutlaq, one of Iraq's most in- KENNETH M. POLlACK ISthe director of re- fluential Sunm politicians. Although to focus on political and economic research at the Saban Center for MIddle confusion reigns, It is rumored that the construction had revealed sharp differ- East Policy at the Brookings Instttunon, ences among the various Shute groups, bnef appeal process will end Tuesday MICHAEL E. O'HANLON is a semor fellow at and, at present, It seems unlikely to which have been heightened by the Brookings. amehorate the Situation. emergence of Sun ni parties with Simil- The two commissions are dominated arly varied views. by offtcials appomted by Pnme Minis- As a result, there has been a com- ter NUrI Kamal al-Maltki, so it's not sur- plete reorgamzauon of Iraqi pohucs pnsmg that many Iraqis believe that over the past year, With Shiite, Sunni the pnme minister's Shute-dominated and even some Kurdish groups creat- government ISdisqualifymg large num- ing cross-sectanan alliances that have bers of political rivals, parncularly Mr. largely replaced the previous sectarian Mutlaq, who had already allied himself blocs. It was a sign of this progress that With Ayad Allawi, a former prime min- Sunm parties, particularly Mr. Mut- ister WIdely considered to be Mr. Ma- laq's, were being courted avidly by a number of Shute and secular parties, hki's most dangerous foe. There ISno including those led by Mr. Mahki and evidence of this, but the perception IS Mr.Allawi, widespread and In Iraq, perception can If the ban is allowed to stand, it will do as much damage as reality, do more than Just throw a wrench In the Meanwhile, many informed Arrien- works. It will persuade a great many cans and Iraqis are pointing to Ahmed Iraqis that the prime minister or other Chalabi, the one-time political favonte Shutes, like Mr. Chalabi, are usmg their of the Bush adrmmstration, as the real control over the electoral mechanics to culprit. Mr. Chalabi, they say, IStrying kneecap their nvals. to manipulate the elections to become It may also convmce many Sunnis pnme minister by default. that they Will never be allowed to win if It's true that many of the disqualined they play by the rules, and that violence pohucrans were once Baathists But is their only option. Iraq needs reconcûianon, not payback. That ISan extraordinanly dangerous Any bans must be message to send right now, when the Ifthis ban careful, selective and United States IStrying hard to with- stays in effect, well-explained. They should not disquahfy dra w tens of thousands more American the likelihood people like the de- troops from Iraq and shift 50,000 or so ofviolenœ fense minister - a from combat operations to advisory will skyrock- former Baathist, but and trammg roles. et, and U.S. one who turned If tlus ban remains m effect, the likeli- soldiers will against the party in hood of electoral violence will skyrock- be called on the 1990s and was im- et, and American soldiers Will mevita- bly be called on to halt It. to halt it. pnsoned and tortured by the regime. Allis not yet lost - over the past few Moreover, in recent years, Iraqi politicians have developed

38 Le bras de fer entre l'armée et le gouvernement se poursuit e quotidien libéral Taraf vient de indus de cette soree séinssaient encore C1I 2009 développement de la démocratie et de la révéler, documents à l'appui, l'exis- au sem de l'armée turque. SI un oéruable conflu société ctutle dans notre pays." Ltence d'un éruème complot de l'ar- avec un ennemi exeéneur deuau éclater,com- Dans ce contexte, la récente décision de mée visant à renverser le gouvernement mene notre armée seraù-elle en mesure di' le com- la Cour constitutionnelle qUI invahde la 101 islamo-conservateur de l'AKP. Cette fOIS,II battre ? Il faut procéder à UTI grand nettoyage autorisant les tribunaux civils à Juger des s'agit d'un plan bapnsé Balyoz (Massue) et afin que nous puissions nous doter d'une IlOU- rmhtaires, notamment pour tentative de prépare en 2003 par un général aujourd'hui velle 1/lS/lCUlU»1. Qu'attendons-nous pour lefaire ? putsch, est perçue comme une réaction de en Ietraite, qUI prévoyait des attentats san- Qu'un généralfou emote les chars dans la nie ?" l'appareil d'Etat turc contre le gouvernement glants contre deux grandes mosquées d'Is- Le chroniqueur politique Rusen Çakir de l'AKP Le célèbre commentateur Meh- tanbul et des incidents aénens avec la Grèce, relativise l'affaire dans le quotidien hbéral met Ah Birand écnt à ce propos dans le quo- . afin de créer une situation de chaos et de de gauche Unan : "Ces dernières années, on ndien populaire Posta : "Ceue déCISIOnde la faciliter la pnse du pOUVOirpar l'armée. a beaucoup écrit sur la facilué avec laquelle Cour constitutionnelle dole être considérée comme Le rédacteur en chef de Tarof, l'écrivain l'armée turque produisait des partisans du une importante VICtoirepour l'année turque EUe Ahmet Altan, se montre très sévère à l'égard coup d'Etat, mais on a peu glosé, en revanche. va quelque peu rassurer t'étai-major, dont le moral des rruhtaires : "Nos généraux mêlent dèsormats sur le fait que ceete même armée étau une étau au plus bas depuis un ceream temps, d'au- allègrement acnvués professionnelles et actnntés structure capable de neutraliser ses propres caneque cette déC/SIOna été pme à l'unanimué crtmtnelles. Comment quelqu'un qUIpense que éléments putschistes Certes, en 2007, au des membres de la Cour. Depuis envIron deux le deooir de l' armee escde faire saucer des mos- momem de l'élection d'Abdullah Gül (AKP) ans, on asSISteen effet à une lutte qUIne cessede quées, d'abaitre seçpropres aVlOllS de chasse et à la présidence, l'état-major avau tenté d'in- s'amplifier encrel'année et l'AKP,qw veut placer d'arrêter des cencalnes de milliers de personnes a- tervemr en publiant une 'mise en garde élee- l'état-major sous le contrôle des cnnls" t-tl pu deuentr le commandant de la I" Armée trontque' de stmstre mémoire. MaIS on peut [Istanbul) .' Comment cette personne a-e-elle néanmoins considérer que le choix de l'accuel pu paruemr à ce poste .' Quel escdonc le cncere chef d'état-major de s'abstenir désormais de pOUTdevemr général dans notre armée .' Faut-il ce genre de mémorandum traduu la capacité être capable d'évoquer calmement lafaçon dont de l'armée à tlrer les leçons du passé. Il y aura on va urer sur sa propre population pour être étndemment toujours des putschistes dans se; nommé général? Combien d'officiers pensent rangs, mais Ils ne pourront Jamais mettre comme lUI.' Uexistcnce d'un auere complot leurs plans à exécuClon. Pas seulement en raI- [dénommé Ka/es (Cage), Ù aw!C été révélé par son des mècantsmes de contrôle propres ù Taraf en nouembre 2009J montre que des tndi- l'armée, mali bien davantage du fait du

ftlHondt acte de défiance vis-à-VISdu gouver- Dimanche 24 - Lundi 25 Janvier 2010 te décision devrait être le retour nement de Recep Tayyip Erdogan, de/ant des [undicnons militaires porte un coup aux enquêtes lan- de plusieurs affaires gênantes cées ces derniers mois contre des pour l'armée «Les dossiers actuel- LaCourconstitutionnelle rmhtaires imphqués dans des tenta- lement Jugés par des cours clVlles tives présumées de coups d'Etat dO/vent être renvoyés devant la JUs-

Huseyin Cehk, député proche nee mlllta/re >l, a noté, vendredi, le turque annule une loi du premier ministre, a expnmé le général Cubuklu, un porte-parole malaise du gouvernement, vendre- de l'état-major En décembre, huit sur les tribunaux militaires di, en déplorant « un revers, au officiers mis en cause dans un moment où la Turqure se démocra- éventuel complot contre un rrums- Nouvelles tensions entre le pouvoir et l'armée nse » Pour le ministre chargé des tre avalent été Interrogés par un négociations avec l'Union euro- procureur civil autour de cette réforme réclamée par rUE péenne, Egemen Bagrs, « cela mon- Le parquet d'Ankara a mené, JUs- tre a quel point la TurqUIe a besom qu'à mercredi, vingt-six JOurs de d'une réforme de la ConstItutIOn perquisitions au cœur des archives Istanbul en exercice à répondre de leurs en- Celle qUI est en vIgueur est comme militaires Des tentatives de coups Correspondance mes devant la JUStice civile Cette un a/mant qUI tire la TurqUIe en d'Etat contre le gouvernement réforme, qur aurait rms fin au pou- amère Diriger un pays avec une impliquant des hauts responsa- aCour constitutionnelle tur- voir exorbitant des tnbunaux mrh- ConstItutIOn écrite après un coup bles rmhtaires sont régulièrement que a mvalidé, Jeudi 21 Jan- taires, avait été saluée par Bruxel- d'Etat ne permet qu'une démocra- révélées depuis 2007 Jeudi, le Jour- L Vier, une réforme du système les comme un tournant décisif tlemlnlmale>l,a-t-Ildéclaré Acha- nal Tarafa publié les extraits d'un Judiciaire adoptée en JUin 2009 dans la démocratisation du pays que nouvelle cnse entre le gouver- plan prévoyant notamment l'orga- par le Parlement, déclenchant une Mais le chef de l'opposition nement CIVilet les forces armées, rusation d'attentats contre des nouvelle cnse entre l'armée et le kémahste, Deniz Baykal, avait la question de la révision de la mosquées à Istanbul et l'attaque gouvernement islamo-conserva- dénoncé « un coup d'Etat cIvIl >I du Constitutron Issue du putsch de de l'aviation grecque au-dessus de teur, engagé dans le processus parti au pouvoir, l'AKP (Parti de la 1980 est évoquée mais aussitôt la mer Egée Pour sa défense, l'éta t- d'adhésion à l'Union européenne JUStice et du développement), et Il étouffée major a affirmé que le document Les gardiens de la Constitution avait déposé un recours pour faire était « un cas d'étude utIlisé pour turque ont rejeté à l'unanimité annuler le texte. La décision de la Affaires gênantes unsémmarre>l • une 101qur obligeait les rmhtaires Cour constrtunonnelle. véntable L'une des conséquences de cet- Guillaume Perrier

39 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii

ftlHondt ~1iIe777" 23 Janvier 2010 i~.,jexclusionde sunnites Le Pa,.ioment passera de 275 à 325 sièges

Les secondes élections législati- des législatives met en ves de l'après-Saddam Hussein auront lieu le 7 mars dans l'en- semble du pays. le Kurdis- péril la stabilité de l'Irak tan autonome inclus. Sur la base .t. d'une estimation statistique, la u; vice-président américain, Joseph Biden, est dépêché population serait passée de 22 millions en 1987, l'année du ARagàad pour réduire les tensions communautaires dernier recensement, à 30 millions d'habitants aujourd'hui. '-'t onfrontée à la décision du tions-, ces 511personnalités inter- Hussein, lui-même sunnite, d'un A partir de cette estimation ( gouvernement Irakien, dites sont accusées de nourrir des sort un peu plus enviable que les démographique. et après des ~ dommé par les partis chii- sympathies actives pour l'ancien autres, soient visés en tant que mois de zizanies et de négocia- tes, d'exclure 511 candidats, en parti Baasde Saddam Hussein. lar- tels, M Mahki qui se représente à tions entre les groupes ethni- majonté sunmtes, des élections gement rédigée par des junstes la tête d'une coalition de quarante ques et confessionnels. le nom- générales du 7 mars.I'adrrunistra- américains et entérinée par réfé- petites formations dont certaines bre de sièges à l'Assemblée non arnéncame, affolée par lapers- rendum national en 2005, l'arti- représentative, le Parlement. sunmtes, comparait, mardi, le pective d'assister au possible cle7 de la Constitution interdit passera de 275 actuellement à Baasaux naZIS,eux-mêmes « inter- retour en force du chaos et des vio- l'existence même de ce parti ainsi 325. Les 18 provinces d'Irak ont dits d'électIon en Europe après la lences interconfessionnelles, a que la diffusion de ses dogmes toutes obtenu des sièges supplé- guerre» décidé de dépêcher en urgence le Approuvée la semame passée mentaires, celle de Bagdad pas- Le premier ministre qui, vice-président Joseph Biden à Bag- par la Commission nationale élec- sant de 59 à 68. Bassora de 18 à contrairement aux Améncains dad pour mtervernr. torale, une ms tance théorique- 24, Babylone de 11à 16. Pnse en décembre 2009 dans ment mdépendante,la liste, et sur- qUIciblent plutôt Al-Qaidaen Irak, des conditions obscures par laCom- tout « lepnncipe» même de l'inter- accuse régulièrement « les crimi- mission suprême pour laresponsa- dit est ardemment soutenu par le nels baasistes» d'être derrière les bihté et la justice -une Instance chefchiite du gouvernement, Nou- attentats meurtners de ces der- parlementaire largement domi- n Al-Maliki mers mois, a ajouté que « Jamais », née par des élus chutes qui sont Niant que les Arabes sunmtes, Il ne se réconcilierait « avec ceux ne, sans exception, Jugent que la eux-mêmes candidats aux élee- qur bénéficiaient sous Saddam qui vorenr Saddam Hussein com- liste des mterdits, SIelleest mainte- me un martyre» Cette prise de nue, peut faire voler en éclat la position, approuvée par l'actuel paix très relative qui commençait parti numéro un de l'Assemblée, le à s'instaurer entre la minorité arabe sunmte qui a perdu le pouvoir Seule une et la majorité chiite. « Celadémon- tre que la guerre interconfession- réconciliation nelle n'est pas tenninée ", estime nationale permettrait Pierre-Jean Luizard, auteur de nombreux ouvrages politiques et à Washington de histonques sur le pays. « Le plus retirer l'essentiel de ses grave, poursuit ce chercheur du CNRS,est que la possibilité d'un forces d'ici au 30 août coup d'Etat mIlitaire, mené par des troupes d'élite présentement Conseil suprême islamique fondé entraînées àl'ëtranqerparles Amë- àTéhéran en 1982,est en contradic- ricains,se renforce» tion directe avec les efforts améri- Lespremières élections généra- cains en faveur d'une réconcilia- les de l'après-mvaston en 2005 tion nationale complète qui seule avaient été boycottées par 90 % leur permettrait de retirer l'essen- des Arabes sunnites. Attentats et tiel de leurs forces d'Irak d'Ici au 30 guerre civile avalent suivi. août. Selon certaines informa- Chacun espérait que le scrutm tions non démenties, des agents du 7 mars permettrait leur retour de la CIA(l'Agencecentrale de ren- dans la vie politique et l'accéléra- seignement) discutent depuis des tion de la reconstruction de l'Etat. mois avec les chefs baasistes, exi- La liste des bannis, dont le détail lés depuis sept ans en Jordanie, en n'a pas été rendu public et qui Syrie et au Yémen, pour parvenir à concerne 8 % des 6592 candidats un accord Ces efforts ne sont pas, déclarés, inclut notamment l'ac- ou plus, soutenus par le gouverne- tuel ministre (sunmte) de la défen- ment de Bagdad. se, Abdel Qader lassern Al-Obeidi, Tous les commentateurs étran- et Salah Al-Motlaq,patron sexagé- gers de la scène politique irakien- naire du Front de la concorde, l'un

Colère à Bassora, jeudi 21janvler, contre l'avoc:at ~unnite Dhafi~ ~I-Ani: ca,:,didat aux législatives déclaré inéligible par la Commission responsabilité et Justice. ATEF HASSAN/REUTERS

40 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

~ samedI 23 - dunanche 24 janvier 2010

des deux pnncipaux partis repré- sentant les sunmtes Critique acerbe et décidé de Le rapprochement M Maliki au Parlement, M Mot- , . laq, qui contrôle 11 sièges de l'As- semblée et qui a obtenu autour de turco-armenien en panne 20% des voix dans les zones mix- tes d'Irak aux élections régionales Le génocide de 1915et le conflit du Haut - Karabakh de janvier 2009, venait juste de ralentissent le processus de réconciliation. passer un accord de coalition pour le prochain scrutin avec le parti nationaliste de l'ancien premier Le premier ministre chiite laic, M. Iyad ministre turc Allaoui Celui-ci n'a pas - encore- Recep Tayyip menacé de boycotter les élections Erdogan, n'accepte pas si son partenaire n'était pas auron- le caractère sé à concourir mais de nombreux «génocidaire -- sunmtes évoquent publiquement des massacres, cette éventualité mentionné Dans le camp chiite, la tension par la Cour monte également. Plusieurs mil- constitutionnelle armenienne. liers de manifestants ont défilé, A NUSCA/POLARISI jeudizrjanvter, à Nadjaf, Kerbala STARFACE et Bassora à l'appel de leurs formations aux ens de « Non au retour des assassins!" Pressé par Washmgton d'mter- ment dû a la partie turque, qui claire- vernr,le président (kurde) de l'Irak LAURE MARCHAND a ment conditionné la ratification à des a saISI, Jeudi, la Cour suprême du ISTANBUL progrès dans les négociations sur le pays afin qu'elle vérifie si la Com- 111RQUIE Les résistances turques à la Haut-Karabakh, une province azer- mission responsabilité et justice reconnaissance du génocide de 1915 baidjanaise à majonté arménienne et est ou non légale Présidée par continuent d'entraver le rapproche- occupée par Erevan. Mais ce conflit, Ahmad Chalabi, politicien non ment entre la Turquie et l'Arménie. hérité de la chute de l'URSS, est gelé élu, ancien favori de l'administra- Une référence indirecte à ce pan som- Un accord de paix n'est pas espéré à tion Bush avant que celle-ci se ren- bre de l'histoire par la Cour constitu- court terme et aucune avancée subs- de compte en 2007 que « son hom- tionnelle arménienne a déclenché la tantielle n'est attendue lors de la ren- me» travaillait aUSSI,sinon exclu- colère d'Ankara, qui juge qu'elle «al- contre, le 25 Janvier, entre les chefs sivement, pour l'Iran, cette ms tan- tère l'objectif et l'esprit des protoco- d'État arménien et azerbaidjanais, ce d'exclusion n'aurait jamais été les", signés en octobre par les deux qu'a préparée le groupe de Minsk (co- entérinée par le Parlement • pays afin de normaliser leurs relations. présidé par la France, les États-Unis et Patrice Claude Le 12 janvier, la Cour a validé ces ac- la Russie). En choisissant de soutenir cords, tout en mentionnant un article I'Azerbaidjan, son allié turcophone et de la déclaration d'indépendance de surtout l'un de ses principaux fournis- l'Arménie qui soutient cc les efforts pour seurs de gaz, Ankara se retrouve donc , la reconnaissance internationale du gé- bloqué. La semaine dernière, à Mos- nocide arménien (oo.) dans la Turquie ot- cou, le premier ministre Vladimir tomane et en Arméme pccidentale ". Poutine a profité d'une visite de son Le premier ministre turc a estimé homologue turc pour désapprouver les que cette mention des massacres com- exigences d'Ankara de subordonner la mis par l'Empire ottoman, dont la normalisation de ses relations avec Turquie nie le caractère génocidaire, l'Arménie au sort de l'enclave dispu- était «inacceptable". La réconcilia- tée, jugeant cet « unique paquet" for- tian entre Ankara et Erevan « sera re- tement contre-productif. mise en cause à moins que cette erreur « La Turquie exagère car le protocole ne soit corrigée", a déclaré cette se- avec l'Arménie ne fait pas référence au maine Recep Tayyip Erdogan Karabakh", commente Aybars Gor- gulu, coordinateur des recherches « La Turquie exagère» turco-arméniennes à la Fondation À l'automne dernier, Arméniens et turque des études économiques et so- Turcs avaient franchi un pas important ciales. Le gouvernement turc utilise la pour mettre fm à près d'un siècle décision de la Cour arménienne d'inimitié en s'engageant à établir des « comme une excuse et cherche à faire relations diplomatiques, à rouvrir leur porter la responsabilité du blocage du frontière commune et à mettre en pla- processus à l'Arménie ». selon ce spé- ce une commission d'historiens. Mais, cialiste. L'équation se complique plus de trois mois après leur signature, d'autant plus pour Ankara que le les accords n'ont toujours pas franchi 24 avril, date de commémoration des la dernière étape indispensable à leur massacres de 1915, se profile et que, a entrée en vigueur et attendent d'être cette periode de l'armée, la diaspora approuvés par les Parlements des deux arménienne fait traditionnellement pays. pression sur l'Administration améri- L'enlisement de la dynamique en- caine pour qu'elle reconnaisse le géno- clenchée en octobre est essentielle- cide. _

41 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti L'errancede 124 clandestins LUNDI 25 JANVIER 2010 s'est terminée sur une plage corse

