INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS

Information and liaison bulletin N°333

december 2012 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: bulletin@fikp.org Information and liaison bulletin Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 333 December 2012

• IRAQ: JALAL TALABANI SUFFERS FROM A STROKE.

• TURKEY: DEATH OF SERAFETTIN ELÇI.

• SWEDEN: PARLIAMENT RECOGNISES THE ANFAL GENOCIDE.

• IRAQI KURDISTAN: THE IRAQI-KURDISH CRISIS IS AT A DEAD END.

• SYRIA: THE KURDS DEMAND THAT THE PÊSH KHABOUR BORDER CROSSING BE OPENED.

• IRAN: A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ASYLIM SEEKERS.

• CULTURE: ADEL IMAM VISITS IRBIL TORECEIVE A TRIBUTE TO HIS WORK.

IRAQ: JALAL TALABANI SUFFERS FROM A STROKE hile Iraq is in the mid - rhage but that his condition was papers speaking of “brain dle of a crisis and its “stable”. death” or a coma while othere Prime Minister, Nuri were reassuring. W al-Maliki, if faced with Jalal talabani is 79 years old and both the discontent of has suffered from poor health Cutting the rumours short, the the Sunni Arabs and the opposi - and overweight for several years Kurdish Member of Parliament tion of the Kurds to his conduct leading to regular visits abroad Mahmud Othman denied any regarding Kirkuk and Diyala, it for treatment. In 2008 he under - question of death. The arrival of was announced on 18 December went a heart operation in the a medical team from Germany, that the President of Iraq, Jalal United States and in 2011 he was the same one that had treated Talabani, who is himself sent to hospital in Jordan suffer - him during the summer con - Kurdish, had suffered a stroke ing from dehydration and firmed that the President was and that the prognosis on his exhaustion. Last summer he was indeed alive, though without state of health was un certain. treated by a German team of any more details except that his doctors for three months and condition had improved. He was It was on leaving a heated meet - only returned to Iraq in urgently transferred to a private ing with Nuri al-Maliki that Jalal September 2012. clinic in Germany on 21 Talabani felt unwell and was December. rushed to Baghdad hospital. Throughout the press, be it Soon after an official commu - regional, national or internation - The manager of the Presidential niqué announced that he had al, the most widely contrasted communications office, Barzan suffered from a cerebral haemor - prognoses were advanced, some Sheikh Othman, pointed out that • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 333 • December 2012

the “most dangerous stage” had personality and talents as negotia - other hand he rejected the idea of passed. This was confirmed by Dr. tor made him a public figure who any fusion with the Kurdistan Najmaldim Karim, a Kurdish neu - could mediate and bring people Democratic Party (KDP) or any rologist who is governor of Kirkuk together in a State so divided likelihood of flight of PUK mem - and is close to Jalal Talabani. between ethnic and religious bers to that party since the histori - groupings that its very survival is cal and political roots of the two It is generally agreed that this acci - often unstable. movements were so different. dent has occurred at the worse possible moment, when Iraq is in Even if Jalal Talabani survives his Indeed, those disappointed with the middle of a crisis and the stroke, he would probably not be the PUK have never gone to Prime Minister is faced with a able to play such an important increase the score of the KDP in its revolt from both the Sunni Arabs political role. Moreover, succeed - historic strongholds but turned and several Shiite factions as well ing him involves two roles — both either to Goran or other opposi - as the trial of strength taking place as Iraqi Head of State and as lead - tion parties going from Islamic to with the Kurds. The Iraqi er of his party, the Patriotic Union extreme-Left parties. Constitution (Art 72, 3) stipulates of Kurdistan (PUK), which has that in the event of the President been going through a serious lead - Among the names that are going being incapacitated, he should be ership crisis for the last few years. round as possible successors to replaced by one of the Vice Jalal Talabani, that of the firmer Presidents while Parliament elects Interviewed by the daily Rudaw Prime Minister of the Kurdistan a successor within 30 days. for is 22 December issue, Mala Region and ex-Deputy Prime Bakhtiar, who manages the PUK Minister of Iraq, Barham Salih, is However, one of the two Vice Political Committee, gave his often mentioned, both for the Iraqi Presidents, the Sunni Arab Tareq views of the “post-Talabani” situa - Presidency and that of the PUK, as al-Hashimi has been tried in absen - tion, which he considered must be well as that of Hoshyar Zebari, at tia and received five death sen - envisaged as from now, even present Iraqi Foreign Minister, tences for “terrorism” and has though the old leader’s personali - who is close to the KDP and also a been a refugee in Turkey since ty makes him “irreplaceable”. This former Kurdistan Prime Minister April 2012. The other one, succession cannot be effected as well as that of Fuad Masum, Khodaei Al-Khozaei, who is also without profound internal and who is also a member of the PUK Minister of Education, is a Shiite structural rearrangements if the for the Iraqi Presidency. politician of Nuri al-Maliki’s PUK is to be able to face up to the Dawa Party, His choice would new situation. Meanwhile the party in managed completely unbalance the official by Kosrat Rasu, the PUK’s N°2. consensus that tries to arrange that Regarding a possible takeover by Being 60 years of age he could be each of the main components of Goran, the Party born of a split seen as a successor but his status the population (Sunni and Shiite within the PUK, of members who of veteran does not carry a mes - Arabs and Kurds) be represented. might be more inclined to change sage of renovation the party’s ren - camps after the end of the ovation. Although choosing a Kurd as Talabani era, Mala Bakhtiar President is nowhere written into answered that the changes of Finally, should Jalal Talabani the Constitution, the election of membership between the parties accept his enforced retirement Talabani to this position since 2005 have now been balanced and that from all political life and is again has satisfied the various Iraqi some Goran supporters (250 able to make public statements; he political factions. Iraqi presidential according to him) had already could well also designate his own powers are very limited, but his asked to rejoin the PUK. On the successor. TURKEY: DEATH OF SERAFETTIN ELÇI erafettin Elçi, one of the in 2011, died of cancer on 22 ties went to the hospital to pay him senior members of the December in an Ankara hospital. tribute — members of parliament Kurdish politics in Born at Cizîra Botan, the capital of like Leyla Zana, Aysel Tuğluk, S Turkey, a former the Bedir Khans’ Kurdish princi - Pervin Buldan, Hasip Kaplan and Minister, leader of the pality. He was 74 years of age. Sırrı Sakık. Party for Participative Democracy (KADEP), elected to parliament When his death was announced, Moreover his death also gave rise from Diyarbekir as an independent many Kurdish political personali - to many condolences from the n° 333 • December 2012 Information and liaison bulletin • 3•

Turkish political caste. Thus When the 12 September 1980 coup make its own comparisons. We are President Abdullah Gul stated “ The d’état took place he was arrested seeking to give the State two guaran - loss of Serafettin Elçi, who has worked and imprisoned for 30 months. He tees: we believe that the political bor - hard for a resolution of problems had already caused a scandal the ders of the State must be preserved. We through dialogue and for the consolida - previous December by publicly are against violence. They should not tion of a environment of peace and identifying himself as a Kurd — be worried about our party ”. brotherhood, will be felt in our political which was a first even for a mem - world ”. The Prime Minister, Recep ber of Parliament at the time — However, as Orhan Miroglu Tayyip Erdogan, visited his family and for having addressed the elec - remarked, given the political con - to express his condolences and a tors of Diyarbekir, who did not text of the 90s Serafettin Elçi could ceremony in his memory took understand Turkish, in Kurdish. not succeed in imposing such an place in the Turkish National agenda on the Kurdish question Assembly that was attended by the Once released, he resumed his nor succeed in convincing the Speaker of the House, the President activities and political career but Kurdish electorate. of the CHP party, Kemal taking pains to put across his ideas Kılıçdaroğlu, the joint Presidents of in a country that had started wag - KADEP was always close to the the BDP party. Selahattin Demirtaş, ing its “dirty war” against the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party the Deputy Prime Ministers Bülent Kurds. and its leader always had friendly Arınç, Ali Babacan, Beşir Atalay relations with the Barzani family. and Bekir Bozdağ as well as a great In 1994, although he had been put The creation of the Iraqi Kurdistan crowd of present and past mem - forward as a possible leader of the Region in a federal and democratic bers of Parliament. Kurdish HEP party, founded in Iraq seemed to him a positive 1991, he created his own party, the example of liberal democracy as “Our sorrow is deep ” stated the KADEP, nicknamed the Kurdish opposed to the political trends pre - Kurdish member of Parliament Motherland Party (as opposed to vailing in Turkish Kurdistan. This, Ahmet Turk. “ Throughout his life the Turkish Party of that name) however, did not prevent him from Elçialways showed his awareness of the which appeared to be an attempt to allying himself with the BDP for Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom. bring together several contradicto - the June 2011 elections, in which he However, in politics he always gave ry political trends round the was elected in Diyarbekir. He priority to intelligence over emotions ”. Kurdish question. As the daily hoped, thereby, to exercise a mod - Sabah remarked on 18 May 1994: erating influence in the pro- The novelist Yashar Kemal, for his “As described by Elçi, this party will Kurdish party’s ranks but also to part, described him as a “hero” be a liberal democratic party, casting act as an intermediary between the considering that the search for its net widely. It will seek to cooperate Kurdish members of Parliament democracy in Turkey had lost “ an with business circles but without lean - and the rest of the Parliament by honourable and coherent voice ”. ing to the Right. It will be close to reli - using the regard that he enjoyed in gious electorate but will not seek to set the Turkish political caste although In the daily paper Zaman (pro- up an Islamic State. It will promote he had not sat in the Turkish AKP) the editorial writer Orhan Kurdish identity but will defend the Parliament for the last 20 years. Miroğlu recalled Serafettin Elçi’s country’s territorial integrity ”. exceptionally long political life — His funeral took place in his native he was a Minister in the 70s and Serafettin Elçi did not deny that his town of Cizir. Many members of member of Parliament for Mardin ideas were close to those that the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic for the Justice Party (AP). Turgut Ozal often put forward, Party came to represent the KRG However, in 1977 he resigned in saying: “ What I am trying to do is President, Massud Barzani. protest at the setting of the Second similar to what Mr. Ozal wants to do. Front nationalist government led I can say that our ideas on the South The Paris Kurdish Institute, of by Suleyman Demirel. He was also East (Turkish Kurdistan) are the which he was a regular guest at its Minister of Public Works in Bulent same. I do not wish to compare myself Symposia because of his abilities, Ecevit’s “centre-left” government. to anyone, but the public is free to was also represented there. SWEDEN: PARLIAMENT RECOGNISES THE ANFAL GENOCIDE n 5 December a majority recognise the Anfal campaign con - This measure was welcomed by of the members of the ducted by the Saddam Hussein the Iraqi Kurdistan regional O members voted in the regime at the end of the 1980s as Government. Prime Minister Swedish Parliament to an act of genocide. Nêçirvan Barzani described it as • 4 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 333 • December 2012

“humane” and “courageous” cide. This result was the outcome met to discuss it and, after an adding that Stockholm’s decision of six years and eight months of amount of research and discussion showed the Kurds and Kurdistan efforts by the NGO Kurdocide concluded that the Anfal campaign that they “ they were not alone. This Watch in Sweden (CHAK) to was indeed, one of genocide decision assures the Kurds that the secure this recognition by against the Kurds. world has not forgotten their suffer - Parliament, a campaign carried out ings and that it will no longer let in cooperation with the Kurdish The debate in Parliament took them be killed in such massive num - community in Sweden and the place on 28 November 2012. Some bers. I hope that this decision by the support of Swedish members of members of the Swedish Congress, Swedish Parliament will encourage Parliament and of members of the Presidents of eight political the Iraq Criminal Court to compen - Swedish parties of Kurdish origin. parties and fourteen political pub - sate the victims of Anfal ”. In the past parliament had twice lic figures confirmed that it was rejected the proposal. On 8 genocide. For timetable reasons the Sweden in the first country in the November 2012 the Parliamentary actual vote was adjourned to 5 world to recognise Anfal as geno - Foreign Affairs Committee finally December.

IRAQI KURDISTAN: THE IRAQI-KURDISH CRISIS IS AT A DEAD END he Iraqi-Kurdish crisis is defend: the Kirkuk question, in order to set up a face to face increasingly worrying Federalism and their indepen - meeting between Nuri al-Maliki the Americans, especial - dence in managing their and Massud Barzani, in a “ more T ly as the two protago - resources. Yet positions are so peaceful political atmosphere ”. “ The nists support different entrenched on both sides that problem can only be resolved one camps in Syria and that the two any diplomatic intervention has way — by making Prime Minister conflicts could exacerbate one the advantage of stimulating Nuei al-Maliki and the Kurdish another. AS the Assistant some dialogue. As Mahmud President Massud Barzani meet at Secretary of State admitted “ the Othman, a leader of the Kurdish the same table ”. Since both men, region cannot stand more conflicts ”. Alliance in the Iraqi Parliament, though formerly allies against said: “resolving the crisis Saddam Hussein are now at dag - Thus on 7 December a crisis between the central and regional gers drawn, this veteran of meeting was held in Baghdad governments requires efforts Kurdish politics nevertheless between the US Minister of from abroad, be it from the recognises that such a meeting Defence, the US Assistant United States, Iran or another needs time to prepare the ground Secretary of State and the Iraqi country. It is too hard to find a and “ friendly countries ”. Prime Minister the main theme of solution internally”. (Iraqi which was the tension with Irbil National Press Agency). In the field, the Iraqi and Kurdish and the situation in Syria. forces are still standing glaring at Indeed, Iran, that the United one another, whether at Kirkuk On 13 December the newspaper States is so keen on marginalis - or in the Diyala. Jabbar Yawar, Shafaag News , basing itself on an ing, cannot be so easily excluded, the General Secretary of the anonymous source, reported that whether from the Syrian Crisis or Ministry for the Peshmergas, has the United States and other coun - from Baghdad. The Kurds realise repeatedly expressed Kurdish tries were insisting that Nuri al- this and, despite their reconcilia - determination not to give an inch Maliki soften his stand and ease tion with Turkey, have always to the Iraqis in the field and not the tensions with the Kurds. managed to keep on good terms to withdraw until the forces sent Apparently the Iraqi Prime with that country, adopting an by Baghdad have completely Minister is said to have rejected attitude of “ we are, after all, good withdrawn. all offers of mediation, repeating neighbours with everyone ”. Thus, that it was an “ internal ” matter. according to Mahmud Othman, The Speaker of the Iraqi if, at the end of last autumn, a Parliament, the Sunni Arab The Kurds, on the other hand are Kurdish delegation met the Shiite Osama Nujaifi, had earlier met far from being opposed to Vice President of Iraq, Khodaïr Massud Barzani in Irbil to dis - American arbitration, so long as Kodhae, Ammar al-Hakim, who cuss precise means of achieving it does not call into question heads the Iraqi Supreme Islamic bilateral withdrawal of all troops, those articles of the Constitution Council, and the Iranian but in fact nothing was carried that it steadfastly determined to Ambassador in Baghdad, it was out. n° 333 • December 2012 Information and liaison bulletin • 5•

On the contrary, Massud President, Mohsen al-Sadoun, 15 December, Reuters reported Barzani°s visit to Kirkuk on 10 retorted by casting doubt on an agreement for bilateral but December and his inspection of Yassin Madjid’s sanity or intellec - gradual withdrawal of Kurdish Kurdish troops there greatly tual capacities and recalled that and Iraqi troops, said to have annoyed Baghdad. In his speech Ahmet Davutoglu had received a come from Iraqi President Talal to the Peshmergas, the Kurdish visa from the Iraqi Ambassador Jalabani and not denied by the President, wearing military uni - in Ankara and so had not visited Prime Minister. Ali al-Mussawi, form, spoke of the “ sacred task ” the country illegally. He also Nuri Maliki’s principal adviser, incumbent on them to “ defend the made the point that the Iraqi added to this regarding the possi - future of the people of Kurdistan ”. Constitution in no way forbade bility of local management of the He thus insisted on “ the impor - the President of Kurdistan from security forces in the disputed tance of maintaining brotherhood visiting Kirkuk or any other of regions. However, no timetable and peace and serving all the inhabi - the disputed regions, that has been set although the KRG tants of Kirkuk ”. Massud Barzani was, under the has been cited as also being in “We are against war and we do not Kurdish Constitution, favour of such a solution. like war, but if we are brought to Commander in Chief of the Mahmud Othman, as usual scep - making war then the whole Kurdish Peshmergas and that he had tical, expressed his doubts, people is ready to fight for the reviewed the Kurdish forces explaining, “The problem lies in Kurdish character of Kirkuk ”. deployed in Kirkuk in that capac - the details. Everything depends ity. on mutual confidence and a sin - Naturally this visit aroused the cere determination to reach a fury of the Maliki camp, as Apparently unimpressed by the solution — but unfortunately expressed by Yassin Majid, one accusations of provocation and mutual confidence between the of the leaders of his State of Laws incitement to conflict, Massud two parties is lacking”. coalition. According to him, Barzani stressed still further President Barzani’s review of Kurdish claims to Kirkuk by According to Mahmud Othman, Kurdish troops in Kirkuk in uni - ordering his staff, his Ministers while the USA and the Western form was “ a declaration of war on and all KRG organs to stop using powers will do everything to all Iraqis — not only on Maliki but the term “ disputed regions ” to avoid the conflict degenerating also on Talibani ” — despite the describe those covered by Article into an armed conflict, Turkey, fact that the Iraqi President had, 140 of the Constitution and on the other hand could have an from the start of the crisis, replace it by “ Kurdish regions out - interest in the disintegration of expressed his opposition to the side the Region ”. Iraq, which would weaken but deploying the Dijila forces and also place Irbil even more at the that he had been the target of a This initiative inevitably aroused mercy of Ankara. Thus he sup - salvo of criticisms from politi - fresh condemnation from Nuri ports Jalal Talabani’s proposal for cians who supported the Prime Maliki, who called it unconstitu - joint withdrawal of troops, even Minister. tional and called on all the State’s if he is not over optimistic about authorities to condemn it explic - the agreement being followed According to Yassin Madjid this itly. He saw it as offensive to all through. Moreover, Jalal “provocation ” ruined “ all the efforts those who had voted for the Talabani’s stroke four days later, of the Speaker of parliament, Osama Constitution in 2005 — forgetting as well as probably ending his Nudjaifi ”. He even considered that, in voting for the political career, could lead to this visit was “ even more danger - Constitution they had also voted fears that the agreement might ous ” than that of the Turkish for Article 140, as the Kurds also be buried. Foreign Minister last summer at unfailingly stress. Kurdish invitation without seek - At the beginning of January, ing Baghdad’s permission. Nuri Despite all this, there has been to Kurdish military delegation led Maliki’s coalition described this interruption in contacts between by Jabbar Yawar is due to beet gesture as an “ escalation ” and as Irbil and Baghdad and state - senior Iraqi military leaders to proof that Massud Barzani was ments that an agreement could discuss the crisis in the field and not seeking to ease the tensions. be reached or was on the point of the possibility of mutual with - It even compared him to Saddam being reached keep following one drawal front eh disputed regions. Hussein. another — though without any However, for the moment, concrete effect in the field — as Mahmud Othman is right as no The Kurdish Alliance’s Vice Mahmud Othman predicted. On agreement has been reached. • 6 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 333 • December 2012

SYRIA: THE KURDS DEMAND THAT THE PÊSH KHABOUR BORDER CROSSING BE OPENED êsh Khabour, a Christian has also asked for the opening of between Iraq and the Kurdish village in Kurdistan (in this border point. Abdulbaqi region. Irritated at this, the Zakho diocese) has been Yousif, the representative of the Presidential Office finished by P the centre of a confused Unity Party (Yakiti) has for his published a communiqué on 7 controversy between the part and with two other Kurdish January aimed at the PYD with - Kurdistan Regional Government parties, approached the US out naming it, attacking a party and the PYD party, which is the Embassy in Damascus, Robert that was trying to impose its Syrian branch of the PKK, over a Ford, asking him to ease the authority by armed force over the possible bridge across the Tigris to opening of this border point. Kurds in Syria and using the bor - link it with the Syrian border. Abdulbaqi Yousif has also der for dishonest transfers. reported evidence that the armed I fact, refugees continue to flood forces of the PYD and the YPC “We say quite clearly to our brothers into Iraq from Syria, their num - “are levying heavy taxes” on in Western Kurdistan that we, the ber is now said to have reached imported food. According to him, Kurdistan Region will not allow our 63,496 according the UN High the closing of the border is the border to be used for smuggling Commission for refugees on 5 KRG’s reply to these taxes “ even a arms and illegal drugs ”. December. Of these, 54,550 are in German NGO that was bringing Iraqi Kurdistan and 8,852 in humanitarian assistance to the Which indicates that while the Anbar Province of Iraq and 94 in Kurdish towns was seized by the Peshmergas have orders to allow other Iraqi provinces. PYD ” he stated to the daily refugees, food and medicines to Rudaw . cross the border they are less per - Thus the Kurdistan region shel - missive about movement of other ters about 80% of these refugees It was at this point that a contro - than humanitarian transfers for and the winter, that is hard and versy broke out between the PYD the PGY and YPG, which could snowy this year, could bring a and the KRG regarding the clos - explain the campaign of attacks further influx, this time fleeing ing of the border between the by the PDY. the lack of fuel rather than the two Kurdistans. The former state fighting. that the Kurdistan Region had There are several crossing points closed the border and prevented on the Iraqi-Syrian border but all The Syrian Kurds have thus the Syrian Kurds from getting are controlled by Iraq with the asked the Kurdistan Regional supplied from Iraqi Kurdistan. exception of Pesh Khabour (Fish Government to open its borders Khabour in Arabic) in Duhok so that they can obtain supplies The Irbil government relied that Province, which is controlled by of food, medicines and fuel. Thus it had not closed any border the KRG. This Christian village, the Union of Kurdish Youth has point for the simple reason that built round a Mediaeval Church sent a written request tot the there wasn’t one with Syria but (destroyed by Saddam but KRG asking it to intervene and that the Presidential staff was recently rebuilt) borders Turkey saver the Kurds in Syria “ from dealing with the matter very seri - and Syria. It is separated from tragedy, suffering, displacement, the ously and was going to give its the latter by the Tigris, which destruction of houses and a slow official reply to the possible forms a natural border. There is death ”. In their message they opening of a passing point there no bridge for crossing the border, attack “ the presence of armed — a decision that, legally, was which has to be effected by boats groups claiming to be part of the solely incumbent on the Central or rafts. Syrian revolution who have sur - government — with which it was rounded the Kurdish regions and are on bad terms. Were the KRG to envisage build - looting all the food that is being ing a bridge to ease the passing imported into Western Kurdistan so Despite Irbil’s denial, the PKK or food and humanitarian aide, it as to reduce the Kurdish presence press agency, Firat News, broad - would have to be in defiance of there and change the change the cast a video that it claimed the Iraqi Army, with which the course of a peaceful revolution in “proved” that he KRG had Peshmergas have been on the Western Kurdistan ”. indeed closed the border. point of open conflict for several However the KRG replied that months — and particularly on The Kurdish National Council what had been filmed was one this part of the border. n° 333 • December 2012 Information and liaison bulletin • 7•

During all this, a visit by a delega - KNC also accuses the CNC “ of The PYD leader stated to the tion of the National Coordination not serving the Syrian revolution ” press that Nuri Maliki recognised Council (NCC) to the Iraqi Prime but trying, on the contrary, “ to the legitimacy of the Syrian revo - Minister has not helped to calm turn the Syrian people against this lution and that the Shiites consid - things down. This committee is revolution ”. ered the Syrian Baath was differ - recognised by Russia but not by ent from the Iraqi Baath, that he the United States and the powers The KNC considers that, on the had fought against. that support the Syria revolution basis of the agreements of coop - that consider it façade controlled eration and common action that, However, as the Kurdish criti - by the Syrian Baath. Originally in principle, link his party to the cisms became more persistent, he several Kurdish movements were other Kurdish parties since the ended by reporting an invitation members but they have all with - Irbil agreement, Salih Muslim, from Jalal Talabani that, in the drawn with the exception of the should have informed and con - circumstances was transferred to PYD. Indeed, it was the PYD lead - sulted with them before this visit Nuri Malaki. Salih Muslim also er, Salih Muslim, who came in and demands an apology. Its indicated that the aim of his visit person to meet Nuri al-Maliki annoyance is all the greater was to secure Iraqi humanitarian who is held in contempt by both because it had, itself, rejected an aid for Syria and the Kurds, the Iraqi Kurds, who accuse him invitation from the Turkish which turns the spotlights onto of wishing to end the federal Foreign Minister, Ahmet the idea of a future bridge at Constitution, and by the Syrian Davutoglu, because the PYD had Pesh Khabur: Was the sole aim of Kurds (except the PYD) for his not been invited. the visit to have Iraq open anoth - more or less implicit support of “Mr. Muslim had not taken out atti - er corridor that would enable the the Syrian regime. As the Kurdish tude regarding this invitation into PYD to avoid depending on the National Council in Syria (KBC), account nor does he observe the Irbil KRG for its supplies? For the through its leader Faysal Yousif, agreement. He has gone to meet moment this visit to Baghdad has has sharply remarked “ Maliki is Maliki without consulting the not produced any concrete result. considered an ally of the Syrian National Council. Although his regime. Consequently the Committee membership of the CNC is some The successive statements and of Coordination must reveal whether excuse, he could at least have refused denials of the last month show, Maliki has promised to support the to meet Maliki ”. more than anything else, that revolution or whether the they and relations between the PYD, Maliki have discussed other under the Rejecting these criticisms, Salih already tense enough with the table subjects … The Syrian people Muslim said he was “ free to make Kurdish National Council are has the right to know what the his own decisions and took orders becoming more acrimonious Committee of Coordination has asked from nobody ”, saying he represent - with the Kurdistan Regional of Maliki” . ed “ an independent political party, Government that, hitherto, had with its own agenda and plans ” maintained an attitude of arbitra - Mustafa Osi, secretary of the adding (in contradiction to this) tor in the Inter-Kurdish quarrels Azadi Party and a member of the that “ I did what was expected of me ”. in Syria.

IRAN: A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ASYLIM SEEKERS ran’s 2009 “ Green revo - because of their stands against activists are the most targeted in lution ” has had heavy the government. Iran, accused of being used by consequences for civil foreign powers. The most I society. This is under - This government pressure has oppressed ethnic minorities are lined by a recent report consequently led to a flood of the Kurds, the Azeris and the by Human Rights Watch (HRW), asylum seekers in Turkey and Arabs of Ahwaz. NGOs that entitled: “Why they left”, pub - Iraqi Kurdistan. Thus Turkey defend their rights are also lished last December. The report saw the number of Iranian exposed to persecution, arrests publishes the testimony of refugees rise by 72% between and severe sentences. dozens of Human Rights 2000 and 2011. Iraqi Kurdistan is defenders, journalist, bloggers, also often chosen, especially by HRW notes that, because of lawyers who have been threat - Iranian Kurds. Iran’s repressive policy towards ened and targeted by the Indeed, amongst those active in its minorities and what they call Security and Intelligence forces civil society, Human rights “cross border cultural relations ” • 8 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 333 • December 2012

the majority of the activists had worked with several civil soci - sentence was increased by 6 belonging to ethnic minorities ety organisations. months in June 2011. As the pres - fleeing to Turkey and Iraqi sures and harassment against his Kurdistan since 2005 are above On 23 June 2003, agents of the family were worsening, Shahram all Kurds. Security and Intelligence Bolouri decided to leave Iran. He Services searched his home in filed a request for asylum at the UN HRW also cites as an example Teheran transferred to the and HRC office in Iraq on 15 July 2011 the Human Rights Organisation arrested him. He was detained and is now seeking a host country of Kurdistan (HROK) founded for 8 months in Evin Prison, 45 where he could have the status of a in 2006 by Sadigh Kaboudvand. days of which were in solitary, political refugee. It once had as many as 200 in Sections 209 and 240 of that reporters covering all the prison that are run by the Media Byezid is a student activist Kurdish regions of Iran who Intelligence Service before being and blogger, expelled from Ispahan published their articles in transferred to the general sec - University after having taken part Payam-e Mardom (The People’s tion. He had been subjected to in the 2005 student demonstrations Message — now banned) of severe physical and mental tor - and having taken part in Mehdi which Sadigh Kaboudvand was ture by the guards. Karrouci’s campaign in 2008. On 12 the general manager and chief June 2009, he was charged with editor. He was arrested by the “My solitary cell [in Ward 240] mea - checking the poll count together Intelligence Service on 1 July sured 2.5 by 1 meter. It had a toilet and with others who had taken part in 2007 and taken to section 209 of no windows. Prison guards would Karroubi’s campaign. His team and Evin prison (Teheran) that they often come in and order me to stand, other activists who had cam - control. He was kept in solitary sit, and perform odd tasks just because paigned for Moussavi noted irregu - confinement for 6 months. they could. One of them once said to larities and reported them to the me, “You look like an athlete. Select authorities. Some officials of the In May 2008 the 15 th Chamber of your sport. Stand up and sit down for Ministry of the Interior answered the Revolutionary Court sen - me. One hundred times, and make sure them that they would be held tenced Sadigh Kaboudvand to 10 you count!” He made me do this sever - responsible for any “ disturbance s”. years imprisonment for actions al times even though I had a busted leg. against national security by I was sweating profusely but they They then left for Teheran to take founding HROK and an addition - didn’t let me shower. After two weeks part in the post-election demonstra - al years imprisonment for “ propa - the same guy opened the door to my cell tions. It was on his return to Saqqez ganda against the system by spread - and said, “Why does it smell like shit in on 7 November that Media ing news, opposition to Islamic law here?” He ordered me to go take a Byezid’s problems began. by stressing sentences such as ston - shower and wash my clothes ”. ing and executions and for having “I got a call to meet someone at argued in favour of prisoners ”. On 6 February, over 6 months after Payam-e Nur University in Saqqez his arrest the authorities released when I returned who said he wanted to In October 2008, the 54 th Shahram Bolouri for an extraordi - meet me. When I went there I noticed a Chamber of the Teheran Court narily high bail of $US 200,000. green car with two persons who of Appeal confirmed the sen - HRW mentions that several cases approached me. One of them said some - tence and. Since then HRW has were reported of enormous sums one had complained that I was harass - unceasingly demanded his demanded of families for bail as a ing them on the phone and I need to be release and his urgent need for form of psychological harassment questioned by [the police.] They put me medical attention. of both detainees and their families. in car, shoved my head down, and sped Shahram Bolouri said that the away. I later found out they were Shahram Bolouri, 27 years of age, financial pressures exerted on his Ministry of Intelligence agents. took part in demonstrations family were often worse for him We went to the local setad-e khabari105 protesting against the fraudulent than what he endured personally. of the Ministry of Intelligence. I was Presidential elections. He explained blindfolded. The interrogator came into to HRW that he had covered the In October 3010 a Teheran revolu - the room and began accusing me of acts of violence perpetrated by the tionary Court sentenced him to 4 having contacts with Kurdish guerrilla police against the demonstrators years jail for “ assembly and collusion groups. My father was in Koya [Iraqi and broadcast photos and videos against the State, for having taken part Kurdistan] and I had crossed the border by various media. Prior to this he in demonstrations, having communica - illegally into Iraqi Kurdistan several had been a member of a Kurdish tion with foreign media and spreading times. He accused me of having con - Association, a Teheran based NGO news ”. After he had appealed, his tacts with PJAK [Kurdish Party for n° 333 • December 2012 Information and liaison bulletin • 9•

Free Life of Kurdistan] and other responsibilities in the HROOK but Amir Babekri had to answer many banned Kurdish parties. When I after the arrests in 2006 and 2007 of questions about his contacts with refused to admit these contacts he Sadigh Kaboudvand and Saman HROK. He was finally force to slapped me and said, “This is not your Rasoulpour, two of the organisa - admit he was a member of HROK aunt’s house!” Then he said they had tions leaders, the group reduced its but refused to give the names of been tapping my phone for a while and activity. people with whom he worked clan - played recordings of my conversa - destinely. He was finally accused tions ”.” In 2010, after the execution of by the authorities of being an Farzad Jamangar and several other “enemy of God” (moharabeh — Byezid said his interrogation lasted Kurdish activists, Mamandi and his punishable by death), membership 7 or 8 hours. The Authorities beat colleagues in HROK help conduct a of an illegal group and of having him and harassed him several strike in Iran’s Kurdish regions. secretly gone to Iraqi Kurdistan. It times over the 13 days during The strike was a success and this took 2 or 3 minutes to read his which he was in detention at the irritated the authorities. He, along charge sheet to the Urmiah Court; Intelligence Ministry. They finally with others, was identified as he had no defence counsel and saw released him but continued to sum - ringleaders. On 22 May 2010 he several officers of the Revolution mon him for interrogations till he fled to Iraqi Kurdistan. Guards present in the courtroom. left the country Amir Babekri was a teacher and He was tried 4 months later and his Hezha (Ahmad) Mamandi is an journalist at Piranshaht, a town trial lasted 30 minutes, This time activist for Kurdish rights and one with a mainly Kurdish population there was a lawyer present. The of the oldest members of the in Western Azerbaijan Province. charge of moharebeh was not Human Rights Organisation of Amir Babekri joined HROK in 2005 pressed but he was found guilty of Kurdistan (HROK). He was initial - and worked on various issues “propaganda against the State” and ly sentenced to 11 months jail for affecting Kurdish rights. A of membership of HROK. His sen - various charges of endangering Revolutionary Guards unit came to tence was fifteen months in prison. National Security. Intelligence offi - arrest him in December 2010 at the cers arrested him several times in primary school where he was Because of constant pressure exert - 2005 because of his activity in teaching. ed on him and the fact that he HROK and with other local groups. could no longer teach at “Three armed men stuck me into a Piranshahr, Amir Babekri decided “I was at Mahabad’s Azad University Toyota and took me to the local deten - to leave Iran and to file a request and I was collecting signatures (in tion centre. There they tried to impli - for asylum at the HCR office in 2006) when several Intelligence officers cate me with some Kurdish parties. I Iraqi Kurdistan on 15 July 2010. arrested me along with another col - denied this. They threatened to send me league. Put us in a car and drove us to to Urmiah if I refused to cooperate. I An activist for Kurdish rights, the local detention centre. We were told then to go ahead and do it. They Rebin Rahmani was arrested by the interrogated for two weeks. They asked hit me several times the last night security forces on 19 November many questions about HROK and its before sending me to Urmiah but I was 2006 at Kermanshah. It the time he relations with America. They beat us not tortured . was working on research project on several times but took care not to hit us drug addiction and HIV in in the face. I was not able to see a (In the Urmiah detention centre ) Kermanshah Province. After his lawyer. After 2 weeks I was sent, with there were 40 of us in two rooms. The arrest he was about 2 another my colleague, for trial by the Mahabad authorities accused some of us of hav - months detention in the Intelligent Revolutionary Court. The court session ing links with the PJAK. There were Dept, premises. He was interrogat - lasted 3 or 4 minutes. When we tried to interrogations every day and we could ed by both the Kermanshah agents speak to the judge he drove us out of hear screams. I was interrogated for 18 and those of Sanandaj (Sine, in the courtroom. We were transferred to days in all but I was transferred in a Kurdistan Province) and was sub - the Mahabad Central Prison where, a car to another detention about 5-6 min - jected to both physical and psycho - little later, I discovered that I’d been utes away for interrogation. I was logical torture. sentenced to 20 months jail for actions blindfolded. Like the others I was sub - against national security and having jected to all kinds of ill treatment. In January 2007, a revolutionary disturbed public order ”. Sometimes they threw us out into the Court sentenced him to 5 years snow. At other times they handcuffed prison for “actions against national On appeal, his sentence was us to a wall and forced us to sland on security” and “propaganda against reduced to10 months and he was tiptoes. They also beat us on the head the State”. The trial took just 15 released in 2006. He resumed his with sticks ”. minutes and there were no lawyers. • 10 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 333 • December 2012

On appeal the sentence was 2009 for having cooperated with way that I was forced to stand on reduced to 2 years. several organisations like the tiptoe, they gave me electric shocks HROK, HRA and the One Million on the toes and fingers, they beat Rebin Rahmani, who was detained Signatures campaign. Intelligence me. They asked me why I had lists in Kermanshah’s Dizel Abad Prison agents had started to target him of prisoners with me and why I was then several times transferred when Farzad Kamangar was sen - was collecting signatures for the to the Intelligence Ministry’s local tenced to death in March 2008 as One Million Signatures campaign. premises to be subjected to further Farzad Kamangar was then giving interrogations, always under tor - several interviews broadcast in for - Fayegh Roorast told HRW that he ture, and periods of solitary con - eign media about the arrest of had refused to give any names. The finement. They also threatened to Farzad Kamangar, Zainab Bayazidi authorities released him at the arrest members of his family to put and other Kurdish activists for beginning of 2010. He left Iran in pressure on him. He twice attempt - Kurdish rights, the summer of the same year. ed to commit suicide by the author - ities never succeeded in adding fur - On 15 January 2009, Intelligence Yaser Goli was a student activist ther charges to his case. agents attacked his father’s shop and secretary of the Students’ and arrested the latter. Soon after Democratic Union of Kurdistan. In Released in 2006,he learned that he they came to Fayegh Roorast’s 2006 Intelligence agents arrested had been expelled from university home and seized some of his per - him. He was given a 4 month sus - and could no longer continue his sonal belongings without arresting pended sentence. The University studies. He then joined the local him. However, 2 days later he was authorities prevented him from branch of the Human Rights summoned, with his brother, his continuing his studies as a punish - Activist in Iran (HRA) but using a sister and his aunt to the Mahabad ment for his political activities. In pseudonym, as he feared being offices of the Intelligence Service. addition to his activity in the arrested again. Before fleeing to He was accused of working with Students’ Democratic Union of Iraqi Kurdistan, he was able to Banned Kurdish opposition groups Kurdistan, Yaser Goli was involved interview several families and draw like the PJAK. His family was with several organisations of civil up reports for HRA, mostly on released but he remained 17 days in society, such as the One Million breaches of human rights commit - detention. Signatures campaign, Azarmehr, ted by the Government in Iran’s the Kurdish Women’s Association Kurdish regions. He was also “At the Mahabad Intelligence Ministry that organises workshops and responsible for the HRA Web site. I was threatened and harassed every sports activities for women, and the day. My interrogator played the good human rights committee of the In March 2010 there was a large- cop role who urged me to cooperate and Students’ Democratic Union of scale dragnet against human rights than the bad cop role when I refused to Kurdistan. activists, including the HRA, in do what he wanted. He hit me and Teheran and other major cities. threatened to take it out on members of At the end of 2007, while he was Rebin Rahmani succeeded in escap - my family and even to rape them. After continuing his activities and protest - ing because his cover was never five days interrogation and beatings he ing against the University’s decision revealed within HRA. However, in told me: “From now on you will not to expel him, the security forces the same month, he took part in a only be interrogated. Now I am respon - arrested him and transferred him to demonstration against the execu - sible for teaching you ”. a detention centre in Sanandaj, man - tion of several Kurdish political aged by the Intelligence service. He prisoners and the local authorities Fayegh Roorast was then trans - was interrogated for 3 months, sub - placed him under surveillance. In ferred to the Urmiah Intelligence jected to physical and psychological December 2010 the security forces Ministry offices. torture and kept in solitary confine - searched his home soon after he ment. In November 2008 a revolu - had taken part in a rally before the “The authorities kept me in solitary tionary Court sentenced him to 15 Sanandaj prison to protest at the confinement for several days. There years imprisonment in exile (i.e. out - execution of Habibollah Latifi. He were three interrogation or torture side his own province, at Kerman, then felt he had to flee to Iraqi cells in rooms at a lower level. I 1000 Km from Sanandaj) for being Kurdistan and registered a request heard horrible noises coming from “an enemy of God ”. He received tem - for asylum in Irbil on 6 March 2011. them. I was taken there 15 or 15 porary permission to go out on bail times. The place stank of urine and for medical treatment for a serious Fayegh Roorast, a Kurdish activist excrement, they subjected me to all heart complaint. He and his family and law student at Urmiah kinds of torture, they suspended fled to Iraqi Kurdistan in March University was arrested in January me by my wrists to a wall is such a 2010. n° 333 • December 2012 Information and liaison bulletin • 11 •

Amin Khawala is a journalist. He to 5 years jail but her sentence was indifference and the idea that the worked as correspondent for finally commuted and she only did offices make little effort to find Saqqez News Centre (SNC) and 6 months them a country of asylum since the informed HRW of the pressures KRG is a “safe” area. Many of them and threats with which reporters in On 14 January 2008 she was again have secretly emigrated to Europe Kurdistan Province were faced. arrested by the Sanandaj without waiting for the HCR to Intelligence. A Revolutionary Court find them a country of asylum. Ever since SNC began its activities sentenced her to 25 months for in 2006, he was subjected to pres - actions against national security. She In the last five years only 36 Iranian sure from the authorities because of spent part of this in solitary isolation Kurds have found a country of asy - the sensitive subjects regarding the in Khorassan Province, 1000 Km lum whereas their numbers have Kurds that the Centre treated. For from her home. Following her continually increased. In 2007 there example it had published lists of release, she and her husband were were 500 registered, in October names dozens of smugglers shot constantly watched and summoned 2012 the average number being reg - down by the Iranian police and by Sanandaj Intelligence. Fatemeh istered every week was between 9 border guards as well as the names Goftari finally left Iran in March and 10 Iranian refugees. of government leaders involved in 2011 after refusing a summons and cases of corruption or of opposition escaping an attempt to arrest her The HCR stated to HRW that they or human rights activists arrested during which she was struck. were working satisfactorily with by the security forces. The SNC the KRG and had a positive opin - also covered, in Kurdistan, the The situation of these refugees in ion of the way the Kurdish region political events that followed the Iraqi Kurdistan is subject to the treated the Iranian asylum seekers. fraudulent elections of 2009. The KRG’s dependence on the rest of One official said he had not heard Security searched the home of edi - Iraq. In fact, Iraq did not sign the of any threats or expulsions in the tor in chief, Atta Hamedi, on 4 1951 Convention of Refugees and region, another said that sometimes January 2011 and confiscated his thus it is the HCR that is responsi - refugees had been threatened with personal belongings, while in April ble for registering and handling expulsion to Iran is they had 2011 the Centre’s Web site was fil - requests for asylum in Iraq. caused “ security problems ” but that tered. However, the majority of Iranians the HCR had intervened in these registered in Iraq as refugees did so cases and that, in the last five years, PI was summoned and warned in the Kurdish Region. In October no one had been expelled to Iran several times by the Intelligence 2012 they numbered 9636. Most of for such reasons. Ministry. They threatened me and them are Kurdish and many have said I had blasphemed. They also been there since 1980. However the Iranian Kurds com - accused me of being involved in plain to HRW that they had been criminal and terrorist activities. I A HCR official in Irbil explained to “warned ” by Kurdish police or had already received a suspended the HRW investigators that the intelligence officers to abstain from sentence of 2 years from a countries likely to accept these political activities or to be less Revolutionary Court in 2011. They threatened Iranians, especially the openly critical of Iran. threatened to reopen the case and European ones, show little enthusi - send me to prison as well so I fled asm for this fearing of problems of One Iranian asylum seeker anony - to Iraqi Kurdistan. integration in the host country and mously said that he had several the conviction that these Iranian times been “ warned ” by the resi - Since Amin Khawala’s flight on 3 Kurds had been in Iraqi Kurdistan dents office or by the Asayish March 2011, the Iranian police have for many years and were thus well (police) to abstain from attacking harassed and persecuted his family integrated there and the idea is the lack of human rights in Iran to force him to return to Iran. generally accepted idea that the and that a leading official had clear - Iraqi Kurdistan Region is a safe ly said that the KRG “ would not sac - Fatemeh Goftari was a member of place and that asylum seekers had rifice its relations with the Iranians ” Azarmehr, co-founder of Mothers adequate access to basic needs. The even if the safety of an Iranian of Kurdistan for Peace and has Iranian Kurds that arrived in the refugee was involved. Other wit - been active in the One Million 1980s and had not been rehoused nesses confirm this policy of threats Signatures campaign. The in other countries are not natu - that aims to restrict the right to Inteligence Service arrested her in ralised Iraqi citizens. move freely or their status of resi - 2002 in Sanandaj and accused her dents, so as to discourage the asy - of propaganda against the State. A The Iranian Kurds complains about lum seekers from pursuing their Revolutionary Court sentenced her the HCR are about this feeling of militant activities. • 12 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 333 • December 2012

The procedure for obtaining the secure a permit as a permanent res - parties in exile or from Iraqi right to reside in the KRG is simple: ident. He could either be consid - Kurdish political parties as a condi - if a refugee enters Iraqi Kurdistan ered to be a simple “ migrant worker ” tion for securing or renewing resi - he must first register with the HCR or else enrolee in a political party. dential permits. HRW asks that who will give him a written certifi - Another Iranian refugee com - restrictions of movement and resi - cate recording his request. He then plained that his residence permit dence be on an individual basis and has to go to the local police to had not been renewed after he had only on grounds of “ public health ” secure a 10-day residential permit. demonstrated several times against or “ national security ”. Then he has to go to the KRG Iran and against the KRG authori - Directorate of Residents for an ties that had threatened him with In its recommendations to other interview. If he obtains a security expulsion. countries likely to host asylum clearance her will have residential Finally the refugees report that seekers, namely the European permit, renewable every 6 months. pressures are exercised on their Union, Canada, Australia and the If he has difficulty is securing this families in Iran once the authorities USA, it gave them to understand clearance he will receive a permit there discover that they are in Iraqi that some refugees from Iran were that is renewable every month. Kurdistan. Some have even not able to “ integrate locally in received threats by telephone and Northern Iraq ” and that they should To secure this clearance, the Iraqi much fear that the Iranian secret reconsider settling them. Kurdish authorities demand from services could take it out on them the refugees letters of support or directly on Iraqi territory, but the Commenting on the refugees in recommendations from the Iranian HCR is unable to see whether these Turkey, HRW pointed out that that opposition in exile in Kurdistan or fears are well founded. country had refused to let Dr from Iraqi Kurdish political parties Ahmed Shaheen, UN reporter on like the KDP or PUK. Many The HRW has asked the KRG to human rights in Iran, to enter the activists dislike this kind of ease these restrictions regarding country to meet asylum seekers approach and do not want to be activists that engage in non-violent and called on Ankara to lift this ban linked to a party. political activity. It also asks for an and to register and welcome Without such “sponsorship” it end to the requirement of “ guaran - Iranian refugees in a more satisfac - seems difficult for refugees to tees ” and “ protection ” from Iranian tory manner.

CULTURE: ADEL IMAM VISITS IRBIL TORECEIVE A TRIBUTE TO HIS WORK

he famous Egyptian actor, worldwide so as to support their his visit to the Kurdistan region, Adel Imam visited Irbil cause. expressing the affection that links him on 4 December as the Speaking at a press conference the to the Kurds. He said that, in the T guest of the Satellite Egyptian actor stated “ he knew all course of his travels: “ When people in Television channel al- about the problems faced by the Kurds Turkey, Iran or Iraq came to embrace me I Aadel and a Kurdish businessman, and to be aware of the rights which always ended up by discovering that they as a tribute to his role in the series they demanded and their wish for ”, were Kurds. My relations with the “Nagy Attallah’s team ” as well as for stressing that the Kurds should Kurdish people are unending, whether by his career as a whole. express themselves more through email, speech or phone calls they express art and culture at an international admiration for my art. I am sure that you Accompanied by his son Rami, level: “ This would greatly support the love Adel Imam and Adel Imam loves you the superstar of Arab films urged Kurdish question ”. too ” he ended, addressing his fans in the Kurds to spread their culture Adel Imam said he was pleased with Kurdish. Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti

ÎUtaUaSarUM.!» DECEMBER5'2012 Armed standoff returns Iraq to crisis mode

/

i'lT'. V:.-V.. :£- ;1*'

tl. V* ;t .»w,«j >' '» V- .- * i> ;* ïrk ,,1" ; :,' t # ';:

'""?*''; t! : .< »»'"

AZAD LASHKARI/REUTERS

Kurdish Peshmerga forces gathering outside Kirkuk. Baghdad sent reinforcements to the area after a clash with Kurds last month.

the Peshmerga, and the forces remain "It will be an ethnic conflict BAGHDAD there in a standoff. that is not in the interest of Almost a year after the departure of both parties. War is not a Attempt to arrest Kurd the American military closed a painful chapter in the histories of both the game or a picnic." exposes longstanding United States and Iraq, Iraq finds itself in a familiar position: full-blown crisis ethnic rift with Arabs against Hashimi and is ending with mode, this time with two standing tanks on the edge of the Kurdish moun¬ armies, one loyal to the central govern¬ tains," said Sarmed al-Tai, a columnist BYTIMARANGO ment in Baghdad and the other com¬ for the newspaper Mada, which ran a AND DURAID ADNAN manded by the Kurdish regional gov¬ story on Sunday on the anniversary of ernment in the north, staring at each It was just the sort of episode that ex¬ the U.S. military's departure that de¬ other through gun sights, as officials in perts have long worried could provoke a scribed the exit as "leaving a large va¬ Baghdad, including U.S. diplomats and serious conflict: When Iraqi federal po¬ cuum and a significant deterioration of a U.S. general, try to mediate. lice agents sought to arrest a Kurdish the national partnership." Iraq is closing the year as it began, man last month in the city of Tuz Khur- As American troops left at the end of with a major confrontation that has ex¬ mato in the Kurdish north of Iraq, a gun- 2011, Mr. Maliki sent tanks to surround posed sectarian and ethnic rifts. that fight ensued with security men loyal to Mr. Hashimi's home in the Green Zone hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars and the Kurdish regional government. of Baghdad. An arrest warrant led to thousands of lives have not reconciled. When the bullets stopped flying, a ci¬ Mr. Hashimi's self-imposed exile, first At the start of the year, it was the sec¬ vilian bystander was dead and at least in the Kurdish north and then Turkey; a tarian divide between Shiites and Sun- eight people were wounded. trial in absentia followed, then the hand¬ nis that was on vivid display when the In response, the Iraqi prime minister, ing down of not one but two death sen¬ government of Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, is¬ Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, rushed troop re¬ tences. Mr. Hashimi now lives in a sub¬ sued an arrest warrant on terrorism inforcements to the area, and Massoud urban high-rise apartment in Istanbul, charges against the Sunni vice presi¬ Barzani, the president of Iraq's semi- where he is protected by Turkish guards dent, Tariq al-Hashimi. autonomous northern Kurdish region, and remains defiant. "The year started with the warrant dispatched his own soldiers, known as "Legally, I am still a vice president." Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

he said in a recent interview, adding, "I Efforts at mediation, backed by the Exxon, in violation of Baghdad's laws. do have a lot of time to look after the fu¬ Americans, have so far failed to reach Of Mr. Maliki's efforts to control secu¬ ture of my country." resolution. On Monday, Mr. Maliki and rity in Kirkuk, Mr. Hiltermann said, The latest crisis is an ethnic one, be¬ Mr. Barzani sent more troops to the "Obviously, he's doing it to poke Bar¬ tween Kurds and Arabs, and the con¬ area, with each side accusing the other zani in the eye." sequences are potentially more serious of doing so first. Mr. Maliki warned the Now some Kurdish officials, recalling because the Kurds, in contrast to the Kurds of the "seriousness of their beha¬ the role the U.S. military played in help¬ Sunni Arabs, enjoy a measure of auton¬ vior" and warned of its "con¬ ing secure autonomy for the Kurdish re¬ gion after the. Gulf War in 1991 by insti¬ omy in the north, control their own secu¬ sequences." A spokesman for the Pesh- tuting a no-flight zone, are calling for rity forces and have longstanding ambi¬ merga said, "Anything is possible." the unlikely return to Iraq of U.S. tions for independence. Some Arabs in the area are yearning troops. Tuz Khurmato, the city where the for a fight. "We are in favor of a military For average Iraqis, who have a life¬ clash occurred, is of mixed ethnicity, conflict with the Kurds, because without time of experiences of war and brink¬ where Turkmens, Arabs and Kurds a conflict we will remain frustrated, de¬ manship backed by threats of violence, compete for power. It lies in a region pressed and with no power at all," said there is a sense of the solemnly familiar, around the city of Kirkuk, an area of Sheik Abdul Rasheed, the head of an even as they worry that the latest flare- vast potential oil wealth that is at the Arab political council in Kirkuk. up in tensions between Arabs and center of a power struggle between The Kurds have cast the conflict in the Kurds might lead to direct conflict. Kurds and Arabs. historical context of their struggle "My grandfather had a date palm As part of his brutal rule, Saddam against Saddam Hussein, but this time tree, and when I was 4 years old, I Hussein moved tens of thousands of against Mr. Maliki, whose accrual of opened my eyes and saw a tank near the Arabs into the area to dilute what was power over the last year has raised date palm tree," said Mr. Tai, the colum¬ historically a Kurdish stronghold. After alarms in Baghdad and Washington. nist for Al Mada, who grew up in the his fall, thousands of displaced Kurds Mr. Barzani, in a statement, said, "The southern city of Basra and fled to Iran demanded the right to return to the Kurdistan region is ready to defend its after Mr. Hussein turned his tanks and homes they had been driven from, cre¬ soil and all its citizens." helicopter gunships on his own people ating tensions that have yet to subside. Mr. Maliki, in a news conference over at the end of the Gulf War. "Now, I see The latest crisis began after Mr. Ma- the weekend, said: "It is not a struggle tanks outside my newspaper." liki sought to consolidate his control against a dictator. It will be an ethnic over security in Kirkuk, where Kurdish conflict that is not in the interest of both Duraid Adrian reportedfrom Baghdad and Iraqi forces have shared responsi¬ parties." He added, "War is not a game and Kirkuk. bility for security, and it reached a criti¬ or a picnic." cal stage after the gunfight. Analysts say the tensions are also "This is a red line for the Kurds," said rooted in the political rivalry between Joost R. Hiltermann, an Iraq expert at Mr. Maliki and Mr. Barzani, who this the International Crisis Group in Wash¬ year tried to assemble a parliamentary ington. "Maliki is essentially taking coalition to oust Mr. Maliki from office. control of the police. And the Kurds will Mr. Barzani has also engineered oil never give up the city." deals with international companies, like

6 DÉCEMBRE 2012 - N° 2509

obtenu 50 missiles antiaériens Stin¬ ger (de fabrication américaine) pour abattre les avions du régime. Et par Les missiles le. . .« Washington Post ». Le quotidien américain, qui cite des responsables du renseignement occidentaux et de la rébellion proche-orientaux, affirme que cer¬ tains des missiles sol-air aux mains des rebelles ont été récemment livrés

C'est un tournant dans le par le Qatar. Jusqu'ici, les Etats-Unis

conflit syrien : pour la pre¬ Un avion syrien abattu par avaient empêché le Qatar et l'Arabie

mière fois depuis le début les rebelles à Daret Ezza Saoudite de fournir des armes de l'insurrection, en mars lourdes à l'opposition de peur qu'elles 2011, les rebelles ont utilisé des mis¬ ne tombent entre les mains de siles sol-air pour abattre un hélicop¬ groupes djihadistes liés à Al-Qaida, tère et un avion les 27 et28 novembre, présents en Syrie. Côté français, on '\ entre Alep et Idlib, dans le nord du * i *« affirme respecter l'embargo euro¬

pays. Les images ont été diffusées sur péen et ne pas livrer d'armes aux les télévisions du monde entier. rebelles syriens. Pourtant, au lende¬ ),..... ^ Un hélicoptère de l'armée syrienne main de la reconnaissance par la vole au-dessus de Daret Ezza, dans la France de la coalition élargie de l'op¬ position, Laurent Fabius avait été le province d'Alep, quand il est soudain abattu par un missile. « II a été tou¬ premier ministre occidental à évo¬ libre de l'intérieur a utilisé des mis¬ quer la possibilité d'une levée de ché '.AllahAkbar!», s'exclament des siles russes qui appartenaient au l'embargo sur « les armes défensives » rebelles. Quelques heures plus tard, régime syrien et dont les rebelles se c'est au tour d'un chasseur bombar¬ en direction de l'Armée libre. Elle sont emparés. Une version vivement dierd'être abattu au-dessus du même pourrait avoir officieusement com¬ contestée par le chefde la diplomatie village. Selon un porte-parole de son mencé, prélude à l'instauration russe, Sergueï Lavrov, qui avait pré¬ d'une « zone libérée » au nord de la commandement, l'Armée syrienne venu que les rebelles syriens avaient Syrie, sara daniel Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 5 décembre 2012

Kurdistan dans la région. L'opération se poursuivait mer- credi, a précisé le gouverne- L'armée turque tue 13 militants ment provincial. Ankara estime que le regain du PKK près de la Syrie de violences commises par le 'armée turque appuyée par du gouverneur de la région insurgés kurdes le long des PKK depuis cet été est lié à la des hélicoptères a bom- d'Osmaniye. frontières avec l'Irak et l'Iran. situation en Syrie et accuse le bardé des positions des rebelles L'offensive a été lancée L L'intervention a été décidée président Bachar al Assad de kurdes du PKK près de la fron- lundi dans la partie occidentale sur la base d'informations des soutenir et d'armer les tière syrienne, tuant treize com- de la Turquie, loin de
services de renseignement insurgés. battants et en capturant cinq l'habituelle zone de combat signalant la présence de mem- autres, rapportent les services entre les troupes turques et les bres du Parti des travailleurs du

4 DÉCEMBRE 2012

L'avion du ministre turc de l'Énergie

Alors que les tensions entrenon Bagdad et grataAnkara sont vives en depuis Irak plusieurs mois, l'Irak a interdit, mardi, l'atterrissage de l'avion transportant le ministre turc de l'Energie Taner Yildiz (photo) à Erbil, capitale du Kurdistan irakien. Dohouk, une des trois provinces de la Par FRANCE 24 région autonome du Kurdistan irakien. Ces accords, signés par Saddam Hussein en Victime des tensions exacerbées entre 1995, permettent à l'armée turque d'avoir Bagdad et Ankara, l'avion transportant le une présence dans les régions septentrio- ministre turc de l’Énergie, Taner Yildiz, n’a nales de l'Irak afin de traquer le Parti des pas eu le droit d’atterrir dans la ville d’Erbil, travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK). capitale du Kurdistan, région autonome du LE SPECTRE D'UN CONFLIT ETHNIQUE nord de l’Irak. L'appareil a dû atterrir à De son côté, alors que de nombreux griefs Kayseri, dans le sud-est de la capitale L'AFFAIRE TAREK HACHÉMI turque. opposent Bagdad et Erbil, Ankara s’est rap- Mais, si le gouvernement irakien a invoqué proché de l’administration autonome kurde Taner Yildiz devait assister à une confé- des "raisons techniques" pour justifier sa du Nord irakien. Au cœur des tensions rence internationale sur le gaz et le pétrole décision, cet incident intervient alors que entre le gouvernement central et la région et y rencontrer des responsables kurdes les relations entre Bagdad et Ankara sont autonome : l’exploitation des hydrocar- pour parachever la conclusion d'un accord particulièrement tendues depuis plusieurs bures. Le gouvernement irakien reproche énergétique avec les autorités du mois. au Kurdistan de signer des contrats avec Kurdistan. Ankara refuse en effet d’extrader Tarek des compagnies pétrolières étrangères en "Nous n’avons interdit à aucun avion Hachémi, vice-président sunnite d’Irak se passant de son aval. d’entrer dans notre espace aérien (...) mais condamné à mort dans son pays et réfugié Des négociations entamées pour tenter nous avons des législations spéciales pour en Turquie depuis décembre 2011. Son d’apaiser les relations entre Erbil et Bagdad le vol de certains avions", a déclaré aux arrestation a été ordonnée par le Premier ont d’ailleurs échoué cette semaine, faisant agences de presse Nasser Bandar, le chef ministre irakien, le chiite Nouri al Maliki, qui craindre au Premier ministre irakien Nouri de l’Autorité de l’aviation civile irakienne. l’accuse d’avoir dirigé des "escadrons de la al-Maliki un "conflit ethnique". "Si un conflit "Les Emirats arabes unis, la Jordanie et la mort". éclate, ce serait malheureux et douloureux, Turquie ont transmis une demande En représailles, début novembre, le gou- et ce sera un conflit ethnique", qui n'est d’obtention d’autorisation pour des vols pri- "pas dans l'intérêt des Kurdes, ni des vés et nous avons refusé ces trois requêtes vernement irakien a exclu la compagnie pétrolière turque TPAO d'un important Arabes, ni des Turkmènes", a déclaré M. car elles allaient à l’encontre des lois et Maliki lors d'une conférence de presse à contrat d'exploration dans le sud de l'Irak. H régulations irakiennes", a poursuivi M. Bagdad. Bandar, précisant que le contrôle de tout En octobre, le gouvernement irakien a l'espace aérien de l'Irak relève du gouver- réclamé au Parlement l'abrogation nement central à Bagdad, même pour la d'accords autorisant les bases militaires région autonome du Kurdistan. étrangères sur son sol, une décision visant les bases militaires turques situées à

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

îîera«S^Sribunc mqnday, December 3, 2012

Iraq failing to cut flow of arms to Syria from Iran, U.S. fears

Adding to the United States' frustra¬ sometimes disguised as religious pil¬ WASHINGTON tions, Iran appears to have been tipped grims, tourists and businessmen, the of¬

off by Iraqi officials as to when inspec¬ ficials say. BY MICHAEL R. GORDON, tions would be conducted, American of¬ Iranian flights of weapons to Syria ERIC SCHMITT AND TIM ARANGO ficials say, citing classified reports by drew the concern of American officials The U.S. effort to stem the flow of Irani¬ U.S. intelligence analysts. soon after the withdrawal of U.S. forces an arms to Syria has faltered because of Iran's continued efforts to aid the Syr¬ from Iraq in December.. Iraq does not Iraq's reluctance to inspect aircraft car¬ ian government were described in inter¬ have an air force and is unable to en¬ rying the weapons through its airspace, views with a dozen U.S. administration, force control of its own airspace, making American officials say. military and congressional officials, it easier for Iran to ferry arms to Syria. The shipments have persisted at a crit¬ most of whom requested anonymity be¬ Under U.S. pressure, Iraqi officials ical time for President Bashar al-Assad cause they were not authorized to dis¬ persuaded the Iranians to hold off on the of Syria, who has come under increasing cuss"intelligence matters. flights as Iraq prepared to host a sum¬ military pressure from rebel fighters. "The abuse of Iraqi airspace by Iran mit meeting of Arab leaders in March. The air corridor over Iraq has emerged continues to be a concern,' ' a U.S. official Soon after the meeting, Mr. Obama, in as a main supply route for weapons in¬ said. "We urge Iraq to be diligent and an April 3 call to Mr. Maliki, underscored cluding rockets, antitank missiles, rock¬ consistent in fulfilling its international that the flights should not continue. et-propelled grenades and mortars. obligations and commitments, either by But after a bombing in Damascus in July that killed ranking members of Mr. Iran has an enormous stake in Syria, continuing to require flights over Iraqi Assad's government, the Iranian flights which is its closest ally in the Arab territory en route to Syria from Iran to resumed. Vice President Joseph R. world. It has also provided a channel for land for inspection, or by denying over¬ Biden Jr. raised U.S. concerns over the Iran's support to the Lebanese Islamist flight requests for Iranian aircraft going flights in an Aug. 17 phone call with Mr. movement Hezbollah. to Syria." Maliki. So did Denis McDonough, Mr. To the disappointment of the adminis¬ Iraqi officials say they oppose the fer¬ Obama's deputy national security ad¬ tration of President Barack Obama, U.S. rying of arms through Iraqi airspace. viser, who met with Mr. Maliki in Bagh¬ efforts to persuade Iraq to randomly in¬ They also cite claims by Iran that it is dad in October. spect the flights have been largely un¬ merely delivering humanitarian aid, and When Mr. McDonough raised con¬ successful. they call the U.S. charges unfounded. cerns over the inspection of the plane Adding to U.S. concerns, Western in¬ "We wouldn't be able to convince that was on its way back to Iran, Mr. Ma¬ telligence officials say that there are them, even if we searched all the air¬ liki responded that he was not aware new signs of activity at sites in Syria planes, because they have prejudged that the inspection had been carried out that are being used to store chemical the situation," Ali al-Moussawi, the that way, according to one account of weapons. The officials are uncertain spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri the meeting by an American official. whether Syrian forces are preparing to Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq, said of the U.S. A spokeswoman for the National Se¬ use the weapons in a last-ditch effort to concerns. "Our policy is that we will not allow the transfer of arms to Syria" curity Council in Washington declined save the government, or if they are Mr. Moussawi acknowledged that one to comment. simply sending a warning to the West of the planes was not inspected until it about the implications of providing TimArango reportedfrom Baghdad.

more help to the Syrian rebels. David E. Sanger contributed reporting. "The abuse of Iraqi airspace by "It's in some ways similar to what they've done before," said a senior U.S. Iran continues to be a concern." official who was not authorized to dis¬ cuss intelligence matters and who was returning from Damascus, but he spoke on the condition of anonymity. said it was a simple error. "Mistakes "But they're doing some things that sometimes occur," he said. suggest they intend to use the weapons. But one former Iraqi official, who It's not just moving stuff around. These asked not to be identified because he are different kind of activities.' ' feared retaliation by the Iraqi govern¬ The official said, however, that the ment, said that some officials in Bagh¬ Syrians had not carried out the most dad had been doing the bare minimum blatant steps toward using the chemical to placate the United States and were in weapons, like preparing them to be fired fact sympathetic to the Iranian efforts in by artillery batteries or loaded in bombs Syria. to be dropped from warplanes. The Iranian flights present challenges Regarding the arms shipments, Sec¬ for the Obama administration, Which has retary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton been reluctant to provide arms to the had secured a commitment from Iraq's Syrian rebels or to establish a no-flight foreign minister in September that Iraq zone over Syria for fear of becoming en¬ would inspect flights to Syria from Iran. tangled in the conflict. But the Iraqis have inspected only two, Iranian support for Syria is vital to the most recently on Oct. 27. No weapons Assad government, U.S. officials say. In were found, but one of the two planes addition to flying arms and ammunition that landed in Iraq for inspection was on to Syria, Iran's paramilitary Quds Force its way back to Iran after delivering its has been sending trainers and advisers, cargo in Syria. Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

5 décembre 2012 La Syrie continue de diviser M. Poutine et M. Erdogan

A Istanbul, le président russe a critiqué le projet de déploiement de missiles Patriot en Turquie

Istanbul Depuis, le survol du territoire turc a notamment du stock d'armes cou a vivement critiqué le déploie¬ Correspondance étéinterdit auxappareils militaires chimiques dont dispose sonvoisin ment de missiles Patriot. «Mettre et civils à destination de la Syrie. et craint une attaque aveugle, en en place des capacités additionnel- oins de deux mois après La visite de Vladimir Poutine cas de chute de Bachar Al-Assad. les surlafrontière ne calmerapas la

l'incident provoqué par intervientcette fois à laveille d'une Lundi, l'armée turque a envoyé situation mais au contraire risque . » l'interception, par la Tur¬ réunion de l'OTAN, à Bruxelles, où ses jets patrouillerle longde la fron¬ de l'exacerber», a dénoncé, lundi, le

quie, d'unavion russe à destination l'Alliance pourrait donner son aval tière à la suite d'un énième inci¬ président russe.

de Damas, la courte visite à .au déploiement de missiles sol-air dent. L'aviation du régime baasiste Pragmatiques, la Turquie et la

Istanbul du président russe, Vladi¬ Patriot sur le sol turc, pour proté¬ a lourdement bombardé Ras-Al- Russieont toutefois pris-garde à ne

mir Poutine, lundi 3 décembre, n'a ger la frontière turco-syrienne. Aïn, terrain d'affrontements, pas compromettre des échanges,

pas vraiment permis d'aplanir les Deuxà quatrebatteries ainsi qu'en¬ depuis unmois entregroupes rebel¬ principalement économiques,

différends mais au moins de les viron 170 hommes pourraient être les islamistes et combattants kur¬ « enprogrès significatifs depuis dix exprimer. installés à Diyarbakir, Urfa ou Mala- des, à la frontière turque. Au moins ans » comme l'a souligné le minis¬

Les deux pays s'opposentdiamé¬ tya, dans le sud-est de la Turquie. douze personnes auraient péri tre turc des affaires étrangères, tralement surla crise syrienne. « La dans ces bombardements. Des Ahmet Davutoglu, en marge du position de la Russie et celle la Tur¬ Armes chimiques obus sont également tombés côté Conseil de coopération Turquie

quie se rejoignent quant au but à Les Etats-Unis, l'Allemagne et turc, à Ceylanpinar, une ville tou¬ Russie, qui s'est tenu lundi à

atteindre en Syrie, a déclaré M. Pou¬ les Pays-Bas seraient prêts à contri¬ chée à plusieurs reprises ces derniè¬ Istanbul.

tine au cours d'une conférence de buer à ces renforts. Ankara a fait res semaines. Le 3 octobre, cinq La balance commerciale, qui a

presse avec le premier ministre cette demande auprès de l'OTAN civils turcs y avaient été tués. En atteint près de 26 milliards d'euros

turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dans pour se prémunird'une attaque de représailles, la Turquie avait répli¬ cette année, pourrait dépasser les une aile de l'ancien palais ottoman la part de Damas. Le gouverne¬ qué par des tirs d'artillerie contre 75 milliards, selon M. Davutoglu. de Dolmabahçe.Mais il n'yapourle ment de M. Erdogan s'inquiète les positions syriennes. Mais Mos- Elle penche nettement en faveur momentaucuneapprochecommu¬ de Moscou. La Russie a été choisie ne sur les moyens d'yparvenir. » Le PAM manque de moyens pour aider les Syriens pourconstruire la première centra¬ Ankara, qui réclame depuis des le nucléaire turque, près de Mer-

mois le départ de Bachar Al-Assad sin, sur la côte méditerranéenne. Le Programme alimentaire mon¬ Le PAM a aussi davantage de dif¬ et soutient les rebelles de l'Armée Elle fournit surtout près des deux dial (PAM) a indiqué, mardi ficultés à livrer son aide aux syrienne libre, voit dans Moscou tiers des importations de gaz natu¬ 4 décembre, qu'il a dû réduire populations en raison des com¬ «le dernier appui du régime rel de la Turquie, le deuxième les rations distribuées à des cen¬ bats. La décision des Nations syrien », selon un diplomate turc. client de Gazprom après l'Allema¬ taines de milliers de Syriens en unies de suspendre provisoire¬ «La Russie n'est pas l'avocate de gne, et s'est dite prête à augmenter raison de problèmes de finance¬ ment les missions de terrain, en Damas », a toutefois voulu préciser les livraisons, cet hiver, pour sub¬ ment. Selon cet organisme de dehors de Damas, pour toutes M.Poutine. En octobre, les chas¬ venir aux besoins d'Ankara. l'ONU, il lui manque 20 millions les agences de l'ONU devrait limi¬ seurs de l'arméeturque avaientfor¬ Une dizaine d'accords ont été de dollars (15 millions d'euros) ter sa capacité à contrôler les cé un avion de ligne de la compa¬ signés entre les deux délégations pour maintenir ses activités en distributions de vivres. Le PAM gnie nationale syrienne à atterrir. en marge de la visite de M. Poutine, décembre, alors que le nombre dit également avoir «constaté Celui-ci transportait dans ses sou¬ dont un renforcement de la coopé¬ des bénéficiaires syriens est pas¬ une augmentation des attaques tes des pièces d'un système de ration en mer Noire, utilisée par la sé au cours des derniers mois de contre ses camions dans diffé¬ radarfourni parla Russie. Cet épiso¬ Russie pour ses pipelines. 850 000 à 1,5 million. rentes parties du pays». - (AFP.) de avaitsuscité la colèrede Moscou. Guillaume Pirribr

Le Point 1 décembre 2012

Irak : échec des négociations avec les Kurdes

Le Premier ministre irakien Nouri al- installé en septembre à Kirkouk, une ville bre, des accrochages ont eu lieu, entre les Maliki a mis en garde samedi contre le disputée, a annoncé vendredi le gouver¬ forces kurdes et l'armée irakienne dans la

danger d'un "conflit ethnique" en Irak, nement de la région autonome du ville de Touz Khourmatou. Et la semaine

après l'échec cette semaine des négocia¬ Kurdistan. L'armée américaine a long¬ dernière, des responsables de Bagdad et

tions destinées à apaiser les tensions entre temps coordonné les opérations entre d'Erbil se sont mutuellement accusés

les autorités de Bagdad et celles du troupes kurdes et irakiennes dans les d'avoir renforcé leur dispositif militaire

Kurdistan autonome. "Si un conflit éclate, zones disputées du nord du pays, mais dans cette zone.

ce serait malheureux et douloureux, et ce son départ l'année dernière a privé les Nouri al-Maliki a justifié samedi les

sera un conflit ethnique", qui n'est "pas parties en présence d'un intermédiaire. mouvements de troupes dans le nord du

dans l'intérêt des Kurdes, ni des Arabes, ni Le retour des Américains n'est pays, répétant que l'armée irakienne avait

des Turkmènes", a déclaré Nouri al-Maliki pas souhaité le droit "d'être n'importe où en Irak". Pour

lors d'une conférence de presse à Bagdad. Nouri al-Maliki a écarté tout retour nombre de diplomates et de dirigeants,

Des discussions pour apaiser les ten¬ des soldats américains dans ces zones, ces tensions, alimentées en outre par des sions autour de zones revendiquées par le assurant qu'il était "de la responsabilité différends liés à l'exploitation pétrolière

Kurdistan et le gouvernement central ont du gouvernement irakien et de la région dans la région autonome, représentent à

tourné court face au refus de Bagdad de (du Kurdistan) de régler leurs problèmes long terme la plus forte menace pour la

renoncer au quartier général de l'armée sans l'assistance d'un tiers". Le 16 novem stabilité du pays. Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

£tMmàt Mardi 4 décembre 2012

La périphérie de Damas est gagnée par les combats entre armée et rebelles

Jaramana, quartier à majorité druze, prend ses distances vis-à-vis du régime de Bachar Al-Assad

Beyrouth Correspondance

Artillerie lourde, bombarde¬

ments et tirs de mortier ont endeuillé, samedi 1" et dimanche 2 décembre, les localités

situées de part et d'autre de la rou¬ te de l'aéroport, au sud-est de Damas. Les organisations de défen¬

se des droits de l'homme ont dénombré plus de centtrente victi¬ mes. Des affrontements ont égale¬

ment été signalés au sud, autour de la base aérienne militaire, accen¬ tuant encore l'encerclement de la capitale par les rebelles. Les com¬

munications, interrompues deux jours plus tôt, faisant craindre une

contre-offensive majeure du régi¬

me, ont été rétablies samedi. Dans la périphérie orientale de

Damas, où se concentrent la plu¬

part des combats, la ville de Jara¬

mana semble épargnée. Elle a cependant été confrontée à une autre forme de violence : un dou¬ Plus de soixante personnes ont été tuées par le double attentat qui a frappé Jaramana. agence officielle sanwreuters

ble attentat à la voiture piégée, le

28 novembre, qui a fait plus de vent occupés par des étudiants, rité à l'entrée de la ville laisse cer¬ pulés par le régime, soit relâchés

soixante morts. Le c„urde Jarama¬ des artistes et de jeunes fonction¬ tains résidents perplexes quant à pouraccentuerle chaos.» na ne bat ni pour le régime ni pour naires, que s'écrivaient les slogans la responsabilité des attentats du La meurtrièreattaque de Jarama¬

la rébellion. Enclavée entre les de la révolution. 28 novembre, que le régime a attri¬ na survient peu après la publica¬

zones de combat, cette aggloméra¬ Selon Salah, un militant origi¬ bués à la rébellion. Mounir, un tion,le 3 novembre, d'uncommuni¬

tion de 100000 âmes est consti¬ naire du camp de réfugiés palesti¬ habitant de Jaramana joint par Sky- qué émanant du « comité spirituel

tuée d'une mosaïque de presque nien de Yarmouk, ces mêmes pe, se demande «comment deux de la communauté druze » de Jara¬

toutes les communautés que réseaux se sont organisés pour voitures bourrées d'explosifs ont mana dont Le Monde a eu copie : le

compte la Syrie, avec une majorité venir en aide aux populations pufranchir les barrages sans être texte avertit que « tout milicien ou

de Druzes et de chrétiens. Elle a éga¬ déplacées, harcelées par les milices inquiétées» soldatdruze tuéauxcôtés desforces

lement été le refuge de plusieurs locales prorégime, car suspectes de de sécurité du régime à l'extérieur dizaines de milliers d'Irakiens, qui sympathie avec les insurgés. La Groupes affiliés à Al-Qaida de}aramana nepourra être enterré

avaient fui la guerre civile dans neutralité longtemps affichée par Les charges ont été déclenchées danslecimetièredelaville{...).Sil'en-

leur pays, au point que Jaramana les chefs des minorités religieuses simultanément pour faire un terrement a lieu, aucun cheikh ne

avait, un temps, gagné le surnom avait assuré à Jaramana un calme maximumde victimes à une heure priera sursa dépouille. »

de « Fallouja », le fief de l'insurrec¬ relatif, permettant aux militants d'affluence, selon-un mode opéra¬ Par ce communiqué, le comité

tion antiaméricaine en Irak. de stocker vivres et médicaments, toire rappelant les attentats en confirme l'enracinement de Jara¬

Face à un tragique sentiment de avant de les redistribuer, à l'insu Irak. La frontière poreuse entre la mana dans son environnement et

déjà-vu, les Irakiens ont fini par des autorités, aux populations Syrie et l'Irak ainsi que la présence son attachement à « la coexistence

repartir, laissant place aux dépla¬ nécessiteuses. de groupes affiliés à Al-Qaida pacifique avec les autres commu¬

cés des localités syriennes voisi¬ Salah était l'un des responsa¬ confortent la thèse des autorités. nautés religieuses ». nes ou plus lointaines, comme bles du transport et de la distribu¬ Mais, affirme Salah, le régime Moins radical que les appels à Homs, Idlib et Alep. tion de ces denrées. Arrivé depuis dispose, luiaussi, de cette « experti¬ l'insurrection lancés, depuis le

Si Jaramana n'a pas connu de peu à Beyrouth, il explique que « si se». «Par troisfois, rappelle-t-il, le Liban, parle chefdruzeWalidJoum- manifestationsde masse compara¬ toutes les entrées dejaramana sont présidenta annoncéla libération de blatt, ce texte constitue cependant bles à celles qui se sont déroulées étroitementsurveilléesparlesdiffé- détenus politiques. Au lieu de quoi, un réel acte de défiance envers

ailleurs dans la banlieue de rents services de sécurité, il est en ila libérédes criminels qui sontallés l'autorité d'un régime qui se targue

. Damas, elle a longtemps servi de revanche facile d'en faire sortir gonflerles rangs des milices du régi¬ d'être le «protecteur» des minori¬

base de repli pour les opposants. n'importe quoi». me ainsi que des islamistesproches tés de Syrie.»