Sans papiers et se disant Kurdes de Syrie, ils ont été trouvés vendredi matin dans le sud de l'île, avec parmi eux trente-huit enfants, dont neuf nourrissons. Alors qu'ils ont été placés , en centre de rétention, les associations réclament pour eux le droit d'asile

lsespéraient débarquer en Suède ou en Norvège. C'est sur Quelqùes-uns des immigrés kurdes en transit entre la Corse et le centre de rétention une crique de rêve, proche de I de Cornebarrieu, près .JeToulouse. Les associations s'rnsurqent contre leur placement Bonifacio (Corse-du-Sud), que les 124clandestins ont été abandonnés administratif dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi. Un long périple dont les étapes, encore Après avoir passé une courte nuit bitants. Elle est localisée dans le floues, commencent à se dessiner dans un gymnase de Bonifacio, nord-est du pays, dans la province comme une errance à travers les tous ont été évacués sans trop de d'Alep, la Jazira et la banlieue de pays du Maghreb et du Proche- résistance, samedi matin. Pour les Damas, la capitale. La Syne, à l'ins- Orient. autorités, ces personnes entrées tar de la Turquie, n'a jamais voulu illégalement sur le territoire sont reconnaître une région sous la dé- Comment sont-ils d'abord considérés comme des nomination du « Kurdistan» comme l'ont fait l'Iran et l'Irak. En 2008, le ~rrjy~s là1 clandestins. Des arrêtés préfec- toraux de reconduite à la frontière vice-premier rrumstre synen Abdul- Ils auraient versé entre 2500 et lah El Derderi avait proclamé: "Il 10000 € à leurs passeurs. "Certains Sur 34 Syriens qui ont n y a pas de Kurdes en Syrie. » Cela a disent aVOIrfait un court séjour en été et demeure une souffrance pour Turquie. D'autres ont été transportés fait une demande d'asile cette minorité qUI,en outre, n'a pas de Jordanie jusqu'en TUnisie à bord droit à la nationalité syrienne. Illui d'un camion-CIterne», affirme une en 2008, 10 ont reçu une est également refusé d'apprendre sa traductnce ayant passé la nuit réponse positive de l'Ofpra. langue ou de pratiquer sa culture. auprès d'eux. La partie syrienne du Kurdistan Pourtant, les vêtements sont pro- ont donc été pris et les exilés ont est sous le contrôle de l'armée. Et pres, les visages rasés, et les bébés été placés dans plusieurs centres pour la première fois des soulève- bien portants. Ce qUIparaît incom- de rétention administrative (CRA) ments importants se sont produits patible avec de telles conditions de sur le continent: 63 à Nîmes, 19 à en 2004, 2005 et en 2008, donnant transport. NI avec l'éventualité d'un Toulouse ou Il à Rennes ... Cette lieu à de violents affrontements séjour de quarante-huit heures sur gestion du gouvernement a déclen- avec la pohce et les forces armées la plage de Paragnano avant d'être ché de vives protestations de la part syriennes. La répression a été très découverts. Alors, les autorités des associations. "La protection des dure. Ce qUI expliquerait le départ poussent leurs investigations. droits de l'homme doit l'emporter sur de Kurdes de Syrie. La première piste est celle d'un les mesures sécuritaires», affirme cargo russe qui les aurait pris en Amnesty International France. Peuvent-ils bénéficier charge en Tunisie. Mais des vé- Les associations soulignent qu'il rifications faites sur ce navire en du droit d'asile? y a parmi eux 29 femmes, dont Italie" n'ont pas apporté délëment Même si le mirustre de l'immi- trois enceintes, et 38 enfants. Ces probant», selon Thomas Pison, pro- gration Éric Besson assure que cureur de la République à Ajaccio. étrangers «doivent pouvoir être accueillis dans un centre d'accueil leurs situations seront étudiées au L'enquête porterait désormais sur pour demandeurs d'asile avec toute cas par cas, le fait de leur refuser un navire ukrainien amarré à Fos- une autorisation provisoire de sé- l'information nécessaire», estime la sur-Mer, près de Marseille. Il croisait Cimade. jour fait qu'ils n'ont pas accès à la au large de Bonifacio cette nuit-là procédure normale de l'asile, mais et pourrait avoir débarqué les 124 à la procédure dite « prioritaire». Les personnes. Probablement avec Les Kurdes sont-ils étrangers n'ont qu'un délai de CInq l'aide de petites embarcations. menacés en Syrie? jours et non vingt et un pour faire Comment ont-ils été La population kurde de Syrie re- leur demande de protection. En cas de réponse négative de l'Office pris en charge? présente 6 % des 19 millions d'ha-

42 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

français de protection des réfugiés suspendra toute procédure d'ex- 10ont reçu une réponse positive de et apatrides (Ofpra), ils ne pourront pulsion. Selon un communiqué 1'0fpra. On compte actuellement pas être entendus devant la Cour du ministère de l'immigration, 61 230 réfugiés syriens. sur un total nationale du droit d'asile (CNDA). des 81 adultes avaient déjà choisi de 140000 personnes placées sous Les associations présentes dans les de demander l'asile. Il est difficile la protection de la France. CRA ont Introduit des recours ad- d'évaluer leurs chances d'obtenir le JULIA FICATlER, ministratifs contre ces placements. statut de réfugiés, car les précédents BERNARD GORCE sont faibles. Selon les statistiques et JACQUES CASONI Parallèlement, elles aident les exilés de l'Ofpra, sur 34 Syriens qui ont là Bomieoo! à déposer une demande d'asile qui fait une demande d'asile en 2008,

LUNDI 25 JANVIER 2010 En Turquie, le bras de fer entre le gouvemement et l'armée se durcit sion, a déclaré vendredi Egemen deux mosquées starnbouliotes, Tablant sur l'érosion Bagis, ministre chargé des affai- un accident aérien avec la Grèce, du soutien populaire dont res européennes. Elle va retarder des attaques contre des musées et notre travail consistant à hausser l'arrestation de 200000 opposants souffrent les militaires, les standards démocratiques du qui auraient pu être séquestrés le gouvernement envisage pays dans le cadre du processus dans des stades d'Istanbul, ce de jouer le peuple contre européen.» Même surpnse pour plan aurait été présenté à une Salih Kapusuz, vice-président du assemblée de 162 militaires, dont l'armée pour modifier parti au pouvoir: «Cette décision 29 généraux. Toujours selon Tarat la Constitution prouve qu'une nouvelle Constitu- les militaires auraient établi une tion est inéuitable.» Écrire une liste de 137 journalistes prêts à ISTANBUL Constitution «civile» à la place coopérer avec l'armée en cas de De notre correspondante de celle héritée du coup d'État coup d'État et une autre de 136 egouvernement et l'armée, de 1980 est l'un des objectifs du personnes qui auraient pu être engagés dans une lutte gouvernement. Or, sans soutien arrêtées. Lsourde depuis 2002, sont de l'opposition, qui craint la dis- L'armée a aussitôt qualifié ces à couteaux tirés. La semaine location de l'État laique, ce vœu accusations d<

43 Revue de Presse-Press Retneui-Berheooka Çapê-Ritnsia Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeii frmonde Mardi 26 janvier 2010 Leplacement en rétention des Kurdes échoués en Corse est jugé illégal Dimanche soir, 94 des 123exilés avaient été remis en liberté par les juges des libertés. Leministre de l'immigration, EricBesson, a justifié leur rétention par un souci de « protection des personnes»

emis en liberté ou probablement en passe de l'être, les R 123 exilés kurdes découverts vendredi 22 Janvier sur une plage du sud de la Corse auront finalement passé peu de temps en réten- non Dimanche soir 24 janvier.Ies Juges des libertés et de la déten- tien de Marseille, Nîmes et Rennes ont libéré 94 d'entre eux des centres de rétention adrmrustrative (CRA)où Ils avalent été transférés samedi, 24 heures à peine après leur découverte Ces décrsions de Justice ont aussitôt été qualifiées par les associations d'aide aux réfugiés de {(désaveu des tmprovt-

sanons I) du mirustre de l'Immigra- tion, Enc Besson Les Juges ont notamment estimé que la pnva- non de liberté de ces migrants s'était faite hors de tout cadre Jun- dique légal «puisqu'ils n'avalent

pas été placés en garde à vue I) Fallait-II placer en rétention ces exilés kurdes venant de Syrie, alors qu'ils sollicitent la protection de la Des migrants quittent le centre de rétention de Marseille, dimanche. ANNE CHRISTINE POUJOULAT /AFP France? {(Faceà des SItuations d'urgence, la protection des personnes pas pour autant de demander l'asI- tant les normes en vIgueur" français se poursuit Les recherches

prime sur le pOintIllIsme procédu- le I), relevait-il Pressentant cependant la libéra- menées en Sardaigne pour tenter rail), a fait valoir, dimanche SOIr, En rétention cependant, les non des exilés kurdes par la Justice, de retrouver le bateau qui les aurait Enc Besson Le rmrustre a expliqué demandes d'asile sont examinées le rrurustre affirmait dans le même déposés se sont révélées vaines Les

aVOIr{(préféré un transfert rapide I) en procédure pnontaire et non en temps que leurs demandes d'asile enquêteurs doutent de plus en plus de ces personnes vers cinq centres procéd ure normale l'étranger dis- seraient mstruites par l'Ofpra en que les migrants aient pu arnver de rétention sur le continent (Mar- pose de cinq JOurs seulement (et « procédure normale et non accélé- directement par la mer {(Ilest POSSI-

seille, Nîmes, Lyon, Toulouse, Ren- non de 21) pour déposer son dos- rée I) Les associations continuent ble qU'Ils soient arrivés en Corse à nes), car c'était le {(seul cadre Jundl- sier Il se VOItretirer toute possibili- cependant d'exiger que soient reti- bordd'un camron en provenance de que dlspontble pour des ressortis- té d'être entendu par la Cour natio- rés les arrêtés de reconduite à la Sardmgneet ayant faü la traversée

sants étrangers en SItuatIOn Irrégu- nale du droit d'asile en cas de rejet frontière pns à leur encontre, sans par ferry I), expliquait samedi, le

Ilere I) Sans convaincre les associa- de sa demande par l'Office français attendre que les tribunaux adrru- préfet de Corse • trons d'aide aux réfugiés qUi, en de protection des réfugiés et apatn- mstratifs statuent définitivement Laetitia Van Eeckhout pleine campagne des élecnons des (Ofpra) qUi statue dans des sur leur légalité Tant qu'elles sont régionales, ont dénoncé une grave délais très brefs encore sous le coup d'une mesure atteinte au droit d'asile Pour elles, d'éloignement, les personnes, bien la place de ces exilés. sans papiers « Procédure normale» que libérées, ne peuvent en effet m visa mais demandant la protee- Face aux en tiques suscités par exercer leur droit d'asile en bénéfi- non de la France, était en centre le transfert en rétention de ces eXI- ciant de la procédure régulière d'accueil pour demandeurs d'asile lés kurdes, M Besson a JUStifié son Dimanche soir.Ies 94 réfugiés kur- et non en rétention choix par le SOUCId'assurer à ces des libérés ont dormi à l'abri, dans Contacté par Le Monde samedi, personnes {(une visite médIcale, des lieux d'hébergement réquisi- le préfet de Corse, Stéphane une évaluatIOn indIvIduelle de leur normés par les préfectures des Bou- BOUillon assurait qU'II n'avait pas sItuatIOn, un hébergement adapté ches-du-Rhône, du Gard et d'Ille-et- eu d'autre ChOiXque de notifier à notamment pour les [amûles et Vilaine Le cabinet du ministre de

ces exilés un arrêté de reconduite à d'une assIstance dans leur droIt I) l'Immigration expliquait que les la frontière et donc leur placement Selon lUI, « Il étaIt ImpOSSIble préfets avalent été mobilisés pour

en rétentIOn {(pour les garder I) d'amener en quelques heures à la leur trouver des places en centres Sans cela.I'Etat {(n'auraIt eu aucu- pointe sud de la Corse des dIzaines d'hébergement d'urgence ne possibilué de vérifier qUI Ils d'Interprètes, d'avocats, de méde- En Corse, l'enquête du parquet étalent et SI parmi eux Ily avaIt des CinSet de trouver sur place un local d'AJaccio sur les condrtions d'am- passeurs" {(Cela ne leur interdIt de rérennon admlntstratlve respec- vée des 123 réfugiés sur le terntoire

44 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti l'ifIII Ii\STlTUTE FOR WAR & PEACE REPORTI:\fG 20 JAi\Ur\RY 2010 statement as American support, arguing that the US positron Kurdish Criticism of on resolving disputed territones remains vague. Mahmud Osman, an Independent Kurdish member of parlia- US Grows ment In Baghdad, noted the White House statement "men- Some doubt American commitment tions Article 140. But it expresses ItS commitment to Article to resolve disputes over oil-rich 142 of the constitution which calls for amending the whole Kirkuk. Iraqi constitution, and this is against us"...... Many Kurds fear that Iraqi Arab deputies will try to amend or By Hemin H Lihony, Tiare Rath and Sirwan Rashid in eliminate Article 140 because of concerns that the census and Sulaimaniyah (1eR No. 320, 20-lan-10) referendum will give Kurds, who believe they are the rnajo- ntv in Kirkuk, control over the province. "Unfortunately, Kurdish leaders make too much of [Kurdish A flurry of diplomacy between United States and Kurdish lea- relations] with the US and ItS promises," Osman said. "I don't ders has done little to curb growing wariness among Kurds think our relations reached 'the golden era' that some claim. who say their long-time ally IS dragging its heels In efforts to I hope that this relatronshrp IS not overemphasised [in the settle potentiallv explosive claims over disputed terntones. future], because I doubt that it will result In anything." Some Kurdish politicians have rejected assurances from the Ako Hama Karim, a political sciences professor at White House and Kurdish leaders who say Washington is suraimarnvah University in Iraqi Kurdrstan, said, "The US committed to help resolve the status of Iraq's disputed areas, doesn't have permanent friends - It has permanent Interests. notably the Oil-rich province of Kirkuk. Growing cnticrsrn of Washington represents an about-face for Kurdish popular "I think we, the Kurds, expected more from the US. People sentiment that has lavished favour on the US for the past two became upset once we realised that the US doesn't do eve- decades. rything we want and doesn't care as much about Kurdish "In the past US ofücrals promised many things regarding demands." Kirkuk to the Kurds but they were Just words without deeds," Tofiq expressed scepticism about us-Kurdrsh relations, des- said Mohammed Tofiq, a senior leader of the Kurdish OPPOSI- pite his regular contact with the Americans. Embassy officiais tion Change movement. met Change leaders last week In sutarmaruvah. Kurdish officials, however, maintain that their ties with the US "If the US doesn't care about our [Kurdish] demands then have never been stronger. They pomt to high-level Kurdish why should we consider them our close ally?" he said. "We visits to Washington, and White House support for an Iraqi believe that the US could have implemented [Article] 140 constrtuttonat mandate, known as Article 140, to resolve the before." status of Iraq's disputed areas. Some Kurdish politicians said the White House statement was Article 140 states that a census and a referendum should Issued In exchange for Kurdish support of a US-backed elec- have been held by 2007 to determine who Will govern Kirkuk, tions law that paved the way for Iraq's parliamentary polls in a province claimed by Arabs, Turkoman and Kurds. While March. constrtunonaüv mandated, the process has been continually Kurdish lawmakers' backing for the law broke a deadlock that delayed and remains a key POint of contention between the threatened to further delay the elections, and came shortly kurdrstan Regional Government, KRG, and the Arab-led cen- after KRG president Massoud Barzanl spoke with US president tral government In Baghdad. Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Brden, who has close Kurds, who believe that Kirkuk is historically part of Kurdistan ties with Kurdish officials. and would be annexed to the KRG In a referendum, are dee- The Kurdish opposition press accused Washington of pressu- ply frustrated with the Iraqi government for postponing the ring Kurdish leaders to support the election law which they census. Many believe the support of their influential ally, the say did not allocate enough seats to the KRG's three provin- US, would push the process forward. ces. Arabs and Turkoman, however, believe Kurds are attempting "The Kurdish leaders placed our destiny in the hands of vague to expand the Kurdish region's borders at any cost. Analysts promises made by the US," Change's newspaper pronounced warn that disagreements over Kirkuk could result In wides- in a huge front-page headline, In reference to the White pread violence. Some argue that any resolution should House statement supporting the census. Include a power-sharing agreement for the province's ethnic and rehqrous groups. Reflectmg the views of many ordinary Kurds, Nadhifa Slarh, a 49-year-old housewife, she said she was a huge supporter of The International community, including the US and the United the US after the mvasion but today is disappointed. Nations, has been cautious about not taking sides or urgently pushing the process - a pornt of frustration for Kurds who say "The US hasn't met our expectations," she said. "We still have the delays are unconstitutional. etectncitv and water shortages, and politically Kirkuk IS not solved." Unlike Iraqi Arab representatives who saw It as tantamount to US Interference in Iraqi affairs, Kurdish ofûcrals took heart Deeply SUSpiCIOUSof their neighbours and Arab Iraqis, many from a White House statement last month affirming its sup- Kurds have long considered the US their strongest ally. port for the census and for "the full and fair Implementation Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were a proxy force for the Bush of the Iraqi constitution", including Article 140 and Article administration In the 2003 Iraq war. When Saddam Hussein 142. Article 142 allows for amendments to the constitution. was overthrown, US troops and officiais were received with "The White House statement IS very Important," said Fouad flowers In Iraqi Kurdistan - in stark contrast to the resistance Massum, head of the Kurdish bloc In Iraq's parliament. "It's they faced elsewhere. the first time we've seen such a statement from America." But despite the current wave of Kurdish cntlcisrn of the US, Kurdish offlcral media downplayed the White House's support KRG leaders claim ties with Washington are stronger than for Article 142, Instead focusing on the commitment to the ever. census, which is now scheduled for October 2010. Barzani IS planning a trip to Washington to follow up a vlsrt But some Kurds say their community should not interpret the by KRG senior officials in late December, when they met

45 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

senior White House and Pentagon officials. "Obviously we look forward to the successful resolution of Issues includmg the disputed borders, that's where our focus Article 140 was high on the agenda, said the KRG's minister of IS right now to make sure that we can be helpful in this regard. foreign relations, Faleh Mustafa, who was part of the delegation. In pnvate meetings and in the White House statement, "I think we can be a very good friend to the people of he said the US showed ItS "commitment to help us carry out a kurcistan ... We look forward to a very strong relationship census" in Kirkuk. here, a relatronshrp with Kurdrstan rn so far as It IS part of Iraq." And at a press conference this week in Erbil after meetmg Kurdish leaders, US ambassador to Iraq Chnstopher Hill Hemm H uhonv IS an IWPR local editor. Tiare Rath IS IWPR appeared to reassure Kurds nervous about progress over the Iraq editorial manager. Sirwan Rashid IS an IWPR-trained jour- disputed province and US/Kurdish relations in general. nahst. "With regard to promises, we have always mamtamed to the Kurdish authorities that we would be engaged rn these disputed boundary questions and that we would be engaged on the basis of the Iraqi constitution ..

january 19, 2010 I'm not in Arbil to press on Kurds - US ambassador

ARBil / Aswal ai-Iraq: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher R. Hill said on Tuesday that his current visit to Arbil city does not aim at putting pressures on the Kurdish leadership to give concessions to Baghdad with respect to suspended issues between Arabs and Kurds. "1 don't carry any message, and I'm not making an attempt to press on Kurds," Hill said in a meeting with journalists in Arbil, the capital city of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, including a reporter of Aswat ai-Iraq news agency. The US ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill held Tuesday, January 19, a press conference in Erbil at the U.S. He said that he had an important meeting yesterday with the Kurdish Representation in Kurdistan Region in presence of the President Masaod Barazani. media channels of Kurdistan Region. PUK photo "Suspended issues between Arabs and Kurds are political, not related to U.S. withdrawal from Iraq," Hill said. ved after parliamentary election (March 7, 2010)," Hill said. He said that the Baghdad - Arbil relations require more work to solve He said that suspended Issues between Arabs and Kurds in Iraq pending issues. should be solved according to a mentality that belongs to the 21st century, not the 19th. "We are optimistic that relations between the two sides will be impro-

fUN~Cù\LTI~Q_J_an_u_a_ry_l_9_,_20_1_0 __ Kurdish minister pushes for Iraqi oil deal with ONO ByAndrew Ward in Stockholm and William MacNamara m,London oil exports after holding a 'serious orchestrated by the Kurdish rise from $2.75bn in 2010 to hares in DNa, the Norwegian dialogue" with Baghdad over how govemment They were Intended $25.62bn In 2014. Over those four Soil company, rose more than 16 to pay operators such as DNa and to mark the end of tensions with years only $6bn of the $67bn in per cent yesterday after authorities Turkey's Genel Energy. the central govemment, which Baghdad-controlled revenues in Iraqi Kurdistan said they were Mr Hawrami proposed paying continued to call the KRG's oil would need to be allocated to ready to resolve a dispute with DNa a minimum amount that licenses illegal But Baghdad retai- Kurdistan-based operators as Iraq's central govemment over dis- would cover DNa's cost of oil ned all revenues from those compensation, he said. tribution of oil revenues and pay- exports. The payments would exports and did not remit pay- Trond Omdal, analyst at Arctic ment of foreign operators. come from Baghdad-controlled oil ments to the companies. The KRG Securities in Oslo, said the state- But the statement appeared to revenues. That step, he sugges- did not pay operators out of its ment indicated momentum is buil- be a political overture, not a bin- ted, ·would create a suitable and budget. In October DNa said it ding towards a deal But he cautio- ding plan capable of breaking the positive atmosphere" in which to would halt oil exports until a pay- ned that much would remain deadlock that has prevented full- restart all exportation. Then all ment mechanism was set up. uncertain until after Iraq holds par- scale exploitation of Iraqi sides, he said, could resolve the DNa declined to comment on liamentary elections in March. Kurdistan's estimated 40bn barrels thomier issues of operators' profits the statement, including whether of oil. and out of which govemment's or not they endorsed a break-even Ashti Hawrami, oil minister for budget payments are paid. payment plan. the autonomous Kurdistan regio- Winning access to Iraq in Mr Hawrami appealed to nal govemment (KRG) of Iraq, said 2003, DNa was able to start Baghdad to consider the revenues in the statement that the KRG is exporting oil from its Tawke field in it could gain by co-operating with a prepared to resume international June 2009. Those exports were newplan. Those revenues could

46 I Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti ITOUAYSZAMAN 1_21_J----:ao_Uary-2-01-0 _ Turkish military's new coup plan irks some journalists

TODAY'S ZAMAN terday's Taraf report, which also stated that it would make public the A new plan allegedly drafted names of 137 journalists who would by members of the military cooperate with the armed forces after aiming to overthrow the govern- the implementation of the coup plan ment failed to find coverage on a and 36 others who would be arrested number of newspapers and news and put behrnd bars. broadcasters' Web sites, a fate "Some of our colleagues are previously faced by several simi- concerned that their names are also lar plans. included on that list. That's most probably why they turn a blind eye to the According to the Balyoz coup plan," said one journalist spea- (Sledgehammer) Security Operation king on the condition of anonymity. The journalist also said recent Plan, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) Reactionaryism describes a TSK plan debates over Turkey becoming an had a systematic plan to foment to damage the image of the AK Party authontanan country through "civi- chaos in society by bombrng mosques government and the faith-based lian tutelage" could stand as evidence and attacking popular museums with Gülen movement in the eyes of the for cooperation between journalists Molotov cocktails. The attacks' des- public, to play down the Ergenekon and the armed forces against the ired result was to increase pressure investigation and to gather support government. on the Justice and Development Party for members of the military arrested "Some media circles are already (AK Party) government over failrng to as part of the inquest. working to foment chaos In the coun- provide security to ItS citizens. The Ergenekon is accused of working try through such claims. They are attacks were to eventually lead to a to create a chaotic atmosphere in now afraid to see their names rn the military coup. Turkey so people would welcome a expected list," the journalist added. The plan was exposed by the libe- military coup against the AK Party. The Sledgehammer Secunty ral Taraf daily on Wednesday, but did The Cage plan is believed to have Operation Plan also accuses the AK not find coverage on the Web sites of been drafted by a group of Naval Party of working to damage the secu- many newspapers and news broad- Forces Command officers to lntirru- lar order of Turkey and replace the casters. Accordrng to journalists who date the country's non-Muslim popu- republican system With Shanah rule. spoke with Today's Zaman, their col- lation by assassinating some promi- Taraf exposed similar suspected leagues refrain from giving wide nent figures in their communities and military plots in the past, which sent coverage to such plans out of fear thereby undermine the power of the shockwaves across the country. that their covert cooperation with the ruling party. armed forces for the preparation of a Among them were the Action Plan to chaotic atmosphere in the country Fight Reactionaryism and the Cage would be revealed. To prove their Operation Action Plan. thesis, the journalists pointed to yes- The Action Plan to Fight