C'est dans ses appartements, sou- La rigueurdes contrôles de sécu d'Al-Qaida, lesquels sont soit mani Khaied Sid Mohamd Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December 7, 2012 Iraqi rivals see potential political gains mier of “opening a Pandora’s By Suadad al-Salhy, box.” Isabel Coles / Reuters U.S. forces, whose no-fly zone first gave the Kurds de UZ KHURMATO, Iraq: A facto autonomy from Saddam in hundred miles from 1991, helped keep a peace bet- Baghdad, tanks are facing ween them and the Arabs after For all the flag-waving and warnings of war from Maliki and offT across a front line defined occupying Iraq in 2003; now, Barzani, few believe either will risk an all-out conflict. not by an international border Washington’s diplomats have (REUTERS/Azad Lashkari/Files) but by ethnic enmity, fueled by had to work behind the scenes past bloodshed and future oil to calm tempers, most recently to foreign firms without refe- ture for those national security wealth, that risks tearing Iraq following a shootout on Nov. 16 rence to Baghdad – may push forces based on their doorstep – apart. between Iraqi and Kurdish Iraq’s divided Arabs to close known as the Tigris Operations The sun-blazoned flag of forces in Tuz Khurmato in ranks; united Arab hostility may Command – violates the consti- Kurdistan flies from the turrets which a bystander was killed. in turn also help stifle friction tution and reveals a drive by of Soviet-built armored vehicles, Politicians, diplomats and among competing Kurdish Baghdad to thwart their hopes seized a decade ago from analysts detect an unwillingness movements. of annexing Kirkuk and other Saddam Hussein’s army, their on either side to go beyond ver- “The sectarian card is not areas where, since 2003, they barrels now aimed at the unseen bal skirmishing or the sort of working anymore and the natio- have been expanding their own forces of Iraq’s national govern- occasional, tit-for-tat halts in nalist card is the joker now,” military and political presence. ment on the far side of Tuz transfer payments or oil pipe- said a Shite member of the Iraqi Accusing the head of the Khurmato, a town beyond the lines that have long marked parliament who has himself pre- new command center of a role formal boundary of the Kurds’ their fractious relationship. viously allied with Sunnis, in in Saddam’s genocidal assaults autonomous region. “Both Baghdad and Irbil describing a coming reali- on the Kurds in the 1980s – a For three weeks, Kurdish seem not to be willing to push gnment of forces among the charge he denies – Kurdish lea- Peshmerga and soldiers of this,” said Gareth Stansfield, a Arabs. ders have lined up together Baghdad’s Arab army, have been former U.N. adviser on the dis- One Sunni tribal leader in against Maliki after falling out reinforcing positions in the “dis- pute who teaches Middle East Salahaddin province, which among themselves earlier this puted territories,” a long, ill- politics at Exeter University. includes Tuz Khurmato but also year over tactics in the parlia- ment and over the civil war in defined swathe of northern Iraq, At the same time, neither Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown, Syria. rich in oil and communal com- side is in a hurry to pull back. said former army officers he plexity, where the federal knew had not only removed por- Barzani, leader of the “There is definitely a sense government and Kurdish lea- traits of the executed dictator Kurdistan Democratic Party this might not cause outright ders based in Irbil vie for from their walls recently but (KDP), and Jalal Talabani of the war, but flashpoints all over in control. even put up pictures of Maliki. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan all sorts of places,” one diplo- That would once have been uni- (PUK), who is Iraq’s president in For all the flag-waving and mat said. “This is probably maginable among Sunni Arabs the power-sharing national warnings of war from Iraqi going to be quite prolonged, who have long seen the premier administration, have buried dif- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki because there isn’t much appe- as a pawn of Shiite Iran. It says ferences to demand Maliki dis- and Kurdistan President tite to settle it.” Masoud Barzani, few believe much about new perceptions of band the new command whose Ten years after the U.S. inva- either will risk an all-out conflict a Kurdish threat. troops are now confronting the sion toppled Saddam in the whose outcome would be uncer- For his part, Maliki, despite Peshmerga at Tuz Khurmato. name of democracy, the stan- tain and would disrupt both a pursuing Iraq’s fugitive Sunni “Maliki is opening a doff demonstrates Iraq’s failure flourishing economy in vice president over sectarian Pandora’s box,” said one senior to forge consensus among Kurdistan and oil exports that attacks, is courting Sunni allies Kurdish politician, who spoke Maliki’s Shiite Muslim majority, bring Baghdad vital revenues. after seeing some Kurdish law- anonymously due to the sensiti- Sunni Arabs who were dominant makers who helped keep him in vity of the current situation. Rather, both are gaining under Saddam, and the Kurds, power after the 2010 election “Kirkuk for us is everything, not from this, the second such flare- some 15 percent of the popula- support a parliamentary motion a game for political gains or any up in the year since U.S. troops tion, concentrated in the nor- to unseat him. Provincial elec- other kind. It is about justice to quit Iraq, to consolidate their thern mountains. respective support among Arabs tions in the new year may offer our cause and undoing what Most violence has been seen and Kurds for upcoming elec- clues to potential partners Saddam and other Iraqi regimes in a sectarian war among Arabs; tions. before the March 2014 parlia- did.” Maliki has had support from the mentary ballot. In a joint statement on Nov. Maliki spoke this week of Kurds, who have not pressed for “Maliki is waiting for a 22, the Kurdish parties invoked “unpredictable risks” as Kurdish full statehood, aware of their strong Sunni ally, to get a parlia- memories of the poison gas troops brought up more tanks landlocked isolation and the mentary majority and then to massacre of Kurds at Halabja in and artillery close to the oil field hostility of neighbors wary of form the majority government 1988 to warn that Baghdad city of Kirkuk: “If it erupts ... it their own Kurdish minorities. will be a painful, shameful eth- next time,” one ally of the prime might repeat such “chauvinist Yet Iraqi Kurdish expansion nic conflict,” he said, warning of minister said privately. attacks.” beyond a regional frontier noted “dangerous dimensions.” For the Kurds, Maliki’s move “Whenever an external in the 2005 constitution – and to set up a new command struc- threat exists against ➼ Kurds accuse the Iraqi pre- new Kurdish contracts to sell oil

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

➼ Kurdish issues, we are uni- against whom Talabani fought a west around the big city of Saddam’s policy of resettling fied,” said Omar Badi of the civil war in Kurdistan in the Mosul and, most intensely, the area with Arabs, including Islamic Union of Kurdistan, 1990s. around Kirkuk. many Shiites from the south. which sits in the regional assem- “Talabani has lost his strate- For years, it has been a Arabs accuse Kurds of rewriting bly in opposition to the gover- gic Shiite alliances and his posi- conflict fought in near silence, history. Other substantial ning coalition of KDP and PUK. tion as a friend and father of all with intimidation and only spo- groups, notably Turkish-spea- “Whoever confronts the threat factions,” the Shiite political radic violence used to drive out king Turkmen, are also pressing from outside will win the votes figure said, speaking privately. rival groups and alter the ethnic claims. of the Kurdish people.” “He can no longer play the role mix of local communities that Stalemate over holding the A Shiite politician in of intermediary between the are supposed, one day, to vote plebiscite that the constitution Baghdad said one significant rivals.” in a referendum on whether stated should have been held by change had been in the role of For now, that phony war parts of the disputed territories 2007, has left Baghdad and Irbil Talabani, who had used his posi- continues, around Tuz should join the Kurdistan increasingly arguing along the tion as head of state to mediate Khurmato, to the southeast of it region. barrels of their tanks. Ë between Maliki and Barzani – in Diyala province, in the north- Kurds are keen to reverse

6 / December / 2012 Kurdish MPs Warn Of War With Baghdad, As Peshmerga Forces Await Orders By HEVIDAR AHMED rudaw.net A breakout of war is RBIL, Kurdistan Region – With Erbil- possible. We live in Baghdad tensions high over troop Iraq and have had bit- Edeployments in disputed territories, Kurdish ter experiences with MPs in the Iraqi parliament warned of war, this country." and a senior commander of Kurdish Peshmerga forces said he has 30,000 armed men deployed and ready for orders. The tense stand-off of the past two months was triggered after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved his contro- versial Dijla forces into disputed territories that are also claimed by the autonomous blish his army units in Qushtapa, Faida, and draw a red line.” Kurds, who dispatched their own Peshmerga Bani Maqan, the former Iraqi regime’s Moayad Teyib, spokesman of the fighters into the areas. frontlines with the Kurdistan Region,” Latif Kurdish coalition in Iraq’s parliament, criti- “The current situation will end in a added. cized Maliki, saying he “has closed all doors conflict,” Hakim Sheikh Latif, a Kurdish Earlier this month, Maliki told reporters to negotiations.” MP in the Iraqi Parliament, told Rudaw. that if another war erupted in Iraq, it would He said that Maliki’s recent statements Latif, from the Change Movement, said be between the Arabs and Kurds. had convinced Kurdish leaders that, he has written to Kurdish politicians, war- Meanwhile, a senior Peshmarga com- “Negotiations with Maliki are no longer ning them of the upcoming dangers and mander on the frontlines of the stand-off, possible.” informing them about his predictions of war. told Rudaw that his forces stand ready for Teyib also warned that the present ten- In an interview with Rudaw four months orders. sions could escalate into a war. ago, Latif predicted that, “Within a year the Speaking on condition of anonymity, he “A breakout of war is possible. We live Iraqi government will wage a war against said that, “More than 30,000 Peshmerga in Iraq and have had bitter experiences with the Kurds.” troops are deployed in the area. The Iraqi this country. When the political process Observers say the tensions are the worst army’s weapons capability does not equal reaches a stalemate, they transform to armed since the Kurds gained autonomy, following those of the Peshmerga forces.” conflict,” he said. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s fall in the He said it was better for the Peshmerga Iraqi analyst and politician Hassan 2003 US-led invasion. forces to strike now, because Baghdad’s Allawi, an Arab and independent member of Latif urged Kurdish Region President forces were still uncoordinated in the dispu- the Iraqi parliament, said recently that a Massoud Barzani to seek outside help to ted areas, but that Maliki was trying to conflict between the Arabs and Kurds would defuse the crisis, warning that if the United recruit former officers of Saddam’s Baathist likely be on a small scale. States and neighboring Iran did not pressure regime. “There might be a war between the the Iraqi government, “The tensions will “Maliki is recruiting the former Baathist Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army. But transform into an armed confrontation.” army officers. He is trying to rebuild the the fight will be on a small scale -- here and “Now, the Kurds are on the verge of an army with the Iraqi officers who have expe- there,” he said. imposed war. Maliki has mobilized forces rience in fighting Iran, Kuwait, and the US Allawi said that Maliki dispatched his and wants a war. Therefore, President army. Some of them are quite experienced,” Dijla forces into the disputed territories as “a Massoud Barzani must knock on the doors he said. reaction, a revenge to the current year’s of the US, Iran and other regional powers,” “For the Kurds, now is the best time to April attempts to remove him from office, start the war. If the war is started now, which were initiated in Erbil,” and headed Latif said. I “I have said this before, and I am repea- Peshmerga forces will clear all the disputed by Barzani. ting it now: Nuri al-Maliki intends to esta- areas within three days, and then we can

8 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December / 4 / 2012

grounds,” Atalay said in a speech delive- red at the Institute of Strategic Thinking (SDE). Kurdish initiative still on He added that the government was aiming for stronger cooperation on the issue with opposition parties as well as table, says Deputy PM civil society. Göksel Bozkurt NATIONAL UNITY, BROTHERHOOD ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News PROJECT A legal arrangement that will pave the eputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay way for conducting defense in one’s says the government will continue mother-tongue in courts, facilitating Dto take the necessary steps to end the public services in mother-tongues and Kurdish issue. ‘We will continue taking plans for establishing a civilian body that the required steps for the benefit of our will assess complaints regarding security country and nation in order to stop the forces are under way as part of the blood and to stop this vicious problem,’ “National Unity and Brotherhood he say Project,” Atalay explained, defining the Describing the issue of terrorism as project’s target as being to increase demo- one “beyond politics,” Deputy Prime Atalay explains the arrangements under cratic standards while minimizing terror. Minister Beşir Atalay yesterday reasser- the National Unity and Brotherhood “On terror and related issues, as issues ted the government’s determination to Project, such as legal arrangement for beyond politics, we will continue to deci- continue the “National Unity and defense in mother tongue in courts. DAILY sively, actively and determinedly work Brotherhood Project,” first launched in NEWS photo Selahattin SÖNMEZ with all political parties, civil society 2009. organizations and our nation,” Atalay Atalay fell short of explicitly stating “As the prime minister has also said. whether a new Oslo process – similar to emphasized, we will continue taking the “We are reviewing all instruments the secret talks held between the govern- required steps for the benefit of our coun- regarding the terror issue. We are and will ment and the outlawed Kurdistan try and nation without hesitation. put into force all instruments both toge- Workers’ Party (PKK) between 2009 and Whoever needs to be met with in order to ther and separately. In this regard, we are 2011 in the Norwegian capital – was on stop the blood and to stop this vicious both eyeing international conjuncture and the horizon and whether convicted PKK problem; whatever step needs to be taken; also following the situation in related leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a whichever tolls and mechanisms should states,” Atalay said, emphasizing that life sentence on İmralı Island, could be go into force; we are not and will not combating terrorism was the most impor-H included in the new process as one of the show any hesitation in making the requi- tant item on the government’s agenda. instruments. red decisions in the appropriate time and

December / 6 / 2012

OPINION/ MURAT YETKİN out to markets whatever the political obstructions are. Estimates claim that there are 45 billion barrels of oil and 3.5 trillion cubic meters of gas waiting to be surfaced in the region. That is why many major energy companies of the world - from Exxon and Does Turkey have a Chevron of the U.S. to Total of France and Gazprom of Russia - have already invested in the region, risking their rights in the south Kurdish policy? And of Iraq after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s ultimatum. The scene is an oil rush, perhaps the last one in the Middle East. Turkey doesn’t want to stay out of this oil rush next to its bor- an energy one? ders. That is why Yıldız was on his way to attend an “Oil and Gas Conference” in Arbil, where the office of Massoud Barzani, the Right after landing in Kayseri airport on his president of the KRG, is located. One has to recall that up until a way to Arbil – due to the objection of Baghdad few years ago, the same Tayyip Erdoğan government in Turkey - Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told was protesting its Western allies for having relations with Barzani and thus encouraging Kurdish independence there. What’s more, reporters that Turkey would not be affected by the military headquarters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ the Iraqi government’s obstruction and would Party (PKK), which has been fighting a war against Turkey for independence for the last 30 years, is still based in the Kandil keep going on its own way. Mountains within the borders of the KRG. While following this pragmatic foreign and energy policy out- ıldız was pointing to a Turkish policy about Iraq’s rich oil and side Turkey, inside it Erdoğan is trying to lift the parliamentary gas fields; in particular, those that lay in the northern part of immunities of the Kurdish problem-focused Peace and Democracy Iraq bordering Turkey, which is under the control of the Kurdistan Y Party (BDP) deputies, while also supporting the re-establishment Regional Government (KRG). The KRG forces and the central Iraqi of talks with the imprisoned-for-life leader of the PKK, Abdullah army were about to clash as recently as last week, mainly over oil Öcalan. These come at the same time as fierce clashes continue bet- and gas rights, which could be averted with the intervention of the ween Turkish security forces and the PKK militants. United States. Tony Hayward, the former head of British Petroleum It is not realistic and sustainable for the Turkish government to and now of Ankara-based Genel Enerji, which has a lot of invest- follow two Kurdish policies inside and outside Turkey, as this has ments in the region, keeps saying that the fields in the KRG area are started to affect almost every walk of politics now - from energy, the last untapped resources on earth and they would find a way H to diplomacy, to security.

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

the chaos in neighbouring Syria and has accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of resuming support for the PKK and arming the Turkish forces kill 13 militants. The latest Turkish military operation, which began on Monday, was based on intelligence received from a drone indicating PKK militants Kurdish militants near were in the area. Troops captured five PKK militants, the Osmaniye provincial gover- DecemberSyria 05, 2012 border - by Ece Toksabay - (Reuters) nor's office said, and the operation was continuing. Clashes between the army and militants generally surge during the TUNCELI, Turkey — Turkish troops and attack helicopters poun- summer when snow melts in the mountainous region, and PKK figh- ded Kurdish militants near the border with Syria, killing 13 mili- ters spend the harsh winter in camps along Turkey's southeast border. tants and capturing five others, the regional governor's office said on Wednesday. Over 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. The militants began fighting in 1984 with the aim of car- The operation was launched at the western end of Turkey's frontier ving out a separate state in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey. They with Syria, far from the main arena of conflict between Turkish now seek autonomy in the region. government forces and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants fur- The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States ther east along the borders with Iraq and Iran. G and European Union. Ankara has linked a surge in militant violence since the summer with

December 5, 2012

An oil pipeline pumping about 60,000 bpd already feeds directly from Kurdistan's Tawke oilfield into the main pipeline to the Iraq govt stops Turkish Turkish port of Ceyhan, and more are due to follow. Turkey also began importing crude oil by truck from Kurdistan this year in minister landing in exchange for diesel. KRG spokesman Safeen Dizayee said Kurdistan he believed the air regulations had only been introduced the previous day and hoped By Orhan Coskun and Jonathon Burch there had been no separate motive behind the move. "It is new to us, we were not aware of it. NKARA (Reuters) - A plane carrying We sincerely hope the reason behind this is Turkey's energy minister to an energy actually this technical issue and nothing Aconference in Iraqi Kurdistan was denied per- more," Dizayee said. mission to land on Tuesday by the central Speaking to Turkish media after landing government in Baghdad, underlining its strai- in Kayseri, Yildiz said he was in talks with ned relations with Ankara and Iraq's Kurdish Iraq over the incident and that he believed region. the breakdown in communication would be The minister's private plane, which was repaired. en route from Istanbul to the northern Iraqi "I believe this interruption in communica- city of Arbil, was forced to land in the Turkish tion will be resolved. I believe our colleagues Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz city of Kayseri, southeast of the capital in the central Iraqi government will treat this Ankara. attends a news conference with his Russian subject with sensitivity," Turkish media Iraq's civilian aviation authority said it counterpart Alexander Novak in Istanbul reported Yildiz as saying. had refused the plane permission because it December 2, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer "All our projects, wherever in Iraq they had not complied with regulations. may be, are about normalising the whole of "We haven't forbidden any plane to enter Iraq. There will be an investigation. We are our airspace ... but we have special regula- ging closer ties with the Iraqi Kurds. meeting with the (Turkish) foreign ministry. I tions and laws which organise the flight of Ankara and Baghdad have also accused am talking to Iraq. We will see what comes certain planes," said Nasser Bandar, mana- each other of inciting sectarian tension and out of this," he said. ger of the aviation authority. have summoned each others' ambassadors Relations with Baghdad have also been "The UAE, Jordan and Turkey forwarded in tit-for-tat manoeuvres. strained by Turkish air strikes on northern their demand to get permission for private STRATEGIC ALLIANCE Iraq on bases of the Kurdistan Workers flights, and we refused the three requests as Turkey, which shares a border with Iraqi Party (PKK), a Turkish Kurd militant group. they were not going along with Iraqi laws Kurdistan, has increasingly courted Iraqi Baghdad asked Turkey to stop attacking the and regulations," he said. Kurds as its relations with Baghdad have PKK on its soil after Ankara stepped up ope- The fact that Turkey's energy minister soured and while Ankara is a major invest- rations following a rise in militant attacks was en route to participate in a conference ment and trading partner for the whole coun- inside Turkey. on energy in the north would likely have try, most business is with the north. The PKK, considered a terrorist group by aggravated the government in Baghdad. Kurdistan has also been taking steps Ankara, the United States and the European Baghdad, which has been locked in its towards easing its reliance on Baghdad in Union, has been fighting the Turkish state own long-running feud over oil and land the sale of its oil and gas, further irritating since 1984 for greater self rule in Turkey's rights with the Kurdistan Regional the Iraqi government which says it has the southeast. Government (KRG) in the north, has been sole right to export oil and gas produced ËËË riled by Ankara's recent moves aimed at for- throughout Iraq.

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

LE FIGARO

Bachar el-Assad : mercredi 5 décembre 2012

L'Otan et les États-Unis redoutent

un geste de folie d'un régime aux la fuite abois qui serait tenté d'utiliser son arsenal chimique, considéré com¬ me l'un des plus importants du Moyen-Orient, accumulé avec en avant l'aide de la Russie et de l'Iran. Les Occidentaux ont averti avec force la Syrie que le recours à ses Les pays occidentaux multiplient les avertissements armes non conventionnelles se¬

à Damas contre l'utilisation d'armes chimiques. rait « inacceptable » et entraîne¬

rait « une réaction internationale

immédiate ».

Ces craintes ont brusquement re¬

fait surface alors que la contre-

' Alep y offensive du régime est montée d'un cran contre les forces rebel¬ les autour de Damas. Les insurgés o Al-Safira Idlib disposent désormais de missiles sol-air capables d'abattre des Jahjeh Deir ez-Zor Q | avions. r* ~~'Orlama Dans ce contexte de tension ac¬ A SYRIE \ s-- i^ * y. crue, les djihadistes sont aussi un Homsfvjj » pumljs m,, sujet d'inquiétude pour les Occi¬ ^Ji Palmyre dentaux, qui hésitent à apporter

leur soutien à la rébellion par peur ,.. ; i.i!AN DÉSERT DE SVR/E \ de voir la Syrie basculer dans l'is¬ lam radical ou les armes fournies . KhanAbouChamat L'arsenal tomber entre les mains de groupes y ® chimique syrien Damas terroristes. Centre de recherche (CERS) Q

Site de production ^

Deraa (gaz moutaide, sai in. tabun, gaz VX) "" Site de stockage

JORDAN î 50 km Zones touchées par les combats

Infographie LE FIGARO S-.;.v;.Rr.:: s:;, i-----:':-. C-". ':-:-' : .-. ( : ','j: :; V:,-.:.-:i ,- ;: . Assad veut un «glacis» autour de Damas

aux rebelles. «Bachar el-Assad veut re¬ repousser les insurgés hors de la péri¬ GEORGES MALBRUNOT prendre l 'initiative sur l'Armée syrienne phérie de la capitale. L'objectif étant de

libre, en attaquant par des moyens, aé¬ vider la zone de sa population, pour ne

MOYEN-ORIENT L'armée a intensifié riens plus importants et de l'artillerie plus se retrouver que face aux rebelles. Mais

mardi ses bombardements dans les fau¬ lourde», analyse un diplomate euro¬ ceux-ci, venus en renfort de province,

bourgs sud de Damas, tandis que huit péen, qui a quitté mardi Damas. Selon élèves et un professeur étaient tués dans lui, «le régime veut établir un glacis de Face aux insurgés la chute d'un mortier tiré par les rebelles sécurité autour de la capitale pour ne pas sur une école du camp al-Wafidine, à voir se reproduire les tirs de mortiers, qui le pouvoir a décidé 20 km au nord-est de la capitale syrien¬ sont tombés récemment près du palais d'accroître encore ne, où la situation sécuritaire s'est ré¬ présidentiel. Le centre de Damas ne doit

cemment dégradée. La veille, plus de plus être touché», ajoute-t-il. sa puissance de feu 60 personnes avaient péri dans des

bombardements. 8000 soldats formés en Iran sont nombreux. Pour le seul quartier de

Face aux insurgés, qui tiennent plu¬ D'où les bombardements massifs et ré¬ Darraya, pilonné depuis plusieurs jours, sieurs secteurs proches de Damas, le pétés depuis cinqjours sur un périmètre ils sont estimés à près de 4000, alors .

pouvoir a décidé d'accroître encore sa d'une dizaine de kilomètres autour de qu'il ne resterait que 10 % des habitants

puissance de feu, cherchant à inverser Damas, les plus violents depuis ceux de de ce faubourg du sud -ouest de Damas

une dynamique favorable dernièrement juillet, qui avaient permis à l'armée de autour duquel l'unité 105 de la garde

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

républicaine et deux autres brigades mée à utiliser d'autres appareils, moins Russie, l'autre allié de Damas. blindées de la IVe division ont été mas¬ vulnérables aux tirs de missiles (des MIG Même si le New York Times affirmait

sées sous les ordres du redouté général 29 ou 31, ainsi que des Sukhoï 29). «Le ré¬ dans son édition de lundi que Moscou druze Issam Zahrdine, le «tombeur» gime s'affaiblitprogressivement, estime le afficherait désormais «une nouvelle

de Baba Amr en février dernier à Homs. diplomate européen, mais il ne va pas approche» vis-à-vis de son partenai¬

Lundi, les insurgés ont encore revendi¬ s'effondrer demain. » re syrien, d'autres sources font état qué la chute d'un avion de combatjMIG) Ces. derniers mois, 8000 membres d'une, livraison prochaine à Damas de entre Doumeir et Rahiybeh, au nord- des unités d'élite de la garde républi¬ batteries de missiles balistiques Is- ouest de Damas. La semaine dernière, un caine et de la rv<= division sont allés se kander, destinées à contrer les fusées avion de combat et un hélicoptère avaient former auprès des gardiens de la révo¬ Patriot que l'Otan s'apprête à dé¬ déjà été abattus pour la première fois par lution en Iran, selon une source occi¬ ployer en Turquie, face au territoire des missiles sol-air, dans le nord de la Sy¬ dentale. Trois cent cinquante autres of¬ syrien, s rie. Ces pertes devraient contraindre l'ar ficiers ont suivi une instruction en

LE FIGARO mercredi 5 décembre 2012 Les djihadistes en embuscade derrière les rebelles syriens

Les combattants ADRIEN JAULMES ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL À ALEP islamistes, parfois ajaulmes(â)lefigaro.fr étrangers, qu'on trouve

parmi les insurgés syriens n croise parfois dans Alep des combattants rebelles à l'allure prospèrent sur la crainte singulière. Le keffieh noué en foi queue sur la nuque, les pantalons qu'ils inspirent larges portés au-dessus des mol¬

lets, la barbe en éventail et la lèvre supérieure rasée, on les distingue chez les Occidentaux

facilement des autres révolutionnaires, qui font plus dans le cheveu hérissé au gel et les jeans griffés. Ils se et l'aide que leur apportent tiennent à l'écart des autres combattants et évitent les étrangers. Ils ont visiblement de l'argent. Leur certains pays arabes. armement est neuf et généralement en meilleur état que celui des autres insurgés. Ils sont aussi plus disci¬ Peuvent-ils confisquer plinés que nombre de rebelles. Mais surtout, ces dji¬ hadistes ou salafistes ne se battent pas seulement le soulèvement populaire ? pour renverser le régime de Bachar el-Assad : la Sy¬

rie n'est pour eux que le champ de bataille d'un com¬

bat plus vaste, où réaliser leurs rêves fumeux de ré¬ tablir le Califat et d'instaurer un État islamiste sur tion de Ben Laden après l'invasion américaine en tout le Moyen-Orient. Irak en 2003, révulsé, dit-il, par les exactions « Les groupes locaux de la révolution se sontformés d'Abou Moussab al-Zarqaoui qui tue plus de musul¬ pour se protéger, mais ils restent limités dans leurs mans que d'infidèles. «Es étaient devenus inhu¬ idées, explique Mahmoud Mangani, un islamiste ra¬ mains, tuaient des innocents. Je me situe plus sur la li¬ dical syrien engagé dans' les combats à Alep, sa ville gne d'Abdallah Azzam », ajoute-t-il, en référence natale. Alors que nous, nousfaisons la guerre au régi¬ au mentor palestinien de Ben Laden, assassiné au me, mais sommes en même temps engagés dans un Pakistan dans les années 1980. projet plus vaste de transformation de notre société. » Les dates et les lieux s'embrouillent un peu ensui¬ « Je suis un islamiste, j'ai un projet islamique, dit ce te, mais Mangani résume l'expérience des islamistes membre d'un petit groupe radical appelé al-Taliah

al-Mouqatila, « l'Avant-Garde ». Nous avons retenu en Syrie : tantôt instruments, tantôt victimes. Il sé¬ la leçon desfautes commisespar les talibans en Afgha¬ journe pendant plusieurs années dans les redouta¬ nistan ou al-Qaida en Irak. Et nous essayons de bâtir bles prisons syriennes, où il laisse plusieurs phalan¬ quelque chose de nouveau en Syrie, si Dieu le veut. » ges de la main gauche. Il milite dans les rangs de Le parcours de Mahmoud Mangani suit l'histoire Fatah ai-Islam, groupe islamiste palestinien instru- de l'islam radical depuis le début des années 1980. mentalisé par le régime syrien pour diviser l'OLP, Fils d'un militant islamiste d'Alep assassiné par le puis déstabiliser le Liban et envoyer des djihadistes régime d'Hafez el-Assad pendant le soulèvement contre les Américains en Irak - groupe qui s'est des années 1976-1982, il grandit en exil en Allema¬ aujourd'hui retourné contre le régime de Damas, gne et dans le golfe Persique. « J'ai été élevé dans le comme la créature de Frankenstein. Libéré au début souvenir de monpère et de ses principes : refuser l'hu¬ du soulèvement dans une des mesures de concilia¬ miliation et garder l'esprit de résistance. » Il se rap¬ tion tardives du régime, Mangani a aussitôt embrassé proche du Hamas palestinien dans les années 1990, une révolution qui lui permet de concilier son mes¬ puis d'al- Qaida, avant de rompre avec l'organisa- sianisme religieux avec une cause nationale.

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

« Aujourd'hui nous avons enfin une causepour laquelle À Alep, la plupart des combattants de l'ASL ap¬ combattre. Et la victoire ne viendra pas de l'extérieur, partiennent à une alliance locale appelée Liwa al- comme semblent le croire beaucoup de chefs rebelles, Tawhid. Créée à l'été 2012 en vue de l'offensive mais de nous-mêmes .- ce qui nous permettra de construire en Syrie un État islamique, développé. » surprise sur la ville, cette union d'environ 170 Laprésence de ces islamistes dans les rangs de la ré¬ groupes totalisant 10 000 combattants a un dis¬

volution syrienne nourrit évidemment toutes les cours ouvertement religieux. Son nom de Tawhid craintes et tous les fantasmes. Le régime de Bachar el- signifie d'ailleurs à la fois Union et l'unicité d'Al¬ Assad dénonce depuis le début le soulèvement com¬ lah. Mais le programme politique de Liwa al- me un complot djihadiste lié à al-Qaida, ce qui lui per¬ Tawhid se résume à un point : renverser le régime met de terroriser les minorités, chrétiens et alaouites, Assad. Les tiraillements internes surviennent as¬ de faire chanter les Occidentaux et de justifier toutes sez vite. Lorsque, à la fin novembre, des groupes les méthodes de répression, en qualifiant très tôt de de combattants d'Alep rejettent dans une vidéo la « terroristes » des manifestants devenus depuis des Coalition nationale syrienne récemment formée insurgés. Les djihadistes sont aussi le principal sujet au Qatar et appellent à la création d'un État isla¬ d'inquiétude des Occidentaux, qui hésitent à apporter miste en Syrie, Liwa al-Tawhid réagit aussitôt par leur soutien à la rébellion par peur de voir la Syrie bas- un démenti.

culer dans l'islam radical, ou les armes fournies tom¬ ber entre les mains de groupes terroristes. Attentats suicides et voitures piégées Les principaux chefs de Liwa al-Tawhid, dont Ab- Engagés dans la brèche delkader el-Saleh, le grand organisateur de l'opéra¬ Dans les deux cas, ces calculs ont eu ironiquement tion contre Alep, apparaissent à leur tour sur une vi¬ comme résultat de favoriser le phénomène contre déo où ils affirment leur soutien à la Coalition lequel on prétendait lutter. La brutalité de la répres¬ nationale syrienne et se prononcent en faveur d'un sion du régime syrien a nourri le radicalisme reli¬ « Etat civil en Syrie où l'islam constitue la principale gieux des insurgés et favorisé l'approche mani¬ sourcejuridique » et respectant « toutes les minorités chéenne des djihadistes. L'inaction des Occidentaux syriennes ». « Nous travaillons en bonne entente avec a laissé les mains libres au Qatar ou à l'Arabie Saoudi¬ Liwa el-Tawhid, dit Mahmoud Mangani, mais leurs te pour favoriser ses clients islamistes, un peu com¬ idées sont un peu limitées. Nous sommes aussi en me Saoudiens et Pakistanais l'avaient fait à l'époque contact avec Jabhat al-Nosra - ce sont des gens sincè¬ de la guerre contre les Soviétiques en Afghanistan. res, mais qui doivent s'ouvrir un peu. » À Alep, l'attitude des autres groupes à l'égard de Jabhat al-Nosra est le plus grand groupe islamiste ces djihadistes qui ont pris le train de la révolution en en Syrie. Son nom est une abréviation de « Front de marche va de l'indifférence à l'agacement. « Les Oc¬ l'aide au peuple des moudjahidins du Levant sur les cidentaux sont obsédés par les djihadistes, explique champs de bataille du djihad », un peu dur à pro¬ Abdallah Yaçine, un combattant rebelle d'Alep de¬ noncer d'une seule traite. Il apparaît début 2012 dans venu coordinateur des médias pour le compte de une vidéo annonçant sa création en vue de mener le l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL). Pourtant ils ne repré¬ djihad dans le « pays deCham », le Levant, le terme sentent pas beaucoup de combattants, quelques cen¬ utilisé par les islamistes pour désigner la Syrie. Se¬ taines, quelques milliers au maxbnum à Alep. Certains cret, élitiste, Jabhat al-Nosra est présent dans diffé¬ ont de l'expérience, ils se sont battus en Irak ou rents secteurs de la Syrie et déploie plusieurs centai¬ ailleurs, mais en aucun cas Us ne représentent la majo¬ nes de combattants à Alep. Rarement engagé dans les rité de la révolution. Ce sontpourtant eux qui reçoivent combats de rue, le mouvement a mené des assassi¬ leplus d'aide de l'extérieur. On voudrait leur donner le nats de personnalités du régime, des attentats suici¬ pouvoir qu'onneferaitpas autrement. » des et à la voiture piégée qui témoignent d'un niveau Commencée dans des manifestations inspirées du technique et d'organisation supérieur à celui de printemps arabe, continuée comme une jacquerie beaucoup de groupes rebelles. D'autres formations plus petites, comme Suqour paysanne, la révolution syrienne est devenue une al-Islam, les Faucons du Levant, implantés dans le guerre civile où l'opposition au régime est composée Djebel Zawiya, près de la frontière turque, ou Ahrar dans son immense majorité de musulmans sunnites, al-Cham, les Brigades de Libération du Levant, com¬ plutôt paysans et conservateurs. Il n'en fallait pas plètent cette nébuleuse de djihadistes. Les liens de plus pour donner une forte dimension sectaire à cet¬ ces organisations avec les réseaux d'al-Qaida sont te révolution politique. Les djihadistes internatio¬ plus ou moins diffus, et difficile à établir. Une chose naux se sont engagés dans la brèche. Un peu comme est sûre : la faune des djihadistes étrangers est sur un les bolcheviques au début de la Révolution russe, les terrain familier dans un pays où le régime et ses serT djihadistes sont moins nombreux que les autres cou¬ vices secrets ont longtemps cultivé et instrumentali- rants révolutionnaires. Mais ils bénéficient d'une sé les islamistes pour déstabiliser les pays voisins, meilleure organisation que les autres, qui combat¬ avant de les voir se retourner contre lui. tent sous une multitude de chefs locaux et se cha¬ « Si les Occidentaux ne choisissent pas d'aider les maillent fréquemment pour d'obscures rivalités. groupes qui représentent le peuple syrien et laissent le Leur idéologie a la puissance des théories autoexpli¬ Qatar avancer ses pions, ils vont se retrouver avec les catives, leurs financements extérieurs leur donnent islamistes et nous aussi, conclut Abdallah Yaçine. Jî aussi un solide avantage matériel : il n'en faut pas n'estpas trop tard, mais ilfautfaire vite si on veut em¬ plus pour que les volontaires affluent. pêcher ça. » Vu de l'extérieur, la confusion est totale entre tou¬

tes les composantes de la révolution syrienne. La lut¬

te armée n'a rien clarifié. Tous les révolutionnaires

crient Allah est grand, s'affublent de titres ronflants

tirés du Coran et utilisent l'iconographie djihadiste.

Leurs drapeaux portent la Chahada, la profession de

foi musulmane, ils arborent des keffiehs et prient

tant et mieux. Mais les objectifs des révolutionnaires

restent nationaux et politiques, à la différence des rêves globalisants des djihadistes.

13 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti DECEMBER 6, 2012 Wider Chaos Feared as Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurds By TIM ARANGO

EYLANPINAR, Turkey — In plain view of the patrons at an outdoor cafe Chere in this border town, the convoy of gun trucks waving the flag of the Syrian rebels whizzed through the Syrian village of Ras al- Ain. They had not come to fight their primary enemy, the soldiers of Bashar al-Assad’s government. They had rushed in to battle the ethnic Kurds. The confrontation spoke not only to the violence that has enveloped Syria, but also to what awaits if the government falls. The fear — already materializing in these hills — is that Syria’s ethnic groups will take up arms against one another in a Credit: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times bloody, post-Assad contest for power. Syrian civilians fled from Ras al-Ain after two jets bombed the village, sending peo- The Kurdish militias in northern Syria ple into Ceylanpinar in neighboring Turkey. Ras al-Ain has also seen fighting bet- had hoped to stay out of the civil war ween Syrian rebels and Kurds, rousing fears that Syria’s ethnic groups will take up raging in Syria. They were focused on pre- arms against one another in a bloody, post-Assad contest for power. paring to secure an autonomous enclave for themselves within Syria should the rebels succeed in toppling the govern- veling of a society whose mix of sects, in the Middle East. ment. But slowly, inexorably, they have identities and traditions were held together “Our time has come after so much suf- been dragged into the fighting and now by the yoke of a dictator. fering and persecution,” said Barham have one goal in mind, their autonomy, Analysts fear this combustible envi- Salih, the former prime minister of Iraq’s which also means the Balkanization of the ronment could presage a bloody ethnic regional Kurdish government. “The 20th state. and sectarian conflict that will resonate far century was cruel to the Kurds. Our rights, “We want to have a Kurdish nation,” beyond Syria’s borders, especially if it identity and culture were brutally suppres- said Divly Fadal Ali, 18, who fled the involves the Kurds. There is concern that sed.” fighting and was recently staying in a Iraq’s Kurds, who are already training Amid the fog of war here, there are local community center here for Kurdish Syrian Kurds to fight, may jump into the recriminations. The rebels say the Kurds refugees. “We want our own schools, our Syria fight to protect their ethnic brethren. are cooperating with the government, a own hospitals. We want the government to That could also pull in Turkey, which common perception among Arabs in admit our existence. We want recognition fears that an autonomous Kurdish region Syria. This is partly because the govern- of our Kurdish identity.” in Syria would become a haven for ment has withdrawn from Kurdish areas to These skirmishes between Kurds and Kurdish militants to carry out cross-border concentrate on fighting rebel forces, and Arabs take on a darker meaning for Syria attacks in the Kurdish areas in southeas- partly because the Assad government as the rebels appear each day to gain tern Turkey. granted new rights like citizenship to the momentum and the government appears “The fear that an Arab-Kurdish Kurds after the uprising began and issued less and less able to restore control. The confrontation has been ignited might lead them official identification cards, which rebels have taken over military bases, laid the Kurds to ask for additional security they had long been denied. siege to Damascus and forced the airport forces to protect their lands,” said Maria At the same time, a powerful Syrian to close. Fantappie, an Iraq analyst at the Kurdish militia, the Democratic Union But the rebels are largely Sunni Arabs, International Crisis Group, who is helping Party, or P.Y.D., is an offshoot of the and the most effective among them are to prepare a report on the Syrian Kurds. Kurdish militant group in Turkey known extremists aligned with Al Qaeda, a pros- She said that the Syrian Kurdish figh- as the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or pect that worries not only the West, but the ters being trained in northern Iraq were on P.K.K., which has fought an insurgency Christians, Shiites, Druze — and Kurds — standby and could be sent to Syria, which within Turkey for nearly 30 years. As of Syria. would escalate the situation. Turkey has supported the rebels within The fighting in Ras al-Ain, which Before the uprising in Syria, the Kurds Syria, the perception has arisen that Mr. came after a fierce battle between rebel in Ras al-Ain lived peacefully with their Assad’s government and the P.Y.D., which and government forces last month, Arab neighbors, they say. But the war has is viewed suspiciously by other Kurdish demonstrated the complexity of a bloody shredded those bonds just as surely as the factions, have coordinated to face a com- civil war that has already claimed more revolutions in the region have prompted mon enemy in Turkey. than 40,000 lives. Like the sectarian bat- the Kurds to dream of an independent The Kurds say the rebel fighters that tles in Iraq after the American invasion, nation uniting the Kurds in Syria, Iraq, came to Ras al-Ain, some of whom they Turkey and Iran, and put their own stamp say belonged to an extremist Islamist the recent violence between Arabs and Kurds in Syria indicates the further unra- on the great contest for power under way group, burned and looted their

14 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

village, inciting a sense among Kurds years after the Assad regime is finished,” the Turkish government for the Arabs, the that if they did not fight now they could be said the fighter, Abu Zaradashit. Free Syrian Army.” left out of the spoils of power and auto- Lying in a hospital bed here, a rebel As the mayor spoke recently, a rumor nomy in a post-Assad Syria. fighter named Haqer Hammed said he was was spreading through town that fighting A rebel fighter inside the village, who shot in the leg after being ambushed by a would resume across the border in a cou- gave his name as Abu Mohammed, said group of Kurdish fighters. “The Kurds ple of hours. The mayor’s assistant recei- that some Kurdish militants were fighting want their own small nation,” he said. ved a call from a source who told him that on the side of the government, but that “Arabs don’t mind if they have their own a cease-fire for funerals would soon rebels had no plans to penetrate deeper nation, but since they are working hand- expire, and that the fighting would start into Kurdish territory. “The regime is in-hand with the regime, there will be again at precisely 3:30 p.m. hoping and working hard to spark an fighting.” Sure enough, before a clutch of Arab-Kurdish conflict,” he said, a black Ceylanpinar, a town of wheat and pis- curious townspeople who had gathered at radio in his hand and a sniper rifle slung tachio farmers and cattle breeders, like its the cafe to watch, the gun trucks appeared from his shoulder. “We should save our sister village across the border, has a siza- at the appointed hour and the fight resu- efforts to fight the Assad forces, not our ble Kurdish population, and the clashes med. Under dimming skies, the playful Kurdish brothers.” have also heightened tensions here shrieks of schoolchildren on one side of A Kurdish fighter worried that the because local Kurds regard the Turkish the border competed to be heard above the fighting was just the beginning of a long government’s support of the Syrian rebels din of explosions and gunfire on the other. struggle that would outlast the Assad as a threat. “Of course we are concerned,” government. “I am sure that Arabs and said Ismail Arslan, the mayor. Mr. Arslan, Kurds will fight each other for years and a Kurd, said, “There is clear support by

7 / December / 2012

if he died in battle against the Kurds,” the statement said. It added that the response of senior clerics was that he would not be Iraq’s Senior Shia Clerics considered a martyr. In another part of the statement, the Prohibit Arab-Kurdish War Shia religious institution said that Maliki has failed in his post as prime minister and should step down. A group of Shia cler- “Maliki has not yet been able to ics meeting with improve the security situation in Iraq,” it Ayatollah Hussein said. “As prime minister and commander- Shahroudi in the in-chief, he failed to carry out this task holy city of Najaf. and therefore must step down.” Photo: shahrou- In restructuring the army and forming di.com the Dijla Operations Command, the prime minister has reinstated a number of high-ranking officers from the former Iraqi army, causing a stir among both Kurdish and Shia officials. “We will never forget Maliki’s initia- rudaw.net sands of its own Peshmerga forces into tive to create a committee in order to the territories, setting off a tense stand-off return Saddam’s followers to power,” RBIL, Kurdistan Region – As many that has endured for weeks. said the Najaf statement. Iraqis worry about a possible war bet- The Najaf statement accused Maliki Also last week, Hussein al-Sadr, a Eween Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga of driving Iraq toward war for personal senior Shia cleric, sent a letter to fighters in the disputed northern territo- gain. “This war will not serve the Iraqis,” Kurdistan Region President Massoud ries, the country’s senior Shia clerics have it said. Barzani, saying that several Shia clerics, issued religious prohibitions against such Maliki, himself a Shia leader from the including himself, had issued a fatwa that a conflict. Dawa Party, has received a lot of criti- prohibited fighting the Kurds. The latest reaction came on cism from the country’s Shia clerics, Meanwhile, the office of Ali Sistani, Wednesday from the Najaf Hawza, the among them Muqtada al-Sadr, the foun- Iraq’s grand Ayatollah, called on Maliki, prominent Shia religious institution, der of the Mahdi Army. “To be patient and stay away from a war which issued a fatwa saying that, The clerics said on Wednesday that that could only harm the Iraqis.” “Fighting the Kurds is haram (religiously the prime minister has not consulted the President Massoud Barzani applau- prohibited).” prominent Shia leaders about his recent ded Sistani for his statement, saying, “Those Iraqi soldiers who die in battle actions, and that only a small circle of “History has repeated itself,” a reference against the Kurds are not considered mar- people around him are aware of his deci- to existing bonds between Iraq’s Kurdish tyrs,” the Hawza said in a statement. sions. and Shia populations. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki The Najaf Hawza’s statement men- Meanwhile, in response to a comment ignited tensions by sending in his contro- tions a letter received from the father of a by Maliki that Arabs and Kurds were on versial Dijla forces into the northern dis- soldier who has been sent to the disputed the brink of war, President Barzani said puted territories that are also claimed by territories. on Wednesday: “We don’t want war, but we are ready to protect our nation and our the Kurds. The autonomous Kurdistan “In the letter, the father asked us whe- I Regional Government dispatched thou- ther his son would be considered a martyr region.”

15 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 7 DECEMBER 2012 The Syrian Kurdish Issue in Turkish-Iranian-Iraqi Relations Turkey, Iran and Iraq are deeply worried about the aftermath of Syria’s crisis. The irony is that Syria and Turkey had been teetering on the brink of war because of the Kurdish question and had agreed to cooperate against Kurdish ambitions. Ankara now perceives the development of the Syrian Kurdish issue as a serious national security threat, stresses Idrees Mohammed.

remote towards Tehran. Thirdly, Iranian regional rivals, including Middle East Online Turkey, have significant influence over Syria’s crisis, which strengthens their regional position. The Arabs and Turkey would find it hard to urds in Syria will attract special attention from the triangle digest a Kurdish federal region in Syria. Whereas Iran would feel that states of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Syria is the epicenter of power- Syrian Kurds could be beneficial in affecting regional politics. ful countries’ interests and the Syrian Kurdish issue is multi- Conversely, the Syria opposition has continually refused to accede to dimensional.K The triangle states all include significant populations of domestic Kurdish demands. Seeing themselves in a delicate position Kurds and have shared and conflicting interests in relation to the and afraid of losing considerable empowerment, the Kurds may con- Kurdish question and beyond. Ironically the Syrian Kurdish issue could sider making strategic alliances with Syrian Alawites and Iran, which contribute both to the improvement, and to the deterioration, of their would favor Iran. interstate relationships. Grasping this complexity provides Syrian Kurds with further power to play politics; on the other hand, the same There are attractive opportunities for Turkey to involve itself with the complexity could have negative ramifications with regard to the Syrian Kurds. First and foremost, Turkey continues to suffer from its future of the Syrian Kurdish issue. endemic Kurdish problem, and the Turkish security mindset reflects a deep-seated fear of the state’s territorial dismantlement. The defense Turkey, Iran and Iraq are deeply worried about the aftermath of Syria’s of Iraq’s territorial integrity and now the struggle for that of Syria has crisis. The irony is that Syria and Turkey had been teetering on the become Turkey’s perennial end game. In addition, Turkey cannot brink of war because of the Kurdish question and had agreed to coop- achieve its ambitious dreams unless it resolves its own Kurdish prob- erate against Kurdish ambitions. Ankara now perceives the develop- lem. And these points are directly related to the Syrian Kurds. ment of the Syrian Kurdish issue as a serious national security threat. Secondly, Turkey and Iran are regional rivals for influence. Turkey tried The improvement of the status of Kurds and the consolidation of the to contain Iranian influence in Syria. Now that influence is waning Democratic Union Party (PYD), seen as being affiliated to the PKK, will Turkey does not want Iran to take any opportunity to practice influ- make Turkish Kurds envious and increasingly motivate them to demand ence through the Syrian Kurds. Thirdly, Turkey looks at Iraq and imag- further rights. ines the future of Syria. Security and political stability would remain fragile. Syrian Arabs would be greatly influenced by the Gulf power- Iran laments over Syria’s crisis. Together with the Syrian regime, Iran houses and only limited attention would be paid to Turkish interests. was influential in regional and international politics. They had also With Turkey increasing needing energy and trying to be a hub, it sure- cooperated on the Kurdish question, coordinating moves against ly eyes on Syrian oil concentrated at Kurdish regions. On the other Kurdish aspirations in Iraq and, reportedly, worked side by side on the hand, the Kurds may favor alliances with Turkey. Iraqi Kurds were Turkish Kurdish problem. The downfall of Syria’s regime and the devel- appreciative of Turkish help and considered it as a protector against opment of Syria’s Kurdish issue could be a threat to the Iranian regime the Arabs. Syrian Kurds may face difficult challenges like those faced given its own Kurdish problem. by their Iraqi brethren.

With respect to Iraq, Syria’s crisis can be seen through three different Such a context certainly attracts both Iraqi and Turkish Kurds into the lenses. While the Shiites feel the results of Syria’s crisis will hurt their game. For a start, Kurds in Iraq and Turkey have a considerable influ- power, the Sunnis believe that time is on their side as it would bring ence on the future of Syrian Kurds. Turkey has developed good- strong Sunni leadership in Syria, while for the Kurds, Syria’s crisis is a natured relations with Iraqi Kurdistan and together they coordinate window of opportunity. actions on the Syrian Kurdish issue. Bearing in mind the Syrian Kurdish issue, it has also stepped forward to reach its own Kurds, including the Iraqi Kurdistan benefits greatly from Syria’s crisis although this crisis imprisoned PKK leader. could somewhat, and temporarily, affect its relations with various actors. Nevertheless, Syrian Kurdish leverage contributes significantly While relations between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan have been affected to the development Iraqi Kurdish internal and external agendas. The by Syria’s crisis, Iran has recently appeared to seek a better under- landlocked Kurdish region has an extreme need for a route to the sea standing with Iraqi Kurds with regard to the Syrian Kurds. As for the and that could be offered by Syrian Kurds. The political position of Turkish Kurds, the Turkish government has publicly accused Iran of Iraqi Kurds vis-à-vis Baghdad would be strengthened. Moreover, and supporting the PKK. given the interstate characteristics of the Kurdish question, Iraqi Kurdish influence over Syrian Kurds will strengthen the leverage and It is a complex situation. Ankara and Tehran will continue to oppose to bargaining power of Iraqi Kurdistan towards Turkey, Iran and even a Kurdish statehood and Baghdad and Damascus will do the same. The future Syria. Kurds will continue to seek greater rights and power. However, this does not mean that these states will not seek greater involvement The Syrian Kurds may be magnets for Iran and Turkey and a source of with Kurds, but it will be exclusive insofar as specific Kurdish ambi- rivalry between them. Iranian involvement with Syrian Kurds is neces- tions and Ankara’s and Teheran’s interests are viewed. This also does sary and may, together with others, have three main purposes. Iran not imply that the Kurds should not seek or accept cooperation and suffers from its own Kurdish problem and increasingly feels pressured involvement with them, but that it should be exclusive insofar as spe- by regional and international developments. Accordingly, it needs to cific Kurdish interests are regarded. Ë keep a close eye on Syrian Kurdish measures. Should it not do that, the Idrees Mohammed holds an MA in International Relations from Warsaw Kurds would move in their own preferred direction. Secondly, Iran University. His thesis was on Turkey’s policy towards Iraqi Kurdistan. He now needs to ease its problems caused by Syria’s crisis. Explicit Iranian largely monitors and writes on Turkish foreign policy and Kurdish issues. support for the Syrian regime has drawn Syrian opposition furious and

16 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December / 8 / 2012

OPINION/ GÜVEN SAK lation will soon make that impossible. That only means that we can expect price hikes on the Russian energy bill. Bad for the already-high current account deficit figure, especially in a period of slow Why Turkey wants growth. That bodes ill for the sustainabi- lity of the current account deficit in 2013. Diversification is always good, but here are two types ofKurdish countries in the Government oil (KRG) has a new meaning this regional turbulence makes Turkey world – those in which you get to for Turkey. Among the plethora of com- even more interested in Kurdish oil and Tyour email as soon as you turn on your mercial possibilities, however, it is the natural gas. It is definitely a nascent sup- smart phone at the airport and those in Kurdish oil that interests us the most ply route to Turkey. Turkey is also impor- which you do not. Arbil’s sleek these days. tant for the KRG to market its own natu- International Airport in northern Iraq Turkey is heavily dependent on ral resources, now that Syria’s alternative puts its country in the first type. It is part imported oil and natural gas. The coun- supply route is closed for the coming five of our civilization. The airport was try is not a producer of carbon-based fos- years at least. So a win-win situation? modernized in 2010, by a Turkish sil fuels. Turkey’s energy bill is around 60 Not so, thinks Baghdad’s federal govern- construction company of course. That billion Turkish Liras, about half of all ment, putting a ban on the private jet of didn’t mean, however, that Turkey’s imports, and is likely to increase further. the Turkish energy minister. energy minister was welcome. Baghdad That is not good for a country with high The trouble with Turkey is its schizo- did not allow his private jet to land, pre- current account deficits. But the energy phrenic attitudes toward the Kurds. If the venting the minister from participating at bill is not the reason for imbalance. South Kurds in the south are considered indis- an oil and gas conference in the city. Korea is also a net importer of energy but pensable allies, than so should be the The last time I was there about a year suffers from no related structural pro- ones in the north. Arbil was part of ago, I was struck by a new Family Mall blem in its current account balance. In Mosul province in the past, with all its close by. Everything in the place – this cooling down period of 2012, ethnic divergence. brands, signs, goods – were Turkish. Turkey’s growth rate has declined about Vilayet-i Musul was also part of the Even at the food court, the restaurant has 70 percent, from 9 percent to 3 percent, National Treaty (Misak-ı Millî) of a menu in Turkish and all the waiters while the decline in the current account Turkey’s 1920 Liberation War, a fact nei- were from Turkey. By Turkey, I am refer- deficit is only a meager 30 percent from ther AnkaraH nor Baghdad seems to have ring to Şırnak province on the border. So 10 percent to 7.5 percent of GDP. forgotten. all Turkish SMEs have been rather active Look at Turkey’s other energy part- in northern Iraq since the first govern- ners: Iran and Russia. Hardly ideal. ment of Nechirvan Barzani. Nowadays, Turkey has been paying Iran with gold to the area of the Kurdistan Regional circumvent sanctions, but new U.S. legis-

tral government, a move Baghdad clearly found offensive. The Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil has signed exploration deals Iraq gets tough with oil majors like Exxon Mobil and Chevron of the United States, Total of France, and Gazprom of Russia, along with some 40 smaller with Turkey over foreign companies. Baghdad refuses to recognize the contracts, branding them illegal. The KRG's deals with Exxon and the other majors are likely to end Kurds their investment in Iraq's mega oil fields in the south. BAGHDAD, December 5, 2012 (UPI) Other majors, particularly Chinese companies, are eager to take their place in boosting Iraq's oil production but the defections were a bitter The Iraqi government has stopped an airliner carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz landing in Iraqi Kurdistan amid humiliation for Baghdad and could set back its ambitious oil strategy. Baghdad's deepening rift with Ankara over its support Iraq's This dispute with Baghdad, over oil rights and revenue-sharing, is only independence-minded Kurds. one component of the multilayered rift between Erbil and Baghdad, but the banning of Yildiz's aircraft reflects the growing tensions bet- ween the KRG and the federal government as well between Iraq and The Kurds, who have a semiautonomous enclave in northern Iraq, are Turkey. locked in a tense confrontation with Iraqi troops in the region because of long-simmering disputes over land and oil. Baghdad was incensed in August after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made an unannounced visit to the flashpoint city of Kirkuk, Ankara's backing for the Kurdistan Regional Government, whose terri- which the Kurds claim is part of their territory along with its oilfields, tory contains an estimated 45 billion barrels of oil and 211 trillion cubic without informing Baghdad. feet of natural gas, threatens a showdown with the Turks that could inflame tensions with Syria and Iran in a region already torn by war. Kirkuk "is a red line for the Kurds," observed Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis group. "The Kurds will never give up the city." The decision Tuesday by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki to refuse Yildiz's aircraft permission to land at Erbil, the Kurdish Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to make his coun- capital, imposed greater strains on Baghdad's relations with the Turks try into the energy hub between east and west, which is why it's dea- at a critical juncture. ling directly with the KRG. Yildiz was heading to Erbil to attend the closing session of a Kurdistan It's offered to build oil and gas pipelines from landlocked Kurdistan to oil and gas conference intended to accelerate the enclave's drive to its Mediterranean export terminals, allowing the Kurds to bypass Baghdad's pipeline network. establish its own energy industry operating independently of the cen- ⇒

17 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti ⇒ In recent weeks, Maliki and Erdogan have engaged in a war of words, The trigger could come from a standoff between battle-seasoned accusing each other of pushing their countries toward conflict. Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga -- "those who face death" -- and Erdogan has also given sanctuary to Iraq's fugitive vice president, Maliki's mainly Shiite forces in disputed territory in northern Iraq. Tariq al-Hashemi, a minority Sunni who has been sentenced to death Kurdish leaders want to expand their semiautonomous enclave across in absentia by a Baghdad court on charges of murder and treason territory stretching from Iraq's eastern border to with Iran to the wes- against Maliki's Shiite-controlled government. tern frontier with Syria, a predominantly Kurdish region that also He denies the charges and says he was framed by Maliki, who's widely contains most of Syria's oil reserves. seen to be accumulating dictatorial powers following the U.S. military This has raised suspicions the Iraqi Kurds may be seeking to establish withdrawal in December 2011. a wider Kurdish state embracing Syria's Kurds, and energy resources, Baghdad's refusal to relinquish Kirkuk, traditionally a Kurdish city that should war-torn Syria fragment. Saddam Hussein sought to Arabize by forcibly driving out Kurdish Maliki warned Saturday of the danger of "ethnic conflict" after efforts inhabitants, has long been a powder keg waiting to explode. to ease tension stalled. Baghdad refused to dismantle the newly esta- Amid the growing tension between Baghdad and Erbil, there are blished Tigris Operations Command that covers disputed territory in concerns it could explode and touch off a shooting war between Iraq's Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala provinces in the north.
Shiite majority and the Sunni Kurds, amid the wider sectarian strains.

DECEMBER 7, 2012

Genel in Kurdish oil link to Turkey thenational.ae / Florian Neuhof

RBIL // Genel Energy, the biggest oil pro- ducer in Kurdistan, plans to fund a pipe- Eline from the autonomous region in Iraq to Turkey. Tony Hayward, the company's chief exe- cutive, expects work on a 1 million barrel per day (bpd) pipeline from Kurdish oilfields to the Turkish border to begin in the first half of next year, even as relations between Ankara and Baghdad have soured. "We are intent on investing and funding that development," he said at an energy conference held in Erbil this week. Genel will complete a pipeline connecting its Taq Taq oilfield to another field this month. Turkey is keen to establish closer ties with Kurdistan in an effort to ensure its The new pipeline would connect that field to energy supplies. Above, the Kar refinery in Erbil. Sebastian Meyer / Corbis the border. The company is also drawing up plans to export gas to Turkey. "We are having serious discussions with Kirkuk, a city at the centre of dispute between "We are developing plans to install a gas the company," the KRG prime minister the central government and Erbil, in August. transport infrastructure, said Mr Hayward, Nechirvan Barzaniwas quoted as saying. The Iraqi government also considers the who formerly headed BP. "We hope they participate in the region." contracts signed by the KRG and internatio- "The additional infrastructure required to So far, KRG oil exports flow through nal oil companies to be illegal and is refusing connect Kurdish gas to the Turkish gas net- Iraq's export infrastructure. to pay for oil produced in the autonomous work is modest and technologically straight- region at full price. But if Kurdish ambitions to increase pro- forward." duction capacity from the current 250,000 Genel, which aims to produce 140,000 Genel's plans will be met with displeasure bpd to 1 million bpd by 2015 are realised, the bpd in the KRG by 2014, also wants to profit by Iraq's central government, which has for existing pipelines will be insufficient. from the rising Turkish demand for natural some time been feuding with both Turkey and gas. Turkey is keen to establish close ties with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) the hydrocarbon-rich KRG in an effort to "Rapid growth in overall [Turkish] gas over their cooperation in the energy sector. ensure energy supplies for fast-growing consumption is expected to continue," said Baghdad's displeasure became apparent domestic demand. Mr Hayward, who said that gas was the "next on Tuesday, when its air traffic controllers phase in the development of the Kurdistan The two governments in May signed an refused to allow the Turkish energy minister region of Iraq hydrocarbons". energy and security agreement. Taner Yildiz the right to land at the airport in Genel hopes to produce 4 billion cubic "We believe that will pave the way for oil Erbil, where he was due to attend a confe- metres a year from Kurdish gasfields by and gas exports from northern Iraq to rence. 2015. Turkey," said Mr Hayward. An article by Iraq Oil Report published Mr Hayward said he believed Kurdistan Baghdad is unhappy at what it sees as an that day suggested that Turkey and the KRG would supply about 20 per cent of Turkish gas infringement on its sovereignty. Relations G were close to signing a large energy contract demand by the end of the decade. that would result in a Turkish government- with Ankara were already strained after backed oil company developing Kurdish oil- Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet fields and building pipelines. Davutoglumade an unscheduled visit to

18 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti Le président du Kurdistan irakien inspecte les troupes à Kirkouk

KIRKOUK (Irak), 10 décembre 2012 (AFP)

LE PRÉSIDENT de la région autonome du Kurdistan irakien, Massoud Barzani, a passé en revue lundi les forces de sécurité kurdes, les peshmer- gas, dans la province contestée de Kirkouk, dans le nord de l'Irak, a indi- qué un général kurde. Cette visite pourrait augmenter encore les tensions avec Bagdad. La dégrada- tion des relations entre le Kurdistan et les autorités centrales a poussé les deux parties à déployer des renforts de troupes dans le nord de l'Irak. "Le président de la région du Kurdistan irakien (M. Barzani, NDLR) a inspecté des unités de peshmergas situées dans la périphérie de (la ville de) Kirkouk", chef-lieu de la province éponyme, a indiqué à l'AFP un commandant de brigade peshmerga, le général de division, Chirko Rauf. Selon M. Rauf, M. Barzani a souligné devant les troupes peshmergas La dispute sur les territoires contestés dans le nord de l'Irak est l'un des dossiers "l'importance de maintenir la fraternité et la paix et de servir tous les (habitants) les plus susceptibles de menacer à terme la stabilité et l'unité de l'Irak, à en de Kirkouk". croire analystes et diplomates.H Cette province fait partie des territoires du nord de l'Irak que les dirigeants Bagdad et Erbil divergent également sur la répartition des revenus du pétrole et kurdes souhaitent intégrer à leur région autonome, ce à quoi les autorités cen- le partage du pouvoir. trales irakiennes s'opposent.

6 décembre 2012

L’arméeSYRIE rebelle a recours • L’échec à la torture et aux moral exécutions sommaires. de la Des pratiquesrévolution de mauvais augure pour l’avenir du pays. l’exécution des hommes du barrage de Al-Mustaqbal | Omar Abdallah | Hamichou – a été tout simplement la répétition conforme de ce que les forces La révolution syrienne va entrer dans sa d’Assad avaient fait à Baniyas [dans le deuxième année et, malgré la mort et la nord de la Syrie] au début de la révolu- destruction que l’armée de Bachar El- tion. Il ne s’agit pas de discuter pour Assad a semées à travers tout le pays, elle savoir si ces hommes devaient être exé- réussit à poursuivre son combat pour la cutés, mais de la manière de procéder chute du régime. Il n’empêche qu’elle a [exécutions sommaires] et de traiter les échoué sur plusieurs fronts, le plus soldats prisonniers. De même, à Alep, des important étant celui de la morale. Elle soldats rebelles ont ouvert le feu sur des n’a pas su rejeter les us et coutumes manifestants kurdes qui leur refusaient L instaurés par un demi-siècle de règne du l’entrée dans leur quartier. Dessin de Tiounine paru dans Baas. D’aucuns diront que dans la phase Kommersant, Moscou. actuelle il faut se contenter d’affronter le Ces pratiques, qui se sont répandues et régime et repousser à une phase sont de plus en plus visibles, sont de ultérieure la reconstruction du pays, des mauvais augure pour l’avenir de la Syrie. l’arrivisme qui se sont répandus comme villes et des hommes. Or cette vision des Le plus grave est qu’on y réagisse en dis- une traînée de poudre. On entend sou- choses est trop étroite. Car la révolution ant qu’on n’a pas le droit de demander vent parler d’Untel qui a reçu telle est un changement radical [pas seulement des comptes aux soldats qui se sacrifient somme en provenance de tel pays mais du régime au sens étroit du terme], mais pour le peuple. Ce faisant, nous pro- sans que les gens en voient la couleur, de tout ce qui le sous-tend, à savoir un duisons sans nous en rendre compte un l’argent restant bloqué sur un compte en ensemble de conceptions politiques, nouveau tyran dont il sera d’autant plus banque. De même, il y a l’opportunisme sociales, économiques et morales. Aussi difficile de venir à bout qu’il est armé. politique et la tentation d’engranger des la révolution doit-elle se dresser contre le Nous ne voulons pas diffamer l’Armée bénéfices sur le dos des Syriens, de trahir système dans son intégralité, y compris libre, qui reste, malgré toutes ses erreurs, les martyrs et de poursuivre des intérêts dans sa dimension morale. le bouclier de la révolution. Mais, nous personnels ou communautaires au détri- devons être attentifs à ces comportements ment de la patrie. Tout cela mine la confi- afin de ne pas nous retrouver plus tard à ance que les Syriens peuvent avoir en L’expression la plus évidente de cet échec N réside dans un certain nombre d’actes de dire que “c’était mieux sous Assad”. leurs hommes politiques. l’Armée libre syrienne [l’armée des rebelles]. Ce que le général Daoud a fait à L’autre aspect de la problématique Idlib [dans le nord de la Syrie] – morale réside dans la corruption et

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

îtlïïmàt Vendredi 7 décembre 2012 Iran : des opposants en exil tentent de s'organiser

Les effets des sanctions internationales et des « printemps arabes »

ravivent l'espoir d'un affaiblissement du régime

Prague en Syrie et dans le monde arabe, essayons de dégager des points de de fédéralisme, de politique écono¬ Envoyé spécial tout est possible aujourd'hui en consensus. » mique et de statut de la femme, ou Iran», résume Mohsen Sazgara, L'UDI n'a ni charte ni instances. encore de la place de la culture et Au sous-sol d'un anonyme 58 ans, l'une des têtes pensantes de C'est un rassemblement informel, de la religion. hôtel international de Pra¬ l'UDI, en exil depuis 2004. dont les participants, militants Mais l'UDI ne veut pas seule¬ gue, un simple sigle est affi¬ M. Sazgara connaît bien le régi¬ politiquesouintellectuelssanséti- ment réfléchir à l'avenir, elle tra¬ ché sur la porte : UDI, pour Unity me, il en a été un farouche suppor¬ quette, sont invités à titre person¬ vaille à changer le présent en réflé¬ for Democracy in Iran. Entre deux ter - il a fondé les Gardiens de la nel. De fait, presque toutes les sen¬ chissant, par exemple, à la création séminaires d'entreprises percent révolution (pasdarans) - avant de sibilités politiques sont représen¬ les échos lancinants du persan. d'une chaîne d'information par prendre ses distances et de partir tées, à l'exception des royalistes Les 17 et 18 novembre s'est tenue, satellite sur le modèle d'Al-Jazira ou aux Etats-Unis, où il travaille pour purs et durs, des Moudjahidine du dans la capitale tchèque.Ta troisiè¬ encore aux moyens de contourner la Fondation George W.Bush. peuple et de la branche radicale du me conférence de cette nouvelle la « grande muraille » que le régime «Nous devons utiliser la prochaine Parti communiste. organisation encore peu connue tente de mettre en place pour isoler présidentielle [prévue en juin 2013] Un tel éventail, qui s'étend des sur la scène de l'opposition ira¬ Internet. Des formations à l'action pourgagnerlesclassespopulairesà nationalistes aux Kurdes, des libé¬ nienne en exil. non violente sont envisagées. la cause de la démocratie. » raux aux réformateurs, des capita¬ Fondée officiellement en Ces groupes de travail donnent Pour Mohsen Sazgara, l'une des listes aux socialistes,est sans précé¬ février 2012 à Stockholm, l'Union parfois lieu à d'intéressants affron¬ principales faiblesses du « mouve¬ dent dans les annales de l'opposi¬ pour la démocratie en Iran s'est tements générationnels. «Quand tion iranienneen exil, qui continue déjà réunie en juillet à Bruxelles. mentvert », qui avait suivi la réélec¬ j'entends des intellectuels remettre desedéchirersurtrois points essen¬ Difficile de définir ce qu'est l'UDI. tioncontestéede MahmoudAhma- en question l'économie de marché, tiels : le niveau de centralisme de Pas un parti ni une coalition : elle dinejad en juin 2009, était. de l'Etat, le degré de libéralisme ou de j'ail'impression d'êtrefaceà desfos¬ n'est pas assez organisée et hiérar¬ n'avoir pas su rallier les classes dirigisme dans l'économie et la pla¬ siles», s'esclaffe Ahmad Eshghyar, chisée. Pas non plus un think tank populaires et de n'être pas sorti des un jeune militant de 29 ans qui a ouunforum, mais plutôt uneplate¬ grandes villes. Malgré la chape de ce du religieux dans la politique. participé à lacampagne de Mir Hus¬ forme de réflexion et d'action. C'est plomb et les dizaines de milliers «Sion ne se metpas d'accordsur sein Moussavi, candidat malheu¬ un «parapluie», disent ses organi¬ d'emprisonnements, M. Sazgara les règles d'un dialogue, ces désac¬ reux à la dernière présidentielle. sateurs, un lieu de rencontre desti¬ est convaincu qu'« Ali Khamenei cords risquentde nous tuer, met en L'arrivée en exil de milliers de né à dégager des consensus au sein [le Guide suprême] a été délégiti¬ garde Shariar Ahy, l'un des fonda¬ ces jeunes issus du « mouvement d'une opposition qui a toujours été mé et [que] le mouvementpour la teurs de l'UDI. En 2005, les Irakiens vert » a donné un second souffle à handicapée par ses divisions et des démocratie sepropagesous lapeau ont eu des élections totalement la diaspora politique tout en la ambitions concurrentes. de la société». libres, cela ne lés apas empêchés de bousculant. L'amalgame pren- Mais, en cette fin d'année, l'hu¬ Tout en redoutant une guerre se massacrerensuite. » dra-t-il ? L'UDI s'est fixé pour objec¬ meur est à l'optimisme parmi les aux effets désastreux, les partici¬ «Ily a ici des gens qui ne se par¬ tif de publier une charte et de se participants à laréunion. « Les sanc¬ pants à la conférence de l'UDI laientpas ily a dix ans», souligne la mettre en mouvement en tions occidentales [en représailles -120 personnes venues de toute journaliste Sharan Tabari. Ainsi, février 2013, avant la présidentielle. au programme nucléaire l'Europe, des Etats-Unis et de Tur¬ Nasser Iranpour, un intellectuel Il faudra évidemment des moyens. controversé] commencent à faire quie- parlent ouvertement d'un kurde vivant en Allemagne, a expo¬ Pourl'instant, laseule aide étrangè¬ possible effondrement du régime, sé son projet d'Etat fédéral. A la sor¬ re revendiquée par l'UDI provient sous la pression conjuguée de l'Oc¬ tie, imconférencierl'aborde : «Pour Le Guide suprême du centre Olaf-Palme, en Suède. cident et du mécontentement moi, lefédéralisme a toujours été Quand on fait remarquer aux «a été délégitimé social intérieur. Ils veulent en voir synonyme de séparatisme. Aujour¬ organisateurs que l'opposition en les signes avant-coureurs dans la d'hui, je viens de comprendre que et le mouvement exil n'a jamais eu beaucoup d'in¬ multiplication des grèves et des non. » «Seul lefédéralisme sauvera fluence sur le cours de choses en pour la démocratie se dissensions au sommet de l'Etat, l'Iran », renchérit Iranpour. Iran, M. Ahy répond du tac au tac : où chacun se rejette la faute du La question des minorités-Tur¬ propage sous la peau «Khomeiny venait bien de l'étran¬ comans, Azéris, Arabes, Balout- fiasco économique et de l'isole¬ gerquand il apris lepouvoir!» de la société» ches et Kurdes- est l'une des plus ment diplomatique. Signe que le régime de Téhéran épineuses. Sans compter les cultes Mohsen Sazgara « Il est de notre responsabilité de commence à prendre l'UDI au ' non reconnus par l'islam comme l'un des fondateurs de l'Union nous tenir prêts, explique Djavad sérieux, il a aGcusé ses partici¬ les bahaïs ou les yarsanis, qui s'esti¬ pour la démocratie en Iran Khadem, un autre organisateur, pants, au lendemain de la réunion ment eux-mêmes opprimés par proche de l'ancien premier minis¬ de Prague, d'être «des agents à la les nationalistes kurdes. malau régime. Lapppulation souf¬ tre assassiné, Chapour Bakhtiar. solde du Mossad et de la CIA ». a L'on a donc beaucoup discuté, fre et l'on sait que les Iraniens rejet¬ Nous devons réfléchira ce que sera Christophe Ayad au sein de studieux petits groupes tent le régime depuis les manifesta¬ la transitionafïn quelepays nesom¬ de travail, de réformes constitu¬ tions de 200g. Avec ce qui se passe bre pas dans le chaos. Nous tionnelles, de décentralisation et

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

&tMm&z il décembre 2012 Syrie : l'OTAN divisée sur la menace chimique

Au sein de l'Alliance, certains s'inquiètent d'une intervention sur

la base de renseignements aléatoires

matique, qnt-ils prévenu. Le spectre de la manipulation «31 sites », a décrit le ministre fran¬ quoi pas). Le ministre turc, Ahmet du renseignement par l'admi¬ çais des affaires étrangères, Lau¬ Davutoglu, semble renchérir, four¬ Mais quel serait exactement le facteur déclencheur? La notion nistration Bush pour justifier rent Fabius, dimanche 9 décem¬ nissantdes détails surl'étatde «pré¬ la guerred'Iraken 2003 revient han¬ bre. C'est sur la réalité et la signifi¬ paration » de l'arsenal syrien. d'« emploi» peut-elle recouvrir ter la relation transatlantique. Un cation des informations avancées Mais le ministre allemand, Gui- l'étape de la militarisation des vifmalaise est apparu depuis envi¬ par Washington que porte le do Westerwelle, et son homologue ron une semaine au seinde l'Allian¬ contentieux. néerlandais, Frans Timmermans, Côté français, ce atlantique, où les analyses diver¬ Les désaccords transatlantiques sont «furieux », selon des témoins. on souligne que gent surle danger d'un recours aux opposent deux « camps » dans un Ils semblent croire à un complot. armes chimiques en Syrie. découpage qui, sans être identique, Ils fontvaloir qu'au moment où ils les informations Début décembre, l'administra¬ rappelle les fissures au sein de l'Al¬ doivent passer devant leurs Parle¬ mises en avant par tion Obàma a commencé à diffu¬ liance à propos de l'Irak et de la ments respectifs pourfaire valider ser dans les médias américains des Libye. D'un côté : les Etats-Unis, le le déploiement de missiles Patriot les Américains sont renseignements faisant état de Royaume-Uni,laTurquieetle secré¬ en Turquie, la mise' à l'étude par non corroborées signes d'une militarisation d'une taire général de l'OTAN, Anders l'OTAN d'une intervention en

partie de l'arsenal chimique Fogh Rasmusseri, perçus comme Syrie est inenvisageable. Les armes, les préparatifs à leur usage, syrien, laissant entendre qu'un interventionnistes. De l'autre : l'Al¬ Patriot apparaîtraient comme ce qui rendrait l'intervention pré¬ acte apocalyptique du pouvoir lemagne, les Pays-Bas, la Pologne l'avant-garde d'une action militai¬ ventive ? Comment s'accorder sur syrien n'était pas à exclure au et, dans une moindre mesure, la re extérieure, alors que l'OTAN a la fiabilité du renseignement dis¬ moment de sa chute, jugée proche. France, inquiets d'un scénario « à pris soin de les présenter comme ponible ? Quel rôle pour l'OTAN ? Selon ces informations,des précur¬ l'irakienne » où des forces armées purement défensifs. Avec quel mandat ? Ces question¬ seurs chimiques - des éléments seraientengagées surlabase de ren¬ M.Fabius adopte une position nements sont très présents à Paris. qui composent le gaz sarin - seignements aléatoires. prudente. Il est du côté des scepti¬ Le fait est que les responsables auraient commencé à être mélan¬ C'est dans le huis clos d'un dîner ques, mais sans emphase. En sep¬ français ne disposent pas des gés surquelques sites syriens. Mais des ministres des affaires étrangè¬ tembre, il avait déclaré qu'en cas mêmes renseignements que ceux ces allégations suscitent chez plu¬ res de l'OTAN, le 4 décembre à d'utilisation d'armes chimiques, la réponse serait «massive et fou¬ sieurs alliés des demandes de clari¬ Bruxelles, que ces tiraillements ont diffusés par Washington. M. Fabius droyante». Depuis l'été, les Etats- fication, si ce n'est de la méfiance. pris une tournure virulente. La y fait allusion devant la presse. Les Unis, la France et le Royaume-Uni La France, l'Allemagne, les Pays- veille, le président Obama avait informations sur un « mouve¬ ont fixé comme seule «ligne rou¬ Bas et la Pologne font partie des déclaré que «l'emploi d'armes ment » de précurseurs chimiques pays européens qui se demandent chimiques» serait «totalement ge » non pas le nombre de civils « n'ont pas été vérifiées... pas été si l'administrationObama ne cher¬ inacceptable » et aurait des «consé¬ tuésen Syrie (plus de40000), mais confirmées », dit-il, le 4décembre. che pas à entraîner des alliés dans quences ». Les ministres écoutent - le recours aux engins chimiques. Onsouligne, côtéfrançais, que la une interventionmilitaire en Syrie certains sont stupéfaits - un pro¬ Une intertcsition serait alors autb- «source» des informations mises au prétexte d'une sécurisation de pos liminaire du secrétaire général en avant par les Américains est l'arsenalchimique, alors quelaréa- de l'OTAN, quipropose que l'Allian¬ « unique » et qu'il y a donc « unpro- lité d'un danger imminent d'em¬ ce se lance dans un travail de «pla¬ L'Etat juifcraint blèmed'établissementdesfaits ». La ploi de ces engins ne leur paraît pas nification» pour une éventuelle diplomatie française se méfie, en plus que tout irréfutablement démontrée. opérationvisant à mettre les armes outre, d'un nouvel engagement de «Nous avons déjà fait une chimiques syriennes en sécurité. Il le détournement l'OTAN en terre arabe. « Ce n 'estpas guerre sur la base de renseigne- est appuyé par Hillary Clinton, la la bonne enceinte», explique une d'engins chimiques mentsfallacieux, nous n'allons pas secrétaire d'Etat américaine, qui source proche du dossier. en refaire une deuxième ! » déclare soulignelagravitéde l'enjeu chimi¬ au profit de groupes A la fin du dîner, M. Rasmussen auMonde, sous le couvert de l'ano¬ que. Et par le Britannique, William balaie les objections, et déclare: extrémistes nymat, un haut responsable d'un Hague, qui dit «why not» {pour «J'ai entendu ce que vous dites, pays ayant pris part à la coalition mais ne soyez pas étonnés si vous en Irak. « Nous devons voir lespreu¬ voyez de la planification sur la La base Cheikh Souleimane aux mains des djihadistes ves», insiste-t-il. «On a tous à l'es¬ table. » M Clinton ne le contredit prit cette scène où Colin Powell pas. Mais elle aurait été contrariée Un groupe djihadiste, composé s'étend sur plusieurs kilomètres [aiors secrétaire d'Etat de George par cette approche à la hussarde, en partie de combattants étran¬ carrés. Elle était la dernière gar¬ Bush] brandissaità l'ONUdes ima¬ contre-productive pour unifier les gers, arabes ou originaires du nison d'importance à proximité ges de camions et unefiole» pour alliés. A défaut de s'accorder, les Caucase, a conquis dimanche d'Alep encore sous le contrôle tenterde légitimerla guerre d'Irak, membres de l'OTAN ont, pour la 9 décembre ia base militaire du régime syrien. Cet assaut commente une source diplomati¬ première fois, lancé une réflexion Cheikh Souleimane, située à intervient deuxjours après la que d'un des pays sceptiques. sur une action militaire en Syrie, a 12 km au nord d'Alep. Ils ont pris création d'un nouveau comman¬ La grande différence avec le cas Natalie Nougayrède irakienest que personne ne met en de vitesse les unités de l'Armée dement chapeautant la plupart doute l'existence d'un stock d'ar¬ syrienne libre (ASL), qui partici¬ des groupes insurgés, à l'excep¬ mes de destruction massive en paient également au siège. Cet¬ tion des djihadistes, dont le Jab¬

Syrie :«iooo tonnes » de substan¬ te base militaire, où était station¬ hat Al-Nosra, force montante de ces meurtrières réparties sur né !e bataillon 111 de l'armée. la rébellion. - (AFP.)

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

LE FIGARO mercredi 12 décembre 2012

Pinar Selek dans les mâchoires du système judiciaire turc

Acquittée deux fois, cette sociologue réfugiée à Strasbourg

est à nouveau poursuivie pour un attentat... qui n'a pas eu lieu.

de 41 ans, elle poursuit une thèse sur les LAURE MARCHAND

ISTANBUL mouvements sociaux en Turquie à l'uni¬ versité de Strasbourg. Lorsqu'elle vivait à Istanbul, la jeune femme engagée à gau¬ TURQUIE Le cas Pinar Selek sera peut- che a été de tous les combats pour défen¬ être un jour enseigné aux étudiants en dre les minorités opprimées par l'État. En droit comme un exemple des égarements s'acharnant sur elle, la justice lui fait de la justice turque. Cette sociologue ré¬ payer ce militantisme, mal vu en Turquie. fugiée à Strasbourg est harcelée judiciai¬ Pour le politologue Samim Akgônùl, rement depuis quatorze ans. Son procès professeur à l'université de Strasbourg, le pour terrorisme reprend mercredi de¬ cauchemar que subit Pinar Selek est ré¬ vant la cour pénale n' 12 d'Istanbul alors vélateur de la nature de la justice en Tur¬ qu'elle a déjà été acquittée deux fois. Une quie : «Depuis le début delaRépubtique, la affaire ubuesque, dans laquelle elle est t*H justice ne s'estjamaisprivée de violer la loi, toujours menacée d'une condamnation à enl930 comme en 2012. Elle neproiègepas perpétuité pour terrorisme. iw- les citoyens, elle protège l'État, qui est sa¬ Tout commence en juillet 1998 par une cré, contre les individus, qui sont perçus explosion au bazar égyptien d'Istanbul, comme une menace pour la pérennité de près de la Corne d'or, qui fait sept morts. l'État. » Ce fonctionnement explique Deux jours plus tard, Pinar Selek est pla¬ charges contre Pinar Selek, accusée pourquoi la Turquie est le pays le plus cée en garde à vue et torturée. La police d'avoir « posé une bombe » qui n'a ja¬ condamné par la Cour européenne des veut connaîne les noms des militants de mais existé, devraient en toute logique droits de l'homme. la guérilla kurde du PKK qu'elle a inter¬ être abandonnées. Mais le procureur s'acharne. À deux reprises, en 2008 et Pinar Selek bénéficie d'un puissant co¬ rogés dans le cadre de ses recherches. Le 2011, un acquittement est pourtant mité de soutien en France. Catherine 12 août, Abdiilmecit Ôztuik, un Kurde prononcé. Le 22 novembre dernier, à la Trautmann, parlementaire européenne, a soupçonné de faire pairie du PKK, est ar¬ faveur d'une absence du juge qui suit envoyé une lettre au premier rninistre Re- rêté. Au cours de son interrogatoire, il dit cep Tayyip Erdogan. Le président de son avoir fabriqué avec Pinar Selek une bom¬ l'affaire, la 12e corn-, qui avait reconnu université, Alain Beretz, a pris publique¬ be qui a été posée dans le petit restaurant par deux fois sa non-culpabilité, se dé¬ ment position en sa faveur. « Pinar Selek du marché où l'explosion s'est produite. dit et annule sa décision - une impossi¬ est un symbole, poursuit Samim Akgônùl. Très vite, l'homme se rétractera, dira bilité en droit. Combien sont-ils à pourrir dans les geôles avoir donné son nom sous la torture et Pinar Selek se dit à bout de forces et de turquespour dés liistoires similaires ? » B sera finalement innocenté. Sur les causes patience : « Quatorze ans et demi à lutte};

du drame, les rapports d'expertises c'est presque une vie, dit-elle. C'est com¬

concluent à... une fuite de gaz. me un supplice chinois, tant que le procès n'estpas terminé, je ne peuxpas guérir des Un militantisme mal vu séquelles laissées par la torture, elles sont à chaque fois ravivées. » Aujourd'hui âgée L'attentat étant en fait un accident, les

*WP Un jésuite chassé de Syrie rejoint une communauté monastique au Kurdistan irakien

que l'évêque chaldéen de Kirkouk, Mgr Louis Sako, eut donné son agrément à CITE DU VATICAN, 10 décembre 2012 (AFP) sa venue.