ITOUAlS ZAMAN 1_22_Ja_"_ua_ry_2_01_0 _ Plan's disclosure deepens fears among Turkey's Kurds

AYSE KARABAT Molotov cocktails. The attacks' des- (BOP), said that the discovery of such Ired result was to increase pressure a plan is not surprising. "The menta- Kurdish politicians and intellec- on the Justice and Development lity which is able to think of bombing tuals urged Parliament to take a Party (AK Party) government over mosques and shooting down its own break from their daily political bicke- failing to provide security to ItS citi- plane of course would develop racist nng rn order to discuss the situation zens. The attacks were to eventually plans and implement assimilation and solutions in the aftermath of the lead to a military coup. The pollcres. But the question IS who we disclosure of a new alleged plan by Sledgehammer plan also spelled out can trust for our secunty; we have to the military which, among other actions to be taken after the coup, discuss this lmmediatetv," Sakik told things, urges the cleansrng of Kurdish includrng the expurgating of Kurdish Today's Zaman. He also suggested and Arabic elements from Turkish and Arabic elements from Turkish that politicians should put aside their culture. culture: "All national values includrng daily political concerns and discuss Accordrng to the Balyoz the Turkish Ezan [Call for prayer] the situation to develop solutions, if (Sledgehammer) Security Operation should be implemented again and all they aim to create a real democracy. Plan, which was published by Taraf the damage to Turkish culture which Emin Aktar, chairman of the daily in segments Wednesday and was caused by Kurdish and Arabic Diyarbakir Bar Association, also yesterday, the Turkish Armed Forces elements should be repaired," urged Parliament to take immediate (TSK) plotted to create chaos and excerpts from the plan published by action and reform the TSK. overturn the government. The TSK Taraf read. "It is impossible to live with allegedly planned to bomb mosques Sim Sakrk, a deputy from the pro- constant fear of a new military coup, and attack popular museums with Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party the public should be reassured that Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

this will never be the case," Aktar realities that we knew but that were paign to not shop from Kurds," he told Today'sZaman. not paid attention to by the general told Today's Zaman. He also urged Sezgin Tannkulu, Diyarbakir public. We as Kurds were always the government to take action as representative of the Turkish Human under the threats mentioned in the soon as possible and put the General Rights Foundation (TIHV), said that plan. It is obvious that some people Staff under the control of the the military, in its existing structure, who had knowledge about this plan Defense Ministry. is a threat to democracy. "This had tried to implement these plans - Sledgehammer plan revealed the - Just remember the grassroots cam-

january 22, 2010 Milestone: Arab- Kurdish-American checkpoints ...... the news tribune By Scott Fontaine Members of the Peshmerga, left, and the Iraqi Army train with U.S. sol- QARA TAPA, Iraq - The historic diers from the 1st Squadron, 14th siqruflcance of the JOint Arab-Kurdish- Cavalry Regiment this month at American checkpoint was lost on the dri- COB Cobra in northern Iraq. The ver of the black Kia sedan. The hasslewas long-time enemies are learning to not. work together at checkpoints. "I work for the Interior Ministry'" he Joe Barrentine/The News Tribune yelled, digging Into his pocket and flas- hing his government badge to Fort t.ewrs began beefing up an Iraqi army check- The region IS rich in all, which adds a troops, Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi point by adding concrete barners. Two layer of drvrsrveness, And many people army soldiers. "Look at my ID' Why was I Strykers sat atop elevated firing positions vividly remember Saddam ordering the pulled over for inspection?" to provide overwatch. use of chemical weapons against the The outburst - fairly typical for any Each time a car entered the check- Kurds In the waning days of the Iran-Iraq government bureaucrat In Iraq - was pomt, a soldier from the Iraqi army or the war. about the most conflict troops witnessed peshmerga approached and talked to the A series of recent standoffs between on Jan. 13, the first full day of trilateral driver. If selected for a search, the driver the Iraqi army and the peshmerga In the checkpomts that officiais hope will defuse pulled over to a gravel lot where soldiers Khanaqrn district of northeast Diyala pro- tensions among the military forees In drs- looked through the interior, under the vince underscores the tension between puted Diyala province. hood, In the trunk and under the car using the two groups. More checkpomts went up thrs week mirrors. In August 2008, Iraqi army soldiers on highways across Diyala, Nrnevah and Americans provided advice to the entered the towns of Qara Tapa, Jalawla Kirkuk provinces. The operations were Arabs and Kurds after each search and and Sadrvah and demanded the pesh- long-awaited, but the developments were made sure the Inspected cars were Indeed merga leave. The Kurds' general In the kept quiet; The News Tribune agreed to chosen at random. area refused, forcrnq a standoff and hold publication about training until the "Some people have been confused prompting Kurdish pohtlcrans to fly to checkpoints became active. when they drive through," said Staff Sgt. Baghdad to broker a deal. In Diyala, where tensions between Daim Satar Jazel of the 1st Iraqi Army But a week later, the Iraqi army ente- Arabs and Kurds have long run high, Fort DIVISion. "The truck drivers especially: red the Kurdish city of Khanaqm and LeWIS' 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry When they come through here, they look again ordered Kurdish forces to leave, Regiment IS training soldiers from both surprised. They have not seen a check- sparking public demonstrations In the dis- the Iraqi army and the Kurdish pesh- POintlike this before." trict's largest city. Kurdish President merga. The reaction from Iraqi pohticrans has MassoudBarzaruflew to Baghdad to meet The latter operate Independently from been mixed. The leader of a group repre- With Prime MInister Noun al-Nahkr. Baghdad. sentrnq Arabs In Kirkuk called upon the An American military spokesperson In The 1-14 Cavalry IS part of the larger Baghdad government to prevent joint Baghdad stressed that the Iraqi and 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry DIVISion- a rrussrons, calling them "a rejected mat- Kurdish leaders settled the standoff Stryker brigade from Fort LeWIS. ter," accordmç a report In Al-Sumaria through dialogue. And the peshmerga At the province's first checkpomt, on News on Wednesday. conducted JOint patrols and checkpoints the main highway near Qara Tapa, five But a member of the Iraqi parlia- With the Iraqi army ahead of nationwide soldiers from each force worked a 24- ment's defense and security committee provincial elections in January 2009. hour shift and battled fierce Windstorms said the checkpoints Will be a crucial part Today both the Iraqi army and the on the first full day of operation. They ms- of ensuring secure elections In the drspu- peshmerga patrol the countryside, often pected about three or four cars per hour, ted areas. setting up checkpoints within sight of a slow pace desrqned to get each Side At the heart of the Arab-Kurd tensions each other. U.S. military officrals are hai- accustomed to workinq together. In Diyala lie rustorv, all and gas. Kurds say ling the formation of an Arab-Kurd "com- "Honestly, we were warned," said Sgt. the province was firmly theirs before bined security architecture" In the three 1st ClassChns Silsby, a 36-year-old Laeey Saddam Hussein began relocating Arabs provinces as major progress. resident. "We were wondering: How many throughout Kurdish areas to shift the Arab and Kurdish troops Will live in the fights would we have to break up? But It'S demographiC balance. Kurds returned same area (though sleep In separate been all good so far." after Saddam's overthrow, and the pesh- tents) and eventually staff joint command Three weeks ago, American engineers merga began operating farther south. centers.

48 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

"Everyone's been morutorlnq the pro- Capt. Dave Shephard or another nons will ease tensions among ethnic gress on this, but we've had to keep it American wanted to address the crowd, groups. Any dissension between the two low-key becauseof the political sensmvi- he stood on a Jersey berner and talked Sides, several of them said, remained on ties," Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, the top while two mterpreters translated. the political level. American commander in northern Iraq, But at the checkpoints, the Iraqi army "It'll be a good sign to show both told The News Tribune. "And I think on soldiers and peshmerga talked to each Arabs and Kurds are working together," the troop level - the Arabs and the Kurds other usrnq Arabic. Interpreters were said Lt. Ahmed Hussein Amin, a platoon training stde-by-srde - what we've seen is used primarily for American soldiers. leader with the 34th Peshmerga Brigade. encouraging." The American officer In charge of trai- "Some people In Diyala are racist. They Fort Lewrs troops stationed at Combat ning says he has seen little trouble bet- blame their problems on being an Arab or Outpost Cobra began training the Iraqi ween groups. a Kurd. That excuse should be gone army and peshmerga on Jan. 9. Sessions "We haven't seen any conflict bet- soon." begin With basicclassesto establish com- ween these guys since we've started," Staff Sgt. Salim Abdullah of 1st Iraqi mon vocabulary and then graduate to said Shephard, a DuPont resident. "They Army DIVISionhoped the operations will advanced scenanos, like responding to a don't seem to mix or intermingle that smooth relations between the two roadside bombing or sniper attack. much, but at least we're not seeing the groups. But, he added with a nod toward The biggest hurdle In JOintoperations, conflict." the peshmerga, "hopefully we all Will be Arab and Kurdish solders said in inter- Arab and Kurdish soldiers at the Jan. working for the same country." Views, was the language barrier. When 9 training remained hopeful the opera-

Iraq polls could heighten tensions over Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Iraq, January 26, 2010 (Reuters) - By Missy Ryan which Arabs and Kurds will mix easily. The Kirkuk Central School, a well-regarded boys school where Iraqi ,. Dispute over Kirkuk has festered since Saddam era President [alal Talabani, a Kurd, studied more than SOyears ago, is one example of the city's historic diversity. ,. Kurds likely to be kingmakers after March 7 vote All students at the school study Arabic and Kurdish, and can pursue other languages if they choose. IRAQI KURD Kamal Aga's face lights up when he recalls his chil- "We don't raise students to discrinùnate. We teach them to be brothers," dhood on a farm in Daquq, south of Kirkuk, where wheat and cotton said school official Mahmoud Majdab al-Rafaii. fields stretched to the horizon and farmers of different ethnicities lived side by side. But in Kirkuk's segregated neighbourhoods where more recent arrivals live, schools teaching at least partially in minority languages like That chapter of lus life ended in his 20s when the lands of his promi- Kurdish or Turkman have taken root since 2003. nent tribal family were seized in the 1970s, first in agrarian reform and then in the Baath party's push to move fellow Arabs into areas home to Some 460 schools, of a total of about 1,390 across the province, are fun- Kurds and other minorities. ded by the goverrunent of northern Kurdistan, using its curriculum and books and teaching entirely in Kurdish. Today, Aga lives in the disputed city of Kirkuk, working in a dingy office where he heads a commission seeking to settle some of the The aim was to give minorities a chance to study in their own lan- approximately 41,000 property claims like his own. guage. Yet the schools are producing future generations unable to communicate fluently with their Arab countrymen -- and Kurds brought OnJy 7 percent of the claims have been resolved since the 2003 inva- up to believe disputed areas are theirs by right. sion, reflecting the challenges Iraq faces as It heads toward a March election which could help ease Kurd-Arab tensions over areas like Kurdish textbooks identify Kirkuk as "the most rich oil-producing area Kirkuk or thrust Iraq back into open war. in Kurdistan. Most residents are Kurds but Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians and Chaldeans also live there" - a controversial claim in an area whose The dispute over Kirkuk and other areas, which pits Iraq's Arab-led ethnic feuds have held up a national census and where no reliable goverrunent against the largely autonomous Kurdish region in the demographie figures exist. north, has festered since Saddam's ouster in 2003. Fawzia Abdullah Awanees, a top education official, supports the lan- It is now seen as the chief threat to Iraq's fragile security as U.S. forces guage experiment but warns it could widen social gaps. prepare to end combat operations in August ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011. "We need integrated schools, which offer different languages, so people can live alongside one another," she said. Kurds, who want to fold the region U.S. officials say may contain 3-4 percent of world oil reserves into their enclave, are likely to end up as At the Kirkuk Property Disputes Commission, the process of sifting kingmakers after the March 7 vote. through thousands of complex, multigenerational and often overlap- ping property claims proceeds at a glacial pace. They may extract concessions for helping other factions form the next government, a prospect that frightens Kirkuk's Turkmen and Arabs, Beyond the 41,000 claims the board is working through dating from who say Kurds have treated them unfairly in their effort since 2003 to 1968-2003, many more have sprung up after 2003, when Iraqis fleeing reverse Saddam Hussein's "Arabization" violence became squatters and Arabs brought into Kirkuk under Saddam fled in fear of Kurdish retaliation. Many Kirkukis say tensions stem from national politics and not from the realities on the ground. U.N. officials are trying to facilitate settlement as a step in building consensus needed to reach a solution on Kirkuk. "This is a feud among political powers treating Kirkuk like a cow that gives milk;' said Waleed Saman, an Arab businessman. This week, parliament approved changes to expedite the slow claims process. Until the reforms take effect, Aga's hopes of reclaiming at least "My brothers and I should be the decision makers. Close the door and part of the family lands, occupied by Kurdish squatters after Arab give us 24 hours, and we'll come out with a solution." families fled in 2003, are on hold. LANGUAGE BARRIER "We still don't have one metre of land there," he said. Yet changes forced on the city since 2003 do not promise a future in

49 Revue de Presse-Press Retneui-Berheooka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti &I Rudaw.Net I 09 JANUARY 2010 ning the Iraqi forces. The American delega- US prepared to tion is willing to train the Kurdish armed forces, if the central government approves this," train Kurdish Yawar added. Yawar said that US general Odierno is happy armed forces that Iraqi, American and Kurdish troops will be deployed in the disputed regions of Hewler - us commander of coalition forces Mosul. The Sunni Governor Atheel ai-Najafi in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, is prepared said he was fiercely against deploying to train the Kurdistan Region Guard Forces Kurdish troops in the region, reports the with approval of the Iraqi government. Currently, the two ruling parties PUK Arab daily Azzaman. "We have not agreed to The spokesman of the Kurdistan Region (Pattriotic Union of Kurdistan) and the KDP the presence of the Peshmerga (even) as part Guard Forces, Jabbar Yawar, said this in a (Democratie Party of Kurdistan) have their of joint checkpoints as suggested by both press conference. "Odierno has spoken with own armed forces, but the Minister of the U.s. and Iraqi sides," he said (photo: Getty the president and the prime minister of the Kurdistan Region Guard Forces told Rudaw Images) that they will unite the armed forces. "In the Kurdistan region [Iraq] and indicated to be © Rudaw happy with uniting the Kurdish armed for- security agreement signed by Iraq and ces." America, there is a point, about America trai-

THE~TIME~J~·a_n_u_ary~I_8_,_20_1_0 _ Halabja, the massacre the West tried to ignore

Richard Beeston: comment

It has taken nearly 22 years for Ali Hassan al-Majid to be judged by Iraqis for perpetrating one of the worst massacres in modem history. Even peering out from the smudged window of an Iranian military helicopter, it was clear that a terrible crime had been committed against the inhabitants of Halabja, as part of a campaign by Saddam Even by Saddam's ruthless standards the massacre broke new Hussein and his commanders to teach Iraqt Kurds the cost of siding boundaries. Yet what was more shocking was the cynical response of with the enemy - at that time Iran. the West. The US attempted to blame this crime on Iran. Britain car- On the ground, the scale of the slaughter became clear. Entire ried on business as usual with the regime in Baghdad. Saddam was families had been killed by the poison chemicals. Some died together shielded from any meaningful punishment. He went on to invade huddled in makeshift shelters that offered no protection against the Kuwait two years later and ordered the massacre of thousands of Iraqi gas One family was killed in their garden along with their pets. Shia Muslims in 199 I. Another succumbed as they tried to escape by car. We found the The failure of the West to respond adequately to this outrage made vehicle crashed into a wall with the driver and all occupants dead and it difficult for George Bush and Tony Blair to make a moral case for the keys in the ignition. The most poignant memory of that day was a overthrowing Saddam in 2003. father in traditional Kurdish dress lying dead at the entrance to his But as the Iraq war comes under new scrutiny and more voices home cradling a baby. argue that Saddam should have been left in place, it is worth sparing a Those who survived were arguably worse off. Hundreds had been thought for those thousands of innocent Kurdish men, women and hit by mustard gas that burnt their eyes and lungs but did not kill them. children who died in the deadliest chemical weapons attack on civi- Victims of this slow and painful poison are still dying of their injuries lians in history. to this day.

~ Rudaw.Net I _31_J_a_n_ua_ry__20_1_0 ___ Kurdish politicians enjoy Perwer's concert

Vienna- The Kurdish singer Sivan Perwer gave a huge concert in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Prominent Kurdish politicians from Iraq's Kurdistan region and Turkey enjoyed the concert. Many Kurdish politicians enjoyed the concert, including the Kurdish president Massoud Barzani, former leader of the banned pro- Kurdish DTP party Ahmet Turk, former DTP MP Aysel Tugluk, Sirri Sakik of the new pro-Kurdish BDP-party, Dengir Mir Firat and Gulsen Orhan of the ruling AKP-party. The AKP MP Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat told after the concert that he The Austrian president Heinz Fisher also gave a speech and said he hopes Sivan Perwer returns to Turkey. Ahmet Türk agreed. Türk said was sad that the Kurdish question wasn't solved yet and hoped that he travelled not only to Vienna to listen to the Music of Perwer, but Kurds will get all their freedoms to enjoy their culture and speak also to hear the 'voice of pain of our Kurdish people' embodied by their mother language. Sivan Perwer

50 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Bastn Ozeti

ntranC~I~'€ribtlllc ~ANUARY 23-24,2010 124 refugees found on beach in Corsica

PARIS

Many seem to be Kurds from Syria; France calls for joint maritime patrols

BY STEVEN ERLANGER

A boatload of 124 refugees, many of them apparently Kurds from Syria, were discovered Friday morrnng on a beach In southern Corsica, the local police said, It was the frrst time that illegal Immigrants were able to land on the IS- land, and they had been put there sometime Thursday night or even before, presumably by traffickers, the pohce said. Such landings are common on Italian islands well to the south, but are rare for France. The group, which Included 38 children, 9 of whom were nursmg; 5 pregnant women; and one disabled person, were taken by the authonties to a gymnasium In the nearby town of Bon- ifacio, where they were fed and ex- ammed by doctors and the Red Cross, Refugees at a gymnasium in Bonifacio, Corsica, after being discovered on a beach Friday morning. the local police prefecture said. They were fed and examined by doctors and given clothes, toys and cigarettes. The local authonties also provided clothes, toys and cigarettes, while beds were provided from an air base. Jean-Jacques Casalot, a police officer, grants, but different countries of the un- Translators were brought to talk to said on French television that "we were ion have different legal positions on im- the migrants, none of whom had Iden- obviously quite surprised to see these migration and refugee status. tity papers. The police said that most Kurds reach Corsica, because generally "We cannot let the Mediterranean fall appeared to be Kurds from Syria or Iraq they appear on the Itahan coast." into the hands of human traffickers," but that some could have come from the Hehcopters and ships were patrolling Mr. Besson said, Maghreb, especially TunISIa, where the near the Island In cooperation with the France has largely avoided the rru- boat tnp reportedly began. Itahan authoriues to look for other traf- grant wave from the south, though It has The French munster for imrrugrauon, fickmg vessels or groups of refugees. a number of Illegal migrants on its ErIC Besson, said In a statement that Mr. Besson urged a rapid meeting of northern coast who continue to try to some of the migrants identrhed them- European Uruon rmnisters to discuss get across the Channel to Britam. In selves as Kurds from Syna and that oth- the flow of Illegal imnugrants and how February 2001, more than 900 Kurds ers were from North Africa. He said that to better control borders and seacoasts, landed on the Côte d'Azur between St. a suspect boat had SInce been spotted in mcluding JOIntmannme patrols. France Tropez and Cannes when a people-traf- mternational waters and was due to be and Italy want umform rules for ml- frckmg ship washed ashore stopped by Italian authonties

strategy that began in August and that has hewn to a relentlessly pohucal Iogic. WIth similar attacks m August, October 3 Baghdad blasts and December, msurgents have sought to wreck pillars of Baghdad 's government and CIVIClife, and to prove that Mr. Mahki's government and the security forces he often hails are unable to pre- leave dozens dead serve the state's authority. In a coordinated attack as devastating as In streets strewn with broken glass, BAGHDAD It was ruthlessly efficient, three bombs where the scent of shorn eucalyptus exploded minutes apart In Baghdad on. trees mixed with the stench of charred flesh, some survivors rued a sense of Major hotels are targets; Monday. They wrecked landmark hotels, undermined faith in Pnme Minister the inevitable In past attacks, the blasts attacks appear aimed Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and underscored have thundered across the capital, fol- the uncertainty of the political landscape lowed by weeks of relative calm broken at undermining authority weeks before parliamentary elections. by another senes. "We were expecting The bombings, cutting through more," said Abbas Salman, gazing at a BY ANTHONY SHADID snarled traffic at the afternoon rush, street where rescue workers carried AND JOHN LELAND seemed to be the latest chapter In a severed legs and arms through crowds