Le père jésuite avait dû quitter la Syrie la mort dans l'âme. En septembre, il avait LE PÈRE JÉSUITE Paolo Dall'Oglio, fondateur d'une communauté monas¬ été accusé par le régime de Bachar al-Assad d'être complice de l'opposition tique en Syrie qu'il avait été contraint de quitter en juin, a rejoint une autre armée, et même d'AI-Qaïda. communauté créée à Souleimaniyeh au Kurdistan irakien, a-t-il indiqué Critique envers des évêques syriens jugés trop pro-Assad, ce jésuite italien lundi à l'agence vaticane Fides. énergique, à la parole forte, a depuis lors rencontré différents responsables "Avec les frères du monastère, je prierai pour la paix en Syrie, dans l'attente et arabes et occidentaux, pour faire prévaloir l'idée du soutien à l'opposition démo¬ dans l'espérance de pouvoir y retourner", a déclaré le fondateur de la commu¬ cratique. Seule manière selon lui d'éviter une dérive islamiste. nauté de Mar Moussa, à 90 km au nord de Damas, qui a été un lieu original de La ville de Souleimaniyeh au nord de l'Irak est peuplée de kurdes musulmans, rencontres et de prière entre christianisme et islam. mais héberge aussi une communauté chrétienne originaire à la fois des mon¬ Le père Dall'Oglio, à l'origine il y a une trentaine d'années de cette initiative atti¬ tagnes du nord de l'Irak et des villes plus au sud comme Bagdad, que ces chré¬ rant jeunes chrétiens et musulmans, a pris des positions très fermes contre la tiens ont dû fuir ces dernières années en raison des menaces islamistes. répression armée du régime de Bachar al-Assad, et avait été contraint par les La nouvelle petite communauté, dont la vocation et l'identité sont en cours de autorités ecclésiales de son diocèse à partir. définition, est dans la lignée de celle fondée à Mar Moussa. L'Eglise chal- Paolo Dall'Oglio, qui est aussi un connaisseur de l'islam, a été accueilli dans la dèenne, a relevé Fides, "n'est pas une Eglise d'Etat, elle est l'héritière d'une très petite communauté monastique de Deir Maryam el Adhra, fondée il y a seule¬ riche expérience historique d'interaction avec l'islam et d'ouverture vers l'est, de ment quelques mois dans le quartier de Sabunkaran à Souleimaniyeh, après l'Iran à la Chine", o

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

£tMtmÛt 11 décembre 2012 La tragédie syrienne et la politique du pire

La solution militaire avance en Syrie, free de son cousin Rami Makhlouf révélaient re. C'est peu dire que personne ne s'est vrai¬

lentement, inexorablement, et au les véritables ressorts d'un clan prédateur. ment précipité pourreconnaître aprèsla Fran- prix de centaines de victimes supplé¬ Les redoutables capacités militaires dont ceS ily a quelques semaines, les nouveaux res¬

mentaires chaque semaine, depuis dispose encore le régime lui permettent de ponsables de cette opposition comme seuls bientôt deux ans. retarderune chute pourtant inéluctable. Elles représentants légitimep du peuple syrien. Le régime avait imposé le choix des armes suscitent désormais les plus vives inquiétu¬ La très complexe équation syrienne, les en faisant mitrailler les cortèges pacifiques des des Occidentaux. Contrairement à la multiples fractures communautaires de ce

qui marquèrent les premiers mois du soulè¬ Libye, la Syrie est effectivement dotée d'ar¬ pays et les implications régionales d'un chan¬

vement syrien. Cette, option tactique, si l'on mes non conventionnelles. gement de régime, après près d'un demi-siè¬

ose qualifier ainsi un choix tragique, se Leur usage par un pouvoir aux abois ou cle de baasisme progressivement privatisé retourne aujourd'hui contre lui. leur pillage par les combattants djihadistes, par une dynastie, constituent évidemment Il y a encore dix mois, ses troupes étaient que le pourrissement syrien a attirés - com¬ un défi majeur.

capables de chasser les combattants rebelles me auparavant en Afghanistan ou en Irak -, Mais l'immobilisme et l'attentisme des

ne sont pas à exclure. Avec les conséquences Grands ont laissé le champ libre à des pays du

que l'on imagine. C'est cette menace, encore Golfe motivés par des considérations géopoli¬ EDITORIAL très imprécise, qui pousse ces pays à pronon¬ tiques (affaiblir Téhéran, dont Damas est le cer le mot jusque-là interdit d'intervention, principal allié arabe) plus que par une soudai-

de chaque partie des villes ou des campagnes, et à en débattre au sein de l'OTAN. ne passion révolutionnaire. La vision que le

où elles établissaient durablement leur Comme si les quarante mille morts Qatarou l'Arabie Saoudite peuvent avoir de la :

contrôle. Ce n'est plus le cas aujourd'hui. Déjà syriens, majoritairement civils, et les massa¬ Syrie après les Assad n'est peut-être pas iden- . évincé des régions frontalières au nord et à cres, inédits dans l'histoire du pays, n'avaient tique à celle des Syriens, les premiers concer¬

l'est, et enlisé à Alep, Bachar Al-Assad est pas été jugés assez effroyables à ceux qui pou¬ nés. Les Grands n'auront qu'à s'en prendre à

désormais contesté à Damas, comme l'attes¬ vaient tout autant déplorer que se retrancher eux-mêmes : intervenant à la dernière heure, tent les combats autour de l'aéroport. Là où derrière le blocage à l'ONU, sous l'effet des ils ne seront pas les mieux placés pour tenter '

son frère Basse! se tua accidentellement en veto chinois et russe, ou l'inorganisation de faire prévaloir leurs vues. 1994. Là où les fastueuses boutiques de duty d'une opposition disparate, pour né rien fai

. wnxNAnattti. ïicralbâ^Sribunc

DECEMBER 3, 2012 Letter from Syria

how he thinks all of this will play out. way to fight the regime peacefully." His answer strikes me as very honest. He and his colleagues insisted, "Without the help of Iran and Hezbol¬ though, that the problem in Syria was lah, he would be gone by now," he says the Assad family, not the Alawite sect, a of the Syrian president, Bashar al-As¬ Shiite offshoot from which the Assads sad. But even after he goes, there will hail and which dominates the regime. be a great sorting out. "It will take five These are secular young men, arid they or six years," he adds, because the Is¬ still took pride in Syria's multisectarian Thomas L. lamist parties "want Shariah, and we identity and harmony, which, it should want democracy." Friedman be remembered, has deep historical In my visit along the Turkey-Syria roots in this region. Indeed, before visit¬ border, I am struck at how so many dif¬ ing them, I met with the Chamber of ferent people want so many different Commerce of Antakya. The chamber's things for Syria. It is unnerving. A president proudly displays outside his DARKUSH, SYRIA The scene is almost Christian businessman from Aleppo office a poster of more than 20 different biblical. You step down through tall tells me that if a real election were held churches, mosques and even a syn¬ reeds, cross the Orontes River from in Syria today, the besieged President agogue still operating in his town, Turkey in a small rowboat and are re¬ Assad would still win "with 75 percent which is just a few miles from the Syri¬ ceived by a local contingent of the Free an border. I repeat: There are cultural Syrian Army, outside the Syrian town of the vote," because most Syrians roots for pluralism in this region that a of Darkush. One of them shows you the crave the order that he provided and new Syrian government could still fall picture on his cellphone of a Syrian girl are exhausted by war. But a few hours back on but there's also the opposite. who was just taken across the river to earlier at an impressively run Syrian A case in point: In Antakya I met two Turkey with what turned out to be fatal refugee camp set up by Turkey outside the Turkish border town of Antakya, I Turkish logistics experts. They spoke wounds from a Syrian Army helicopter .about the "Arab foreign legion" of Is¬ attack on her village. The helicopters, interviewed young Syrian Sunni lamist fighters from as far away as the rebel soldiers say, dropped barrels Muslim men who had fled from the As¬ Chechnya and Libya who have come with nails and explosives on her house. sad family's largely Alawite stronghold of Latakiya, just down the coast. They through their town and crossed the Meanwhile, over here in the mud are Orontes to join the battle in Syria. They three fresh graves with bodies thatjust spoke about the deep unfairness of the scoffed at the idea that Syria will floated down the river. Some days it's Syrian system and how Alawites were emerge as a democracy from a war in just an arm or leg that washes up. Al¬ getting an unfair share of the pie. which its main arms suppliers are the though this is "liberated" territory, in "When we first protested to demand re¬ Islamic-oriented monarchies of Saudi the background you can hear the low forms, the regime did not do anything," Arabia and Qatar. The main Saudi and drumbeat of shells slarnming into some said Yahya Afacesa, "and then we star¬ Qatari desire is that Syria shift from be¬ town over the hills. I ask the rebel local ted to shout and demand freedom, and ing an Iranian-Shiite-dominated coun- commander, Muatasim Bila Abul Fida, the regime attacked us. So there was no

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

try to a Sunni-dominated one. Democ¬ These stories illuminate for me the lapse here, Syria's civil war could go racy per se is not their priority. enormous number of crosscurrents and regional and challenge all the old bor¬ One of the two Turkish experts has mixed motives driving this revolution. ders as the Shiites of Lebanon seek another business in Qatar. To get per¬ Without a strong, galvanizing Syrian to link up more with the Alawite/Shiites mission to work and operate in Qatar, leader with a compelling unifying vision, of Syria, the Kurds in Syria, Iraq, Iran he explained, he needs a local Qatari to backed by the international community, and Turkey try to link up with each oth¬ sponsor his work permit. "If you have a getting rid ofAssad will not bring order er and create an independent Kur¬

work permit and you want to leave the to Syria. And disorder in Syria will not distan, and the Sunnis of Iraq, Jordan country, you need your sponsor to give have the same consequences as dis¬ and Syria draw closer to oppose the you written permission," he noted. "If order in other countries in the region. Shiites of Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, your sponsor dies, his son inherits that Syria is the keystone of the Middle Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. right." His Qatari sponsor's son is very East. If and how it cracks apartcould We could be entering a new age of young. Yet, "if he says I cannot leave, I recast this entire region.'The borders of Middle East border-drawing the do- cannot leave. I do business [in Qatar] Syria have bcen-fixed ever since the it-yourself version where the borders but I have no rights at all. ... We joke British and French colonial power* of the Middle East get redrawn, not by . that we are 'modern slaves' there. And carved up the Arab provinces of the Ot¬ colonial outsiders from the top down this country is trying to bring democra¬ toman Empire after World War I. If As¬ but by the Middle Easterners them¬ cy to Syria?" sad is toppled and you have state col- selves, from the bottom up.

îbmlb^&Sribune December 12, 2012,

Adding to the complication's that some groups in the Free Syrian Army Syria rebels placed have similar ideologies, follow the strict Salafist interpretation of Islam and count among them fighters who joined the insurgency in Iraq though they on U.S. terror list are not known to share the Nusra Front's direct organizational connec¬ tions to Al Qaedain Mesopotamia. nancial dealings with the group. It is in¬ The Nusra Front celebrated another WASHINGTON tended to prompt similar sanctions by apparent battlefield achievement on other nations, and to address concerns Monday, declaring it had captured part BY MICHAEL R. GORDON about agroup that could further destabi¬ of a large base outside the commercial AND ANNE BARNARD lize Syria and harm Western interests. hub of Aleppo. France, Britain, Turkey arid the Gulf Activist groups and vidéo posted on¬ The United States has formally desig¬ Cooperation Council have formally rec¬ line said that it had fought alongside nated Al Nusra Front, the militant Syri¬ ognized the Syrian opposition. E.U. for¬ other Islamic battalions including the an rebel group, as a foreign terrorist or¬ eign ministers met Monday with the ganization. Mujahedeen Shura Council and the head of the Syrian opposition coalition, Muhajireen Group. The move, which was expected, is Ahmed Mouaz al-Khatib, in Brussels. The decision to designate the group, aimed at building Western support for William Hague, the British foreign sec¬ the register noted, was made by Secre¬ the rebellion against the government of retary, said that he hoped the European tary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on President Bashar al-Assad by quelling Union would soon grant it full recogni¬ Nov. 20, in consultation with Attorney fears that money and arms meant for tion. General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Treasury the rebels would flow to ajihadi group. The Nusra Front comprises only a Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. The State Department delayed the small minority of the Syrian rebels, but In a related move, the Treasury De¬ publication of the decision, originally it includes some of the rebellion's most made last month, in order to synchron¬ partment announced that it had also battle-hardened and effective fighters. ize it with the expected announcement taken similar action against two pro-As¬ "Extremist groups like Jabhet al- this week in Morocco that the United sad militias: the Jaysh al-Sha'bi and the Nusra are a problem, an obstacle to States will formally recognize the Syri¬ Shabiha. finding the political solution that Syria's an opposition coalition as the legitimate "Jaysh al-Sha'bi was created, and going to need," the U.S. ambassador to representatives of the Syrian people, as continues to be maintained, with sup¬ Syria, Robert Ford, said last week. Britain, France, Turkey and some other port from Iran and Hizballah and is But a growing number of anti-govern¬ countries have done. modeled after the Iranian Basij militia, ment groups including fighters in the The designation of the Nusra Front which has proven itself effective at us¬ loose-knit Free Syrian Army that the was first disclosed on Monday in the ing violence and intimidation to sup¬ United States is trying to bolster have Federal Register, just before an impor¬ press political dissent within Iran," the signed petitions or posted statements tant diplomatic meeting Wednesday in Treasury said in a statement. online in recent days expressing sup¬ Morocco on the political transition if Mr. In Syria on Tuesday, rebels clashed port for the Nusra Front. In keeping Assad is driven from power. with government forces near Damascus with a tradition throughout the uprising In a statement issued on Tuesday, the airport in a continuing battle for the cap¬ of choosing themes for Friday protests, State Department expanded on the de¬ ital's outskirts, Reuters reported. the biggest day for demonstrations be¬ cision. The Nusra Front, it asserted, is The center of Damascus, shielded for under the control of Abu Du'a, the emir cause it coincides with Friday Prayer, months from the violence which has of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The Qaeda many called for this Friday's title to be killed 40,000 people since March 2011, leader, the State Department statement "No to American intervention we are was echoing to the sound of shelling added, also issues instructions to the all Jabhet al-Nusra." from late Monday, residents said. Nusra's emir, Abu Muhammad al-Jaw- Many Syrian fighters consider the The United Nations, meanwhile, said lani, and has "tasked him to begin oper¬ Nusra Front a key ally because of its that the conflict had now driven half a ations in Syria." According to the State fighters' bravery and reliable supply of million people into neighboring coun¬ Department, the front has claimed al¬ money and arms. tries. The latest figures for the number most 600 attacks including more than It has never come under the banner of of Syrians registering as refugees in 40 suicide attacks in Syria since No¬ the Free Syrian Army, shunning the Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq had vember 2011. Western aid and input that other groups passed 509,000, said Melissa Fleming, In practical terms, the designation have sought, but it coordinates closely spokeswoman for the Geneva-based makes it illegal for Americans to have fi with many who do. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

24 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 10 December 2012

started allocating blocks of exploration acreage in produc- tion-sharing agreements – An ocean of reserves contracts that offer oil compa- nies the potential for handsome waiting to be tapped profits. By Guy Chazan, The big oil companies are Initially, small companies took the Financial Times coming despite a somewhat the bait but their success precarious legal environment. encouraged larger competitors. For years, Kurdistan has been Mr Lowe says seven out of 10 ichard Lowe faces a embroiled in a bitter dispute exploration wells drilled in Rdilemma most oilmen can with Iraq’s central government Kurdistan are commercially only dream about: what on over who owns the region’s oil. successful – a “strike rate” with earth is he to do with 14 billion Baghdad says the Kurdistan few parallels. barrels of crude? Regional Government, or KRG, As the oil companies’ presence Mr Lowe’s company, a small lacks the authority to sign expanded, Kurdistan changed – London-listed explorer called contracts with western energy fast. In the early days, Erbil was Gulf Keystone, found the oil in groups and has declared them a provincial backwater and, as question in Shaikan, in Iraqi illegal. in all of Iraq, power came on for Kurdistan, in 2009. It was one In April 2012, the KRG suspen- only a couple of hours a day. of the world’s largest onshore ded crude shipments from the The city had one decent hotel, discoveries in more than 20 region in protest at Baghdad’s the Sheraton, built in the late years. 1970s. It felt like a “Wild West delays in disbursing $1.5bn area’s potential. “These fields Stretching for miles under a owed to operators in Kurdistan. frontier town”, recalls one oil should have been discovered 30 engineer who lived there then. ridge of brown, rugged hills Since then circumstances have or 40 years ago,” says Mr Lowe. near the Turkish border, improved. In August, the KRG Leaving them untapped was, he Now it is booming. Planes full Shaikan is huge. Yet its sheer restarted exports as a goodwill says, part of a policy of neglect of businessmen fly into Erbil’s size is problematic. “The big gesture and, a month later, the designed to keep the Kurdish new international airport from question is – where do you central government agreed to population down. Instead, Iraq Dubai, Vienna and Istanbul. start?” says Mr Lowe, Gulf pay foreign companies what focused on the huge fields Five-star hotels tower over a Keystone’s drilling manager. they were owed for their oil. around Basra and Kirkuk. cityscape dotted with cranes “The field is almost too big.” and vast construction sites. The Kurdish authorities reci- That has redounded to the Oil finds such as Shaikan have procated by agreeing to Kurds’ advantage. “If these oil The pace of development will made Kurdistan, an autono- increase exports. reserves had been developed 30 increase. In 2008, there were mous region in the north of The deal enabled Gulf Keystone years ago, all the benefit would only three drilling rigs in Iraq, one of the biggest draws in to resume production at have gone to Saddam Hussein Kurdistan. This year there are the global oil industry. It has Shaikan after a near five-month and his family,” says an Erbil- 24 and next year there will be attracted $10bn in investment hiatus. “It’s a huge relief that based diplomat. “It’s the only 40. Production, at about from foreign oil companies – a we’re able to start again,” says time the Kurds have been 200,000 barrels a day, will vast amount for a country of Mr Lowe. Some 30 tankers a thankful to Saddam for some- reach 250,000 b/d next year. only 4.9m people. day are loading up at Shaikan thing.” By 2015, Kurdistan hopes to be exporting 1m b/d. “It is almost the only place in and taking its crude to local It was only after 2006, when the Middle East where the pri- refineries. Mr Hawrami was appointed To achieve that will need a vate sector can explore virgin The September agreement was minister, that Kurdistan’s oil major reconfiguration of the territory,” says Tony Hayward, extraordinary in that it seemed industry really took off. He has region’s export infrastructure. the former chief executive of BP to acknowledge the legitimacy been credited with creating The current Baghdad-control- who runs the Kurdistan-focu- of KRG contracts. Mr Hawrami Kurdistan’s oil sector – with its led pipeline is plagued by bot- sed oil explorer Genel Energy. says Baghdad realised that the complex contractual and regu- tlenecks. Many believe that Initially, the region was the most important priority was to latory framework – from Kurdistan will build its own playground of wildcatters – make sure oil flows were resu- scratch. pipeline into Turkey, giving it full control over exports. If that small buccaneers with a big med in full – regardless of “It’s an amazing achievement in appetite for risk. But now the which companies were produ- happens, the KRG will receive difficult circumstances,” says oil revenues directly from big boys are moving in. Over cing it under what contracts. one diplomat. the past year, ExxonMobil, The view was “now Kurdistan Turkey, rather than via Chevron and Total have been must export the oil and we need Unlike the oilfields of southern Baghdad. grabbing some of the 45bn bar- the revenue,” he says. “Any Iraq, which had export pipe- This will give the KRG the eco- rels of oil thought to lie under- stranded oil is not to the benefit lines linked to the Gulf, nomic independence many neath Kurdistan. of Iraq.” He called the deal “a Kurdistan’s were stranded, with Kurds have long craved and win-win”. no outlet to wider markets. The build on the close relationship Ashti Hawrami, Kurdistan’s area was largely unexplored minister of natural resources, It is not hard to tell that evolving between Kurdistan and there was confusion over and its neighbour, Turkey. forecasts a wave of consolida- Kurdistan is sitting on a bounti- whether they had the right to tion as the majors swoop in. ful resource. On the northern sign their own contracts. “Kurdistan is going to emerge The number of operators in the side of Gulf Keystone’s Shaikan as a major contributor to global region will, he says, soon shrink field, Mr Lowe points visitors to But according to Mr Hawrami’s oil supplies by the end of this from 50 to 20 or less. “We’re crude oil oozing out of the view of Iraq’s 2005 constitu- decade – possibly sooner,” says moving from the small and the limestone rock and dribbling tion, under which the country’s Mr Hayward. I beautiful to the large and the down in dense black seeps. oil and gas was “owned by the people of Iraq in all the regions magnificent,” he told the Iraqi geologists knew about the Financial Times. and governates”, they did. He

25 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December 10, 2012

month when Baghdad and Kurdistan both sent troops to reinforce positions around Kurdistan leader vows to defend cities on their internal border. Although outside the three northern Iraqi claims over disputed city provinces run by Kurdistan, Kirkuk has his- IRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi torically been claimed by the Kurdish Kurdistan's president vowed to protect region. A census to determine whether the KKurdish interests during a visit to the city of city has a Kurdish or Arab majority has long Kirkuk on Monday, in a show of defiance of been delayed. Iraq's central government over disputed ter- Kirkuk sits on some of the world's largest ritory and oil. oil reserves and fields around the city pro- Tensions are running high between autono- duce about a fifth of Iraq's total crude mous Kurdistan and Baghdad after both exports of 2.6 million barrels per day. sent troops to reinforce areas along their dis- American troops acted as a buffer between puted internal border, bringing them close the two regions until their departure. Since to confrontation in their long-running feud. then, the federal government and Kurdistan Dressed in military uniform and flanked by have increasing sparred over control of land Kurdish Regional Government President troops, Kurdistan's President Masoud and oil. Masoud Barzani speaks during an inter- Barzani visited Kurdish-controlled areas of view with Reuters in Arbil, Reuters/Azad Kurdistan relies on the central government Kirkuk, a city long seen as a flashpoint for Lashkari for its share of the national budget. But ten- Arab-Kurdish tensions after the U.S. mili- sions have grown since the Kurdish region tary withdrawal a year ago. war, but if things come to war, then all signed deals with major oil firms like Exxon "Kurds, throughout history, did not choose Kurdish people are ready to fight in order to and Chevron to develop its oilfields, a move war as a means, but this does not mean they preserve the Kurdish identity of Kirkuk." Baghdad sees as an unconstitutional chal- will sit handcuffed in the face of oppres- Barzani's sensitive visit and tough rhetoric lenge to the central government sion," he said on the outskirts of Kirkuk. come as U.S. officials try to negotiate an end "We are against the war and we do not like to the military standoff that began last

Kurdish mayor among dozens detained in Turkey on militant links DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — December 8, 2012 — (Reuters)

TURKISH POLICE ARRESTED DOZENS of Kurdish activists and politicians on Saturday, including a provincial mayor, in their latest push against alleged supporters of armed militants. Selim Sadak, mayor of Siirt, was among about 60 people detained in simultaneous operations in three southeastern cities, police said. Many are local officials from the legal, pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and civic groups. Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Parliamentarian Gultan Kisanak (C), accompanied by her party's co-chairman Selahattin Turkey has jailed thousands of Kurdish politicians, academics, lawyers, Demirtas (L) and Siirt Mayor Selim Sadak, speaks to the media in journalists and others since 2009 on charges they support the Kurdistan Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, April 19, 2011. Workers Party (PKK), which has fought the state for autonomy in a REUTERS/Stringer conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. Kurdish members of parliament are often under investigation, accused of Turkey, the United States and the European Union list the PKK as a terro- links to the militants, but are protected from prosecution while they are in rist organization. office. The BDP denies any outright ties to the PKK. The BDP said in a statement police operations were continuing. Erdogan has pledged greater Kurdish political and cultural freedoms The latest raids coincide with efforts in the capital Ankara to lift the par- since his party came to power in 2002 while applying increasing military liamentary immunity of 10 lawmakers, nine of them from the BDP. This pressure on the militants and, occasionally, the BDP, which he calls the would pave the way to prosecute them, in a move that would weaken PKK's "political extension." Kurdish representation in parliament and may fuel tension in the sou- Excluding the latest detentions, some 190 elected BDP officials are already theast. in jail, including 37 mayors. Six BDP lawmakers are also behind bars after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last week said he favored stripping the they were barred from taking up parliamentary seats they won in 2011. Kurdish MPs of their immunity after they were filmed in August embra- (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan and Ayla Jean Yackley cing armed PKK rebels who had stopped their convoy in the southeast.

26 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

December 12, 2012 New Arab-Kurdish front could strengthen Assad By Wladimir van Wilgenburg influence in Syria. crossing from Aleppo province into Turkey. The PKK based in the Qandil The Syrian Kurds are a non-Arab minori- Mountains near the Iraqi-Turkish border ty that comprise up to 10% of the popu- also threatened to support its PYD affili- lashes between Kurdish militias lation and are spread over three Kurdish- ate. and armed Syrian opposition dominated enclaves in the provinces of C groups in Aleppo starting at the Aleppo and Hasakah. [1] These areas are Despite media reports that the clashes end of October in Ras al-Ayn near the close to the Turkish border, and since could lead to sectarian conflict between Turkish border have raised the specter of 2011 the PYD has managed to extend its Kurds and Arabs, the PYD blamed other a possible Arab-Kurdish civil war in Syria. control over large parts of these enclaves rival Kurdish groups of being involved in An Arab-Kurdish civil war would weaken through its Yekineyen Parastina Gel (YPG the incident with the support of Turkey. the efforts of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) - People's Defense Units) to the despair The YPG stated that, of the 19 FSA com- and non-FSA affiliated groups to take of Turkey. batants killed in the clashes, seven were over strategic areas in northern Syria Kurds affiliated to Mustafa Cummaa's such as oil-rich Hasakah province and The recent clashes came after Massoud Freedom Party, which has been the most Aleppo. Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan critical of the PKK. Deputy FSA command- Region of Iraq, failed in his efforts to pre- er Malik al-Kurdi claimed the conflict was Any fighting between the Syrian armed vent PYD influence from spreading in caused by Kurdish groups pushing the opposition and Kurdish militias trying to Syria. Barzani supported an agreement in FSA to fight with the PYD. establish their authority in Kurdish-dom- July between Syria's Kurdish National inated Council (KNC) - a weak coalition of more The increasing success of the FSA and than 11 political parties and youth other armed Islamist groups has led to areas could strengthen the resolve of the groups supported by Barzani - and the the movement's spread to Kurdish-domi- government led by Syrian President PYD in order to prevent a Kurdish civil nated areas in northern Syria. Thus clash- Bashar al-Assad. Moreover, the fighting war. es broke out after Syrian Islamist groups could indicate that Turkey is facilitating entered PYD-controlled districts, break- the entry of Syrian armed rebels into For Barzani, Kurdish infighting, or ing the alleged cold truce between the Syria to prevent the influence of Kurdish Kurdish fights with the Syrian armed two groups that said the FSA or other groups affiliated to the Kurdistan opposition could destabilize security in armed Islamist groups would not enter Workers Party (PKK). the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and he has PYD-controlled areas. The PYD was not warned against this publically. These ten- willing to help the FSA to fight Assad, but Even as Syrian insurgents fighting in the sions indicate that a new battlefront near was also disinclined to fight the FSA streets of Damascus call for President the Turkish border could be opened unless the Syrian insurgents entered Bashar al-Assad to flee the country while between anti-Assad Islamist fighters and PYD-controlled areas. he still can, there is the possibility that a combatants associated with the PKK, new front may open in the struggle for slowing down rebel progress against Both the FSA and the YPG realized that Syria as Kurdish nationalists increasingly Damascus and Aleppo. fighting between them could benefit the come into conflict with Islamist militias Assad regime (Today's Zaman, October fighting the Assad regime. PYD-FSA war in Aleppo 31). "We and the Free Syrian Army are he FSA and Arab Islamist groups are one side, we are not on opposite sides," Serious clashes erupted on November 19 perceived to be close to the interests PYD-official Sinem Muhammad told between Islamist groups and fighters of Tof the Turkish state by the PYD, while the Jamestown [2]. the Syrian Kurdish Partiya Yekitiya FSA and other armed groups have accu- Demokrat (PYD - Democratic Union Party) sed the PYD of working with the Assad The two sides therefore engaged in in the border town of Ras al-Ayn government. The PYD claims to be neu- negotiations over the control of check- (Kurdish: Serekaniye), killing at least 18 tral and has made unofficial deals with points and the handover of detainees. On combatants. This is the second time seri- both Syrian rebels and the government November 1, the FSA announced that it ous fighting has erupted between to take control of more Kurdish areas. As had reached an agreement with the PYD Islamist groups fighting Assad and com- a result, there have been minor clashes stating that both sides aimed to topple batants of the PYD, which is affiliated to with both security forces of the regime the Assad-regime and would hand over the larger Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan and Syrian rebels. detainees. The PYD's foreign representa- (PKK - Kurdistan Workers Party) but pub- tive Alan Semo told Jamestown that the lically denies such ties for fear they could Major clashes erupted for the first time initial agreement was only meant to stop lead to placement of the PYD on interna- on October 26 in the Kurdish al-Ashrafiya further fighting while other demands tional terrorist lists. neighborhood of Aleppo, where dozens were still negotiated. [3] were killed and hundreds kidnapped by While Turkey is worried about the both sides. Clashes also occurred in One of the primary demands impeding increasing influence of the PYD, the PKK Aleppo and near the Syrian towns of Efrin the progress of negotiations was the fate is concerned by Turkish support to the and Azzaz, between the PYD and the of YPG Commander Nujin Deriki (aka Free Syrian Army (FSA) and claims that 1,200 strong non-FSA affiliated Northern Shaha Ali Abdo), who was captured on Turkey is hatching plans to destroy PYD Storm Brigade, which controls the vital October 26. On November 2, the ➩

27 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

➩ YPG claimed that she had been tor- adding that Turkey would shoot down tured to death, which led to demonstra- Syrian fighter jets if they cross the bor- However, according to Abdul Basit Sieda, tions and further tensions. The FSA sub- der. former head of the Syrian National sequently announced she was still alive Council (SNC), it is unlikely that Turkey and was supposed to be released. The PYD's foreign representative, Alan would use this expansion of the conflict Semo, told Jamestown that the PYD is to establish a humanitarian corridor in It seemed that the Syrian regime tried to worried that under the Adana northern Syria without support from the prevent the FSA and PYD from reaching Agreement, Turkey could characterize West: "If Turkey wants to move, they agreement by shelling the Kurdish dis- the ensuing refugee crisis as a threat to need the international community to tricts of Aleppo on November 4, killing the "security and stability of Turkey," accept it." [5] three people. On November 10, the FSA leading to a legal path for Turkish inter- released the YPG commander, leading to vention in Syria. "You might see the FSA Turkey could, however, facilitate the sup- diminished tensions between the groups on Turkish tanks coming into Kurdistan. ply of reinforcements and weapons for in Aleppo. This scenario can happen," he said. [4] the FSA to attack the PYD. Moreover, it could try to use Western support to The new conflict in Hasakah Turkey worried about PKK decrease PKK influence in Syria and try to ust as tensions between the PYD and eports emerged on November 14 that pressure the United States or European the FSA were dying down, the Islamist RTurkish tanks were amassing on the Union to put the PYD on the terrorist list. Ghuraba'aJ al-Sham (Strangers of Greater border of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) alongside Syria) Brigade and al-Nusra Front entered FSA units. Others have suggested that The problem for Turkey is that fighting the Kurdish city of Ras al-Ayn on Western diplomats fear Turkey is suppor- between the PYD and Syrian rebels could November 9 from the Turkish town of ting the FSA to prevent an autonomous increase PYD support in Kurdish commu- Ceylanpinar and the nearby village of Tel Kurdish region in Syria. In reality, Turkey nities and make it more difficult for other Halaf. The area is populated by Kurds is not against Kurdish autonomy in Syria Kurdish groups not to support the group and Arabs, leading to fears among Syrian (or in Iraq) since it has good relations against the Arabs, especially as some of Kurds that the war would spread to with the Syrian Kurdish nationalist par- those fighting against the PYD are Hasaka province. ties of the Kurdish National Congress, allegedly former Arab settlers who were but it does oppose the increasing brought to the area by the Syrian govern- Initially, those fears proved unfounded influence of the PYD and the PKK in Syria. ment as part of its "Arab belt" policies. as this did not lead to fighting between the Islamists and the Kurdish YPG units, The United States fully supports the Conclusion with the YPG retreating to Kurdish dis- Turkish position of opposing any PKK he PYD already has a traditional sup- tricts of the town and the FSA controlling presence in Syria. US Secretary of State Tport base around the Kurdish areas of Arab parts of Ras al-Ayn. However, it did Hillary Clinton expressed her support at Aleppo and is increasing its support. lead to accusations from PYD-affiliated a joint news conference in Istanbul with Therefore, Turkish attempts to physically media, such as the Kurdish news agency her Turkish counterpart Ahmet eradicate the PYD could prove to be trou- Firat News, that Turkey was behind the Davutoglu, saying, "We share Turkey's blesome and lead to an Arab-Kurdish entry of armed groups into Ras al-Ayn, determination that Syria must not civil war. It seems that Turkey is focused trying to involve Kurds in the civil war. A become a haven for PKK terrorists on preventing the PKK from controlling PYD-affiliated group claimed in a state- whether now or after the departure of autonomous Kurdish areas instead of ment that they would not allow armed the Assad regime." supporting the insurgency in Syria to groups into Kurdish districts. overthrow the Assad government. The clashes that erupted between the Continued fighting between Kurds and On November 11, the Ras al-Ayn area armed Islamist groups and the PYD on Arabs in the Hasakah province could was bombed by fighter jets, artillery and November 19 further raised PYD suspi- weaken Syrian rebel advances against helicopters, leading to the death of cions of Turkish involvement. The fact Assad and strengthen the current weak dozens of civilians and insurgents. The that wounded Islamist fighters were position of the Assad government. bombing lasted for three days, with most transported to Turkish hospitals showed inhabitants fleeing the city for Turkey or a certain degree of Turkish support. A Notes: the Kurdish-controlled town of temporary truce was made on November 1. Jordi Tejel, "Syria's Kurds: Troubled Derbisiyye. 19 to hand over wounded and dead bod- Past, Uncertain Future," Carnegie Middle ies. But on November 20, fighting East Center, October 16, 2012. After the Islamists moved into Ras al- resumed again between the Islamist 2. Author's interview with Sinem Ayn, the YPG forced remaining Syrian groups receiving reinforcements from Mohammed, head of the PYD-affiliated government security elements from the Turkish border and the PYD receiving People's Council of West-Kurdistan Derik (al-Malikiyah), Amude, Derbisiye reinforcements from other Kurdish cities (PCWK). and Tel Amir, fearing the arrival of Syrian in Syria. The fighting stopped after a 3. Author's interview with PYD foreign insurgents and the spread of fighting. ceasefire agreement between the two representative Alan Semo, November 11- The YPG indicated it did not want to give sides on November 23. 15, 2012. "the regime [or] the FSA any excuse to 4. Foreign Minister Davutoglu There is come here. We don't need anyone to pro- Kurdish political parties have argued that not even a minute to lose, Ministry of tect us". the armed Syrian opposition should fight Foreign Affairs. Assad in Damascus or Aleppo, not in 5. Author's interview with Abdul Basit Turkey amassed its troops near the bor- Kurdish areas. It is likely that in the cur- Sieda, November 19, 2012. der and condemned the Syrian military rent situation more clashes could erupt operations that led to the death of civil- due to the fact that armed Syrian Islamist (This article first appeared in The ians in Ras al-Ayn. Foreign Minister groups expressed their intention to Jamestown Foundation. Used with per- Ahmet Davutoglu stated that the Syrian expand their operations outside of Ras mission.) air bombardment of Turkish border al-Ayn to other Kurdish-dominated cities towns was a clear threat to Turkey, such as Amude, Qamishli and Derik.

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

Icllîondf

Jeudi 13 décembre 2012 d'Al-Nosra esten contradiction avec les aspirations du peuple syrien », a Les Etats-Unis adoubent déclaré la porte-parole du départe¬ ment d'Etat, Victoria Nuland, ajou¬

tant que «les extrémismes et les la Coalition nationale syrienne idéologies terroristes n'ontpas leur place dans la Syne de l'après- Assad». Inconnu avant le début de La décision de Washington, à la veille de la réunion des Amis de la Syrie au la révolte syrienne, Al-Nosra a connu une ascension fulgurante, Maroc, est accompagnée d'une mise à l'index des djihadistes d'Al-Nosra en multipliant notamment les attentats-suicides contre des sites nïsations internationales. Chef de de l'armée syrienne dans lesquels de nombreux civils ont trouvé la Pour la Coalition nationale Arabo-persique, en reconnaissant la diplomatie américaine, Hillary mort. syrienne (CNS), le principal ce nouveau regroupement, formé Clinton, qui est souffrante, devait S'il a pu être perçu, à ses débuts, rassemblement d'opposants au mois de novembre à Doha, au être représentée par le numéro comme une création du régime, au régime de Bachar Al-Assad, la Qatar, comme le représentant légi¬ deux du département d'Etat, destinée à discréditer l'insurrec¬ réunion du groupe des Amis de la time du peuple syrien. William Burns. Washington s'était tion, Al-Nosra est désormais recon¬ Syrie, qui devait s'ouvrir, mercredi D'autres reconnaissances simi¬ jusqu'à présent montré réticent à nu comme l'un de ses principaux 12 décembre, à Marrakech, dans le laires pourraient intervenir durant l'idée d'adouber officiellement les' adversaires. Présents sur la plupart sud marocain, se présente sous les la réunion de Marrakech, où opposants anti-Assad, en raison des fronts, ses hommes sont appré¬ meilleurs auspices. Mardi, les étaient attendus des représen¬ des divergences qui régnent sou¬ ciés pour leur bravoure, leur disci¬ Etats-Unis ont emboîté le pas à la tants, au niveau ministériel, d'une vent entre eux, du poids des isla¬ pline et leur expertise militaire, France, au Royaume-Uni, à la Tur¬ centaine de pays arabes et occiden¬ mistes en leur sein et de leur man¬ acquise souvent sur d'anciennes quie et aux monarchies du golfe tauxainsique de nombreusesorga- que de relais sur le terrain. «Nous avons décidéque la coali¬ terres de djihad, comme l'Irak ou

tion de l'opposition syrienne était l'Afghanistan, lisse sont distingués

désormais suffisammentorganisée en début de semaine en partici¬

et représentative de la population pant, aux côtés d'autres djihadis¬

syrienne pour que nous la considé- tes, à la prise de la base de Cheikh- rionscommelareprésenfantelégiti- Souleimane, au nord-ouest d'Alep,

medupeuplesyrien opposéau régi¬ la dernière garnison sous contrôle me d'Assad», a expliqué, mardi, le gouvernemental dans les environs

président américain Barack Oba¬ de cette métropole.

ma. Une décision aussitôt critiquée Lors de cet assaut, les radicaux

par la Russie, qui a déploré que les ont pris de vitesse les rebelles de

Etats-Unis aient «décidé de tout l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL), le miser sur une victoirepar les armes label dont se revendiquent la plu¬ de cette coalition ». part des groupes armés non djiha¬ Malgré son pas en avant, l'admi¬ distes, mettant en lumière la rivali¬

nistration américaine campe sur té encore sourde qui oppose ces

son refus de fournir des armes aux deux branches de l'insurrection. insurgés. Elle s'en tient/à une assis¬ Souvent associés sur le terrain, tance humanitaire de 200 millions pour des raisons d'efficacité, leurs de dollars (154 millions d'euros) et à hommes pourraient se retrouver l'acheminement d'une aide « non face àface au lendemainde lachute létale» aux rebelles. Washington du régime Assad. redoute, en cas de livraisons d'ar¬ Surles forums de débat djihadis¬ m mes, que celles-ci ne parviennent tes en ligne, la mise à l'index du Jab¬ I ' dans de «mauvaises mains», à hat Al-Nosra est applaudie par de savoir les groupes djihadistes, de nombreux internautes, persuadés plus en plus actifs sur le terrain et que son statut d'ennemi des Etats- Des combattants de l'Armée syrienne libre près de la base qui ne font pas mystère de leur Unis neferaque renforcerson aura. volonté de remplacer la dictature militaire d'Azaz, le 10 décembre, manu brabo/ap Au sein des partis d'opposition en Assad par un régime fondamenta¬ revanche, la décision est accueillie liste, gouverné par la charia. fraîcherhent. «Jepense qu'ilestpré¬ C'est dans cette logique d'endi- Une centaine de blessés et de tués dans un village alaouite maturéde catégoriserainsi les gens guement que le département (...) étant donné le chaos et le climat d'Etat a annoncé, mardi, l'inscrip¬ Une attaque contre Aqrab, un vil¬ tués dans des tirs et des explo¬ très confus dans le pays», a estimé tion sur sa liste noire des organisa¬ lage alaouite (la confession du sions. Un habitant d'une localité Farouk Tayfour, haut responsable tions terroristes du Jabhat Al-Nos¬ président Assad), dans la provin¬ voisine a mis en cause des insur¬ des Frères musulmans. Outre Jab¬ ra, le groupe armé le plus puissant ce d'Hama, a fait de nombreuses gés, venus de la ville de Houla, hat Al-Nosra, les Etats-Unis ont au sein de la mouvance djihadiste à victimes, mardi 11 décembre, à huit kilomètres d'Aqrab, site ajouté surleurlistenoire deux mili¬ l'oeuvre en Syrie. Souvent formé de sans qu'il soit possible, faute d'un massacre, en mai dernier, ces affiliées au régime, les « cha- volontairesétrangers, venus princi¬ d'informations suffisantes, de attribué aux chabihas, les mili¬ biha » et le « Djaïch Al-Chabi ». a palement du monde arabe et du connaître l'origine de ces violen¬ ces pro-Assad. Contestant Benjamin Bakthe Caucase, cette milice s'apparente à ces. Selon l'Observatoire syrien la thèse de la vengeance, des la branche syrienne d'Al-Qaida, l'in¬ des droits de l'homme (OSDH), militants de la révolution ont ternationale djihadiste, dont elle qui appelle l'ONU à mettre en pla¬ mis en ligne des vidéos où des utilise l'imagerie, la rhétorique et ce une commission d'enquête blessés d'Aqrab accusent au les méthodes d'action. indépendante, entre 125 et contraire des miliciens du «La vision violente et sectaire 150 habitants ont été blessés ou régime. - (Reuters, AFP.)

29 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 14 décembre 2012

écoles en septembre. Le vice-Premier ministre Bulent Arinc a promis que les Kurdes seraient autorisés à utiliser leur La Syrie et la question propre langue devant la justice, et que le chef emprisonné du PKK, Abdullah Öca- lan, pourrait reprendre contact avec ses kurde en Turquie avocats (et ainsi, avec le monde exté- Hugh Pope et grévistes de la faim, a été très large- rieur), après plus d’un an d’isolation. International Crisis Group ment suivie. L’AKP a présenté en novembre de Le Premier ministre turc Recep nouvelles propositions pour une nouvelle e regain de violence entre l’armée Tayyip Erdogan a multiplié les discours constitution, qui comprendraient un turque et les insurgés du Parti des tra- inflexibles, associés à une stratégie stric- abaissement, voire une suppression du Lvailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) est l’une tement militaire sur le terrain et un refus seuil de 10% de suffrages nécessaires à des conséquences régionales de la guerre de reconnaître la grève de la faim. Cette un parti pour accéder au Parlement, qui qui fait rage en Syrie. Les affrontements position n’est plus tenable. Il doit oblige les candidats du principal parti se sont multipliés cette année dans le sud- renouer avec la politique poursuivie kurde à se présenter en tant est de la Turquie, et un groupe affilié au jusqu’en 2009, une « ouverture démocra- qu’indépendants aux élections. Enfin, le PKK est à présent en position de force tique » qui a bénéficié aux Kurdes bien comité pour la réforme constitutionnelle dans les régions kurdes du nord de la plus que toute autre mesure depuis pourrait agir pour supprimer toute discri- Syrie, le long de la frontière turque. De presque un siècle, associée à une tenta- mination ethnique subsistant. plus, Ankara accuse Damas d’avoir repris tive sincère de dialogue avec le PKK en Cependant, pour garantir son succès, son soutien au PKK, un mouvement inter- faveur d’un accord de paix. le Premier ministre Erdogan doit montrer dit et considéré comme responsable En juin de l’année dernière, les divi- une véritable volonté politique et présen- d’actes terroristes. dendes de cette politique avaient aidé le ter ces mesures comme une stratégie Le facteur syrien n’est toutefois Parti pour la justice et le développement cohérente, visant à résoudre un conflit qu’un symptôme d’un problème interne (AKP), dont est issu le gouvernement, à qui a coûté plus de 30 000 vies et 300 turc plus profond. Le déploiement d’un remporter plus du tiers des suffrages dans milliards de dollars depuis 1984. bouclier de missiles le long de la fron- douze provinces du Sud-Est, en majorité kurdophones. CONSTRUIRE UN ORDRE PLUS tière syrienne, envisagé en novembre par JUSTE Ankara, ne sera pas d’un grand secours Pour résoudre ce conflit, le Premier face au PKK. La véritable épreuve ministre turc a besoin de nouvelles consistera pour la Turquie à tirer parti mesures. Il lui faut d’abord distinguer le Faire preuve d’équité envers Öcalan des troubles actuels pour opérer un revi- combat militaire du problème kurde ou au sujet de l’utilisation du kurde dans rement de stratégie vis-à-vis des Kurdes, sous-jacent. Pour régler ce dernier, des la justice et l’éducation mettrait un terme et rompre avec les échecs de ces dix-huit réformes sont nécessaires, telles que le à la grève de la faim. Une marge de derniers mois. droit à l’éducation en kurde, la décentra- manœuvre s’est récemment dégagée : Un changement d’approche devient lisation, un système permettant au parti l’AKP a renoncé à avancer les élections urgent. Les pertes liées à cette insurrec- nationaliste kurde de participer normale- locales prévues en mars 2014, disposant tion s’élèvent, selon le bilan informel de ment aux élections, et la suppression de ainsi de plus d’une année sans enjeu l’International Crisis Group, à au moins toute discrimination constitutionnelle ou électoral pour mettre en œuvre cette stra- 870 soldats, policiers, membres du PKK législative. tégie. et civils tués depuis juin 2011, un triste Assurément, les événements en Syrie PAS D’OPPOSITION MAJEURE DES rappel du nombre élevé de victimes dans ont renforcé les appréhensions d’Ankara TURCS les années 1990. à l’égard d’une montée en puissance des Kurdes au Proche-Orient, et Damas pour- GRÈVE DE LA FAIM DANS LES Le prétexte trop souvent employé rait bien avoir renoué avec ses tentatives PRISONS pour justifier l’immobilisme, à savoir le passées d’affaiblir son voisin en rendant rejet supposé de la majorité des Turcs à son problème kurde plus difficile à En septembre-novembre, dans une l’égard de l’égalité pour les Kurdes, est résoudre. soixantaine de prisons en Turquie, plus sans fondement. L’opinion turque n’a Toutefois, il est clair que la Turquie de 700 prisonniers pro-PKK ont entamé jamais manifesté d’opposition majeure à ne dispose d’aucun véritable levier pour une grève de la faim. La police détient l’ « ouverture démocratique », aux pour- agir face à l’aggravation du conflit plusieurs milliers de militants kurdes parlers avec le PKK ou à la chaîne de syrien. Si Ankara se sent vulnérable sur pour terrorisme, alors que la plupart télévision entièrement kurde, autant la question kurde, la meilleure défense d’entre eux n’ont pas commis de vio- d’évolutions qui auraient été impensables du Premier ministre Erdogan est de construire un ordre plus juste dans son lences. Le mois dernier, la fermeture des il y a cinq ans. G commerces, écoles et services munici- Les signes timides d’une évolution propre pays. paux dans la capitale kurde de positive apparaissent déjà. Des cours Diyarbakir, en solidarité avec les détenus optionnels de kurde ont débuté dans les

30 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti Irak: deux morts dans l'explosion d'une voiture piégée devant un parti kurde BAQOUBA (Irak), 16 décembre 2012 (AFP) Jalawla, peuplée de Kurdes chiites et d'Arabes sunnites, est située dans la province de Diyala, à 130 km au nord-est de Bagdad. L'EXPLOSION d'une voiture piégée devant les bureaux d'un parti kurde Cette zone fait partie des territoires du nord de l'Irak que les dirigeants du à Jalawla, dans le nord de l'Irak, a tué dimanche deux personnes souhai- Kurdistan irakien souhaitent intégrer à leur région autonome, ce à quoi les tant s'engager dans les forces de sécurité kurdes et en a blessé deux autorités centrales irakiennes s'opposent. autres, selon des sources médicale et de sécurité. La querelle autour des territoires contestés est l'un des dossiers les plus sus- L'explosion s'est produite devant le quartier général local de l'Union patrio- ceptibles de menacer à terme la stabilité et l'unité de l'Irak, selon des ana- tique du Kurdistan (UPK) du président irakien Jalal Talabani, où un certain lystes et diplomates. nombre de personnes voulant rejoindre les peshmergas étaient rassemblés, Bagdad et Erbil divergent également sur la répartition des revenus du pétrole a indiqué un officier de police. et le partage du pouvoir. H Cet officier a fait état de deux morts et de deux blessés parmi ces recrues, un bilan confirmé par une source médicale à l'hôpital de Jalawla.

15 décembre 2012 Derniers jours du régime Assad : va-t-on droit vers une partition de la Syrie ? Alors que les Etats-Unis viennent tout juste de reconnaître la Coalition de l’opposition à Bachar al-Assad, la solution au conflit serait-elle la partition ?

humanitaire prend tout son sens. Qu’adviendra-t-il des Ardavan Amir-Aslani Alaouites, Chrétiens, Druzes, Kurdes et autres Chiites syriens après une telle victoire des rebelles sunnites ? Quelle mesure concrète est-ce que la communauté internationale, les Etats- Unis en premier, se propose-t-elle de prendre afin d’éviter un lors que les attentats contre la population civile ne cessent nettoyage ethnique en règle ? Ade faire des ravages, avec le dernier en date ce jeudi à Damas ayant fait une vingtaine de morts, majoritairement des S’il semble que les forces spéciales américaines sont en train femmes et des enfants, les Etats-Unis, après beaucoup d’entrainer des miliciens syriens dans la perspective d’une d’atermoiements et d’hésitations, viennent de reconnaître la débâcle du régime de Bachar al-Assad, et ce, en vue d’assurer Coalition de l’opposition, sacrée à Doha, comme seule repré- la protection des sites contenant d’armes chimiques, rien ne sentante légitime du peuple syrien. Parallèlement à cette recon- semble être prévu pour assurer la protection des minorités eth- naissance, Washington vient de qualifier de "mouvement terro- niques. A moins que le monde se prépare à l’idée de voir des riste" les forces du Jabhat al-Nusra, principale force organisée barbus criant "Allah Akbar" et décapitant les minorités, des des rebelles sur le terrain affilié à Al-Qaida en Mésopotamie. mesures doivent être prises.

Cette ambivalence de la politique américaine face au conflit L’autre option qui pourrait se dessiner est celle de la division syrien traduit l’embarras de l’administration Obama. En effet, du pays en trois parties, respectivement, Alaouites, Kurdes et si Washington a contribué à créer et à former la coalition de Sunnites. En pareil cas, la partie sunnite n’aurait accès ni à la Doha, destinée à voler l’exclusivité de la représentativité à mer ni aux rares ressources pétrolières du pays car le bord de l’Armée syrienne libre qui est composée exclusivement mer est principalement alaouite avec, les gisements miniers d’islamistes sunnites, le département d’Etat est forcé de recon- d’hydrocarbures, la ville de Lattaquié qui est le berceau his- naître le décalage qui existe entre cette Coalition des exilés de torique de la famille Assad et la base militaire russe de Tartous. l’étranger, ayant à sa tête Al-Khatib, un Imam modéré, si une En effet, il faut bien appréhender la sociologie communautaire telle chose existait, et la sociologie des rebelles qui se battent sur du pays qui ne ressemble en rien à la Tunisie ou à l’Egypte avec le terrain. leurs populations relativement homogènes. La nature sectaire et communautaire du conflit syrien fait que la chute d’Assad ne La question est d’importance car les Etats-Unis n’ont nulle signifiera en rien la fin de la guerre civile qui se poursuivra, envie d’apporter leur concours à une force composée de fana- chaque communauté se battant pour assurer sa survie. tiques sectaires qu’ils qualifient eux-mêmes de terroristes. Or, les rebelles n’accordent pas de légitimité à la Coalition de Doha La partition après tout, ne serait peut-être pas une si mauvaise qu’ils qualifient de complot ourlé par l’étranger. Ils semblent ne chose, ce d’autant que la partie qui serait réservée aux vouloir qu’un Califat sunnite, qu’ils ont d’ailleurs proclamé à Alaouites serait celle qui sera frontalière d’Israël, la frontière la Alep, qui, au fur et à mesure que les combats perdurent, se rad- plus sûre de l’Etat Hébreux pendant les 42 ans de règne des icalise davantage. A un moment où le vice-ministre des Affaires Assad. Autrement, Israël risquerait d’avoir un deuxième étrangères russe, Mikhail Bogdanov, vient d’évoquer pour la Hamas mais cette fois de 20 millions d’habitants à sa frontière.! première fois la perspective de la victoire des insurgés, l’enjeu

31 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti DECEMBER 11, 2012 Turkey weighs pivotal oil deal with Iraqi Kurdistan BY BEN VAN HEUVELEN,

NKARA, Turkey — American diplomats are struggling to prevent aA seismic shift in Turkey’s policy toward Iraq, a change that U.S. officials fear could split the foundations of that frac- tious state. The most volatile fault line in Iraq divides the semiautonomous Kurdistan region in the north from the Arab-majority central government in Baghdad. As the two sides fight for power over territory and oil rights, Turkey is increasingly siding with the Kurds. Kurdish and Turkish leaders have had a budding courtship for five years. But now Turkey is negotiating a massive deal in which a new Turkish company, backed by MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES - Massud Barzani (center), the pre- the government, is proposing to drill for oil sident of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region sits amid security forces during a and gas in Iraq’s Kurdish region and build visit to Kirkuk on Dec. 10, 2012. Ties between Baghdad and Kurdistan are mar- pipelines to transport those resources to red by dispute over territory, as well as disputes over oil and power-sharing. international markets. The negotiations were confirmed by four senior Turkish officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity bility has worried Turkish leaders, who have stance. He took primary responsibility for because of political sensitivities. used their sway over the Iraqi Kurdish lea- his Iraq policy away from the military and “Turkey hasn’t needed to ask what we dership — both Prime Minister Barzani and gave it to a diplomat named Murat Ozcelik. think of this, because we tell them at every his uncle, Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan’s “My instructions from the prime minister turn,” said a senior U.S. official involved in powerful president — to help ensure that were to build ties with the Kurds,” Ozcelik Middle East policymaking, speaking on the they exert a benign influence in Syria. said. condition of anonymity because he was not Iraq is also in crisis. On Nov. 16, a minor U.S. diplomats encouraged the rappro- authorized to talk with the media. The offi- confrontation between Kurdish security chement. By pursuing economic coopera- cial said that any bilateral energy deals with forces and Iraqi soldiers combusted into a tion, Turkey could form a bulwark of mutual the Kurdistan region would “threaten the deadly firefight. Since then, both sides have interest with mainstream Iraqi Kurds who unity of Iraq and push [Prime Minister deployed thousands of troops, as well as might otherwise be inclined to sympathize Nouri] al-Maliki closer to Iran.” tanks and artillery, to each side of their with the PKK’s nationalism. Iraqi Kurdistan has already staked out contested border, where they remain within Turkey also recognized the strategic significant autonomy, providing its own firing range. value of Iraqi Kurdistan’s abundant oil and public services, controlling airports and bor- gas resources, which had barely been explo- ders, and commanding police and army STRATEGIC SHIFT red under previous regimes. Turkey’s eco- forces. The energy deal with Turkey would Erdogan has left little doubt where his nomy was growing rapidly, at an average all but sever Kurdistan’s economic depen- sympathies lie, accusing Maliki of “leading annual rate of about 5 percent. To sustain dence on Baghdad, which is perhaps the pri- Iraq toward a civil war.” that growth — and the enormous popularity mary tie that still binds the two sides. Yet Turkey’s embrace of the Iraqi Kurds it brought Erdogan — Turkey would need “We are having serious discussions with is not just a function of personal enmity. new energy supplies. the [Turkish] company,” said Nechirvan Rather, it represents a deliberate strategic Moreover, Turkey’s ambitious leaders Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan shift that has upended the conventional wis- aspired to elevate their country to the highest Regional Government. “We hope they parti- dom that once governed Turkish policy echelons of international diplomacy. To do cipate in the region.” toward Iraq. that, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has The Turkish government has not made a After the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, argued, Turkey should leverage its geogra- final decision. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz Turkey advocated against giving autonomy phical position at the crossroads of East and is leading a review of the deal, according to to Iraqi Kurds, fearing that such a precedent West into geopolitical power. One way to senior Turkish officials, and expects to issue might strengthen Turkey’s Kurdish minority accomplish this, he suggests, is to make a formal recommendation to Prime Minister in its quest for greater rights and self-gover- Turkey a transit hub for energy. Recep Tayyip Erdogan by the end of the nance. Turkey also was wary that any Iraqi “The Foreign Ministry’s analysis was year. Kurdish territory would become a haven for that relations with Baghdad are important, Turkey’s moves come at an especially the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, but relations with the Kurds are strategic,” volatile time for the region. Along Turkey’s known by the acronym PKK, which the said Serhat Erkmen, the Middle East politi- southern border, Syria’s Kurdish minority United States has designated a terrorist orga- cal adviser at ORSAM, a research institute has gained control of a large expanse of ter- nization. connected to the Foreign Ministry. That idea ritory in the midst of a civil war. That insta- In 2007, Erdogan began to soften that ➩ now frames Turkey’s Iraq policy,

32 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti ➩ according to several officials charged do? Keep waiting? There will be nothing left pipelines and, with that leverage, can help with implementing it. for us!” the official said, speaking on the keep Iraq united. Ozcelik said he initially envisioned that condition of anonymity because of political “They need us in terms of their outreach a strong relationship with the Kurds could sensitivities to the world, especially in light of their pro- help Turkey referee the persistent disputes This calculus led Turkey to accelerate its blems with the central administration,” a between Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish courtship with Irbil, according to several senior Foreign Ministry official said. “And region, and Baghdad. officials in the Turkish foreign and energy Turkey still supports the unity of Iraq.” But political progress has been elusive. ministries. At the beginning of this year, While Erdogan has recently been happy Instead, Baghdad and Irbil have fought their Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish leaders began to to showcase his rapport with Iraqi Kurdish battles largely through their oil policyma- discuss the details of a strategic energy part- leaders, his relationship with Maliki has king. Iraqi Kurdish leaders enlisted interna- nership — culminating in the exploration never been worse. Erdogan has given harbor tional companies to develop oil and gas and pipeline deal under consideration. in Istanbul to Iraq’s fugitive vice president, resources, including in territory whose offi- KEEPING IRAQ UNITED Tariq al-Hashimi, who was sentenced to death over allegations of running a sectarian cial status is contested. Baghdad responded Obama administration officials as high- death squad; Erdogan also has backed by banning any company that contracted ranking as Secretary of State Hillary Maliki’s political opponents, including their with the Kurdish regional government from Rodham Clinton have advocated against unsuccessful effort in the summer to remove southern Iraq’s much larger oil fields — a such moves, according to the Turkish offi- the prime minister through a no-confidence policy that secured the loyalty of the world’s cials involved in the deal, warning that bila- vote. biggest energy companies, including teral pipelines would open a route for the The Obama administration has argued Turkey’s state oil company, Turkish Kurds to circumvent Baghdad’s authority that Turkey’s diplomatic clout and invest- Petroleum, or TPAO. over oil exports. That, in turn, would bring ment dollars make it an important counter- That stalemate was broken in October the Kurds a big step closer to independence. weight in Iraq against Iran. If Turkey were to 2011, when Exxon Mobil, which was The State Department and the White write off southern Iraq as a lost cause, U.S. already developing an enormous oil field House declined to confirm these accounts or diplomats worry, Iran would fill the breach under a contract with Baghdad, decided to to comment on their efforts to discourage by increasing its political and economic pre- defy the ban and sign contracts with the Turkish investment in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi sence there, gaining even more influence Kurdish government, including three swaths Kurdish leaders have denied that they are over Maliki. of disputed land. By doing so, it implicitly seeking independence, but they confirm that But those arguments have not resonated endorsed Irbil’s expansive claims of contrac- they are using energy deals to achieve their in Ankara, where many senior officials think ting and territorial authority. political goals of greater autonomy. a major energy partnership with Iraq’s Exxon Mobil’s move was pivotal, said a Turkish leaders also insist that they have Kurdish region is imminent. “U.S. support senior Turkish official involved in foreign no interest in an independent Kurdistan. would be appreciated,” said one official and energy policymaking. “Here is Exxon Erdogan’s foreign policy strategists say that coming in, and what is Turkey supposed to involved in the deal, “but it’s not a condition.” Turkey will always have power over the ËËË

December 11, 2012 which continue to be built up along the internal border. Barzani made the remarks in the Kurdish controlled area of Kirkuk dressed in a military uniform and flanked by troops of the Kurdish ‘Peshmerga’, the military arm of the regional government. U.S. officials have been trying to negotiate an end to the standoff since both sides Kurds ready to fight began the troop buildup. Prior to their withdrawal, American troops acted as a buffer between the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi govern- ment troops. over Kirkuk Kirkuk officially is outside the three provinces administered by the KRG. However, Kurds have long lay claim to Kirkuk which among other territories in northern Iraq endured forced relocation projects to remove Kurds and re-settle Iraqi Arabs under the former regime of Saddam Hussein. Kirkuk also sits on some of the largest oil reserves in the world which account for a fifth of Iraq’s total crude oil exports. The KRG had previously been reliant solely on its share of the national budget, howe- ver has grown bolder in challenging the government in Baghdad in the wake of independently made oil deals with Exxon and Chevron; deals which the Iraqi government feels are unconstitutional and a challenge to its authority. The government of Turkey also stands to benefit from Kurdish oil Pres. Barzani visits with Kurdish Pehmerga troops in Kirkuk. production and has been fostering more solid relations with the KRG as if it were a separate nation from Iraq, opening a Turkish School and a separate consulate in Irbil and often conducting diplomacy and eco- By: Kevin Brent , Iraq / Kirkuk nomic negotiations with the Kurds without so much as the courtesy of informing the Iraqi government. urdish Regional Government (KRG) Pres. Massoud Barzani vowed Baghdad has retaliated diplomatically with threats to enforce res- yesterday to protect Kurdish interests in the northern Iraqi city of trictions on the movements of Turkish officials within Iraq along with Kirkuk. Tensions have been high between the KRG and the refusing to register Turkish firms over Ankara’s refusal to extradite Iraqi central government in Baghdad for several weeks following an Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi who fled to Turkey following a convic- incident near Tikrit, Iraq that left 12 Iraqi government soldiers K tion by an Iraqi court of running death squads and subsequent senten-➡ dead and initiated a standoff between both sides’ military forces cing to death by hanging. Hashemi insists the charges were

33 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti ➡ politically motivated and false. One week ago, the plane carrying bility of blunting the cross border operations of the insurgent Kurdistan Turkey’s energy minister was refused Iraqi permission to land in Irbil, Workers Party (PKK) by permanently eliminating their sanctuaries just capital of the KRG. across the border in Kurdish controlled Iraq with KRG assistance. Though Turkey has made multiple military incursions into northern There is also for Prime Minister Erdogan the opportunity to further dimi- Iraq’s Kurdish region over the last two decades against the PKK, nish the influence of both Tehran on the Sunni Arab world as he seeks Turkey and the KRG enjoy an exceptionally good relationship. The to fill the vacuum of leadership among Sunnis in the Middle East. prime link between the two being that both are predominantly Sunni For the KRG there are far better economic prospects in an ali- Muslim while the government of Iraq is dominated by the Shiite majo- gnment with Ankara than with Baghdad or Tehran. Particularly with rity of southern Iraq and are more aligned with Shiite Iran than is gene- Turkey’s ability to act as a trans-shipment country for Kurdish oil and rally acknowledged. gas to Europe. Those prospects would gleam even brighter with G For Turkey close relations with the KRG offer the long term possi- Kurdish control of the oil fields around Kirkuk.

DECEMBER 18, 2012 In Iraq, Exxon oil deal foments talk of civil war

Marwan Ibrahim/AFP/Getty Images - The damage from a car-bomb attack in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Nov. 27. The attack came a day after officials from the gov- rightfully theirs. Authorities in Baghdad ernment and the Iraqi say they had to deploy thousands of Iraqi region of Kurdistan troops to prevent further Kurdish encroach- reached an agreement ment. aimed at easing tensions “This recent crisis has given gains to in disputed areas of the Kurds,” said a high-ranking military north Iraq. officer in Baghdad, speaking on the condi- tion of anonymity because of political sen- competing claims to a belt of land between sitivities. BY BEN VAN HEUVELEN the Kurdistan region and southern Iraq. An Military leaders in Baghdad and the The Washington Post unofficial “line of control” bisects the dis- Kurdistan region say fighting could begin puted areas, demarcating the southern bor- with a single misfire. In some areas near AGHDAD— With their opposing der of Kurdistan-governed territory. the city of Kirkuk — the epicenter of the armies massed on either side of the The crisis began after a Nov. 16 battle territorial disputes — the Iraqi army and Bcontested border dividing southern and nor- in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, whose ethnic the pesh merga are well within firing range thern Iraq, leaders in Baghdad and the semi- tensions are typical of the disputed areas. A of each other’s weapons. autonomous Kurdistan region are warning shootout erupted when federal forces tried The military officer said the Iraqi army that they are close to civil war — one that to arrest a Kurdish fuel seller, who asked would open fire under three scenarios: if could be triggered by Exxon Mobil. Kurdish soldiers, known as the pesh merga, the pesh merga forces fire first or advance Although leaders on both sides are to protect him. beyond their current positions, or if oil negotiating a walk back from the brink, Maliki and the Kurdistan region’s pre- companies begin working in disputed they also say their armies could easily be sident, Massoud Barzani, quickly ordered areas. provoked into battle. One of the most sen- thousands of reinforcements to move “If they do this, it’s a declaration of sitive tripwires is Exxon, which is prepa- toward the line of control. “We do not want war,” the officer said. ring to drill for oil in the disputed territories war,” Barzani said in a speech to troops on Exxon is not the only company with oil at the heart of the military standoff. Iraq’s the front lines, “but if war comes, then all deals in Iraq’s disputed areas, but its two most explosive political conflicts — Kurdish people are ready to fight.” contracts are the most controversial over land and oil — are primed to combust. Iraqi Kurds are scarred by memories of because of the company’s iconic stature “The prime minister has been clear: If Saddam Hussein’s campaigns of ethnic and the location of its exploration blocks, Exxon lays a finger on this territory, they cleansing. After the fall of his regime, they on the southernmost edges of Iraqi will face the Iraqi army,” said Sami al- staked out substantial autonomy in nor- Kurdistan’s expansive interpretation of its Askari, a member of parliament and confi- thern Iraq, and now the Kurdistan region territory. Before Exxon signed the contracts dant of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. has many features of an independent state. in October 2011, Baghdad warned the com- “We don’t want war, but we will go to war, Many of the region’s southern Iraqi pany that it considered such deals illegal. for oil and for Iraqi sovereignty.” neighbors, however, complain that the ËËË Iraq’s major ethnic groups have laid Kurds are grasping for territory that is not

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

_. Dnnewnoxu . îkrdb^Mj&fêrUnuw December 15-16,2012

mediate sign of the amateur video foot¬ weapons, and warned of "serious con¬ age or photographs that activists often sequences" if Syria used them, but he U.S. orders post to substantiate their claims of mili¬ did not offer any specifics. tary success. "We have drawn up plans for present¬ Last month, the Brown Moses blog, ing to the president," Mr. Panetta said. missiles and considered an authoritative source on "We have to be ready." arms used in the conflict, reported new Turkey's worries about vulnerability images showing insurgents armed with to Syrian missiles, including Scuds that their crews SA-16 and SA-24 shoulder-fired heat- might be tipped with chemical weapons, seeking antiaircraft missiles, appar¬ were heightened recently by reports of ently captured from the Syrian military. increased activity at some of Syria's to Turkey Both systems are newer generations of chemical sites, though Mr. Panetta said weapons than rebels have been seen this week that intelligence about chem¬ carrying before and pose a new threat to INCIRUK AIR BASE, TURKEY ical weapons activity in Syria had Syrian military aircraft. "leveled off." In Moscow, meanwhile, the Russian The recent Scud missile attacks by Patriot batteries are part Foreign Ministry sought to distance it¬ Mr. Assad's forces against rebels in self from comments a day earlier by its of NATO effort to guard northern Syria have only added to Tur¬ Middle East envoy that the Syrian key's concerns. The Scud missiles were rebels may defeat Mr. Assad, a long¬ against fallout from Syria armed with conventional warheads, but standing Kremlin ally and arms client. the attacks showed that the Assad gov¬ A ministry spokesman, Aleksandr K. BY THOM SHANKER, ERIC SCHMITT ernment is prepared to use missiles as it Lukashevich, said Russia remained AND MICHAEL R. GORDON struggles to slow rebel gains. committed to a political solution in Syr¬ Syria denied Thursday that it had Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta ia. fired Scuds this week. But NATO's sec¬ "We have never changed our position signed a deployment order on Friday to retary general, Anders Fogh and will not change it,'' Mr. Lukashevich send 400 American military personnel Rasmussen, said that the intelligence said. He rejected a comment made by a and two Patriot air defense batteries to gathered by the alliance indicated that Turkey, in the most direct U.S. military State Department spokesman on they were Scud-type missiles. "In gen¬ Thursday that Moscow had "woken up" action so far to help contain the Syrian eral, I think the regime in Damascus is and changed its position as dynamics conflict and ininimize the risk it will spill approaching collapse," he said. "I think across the border with Turkey. shifted on the battlefield, saying "we now it's only a question of time.'' have never been asleep.' ' The American batteries will be part of NATO foreign ministers last week en¬ Mr. Lukashevich said that Russia was a broader push to strengthen Turkey's dorsed the decision to send Patriot bat¬ not carrying out any discussions with defenses that will include the deploy¬ teries to Turkey. The details of how the United States about Mr. Assad's fu¬ ment of four other Patriot batteries, two many each nation would send were not from Germany and two from the Neth¬ ture, shooting down widespread specu¬ worked out until this week, officials erlands. Each battery contains multiple lation that Russia could help arrange said. rounds of guided missiles that can inter¬ the president's safe passage out of Syr¬ ia. He said he had restated Russia's in¬ cept and destroy other missiles and hos¬ Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordonfrom sistence on a negotiated solution "hun¬ tile aircraft flying at high speeds. Washington. Reporting was contributed dreds of times" in recent months. Mr. Panetta's deployment order is the byAnne Barnard, Hania Mourtada and All six Patriot units deployed in Tur¬ result of NATO discussions last week. Hwaida Saadfrom Beirut, Alan Cowell key will be under NATO's command and Turkey, a member of the military alli¬ from London, Ellen Barryfrom Moscow are scheduled to be operational by the ance, is housing more than 100,000 Syr¬ and Rick Gladstonefrom New York. ian refugees and providing aid to the end of January, according to officials in Syrian rebels trying to oust President Washington.

Bashar al-Assad. George Little, the Pentagon spokes¬ Tensions between Turkey and Syria man, said Mr. Panetta signed the order have escalated in recent months as Syr¬ as he flew from Afghanistan to this air ian forces have bombed rebel positions base in southern Turkey, close to the along the border and occasionally Syria border. lobbed artillery rounds into Turkish ter¬ "The United States has been support¬ ritory. The Turks have also grown in¬ ing Turkey in its efforts to defend itself,'' creasingly alarmed that Mr. Assad's Mr. Little said. forces could fire missiles into Turkey. The order "will deploy some 400 U.S. News of the Patriot deployment order personnel to Turkey to support two Pa¬ came as antigovernment activists in- triot missile batteries," Mr. Little added, and the personnel and Patriot batteries side Syria reported fresh mayhem, in¬ will arrive in Turkey "in coming cluding an unconfirmed rebel claim to weeks." He did not specify their deploy¬ have downed a government warplane ment locations. attacking insurgent positions near the After landing at Incirlik on Friday, Mr. international airport in Damascus, the Panetta told a gathering of American capital. Air Force personnel of his decision to The Local Coordination Committees, deploy the Patriots. a network of opposition activists, said He said the United States was work¬ the plane was brought down in the East¬ ing with Turkey, Jordan and Israel to ern Ghouta area, but gave no details of monitor Syria's stockpiles of chemical the weaponry used. There was no im

35 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 17 décembre 2012 Une série d'attentats en Irak fait près de 50 morts Les attaques ont surtout eu lieu au Kurdistan et dans les environs de Bagdad.

Une vague d’attentats visant à ésotérique issue du chiisme qui la fois les forces de l’ordre et compte environ 30 000 mem- des civils ont fait au moins 48 bres et qui a été persécutée sous morts et plus de 100 blessés Saddam Hussein avant de lundi en Irak, à la veille du pre- devenir une cible d’Al-Qaeda. mier anniversaire du départ des A Mossoul même, des hommes soldats américains, ont annoncé armés ont tué un soldat à un des sources policières et médi- point de contrôle. cales. Dimanche, une première Dans la ville de Touz série d’attaques avait fait 19 Khourmatou (Nord), deux morts et des dizaines de bles- attentats à la voiture piégée sés, essentiellement dans le contre une mosquée chiite ont nord du pays. fait cinq morts. Et des hommes L’Irak reste plongé dans la crise armés ont tué un milicien à depuis le départ des derniers Kirkouk. Trois autres bombes A Kirkouk le 17 décembre, après l'explosion d'une bombe. soldats américains le 18 décem- ont fait un mort sur une route (Photo stringer. Reuters) bre 2011, après presque neuf près de Baqouba, où une bombe ans d’une guerre qui a fait des magnétique et une fusillade ont dizaines de milliers de morts tué deux autres personnes. Sur une autoroute à l’ouest de «L'état de la sécurité n’a pas irakiens ainsi que des milliers Dans la même province, deux Tikrit (160 km au nord de fondamentalement changé, en de morts américains, et coûté Kurdes ont été tués par une Bagdad) des hommes armés dépit du retrait américain. Et des centaines de milliards de bombe magnétique à Baladruz. ont tué un policier à un poste c’est déjà remarquable», souli- dollars. Même si les violences Khaznah et Touz Khourmatou de contrôle. Poursuivis, les gnait récemment Joost n’atteignent plus les niveaux font partie des zones que se dis- agresseurs ont abandonné leur Hiltermann, directeur adjoint effroyables des années 2006 et putent le gouvernement central véhicule piégé et tué cinq autres du service Moyen-Orient de 2007, les groupes d’insurgés et le Kurdistan autonome, et le policiers en le faisant exploser. l’International Crisis Group. continuent de représenter une représentant de l’ONU en Irak, Toujours au nord de Bagdad, «Le retrait des forces améri- véritable menace et les attentats Martin Knobler, a souligné que une bombe a explosé au pas- caines a entraîné une réduction restent quasi-quotidiens, avec «ces attentats dans les régions sage d’une patrouille militaire de la formation, de la collecte des bilans mensuels qui dépas- contestées aggravent encore les dans le village d’Al-Buslaibi, de renseignement et de la capa- sent systématiquement la cen- tensions dans ces zones». tuant trois soldats. Et une voi- cité d’envoyer rapidement des taine de morts. ture piégée a tué un Irakien et renforts bien équipés sur les NIVEAU DE VIOLENCES STABLE La plus meurtrière de ces blessé au moins dix pèlerins points chauds», a expliqué John attaques s’est produite dans Dans le centre de la capitale, chiites iraniens près de Doujaïl. Drake, expert au sein du dans un quartier du nord de une voiture piégée a fait au Selon les statistiques officielles, groupe AKE. Bagdad où une voiture piégée a moins un mort. Les restes du les forces de sécurité irakiennes «Cependant, il n’y a pas eu de explosé dans une concession véhicule étaient éparpillés sur ont réussi à empêcher une baisse des opérations de contre- automobile, faisant onze morts les lieux de l’explosion, qui a explosion des violences depuis insurrection et des arresta- et 40 blessés, selon des sources soufflé les vitres du voisinage, le départ des soldats améri- tions», même si «l’armée ira- médicales et de sécurité. selon un journaliste de l’AFP. cains, puisqu’il y a eu moins de kienne a encore beaucoup de «La situation sécuritaire est en Près de Mossoul (Nord), une tués lors des onze premiers chemin à faire et qu’elle reste train d’empirer», a dénoncé mois de l’année que sur la confrontée à une pénurie de voiture piégée a tué sept per- Ë Duniyah, 23 ans, employée même période en 2011. moyens», a-t-il ajouté.(AFP) sonnes à Khaznah, village de la dans un hôtel proche. communauté shabak, une secte

18 décembre 2012

IRAK • Des attentats qui visent les Turkmènes Al-Mada l'attention sur la région de Kirkouk, riche près de Kirkouk, rapporte-t-il. Il cite le en pétrole et disputée entre Arabes, gouverneur de la province selon lequel ne série d'attentats a fait près de 50 Kurdes et Turkmènes. "Des explosions des affrontements au mortier et à la détruisent des dizaines de maisons mitrailleuse "visent les Turkmènes afin de morts en Irak le lundi 17 décembre N Uparmi les forces de sécurité et les civils. appartenant à des membres des minorités les pousser à partir". Le journal attire particulièrement turkmène et shabak à Touz Khormato",

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

18 décembre 2012 Le président irakien Talabani hospitalisé après une attaque cérébrale Khoudair al-Khouzaï, est toujours en Mohamad Ali HARISSI (A F place, le second Tarek al-Hachémi, est en fuite, ayant été condamné à mort par e président irakien Jalal Talabani, un contumace cinq fois, notamment pour ancien rebelle Kurde qui a oeuvré à meurtres. Lréduire les profondes divisions entre les Ennemi juré de l'ancien président communautés du pays, a été hospitalisé Saddam Hussein qui a opprimé les d'urgence après une attaque cérébrale mais Kurdes pendant des décennies, Jalal son état a été qualifié de "stable" mardi par Talabani avait été désigné président de la son bureau. République en avril 2005 puis élu en 2006 Elu premier président kurde d'Irak en et réélu en 2010, après avoir consacré une 2005 après le renversement du président grande partie de sa vie à lutter clandesti- Saddam Hussein, M. Talabani, 79 ans, se nement contre le pouvoir. trouve dans l'unité des soins intensifs à la Il avait alors troqué sont treillis de en parlant d'"un durcissement des guérillero pour le costume trois-pièces de Cité médicale de Bagdad, a déclaré son artères". Dans un précédent texte, elle chef de cabinet Nasser al-Ani à la télévi- président d'un Irak débarrassé de Saddam avait indiqué qu'il avait été hospitalisé Hussein, son ennemi juré, après l'invasion sion officielle al-Iraqiya. "d'urgence" lundi soir à la suite d'un état "Son état est stable et susceptible de américaine de 2003. d'"épuisement". "Oncle Jalal", comme l'appelaient ses s'améliorer. Mais il va devoir rester pen- M. Talabani a dû faire face à plusieurs dant une longue période aux soins inten- sympathisants, s'est construit une solide problèmes de santé ces dernières années. réputation d'homme de paix pour avoir sifs pour que l'on soit rassuré sur son Il a été opéré du coeur avec succès aux état", a-t-il ajouté. tenté de réduire, si ce n'est combler, les Etats-Unis en août 2008, et un an plus tôt profondes divisions entre les différentes Sur une possibilité de voyage à il avait du être évacué en Jordanie voisine l'étranger pour se faire soigner, il a précisé communautés du pays. pour y être soigné en raison d'un état de Durant l'année écoulée, il avait ainsi que cette décision revenait aux médecins déshydratation et d'épuisement. traitants. appelé à la tenue d'une "conférence natio- Il a également été soigné en Europe nale" destinée à résoudre la crise politique Dans une déclaration à l'AFP, le res- pour différents problèmes de santé. ponsable des relations avec les médias au apparue entre chiites et sunnites, et la Ces derniers temps, la fatigue et la crise de confiance entre M. Maliki et ses bureau de M. Talabani, Barzan cheikh maladie marquaient ses traits. Il ne se Othmane, a lui aussi déclaré que "l'état du détracteurs qui l'accusent d'être un "dicta- déplaçait plus qu'à l'aide d'une canne. teur". président est stable et s'améliore". En vertu de la Constitution irakienne, Selon al-Iraqiya, M. Talabani a été Jalal Talabani a dominé avec son "le vice-président de la République rem- ancien rival Massoud Barzani la vie poli- victime d'une attaque cérébrale. Le place le président en cas de vacance du Premier ministre Nouri al-Maliki s'est tique kurde irakienne. Mais après la chute poste sous n'importe quelle raison, et le de Saddam Hussein, tous deux avaient rendu à l'hôpital pour s'enquérir de son G Parlement devra élire un nouveau prési- enterré la hache de guerre. état de santé. dent, dans une période n'excédant pas les "Ses fonctions vitales sont normales et 30 jours à partir de la date à laquelle le son état est stable", a indiqué un commu- poste est devenu vacant". niqué de la présidence sur son site internet Un seul des deux vice-présidents,

Un an après le retrait américain, l'Irak vogue de crise en crise

BAGDAD, 16 décembre 2012 (AFP) de leurs divisions sur la sécurité et la gouvernance du pays. Depuis qu'elles ne sont plus épaulées par les Américains, les forces de sécu- DEPUIS le retrait des troupes américaines il y a un an, l'Irak est empêtré rité irakiennes sont seules aux commandes et doivent gérer des infrastructures dans une crise aux multiples facettes qui n'en finit plus: son Premier déficientes et des attentats quasi-quotidiens. ministre a échappé à un vote de défiance, un vice-président a été Au plan politique, l'année s'est ouverte sur un grave conflit entre le Premier condamné à mort et les tensions entre Arabes et Kurdes sont vives. ministre chiite Nouri al-Maliki et ses alliés au sein du gouvernement, certains Cette grave crise a débuté au lendemain du départ des derniers soldats amé- allant jusqu'à l'accuser d'être un "dictateur". ricains, le 18 décembre 2011, qui a mis fin à une guerre de près de neuf ans La formation laïque Iraqiya, les Kurdes et le chef religieux radical chiite au cours de laquelle des dizaines de milliers d'Irakiens et plus de 4.400 soldats Moqtada Sadr, dont la formation fait partie du gouvernement ont rejoint en américains ont péri. début d'année les rangs de ses détracteurs. Mais un vote de défiance n'a fina- Lors d'une récente visite à Bagdad, le secrétaire général des Nations unies Ban lement pas été organisé, faute de soutien au Parlement. Ki-moon a d'ailleurs mis en garde les dirigeants irakiens contre l'impact négatif La rivalité politique s'est aussi subitement déplacée sur le terrain pénal, ➤

37 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti ➤ lorsque le vice-président sunnite Tarek al-Hachémi a été accusé d'avoir Les Kurdes enragent depuis que Bagdad y a installé l'un de ses quartiers géné- fomenté des assassinats. M. Hachémi, membre d'Iraqiya, n'a eu de cesse de raux en septembre. Des troupes supplémentaires des deux camps ont été réfuter ces accusations depuis son exil turc, assurant qu'elles étaient à carac- envoyées dans la région sans qu'une réelle confrontation n'ait toutefois lieu. tère politique. Il a depuis été condamné à mort par contumace par la justice de Pour les Irakiens, les violences, sans atteindre les niveaux du conflit de 2006- son pays. 08, restent la plaie majeure à laquelle ils doivent faire face. TENSIONS AVEC LE KURDISTAN "Je crains que la polarisation politique accrue alimente les violences confession- Mais la plus grosse menace à l'unité de l'Irak est aujourd'hui l'âpre conflit qui nelles et annihile les gains précieux engrangés dans la lutte contre le terrorisme oppose la région autonome du Kurdistan (nord) au gouvernement central. ces dernières années", a souligné Ban Ki-moon lors d'une rencontre avec des dirigeants politiques irakiens. La dispute a d'abord porté sur l'exploitation des hydrocarbures du Kurdistan. Bagdad est en effet furieux de voir Erbil signer des contrats avec des compa- Sur les onze premiers mois de l'année, les violences ont fait moins de morts que gnies pétrolières étrangères en se passant de son accord. sur la même période l'an passé, selon des chiffres du gouvernement irakien. Mais "l'état de la sécurité n'a pas fondamentalement changé, en dépit du retrait Le conflit est allé crescendo jusqu'à connaître ces dernières semaines une suite américain. Et c'est déjà remarquable", souligne Joost Hiltermann, sous-directeur militaire. Les deux entités revendiquent toutes deux une bande de territoire qui du service Moyen-Orient de l'International Crisis Group. comprend notamment la ville de Kirkouk.

20 décembre 2012 Allemagne: le président irakien Talabani hospitalisé à Berlin

e président irakien Jalal Talabani, L79 ans, hospitalisé en urgence à Bagdad pour une attaque cérébrale selon la télévision officielle, a été transféré jeudi en Allemagne pour y recevoir des soins. Jalal Talabani a quitté la Cité médicale de Bagdad, où il avait été admis lundi accompagné de son équipe médicale.