51 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

of stunned onlookers. The Interior Mmistry said the bomb- -J 1~'TIR."T10NA'_.b JANUARY 26, 2010 mgs had killed 36 people and wounded iltra UAA~: Qin une _ 71 Although the death toll paled m comparison With earher attacks - at least 122 in August and 155 in October - the attack on Monday hit a different kmd of target. So far, the campaign has wrecked four government rmrustnes, a 'Chemical Ali' executed in Iraq provincial headquarters, a courthouse, colleges and a bank. The three bombs exploded roughly 10 for attacks during Hussein era minutes apart. The first struck the Ishtar rung respect from many Iraqis for his Sheraton at 3:28 p.m., followed 3 mm utes BAGHDAD professionahsrn. Some Amencan offr- later by another at the Babylon Hotel etals said he had helped hrmt the resis- and then, at 3:37,one at the Hamra Hotel. BY NADA BAKR! tance of the Iraqi Army to the mvasion The Hamra and the Sheraton are home Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousm of Saddam m 2003, and many Sunrn leaders said he to many of the capital 's foreign journa- Hussein widely known as Chemical All, was simply a soldier following Mr. lists, though none were reported killed, was executed Monday for ordering a Majid's orders. The blasts shook the city and shattered gas attack on a Kurdish village m north- After the 2003 Amencan-led mvasion, windows for kilometers around. In areas ern Iraq and for his role m other attacks General Ahmed fled to Mosul, where near the hotels, residents spilled mto the that became notonous symbols of the Gen. David H. Petraeus - now the top streets wailing, as plumes of dust, smoke Hussein era. and debris wafted across the skyhne. An Iraqi court had sentenced Mr. Staccato bursts of gunfire echoed Majid to death last week. He ISknown as through the streets as security forces Chemical All because of the attack on tried to cordon off the bombmg scenes. the Village of Halabja, in which more "By God, move!" one guard shouted. than 5,000 Kurds died. "Are you stanng at people's disasters?" ••I congratulate the Iraqi people for this Residents often answered With their sentence," said a lawmaker, Safia Suhail. own anger, a stnkmg sign of the lack of It was Mr. Majid's eighth sentence of respect the security forces, particularly death by hanging since 2007, when he the pohce, are often shown in the capital. received five death sentences for his m- "How are they still gettmg through?" volvement m the rrulitary campaign a survivor shouted at an officer. known as Anfal against Iraqi Kurds. "We have the right to complain!" an- The delays m executing Mr. Majid other insisted. came in contrast to the speed With Many ascnbed the attacks to security which Mr. Hussein's death sentence forces, whose checkpomts punctuate was carried out. Mr. Hussem was sen- virtually every street, intersection and tenced Nov. 5, 2006; his appeal was re- bridge m Baghdad. Nearly allof them dejected on Dec. 26 that year, and he went ploya bomb-detectmg device that Brit- to the gallows within four days. am has banned for export on grounds Mr. Majid received a SIXth death sen- that it IS useless. The bombers had to tence in 2008 for his role in crushmg a pass through secunty checkpoints at all Shiite upnsmg in southern Iraq and an- Ali Hassan ai-Majid at his trial in 2007. three hotels. At the Hamra, a day laborer other last year for his role m killing and who gave his name as Abu Halder said displacing hundreds of Shutes m 1999. he had seen a car exchange gunshots at "Thanks to God," an unrepentant Mr. The attack on Halabja killed the checkpoint, then watched a second Majid said when his eighth death sen- more than 5,000 Kurds_ He car speed through. "It was Just seconds tence was read out m court. before the explosion," he Said. Two others m the same case - Sultan had been sentenced to death The bomb left a crater about 4 meters Hashem Ahmed, a former defense mm- on eight separate counts. Wide and 2 meters deep about 15meters ister, and Sabir Abdul-Aziz al-Doun, a from the Hamra. It reduced the house in former rmhtary intelligence chief - front of the hotel to rubble, from which were sentenced to 15 years m prison. A commander in Iraq but then a major rescue workers pulled bodies. A woman fourth defendant, Farhan Mutlaq al-Ju- general in charge of rmhtary operations who gave her name as Urn Riyadh boun, a former regional intelligence in the north - praised him as a "man of emerged from the rumed hulk of a house chief, received a lO-year sentence. honor and integrity" and asked him to across the street, blood on her head and The sentence for the defense munster surrender m a letter, statmg that by do- face. "We lost the house," she Said, cry- resolved a legal quandary that had held mg so, he could "avoid capture, irnprrs- mg. "We lost everythmg. Why should I up Mr. Majid's execution for years. onment and loss of honor and dignity stay m Iraq? I'm going to leave. There's HIS hanging appeared to require the befittmg a general officer." no other solution," execution of Gen. Hashem Ahmed, who But because of his role m the Anfal Two weeks ago, Iraqi security forces, was sentenced to death in the Anfal campaign, both Shute and Kurdish offi- aided by mtelhgence from Americans, campaign along With Mr. Majid, but sev- etals beheved that If Mr. Hashem's life said they had foiled another large as- eral top Iraqi leaders and American was spared, It could set a precedent by sault on the city by seizing a large commanders wanted to spare him. which others who committed crimes amount of explosives. He was a top officer for decades, win- would also seek to be let off. Iraqi officials attributed the earlier at------I tacks to AI Qaeda m Mesopotarma, the homegrown terronst group that Iraqi and American officiais believe has foreign leadership and acts jointly With former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. But any such a collabora- non has not been proved.

52 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

~tNt\l1l1otkm-nnt~I_J_A_NU_A_RY_26_,_20_10 _ U.S. Urges Kurds to Settle Disputes With Baghdad

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The cials she would urge Barzani when they United States on Tuesday urged the lea- meet at 4 p.m. (1900 GMT) to "work ders of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish toward a peaceful resolution of some of region to settle disputes over boundaries the disputed boundaries, particularly and oil revenues with Baghdad and to around Kirkuk, (and) to support the elec- support Iraq's March 7 election. tions." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary While stressing U.S. support for Clinton said she would raise the points Kurdish security, she said, "We do expect when she meets Masoud Barzani, the pre- that the Kurdish leadership will take an sident of the Kurdish Regional important role in trying to stabilize Iraq, Government, for talks on Tuesday that trying to work with the Sunni and Shia aim to prevent Kurdish-Arab tensions leadership for the betterment of the entire destabilizing Iraq. country." Kurds fear that a nationalist Arab She specifically called for settling U.S. Secretary of State Hillary government in Baghdad might try to cur- boundary disputes over Kirkuk and its Rodham Clinton meets with tail the virtual independence they have surrounding province, which produces a Kurdistan president Massoud enjoyed since shortly after the 1991 Gulf fifth of Iraq's oil, and over revenue-sha- Barzani War once U.S. forces withdraw from ring from hydrocarbon production. Iraq. Iraq's central government and semi- cal strains that already exist between U.S. President Barrack Obama aims autonomous Kurdistan have since 2004 autonomy-minded Kurds and Shi'ites. to end combat operations in Iraq by engaged in a long-running dispute over "Working out the oil revenue law, for August 31, 20 JO, before a full pullout by Iraq's vast oil and gas assets and the gro- example, is something that is very impor- the end of 2011. wing revenue generated by them. The tant to all Iraqis and it will benefit all Clinton told State Department offi- discord threatens to aggravate the politi- Iraqis if it can be finalized," Chnton said.

iiiRudaw.Net I JA_N_U_A_R_Y_2_6_,2_0_10 __ Obama reaffirms US support for Kurdistan

Washington - President Obama reaffir- med strong U.S. support for and engagement with a secure, prosperous, and autonomous Kurdistan Region within a united, federal Iraq on Monday in a meeting With the president of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Massoud Barzani. U.S. President Barack Obama offered on Monday to help in resolving differences between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad's central government before a crucial election in March reports Xinhua. Obama encouraged Barzam to take constructive action on issues that divide Iraq, offering U.S. help for Iraq to move exists an opportunity to make significant bution of parliament seats, saying they forward in forging a broad political progress on the many challenges facing were under-represented. consensus to resolve outstanding disa- the country. greements between the Kurdistan U.S. officials have voiced concern about Regional Government and the As outstanding issues remain unresolved the lingering feuds between Iraq's Shiite, Government of Iraq, said the White in Iraq, President Barzani affirmed the Sunni and Kurdish communities that House. necessity for Iraq's constitution to be the would cause obstacles to political pro- arbiter of internal disputes, and informed gress in the war-torn country. During the meeting, the Kurdish presi- President Obama that lasting stability in dent Barzani stressed the importance for On January 27, the Saban Center for Iraq can be attained if and when Iraqis strategic long term US engagement with Middle East Policy at Brookings will host abide by, and implement, all the articles Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. He stated the Kurdish president Barzani, m a dis- of the country's constitution. that through the deepening and broade- cussion about Iraq's elections (Photo: rung of the United States' relations with Iraq is to hold parliamentary elections on krg.org) Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, there March 7. The Kurds lamented the distri- © Xinhua/Rudaw

53 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti Joe Biden en Irak pour éviter une crise politique avant les élections BAGDAD, 22 janvier 2010 (AFP)- Mais M. Maliki a nié que cette interdiction vise la communauté sunnite. 'Je nie que les sunnites soient visés. Les sunnites seront des partenaires bien plus Importants que la dernière fois lors de ces élections', a assuré Le vice-président américain Joseph Biden est arnvé vendredi en Irak pour mardi M Maliki à la télévision publique tenter de dénouer une crise politique naissante après l'exclusion de centaines de candidats du scrutin léglslatff en mars Le chef de la commission électorale, Faraj al-Haidan, a assuré de son côté à l'AFP que la liste des ex-baassistes à exclure comportait une part égale de Les autorités irakiennes ont exclu des législatives 511 candidats accusès chiites et de sunnites. d'être des anciens membres ou partisans du parti Baas (interdit) de l'ancien président Saddam Hussein, une exclusion qUI a provoqué le colère des sun- "Je pense que c'est 50/50. Il Y a des chiites, des sunnites, des Kurdes, des nites et menace de réduire à nèant les efforts de réconohanon chers à Washington 'Au cours de sa visite, (M. Biden) rencontrera le président Jalal Talaoam, le Premier ministre Nouri al-Mallki, le président du Parlement, Iyad al-Samarrai, et d'autres responsables politiques', a Indiqué un communiquè de la Maison Blanche 'II rencontrera aussi le représentant spécial du secrétaire général des Nations unies en Irak, Ad Melkert, pour discuter des efforts arnéricams et Internationaux en vue de soutenir l'Irak, plus particulièrement les élections nationales' prévues le 7 mars 2010, ajoute le texte Il s'agit de la troisième visite en Irak de M. Blden, chargé spécalement par le président Barack Obama du dossier Irakien. Le ministre Irakien des Affaires étrangères, Hoshyar Zeban, a préosé à l'AFP que M Biden entendait 'venir à la rescousse du processus électorale' communistes, toutes les composantes de la société irakienne', a-t-Ii insisté. L'exclusion des candidats a provoqué la colère des sunnites -rmnontares Le gouvernement irakien a eXigé vendredi que les ex-baassistes exclus dés- dans le pays- qui ont accusé les responsables chiites de voulon marginali- avouent le parti Baas pour pouvoir 'réintégrer la société irakienne', sans tou- ser leurs candidats, ainsi que de sèneuses réserves des Etats-Unis et de tefois faire mention d'une réinscription sur les listes électorales. l'ONU. Les anaens baassistes 'doivent déclarer leur innocence et condamner les Des figures politiques sunnites de premier rang ont été exclues, comme le crimes et les erreurs du régime de Saddam Hussein et du parti Baas', a indi- chef du Front du dialogue national, Saleh Motlaq, qUI s'est présenté aux élec- qué le porte-parole du gouvernement Ali Dabbagh dans un communiqué tions sur la liste laique de l'ancien Premier ministre Iyad Allaout, La polémique s'est encore aggravée jeudi après que le président Talabani a mis en doute la légalité du comité à l'onqme de l'excluston, le Comité pour la Washington, dont les troupes de combat s'apprêtent à quitter l'Irak, veut évi- justice et l'Intégrité, dirigé notamment par un ancien aillé de Washington tombé en disgrâce, le chiite Ahmed Chalam. ter une rèpétition du scénario de 2005, lorsque les sunnites avaient boycotté les élections et étaient allés gonfler les rangs de l'Insurrection et d'AI-Qa'lda, La présidence irakienne a demandé à la Cour suprême de se prononcer sur poussant le pays dans le chaos des combats communautaires. les fondements junoiques de ce comité, dont l'établissement n'a toujours pas été approuvé par le Parlement comme Il est recuis.

Les suspects sont notamment accusès d'appartenance au PKK, de recel au TURQUIE: 60 ARRESTATIONS profit de cette organisation considérée comme terroriste par la Turquie et de POUR LIENS AVEC LE PKK nombreux pays, et d'avoir fourni des armes à ses rebelles, précise le document. Des armes ont également été saisies lors des perquisitions DIYARBAKIR (Turquie), 21 janvier 2010 (AFP) - Le PKK a pris les armes contre Ankara en 1984 Le conflit a fait plus de 45.000 victimes, selon l'armée turque. La police turque a arrêté Jeudi 60 personnes lors d'opérations simultanées, les Le gouvernement a annoncè l'été dernier un projet de réformes visant à renfor- accusant de collaborer avec les rebelles kurdes du Parti des travailleurs du cer les droits des Kurdes. Kurdistan (PKK, interdit), a-t-on annoncé de source officielle. MaiS l'Initiative, rejetée par une bonne partie de la population, a été mise à mal Des unités annterrorlstes de la police ont interpellé les suspects lors de raids en décembre dernier lorsque la Cour constitutionnelle a prononcé la dissolution menés simultanément dans les provinces de Batman, Diyarbakir (sud-est), Van du principal parti pro-kurde de Turquie pour cause de liens avec les rebelles - (est) et Istanbul (ncro-ouesi), précse un communiqué du gouvernorat de une décision SUIVie d'émeutes dans le sud-est anatolien, peuplé en majorité de Batman qUI a coordonné l'opération Kurdes- et aprés la mort de sept soldats dans une embuscade du PKK

_ LE PRÉSIDENT DE LA RÉGION AUTONOME DU KURDISTAN SE REND À WASHINGTON

ERBIL (Irak), 22 janvier 2010 (AFP) président (Barack) Obama pour se rendre aux Etats-Unis', a affirmé Fouad Hussein, secrétaire générale de la présidence kurde

LE PRÉSIDENT de la région autonome du Kurdistan irakien, Massoud 'Le programme de la visite comprend des entretiens et des rencontres avec des Barzani, a quitté vendredi Erbil pour se rendre à Washington, où il discu- responsables et des membres du Congrès', a ajouté M. Hussein tera des prochaines élections législatives et de la question des régions Selon lui, les prochaines élections législatives irakiennes, prévues le 7 mars, et disputées du nord du pays, a déclaré un responsable kurde. la quesuon des terntoires disputées entre le gouvernement kurde et le pouvoir 'La visite du président Barzani intervient à la suite d'une invitation officielle du central de Bagdad, seront au menu des discussions.

54 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Deniro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

M. Hussein n'a pas précisé la durée de la visite. Cette expansion a provoqué des tensions dans ces zones, parfois pétrolières, que revendiquent aussi bien le Kurdlstan que Bagdad Les trois provinces du Kurdistan (Erbil, Souleimaniyeh et Dohouk) représentent 40.000 km2, mais les forces kurdes, dans le sillage de l'Invasion conduite par Les Etats-Unis et l'ONU font pression pour parvenir à un règlement pacifique de les Etats-Unis en 2003, ont étendu leur présence sur 75.000 km2 en prenant le ces disputes, craignant que le conflit entre Arabes et Kurdes ne ruine les efforts contrôle d'une partie des provinces de Kirkouk, Ninive et Diyala. pour stabiliser l'Irak.

IRAK: L'HOMME DE MAlti D~ SApDAIV), "ALI LE CHIMIQUE", A ETE EXECUTE BAGDAD, 25 janvier 2010 (AFP)

Ali Hassan ai-Majid, dit "Ali le Chimique", cousin et homme de main de Saddam Hussein, a été pendu lundi à Bagdad, une semaine après sa quatrième condamnation à mort pour le massacre de milliers de Kurdes en 1988.

Cette exécution, qui intervient plus de trois ans après celle de l'ancien dictateur, en décembre 2006, a provoqué la jale des habitants de la région autonome du Kurdistan (nord), qui le surnommaient le 'boucher'. "Ali le Chimique' fut 'l'un des sbires les plus sanglants, meurtriers et haineux et irakien', s'est féliCité le ministre des Martyrs et des Déplacés du gouveme- du peuple irakien Son nom a été associé aux fosses communes qui ont ment autonome du Kurdistan, Majid Hamed Amin. recouvert le sol irakien du nord au sud', a affirmé le Premier ministre Nouri al- 'La justice Irakienne a fait son travail (, ) et si Dieu veut, les autres connaî- Mahki dans un commumqué tront le même sort', a-t-il ajouté. Cette exécution toume 'une autre page noire de l'oppression, des génocides 'Je SUIStrès heureux de l'annonce de cette exécution et j'espère quïls vont et des cnmes contre l'humanité commis par Saddam et ses agents pendant continuer à exécuter tous les autres imphqués dans des crimes contre les les 35 ans du régime abominable du parti Baas', a-t-il ajouté. Kurdes', a réagi Kamel Abdelkader, 24 ans, dont les sept frères et soeurs La télévisron Irakienne a diffusé deux images de l'exécution. Sur la première, ans: que les parents ont été tués à Halabja. on voit l'homme, cheveux et moustache gris, portant une tenue orange et un 'Mon père est mort à cause des attaques chimiques et mon frère souffre tou- tee-shirt blanc, apparemment peu avant d'être pendu. jours de blessures par balles Je SUIScontent de cette exécution', a poursuivi Sur la seconde Image, quelques secondes avant l'exécution, deux bourreaux, Fadel Rlfaat, 27 ans. le visage masqué, hn mettent une cagoule et lui passent la corde au cou. Dans le sud, les chutes exultaient ausst 'Nous sommes désolés que cette Le 17 janvier, "Ali le chimique' avait pour la quatnème fOIS été condamné à exécution ait pris tant de temps. C'est une victoire pour tous les martyrs', a mort, pour le massacre en 1988 de 5 000 Kurdes A l'annonce du verdict, Il indiqué Lallf al-Hamidi, porte-parole du Conseil suprême islamique en Irak à avait déclaré "al-hamdoulillah, al-hamdouhllah' (Dieu salt loué), qrn furent ses Najaf, un des plus grands partis chiites qu: fut réprimé par Saddam Hussein. derniers mots en pubhc 'Ali le chimique" n'avait pas exprimé de remords. Cousin germain de Saddam Hussein, il avait été pendant plus de 35 ans son 'C'est moi qui ai donné les ordres à l'armée de détruire des Villages et de relo- homme de main redouté, prêt à tout pour écraser la moindre velléité de ger les VillageOIS Je ne me défends pas Je ne m'en excuse pas', avait-il dit révolte. en parlant de la répression de la rébellion kurde, la campagne Anfal de 1987- Agent de liaison militaire jusqu'au coup d'Etat qui porta en 1968 le parti Baas 1988, qUI avait fait près de 180000 morts au pouvoir, Il avait hérité du sobriquet infamant d"Ali le Chimique' pour avoir Comme le orésident déchu, il était originaire de la région de Tiknt (nord). ordonné en 1988 le bombardement au gaz de la Ville kurde d'Halabja, tuant des milliers de personnes, femmes et enfants L'homme, qm était dévoué corps et âme à son COUSin, avait aussi supervisé l'occupation du Koweit, la "1ge province' aux yeux du régime. D'août à Peu après l'annonce de son exécution, de nombreux kurdes à Souleimamyeh novembre 1990, Il fut le gouverneur sanguinaire de ce pays envahi par l'ar- ont expnmé leur jOie. mée irakienne, avant de reprendre en févner 1991 le poste de ministre des 'Ah le Chimique mérite son sort C'est un jour historique pour le peuple kurde Affaires locales.

~ AssocIated Press I Mon. January 25, 2010 6:50 PM ET IN TillS image from Iraq TV station Al Iraqiyah TV, which is thought to show the scene moments before the death of Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan ai-Majid, known as Chemical Ali, who was hanged Monday Jan. 25, 2010, at an undisclosed location. It is announced Monday that AI-Majid was executed after he received his fourth death sentence for the Halabja poison gas attack in 1988 that killed some 5,000 people and earned him the chil- ling moniker 'Chemical Ali'. (AP Photo I Al Iraqiyah via APTN) EDS NOTE NO TRANSLATION FOR ONSCREEN SCRIPT

55 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti tLE TEMP§ _2_5_JA_N_V_IE_R_2_0_10 _ «ALI LE CHIMIQUE», ÂME DE DESTRUCTION MASSIVE Le bourreau des Kurdes de l'ère Saddam a été pendu après quatre condamnations à mort collectionnait les massacres. Le sicaire letemps Isuisse du régime baassiste était plus connu ········PAR··pïERRi·cH·AMBoNr~iET·········· sous le nom d'«AIi le chimique», après avoir orchestré la campagne «AI- Anfal» de 1988 durant laquelle l'Irak e bourreau des Kurdes de l'ère avait fait usage du gaz ypérite - entre LSaddam a été pendu après quatre autres - pour venir à bout de la rébel- condamnations à mort lion kurde. Saddam Husseinavait bien le pou- Ex-«Roi de pique» du jeu de cartes voir de tuer à grande échelle en Irak. inventé par le Pentagone, il avait aussi Sans bombe atomique ni technologie été le secrétaire général du parti Baas de pointe. Son arme secrète? Son dans le nord de l'Irak et ministre de aussi banal que moustachu cousin l'Intérieur. Capturé par la coalition brl- germain Ali. Ali Hassan ai-Majid, son tannico-américaine en 2003, il ne cadet de quelques années, comme lui de destruction massive de l'Irak tota- s'était jamais repenti: «C'est moi qui natif du nord de l'Irak. Comme lur, ori- litaire. L'homme au keffieh avait été ai donné les ordres à l'armée de ginaire de la région de Tikrit, la condamné à mort pour la quatrième détruire des villages [...]. Je ne me féconde fabrique de tueurs sunnites fois le 17 Janvier dernier, pour le défends pas. Je ne m'en excuse pas. de l'Irak postmoderne. Comme lui, massacre organisé de 5000 Kurdes en Je n'ai pas commis d'erreur», avait-il exécuté par pendaison pour crimes 1988. Il a été pendu lundi «sans dit en parlant de la répression de la contre l'humanité. aucun trouble, ni cris de joie ou paro- rébellion kurde qui a fait près de 180 Ex-«Roi de pique» les offensantes», selon le gouverne- 000 morts. ment. Ali Hassan ai-Majid était l'homme le plus dangereux de Mésopotamie Exécuteur des basses oeuvres du après le feu maître de Bagdad, l'âme raïs, dévoué COUSin, zélé lieutenant, il

~ 25 Janvier 2010 Trois énormes attentats frappent Bagdad : 36 morts IL ÉTAIT environ 15h30, heure de Bagdad, ce lundi. En quelques minutes, trois énormes explosions ont secoué la capitale irakienne: coup sur coup, trois hôtels du centre-ville ont été la cible d'attentats à la voiture piégée. Un premier bilan fourni par les services de sécurité irakiens fait état de 36 morts et 71 blessés.

Le même Jour, Ali Hassan al-Majid, dit «Ali le Chimique» a été pendu notamment pour le massacre de 5.000 Kurdes en 1988.

Lundi, on ne savait pas SI les attaques avaient un lien avec cette exécution.