Des responsables irakiens avaient affirmé la veille que l'amélioration de l'état de santé du président avait per- mis son transfert à l'étranger. Barzan Cheikh Othman, le responsable en charge de la presse au bureau du prési- dent, a affirmé que la décision de le gné plusieurs fois à l'étranger. Kurdistan et le pouvoir central à transférer en avion vers l'Allemagne Jalal Talabani a été désigné prési- Bagdad. avait été prise par une équipe de méde- dent de la République en avril 2005, cins venus d'Irak, d'Allemagne et de deux ans après le renversement de Le vice-président peut assurer la Grande-Bretagne pour soigner le prési- Saddam Hussein et après avoir consa- vacance dent. A Berlin, le ministère des Affaires cré une grande partie de sa vie à lutter étrangères n'a pas souhaité commenter clandestinement contre le pouvoir cen- En vertu de la Constitution ira- ces informations. tral de Bagdad. Premier chef d'état kienne, "le vice-président de la La chaîne Iraqiya a indiqué lundi, le kurde d'Irak, il a été élu en 2006 et République remplace le président en jour de l'hospitalisation de Jalal réélu en 2010 pour un mandat de qua- cas de vacance du poste pour n'importe Talabani, qu'il avait été victime d'une tre ans. quelle raison, et le Parlement devra attaque cérébrale et la présidence a La présidence est en théorie une élire un nouveau président, dans une parlé d'un "durcissement des artères". fonction essentiellement honorifique période n'excédant pas les 30 jours à Les médecins n'ont pas donné de préci- en Irak, mais JalalTalabani, un ancien partir de la date à laquelle le poste est sions sur ses problèmes médicaux, seigneur de la guerre kurde, s'est devenu vacant". mais plusieurs responsables ont fait construit ces dernières années une Un seul des deux vice-présidents, M. état d'une amélioration de son état de solide réputation d'homme de paix Khoudaïr al-Khouzaï, est susceptible de santé. pour avoir tenté de réduire les pro- remplacer Jalal Talabani en cas de fonds clivages qui persistent entre les besoin. Le second, Tarek al-Hachémi, Plusieurs problèmes de santé ces communautés du pays. "Jalal Talabani est en fuite, et a été condamné à mort dernières années est un lien crucial entre le Kurdistan par contumace cinq fois, notamment irakien et Bagdad", a souligné Maria pour meurtres. (AFP) J Jalal Talabani a dû faire face à plu- Fantappie, analyste pour l'International sieurs problèmes de santé ces dernières Crisis group, un rôle d'autant plus années. Il a été opéré du coeur avec suc- important que les tensions se sont cès aux Etats-Unis en août 2008, et soi- aggravées entre la région autonome du

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

TIME December 17, 2012

A rebel gunman in Syria tal CONFESSIONS about his disillusionment with the cause and one soul-shattering decision

OFASNI-E- BY RANIA ABOUZEID/ALEPPO

To the other men in his Free Syrian Army unit, he's simply known

as the Sniper, a 21-year-old army-trained sharpshooter who defected

on Feb. 21 and joined their ranks. Few of his colleagues know his first

name, let alone his surname and that's the way he wants to keep it.

He hails from a Sunni military fam¬ territorial, between rebel commanders in resources. Various backers Syrian and ily in a town on the outskirts ofthe capi¬ a particular area, irrespective ofideology. foreign, private and state-sponsored

tal, Damascus. His uncle is a general in Others say it won't happen at all. But the entered the fray, picking their men on President Bashar Assad's army. Several of Sniper, like many fighting men, thinks the ground and funneling weapons and

his other relatives are also high-ranking that it will and that it will be ugly: "We money to them. The help wasn't always military officers. Apart from his parents will not become Somalia after Bashar free; it often required pledges of alle¬ and siblings, however, his kinfolk all falls," he says. "We will have many Soma- giance, which many rebels have said they

think he's dead and that's the way he lias in every province." made with little intention of keeping.

wants to keep it. It didn't start this wayneither for The money and weapons haven't really

A trim young man with closely this young rebel nor the revolution. "I bought the rebels' love or obedience, just

cropped black hair and beard, he looks think I'm unrecognizable now," the Snip¬ their temporary gratitude.

intense but calm as he sits in complete er says. "I never really thought I'd kill Over the past few weeks, the rebels silence for hours, finger on the trigger, someone." But he has killed 34 people have made sizable inroads in many parts

peering through the telescopic sight of who did not see his bullet coming, includ¬ ofthe country, but in Aleppo, Syria's larg¬

his Dragunov sniper rifle. He's careful ing, he suspects but cannot quite admit, est city and its once pulsating commercial

not to let its barrel protrude through the huh, the intense firefights and dramatic

double-fist-size peephole he has punched capture of neighborhoods that marked

through an apartment wall, lest it give their initial frenetic push into the city

away his location to the regime's sharp¬ Aleppo have largely stalled. Although the gov¬ TURKEY shooters, some of whom are only about ernment's warplanes and heavy weapons 165 ft (50 m) away. continue to pummel various neighbor¬ He may look calm, but he's deeply trou¬ hoods, and the rebels continue to try to bled. After some nine months of fighting pound their way forward, the fight has with several Free Syrian Army units, first ground to a stalemate in many areas that on the outskirts ofAleppo and then in the fell out of government control early on.

city itselfafter the rebel push into it in late In these districts, territory gained is mea¬

July, he has grown disillusioned with the sured in street corners and meters rather

fight and angry with its conduct. "I did than neighborhoods. And the snipers this when it was clean," he says. "Now it's reign. A few good sharpshooters can ef¬ dirty. Many aren't fighting just to get rid fectively freeze a front line by making any EGYPT of Bashar, they're fighting to gain a repu¬ movement by their rivals too costly. tation, to build up their name. I want it to So rebel snipers, especially profession¬

go back to the way it was, when we were ally trained ones, are in great demand. fighting for God and the people, not for his childhood friend Mohammad, a man The Sniper says he has "been offered some commander's reputation." who was "dearer to me than a brother." so much money, it is as if I am working He refused an order in November to The Syrian revolution is also unrecog¬ for the mafia."

fight a proregime, ethnic Kurdish mili¬ nizable from 20 months ago, when Syr¬ "Some [rebel commanders] offered me

tia in a Kurdish neighborhood of Aleppo ians first took to the streets in peaceful money. Others would say, 'Just tell me that the rebels had entered. "Why should protests demanding freedom and dignity what you want.' One told me, 'I'll bring I fight the Kurds?" he says. "It's a distrac¬ from a totalitarian leader who allowed lit¬ your parents, take them to safety. Just tion. This isn't our fight." tle of either. The uprising soon morphed come and workwith me,' " he says. "It does Syrians in the opposition, whether into an armed revolt as soldiers defected not honor me to workwith people like this armed or not, have often said there may and men took up arms against the loy¬ who think they can buy and sell me." be a revolution after the revolution to un¬ alist troops who were shooting into the Instead he has found a home with seat Assad. The fault lines differ depend¬ crowds and going house to house look¬ Liwa Suqoor al-Sha'aba, an Islamist ing on whom you talk to. Some envision ing for dissenters. As the conflict became unit of the Free Syrian Army headquar¬ a fight between Islamist and secular reb¬ deeper and bloodier, and the interna¬ tered in Azaz, a town north of Aleppo els; others between defectors and armed tional community looked on impotently, in the vast band of countryside in rebel

civilians; some say it will be ethnic, be¬ armed rebels scrounging for help were hands around the city. For the past few

tween Kurds and Arabs; others simply increasingly compelled to compete for months, he has been stationed in the

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

northeastern neighborhood of Bustan says. The Sniper is pensive, takes several Sniper has found solace in religion. But his al-Basha, a devastated wasteland emp¬ deep breaths and fidgets with his io-mm is a politicized form of Islam. He speaks tied of all but three of its thousands of handgun as he speaks of his friend, re¬ admiringly of the extremist group Jabhat residents. "We cannot charge on [gov¬ peatedly flicking off the gun's safety. The al-Nusra, which has been responsible ernment] positions if we do, they will young men joined the army together and for some of the most spectacular suicide

eliminate us nor can they advance on stayed in contact even after the Sniper bombings against regime targets. "They us," he says. "It's not that I'm tired, but I defected. He was the only person outside are clean and doing good work," he says. want something new. New territory. I'm of the Sniper's immediate family who He wants to join them if he can "cleanse"

sick of it here. I'm disgusted by it." But knew that he was still alive. "I would tell his body and mind, he says, pointing to he respects his adversaries, who he says him to defect. He'd say, 'Not yet, it's still a red pack of Gauloises cigarettes. A day have pinned the rebels down for months. early.' I'd say defect. I told him I'd come later, he quits smoking. He is always on the lookout for new and get him, that I would go anywhere to He was not always like this. An avid sniper positions. "Are you ready?" he see him, to help him defect, even to the boxer before he was the Sniper, the young asks before running alongside me as we gates ofhis brigade. Whatever he wanted, man lived in Hamburg for five years, dash past regime snipers to minimize my wherever he was, Iwould get him. He kept returning to his homeland in 2010. He at¬ chances ofbeing hit. We walked through saying, 'It's still early, it's early.' He was tended the Goethe-Institut in Damascus the deserted neighborhood, up darkened scared that his family would go through and says his Arabic was so poor, he could stairwells and through a maze of holes the same thing my family went through." barely read. It has since improved to the punched through apartment walls to The Sniper says his family members were degree that he now reads the Koran aloud avoid exposure on the streets. The Sniper interrogated, harassed, ostracized in their to his fellow rebels. He has long since kicked in locked apartment doors, mov¬ community. The only thing that saved shelved his dream of returning to Ger¬ ing through family rooms and kitchens them from greater harm, he suspects, was many and training as a boxer. In fact, he with rotting vegetables as he searched the clout of the loyalist military men in doesn't want to survive the Syrian upris¬ for higher, better ground. He paused in his family and the fact that they thought ing and is seeking "martyrdom." "I'm only one living room to feed fish in a tank. A he was dead, not a defector. comfortable on the front line," he says.

few days later, he replaced the damaged Mohammad was eventually sent to "My rifle has become not just like a part locks ofthe apartments he had entered. In Azaz, stationed at what was called the ofmy body. It is my life, my destiny." He re¬ one apartment, on the fifth floor, a black¬ Shaft Checkpoint. Both the Sniper and members his religious awakening, during ened male corpse lay in a bedroom. The his commander repeatedly urged Mo¬ the first assault he participated in. It was rubble strewn around the room from the hammad to defect, warning him that a hit on a checkpoint on the road to the gaping hole in the ceiling made it clear they planned to attack the checkpoint. town of al-Bab on Aleppo's outskirts. "We what had killed the man. The stench He didn't listen. "We were three snip¬ ambushed them. There was an Islamist was tear-inducing. Fat maggots crawled ers. We killed a colonel, a soldier and my with me. My heart was filled with faith. on the bloated corpse. Several rebels re¬ friend. I don't know which one I killed. I He told me the onlything between me and moved the body, wrapping it in a blue didn't see their faces. They were soldiers paradise was this road, was dying on this blanket. The next day, the small group, in front of us, and we were ordered to kill road. I was sorry that I lived." alongwith the Sniper, returned, methodi¬ them." That was three months ago. A few days later, we return to the issue cally removed the china from a dining- "He's gone anyway. What good is of victims, ofwhether or not they were all room cabinet and placed it in a dusty thinking about it? I did for a long time shabiha, and his friend Mohammad. At the lounge area before punching a small hole afterward. I thought, 'Why? He was my end ofthe day, I tell him, he is a Syrian kill- .

through the dining-room wall. The room friend. Why did I shoot at him? I shouldn't ing other Syrians. "I used to think about looked out onto a government position in have.' But I have left those thoughts be¬ the people I'd killed. I'd think about their

the shrubbery below and would serve as a hind me. I have to move forward." parents," he says. "Yes, we are all Syrian,

new rebel outpost. Like many men on the front line, the hut we didn't create these differences, they Still, on some days, the Sniper says, he did. It is because I am Syrian, because these doesn't even fire a shot. He just watches and. people, these civilians who are dying are waits in nearly dark apartments with no Syrian, thatlam doing this, thatI am stand¬ power, alonewith his thoughts. Hisvictims, ing with and for my people. Those who are when he speaks of them, were all shabiha, not standing with their people are not Syr¬

progovernment paramilitary thugs an ian, they are traitors, andtraitors must die." 'I'm only comfortable easy term to wield when he wants to dehu¬ And Mohammad? Was he a traitor? on the front manize his enemies. But he knows it's not No, he says, he wasn't, but "I've accepted it quite accurate. He knows his childhood line. My rifle has now, and nothing matters to me anymore." friend Mohammadwas not a shabih. He says become not just "Whoever is going to be in my sights will die. That's it," the Sniper says. "My he doesn't know if his bullet or one of his like a part of my colleagues' killed him. heart has hardened. I returned to religion, body. It is my life, "We were in school together. We grew but after I killed, my heart hardened. A up together. His mother was like my my destiny.' sniper sees who he kills," he says, pausing.

mother, that!s how close we were," he THE SNIPER "It's hard. A sniper sees his victim."

time December 17, 2012

40 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 16 December 2012 Baghdad-Erbil Tensions Intensify Over New Kurdish Reference to Disputed Lands 16/12/2012 05:43:00 RUDAW sands of its own Peshmarga fighters in the areas, and last week Barzani told the troops ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A decision to hope for peace but be ready for war. by the president of Iraq’s autonomous On Friday, Barzani’s office said that the Kurdistan Region to henceforth refer to dis- name change over the disputed regions was puted northern regions as “Kurdish territo- in response to pronouncements by a number ries” has intensified tensions with Baghdad of senior Iraqi officials, “Who refuse to over the areas, which are at the center of admit that those territories are in dispute, as worries over an Arab-Kurd conflict. mentioned in the Iraqi Constitution.” “In order to preserve the Kurdish iden- “These officials use terms that have no tity and culture of these areas a presidential historic or geographical backing,” Barzani’s decision will from now on consider those statement said. areas as Kurdish territories outside the The disputed territories lie in the nor- Kurdistan Region,” according to a state- Kurdistan Region President Massoud thern provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk and ment from President Massoud Barzani. Barzani. Photo: Rudaw. Diyala. During Saddam Hussein’s regime, “The president’s office advises all thousands of the original inhabitants -- government departments in the Kurdistan particularly Iraq’s ethnically Kurdish mainly Kurds -- were displaced and repla- Region to use the new term,” it added. President Jalal Talabani and the non- ced by Arab families brought in from the At a time when the Kurdistan Regional Kurdish speaker of Parliament, to condemn south. Government (KRG) accuses Baghdad of “this dangerous series of actions.” Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution is breaching the Constitution by dispatching “Any act outside the law will face a set to solve the issue by compensating and its Dijla forces into the disputed territories tough legal response,” Maliki warned. “In returning Arab families to the south, and to unilaterally control security, Prime the end, we have no other option but to stick facilitating the return of displaced Kurds to Minister Nuri al-Maliki countered that to the Constitution to solve all political dis- their former lands. Barzani’s move was a violation of the char- putes,” his statement added. Kurdish authorities have long accused ter. A serious row has been brewing bet- Baghdad of insincerity regarding Article Barzani’s decision “has no legal value” ween the KRG and Baghdad since weeks 140. Barzani’s statement said that, “Iraqi and is a “violation of Iraq’s Constitution,” ago Maliki stationed his newly-formed and officials refusing to use the term disputed said a statement from Maliki’s office that controversial Dijla forces in the energy-rich territories means that they do not intend to was received by Rudaw. disputed territories, which are also claimed implement Article 140.” Maliki urged all parties in Baghdad, by the Kurds. The KRG deployed thou-

December 19, 2012

cally mixed city of Kirkuk, to keep the aircraft wealth and the disputed territories between from taking surveillance pictures of their mili- their two regions. Kurdish tary positions. Iraqi armed forces and Kurdish "We opened fire at an Iraqi military heli- Peshmerga have faced off before only to back copter flying over our forces," said Anwar off before any major confrontation and U.S. troops fire on Othman, deputy minister for Kurdish military officials have been in talks with both regions affairs. "This is a clear message that next time to try to ease tensions between them. Iraqi army our response will be tougher." The ethnically mixed, disputed areas are A local mayor in the area confirmed the a swathe of land separating Iraq from the ter- helicopter in incident. But there was no immediate res- ritory administered by ethnic Kurds in the ponse from the Iraqi central government. north, and they include the sensitive city of The growing rift between Baghdad and Kirkuk, which sits atop some of the world's dispute Kurdistan is the most challenging test to Iraq's largest oil reserves. AGHDAD (Reuters) - Troops from Iraq's federal unity since the last American troops Bombings and attacks across those areas autonomous Kurdistan opened fire on an left a year ago, removing a buffer of U.S. mili- killed more than 30 people on Sunday and BIraqi army helicopter on Tuesday, undersco- tary presence from an area long seen as a Monday in what authorities said was an ring tensions between Baghdad's Arab-led flashpoint for conflict. attempt by insurgents to stoke Arab-Kurdish central government and the Kurdish region, News of the clash came just hours after tensions. officials said. authorities announced Iraq's President Jalal Violence in Iraq has eased since the Iraq's government and self-ruled Talabani, a Kurd, had been hospitalized follo- height of sectarian attacks in 2006-2007. But Kurdistan last month both sent troops from wing a stroke that had left him in critical but Sunni Islamists still carry out bombings nearly their respective armies to reinforce positions stable condition. a decade after the American-led invasion to around towns in disputed areas where they oust Saddam Hussein. both claim control as part of a broader feud A veteran Kurdish politician, Talabani has over oil and territory. been a key mediator between Prime Minister (Reporting by Baghdad newsroom, Azad Nuri al-Maliki's central government and the Lazkari in Arbil; Mohammed Ahmed in Kirkuk; Kurdistan Peshmerga officials said on Kurdistan Regional Government who are gro- writing by Patrick Markey Tuesday they fired on an Iraqi military helicop- wing further apart over how to control oil ter near Sikanyan town just north of the ethni-

41 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti DECEMBER 19, 2012 Kurdish officials say Iraqi President Talabani to be treated in Germany after stroke Sinan Salaheddin / Associated Press years, including heart surgery in 2008 and knee replacement surgery this year. AGHDAD — Iraqi President Jalal The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad expres- Talabani will be flown to Germany for sed hopes for a speedy recovery. Word of Bfurther treatment after suffering a stroke Talabani’s illness trickled out on Tuesday, earlier this week, two Kurdish officials which also marked the anniversary of the close to him said Wednesday. withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Medical experts from Germany and Iraq. other countries began arriving earlier in Talabani’s official powers are limited, the day to assess the 79-year-old presi- but he is seen as a rare unifying figure able dent’s condition. to rise above the ethnic and sectarian rifts Iraqi doctors at the Baghdad intensive that still divide the country. care unit where he is being treated say he Iraq’s parliament has the authority to is in stable condition and getting better, choose a new president should Talabani’s but they have released few details about office become vacant. The Kurds would his illness. his treatment,” Othman said. “The presi- likely insist on retaining the presidency to Talabani, a member of Iraq’s Kurdish dent’s medical situation has improved and maintain the government’s power-sharing minority, was taken to the hospital late he has passed the dangerous stage.” balance. Monday and doctors worked to stabilize Questions remain about the graveness Before he fell ill, Talabani was actively him into the following day. His illness of Talabani’s illness. involved in trying to mediate in a crisis raises new concerns about Iraq’s stability, One government official and a medic between Baghdad and the Kurds, who which is being tested anew by a recent with knowledge of the situation earlier have their own fighters and considerable spike in tensions between the central said he was in a coma, while another offi- autonomy in their enclave in northern Iraq. government and the Kurds. cial said he is in a partially comatose state, The two sides last month moved addi- Firyad Rawndouzi, a senior member of suggesting he may be responding to some tional troops into disputed areas along the Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan stimuli. All insisted on anonymity because Kurds’ self-rule region, prompting fears party, said the German team recommended they are not authorized to discuss the pre- that fighting could break out. he be moved, possibly as early as sident’s condition with reporters. Last week Talabani brokered a deal Thursday. The head of the president’s Talabani’s doctors have not formally that calls on both sides to eventually with- media office, Barazan Sheikh Othman, said that the 79-year-old statesman suffe- draw troops from the contested areas, also said doctors were preparing to trans- red a stroke, though several government though there was no timetable for how fer him. officials have publicly confirmed that is soon the drawdown might take place. “Most probably the president will be the case. taken tomorrow, or at maximum the day Talabani is overweight and has under- after tomorrow, to Germany to complete gone several medical procedures in recent

December 17, 2012 Iraq Attacks Kill 26, Many in Kurdish-Claimed Areas

Michael Lipin

raqi authorities say bombings and shootings Iacross the country have killed at least 26 peo- ple, about half of them in northern regions whose territory is disputed between autono- mous Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad's central govern- ment. In one of Monday's deadliest attacks, a car bomb killed seven people in a village near the northern city of Mosul in Iraq's Nineveh pro- vince. The village is inhabited by the Shabak ethnic minority. Another two car bombs exploded in a

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

Shi'ite district of the town of Tuz Khormato "There have been terrorist activities in these The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in in Salah al-Din province, killing five people. areas many time before," Karim said. "The December 2011 has made it tougher for their Several bombs also went off around the town pattern [of the latest attacks] is similar to Iraqi government allies to secure the country. of Baquba in Diyala province, killing one per- what [al-Qaida] has done in the past, and the "A vacuum was left," Karim said. "Some of the son. targeted areas are places in which they are listening and surveillance capabilities [of the active." U.S. forces] no longer exist. We are trying to Disputed regions train our police so that they can manage to On Sunday, bombs targeting Iraqi Shi'ites kil- Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Diyala provinces all combat those terrorist groups." led at least six people in the oil-rich city of border Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Kirkuk, home to a mix of ethnic Arabs, Kurds Karim also called for better coordination bet- which wants to incorporate Kurdish-populated and Turkmen. A car bomb also struck a ween Baghdad and provincial governments in parts of those provinces into its territory, over Patriotic Union of Kurdistan office in the Diyala training Iraqi security forces. Baghdad's strong objections. town of Jalawla, killing two recruits seeking to At least 13 people were killed in Monday's There were no immediate claims of responsi- join a Kurdish peshmerga security force. other attacks in Iraq. Two car bombs went off bility for the attacks, which marked the second Some of the Kirkuk blasts happened near in different parts of the Iraqi capital, killing six consecutive day of violence in internally-dis- Shi'ite mosques. Speaking by phone from people at a car dealership and one person in puted regions claimed by Iraqi Kurdistan. Kirkuk, Karim said militants often switch their downtown Baghdad. Kirkuk provincial governor Najmaldin Karim targets between Shi'ite and Kurdish areas. "It ËËË told VOA that authorities believe al-Qaida ter- just depends on where they get the opportu- rorists carried out the latest attacks to try to nity and where they can create more mistrust enflame sectarian tensions and political diffe- between the communities," he said. rences between Iraqi Kurdistan and the fede- Iraqi challenges ral government.

DECEMBER / 7 / 2012

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden proposed to do just that. It was agreed to in a Sept. 25, 2007, non- binding resolution by a full Senate vote of 75 to 23. The resolution envisioned a federal government system in Iraq consisting of sepa- Iraqi Kurds would rate regions for Iraq’s Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish populations. Indeed, Biden had made his Iraqi plan the centerpiece of his welcome U.S. troops unsuccessful 2008 bid for the presidency. At the time, the vote was considered a consensus that the pro- in the north blems in Iraq could not be solved militarily, but might be helped by Barzani plan echoes strategy Biden’s idea of resolving sectarian and ethnic disputes through divi- sought by Biden sion. Sources in Iran, which is allied with the Shi’ite al-Maliki, said the F. Michael Maloof, staff writer for WND and region has been the subject of such sectarian and ethnic tensions and G2Bulletin, is a former senior security poli- that the Iraqi prime minister was doing “whatever he can to fend off cy analyst in the office of the secretary of attempts to weaken the country’s unity.” defense. For his part, al-Maliki is attempting to keep the country together www.wnd.com despite conflicting sectarian interests. The northern region for years has been the subject of not only BEIRUT – Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan wanting to separate from the rest of Iraq but wants its own autono- Regional Government, would like to see U.S. troops in northern Iraq mous region to join with Kurds in neighboring countries where large where the Kurds are predominant, according to a report from Joseph minorities of Kurds reside. Farah’s G2 Bulletin. They are Turkey, and the northern portions of Syria, Iraq and That echoed a suggestion U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden Iran. recently made that was rejected by Iraq’s Shi’ite prime minister, In addition to all this, however, there is a further split within the Nouri al-Makiki. Biden even was barred from visiting the country to Kurdish community between the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, deliver that message. led by Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, which WND/G2Bulletin recently reported that Biden wanted to visit is headed by Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani. northern Iraq to suggest U.S. troop presence to prevent a potential Their differences, sources say, could lead to civil war, not only civil war in that region. within the Kurdish community but also from a more sectarian pers- However, al-Maliki nixed that suggestion, saying that the central pective of Sunni against Shi’ite. government was fully capable of handling the problem and that Sources say that Iran has been pressing to keep out U.S. presence Biden would encourage separation of the country into three distinct in Iraq and, so far, al-Maliki has gone along with its request. areas to give the Shi’ites, Sunnis and the Kurds their respective regions of influence. Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah’s G2 Biden has been a long-time proponent of dividing Iraq into three Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and semi-autonomous regions, and it may be a proposal that current Iraqi published by the founder of WND. I leaders never have forgotten.

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

îtMmèz Mercredi 19 décembre 2012

Le déploiement de missiles Patriot enTurquie, près de la Syrie, ravive les tensions entre Téhéran et Ankara

Le président iranien, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, annule une visite en Turquie

Istanbul tendu », à la veille de sa visite en vivement élevé, en novem¬ incidents qui ont fait cinq morts -, Correspondance Turquie. bre 2011, contre l'installation en la Turquie a réclamé à ses alliés de La véritable raison de ce brus¬ Turquie d'une partie du dispositif l'OTAN l'installation de batteries es derviches tourneurs que changement de programme de bouclier antimissiles de de Patriot, capables d'abattre des auraient dû permettre d'apai¬ pourrait plutôt être à chercher du l'OTAN, perçoit de plus en plus le avions ou des missiles. Ankara ser les tensions entre la Tur¬ côté des déclarations du chef de voisin turc comme une menace redoute un «geste de désespoir du quie et l'Iran. Les désaccords se l'état-majoriranien, le général Has¬ potentielle. Le président russe, Vla¬ régime baasiste » et l'utilisation de sont multipliés, ces derniers mois, san Firouzabadi, qui, samediavio- dimir Poutine, autre allié de missiles armés de substances entre les deux voisins, divisés par lemment critiqué la Turquie et ses chimiques. Des Scud non chimi¬ la crise syrienne et par la récente alliés occidentaux: «Chacun de ques ont été récemment tirés sur décision de déployer des missiles ces missiles Patriot est un point L'Iran s'était déjà la ville syrienne d'Azaz, à quelques Patriot sur le territoire turc. noir sur la carte du monde dont le élevé, en 2011, contre kilomètres de la frontière turque. Le président iranien, Mahmoud but est de déclencher une guerre Réunis à Bruxelles début décem¬ Ahmadinej ad, et le premier minis¬ mondiale», a rapporté la chaîne l'installation en bre, les membres de l'Alliance tre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, iranienne Press TV. Turquie d'une partie atlantique ont approuvé la mise auraient dû se retrouver, lundi «Malheureusement, les pays en place du dispositif, qui ne 17 décembre, à Konya, pour le Seb-i occidentauxapprouvent un à un le du dispositifde devrait pas être opérationnel Arus, la grande cérémonie soufie déploiement des missiles Patriot à boucliers antimissiles la mi-janvier. Quatre batte¬ qui, chaque année, célèbre la mort la frontière entre la Turquie et la ries de Patriot devraientêtre dispo¬ du poète persanJalaluddin Roumi, Syrieenpréparantuneguerre mon¬ de l'OTAN sées à l'intérieur des terres, dans fondateur de l'ordre mystique des diale, ce qui est extrêmement dan¬ les villes de Malatya et d'Urfa, ainsi derviches et mort en 1273 dans cet¬ gereux pour l'avenir de l'humani¬ Damas, avaitlui aussi critiqué l'ins¬ que sur la base américaine d'Incir- te ville de l'ouest de l'actuelle Tur¬ té», a déclaré le chef'de l'armée ira¬ tallation de Patriot au cours d'une lik, près d'Adana. quie. Ankara avait vu les choses en nienne, qualifiant la future instal¬ visite à Istanbul début décembre. Au cours d'une visite surprise grand en y conviant plusieurs lation de « ligne de défense pour Le secrétaire général de l'OTAN, surcette plateforme militaire, ven¬ chefs d'Etat d'Asie centrale et des l'Etat sioniste», sous-entendu Anders-Fogh Rasmussen, s'est dredi 14 décembre, le secrétaire Balkans. Israël. empressé de démentir les alléga¬ d'Etat américain à la défense, Leon Mais une annulation de derniè¬ Dimanche, c'est le ministre des tions iraniennes. «Nous avons dit Panetta, a confirmé le déploie¬ re minute est venue bouleverser affaires étrangères du régime ira¬ clairement, dès le début, que le ment de deux batteries de missiles les plans initiaux. Le chefde la sec¬ nien, AliAkbar Salehi, qui a renché¬ déploiement des Patriot est une et de 400 hommes, suivant une tion des affaires internationales ri en qualifiant de «provocation » mesure purement défensive», décision similaire de la part de l'Al¬ de la présidence, Mohammad le déploiement des batteries de a-t-il précisé lundi. Dès novembre, lemagne et des Pays-Bas. Les pre¬ Reza Forghani, a en effet prétexté missiles sol-air, mettant en garde après une série de tirs de mortier miers soldats allemands sont arri¬ que Mahmoud Ahmadinejad contre d'éventuels résultats syriens sur des villes situées de vés lundi en Turquie. avait un «problème d'agenda inat « imprévus ». L'Iran, qui s'était déjà l'autre côté de sa frontière - des Guillaume Perrier

fMliÙJÛÎGLÏ BE Kurdistan population hits five million 20 December 2012

The Kurdish Globe sons are from the second geo¬ increase Kurdistan's share from done so far, officials say.

By Salih Waladbagi - Erbil graphically biggest province the national budget, Kurdistan's Rashid Tahir, Kurdistan Sulaimaniyah, according to Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Finance and

Sulaimaniyah, the second Mahmud Othman Director of Economy along with Kurdish Economy's undersecretary, said geographically biggest pro¬ the city's statistic unit. officials in Baghdad say. that consistent with the budget vince, is the most crowded In regard to the Kurdish According to them, the bud¬ draft of 2013, which has been According to statistics from capital, Erbil's population, get has to be fairly distributed sent to Iraq Parliament, the

all three Kurdistan provinces Mudhafar Tahir, Director of over Iraqis and Kurdish people, country's population has been administrations', Erbil, Data Analysis and Statistic adding that it should be distribu¬ presupposed around 34 million, Sulaimaniyah and Duhok, department, said that the city's ted in accordance with popula¬ 41 0 thousand and 560 people. Kurdistan population has so far population has up to now rea¬ tion. "In the budget draft, reached around 5 million and ched around 1 million, 927 thou¬ Kurdistan's share has been Kurdistan population has been

300 thousand persons. sand and 1 18 people. 17 percent until Saddam's ous¬ calculated as about 4 million "Actually, the number- is "Indeed, population of the ting in 2003 while population of and 320 thousand people." taken from food ration coupons third province Duhok is around the three provinces was about 4 The region's population, which are registered in Iraqi and 1 million and 316 thousand peo¬ million, 320 thousand and 604 Tahir says, is considered around Kurdistan's ministry of trade," ple," said Tahir. people. 12 percent of all Iraq's popula¬ an official said. Population and national bud¬ The budget that comes to tion, while according to pre¬ Of which, around 2 million get Kurdistan is still calculated in vious consensus by Iraqi parties and 56 thousand and 186 per Increasing Kurdistan's popu¬ keeping with the statistics of the region's share should be 17 lation has not so far benefited to 2003 and no change has been percent, o

44 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 20 décembre 2012 Al Qaïda monte en puissance dans la guerre civile en Syrie

Khaled Yacoub Oweis | Reuters

MMAN - En perte d'influence en Irak, Al Qaïda tente une percée en ASyrie, ce qui constitue un dilemme pour les forces d'opposition qui cherchent à renverser le président Bachar al Assad et explique la réticence de l'Occident à soutenir militairement l'insurrection.

Al Qaïda est présent en Syrie par le biais du Front al Nousra (Djabhat al Nousra), considéré par les Etats-Unis comme une organisation terroriste. Ses membres, estimés à quelques milliers, sont particulièrement puissants dans les régions d'Alep et Idlib, dans le nord du pays, où ils ont mené des opérations par Reuters expliquent qu'Al Nousra veut "Notre but est la destitution d'Assad, conjointes avec des groupes islamistes restaurer le "califat", comme au temps des la défense de notre peuple contre la comme Ahrar al Cham et Lioua al premiers compagnons du prophète répression militaire et la mise en place du Taouhid. Mahomet. califat. Beaucoup dans l'Armée syrienne Ses effectifs sont, semble-t-il, en Cette perspective alarme les chrétiens, libre (ASL) ont les mêmes idées que nous croissance. La brigade des Moudjahidine les alaouites et les chiites ainsi que les et veulent un Etat musulman", affirme de la région de Tadamun, près de Damas, musulmans sunnites qui craignent que le Omar. qui n'a pas réussi à s'entendre avec des Front ne veuille mettre en place un "Nous et d'autres islamistes avons groupes constitués de militaires déser- régime de type taliban. acquis une réputation de succès au com- teurs, a proclamé son allégeance à Al bat. Beaucoup de gens veulent rejoindre "NOUS VOULONS NOUS VENGER" Nousra. Nousra, mais nous n'avons pas assez Profitant des dissensions entre acti- d'armes pour tous", ajoute-t-il. vistes et de la montée du sentiment reli- La crainte d'une répression fondée sur Certains expriment leur désaccord gieux depuis le début de la révolte en des croyances religieuses a déjà incité les avec le Front. mars 2011, le Front en profite pour recru- Kurdes à se barricader dans leur quartier "Al Nousra pense qu'en criant 'Dieu ter des sunnites qui estiment que le pou- d'Alep. Elle explique aussi les heurts est le plus grand', il peut justifier tout ce voir est confisqué au profit de la minorité entre Kurdes et membres du Front à Ras qu'il fait. Nous ne nous sommes pas sou- alaouite du président Assad, une branche al Aïn, localité frontalière avec la levés pour passer de l'humiliation d'être de l'islam chiite. Turquie, en novembre. sous Assad à l'humiliation d'être sous Al Al Nousra a revendiqué la responsabi- Les idées d'Al Nousra sont aussi en Qaïda", déclare une femme qui a enseigné lité d'une série d'attentats spectaculaires à contradiction avec la nouvelle Coalition à Mogambo, un quartier du centre d'Alep. Damas et à Alep. nationale syrienne (CNS, opposition) qui Selon des membres de l'opposition, de Selon le groupe Site Intelligence, le a été reconnue la semaine dernière par de nombreux Syriens qui avaient facilité le Front al Nousra a revendiqué la responsa- nombreux pays comme l'alternative au transfert de djihadistes de Syrie vers Al bilité de 45 attentats en une seule journée président Assad et qui a promis d'établir Qaïda en Irak du temps de la guerre avec le mois dernier dans les régions de la démocratie. les Etats-Unis se battent désormais pour Damas, Deraa, Hama et Homs et notam- Omar, 25 ans, diplômé de l'université Al Nousra, tandis que des djihadistes en ment d'un attentat suicide qui a fait 60 et ancien appelé de l'armée, explique qu'il Irak s'occupent maintenant d'organiser le morts. a déserté pour rejoindre le Front al transfert de personnel et de techniques de "Dans 18 communiqués mis en ligne Nousra après la répression dont il a été fabrication de bombes vers la Syrie. sur des forums djihadistes (...) dont la plu- victime en tant que sunnite de la part "Nous voulons nous venger", dit part étaient accompagnés de photogra- d'officiers alaouites qui monopolisent les Ibrahim, un autre jeune membre de phies des attentats, le Front al Nousra a postes de commandement dans l'armée Nousra, de la province d'Idlib. Il raconte revendiqué embuscades, assassinats, régulière. avoir été détenu dans la prison de attentats à la bombe et raids contre les Avant l'insurrection, Omar raconte Sednaya, au nord de Damas, où 170 pri- forces de sécurité syriennes et les qu'il a sympathisé avec le Hizb ut Tahrir, sonniers musulmans ont été tués après 'chabbiha', des milices pro-Assad", formation musulmane internationale, qui une mutinerie en 2007. affirme Site, qui répertorie les mouve- souhaite rétablir le "califat" aboli en 1924 Ibrahim minimise la mort de civils ments djihadiste. par le fondateur et président de la imputée au Front. Des membres du groupe interrogés République turque, Mustafa Kemal "Une bombe explose devant un bâti-➩ Atatürk. ment civil avec quatre voitures pleines

45 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti ➩ de 'chabbiha' en civil qui le gardaient. dans le nord et le centre de la Syrie il y a religieux le plus pieux et le tuer en plein Les 'chabbiha' meurent et les médias quelques jours pour y rencontrer des milieu de la mosquée simplement parce d'Etat disent que c'étaient des civils. commandants du Front, estime que le qu'il n'est pas d'accord avec lui", affirme- Seuls leurs vêtements étaient civils", groupe fonctionne sans doute comme une t-il sous condition d'anonymat. affirme Ibrahim. coalition. Une autre figure de l'opposition qui a "Ce n'est pas un groupe monoli- requis l'anonymat raconte que les ser- AL QAÏDA TOUT PRÈS D'ISRAËL thique. Le caractère de Nousra à Damas vices secrets de différents pays tentent de est plus tolérant qu'à Idlib. Ils ont une réduire l'influence d'Al Nousra à Damas Malgré des vidéos diffusées sur inter- véritable base populaire à Idlib, où la plu- et dans la région du Hauran, proche net montrant des rebelles apparemment part des membres de Nousra sont syriens, d'Israël et de la frontière jordanienne. liés à Nousra abattant -et parfois décapi- contrairement à ce qui se passe à Alep et "Les services de renseignements tant- des militaires de l'armée syrienne Damas." occidentaux sont en train de réaliser que faits prisonniers, le Front semble bénéfi- Pour lui, le Front ne semble pas vou- Nousra est la menace la plus grave pour cier d'un large soutien. loir imposer un contrôle de style taliban. la Syrie de l'après-Assad et consacrent Farouk Tayfour, vice-président des "De nombreux rebelles que j'ai rencon- des ressources supplémentaires au traite- Frères musulmans, qui a lutté dans les trés disent avoir rejoint Al Nousra parce ment de cette menace", dit-il. années 1980 contre Hafez al Assad, le qu'il possède des armes (...) et disent "Pour la première fois, Al Qaïda se père de Bachar, estime qu'il est trop tôt qu'ils rentreront chez eux après la trouve tout près d'Israël", dit-il. pour classer les combattants de révolte". "Beaucoup réalisent que la meilleure l'opposition en catégories. Certains, dit- Pour une figure de l'opposition liée chose à faire pour l'instant est de les il, ont rejoint Nousra pour se défendre aux groupes djihadistes, la question de la contenir dans le nord de la Syrie -même sans souscrire forcément à son idéologie. nature d'Al Nousra se posera après la si la région risque de devenir une sorte On ne sait pas qui est à la tête d'Al guerre face à un pouvoir non islamiste. d'émirat islamiste- tout en essayant de Nousra. Certains évoquent le nom "La grande question est comment bâtir une autorité dans et autour de G d'Abou Mohamed al Golani. Sa nationa- contenir Nousra dans une Syrie de Damas." lité reste un mystère. Un membre de l'après-Assad. Al Nousra est le genre de l'opposition islamiste, qui s'est rendu groupe qui pourrait déclarer hérétique le

20 décembre 2012 Le conflit syrien est "ouvertement intercommunautaire" selon l'ONU

Le Monde.fr avec AFP et comme les Arméniens, les chré- août 2011 par le Conseil des de guerre et des crimes contre Reuters tiens, les Druzes, les droits de l'homme de l'ONU, l'humanité commis par les forces Palestiniens, les Kurdes et les mais elle n'a jamais reçu le feu gouvernementales et les milices e conflit syrien est désormais Turkmènes, ont été emportées vert de Damas pour se rendre sur pro-régime. L"ouvertement intercommu- par le conflit. Cependant les divi- place. Seul le président de la Elle a également relevé des nautaire", ont indiqué jeudi 20 sions intercommunautaires sont commission, le Brésilien Paulo crimes de guerre commis par décembre les enquêteurs de les plus marquées entre la com- Pinheiro a pu s'y rendre à titre l'opposition armée, mais à une l'ONU dans leur dernier rapport munauté alaouite (...) et la com- personnel. Dans son rapport, la échelle plus limitée. La commis- sur la Syrie, estimant que des munauté sunnite", expliquent les commission dénonce "l'escalade sion a établi deux listes de noms "communautés entières" sont experts de l'ONU. La situation de la violence armée dans tout le de responsables ou d'unités menacées. est telle que "des communautés pays". impliqués dans ces crimes et des Le risque de conflit inter- entières risquent de devoir fuir le Elle souligne aussi éléments de preuve, remis au communautaire, impliquant une pays ou d'être tués dans le pays", l'apparition de nouveaux Haut-Commissariat de l'ONU "confrontation entre groupes s'alarment-ils. groupes armés d'opposition qui aux droits de l'homme. Ces docu- ethniques et religieux", "a tou- "sont moins susceptibles de se ments confidentiels pourraient jours été présent", écrivent ainsi "NÉCESSITÉ D'UN joindre à l'Armée syrienne libre", servir en cas de saisine de la les quatre enquêteurs, parmi les- RÈGLEMENT NÉGOCIÉ" expliquant que "beaucoup sont Cour pénale internationale par le quels figure l'ancienne procureur indépendants des groupes exis- Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU.I général du TPIY Carla Del Ponte. "Alors que les communautés tants ou sont affiliés à d'autres Mais, poursuivent-ils, après près croient – non sans raison – groupes extrémistes ou isla- de vingt et un mois qu'elles font face à une menace mistes comme Jabhat Al-Nusra". d'affrontements, "le conflit est existentielle, la nécessité d'un La commission a déjà devenu ouvertement intercom- règlement négocié est plus recueilli plus d'un millier de munautaire", citant les tensions urgent que jamais", affirment- témoignages dans les pays voi- entre les chiites et les sunnites. ils. sins de la Syrie, rassemblant "Les autres minorités, La commission a été créée en ainsi des preuves sur des crimes