A deux mois des élections législatives

«Le premier attentat a visé l'hôtel Palestine, le deuxième a eu lieu dans le garage de l'hôtel Babel et le troisième près de l'hô- spectaculaires menées depuis août. tel Hamra», indique le ministère de l'Intérieur. Les télévisions locales ont diffusé des Images de la première attaque: des Le 19août, un double attentat suicide contre les ministères des murs de béton destinés à la protection contre les explosions Affaires Etrangères et des Finances avait fait 106 morts et 600 étaient à terre et plusieurs voitures entièrement calcinées. blessés. Le 25 octobre, c'était au tour du ministère de la [usnee et du gouvernorat de Bagdad d'être visés, faisant 153 morts et Ces explosions interviennent à moins de deux mois des élec- plus de 500 blessés. Le 8 décembre, cinq attentats simultanés tions législatives, le 7 mars, malgré le renforcement des mesu- avaient fait 127 morts et 448 blessés. res de sécurité dans la capitale irakienne après des attentats

56 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti The National Interest NUMBER IDS, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 I Spoils of Babylon

Baghdad and Mosul, for a long time the area presented a blend of The Nationallnterest ethnic groups-Assyrians and Chaldeans (both small Christian communities), along with Turkmen, Kurds and Arabs-who lived by Joost R. Hiltermann in relative harmony, frequently intermarried and commonly spoke each other's languages. The discovery of oil in the late 1920S transformed the town into a magnet for an impoverished peasantry, THE FATE of Iraq may well rise or fallon Kirkuk as Kurds, including many Kurds from Erbil, today the capital of Kurdistan, Arabs, Turkmen and Christians grapple for control of the province and Sulaimaniya, who flocked to the oil fields during the following and the safety of their people. Oil riches abound in this land that three decades. straddles the border of Arab and Kurdish Iraq. And command of these resources is the prize for the taking. As the powers that be in Ethnic conflict quickly came to the surface. The Kurds moun- Baghdad fight to hold on to the tenuous peace wrested from civil ted a series of failed rebellions against the Iraqi government in the war, deciding the political fate of Kirkuk is treacherous enough to 1930S and 1940S, forcing their leaders to flee to the Soviet Union bring down the state. So far, the battIe has largely taken place in a and Iran. And so it went until the 1958 military coup that over- never-ending political drama, but if compromise cannot be rea- threw the British-backed Hashemite monarchy and installed an ched-and soon-bloody conflict may well be the next step. Arab nationalist regime, changing the political equation and pre- cipitating decades of fighting. Kurdish insurgents, long in conflict with the central government over autonomous powers, returned I FIRST visited the Iraqi province in April 1991, driving up from Iranian exile to exploit the vacuum, but soon found themsel- from Baghdad in an international humanitarian agency's car. At ves, yet again, in opposition to Baghdad's rule. Their rebellion was the time, I was working as a consultant for the Boston-based crushed in the early 1960s at a terrible cost in Kurdish lives and Physicians for Human Rights, assessing civilian conditions in the properties. It was then that Iraq's republican regimes began to wake of the U.S.-led war in Kuwait and Iraq. I got far more than I Arabize the areas surrounding the oil fields, not just in Kirkuk, but bargained for. A resurgent Iraqi regime had just crushed uprisings all along a broad band of territory stretching from Syria in the in the south and north of the country brought on by the George H. northwest to Iran's border east of Baghdad. W. Bush administration's encouragement of rebellion and promi- After the Baath Party came to power in 1968, it pursued ses of support. But the White House quickly backtracked, leaving accommodation with the Kurdish rebel leader, Mullah Mustafa the insurgents to face the wrath of Saddam Hussein on their own. Barzani, who used the Kurds' temporary, relative strength to extract a significant concession: the creation of an autonomous THE TELLTALE signs of recent conflict were everywhere I Kurdish region. But both sides interpreted the autonomy agree- went in Iraq. Shops were aflame in the center of Karbala with ment, and the shape of the autonomous region, differently, with tank-shell damage to the facade of the adjacent al-Abbas mosque. Kirkuk as the core of the problem, and the deal soon fell apart. The In Basra, manned antiaircraft batteries had been deployed in the Kurds reverted to insurgency and the foundation of the present- middle of intersections, their guns trained at eye level. day battle was laid fast. The Iraqi regime was loath to surrender Throughout the entire country there was evidence of rocket fire on control of Kirkuk's "supergiant" oil field (which contains 15 bil- government buildings, and horrendous conditions in clinics and lion, or 13 percent, of Iraq's 115billion barrels of proven reserves) hospitals, with stories of corpses stacked in hallways and toddlers and additional suspected hydrocarbon riches permeating rock for- laid up in cribs, emaciated from lack of drinking water. Downed mations underfoot. The Kurds' allies, the shah of Iran and the water-storage tanks and bombed power stations littered the land- Ford administration, withdrew their support in 1975 and the scape. In the north, overturned tractor-drawn carts of fleeing insurgency collapsed, but not before solidifying the long-held Kurds sat by the roadside, strafed by helicopter gunships. In the hope that Kirkuk might one day become part of an independent Sulaimaniya government hospital in northeast Kurdistan, a trickle Kurdistan. A deep-seated enmity between the Kurds and Baghdad of refugees was returning from the border with Iran, bearing ter- soon followed. rifying land-mine injuries. And, in a hint of the vicious reprisals to For years, Sadd am Hussein vigorously pursued Arabization by come in the wake of the Kurdish rebellion against the Baghdad offering monetary inducement for relocation, confiscating pro- government, I saw a Kurdish insurgent (a pesh merga) being car- perty, transferring jobs, deporting people by judicial order, even ried into a police station by two Iraqi soldiers, hanging upside changing a person's registered ethnicity by an administrative pro- down from a pole to which they had tied his hands and legs.1 cedure termed "nationality correction." In 1988, the final year of In Kirkuk we spent the night on relatively neutral ground: the the Iran-Iraq war, Arabization took the form of a counterinsur- government hospital (we consistently found medical personnel to gency campaign called the Anfal that was not limited to, but was be apolitical and focused on immediate humanitarian concerns). most lethal in, Kirkuk's rural hinterland. In a six-month period, There, we were fed by a handful of Egyptian workers and got our the regime methodically killed tens of thousands of Kurdish villa- fill of useful intelligence on the local situation. Later that day, as gers, consigned many more to heavily guarded, bare-bones hou- we returned from Sulaimaniya, we passed through Shorja, one of sing estates and erased their villages.2 Kirkuk's downtown Kurdish neighborhoods. Bulldozers were What I saw in Kirkuk in April 1991 was the regime's henchmen razing houses, piling concrete upon concrete. The regime was taking advantage of the Kurds' post-Gulf War uprising defeat to punishing a population for its participation in, and support of, the further Arabize Kirkuk. Little did I realize then that the bulldozers' rebellion (which had lasted a heady few days) by expelling Kurds rumble would resonate almost two decades later, magnified and from the city and demolishing their homes. transformed into a political roar. There is no doubt that the long- As I learned on subsequent trips to Iraq, this was more than a term policy of Arabization has come back to haunt Iraq, as the "mere" collective reprisal. This was the latest episode in a long- Kurds, returning in force after 2003, are seeking not only to regain running, ofttimes vicious attempt at ethnically based population lost properties and rebuild homes but to attach Kirkuk to their transfer. autonomous region, an ambition that Arabs and Turkmen are fiercely resisting. With the province's status remaining unresolved, the Kirkuk question has become the most divisive and most cen- UNTIL RECENTLY, not many people outside the Middle East tral issue of Iraqi politics today. had heard of this northern Iraqi province, Kirkuk. Once a backwa- ter of the Ottoman Empire far from the cosmopolitan centers of

57 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Deniro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti I RETURNED to Kirkuk in June 2003, this time for the while the Arab parties won nine and the Turkmen parties six. Using International Crisis Group, and found the province in disarray. their electoral strength, the Brotherhood list appointed both the The Kurds had stormed into the city center ahead of American for- governor and council president, leaving the deputy-governor posi- ces, seizing government institutions, and pushing 0';lt both tion for an Arab or Turkmen. Alas, the representatives from each Saddam's agents and the Arabs who had settled on Kurdish pro- group could not agree on a suitable candidate, thus leaving the post perties (many of whom left preemptively, fearing reprisals). This vacant. Not long after, the Arab and Turkmen council members, seemed yet another chance for the Kurds to rule Kirkuk, and, if all complaining of the use of Kurdish in official proceedings and other went according to plan, join it to the Kurdistan region. And thus perceived wrongs, launched a boycott of the provincial government the Kurds began a long and tenuous struggle to gain control at the that was to last unti12008. In Kirkuk, it seemed that the Kurds were locallevel, but they were up against fierce competition. The Arabs gaining control. But during all this working of the system at the have always known their best hope for dominance lies in keeping locallevel, something quite different was afoot in Baghdad, setting Kirkuk under Baghdad's tight embrace, while the Turkmen, fea- the stage for a protracted stalemate. ring domination by either side, have favored a special status (at least for the city) in which a degree of local autonomy would KURDISH LEADERS never made a secret of their goal to incor- ensure greater control over Kirkuk's resources and destiny, with porate Kirkuk into the Kurdistan region. To cement their primacy the Turkmen playing a major role as a significant minority group. over the province, the Kurds needed to amend the Iraqi legal and As in all of Iraq, the politics were complicated, with each ethni- constitutional order to recognize their special rights to Kirkuk. city vying for supremacy as it attempted to work around the Their success at doing so, however, has been decidedly mixed. American agenda and a broken-down system in Baghdad. American Kurdish leaders gained a partial victory in the form of the 2004 commanders kept everyone in check. Despite strong sympathies Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), a document intended to toward their Kurdish allies that persist to this day, American offi- serve as Iraq's interim constitution while the country set up a sove- cers recognized the area's ethnic diversity and enormous wealth, reign government. Article 58 of the TAL officially created a process and sought to maintain stability by dividing power between local to reverse Kirkuk's Arabization, including through property restitu- communities. They made their own calculations of each commu- tion and compensation, the cancellation of agricultural decrees res- nity's relative demographie and political strength, and when they tricting Kurdish activity, the voluntary departure of those settled in established a city council in May 2003, they gave six seats each to Kirkuk by the previous regime and the return of those displaced the Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Christians, reserving an additional (both with compensation), and the restoration of Kirkuk's pre-1968 six for "independents." In a nudge toward Kurdish interests, five of administrative boundaries, which would make it easier to even- these six independents were also Kurds, thus granting them a domi- tually incorporate Kirkuk into the Kurdistan region. The combina- nant position and allowing them to appoint the governor. All see- tion of these steps, if fully implemented, would almost certainly med to be going well, at least at first, for the Kurdish cause. This produce a Kurdish majority in Kirkuk province. In practice, howe- gave rise to Arab complaints that the Americans favored the Kurds, ver, the TAL made no mention of a referendum that would deter- while Kurdish leaders dissembled, declaring that their acceptance mine the ultimate status of Kirkuk, leaving this task to the drafters ofthis arrangement constituted a compromise on their part in light of the permanent constitution. And bottom line, no matter the of their demographie majority (which no one could verify) and his- number of "Kirkukis" returning to the area, without a decree as to toric rights (which the other communities rejectedj.g the status of the province, it remains disputed and, de facto, a pro- Eight months later, Paul Bremer's Coalition Provisional vince directly under Baghdad's control. Authority, in the course of "refreshing" local governments to- In a further setback to the Kurds, the TAL also included Article among many ambitions-make them less dependent on the U.S. 53(c), which barred Baghdad and Kirkuk from forming autono- military and better representative of Iraqi demographies, created mous regions separate from the national government, in effect forty-seat provincial councils that replaced the city councils. In giving these two provinces a special status. As such, when the Kirkuk, it gave the Kurds thirteen seats, the Arabs twelve, the Iraqis began to draft their new constitution in 2005, the Kurds had Turkmen eight and the Christians seven. Because many of Kirkuk's a legal mandate to reverse Arabization, but still had no specific Christians are inclined toward Kurdish positions and, more impor- claim to the most valuable of assets-Kirkuk. tantly, averse to rocking the boat, they tended to vote with the The 2005 constitution could have reversed this situation and Kurds on major issues. Thus, kept in a perfect twenty-twenty equi- given the Kurds a shot at gaining fulllegal control over the oil-rich librium, the council could make no significant decisions, inducing a province. Approved by 80 percent of votes cast nationwide in temporary calm. October 2005, the constitution served as the Kurds' biggest politi- Still, the Kurds tried to improve their position in other areas. cal triumph. Article 143 eliminated the TAL's stipulation that They took advantage of American protection and tutelage to streng- Kirkuk could not form a regional entity separate from the central then their grip on the province's administrative and security appa- government. And Article 140 laid out a process to resolve the sta- ratus, having seized key positions when they entered Kirkuk in tus of Kirkuk and other disputed territories (which it left undefi- 2003. Most importantly, the Kurdistan Regional Government also ned) through a census and a popular referendum (whose nature it began to facilitate the return of Kurds displaced during Arabization. failed to specify) by December 31,2007. Kurdish leaders who draf- It enticed and compelled Kirkuk-origin Kurds residing in the larger ted this and several other key articles with the help of Western Kurdistan region to move to Kirkuk. The government provided consultants such as Peter Galbraith (who has since come under financial incentives to enable Kurds to purchase land and start hou- criticism for his involvement in the processja calculated that a sing construction in the city, while preventing them from buying referendum based on a Kurdish majority in Kirkuk achieved via property inside the larger Kurdistan region. It transferred civil ser- de-Arabization would place the province irrevocably inside the vants to new jobs in the area and forced parents to register their Kurdistan region. newborns there. The absence of an impartial mechanism to oversee So, through all these ups and downs, it looked as if the Kurds these returning Kirkukis, of course, led to chronic Arab and were set to finally achieve control of Kirkuk through perfectly legal Turkmen doubts that the arriving Kurds actually had roots there. means. But, as in much ofIraqi politics, nothing is quite so simple. They suspected instead that the settlers were from Erbil and Although the constitution is written in their favor, the Kurds have Sulaimaniya, or even Iran, Syria and Turkey. What was going on, proved incapable of inducing the federal government to imple- they said, was Kurdification, a reverse ethnic cleansing-even ifless ment it. Two years after the deadline set in Article 140, Baghdad violent than Arabization in its enforcement. has yet to conduct a census and hold a referendum on Kirkuk. The In Kirkuk's January 2005 provincial elections, the Kurds were government's foot-dragging reinforces the notion that Kirkuk is on top once again, cementing their local power thanks in part to low unique and deserving of special treatment-but that doesn't make turnout among Arabs and Turkmen (who either rejected the exer- it a part of the Kurdish region proper. cise or were deterred by threats of insurgent violence). The Kurds' Making matters even worse for the Kurds, many in Iraq, inclu- Kirkuk Brotherhood list, an electoral slate of allied political candi- ding the first constitutionally elected prime minister, Nuri al- dates which comprised a handful of token Arabs, Turkmen and Maliki, have questioned the constitution's legitimacy. The way in Christians, took twenty-six of forty-one seats on the new council,

58 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Deniro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti which the document was drafted behind closed doors, lacking none of these relationships is comfortable. Kirkuk's Arab politi- significant popular input and in the absence of elected Sunni Arab cians, who are Sunnis, look to Baghdad for support but see a Shia- representatives, passed by a pliant parliament and subsequently Islarnist-led government for which they harbor an innate distrust, endorsed by a mostly passive electorate (Shia religious leaders even if Maliki shares their position on Kirkuk. For their part, the exhorted their flock to embrace the document) has done little to Kurds count on the United States to enable their acquisition of improve its credibility. Controversies swirl around a number of its Kirkuk, but perceived betrayals in 1975 (when the Ford administra- provisions. Non-Kurds are especially irked by that Article 140- tion withdrew its support from Mullah Mustafa) and 1991 (when meaning that it may be impossible to implement. President George H. W. Bush allowed Saddam to crush post-Gulf Nonetheless, the Kurds continue to argue that their quest for War rebellions with helicopter gunships) have made them wary of Kirkuk has historical and emotional bases, and represents a thirst U.S. intentions in a region where they suspect the bottom line will for justice after the terrible wrongs committed by Iraq's republican be Washington's relations with states such as Iraq and Turkey, not regimes, especially that of Saddam Hussein. One must remember, nonstate actors such as themselves. As for Turkmen, the Shia the Kirkuk question cannot be separated from the broader Kurdish Islamists among them have turned their gaze toward Baghdad, aspiration for independence, and it can hardly be considered a coin- while many Sunni and secular Turkmen appear to favor a scenario cidence that the Kurds' fervor over the disputed territories increa- in which Turkey would step in, but only as a last resort. ses the closer one gets to Kirkuk. Just as Saddam's regime used Maliki's remarkable rise from a weak compromise prime minis- Arabization as a tool to retain its grip on the province and thus pre- ter in 2006 to a leader of considerable power and stature today can serve Iraq's economic strength and territorial unity, so the Kurds be attributed in part to his use of the Kirkuk issue to burnish his cre- see Kirkuk's wealth as the economic basis for a bid-currently sub- dentials among Iraq's majority Arabs. He sent troops to push merged but in preparation-for independence sometime in the Kurdish pesh merga and security agents out of mixed-population future. Kurdish leaders realize full well that none of their powerful towns in Diyala, a province to the northeast of Baghdad that bor- neighbors, be it Iran, Turkey or Syria, would tolerate an indepen- ders Kurdistan, in August 2008. He then began building up the dent Kurdistan, given their own Kurdish populations, and that even Iraqi army's presence in Kirkuk, especially near the oil fields. Soon, if the Kurds were somehow to achieve statehood, theirs would be an army units ventured out on probing missions in majority-Kurdish entity as hopelessly landlocked as it is today. With Kirkuk, however, areas to show the flag, acts that angered and alarmed the Kurds but such a statelet would have significantly more leverage in its external that many other Iraqis received with satisfaction. dealings, and it holds out the hope of a more satisfying arrangement Moreover, as the process to resolve Kirkuk's status by census once regional dynamics change. In June 2007, a Kurdish leader and referendum has ground to a halt, the Kirkuk question has vaul- asked me whether the Bush administration would attack Iran in its ted to the top of the list of factors that could undermine the larger waning months. When I offered him a tentative "no," he responded effort to stabilize Iraq. Once a sideshow in the endeavor to rebuild with deep disappointment. In his view, a U.S. war with Iran would the country, it has now begun to contaminate politics. change the political equation in the region, possibly allowing for a shift in boundaries, raising the Kurds' chances of success,just as the collapse of the Ottoman Empire had done. It is this sort of border- KIRKUK HAS turned into a political hot spot and an elections changing event the Kurds are waiting, and preparing, for. spoiler. In July 2008, lawmakers passed a draft bill on provincial elections, which were tentatively scheduled to take place less than three months later. It contained a clause on Kirkuk, however, that A FREQUENT visitor to Kirkuk since 2003, I have built contacts so angered Kurdish parliamentarians that they boycotted the vote; with political leaders of all the parties that claim to represent the the law subsequently triggered a veto by the presidency council, four communities living in the province, as well as journalists, intel- headed by a Kurd, Jalal Talabani. It took two months to hammer lectuals and other members of civil society. I have heard every out an amendment that all sides could live with. The new provi- conflicting historical and psychological narrative that keeps this sion postponed elections in Kirkuk province until after a parlia- profoundly unhappy place a cauldron of unrest. If the Kurds cite mentary committee could investigate and make recommendations demographie numbers to support their case, Arabs and Turkmen about power sharing, the voter registry and property disputes in present their own; in the absence of a census, none can be conside- Kirkuk. Since the committee proved incapable of completing its red reliable. Likewise, if the Kurds invoke historical legacy, the task, Kirkukis are still waiting for those elections. Turkmen claim original dominance under the Ottomans who Kirkuk's role as an election spoiler is not only limited to local brought them to the region, while the Christians go so far as to politics. Disputes over its status are also curbing Iraq's ability to declare themselves the descendants ofthe ancient Assyrians, under function as a democratie state. In October 2009, lawmakers were whose rule Kirkuk, then named Arrapha, was a small trading cen- supposed to pass a law establishing a system for parliamentary ter; to both, the Kurds are late interlopers. Moreover, when the elections due to be held in January 2010. But the parliament could Kurds denounce Arabization, Arabs say that while the Baath regime not agree on a bill, forcing Iraq to resort to the laws governing the did remove Kurds, many Arabs came to Kirkuk simply because they previous elections of December 2005-and amending them only were attracted by the growing oil industry, as would occur in any where absolutely necessary. This, too, proved an almost-insur- economy even without state inducements (and much in the same mountable challenge. And Kirkuk was at the heart of the matter. vein as earlier Kurdish settlement in Kirkuk). Though the Kurds say Legislators sparred over which voter roll would be used in the pro- this is not about oil, the others say of course it is only about oil, and vince. Would it be the one updated by the Iraqi High Electoral that the Kurds are being disingenuous. All sides present documents Commission as recently as September 2009, which took into that they claim support their narrative, denouncing their rivals' evi- account all the Kurds who had entered Kirkuk on the claim they dence as fraud. had been expelled before 2003? Or the one created in 2004, In Kirkuk itself, everything is on hold. In governance, there is before the Kurds started arriving in big numbers? Kurdish leaders gridlock. The economy is at a near standstill, with oil production favored the former option; Arab and Turkmen politicians from from a large but damaged oil field far below its pre-zoog perfor- Kirkuk, the latter. Both sides feared that a decision on who gained mance, let alone its potential. And Western oil companies are hesi- the right to vote in Kirkuk would set a dangerous precedent that tant to invest as long as the status of the territory in which the black would prejudge the outcome of provincial elections and an even- gold lies remains unsettled. Although security has been relatively tual referendum on the province's status. That is because there is stable under Kurdish control, grievances continue to mount, espe- a prevailing perception in Iraq that Kurds will vote for Kurdish cially among Arabs, who have long found themselves both at the candidates, Arabs for Arabs, Turkmen for Turkmen and so on, and forefront of the insurgency and at the receiving end of a joint U.S.- that the same will of course be true in Kirkuk. Kurdish antiterrorism campaign. In the end, the 2009 voter registry ruled the day and the law Local leaders, seeing no solution to their predicament, look to was passed, but loopholes remain. Challenges of election results outside parties to bring solace, fearing that their rivals' patrons will are allowed in provinces where annual population growth has prevail even as they loudly decry external interference in Kirkuk's exceeded 5 percent-no surprise, as has happened in Kirkuk. And affairs. Each major group has its own promoter and protector, but

59 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti those election results cannot be used as a precedent for changing action is because the Obama administration doesn't want to break current political or administrative arrangements; in other words, the bad news to Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan they will not have an impact on the status of Kirkuk. For all their region, lest the Kurds boycott the parliamentary elections and efforts, Iraqi lawmakers only managed to kick the Kirkuki can fur- upset the U.S. withdrawal timetable. Nor has it wanted to put ther down the road. pressure on the Maliki government to make painful concessions- And even that paltry legislative triumph has been short-lived. a special status is clearly not Maliki's preferred outcome-just as it Tariq al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's vice presidents, indicated he is heading into an election. UN and U.S. diplomats have sugges- would not join his colleagues on the presidential council to sign ted, though, that they intend to tackle the Kirkuk question in ear- the bill into law. Political crisis ensued. And although Hashemi's nest just as soon as the winners are known and well before a new veto had little to do with Kirkuk, the legislative wrangling over the government is formed. Meanwhile, they are considering a number province's representation greatly complicated the bill's initial par- of steps that would bring the sides closer together-anchoring in liamentary passage. So powerful is the Kirkuk issue, it has mana- law the constitutional principle (to which all sides appear to agree) ged to delay national elections. that revenues from oil sales should be distributed fairly across Iraq's population, and the integration of Kurdish regional guards into the federal army-before moving on to address Kirkuk's dis- AND EVEN once Iraqis finally do go to the polls, the next position. They hope that in effecting such steps, they can also faci- opportunity for trouble is not far off. This time Kirkuk could tum litate the creation of a coalition government by removing the out to be an even-bigger spoiler. The winners will set about cob- blockage Kirkuk would otherwise cause. bling together a governing coalition. Given the fragmented nature of Iraq's political landscape, however, this will be a complicated task that could take months. The biggest winner may not gain FRUSTRATED FOR over eighty years in their quest for inde- more than a quarter of the vote-respectable in any democracy pendence, with Saddam's ouster, the Kurds saw a chance to make perhaps but a dramatic departure from the 2005 elections, when serious headway, focusing their energies on Kirkuk. Their window the Shia Islamist alliance fell only ten seats short of an absolute of opportunity, opened in 1991 and widened in 2003, nowappears majority. Prolonged postelection bickering is likely even though to be closing. The outcome is grim. Attempts to reverse Kurdish the Kurds will probably not reprise the role as kingmakers of Iraqi gains will be destabilizing. The same goes for any further Kurdish politics that they had in 2005 and 2006. attempt to seize full control of Kirkuk. The Kurds' main electoral list, the Kurdistani Alliance bloc, The only sensible way forward is for all communities to ack- will still playa major role in light of its proven ability to get out the nowledge the intrinsic legitimacy of each other's narratives and to vote in Kurdish areas. The bloc's principal condition for joining a sit down and work out a deal. Such a deal could not be limited to new government will be a sworn commitment by its governing Kirkuk; it would have to address the related questions of how the partners to make concessions on Kirkuk. Kurdish leaders have oil economy should be managed and revenues shared, and how been coy about what demands they will make, but if previous power should be divided between the Kurdistan region and the experiences are anything to go by, the focus will be on concrete rest of Iraq.g Kurdish leaders will have to decide what they value steps that would facilitate Kirkuk's incorporation into the most: their region's long-term security, with a consensually defi- Kurdistan region. These could include a firm date for a Kirkuk ned and internationally guaranteed boundary, or that region's referendum, or a date for provincial elections in Kirkuk using the expansion in a manner that can only lead to endemic strife. The updated voter registry, or Baghdad's consent to pay oil companies goal for all stakeholders should be to reach a long-term arrange- that signed contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government, ment that would preserve Kirkuk's rich ethnic and cultural diver- including for fields located in disputed territories. It is doubtful, sity; distribute power equitably between its main components; however, that political leaders would be willing or able to make encourage investment in its oil and gas fields; restart its eco- any compromise on Kirkuk in the midst of resurgent Iraqi natio- nomy; protect the rights of all its denizens and their properties, nalism. regardless of their provenance; and leave open a future review of Kirkuk's status if conditions warrant it. The people of Kirkuk, largely ignored and forgotten in the political battles between THE OBAMA administration has slowly, though not explicitly, Baghdad and Erbil, deserve no less. And only a peaceful settle- begun to move its support behind some sort of special status for ment of Kirkuk's status holds the promise of keeping Iraq toge- Kirkuk, a choice that would dissatisfy virtually everyone but seems ther and afloat following the American military's departure. the only way to keep the peace. The White House has started to focus energies on finding a way out of the Kirkuk conundrum ahead of the announced U.S. troop withdrawal, to be completed by Joost R. Hiltermann is deputy program director for the Middle the end of 2011. The shift from the Bush administration's support East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group. of Article 140 was moved along by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) which launched an investigation into the Kirkuk question after the 2007 referendum deadline was missed. The 1 For my accounts of my journey to postwar Iraq, see "Bomb ensuing report supported neither Kirkuk as part of the Kurdistan Now, Die Later," MotherJones (July/August 1991); and "Assessing region nor as a province directly under Baghdad's rule. Just as the Damage in Iraq," Journal of Palestine Studies (Summer 1991). importantly, UNAMI rejected the notion of a referendum based on 2 See Human Rights Watch, Iraq's Crime of Genocide: The Anfal an ethnic vote, which it referred to as a "hostile referendum" that Campaign Against the Kurds (New Haven, ct: Yale University Press, could only augur war. Instead it advocated negotiations that 1995); an earlier version is available at would produce a compromise agreement that then would need to http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/1993/07/0l/genocide-iraq. be ratified by Kirkuki voters in what it called a confirmatory refe- 3 The International Crisis Group has analyzed developments in rendum. Such a compromise would most likely entail some kind of Kirkuk from 2003 onward. Its reports are available at special status which would, for example, allow both Iraq's central http://www.crisisgroup.org. government and the Kurdish government to have significant 4 For Peter Galbraith's controversial role in assisting Kurdish influence in the province and create a power-sharing arrangement leaders in the drafting of the Iraqi constitution, see James Glanz and inside Kirkuk for an interim period until Iraqi leaders reach a Walter Gibbs, "U.S. Adviser to Kurds Stands to Reap Oil Profits," consensus on final status. No surprise, the UNAMI report deeply The New York Times, November 11, 2009. displeased Kurdish leaders. But nevertheless, given the report's endorsement by their only ally, the United States, they couldn't 5 The International Crisis Group outlined a possible deal in Oil possibly reject its findings outright. The Maliki government also for Soil: Toward a Grand Bargain on Iraq and the Kurds (Brussels, gave it the nod. Of course, little progress has been made since, but October 28, 2008). in Iraq, the fact that Baghdad and Erbil are still talking is seen as a blessing all the same. The reason the shift in U.S. policy hasn't yet been turned into

60 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieto-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti Guardian 26 January 2010 actually executed for genocide but for crimes against humanity, a verdict that does not really fit the crime. Some were more pragmatic though - "Chemical Ali has been 'Chemical Ali' and dead for a long time," one Kurd told me, referring to Majid's capture and imprisonment since 2003. Blair, the hero Visiting Halabja last April amid Iran's shelling of its moun- tainous terrain, it was clear that despite its scenic surroun- dings and attempts to move on from the past, the town conti- The execution of Ali Hassan aI-Majid nues to be haunted by a gloomy and grey atmosphere, a stark for gassing Kurds reminds us that reminder of Majid's legacy that may always be there. Largely Tony Blair's war in Iraq at least righ- neglected over the years, Halabja needs investment and ted some wrongs redevelopment, although they have increased over the past twoyears. It is ironic that in the same week Majid is executed, Tony Blair is to appear at the Chilcott Inquiry on Friday with the Ranj A1aaldin anti-war left looking to put him on trial for Britain's involvement in the 2003 war. Kurds will remember how after the Halabja attack Britain carried on as usual in its relations with li Hassan al-Majid, the infamous general and hench- Iraq. Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group man of Saddam Hussein, was executed yesterday for explains how the US blamed the attack on Iran without ever A his genocidal onslaught on the Kurdish population of providing evidence to support those claims. Halabja in 1988. Majid saw no need to worry about a response from the west, Many of the 5,000 Kurds killed that day died almost ins- as historian Charles Tripp neatly describes in yesterday's tantly as the cloud of poison gas settled upon them. Others Guardian: suffered a slower, more gruesome death as the gas gradually Majid's attitude to this slaughter was captured on videotape liquidated their organs but did not actually kill them. when he told a group of party officials in the middle of the Today, the few surviving victims suffer from their injuries; campaign: Who will say anything? The international com- birth defects, breast, lung, skin, and other cancers, along munity? Fuck them.' with miscarriages, infertility and mental disorders have All too aware of Britain's tacit acquiescence to the Halabja painted a dark, permanent, mark on their lives. gassing and not naive about Britain's past record in the "Chemical Ali", as he became known for his attack on Middle East - it was Winston Churchill who first sanctioned Halabja, or the "Butcher of Kurdistan" for his co-ordination the gassing of the Kurds and it was Britain that denied them of the wider al-Anfal operation that systematically destroyed an independent Kurdish state - the Kurds know the Iraq war scores of villages and killed more than 120,000 Kurds in a of 2003 did not, essentially, have anything to do with them. campaign of gassings and mass executions, yesterday finally But then, after a moment's thought, it becomes clear that paid the price for his crimes. Blair, in removing Sadd am and the Ba'ath regime from Justice will have been served for the Kurds and his execution power, has somewhat reversed the wrongs of history and, provides some degree of closure for those who bore the brunt against all odds, in favour of the Kurds (even if this was not of the operations in the towns and villages of Halabja, the principal intention in the first place). Karadagh, Doli Khoshnawati and Barwari Bala. As put to me at the weekend by Kurdistan's prime minister, Harman Mohammad, a Kurd from Halabja who now studies Barham Salih, Blair is, quite simply, a hero to the Kurds. "He at the vibrant Kurdistan University in Erbil, told me about has transformed our lives by replacing the certainty of his experience of the exodus that followed the attack. "I was tyranny with the uncertainty of politics," Salih said. just an infant, my mother held me close to her chest; we were The Kurds call Halabja the Kurdish Holocaust; because of vomiting and temporarily blinded as we tried to escape." Blair's intervention, they can now also stand chest out, head Emotions were running high, he explained, but many feel high and breathe the famous words: "Never again." Majid was given an easy exit and point out that he was not

ITODAYSZAMANI _26_Jao_ua...... ;.ry_20_10 _ PKK attacks coincide with Sledgehammer timeline

MELIK DUVAKLI PKK,which would be staged srrnulta- the PKK killed SIX police officers and neously in urban areas, particularly five Turkish soldiers. According to he terrorist Kurdistan Workers' in ?stanbul, would be the last phase Kurdish intellectual Ümit Firat, the TParty (PKK), which declared a of increasing violence and chaos in PKK, resuming its fighting this time, cease-fire after the capture of its lea- the country before the military could did not have the Turkish state as its der in 1999, started its attacks again seize power. The plotters would then target but the government of the in 2003, the year when the declare a state of emergency and Justice and Development Party (AK Sledgehammer coup plan was drafted then martial law. Party). by a military general. Many observers recall certain In July 2003, the PKKannounced The date of the plan's conception developments on the PKKand al- that it would continue its attacks and and the PKK'sresumption of its Qaeda front in those years. In began Molotov cocktail assaults at deadly attacks seem to be more than August 2003, four years after its ter- vanous spots in the East and a coincidence, as the Sledgehammer rorist leader was captured, the PKK Southeast. On Aug. 6, the Mardin generals specifically wrote that terre- restarted its blood attacks after a attack, which left six police officers rist attacks by al-Qaeda and the lengthy truce. In this first assault, dead, followed. Throughout August, a

61 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

number of police stations and check- The terrorist group's comeback commanders, such as Cemil Bayrk, points in ?Irnak's Cizre district, actually caused a rift inside the PKK. Murat Karayrlan and Duran Kalkan, Diyarbaklr's Silvan and Dicle districts, Some members of the higher ranks wanted to fight. The same order surrs Eruh district, Mardin's Gercüs of the PKK, including Osman Ocalan, came from Ocalan's jail cell in April district and the Tunceli province were Nizamettin Tas, Halil Ataç, Hrdir 2004. In May of that year, the PKK attacked. Four police officers died, Yalçm, Dursun Ali Küçük, Kani Yilmaz held an extraordinary congress in and many others were injured. On (code name Faysal DunlaYICI), which it declared war again. About Dec. 1, 2003, five Turkish soldiers Mehmet ESlyokand Selahattin Gun 750 members of the PKKwho oppo- died and four were injured in (collectively referred to as the refer- sed armed fighting left the organiza- Nusaybin, a distnct in Mardin, when mists), were against the attacks, tion. a land mine was detonated remotely according to intelligence sources. by the PKK. However, the PKK's"traditionalist"

iijeœ~hnp;o~;._J_A_N_U_A_RY __26_,2_0_10 ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ Iraq's 'Chemical Ali,' 68, hanged for attacks on Kurdish civilians

By William Branlgln he bore a striking resemblance, as a military adviser, intelligence chief, interior minister, ll Hassan ai-Majeed, an Iraqi general who defense minister and military commander at A became known as "Chemical All" for orde- various times during his career. After Hussein ring polson-gas attacks on Kurdish civihans, Invaded neighboring Kuwait In August 1990, was hanged Monday In Baghdad after a spe- Gen. Majeed headed the occupation for three When U.S. forces Invaded Iraq in March cial tribunal handed him his fourth death sen- months as military govemor, presiding over 2003, Gen. Majeed was serving as comman- tence for crimes against humanity during the the brutal repression and systematic looting of der of the country's southem region and was regime of his cousin, Saddam Hussein. the all-rich emirate. listed as the Americans' fifth-most-wanted Gen. Majeed, 68, received his final sen- Born In Tiknt -- also Hussein's home town man. He survived a U.S. airstnke the next tence Jan. 17 for his most notorious offense: -- on Nov. 30, 1941, Gen. Majeed grew up In month but was eventually captured by U.S. the March 1988 chemical-weapons attack on a poor family and received little formal educa- troops in August 2003. the Kurdish town of Halabja In northeastem tion. He was a dnver in the Iraqi army and a During his first tnal, In 2006, on charges Iraq. An estimated 5,000 Kurds died and as motorcycle messenger before rus fortunes tur- of genocide and crimes against humanity for manyas 10,000 others were Inlured when ned In 1968, when Hussein's Baath Party hrs role in the Anfal campaign, Gen. Majeed Iraqi aircraft dropped a vanety of chemical regained power. He rose In the hierarchy With was unapologetic, Insisting that he was right bombs containing mustard gas, nerve gas and Hussein, the regime's strongman, who for- to order the demolition of Kurdish villages other toxic agents. It was the deadliest chemi- mally assumed the presidency in 1979 and near the end of the Iran-Iraq war because cal attack against civilians in history. began a purge of Baatmst officials deemed they were "full of Iranian agents." Authorities delayed carrying out Gen. disloyal. As targeted otncrals were led out of a In one of a series of tape-recorded Majeed's three previous convictions in part so Videotaped meeting one by one, many of conversations that were played during the that survivors of the Halabja attack could have them to be executed later, Gen. Majeed told trial, Gen. Majeed told senior Baath Party offi- their day in court. The hanging of the man Hussein he had been "too gentle, too merci- cials in 1988, referring to the Kurds: "I will kill also known as the "Butcher of Kurdistan" set ful." them all with chemical weapons' Who is going off rejoIcing in Iraq's Kurdish region and Followmq an unsuccessful 1982 attem pt to say anything? The International commu- among Kurdish politicians In Baghdad. to assassmate Hussein In the town of Dujall, a nity? [Expletive) them!" Over nearly three decades as the nqht- Shute stronghold north of Baghdad, Gen. Gen. Majeed received the death sentence hand man of Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator Majeed directed a campaign of collective after that trial and a subsequent one in which who was executed in December 2006, Gen purushment In which hundreds of residents he was charged with involvement In suppres- Majeed earned a reputation for exceptional were arrested, many were tortured and sing Shiites in the south in 1991, when tens of ruthlessness in a regime known for rts bruta- dozens were executed. thousands were reported killed. A Video that lity. He commanded a scorched-earth cam- It was as head of the Northern Bureau of later emerged showed Gen. Majeed perso- paign, code-named Anfal, that killed an esti- the Baath Party In the late 1980s that Gen. nally shooting captured Shiite rebels in the mated 180,000 people In less than a year as Majeed led the Anfal campaign, ordenng the head with a pistol and kicking others in the part of a drive to crush a Kurdish rebellion in use of chemical weapons against autonomy- face as they sat on the ground. Gen. Majeed northern Iraq Operations he directed against seeking Kurds. More than 4,000 Kurdish Villa- was also sentenced to death In March 2009 uprisings by Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq ges were razed and their inhabitants either for a 1999 crackdown against Shutes who had also resulted in thousands of deaths massacred or deported to southern Iraq, nsen up In reaction to the assasslnanon of a "Majeed was Saddam Hussein's hatchet according to human nghts organizations. revered Shirte cleric. man. He was involved in some of the worst After Iraq's defeat in the Persian Gulf War "Justice has been done," leading Kurdish cnmes of the Iraqi government, including In early 1991, Gen. Majeed was named inter- legislator Fouad Masoum told Reuters in genocide and crimes against humanity," said ior minister and given responsibility for crus- Baghdad after Monday's hanging. "This crimi- Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human hing revolts by Iraqi Shiites In the south and nal has gotten what he deserved for the atro- Rights Watch. "Majeed represented the worst Kurds In the north. Among the victims in the cities he committed against innocent people. I of the Iraqi government, and that's saying south were Iraq's marsh Arabs, whose num- hope he Will be a lesson for others." quite a lot." bers were decimated by disappearances, exe- Gen. Majeed served his cousin, to whom cubans and forced relocations.

62 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-RLVlsta Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Bastn Ozeti

Urralb:9~mrib\ln~ JANUARY 27, 2010 Patrols aim to calm Iraq's ------'trigger line'

------MOSUL, IRAQ u.s. soldiers join troops from both sides of tense Arab- Kurdish divide

BY STEVEN LEE MYERS Strings of checkpoints have appeared on the roads that lead out of this volatile City, guarded by hundreds of Amencan soldiers working with Iraqi Arab and Kurd- Ish troops. The jomt operation In one of Iraq's ethnic trouble spots began with a dehberate lack of fanfare, but It IS the most sigruficant rmlitary miSSIOnby U S. forces here Since they largely retreated to bases outside Iraq's cities In June. More than two dozen checkpoints now punctuate a snaking line that traces - from Syria to Iran - the unofficial and very much disputed boundary between Iraq's federal forces and those of the Kurdish regional government. At times these forces have operated VIrtu- ally as opposing armies rather than as compatnots of a single nation, but at the new checkpoints. they now are hvmg U.S., Arab and Kurdish soldiers searching travelers at a checkpoint outside Mosul, on the disputed boundary and operating together for the first time between Iraqi federal forces and those of the Kurdish regional government. Since the war began. Guarding checkpoints - a task the Amencan rmhtary never relishes - in- dent Barack Obarna's deadline for with- since, despite repeated calls by Iraq's vites attacks by msurgents, who remain drawing combat troops In August, the government and regional Sunru leaders parucularly active In northern Iraq. miSSIOnhas become the most urgent In for them to withdraw to the "green line" And every night during a three-night Iraq. that estabhshed the internal Kurdish stretch, rockets or mortars landed near The U.S. commander m Iraq, Gen. Ray boundary before 2003. three of the checkpoints In Diyala Odierno, proposed the checkpoints, As Iraq's new secunty forces have Province, though they caused no casual- along with joint patrols mvolvmg the grown more assertive m controlling ter- ties, according to a U S. military spokes- three sides, after a series of incidents ritory on the southern side, the effect man and an Iraqi military official. "You last year threatened open conflict be- has been to square off two SUSpiCIOUS stay static," as First Sgt. Tony DelSardo, tween Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The forces along a seam that has been ex- of the U.S. Army's Third Infantry DIVI- plans were stalled for months amid SIOn,put It on Saturday, "you'll get hit." deeply rooted SUspicions between Prime With time running out before Munster NUrI Kamal al-Maliki and the The operation began this month after the deadline for withdrawing labored negotiations with Iraq's Arab Kurdish president, Massoud Barzam. and Kurdish leaders. The Immediate "What we have sought to do IS sepa- U.S_troops, the mission is rate the politics from the security piece, goal is to bolster security before bitterly the most urgent in Iraq. and of course, that's very hard to do," contested elections in March In an eth- said Gen. Charles H Jacoby Jr., the mc patchwork of lands that has been deputy commander in Iraq "But we devastated by attacks. plotted by Al Qaeda m Mesopotarma keep bnngmg It back to focusing on: The ultimate strategy IS to defuse and other msurgents for attacks, and by O.K, where and how do we provide the political tensions along a fault line that pohticians for pohncal points. best security to the Iraqi people? And could easily rupture, sundering the Last May, the pesh merga prevented how does that create the environment country once American forces leave, or the newly elected governor of Nineveh, that will someday allow for political pro- even before. The operation underscores a Sunru, from cross mg the line to dnve cess to take place?" the extent to which the U.S. rmhtary re- to Bastuqa, a town nominally under his This northern front, or "trigger line," mains an arbiter of Iraq's most mtract- authority. Although the facts of the mCI- dates from the American Invasion in able conflicts. dent were disputed, all agreed that VIO- 2003. As Saddam Hussein's army col- "What we're doing IS forcing the lence was only narrowly averted. wound to close," Lt. Col. Christopher L. lapsed, Kurdish forces called the pesh Since then, a series of hair-trigger Connelly, a battalion commander with merga pushed from their three confrontations has raised tensions. So the First Armored DIvision, said at one provinces m the north and occupied sec- have bombings in villages of small eth- of the new checkpomts being erected on tions of terntory In Nineveh, KIrkuk and mc mmonties along the line populated the highway that links Mosul to Erbil, Diyala provinces that the Kurds by Assynan Chrrstians, TUrkmens and capital of the Kurdish region. claimed as theirs historically. Shabaks. Insurgents struck with such With time running out before Pre st- They have controlled the areas ever precision between the two opposing au-

63 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

thonnes that American and Iraqi offi- in a small village near one of the new pnrmtive camps beside the check- CIalS suspect they were trying to pro- checkpoints. Last week, he said, Kurd- points, muddled by winter rams. Jomt voke an Arab-Kurd war. Ish soldiers detained and threatened patrols have begun to ensure security in Pohtical leaders in DIyala, KIrkuk and him when tried to VISIt a mosque m a the immediate vicirnty, Nmeveh have condemned the new secu- neighboring village. At one checkpoInt on the road to rity operation, seemg the checkpoints as American commanders emphasize Bashiqa, near where the governor was de facto recogrution of Kurdish territon- that the checkpoints are not meant to stopped, there IS a small sign of pro- al claims. While many Kurds serve in the preclude negonations between Arabs gress Until last week, the Arabs and the Iraqt Army, the pesh merga operate un- and Kurds over the final boundaries of Kurds maintained separate check- der the command of the Kurdish govern- the Kurdish region, though the hope IS points, separated by a rmle and a chasm ment; their presence, along with that of that cooperation on the ground will give of distrust. the Kurdish mtelhgence service, IS momentum to a pohtical - and peaceful Now platoons from both forces, along VIewed by many Iraqis as illegmmate. - resoluuon of the underlying dispute, WIth the Americans, have consolidated "What guarantees are there that the The duration of the operations re- into a single base m the middle, flying pesh merga will ever withdraw?" mains unclear. Ultimately the Amen- . the Iraqi and Kurdish flags. Qusay Abbas, a member of Nineveh's cans hope to withdraw. For now, Amer- regional legrslature, which has publicly rean platoons are hunkering down with opposed the operation, said at hIS home their Iraqi and Kurdish counterparts m

Merkel assails Iran as Israeli president pays visit

BERLIN said that be::ause of existing sanctions time has come for the mternational and the threat of even more sanctions, commumty to discuss sanctions," In Bundestag speech, there had been a significant reduction m The Iranian authonties, meanwhile, trade. "But we believe It IS onJy effec- stepped up their crincism of the Ger- Peres praises chancellor, trve If you try to introduce international many position. On Wednesday, an un- who has shifted her tone sanctions on as broad a base as POSSI- named Iranian mtelligence offtcial ac- ble." cused German diplomats of being German exports to Iran in 2008, the involved in antigovernment clashes BY JUDY DEMPSEY latest year for whrch figures are avail- that took place last month and said two able, totaled €3.9 billion, or $5.5 billion, diplomats had been detamed, according Praising Chancellor Angela Merkel's m- compared to €3.6 billion in 2007. German to the Iranian news agency lSNA. creasmgly tough stance against Iran's Imports from Iran amounted to €577.8 But Andreas Peschke, German For- nuclear program, President Shimon rrullion compared to (583 rmlhon in 2007, eign Mimstry spokesman, said the dip- Peres of Israel said Wednesday that the accord mg to the Foreign Mirustry, lomats were not detained. Iranian regime was "a danger to the en- Just thts week, SIemens, the German President Mahmoud Ahmadmejad of tire world." engineering and electromcs conglomer- Iran has repeatedly demed the exist- In a solemn speech before legislators ate, said It would turn down any further ence of the Holocaust and questIOned m the Bundestag, Mr. Peres said Iran orders from Iran. the existence of Israel. "The fact that was a "regime that threatens destruc- "Some ume ago, we reduced out bUSI- the Iraman president has questioned Is- tion, accompanied by nuclear plants ness acuviues WIth customers in Iran," rael's nght to exist IS completely unac- and rmssiles and who activates terror in the chief execunve, Peter Loscher, said ceptable for a German chancellor," Mrs. ItS country and m other countries," m response to questions at a sharehold- Merkel said. He said Israel, like ItSneighbors, iden- ers meeting in Mumch on Tuesday, In tus Bundestag speech, Mr. Peres tifted "with the rmlhons of Iranians who He said that the board agreed last Oc- praised Mrs. Merkel's pohcies. "And revolt against violence." tober to take no further orders but that you, Madam Chancellor, Angela Merkel, "Like them, we reject a fanatic re- exisung ones would be fulfilled, Mr. you have conquered the hearts of our girne which contradicts the United Na- Loscher said the orders were exclus- nation WIth your smcerity and your tions Charter," he said. ively crvihan. warmth," he said. "You said to the Mr. Peres, a former pnme minister, Ronald S. Lauder, president of the American Senate and House of Repre- was wrapping up a four-day state visit World Jewish Congress, welcomed the sentatives that 'an attack on Israel will to Germany, hIS first as Israeli prest- move by SIemens. "ThIS IS a timely and equate an attack on Germany.' We shall dent. HIS speech coincides with a major courageous decision by Mr. Loscher, for not forget this." shift m tone from Mrs Merkel, who has which he deserves praise, especially be- supported all imtratives by the Umted cause a lot of money IS at stake for Nations and the Umted States to pre- SIemens," he said in a statement. vent Iran from obtammg the ability to After talks with Mr. Peres in the Chan- produce nuclear weapons. cellery, Mrs. Merkel said the Issue of But one of her biggest problems has sanctions would be tackled next month been trying to persuade German compa- when France takes over the rotatmg mes from domg busmess with Iran. chairmanship of the U.N Securtty Coun- "There ISa long tradition of econormc cil, "The world community IS ready to cooperation between Germany and work on sancnons," Mrs. Merkel said. Iran," Mrs. Merkel said Tuesday at a "We have shown patience, but this does news conference with Mr. Peres. She not seem to have had any effect. so the

64 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti c:mrn LE COMBAT DES RÈFUGIÈS KURDES 26 JANVIER 2010 DÉBARQUÉS EN CORSE Les 123 clandestins retrouvés vendredi sur une plage corse ont recouvré la liberté. Mais leur bataille pour obtenir le droit d'asile ne fait que commencer.

Marie Desnos - Parismatch Les clandestins ont été jugés par petits ne première victoire pour ces 123 groupes, dans les 5 Uclandestins qui secouent la France villes dans lesquel- depuis la fm de semaine dernière. Ces per- les ont les avaient sonnes découvertes vendredi sur une plage envoyés. Des juge- corse, qui se présentent comme des Kurdes ments qui leur ont de Syrie (pour la plupart, ou du Maghreb tous été favorables. pour les autres), ont été remises en liberté. I Photo Maxppp Le ministère de l'Immigration, Eric Besson, a assuré qu'il annulerait, dès la réception de leurs dossiers de demande d'asile, les arrêtés préfectoraux de recon- de Syrie, seraient passés par la Jordanie «NOUS LES SOIGNONS, NOUS LES duite à la frontière pris à leur encontre, puis la Tunisie avant d'embarquer à bord NOURRISSONS, ET NOUS LES RA~ jugés illégaux par les juges des libertés et de plusieurs navires et d'être finalement de la détention (JLD). COMPAGNERONSCHEZEUX» débarqués en zodiac, conduits par des Cinquante-sept hommes, 28 femmes Mais Nicolas Sarkozy a défendu le passeurs, sur la côte corse. Ces Kurdes -dont cinq enceintes et une handicapêe-, travail de son gouvernement. «Je ne lais- expliquent se sentir totalement exclus ainsi que 38 enfants dont neuf nourris- serai pas la France» devenir l'Italie, où par la Syrie, et brimés dans leur culture. sons, ont été retrouvés vendredi sur la des boat-people accostent sur les côtes, a Ils auraient dépensé 5000 dollars par plage de Paragnano, au sein d'une lancé le chef de l'Etat face à Laurence personne et la moitié par enfant pour réserve naturelle située entre Bonifacio Ferrari, lundi soir -avant de se retrouver quitter ce pays. et Pianottoli-Caldarello, à l'extrême sud face à onze citoyens et Jean-Pierre de la Corse. Ces immigrés, qui ne parlent Peu habitué à ce genre de débarque- Pernault. «Nous les soignons, nous les pas français pour la plupart, ont d'abord ment -contrairement à l'Italie ou nourrissons, nous les réconfortons et été transférés dans un gymnase de l'Espagne- l'Hexagone a quelque peu été nous les raccompagnerons chez eux», Bonifacio avant d'être conduits, samedi pris de court, et les décisions du gouver- quand les autorités saurons d'où ils vien- dans cinq centres de rétention adminis- nement critiquées, notamment par le nent, a-t-il ajouté. monde associatif. Le placement immé- trative (CRA) du continent: à Marseille, La France n'a pas connu un tel débar- diat de ces clandestins en CRA, et dont Lyon, Rennes, Nîmes et Toulouse, l'île de quement de clandestins sur ses côtes leur privation de liberté hors de tout Beauté ne disposant pas d'infrastructures depuis 2001, quand quelque 900 Kurdes cadre juridique, avait notamment été adaptées. s'étaient échoués sur une plage du Var à pointé comme «grossièrement irrégu- bord d'un vraquier. Eric Besson a assuré UN PÉRIPLE PAR LA lier» et constituant un frein aux démar- que les dossiers seraient examinés «au JORDANIE ET LA TUNISIE ches administratives permettant de cas par cas.» Selon les premiers témoignages demander l'asile. recueillis, ils seraient partis le 15janvier

IRAK: OPÉRATIONS CONJOINTES DE L'ARMÉE AMÉRICAINE AVEC ARABES ET KURDES

BAGDAD, 26 janvier 2010 (AFP)

L'ARMÉE AMÉRICAINE a commencé à mener des opérations conjointes avec l'armée irakienne et les Peshmergas, les combattants kurdes, dans des zones disputées du nord de l'Irak, a annoncé mardi le commandant des forces américaines en Irak, le général Ray Odiemo. Ces opérations sont destinées à faire baisser les tensions dans ces régions que se disputent le gouvernement central de Bagdad et les autantés kurdes autonomes d'Erbil (nord) Mais cette mesure semble avoir eu l'effet inverse, provoquant la colère des communautés arabe et turcomane qUIont rejeté une force 'illégale' qUInsque de "Iégillmer' la présence des Peshmergas au-delà du Kurdistan déployés dans ces régions. Des barrages, contrôlés par les trois forces, ont été établis dans ces zones 'II s'agit de protéger la population (...) qui a été visée par AI-Qa·ldaet d'autres situées dans les provinces de Kirkouk, riche en pétrole, Ninive et Diyala, a qUIessaient d'exploiter les divergences politiques. Cette force (tripartite) a été affirmé le général Odiemo. mise en place pour essayer de mettre fin à la vulnérabilité des gens dans les zones disputées', a insisté Ray Odierno 'D'IcI le 31 janvier, tous les barrages seront en place et nous allons commencer les patrouilles', a-t-il dit, sans préciser le nombre de soldats américains L'établissement de cette force tnpartite avait été annoncé à l'été 2009 au

65 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti moment d'un regain de tension entre Kurdes et Arabes. illégale et inconstitutionnelle', a affirmé Tourhane al-Moufti, un membre du conseil provincial et membre du Front turcoman Les trois provinces du Kurdistan (Erbil, Souleirnarayeh et Dohouk) représen- tent 40.000 km2, mais les forces kurdes, dans le sillage de l'invasion conduite 'Les forces de l'armée et de la police à Klrkouk sont déjà conjointes et des par les Etats-Unis en 2003, ont étendu leur présence sur 75.000 km2 en pre- Kurdes sont à leur tête. Déployer cette force tripartite n'a aucune ulilité', a-t-Il nant le contrôle d'une partie des provmces de Kirkouk, Ninive et Diyala. argué Les Etats-Unis et l'ONU font pression pour parvenir à un règlement pacifique, La communauté arabe de Kirkouk s'est également opposée à un tel déploie- craignant que le conflit entre Arabes et Kurdes ne ruine les efforts pour stabi- ment 'Cette force légitime la présence des Peshmergas à Kirkouk, qUi sont liser l'Irak une force spéoale du Kurdlstan', a martelé un dignitaire arabe, Hussein al- Le chef de la police de la province de Klrkouk, le général Jamal Taher, un Joubouri Kurde, a affirmé à l'AFP que la force conjointe améncano-arabo-kurde dans 'La présence kurde vise à couper Kirkouk du reste de l'Irak', a-t-il ajouté cette province était composée de '100 à 150 membres de la police et de l'ar- De son côté, un cheikh sunnite de l'une des plus grandes tnbus de Kirkouk, mée Irakiennes, des Peshmergas et de l'armée américaine'. Abdallah Sami al-Assi, a conseillé de 'renforcer le soutien aux forces armées La formation de cette force a toutefois provoqué la colère de la communauté irakiennes existantes'. "Le présence de la force tripartite va avoir l'effet inverse turcomane, qui refuse toute présence kurde à Klrkouk. 'Cette présence est et sa présence n'a aucune juslification', a-t-Il insisté.

PLUSIEURS REBELLES KURDES TUÉS PAR LES FORCES ARMÉES IRANIENNES (PRESSE) TEHERAN, 27 jan 2010 (AFP) gouvernement turc dans le sud-est anatolien. 'La personne arrêtée est actuellement interrogée par les forces de sécurité', a Plusieurs rebelles kurdes ont été tués lors d'affrontements lundi près de la ajouté M. Jalalzadeh. frontière turque avec les forces armées iraniennes, qui ont arrêté le meurtrier Le procureur de Khoy, Vali Hajl-Gholizadeh, avait été tué par balles le 18 jan- supposé d'un procureur assassiné la semaine dernière dans cette région, rap- vier porte mercredi la presse. Les régions iraniennes frontalières de l'Irak et la Turquie, où vivent des rruno- 'Lors d'affrontements entre les forces armées et les contre-révolutionnaires rités kurdes, sont le théâtre d'affrontements pénodiques entre les forces membres du PJAK (Parti pour une Vie libre du Kurdlstan, ndlr), l'assassin du armées iraniennes et le PJAK, basé dans le nord-est de l'Irak procureur du district de Khoy (nord-cues) a été arrêté et plusieurs membres L'Iran accuse les Etats-Unis de soutenir ce mouvement ams: que d'autres de ce groupe ont été tués", a déclaré Vahid Jalalzadeh, le gouvemeur de la province de l'AzerbaIdjan occidentale Cité par la presse organisations ethniques aux frontières de l'Iran, ce que Washington a toujours démenti Les Kurdes représentent environ 7% de la population en Iran. Le PJAK est lié au Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), qui lutte contre le

~eurD_27 __Ja_n_v_ie_r_2_0_1_0 __ Clandestins kurdes : les réactions des politiques

kurdes interpellés dimanche en Corse et Voici les principales réactions des poli- transférés dans des centres de rétention. tiques après le placement dans plusieurs "Ce qui est intolérable, c'est d'avoir une centres de rétention de clandestins kur- _ position qui soit: tout oui, n'importe des découverts vendredi sur une plage de qui rentre, ou qui soit: tout non, per- Corse: sonne ne rentre. La France n'est pas un camp de concentration". a-t-il dit. Benoît Hamon, porte-parole du PS : Alors qu'on lui demandait si Eric "Eric Besson et le gouvernement vien- Besson était un bon ministre de nent de subir un revers sur ce sujet. l'Immigration, il a répondu: "je ne Nous nous félicitons que la loi ait été trouve pas". "Je n'aime pas faire image sur ce qui n'est pas à l'honneur de la rappelée au gouvernement". Il a salué Plusieurs des 124 migrants kurdes ont France". l'action de la Cimade et de la Ligue été placés dans un centre de détention "La difficulté du problème de l'Immigra- Droits de l'homme qui ont "rappelé que de Marseille, puis été relâchés deux tion c'est que c'est un problème qu'on ne la procédure dont ont été l'objet ces jours plus tard. hommes et ces femmes n'étaient pas peut pas traiter sans une certaine bruta- légale". lité policière. En tirer fierté et la généra- Il faut que ces "populations soient trai- liser est quelque chose que je ne sup- domadaire, lundi 25 janvier) tées conformément à la loi, comme des porte pas", a-t-il ajouté. demandeurs d'asile et non comme des "Mais surtout, ce qui est insupportable Michel Rocard (PS) : L'ancien Premier immigrés clandestins", a insisté le porte- ce sont les quotas, c'est le principe que ministre socialiste ne trouve pas qu'Eric parole, estimant que si ces clandestins l'on doit chaque mois expulser un chif- Besson soit un bon ministre de avaient pns des "risques", c'est parce fre quelconque de gens [...] ça c'est une l'Immigration, évoquant une politique qu'ils se "sentaient menacés" dans leur honte, ce n'est pas la France de la décla- "qui n'est pas à l'honneur de la France". pays. ration des droits de l'Homme", a-t-il "J'aime que les juges honorent la "M. Besson prétend être le meilleur avO- aussi déclaré. (Déclaration sur RMC, France", a déclaré Michel Rocard sur cat de la générosité et de la patrie des lundi 25 janvier) RMC à propos de la décision de plu- Droits de l'Homme, apparemment ce sieurs juges des libertés et de la déten- n'est pas automatique dans sa tête". Pierre Moscovici, député PS du Doubs, tion de remettre en liberté des réfugiés (Déclaration lors d'un point presse heb- sur LCI : "La France est un Etat de droit

66 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieto-Berheooka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

et quand il y a des vices de formes, ils Les Verts condamnent "les conditions Jean-Michel Baylet (PRG) : "Il est inac- doivent être sanctionnés. On ne peut hâtives et opaques dans lesquelles ont ceptable qu'un ministre prenne ses aises pas arrêter des gens et les mettre dans été expédiées les auditions à Bonifacio avec la loi, au motif qu'elle serait trop des centres de rétention dans n'importe et s'est ensuite effectué le transfert". Ils contraignante pour ses services. Les quelles conditions. Derrière ça, il y a "exigent que les personnes toujours droits des migrants Kurdes doivent être plusieurs problèmes: le problème de la retenues soient immédiatement libérées "respectés" et l'Ofpra doit "disposer de sécurité des frontières, le problème de et que leurs demandes de droit d'asile tout le temps nécessaire pour statuer ceux qui véhiculent ces immigrés, qui soient examinées aussi sereinement que sur les demandes d'asile car le droit font de la véritable traite d'êtres la loi le permet". "Comment M. Besson d'asile est reconnu comme un droit humains et qu'il faut condamner et peut-il avoir le cynisme d'affirmer que constitutionnel fondamental et auto- combattre, et puis il yale problème des 'face à des situations d'urgence, la pro- nome par le quatrième alinéa du réfugiés eux-mêmes" qu'il faut "traiter tection des personnes prime sur le pom- Préambule de 1946". (Communiqué, humainement". (Déclaration sur LeI, tillisme procedural'?". (Communiqué, lundi 25 janvier) lundi 25 juin) lundi 25 janvier)

TURQUIE: UN COMITÉ EUROPÉEN REND VISITE À ëCALAN DANS SA NOUVELLE CELLULE (PRESSE) ANKARA, 27 janvier 2010 (AFP) Ocalan, 61 ans, purgeait en solitaire depuis 1999 une peine de prison à vie dans cet l'établissement de haute sécurité où Il était l'unique détenu. Une délégation du Comité antitorture (CPT)du Conseil de l'Europe a rendu Mais à la mi-novembre Il a été transféré dans une autre cellule du même péni- visite mardi au chef des rebelles kurdes de Turquie Abdullah Ocalan dans tencier où Il peut côtoyer plusieurs heures par semaine ces autres détenus, sa nouvelle cellule, rapporte mercredi la presse turque. comme l'avait recommandé le CTP lors d'une précédente mission en 2007. Les six membres de la mission ont 'Inspecté' les nouvelles dispositions mises L'ennemi n01 de l'Etat turc s'était plaint de ses nouvelles conditions carcérales en place par les autorités turques pour le chef-fondateur du Parti des travailleurs par le biais de ses avocats, ce qui avait provoqué des émeutes dans le sud-est du Kurdlstan (PKK), une organisation considérée comme terroriste par la anatolien, peuplé majoritairement de Kurdes. Turqine et de nombreux pays, précise l'agence de presse Anatolie. Pour répondre aux critiques, le ministère de la Justice a procédé à des amélio- La délégation a aussi rencontré pendant plusieurs heures les cinq autres déte- rations dans la structure de la cellule et publié des photos de sa prison pour nus transférés pour tenir compagnie à Abdullah Ocalan sur l'île-prison d'Imrali, montrer que ses conditions étalent identiques aux autres prisonniers incarcérés dans le nord-ouest de la Turquie, Indiquent les joumaux. dans des établissements de haute sécunté

~~ 30 Janvier 2010 Des étrangers en leur propre pays En Syrie, au moins 300 000 Kurdes ont été déchus de leur nationalité.

Par MARC SEMO lations kurdes», souligne Une fauche arbitraire. Les mai- familiales car, dans la même Kendal Nezan. «Ils vivent res et les responsables locaux tnbu, il peut y avoir des sans- ul ne sait précisément com- comme assignés à résidence à du parti désignaient aux recen- papiers et d'autres qui ont N bien sont - au moins 300 perpétuité», insiste un Kurde seurs les «bonnes» familles conservé la citoyenneté. 000, peut-être le double - les syrien qui, jusqu'à son installa- kurdes et celles qui ne l'étaient Pour les autres Kurdes Kurdes syriens sans papiers tion en France, n'avait jamais pas. Plus de 120 000 person- synens, la vie est en revanche dans leur propre pays. «C'est la eu d'autre document d'identité nes furent déchues de leur plus ou moins normale, du seule population de cette impor- qu'une feuille avec des tam- nationalité. «C'est un châti- moms comme elle peut l'être tance au Moyen-Orient qui est pons certifiant seulement ment éternel et irréversible qui sous une dictature. Mais cha- condamnée à vivre clandestine- «qu'il ne figure pas sur le s'étend à tous les descen- que tentative pour revendiquer ment sur son propre territoire», registre d'état civil des Arabes dants», raconte un intellectuel des droits culturels ou politi- relève Kendal Nezan, président syriens». Aux yeux des autori- kurde syrien. ques spécifiques est écrasée. de l'Institut kurde de Paris. tés baasistes, il était considéré Ils ne peuvent pas quitter le Les tensions restent vives. L'histoire des Kurdes - au comme «un étranger non res- pays faute de passeport. Une Ainsi, en mars 2004, des inci- moins 35 millions de person- sortissant d'un pays étranger». femme perd sa citoyenneté si dents après un match de foot- nes écartelées principalement Telle est la terminologie offi- elle épouse un «sans-papiers». ball dans la ville de Qamichli à entre quatre pays (Turquie, Iran, cielle pour définir la situation Ils ne peuvent être soignés majorité kurde ont dégénéré en Irak, Syrie) - a été le plus sou- de ces Kurdes qui représentent dans les hôpitaux qu'en versant émeute. Une statue d'Hafez al- vent tragique. Mais le sort des entre un quart et un tiers du 1,5 des pots-de-vin. Les enfants Assad a été renversée et la Kurdes syriens massivement million de Kurdes du pays. vont à l'école, obligatoire, répression aurait fait une cin- déchus de leur nationalité par le La vie de ces Kurdes du mais ne peuvent obtenir de quantaine de morts. régime baasiste, est assurément Nord-Est syrien installés là diplômes. Les emplois publics l'un des plus poignants. depuis des siècles a basculé en leur sont interdits. Ils ne peu- «Cette population kurde du 1962 quand le parti Baas, au vent posséder en leur nom pro- nord de la Syrie est incontesta- pouvoir, décida de réduire pre terrains, maisons, trou- blement aujourd'hui la plus drastiquement dans les statisti- peaux ou boutiques. Ils s'ar- discriminée de toutes les popu- ques le nombre des Kurdes. rangent grâce aux solidarités

67 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti I · I JANUARY 31, 2010 The National UAE IAbu Dhabi KURDS DON'T NEED A COUNTRY TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL STATE

Hussain Abdul-Hussain Massoud's father, is frequently independent state has all but vani- remembered as saying that shed. This means that Kurds would uccess stories of state-building Washington, and its ally the Iranian not be blowing themselves up, and in the Middle East have been shah Mohamed Reza Pehlavi, had let that their leaders would not be insis- S few. The United Arab Emirates him down when his Peshmerga forces ting on independence in a populist has certainly been one. Qatar, were in the middle of a brutal war with manner like several Arab and Iranian and to an extent Bahrain and Jordan, Saddam's army in 1975. leaders often do regarding Palestine. are now featuring high on good gover- But by 1991, the Kurds acted less "Co-operate with the Turkish nance indexes. Yet the most impres- dogmatically and more realistically as government, we have a great opportu- sive of all has been Iraqi Kurdistan. they let bygones be bygones as nity to arrive at a deal in everybody's Less than 25 years ago, Iraqi America stepped in to protect them interests there," Mr Barzani told a Kurds suffered one of the Middle from Saddam's brutality and help them Turkish Kurd at his Brookings Institute East's worst genocides of modern his- to set up an autonomous Kurdistan. lecture who was protesting against the tory. In 1986, Iraq's former president The alliance between America and ban on Kurdish parties in Turkey. Mr Saddam Hussein ordered Operation Iraqi Kurds has served the interests of Barzani, who had met the US presi- AI Anfal, killing close to 150,000 Kurds both. dent Barack Obama and vice presi- over the course of three years. That And since then, the Kurdish lea- dent Joe Biden, had no illusions about number exceeds all the deaths resul- dership has been smart enough to his powers or how the world operates. ting from more than 60 years of also understand the limits of its Even though he hails from a family of conflict between the Arabs and Israel, alliance with Washington. By 2003, as fighters, Mr Barzani was clearly which has seen at least half a dozen the marines made their way into renouncing the mostly counterproduc- wars. Baghdad, the Kurds understood that tive violence. AI Anfal's commander, Saddam's America depended on their help, This newfound Kurdish wisdom cousin Ali Hassan al Majid, also which included abandoning their has penetrated all the way into known as Chemical Ali after he orde- decade-old policy of detachment from Kurdistan, as Iraqi Kurds held free and red the gassing of the Kurdish village Baghdad. fair elections for their regional parlia- of Halabja, went after the Kurds again The Kurds understood that the ment last year, when a considerable in 1991 to crush their revolt against international status quo would force opposition bloc emerged. Mr Barzani tyranny and unfavourable living condi- them to reconnect with Baghdad. himself was re-elected Kurdistan's tions. Thus, they moved to their second best president with 68 per cent of the vote, One chapter was closed when option: they rejoined Iraq but made a percentage that makes many Arab Chemical Ali was executed less than a sure it would be a federal union that presidential elections, with poll num- week ago. But like the Middle East's would give their northern region bers exceeding 90 per cent, look silly. Arabs, Iraq's Kurds were not only the enough cultural, economic and politi- Democracy, still not ideal, is now victims of external factors. Starting in cal independence. taking root in Iraqi Kurdistan. 1994, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Since then, the Kurds have not And with democracy comes good (PUK) under Jalal Talabani, and the wasted time in crying foul over surren- governance and economic prosperity. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) dering their historic quest for indepen- For that, the Kurds have been tapping under Massoud Barzani, embarked on dence. Instead, they founded a new their human capital assets from their a bloody war that lasted until 1998. formula: Iraqi Kurdistan would remain diaspora. Again, compare that to most Also last week, Mr Barzani - part of Iraq as long as Baghdad has Arab countries where brain drain has during a speech at the Brookings democratic rulers. The emergence of become an unstoppable trend. Institute in Washington - thanked the a dictator would force the Kurds to go The Kurdistan state-building expe- veteran diplomat Martin Indyk, who their separate way, fair and square. riment in northern Iraq, even if only was in the audience, for helping to This position won the Kurds further within the limits of autonomy, is far conclude a ceasefire between the two kudos in the capitals of the world. from perfection. Yet it is one of the Kurdish parties. More importantly, unlike some most impressive in the Middle East. It In the aftermath, Iraqi Kurdistan Arab leaders and their signature poli- should certainly serve as a model for has emerged from civil war to become cies of double talk about Israel - pro- several Arab countries to emulate. one of the Middle East's most promi- mising peace in English and talking sing regions. One can only hope that war in Arabic - Kurdish leaders have Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a the way Iraqi Kurds did it might inspire preached to their people that the auto- Visiting Fellow with Chatham House, the Arabs. nomy or rights they had earned, whe- London First, the Kurds befriended ther in Iraq or Turkey, were the best America. In the Kurdish collective they could get. memory, Malia Mustafa Barzani, Meanwhile, the Kurd's quest for an

68 Revue de Presse-Press Reoieui-Berheooka Çapê-Rioista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti ~G~BE:~3~I~Ja~n~U~ary~2~O~IO~ __ "Assessing Iraq's Future": President Barzani's interview with Brookings Institute The Kurdish Globe give us a sense of what you are Kumisbn President looking for from the election Massoud 8arzani coming up in March. What hopes an interview Saban Center for Middle East will they produce, and what do Policy director Kenneth PoUack you fear could be the result if interviews Kurdistan Region things go badly? President Masoud Barzani in Washington, D.C., during the A: There is no doubt that the President's recent visit to the forthcoming election is an impor- United States. tant one for the people of Iraqi and of Kurdistan Region in particular. We expect the current Iraqi Q: Welcome to the Brookings political map to change. The most Institute. I must ask a question on important is to attempt to have the many Americans' minds, because largest number of Iraqis to take it has been an issue concerning part in it, and also ensure that it is a fair and transparent election. On Iraq that has been In the newspa- A: Unfortunately, the interfe- would like to reiterate that the another hand, we believe coali- pers. We've all read about the rence of neighboring countries Iraqi political forces can help the tions will be made after the elec- recent moves to attempt to ban continues. United States so that the United tions. We--in the Kurdistan about 500 Iraqi politicians States will be able to help them Region--have decided to enter Q: Is there a way that the U.S. because of their association with succeed in the process. If the poli- alliances after the election on the or other countries can help to the Baath Party. It is something tical forces in Iraq seek a solution, basis of commitment to the push back on that interference in that got a great deal of ink here in then I think there would be a role Constitution; that will be our cri- a way that it would be more effec- the United States, and I would like for the United States to play to teria for entering alliances. I don't tive than we have done sofar? you to explain what is going and help them. how concerned we should be expect any list alone can win A: In fact, Iraqis can put an end Q: Why don 't we look now about it. enough seats to form a govern- to this interference. I don't believe beyond the election, because ment, but it has to ally with other there is much that the U S. or A: I thank you very much for obviously the election is an blocs. fnends of Iraq can do. The Iraqi providing me with this opportu- important milestone but II's only Q: Mr. President, obviously the political parties and the Iraqi fede- nity to be at the Brookings another step in the path; it is not world has been much concerned ral government have to move on Institute with you. I would like to the end of the path. After the elec- about the potenual of this elecuon in order to prevent interferences. thank the audience here. I believe tion we are going to need to have to go badly. What are your night- We agree to have friendly and there has been a little bit exagge- some very difficult negotiations mare scenarios? What keeps you neighborly relations based on ration with this issue. In Article 7 regarding the real bedrock future up at night? What IS It about the mutual respect and interest, and of the Iraqi Constitution, all those of Iraq, and I think it would be elecuon you most fear? Is there that should be the criteria for a who have committed crimes, pro- helpful for us, Mr. President, if some sort of scenario out there good relationship. Iraqis should moted principles of the Baath you laid out very clearly going not create any opportunity for Party, and cooperated with terro- you are most afraid of? into these negotiations what you such interferences in the internal rists are not to be given the oppor- A: The biggest fear is that the believe the wide answers on the affairs of Iraq. The more they tunity to participate in the politi- issue of greatest importance to closer we get to the election and have that opportunity, the more it cal process in Iraq. In fact, issues during the election, there will be you, Kirkuk, the other disputed is difficult for the U.S. to be able have been mixed and people have attempts by terrorist groups to internal territories, the hydrocar- to play an effective role in preven- been mixed together concerning carry out their actions. The other bon law--where you believe that ting such interferences. those who are to be covered by thing is that we have asked our these issues need to come out as this Article and those who do not friends to help us and support us Q: Mr. President, if I could pick we move forward with these nego- deserve to be covered by it. in the election to ensure there will up another point you raised that I tiations? Before departing Iraq, I also had a be no forgery or double-voting, think IS very Important, it is your A: Of course, the problems are phone conversation with Mr. al- which is a main fear. If we have a expectation=whicn I think is sha- twofold. One side are the pro- Maliki Our view is that those transparent election, we will red by many other experts--that it blems that are relevant to Iraq and who have not committed crimes accept and respect whatever the is unlikely that one party in the the federal government in against the Iraqi people, those election IS gOing to secure an election results are. For that, we Baghdad, and the other one is who have not participated in the outright majority. What this sug- depend on reliable, neutral, inter- relevant to the issues between the Anfal operations or other opera- national observers to be part of gests to many observers in Iraq is KRG and the federal government. tions against innocent Iraqi peo- that process. Technically and that we may have a long and diffi- In fact, issues related to Iraq as a ple, and those who show commit- logistically, the United Nations cult process of government forma- whole are commitment to the ment to the Iraqi Constitution and other fnends of the Iraqi peo- tion, and I'd like to pick up on this Constitution, participation in should be given an opportunity to ple have to help us in that process. theme of the American role and power-sharing arrangements, participate in the political process ask how you think the United Q: Mr. President, you of all governance system in Iraq, the and the upcoming elections. In States can be helpful In helping people are well aware that your culture of self-imposition, and the fact, it does not include only the the Iraqis to overcome those obs- friends beyond Iraq's borders-- culture of unilateral decision and Sunni Arabs--there are Shiites and tacles, those hurdles. Kurds among them. your neighbors-have often had ruling in the country. The other, great interest in Iraq's internal A: In fact, there is always a role related to the relation between Q: Mr. President, thank youfor affairs. Are you concerned about for the United States to play using KRG and Baghdad, includes that answer. Let me expand on the possibility that any of the its weight, its effectiveness, its Article 140 of the Constitution, that, as obviously there are other Iraq's neighbors will try to get influence to help the Iraqi people which is relevant to Kirkuk and concerns about the elections. It involved in the elections? overcome the difficulties and pro- other disputed territories. In fact, would be very helpful ifyou could blems that we face. Once again, I

69 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

Article 140 is not only relevant to justice in that? It has to be adjus- seeks a great role. Then, that Q: Turkish "Newsweek" maga- Kurdistan Region, Kirkuk, and ted and a true representation of depends on the United States, zine: If the PKK refuses to drop its other disputed areas. There are Iraqi society. Europe, and the international weapon and Turkey continues its other areas in Iraq that have been Q: Mr. President, thank you community whether they would military operations, will you affected by that because of the very muchfor your explanations; be willing to give that role to Iran consider cooperating with manipulation of the gerrymande- they were very helpful. I would to play. Any violence that happens Turkey? ring of the internal boundaries in there normally will have an like to bring you back if I could to A: Barzani: Right now there is Iraq as well. But, as far as we are Kirkuk. .As you are aware, the impact on our situation as well. an opening process in Turkey, and concerned for going down the Therefore, we hope to utilize pea- United Nations has suggested a these efforts are to find peaceful road to solve the issues of Kirkuk variety of different compromise ceful means and dialogue to reach solutions. Let's focus on that. So, and other disputed territories, a solution rather than using vio- solutions, including some that we strongly support this peaceful until now we do not find any other lence and force. We in the might put Kirkuk in a special sta- process we support the Turkish alternative better than Article 140 Kurdistan Region are not in a tus. It is on its own province or a government's ending this proof the Constitution, since it is position to be a part of this strug- province that has dual representa- blem. But all of us are convinced eventually going back to the vote gle. uon In between both the KRG and that wars or military ways or poli- of the people to determine the the central government. What is Q: Mr. President, I started out tical pressures will never bring future. In fact, the most important your reaction to these different with very specific questions; I'd any solutions. God forbid if that is thing for us is determining the proposals? Is that something that like to end my questions with a chosen. We will not be part of that identity of Kirkuk, and we believe you might envision as potential much wider one. You've led your solution. that all the historical, geographi- solution to the dispute of Kirkuk at people for 30 years; you fought Q: Hussein Abdul Hussein, cal, and demographie facts prove some point? for people for even longer. I think "AI-ra'y" newspaper: Head of that Kirkuk has been part of it will be very helpful for us to A: The issue of Kirkuk is a very opposition, Nawsherwan Mustafa, Kurdistan. Having said that, we hear straight from your lips your have agreed and we have shown important and sensitive for us, the said he will not join the KDP and visionfor Iraqi Kurdistan. What is Kurds, and also for Iraq. This has PUK list in the upcoming elec- flexibility to go back to the vote of it that you would like to see? What the people to determine their own been one of the main reasons tion. Will it affect the Kurdish role would you like to see it play status The moment this is irnple- behind the Kurdish movements interest in Baghdad? and struggles with the successive within Iraq=within the region? mented on the ground, we pledge A: There is a difference bet- Iraqi governments in the past. We Where would like your people to that we will ready and willing, and ween same stand and same list. In want this problem to be solved be infive years=m 10 years? we show flexibility to make sure the last election we did not run on and not have it remain as it is. A: Fortunately, we proudly can that there will be genuine power one list. Kurdistan Islamic Union During the time the Constitution say that the security situation in sharing in the administration in had run for the election on a diffe- was drafted, that was the main Kirkuk. The other point, regarding Kurdistan Region is very good. rent list. But in Baghdad we had provision for us to continue parti- That is attributed to the culture of the issue of oil and gas=accor- one voice regarding the strategic cipating in the political process-- and awareness of our people, who ding to the Constitution, we agree issues and national interests. for a solution to be found for have been cooperating with the that oil and gas belong to all the Recently, we had a meeting with Kirkuk on the basis of Article 140. region's security apparatus. We people of Iraq. To that we don't all political parties in Kurdistan, Even then we have left the final have a problem. The difference is are working on building institu- and we agreed to have one voice decision for the people of those tions in the region. On tragic suf- on revenue sharing. Based on a regarding the strategic issues and areas to determine. Therefore, ferings our people have had, from political agreement, we agreed national interests. our share to be 17 percent for the there is no alternative to this arti- now on we will try for them to Kurdistan Region. We deserve cle. This is running away from live in peace and also to compen- Q: "The Nation" magazine: Did more than that, but this was what constitutional text that is very sate them for some of their suffe- you condemn the decision ofSaleh was agreed upon until a census clear. We regard other alternatives rings. I can admit and say that we Motlaq's disqualification for the can be held. The right thing we as unsuitable solutions that won't have such started. We are still upcoming election, or did you think is to allocate the share of the solve the problem, but complicate learning, just as a student in the support it? Do you see any role by Kurdistan Region in order to go it more. early stages. We have shortco- Iran in this case? into a separate account relevant to Q: Mr.President, I'd like to tum mings, but we have serious desire. A: My answer is that we in the KRG to be monitored and your attention a little bit farther So long as Iraq is governed by this Kurdistan don't have the culture of transparent, but not to be at the abroad now. Youhave=because of Constitution, we will--based on retaliation and revenge. At the control and for us to be at the a difficult geographie position-ra the decision made by the same time we don't have sectarian Kurdistan Parliament=remain and mercy of Baghdad and then to use great deal of experiences, as I problems in Kurdistan. Just like it as a political pressure card to mentioned earlier, with some of move within the boundaries of you, I read in the newspaper that influence the region to cut in whe- Iraq's neighbors; and with one of Iraq. Also, we will work and he was disqualified; I have not cooperate with Baghdad and the never they like. According to the Iraq's neighbors we have particu- been consulted regarding this Constitution, the Peshmarga for- larly problematu: relations=the political forces to build a federal decision I haven't heard that ces are legal and constitutional United States, that is. And that is democratie Iraq. And Kurdistan Motlaq has participated in killing Region can play the role of bridge forces. We believe that their fun- Iran. And today the United States Iraqi people. If he shows a com- between Iraq and Turkey and ding should come from the federal once against IS confronting Iran mitment to Iraq's Constitution, I government based on the fact that and trying to figure what policy Europe. Kurdistan also could be a have no objection if he runs in the the Peshmarga are a part of the we should adapt. I was wondering business gate for the country until upcoming elections. Generally security and stability is accompli- defense structure and defense sys- if you had any wise advice for us speaking, all Iraqi neighbors have tem of Iraq. The other issue we on how to think about Iran, and shed in the rest of Iraq. It can be a an agenda in Iraq. Maybe Iran's have is regarding restructure and what you think the United States gate to welcome companies and agenda is wider. Certainly each of rebuilding of the Iraqi army. After should be thinking in terms of the investors through the region into the countries would like to have 2003, we were hoping for and new policies toward Iran. the country. This is our desire, and some to be part of the election were working toward rebuilding it is what we work for. But there is process, and some would like to A: This is a difficult question. I the new Iraqi army based on a also the fact, I have stated and I be out of the process. new system with a new culture don't see myself in a position to be would to reiterate=God forbid, if and education. But right now, if able to give advice to the United Iraq goes back to dictatorship, we Q: Brookings Foreign Policy you look out of the total makeup States because everybody is wat- will not be able to live under a Program: We Americans see of the Iraqi army, 8% of them are ching the situation the same way dictatorial regime. Iraq's biggest problem as terro- as we do. But certainly Iran is an rism. If you could explain two Kurds, 48% are Shiites, and 44% Questions from floor: Sunni Arabs. We do not see any important country in the area Iran things: number one, where is it

70 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti coming from? What are the sour- u.s. army, I want to thank the advice for the Kurds in Turkey? nued dialogue with Thrkey. ces of terrorism? Number two, as American people and government Ankara always seeks advice from Q: McQuire: In wide and recent the UnitedStates anny withdraws, for their contribution, and we Brussels and Washington in efforts by the PUK to reform, par- do you expect it will erase all the appreciate the sacrifices they regards to the Kurdish question. ticularly since the July regional developments? made in freeing the Kurdish and Have they approached you regar- elections, are there parallel and Iraqi people. But we have to ding that issue? A: The terrorism phenomenon similar efforts by the KDP to expect that one day these forces has become very dangerous in the A: We didn't view the constitu- undertake internal reforms? have to come back. The most whole world, and day after day it tional court's decision as a right A: We are heading towards is growing I believe there are important question I asked decision because we didn't believe holding the KDP Congress this many sources. Certainly it comes President Obama was, as the U.S. that would serve the peace process Anny withdraws, will American year. Whatever reform is needed from outside Iraq, but to identify it that is underway; it was against will be conducted there. is difficult. If fact the political commitment end in Iraq? He res- democracy. And also my advice to situation in Iraq must be remedied ponded that "U.S. engagement our Kurdish brothers in Thrkey is will remain in Iraq." since it paves the way for Iraq to to have a good and positive res- become stable. Otherwise, it will Q: Kani Ghulam: There was a ponse, and be cooperative with The interview is published by be difficult to stabilize Iraq constitutional court in Turkey that the Thrkish government so that we Brookings Institute, edited by the through the military; there must banned a Kurdish party there. do not lose this opportunity=so Kurdish Globe. be a true national reconciliation. What is your position regarding that we continue pursuing the pea- Regarding the withdrawal of the that decision, and what is your ceful process. We have a conti-

Guardian 31 JANUARY 2010 Turkish Kurd, 15, jailed for eight years over 'terror' crimes at protest rally rism legislation introduced in 2006. The law allows courts to try juveniles as • Teenager claimed she adults and to jail them for up to 50 years. Recent official figures revealed that was mistaken for a there are currently 2,622 minors in protester Turkish prisons. Some 737 minors have been charged • Turkey is breaching under the counter-terrorism legislation child rights, campaigners since its introduction, according to the warn Diyarbakir Human Rights Association. Out of 267 tried in the city last year, 78 were given extended jail terms. Last in Robert Tait Istanbul November, a prosecutor demanded sentences of 23 years each for six youths, A lS-YEAR-old girl who was arres- aged 13 and 14, who were charged with ted at a demonstration in support of a throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. banned Kurdish group has been jailed in Campaigners say many of those jai- Turkey for nearly eight years after being watch it out of curiosity, while on her led have been wrongly accused and convicted of "terrorist" offences, inclu- way to visit an aunt. She was arrested condemn the convictions as a breach ding allegedly throwing stones at police. after police mistook her for a demons- trator, she said. She had confessed to the Turkey's obligations as a signatory to the The case comes amid renewed scru- crimes only after being beaten in cus- UN Convention on the Rights of the tiny of Turkey's human rights record tody. Child. after it was named as the worst violator In an emotional letter published by While most of those jailed are boys, of the 47 signatory states to the an additional building was recently ope- European convention of human rights. the Turkish newspaper, Star, the girl said she had been visiting Batman on a ned at a prison in Diyarbakir to hold The girl, a Turkish Kurd who has family holiday and pleaded to be relea- girls aged under 18 who are convicted of been named only as Berivan, was detai- sed. "I want to get out of here. I want to participating in banned demonstrations. ned in the south-eastern city of Batman be with my family. I always cry here. I Last week, Turkey was identified as last October at a rally for the banned cannot get used to this," she wrote. "I the worst violator of the European Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which have been in jail since 9 October. My convention on human rights between is regarded by Turkey, the US and EU as heart hurts and I miss my family so 1959 and 2009. According to figures a terrorist group. much." released by the European court of A court in Diyarbakir found her As she heard her daughter being human rights, the country accounted for guilty of "crimes on behalf of an illegal ?sentenced, Berivan's mother exclaimed almost 19% of all violations, with 2,295 organisation" after prosecutors alleged in court: "Did she murder The murde- judgements issued against it. Turkey she had hurled stones and shouted slo- rers are not sentenced to such a long pri- also had the highest proportion of viola- gans. She was also convicted of atten- son term." tions in 2009, making up 347 out of ding "meetings and demonstrations in 1,625 negative rulings. The most com- opposition to the law" and "spreading The initial 13-and-a-half-year sentence was later reduced on appeal to mon violation was the denial of the right propaganda for an illegal organisation" to a fair trial. Turkey also had 30 rulings despite claiming in court that she did not seven years and nine months because of her age. against it following complaints of inhu- know what the word propaganda means. mane or degrading treatment. The conviction highlights Turkey's In her defence, the girl denied thro- • This article was amended on 1 wing stones or being part of the demons- practice of jailing children for terror- related offences under counter-terro- February 2010 to clarify that the jailed tration but said she had only stopped to teenager is a Turkish Kurd.