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

EntBWTOSAL îtcrafo THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012

a statement. "Unless these funds come quickly, we will not be able to fully re¬ U.N. seeks spond to the lifesaving needs of civilians who flee Syria every hour of the day Syria issues many in a truly desperate condition." $1.5 billion More than 525,000 Syrians have now registered as refugees, the U.N. refugee warning to agency reported, about double the num¬ for refugees ber it had recorded in early September. These refugees include about 160,000 in Palestinians Lebanon, 150,000 in Jordan, 140,000 in from Syria Turkey and more than 65,000 in Iraq. The agency also included Egypt for the first time as a sanctuary for fleeing Syr¬ as many flee GENEVA ians, reporting that more than 10,000 had registered there. BY NICK CUMMING-BRUCE The refugee agency now expects the BEIRUT AND RICK GLADSTONE number to double again within the next six months, Mr. Moumtzis said. The United Nations on Wednesday ap¬ Refugee population told Citing daily shelling and bombings in pealed for $1.5 billion in new aid to the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Radh- not to aid rebels in sign handle the steadily worsening humani¬ ouane Nouicer, the coordinator of U.N. tarian crisis created by spiraling vio¬ of Damascus s sensitivity humanitarian aid based in Damascus, lence in Syria, and predicted that the said in Geneva that "there are nearly no number of refugees fleeing the conflict more safe areas where people can flee." BY HANIA MOURTADA would double to more than one million Among the immediate concerns is the AND RICK GLADSTONE in the next six months. fate of around half a million Palestinian The increased refugee estimate repre¬ Syria warned its Palestinian refugee refugees in Syria, a legacy of the Arab- sents at least the fourth time that the population on Monday not to aid the in¬ Israeli conflict, mostly living in Damas¬ United Nations has revised its projec¬ surgency that is fighting President cus. An aerial assault on Yarmouk, a tions upward on refugees in the nearly Bashar al-Assad as hundreds of Pales¬ vast Palestinian neighborhood in the two-year-old uprising against the Syrian tinians fled the Yarmouk neighborhood south of the capital on Sunday, had president, Bashar al-Assad. It has turned of Damascus and headed for relative prompted many to flee. into a civil war that has left at least 40,000 safety in Lebanon, a day after Syrian In Syria on Wednesday, the state-run people dead and has threatened to desta¬ forces attacked that neighborhood for news agency, SANA, reported that mili¬ bilize the Middle East. the first time in the civil war. tary forces had attacked insurgent posi¬ Meeting representatives of donor The Syrian warning, reported by the tions in and around Damascus, Idlib, governments in Geneva, U.N. agencies official news agency, SANA, appeared Hama and Dara'a, and had seized said they were seeking $1 billion to as¬ to reflect the sensitivity Mr. Assad at¬ weapons and "eliminated a number of sist Syrian refugees in five neighboring taches to the loyalty of the country's terrorists," the government's generic countries and a further $519 million to Palestinians, an important element of term for Mr. Assad's armed opponents. provide emergency aid to four million what remains of his political legitimacy. The Syrian Observatory for Human people inside Syria over the same peri¬ Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians Rights, a group based in Britain with a od. There are 20.8 million people living live in Syria, displaced by the Arab-Is¬ network of contacts in Syria, said much in Syria, according to the World Bank. raeli struggle. Historically, they have of the fighting was in districts adjoining "This massive humanitarian crisis considered Mr. Assad a benefactor and the Yarmouk neighborhood, which in¬ requires urgent support from govern¬ ally. Yarmouk was originally a refugee surgents have sought to occupy as part ments, businesses and private individu¬ camp, and has developed into a mixed of their stated intention to seize control als," Panos Moumtzis, the U.N. regional Damascus neighborhood where many of the central part of the capital. coordinator for Syrian refugees, said in Palestinians live, but increasing num¬ bers of them have been siding with the

insurgents. The warning aimed at these Palestin¬ ians came in a news dispatch about what SANA said was a telephone con¬ versation between the country's foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, and the out," Mr. Moallem was quoted as saying. U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, estinians fleeing Yarmouk." The SANA account said Syrian about the general situation in Syria and More refugees were arriving on Mon¬ ground forces had refrained from enter¬ specifically the Yarmouk neighborhood. day at the border-crossing town of ing Yarmouk, but said nothing about the Mr. Moallem was quoted as telling Mr. Masnaa, where entry lanes were airstrikes that hit Yarmouk on Sunday, Ban that mayhem had been convulsing clogged with Palestinians. which were reported by witnesses, Yarmouk for days, caused by infiltra¬ Hussam Salah, a 27-year-old Palestin¬ rebels and Palestinian defectors to the tions from terrorist groups, the govern¬ ian who grew up in Syria and who now rebel side. ment's blanket description for insur¬ lives in Lebanon and works for Al By some accounts, as many as 20 gents. Mayadeen, a pro-Syrian television people were killed, and families could be "The minister also stressed that Pal¬ channel, said a large number of Pales¬ seen hastily fleeing the area with estinians should not shelter or help ter¬ tinians fleeing Syria, some of them ap¬ packed bags. rorist groups who are outsiders to the parently wounded, had arrived at Bourj In Lebanon, the minister of social af¬ camp, and should work on kicking them el-Barajneh, a Palestinian refugee camp fairs, Wael Abu Faour, said Monday that in Beirut's southern suburbs, and had at least 22 busloads of people had They have considered Mr. sought medical treatment from a hospi¬ entered the country from Syria in the tal there. Âssad a benefactor and ally. last day, and that a "majority were Pal

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

îteraUEIJsSribtme Wednesday, December 19, 2012 Syrian city pays the price

ALEPPO, SYRIA

Battle for Aleppo leaves "\ residents threatened A r by cold and disease

BYCJ.CHIVERS

Inside the classrooms where they once studied, the boys darted like a pack. Their banging and clanking could be heard for a city block. The playground outside had been hit

by a Syrian Air Force strike, which frac¬ 4 tured walls. Now the children were smashing the furniture, prying off wooden desktops and bench seats, rush¬ ing away with what they could. The Isam al-Nadri School for Boys was being dismantled for the firewood it contained. One sixth-grader, Ahmed, clutching the kindling he had made by sense of desperation Residents of Aleppo waiting for scarce bread. Fuel and medicines are also in shore

ransacking a room, offered an irredu¬ supply as fighting between rebels and government forces there enters its sixth month. cible argument for looting his own school. "I want heat," he said. any," said Johair Iman Mustafa, a house Winter is descending on Aleppo, Syr¬ painter and taxi driver with no work, "It is not good enough to die ia's largest city and the bloodied stage who spotted a visitor and approached in from shelling or disease? The for an urban battle, now running into its a rage. "We go to the bakery for hours international community sixth month, between rebels and the but there is no bread and they kick us." laughs at our suffering." military of President Bashar al-Assad. "Before the revolution," said Mr. Diseases are spreading. Parks and Mustafa, a Sunni who had been no sup¬ courtyards are being defoliated for fire¬ porter of Mr. Assad's Alawite-led gov¬ loyalists and revolutionaries, secular cit¬ wood, turning streets once lined with ernment, "it was much better." izens and Islamists, young and old all trees into avenues bordered by stumps. For most of Syria's 21-month uprising, aggravated by the sense that many of Months' worth of trash is piled high, of¬ Aleppo, a commercial and government ten beside bread lines where hundreds of center built around its historic Old City, the rebels were from rural areas, and did not share Aleppo's cosmopolitan fabric. people wait for a meager stack of loaves. was spared the battles engulfing the The battle's effects followed a predict¬ One of the Middle East's beautiful and country. able course, with little differentiation historic cities is beingforced by scarcity That changed in July when the Free among its victims' backgrounds. and violence into a bitter new shape. Syrian Army, or F.S.A., as many rebels Aleppo's residents face a collapsed Overlaying it all is a mix of fatigue and call themselves, entered Aleppo and economy, broken infrastructure, no ser¬ distrust, the sentiments of a population opened urban fronts. vices and no clear sense of when the divided in multiple ways. The army rushed in much-needed fighting will end. Aleppo's citizens scavenge and seethe. units from elsewhere, turning to heav¬ Prices soared. Necessities today cost And along with the sectarian passions of ier weapons in a bid to retain control of a 3 to 12 times what they did in July. civil war, some residents express yearn¬ city that if it lost would change its self- A tank of cooking gas, worth $5 before ings for starkly opposite visions ofthe fu¬ assured narrative of the war. The war's the war, now costs about $60. A liter of ture: either for a return of the relative largest battle yet was joined. diesel, 50 cents not long ago, sells today stability of the Assad government or for Five months on, the government's for $3. Residents often pay for 10 the promises of Islamic rule. gambit has failed. Even with air support sheathes of bread what they used to pay Others see a grim hope, calling the un¬ and artillery batteries firing relent¬ for 30, 40 or 50. Sometimes though there raveling of their society a period that lessly, Mr. Assad's military has yielded ground. In more than half the city, is no bread at all. one day will be remembered as this an¬ rebels move about openly. No one expects relief. If anything, cient city's ultimate test. "We left high salaries, we left our From the outset, Aleppo's population, people predict that prices will climb even its loyalties split, was stuck between jobs, we left our rank in society," said more, further pressured by the decline of forces. Disorganized rebel groups had Dr. Ammar Diar Bakerly, who directs the Syrian pound. Devaluation adds started a battle they had little prospect medical care in the city's rebel-held strains to families that have no income; to win swiftly. The army fought back in east. "We left everything to get our dig¬ the fighting and destruction have put part with a collective-punishment mod¬ nity. This is the price we have to pay, and much of Aleppo's population out of work. el. Foreign fighters began to trickle in, it is a cheap price to get our freedom Then events made life harder still. stalking the front and talking ofjihad. In late November, Aleppo's flour sup¬ from the tyrant." And the city's population showed Not everyone shares these revolu¬ ply was abruptly cut when rebels cap¬ signs of ambivalence. Sentiments mixed tured much of the city's grain storage. tionary views. ' 'We come every morning to the clinic and roiled along urban demographic and What might have been a victory instead social lines between Arabs and Kurds, asking for medicine, but they don't offer became a source of popular rage.

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

Bakeries shut down while the Free Syrian Army struggled to organize flour delivery and sales, leading to public demonstrations. Then, when the rebels did begin distribution, they increased the price of flour by as much as 20 percent, residents said. By mid-December only some bakeries were working again. This created a cruel ta r food lottery for residents, who gambled each day on which bakery to line up out¬ side of, wondering if their chosen bakery would receive flour and bake bread. !S** One bakery owner, Mohammad Badour, 60, reopened his shop last week. "Today the F.S.A. brought flour for the

first time," he said. Outside, a crowd shouted and shoved. A line of perhaps 200 people snaked around the corner. Inside, several men worked nonstop, keeping the auto¬

mated bread machine running. territorial battle A road in Aleppo was barricaded by overturned buses this month.

Mr. Badour was sweaty and tired. He In parts of the city, once busy streets are empty as fighting stretches into winter. understood the desperation at the win¬ dow, the eyes looking in, alternately angry and plaintive. "We are hungry," not happened for months. Leishmanias¬ here," Mr. Saleh said. "We brought the he said. is cases have spiked. door." Later that day, at another bakery in a "We are seeing very high numbers of There are no windows, either. Mr. rebel-held zone, people waited for hours this; it is spreading in the streets," said Saleh covered the open holes with but no flour ever arrived. The crowd another doctor, Mohammad al-Haj, who blankets and sheets. turned into a protest that marched down splits times between the city's climes. Despite this, as he paced- the small an alley behind a black flag bearing Kor¬ Dr. Haj ticked off the season's dreary space. oh a recent night,- he offered a anic script, calling for Islamic rule. list: more leishmaniasis, more respira¬ strange form of real-estate pride.. The ' 'The Free Syrian Army are thieves ! '' tory and stomach'irïfections, dysentery building is three rooms' thick, he said, the people chanted not the sentiment spreading like he had never seen. He and his apartment is not on the top floor. the rebels hoped for when they vowed to added: "We could treat these cases, but That matters. At night, the family liberate the city. One man looked at two there is no laboratory, no medical equip¬ huddles together on thin mattresses on foreign journalists and menacingly ran the center room's floor, knowing that his hand across his throat. ment and almost no medicine. We divide their location in the building's interior The shortages extend past food to hos¬ the medicine. The medicine we would improves prospects for survival if an ar¬ pital beds. In all the rebel-held territory, normally give to one person we now tillery shell hits either side of the build¬ medical service is scarce, a shortage give to many." ing or the roof. that deepened in November when the Shells landed nearby, close enough to But many of the Salehs' troubles can¬ Syrian Air Force destroyed Dar al-Shifa make the distinctive thump and crunch not be solved by shelter. One of their Hospital, the largest in- rebel-held of high-explosive ordnance creeping sons has a heart condition and needs the ground. close. A crowd of women with children attention of a cardiologist. The special¬ With the hospital closed, Dr. Bakerly all but pushed at his door. ist lives on the other side of the front . said, "there are 20 hospital beds for all Dr. Haj was gentle and polite, but lines, in a neighborhood occupied by the of east Aleppo," which is an area with spoke with bitterness at how he hears army. When Mr. Saleh tried to take his more than a million residents. the West assess Syria's war. son there, the soldiers stopped him. Doctors now work from a partly hid¬ "They say that chemical weapons are "At the checkpoint they said, 'You den network of clinics and small hospit¬ the red line," he said, referring to Pres¬ gave food to the F.S.A.,'" he said. "I als, from which they treat about 40 people ident Barack Obama's warning to Syr¬ said, 'How can I give food to the F.S.A. each day for wounds from the shelling. ia's government that a chemical strike when I don't have food myself?' " The number of patients has declined might provoke a U.S. military response. The soldiers blocked the way, even since the hospital was destroyed, doc¬ "But we are dying from other ways. It is though, he said, the truth was the other tors said; many people arrange to move not good enough to die from shelling or way around. the wounded north, to , makeshift disease? The international community "Now when the F.S.A. downstairs trauma centers in the countryside and laughs at our suffering." gets food, they give us some," he said. then across the border to Turkey. Many of the problems plaguing Inside the chilly room, two small But there are other conditions to treat, Aleppo can be seen in the experience of candles burned, casting the concrete including a growing menace: disease. Ahmed and Hayat Saleh, a couple with walls in a faint orange glow. Outside, a Dr. Bakerly noted that people had seven children. cold rain fell. In the distance, artillery crowded into neighborhoods away from The Salehs live for now in an unfin¬ boomed. ished apartment in a large building that the fronts. Dense living conditions, com¬ Mr. Saleh rattled off what he and his had yet to open when the war broke out. bined with the shortage of potable water family faced: No heat, no electricity, no A group of fighters from Al Tawhid bri¬ and a long absence of trash collection, money, no medicine, no doctor and no gade, the main F.SA. contingent in the have created conditions ideal for the home, except this unlit, borrowed room. city, had moved in first, after overrun¬ spread of infectious diseases. The children sat silently, under shared ning a nearby army checkpoint. They He and other doctors noted a surge in blankets, bundled in thick clothes. Their offered the family shelter. leishmaniasis, a potentially fatal infec¬ father's soft voice filled the space; The building has no electricity or tion passed to humans by sandfly bites. "We don't know how we will survive heat; the rooms turn pitch-black during Before the fighting came to Aleppo, the winter," Mr. Saleh said. "We wait for December's nearly 14-hour nights. And several doctors said, the government the mercy of God." the apartment needed basic upgrades. misted the streets and the areas where "There was no door when we came sandflies bred with insecticide. That has

49 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti XmSSÉ&k&mt friday, December 21, 2012;

unabated. Later, elaborating on Rus¬ sia's position, he said: "We stand for

Putin makes finding a variation of a solution to the problem which would save the region and this country first from collapse and his case for never-ending civil war." He continued, "Our position is not for

the retention of Assad and his regime in > staying out power at any cost but that the people in the beginning would come to an agree¬ K1R1U Kl'DRVANTSEV/GETTY IMAGES-AfP ment on how they would live in the fu¬ of Syria fight ture, how their safety and participation ties to arm themselves and to be armed in ruling the state would be provided for, by different parties to the conflict. and then start changing the current "Entire communities are at risk of be¬ MOSCOW state of affairs in accordance with these ing forced out of the country or killed in¬ agreements, and not vice versa." side the country," the panel wrote in the Citing chaos in Libya, he Russia, a longtime ally of Syria, has report, which covered actions over the used its veto as a permanent member of past two months. "Feeling threatened asks, 'What will happen the U.N. Security Council both to block and under attack, ethnic and religious next' if Assad is toppled? more aggressive intervention sought by minority groups have increasingly Western powers and to defend the sov¬ aligned themselves with parties to the ereignty of the Assad government. conflict, deepening sectarian divides." BY DAVID M. HERSZENHORN But in recent days, the Kremlin has The sharpest split is between the rul¬ AND NICK CUMMING-BRUCE sounded increasingly pessimistic about ing minority Alawite sect, a Shiite

President Vladimir V. Putin on Thurs¬ Mr. Assad's ability to retain power, and Muslim offshoot from which Mr. As¬ day strongly defended Russia's implac¬ Russian officials acknowledged that sad's most senior political and military able opposition to military intervention they had been developing contingency associates are drawn, and the country's in Syria and sharply chastised the plans to evacuate Russians from Syria. Sunni Muslim majority, mostly aligned United States for its role in toppling Col. The American officials in Washington with the opposition, the panel noted. But Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya, describ¬ said that they had no indication that the it said the conflict had drawn in other ing the outcome as having created Scud missiles used by Mr. Assad's minorities, including Armenians, Chris¬ chaos in the region. forces were armed with chemical tians, Druze, Palestinians, Kurds and Mr. Putin's remarks came as Ameri¬ weapons and that they had no informa¬ Turkmens. can officials in Washington said forces tion on possible casualties. But they Most foreign fighters joining the con¬ loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the president again condemned theuseofthemissiles flict are Sunni Muslims from neighbor¬ of Syria, had resumed firing Scud bal¬ as an escalation of the conflict. ing Middle Eastern and North African listic missiles against rebel forces in "We've been clear that we have seen countries, many of them linked to ex¬ what they have characterized as an in¬ the regime in Syria use Scud missiles tremist groups, the panel said, and often creasingly desperate effort to crush the against its own people, and that contin¬ operating independently of the Free nearly two-year-old uprising. At the ues," a State Department official said. Syrian Army but coordinating attacks same time, U.N. officials warned in a re¬ As they monitor the fighting, Ameri¬ with its forces. port that the conflict, which has already can and Western officials have also fo¬ Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group, cost some 40,000 lives, was turning in¬ cused closely on any sign that Russia confirmed that its members were fight¬ creasingly sectarian in nature. might alter its position on Syria, in the ing for the Assad government, the panel ' Mr. Putin, responding to a question at hopes that it might hasten the dis¬ said, adding that it was investigating re¬ his annual year-end news conference, lodging of Mr. Assad. But it is far from ports that Iraqi Shiites had also entered rejected an assertion that Russia was certain that the Kremlin could persuade Syria. Iran has also confirmed that making a mistake, risking isolation and a him to relinquish power. members of the Islamic Revolutionary loss influence in the Middle East, by op¬ Russia has been a major Syria arms Guards Corps are providing the Assad, posing intervention in Syria. He pointed supplier and trade partner with the As¬ government with "intellectual and ad¬ to Libya as his evidence that interven¬ sad government and maintains a small visory support." tion by the NATO alliance of Western na¬ naval refueling installation in the Syrian Making their fourth submission to the tions had caused more.harm than good. port of Tartus. But Mr. Putin on Thurs¬ Human Rights Council, the panel of four "No matter how they explained their day sought to portray the relationship investigators said government forces position, the state is falling apart," he as transactional. and supporting militias had attacked said. "Interethnic, interclan and inter¬ "Some special economic relations?" Sunni civilians, and opposition forces tribal conflicts continue." Mr. Putin asked rhetorically. "No. And had attacked Alawite and other pro-gov¬ "Moreover, it went as far as the Assad did not come to Moscow a lot dur¬ ernment communities. murder of the United States ambassa¬ ing the period of his presidency. More It said Kurdish groups had clashed dor,'' he added, referring to the death of J. often, he was in Paris and other Euro¬ with government and anti-government Christopher Stevens in Benghazi. "I was pean capitals than here." forces, Turkmen militias were fighting asked here aboutmistakes: Isn't itamis- His remarks coincided with a new re¬ with anti-government forces, and Pales- . take? And you want us to constantly re¬ port from U.N. human rights investiga¬ tinians, increasingly split intheir view of peat these mistakes in other countries?" tors that said the Syrian crisis had the government, were being armed by Mr. Putin insisted that Russia was not evolved from a battle to oust Mr. Assad both pro- and anti-government forces. acting in defense of Mr. Assad, but into more of a sectarian conflict, pitting "As the conflict drags on," the panel con¬ rather to preserve stability. entire communities against each other cluded, "the parties have become ever

"We are not concerned with the fate and pulling in fighters from the Middle more violent and unpredictable, which of Assad's regime," he said. "Of course, East and North Africa. has led to their conduct increasingly be¬ changes are being demanded, but it's The interim report, issued in Geneva ing in breach of international law." something else that concerns what by a panel of the U.N. Human Rights Nick Cumming-Bruce reportedfrom will happen next?" Council, said the conflict "has become Geneva. Michael R. Gordon and Eric Mr. Putin expressed worry that the overtly sectarian in nature." Schmitt contributed reportingfrom Assad government and the Syrian oppo¬ The panel, led by Paulo Pinheiro, a hu¬ Washington, and Rick Gladstonefrom sition could merely switch places, with man rights investigator from Brazil, said New York. the rebels in power but with the fighting attacks and reprisals had led communi-

50 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December 22nd 2012

fic controllers to deny landing rights to IRAQ, KURDS, TURKS AND OIL Turkey’s energy minister, Taner Yildiz, who was en route to Erbil for an investor con- A tortuous triangle ference. Iraq’s central government seems bent on wrecking the Kurds’ thriving oil industry, The governments of Turkey, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan play a saying that their regional government has dangerous game no legal authority to export oil independ- ently or sign contracts with developers. The government in Baghdad has delayed ERBIL payments to Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil produc- ers, who say they are owed about $1.5 bil- NAKING their way from Kirkuk, a city lion. Some explorers fret that they will 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of never recoup their cash. Pars Kutay, an Baghdad, through Kurdistan and S executive at Genel Energy, a Turkish oil- across Turkey’s eastern region of Anatolia producer in Kurdistan, says that depend- to the Mediterranean are pipes that once ing for payment on Iraq’s central authori- carried 1.6m barrels a day (b/d) of Iraqi ties is like “pumping oil into a black oil to the global market and yielded fat hole”. Kurdish oil exports are now said to transit fees to Turkey along the way. The have collapsed to around 30,000 b/d. infrastructure underpinned the two coun- tries’ mutual dependence. But nowadays This helps no one. Oil explorers in the balance of power has shifted. A third Kurdistan, now including big spenders like party, the Iraqi Kurds, has changed it. It is ExxonMobil and Chevron, are said to have unclear who will emerge on top. But Iraq’s so far invested about $10 billion. Future central government in Baghdad is on the exports of 2m b/d, as envisaged by the defensive. regional government in Erbil, would yield far greater sums. Under Iraq’s revenue- Wars, saboteurs and, since the 1990s, eco- sharing scheme more than four-fifths of nomic sanctions have left the Iraqi sec- more) in eastern Turkey, barely acknowl- the money from such sales would go to tions of the pipeline system in a mess. edged Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. Baghdad, 17% to the Kurds. If the region’s Barely a fraction of its capacity is used. oil were allowed to flow, Kurdistan, now a One of the two parallel lines stands empty Now Turkey’s government is using its com- drain on Iraq’s budget, would soon be a and the source that once fed them, the mercial clout to press the Iraqi Kurds’ net contributor, says Ashti Hawrami, the giant Kirkuk oilfield, is dilapidated. The president, Masoud Barzani, to help Kurds’ oil minister. “It is a win-win.” oil ministry in Baghdad has vague ideas restrain militant Kurds within Turkey. A about revamping the pipeline, perhaps to stroke recently suffered by Jalal Talabani, But the centralising Mr Maliki is deeply carry crude extracted near Basra, in the a Kurd who is president of federal Iraq and loth to give the Kurds their head. Their oil far south, though this would need an who has often mediated between his kins- policy, he says, threatens to tear Iraq’s expensive new pipeline to link both ends men and the rulers in Baghdad, may make fragile federation apart by fostering simi- of the country. it even harder to keep the calm. lar aspirations in its oil-producing But Turkey is hatching a different plan for provinces in the south. Western govern- its section of the Kirkuk-to-Ceyhan Oil and gas are at the core of this warm ments, fearing that Iraq’s disintegration pipeline. Its souring relations with the new relationship between Turkey and would strengthen Iran, are siding with Mr government in Baghdad have spurred it to Iraq’s Kurds. “Turkey has made a strategic Maliki. The Americans are pressing Turkey cultivate new ties with the Iraqi Kurds’ shift in its relations with us,” says an offi- to tone down its support for Iraq’s Kurds. regional government in Erbil, which over- cial in a ministry in Erbil. “Whatever the sees the oil and gas that Turkey’s growing scenario, our market is in Turkey.” In recent weeks Mr Maliki has mobilised economy craves. A wide-ranging energy Iraq’s army along the fault-line that deal is in the works that will see state- Nuri al-Maliki’s government in Baghdad, divides the Kurdish region from the rest of backed Turkish firms and Western oil dominated by Shia Muslims, has unwisely Iraq. Bombs have killed at least ten peo- majors plough money into Kurdish infra- pushed Turkey into this oily Kurdish ple in the past fortnight in Kirkuk. Kurdish structure and oilfields, connecting them embrace. Mr Maliki’s close ties to Iran and leaders say that they are ready to fight to Turkey and the world beyond. The deal support for President Bashar Assad in Syria and have sent thousands of their fighters, could eventually allow for up to 2m b/d of have angered Turkey’s government and known as peshmerga, to face down the Kurdish oil exports to go through Turkey. convinced it not to rely on Iraq. The Iraqi army. From a ridge north-west of refuge offered by Turkey to Tariq al- Kirkuk, they peer through binoculars at Last year, trade between Turkey and Iraqi Hashemi, Iraq’s vice-president, who was Iraqi troops massing a few hundred yards Kurdistan amounted to $8 billion. Turkish sentenced to death in absentia by a court below on the plain. “If one peshmerga is money has paid for pristine airports in in Baghdad in September, has also upset killed,” says a Kurdish officer, “it is war.” Erbil and Dohuk, an Iraqi Kurdish city fur- Mr Maliki, who has duly insulted Turkey’s ther north, and for other large projects. leaders. In November his government Not long ago, Turkish politicians, wary of expelled Turkey’s state oil company from their own large and restless Kurdish a block in Iraq, plainly out of political minority still fighting for autonomy (or spite. In December he ordered his air-traf-

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

vendredi 21 décembre 2012 LE FIGARO Syrie : les djihadistes montent en puissance

Jabhat al-Nosra et d'autres groupes extrémistes risquent

d'imposer leur agenda à la chute du régime.

GEORGES MALBRUNOT ?" MOYEN-ORIENT « Dangereux terroris¬ |i 1 tes » pour les États-Unis, « valeureux combattants » anti Bachar el-Assad pour de nombreux opposants : le groupe dji¬ hadiste Jabhat al-Nosra (Front de la vic¬ toire), que Washington vient d'inscrire sur la liste des organisations terroristes, divise les parrains de la rébellion armée. Une chose est sûre : ses 5000 à 8000 hommes dispersés sur le territoire sy¬ rien infligent les plus lourdes pertes aux forces du régime. Dernière victoire en date : la prise de la base militaire de cheikh Souleimane à l'ouest d'Alep, le 10 tr% décembre. En une seule journée de no¬ vembre, le réseau américain Site de sur¬ veillance des djihadistes recensa 45 atta¬ ques revendiquées par Jabhat al-Nosra à

Damas, Deraa (sud), Hama (centre) et Rebelles à la base militaire de cheikh Souleimane à l'ouest d'Alep. hervé bar/afp dans la province de Homs. Dans leurs fiefs d'Alep et d'Idleb, au nord près de la encore plus élevée. d'implanter al-Qaida à Damas et aux

frontière turque, « ses hommes sont po¬ portes d'Israël. Maintenant que leurs fi¬ Al-Qaida aux portes d'Israël pulaires », affirme un journaliste syrien dèles y sont, ils ne vont certainement pas de retour de ces régions. « Nous voulons Deux autres groupes, pas encore dans le en partir ». Paris, qui compte adopter

une armée qui a peur de Dieu, nous vou¬ collimateur de Washington, accueillent une loi criminalisant les séjours de Fran¬

lons Jabhat al-Nosra», scandent de des étrangers : Ghouraba al-Sham (des çais sur ces terres de djihad, est gêné.

nombreux manifestants. Turcs et des moudjahidins venus d'Asie « Si la Coalition, qui est unpeu notre bébé, Sa popularité provient d'une grande centrale) et Ahrar al-Sham, des salafis- condamne al-Nosra, elle va perdre une

discipline dans ses rangs. « Lesgensvoient tes syriens, épaulés par des Irakiens et part du soutien populaire. Si elle ne fait

la différence avec la plupart des autres des Libanais, dont des réfugiés palesti¬ rien, on va être accusé de laxisme contre

chefs de brigades qui se conduisent en niens. « Si les autres opposants ne luttent le terrorisme », résume un diplomate.

despotes, alors que Jabhat al-Nosra est pas contre les djihadistes, ces derniers Au jour le jour, de nombreux rebelles . une organisation solide et quasi stalinien¬ risquent d'imposer leurs vues à la libéra¬ proches des Frères musulmans - la co¬

ne, où nul nepeut agir sans les ordres d'un tion, privant les nationalistes de la victoi¬ lonne vertébrale de la Coalition - coopè¬

chef », poursuit le journaliste. Une orga¬ re », avertit Robert Ford, ancien am¬ rent avec les djihadistes. Comme en Irak nisation qui cultive le goût du secret et bassadeur américain à Damas. après la chute de Saddam Hussein. Sous

fuit la presse étrangère. Contrairement «Nous les connaissons, certains l'influence d'AQI, « vont-ils se structu¬

aux autres volontaires ayant pris les ar¬ d'entre eux ont tué des Américains à rer comme à Bagdad, s'interroge un ex¬

mes pour chasser le régime baassiste, les Hilla ou à Diyala en Irak », assure M. pert onusien, c'est-à-dire créer un djihadistes bénéficient de l'expérience Syrie' au département d'État. Pas ques¬ Conseil des moudjahidins et au-dessous

des combats menés sur d'autres fronts de tion de les combattre, répondent les di¬ deux organisations, une pour les étran¬

la « guerre sainte » , en Irak enparticulier. rigeants de la Coalition nationale d'op¬ gers en charge duftnancement, une autre ' Al-Nosra est une émanation directe position, reconnue par la communauté avec les Syriens pour la désignation des

d'al-Qaida en Irak (AQI), selon la CIA. internationale. Si des Syriens les ont re¬ cibles àfrapper ? »

AQI a joué un rôle important dans sa joint, ajoutent-ils, c'est davantage par Ironie de l'histoire : les opposants ont

création à la fin de l'année 2011, lui four¬ dépit face à l'immobilisme des Occiden¬ longtemps juré qu'Ai-Nosra était une nissant argent et combattants, notam¬ taux que par adhésion à leurs idéaux de création du régime. En libérant une qua¬

ment des experts en explosifs, indispen¬ créer un Califat en Syrie ou d'allumer rantaine de djihadistes de ses geôles - s sables aux attentats que le « Front » une guerre confessionnelle chiite-sun¬ dont Abou Moussàb al-Souri, militaire commet depuis janvier. L'un de ses deux nite. Ils ont pourtant brûlé une mosquée aguerri auprès de Ben Laden en Afgha¬ chefs est d'ailleurs Irakien (Al-Jbouri), chiite la semaine dernière dans le nord. nistan - Assad a clairement favorisé l'es¬ l'autre Syrien, Abou Hanas al-Assahaba. « Ils quitteront la Syiie à la chute du pou¬ sor de ses ennemis. Au nord, les étrangers (Saoudiens, Ira¬ voir », promet Riad Seif de la Coalition. kiens, Koweïtiens..) représenteraient « Pure illusion .' », répond un cadre

plus de la moitié des effectifs d'Al-Nos¬ des services de renseignements français. ra. Au sud de Homs, la proportion serait « Ben Laden et Zawahiri ont toujours rêvé

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

Mercredi 26 décembre 2012 La crise humanitaire en Syrie touche la totalité du pays, frappé par les pénuries

Un raid aérien, à Halfaya, a tué 60 personnes dans une file d'attente devant une boulangerie

Beyrouth * T$V*V. Correspondance .11 * " » I Le bilan du raid aérien qui a *vtf frappé, dimanche 23 décem¬

bre, Halfaya, au nord-ouest de Hama, en Syrie, s'élève à 60 morts et des centaines de bles¬ sés, selon des sources de l'opposi¬ tion syrienne. D'après les activis¬ tes, un avion de chasse de l'armée 1 syrienne a bombardé une boulan¬ gerie devant laquelle s'était for¬ mée une file d'attente de plusieurs v centaines de personnes. Halfaya, déclarée « zone libre » par les rebelles cinq jours plus tôt,

était assiégée par les troupes gou¬ vernementales, empêchant tout , .,* ravitaillement. Damas a démenti ;f% ' *fo être à l'origine du massacre et Ta - m. i. imputé à des «terroristes», qui P&* l'auraient perpétré pour accuser le régime Assad, «au moment où l'émissaire international Lakhdar f »rn* * Brahimi arrivait en Syrie ». Capture d'une vidéo de la chaîne Shaam News Network montrant les victimes d'un raid aérien,

Inflation générale devant une boulangerie d'Halfaya, près de Hama, le 23 décembre, shaam news network/hoep/ap Les files d'attente qui s'allon¬ cie « toutepersonne aidantdesper¬ gentdevant les boulangeries témoi¬ Selon Yasmina, les ONG et les vivres, l'aide ne couvrejamaisplus sonnes indirectement liées aux ter¬ gnent d'une crise humanitaire qui agences onusiennes sont loin du quart des besoins de la popula¬ roristes à un terroriste », selon un affecte désormais l'ensemble de la d'être à la hauteur de la gravité de tion. » décret promulgué à la fin de l'été Syrie. Les pénuries de produits de la situation. Un constat confirmé Èlysabeth Byrs, porte-parole du 2012. L'objectif de ce texte vise premières nécessités génèrent une par Abou Leïla, cadre d'une agence Programme alimentaire mondial autant à punir les populations inflation, qui frappe toutes les den¬ des Nations unies : «Même là où (PAM) à Genève, a révélé, le déplacées provenant de foyers rées alimentaires, les médica¬ l'on parvient à acheminer des 18 décembre, que «l'aide ne par¬ d'insurrection que de prévenir le ments, ainsi que l'essence, dont le vient à atteindre qu'un tiers (...) des ravitaillement des insurgés. Yas¬ prix a augmenté de 500%. Mais Lakhdar Brahimi à Damas, personnes nécessiteuses »,enraison mina précise que des arrestations selon Yasmina, responsable d'une combats à Hama de l'extension des combats. Dix avaient déjà eu lieu bien avant la association damascene de secours camions du PAM ont été attaqués promulgation de ce décret. auxdéplacés, contactéedepuis Bey¬ L'émissaire international enSyrie. Les organisations humani¬ Il subsiste quelques exceptions. routh et qui préfère taire son nom, Lakhdar Brahimi a appelé, lundi taires sont également affectées par La jeune femme raconte comment «lesONGchargéesdel'actionhuma- 24décembre, à «un accordpour la pénurie de carburant, qui entraî¬ elle a réussi à convaincre le maire nitaire en Syrie refusent de tirer la mettre fin à laguerre civile», ne régulièrement la suspension de sa ville d'ouvrir une école pour sonnetted'alarmepournepascom- après avoir rencontré Bachar des opérations de distribution. y loger les 66 familles de déplacés promettre leur relation avec le régi¬ Al-Assad à Damas. M. Brahimi, Selonles professionnels de l'hu¬ campant dans les rues. Aussitôt, me etperdre leur accréditation ». qui avait consulté des responsa¬ manitaire, corroborés par de nom¬ 70 personnes se portaient volon¬ Le conflit qui déchire la Syrie bles russes et américains, a fait breux réfugiés syriens au Liban, la taires pour aider à leur installa¬ depuis près de vingt mois a provo¬ part de son inquiétude. Par Syrie n'a pas connu, jusqu'à pré¬ tion. «L'école, raconte-t-elle, a reçu qué le déplacement de 2,5 millions ailleurs, les combats se sont sent, de famine ou de mort par un flot ininterrompu d'habitants de personnes à l'intérieur du pays, étendus à la province de Hama, hypothermie, malgré les tempéra¬ venus apporter vêtements, argent, en plus de l'exode à l'étranger d'un dahs le centre du pays. Des insur¬ tures glaciales de décembre. Cela denrées alimentaires, lunettes de demi-million de Syriens, selon les gés ont attaqué le village alaoui¬ essentiellement grâce à la solidari¬ vues, ustensiles de cuisine... » Mal¬ Nations unies. Si les déplacés for¬ te de Maan et menacé deux locali¬ té de la population. heureusement, constate Abou ment la catégorie la plus vulnéra¬ tés chrétiennes, des communau¬ Partout, des réseaux informels Léûa,«lesgensquiontquelquecho- ble de la société syrienne, les exilés tés considérées comme acquises de solidarité se s'ont constitués gr⬠se àpartagersefont deplus enplus ont, par leur nombre, contribué à au régime. Enfin, la rébellion a ce aux activistes, qui acheminent rares et les riches donateurs qui fragiliser les populations qui les accusé l'armée syrienne d'avoir l'aide, parfois au périlde leurvie, là finançaient les organisations cari- ont accueillis. usé contre elle des gaz toxiques où les ONG ne vont pas. Le régime tatives ontquitté lepays ». m à Homs. - (AFP, Reuters) à criminalise ces activités et asso KHALED SlD MOHAND

53 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti DECEMBER 24, 2012 A Kurdish state is being established, and Baghdad may accept it “ethnic war between Arabs enabled Kurds to take their magazine Foreign Affairs, “its By David Hirst and Kurds.” first state-building steps, in people are now articulating a the shape of a regional assem- once-unthinkable notion: that Be it Plan-A or Plan-B, war or bly and a degree of self-gov- the day they will break free was surprised last week diplomacy, the latest, danger- ernment. from the rest of Iraq is nigh.” to read an article in the ous standoff has made one And Kurdish leader Massoud Baghdad newspaper Al- I thing clear: the “Kurdish ques- The second breakthrough Barzani often openly alludes to Sabah, by its editor Abd al- tion” has now reached another grew out of that whole new this possibility. “We have had Jabbar Shabbout, suggesting it critical stage in its long histo- constitutional order which the enough,” he says, of the “the was time to settle the “age-old ry, and it is intimately bound United States-led invasion of dictatorship in power in problem” between Iraq’s up with the regionwide cata- Iraq in 2003 ushered in. Under Baghdad” and of the Kurds’ Arabs and Kurds by establish- clysm that is known as the it, the Kurds consolidated their participation in it. ing a “Kurdish state.”For never Arab Spring. already existing autonomy before had I heard so heretical with broad new legislative It seems, however, that he a view so publicly expressed It was ever thus for the Kurds, powers, control over their own awaits one last thing before in any Arab quarter. And this their destiny as a people armed forces, and some taking the plunge, another of was no ordinary quarter always shaped less by their authority over that mainstay of those game-changing events – either. Sabah is the mouth- own struggles than by the the Iraqi economy, namely oil. such as the breakup of Syria – piece of Iraqi Prime Minister vagaries of regional and inter- that can transform the whole Nouri al-Maliki. Shabbout national politics, and particu- From the outset, the Kurds had geopolitical environment in went on to suggest a negotiat- larly by the great Middle made it clear that they would the Kurds’ favor. But the quar- ed “ending of the Arab- Eastern upheavals regional only remain committed to the ter in which Kurds are actively Kurdish partnership in a and international politics peri- “new Iraq” if it treated them as looking to bring this change peaceful way.”He called his odically produce. These equal partners, and not, as about is in Turkey. That they proposal Plan-B – Plan-A began, in modern times, with before, a subordinate minori- should even think of this is, being what was already in World War I and the fall of the ty. historically speaking, extraor- train: namely, a continuous Ottoman Empire. In the 1916 dinary, considering that, of all “dialogue” between Iraq’s Sykes-Picot agreement Britain It wasn’t long before this the Kurds’ neighbors, Turkey central government and the and France promised Kurds a ethno-sectarian, power-shar- probably has most to lose from Kurdish regional government, state of their own, but then ing democracy began to mal- independence-seeking conducted within the frame- reneged on that promise. function, and to generate Kurdish nationalism, and has work of the “new Iraq” – con- Kurds became minorities, those disputes no amount of brutally repressed it in the stitutionally defined as “feder- more or less severely dialogue could resolve. And as past. Considering, too, that al, democratic and parliamen- repressed, in the four coun- these disputes deepened, they ever afraid that Kurdish gains tary” – that followed the fall of tries – Iran, Iraq, Turkey and only intensified the Kurds’ elsewhere may be a progeni- Saddam Hussein. Syria – among which their vast yearning for independence – tor of Kurdish aspirations in domains were divided. They and their practical prepara- Turkey, Ankara has long set But Plan-A, Shabbout repeatedly rebelled against tions for it. Openly or surrepti- great store on Iraq remaining observed, was going nowhere. this new order, especially in tiously, they began accumulat- united, with its Kurds an inte- Differences – over power and Iraq. But their landlocked loca- ing constitutional, political, gral part of it. authority, oil and natural tion and their broader geopo- territorial, economic and resources, territory and bor- litical environment were security “facts on the ground,” But since 2008, in a complete ders – were so profound that always against them. Their designed to ensure that, if and reversal of earlier policy – dialogue had repeatedly rebellions were invariably when they proclaimed their which had once been to boy- failed. And this month it almost crushed – the last one, under new-born state, this entity cott Kurdistan altogether – the came to war. For a while the Saddam Hussein, through would have the means and government of Prime Minister Iraqi army and Kurdish genocide and the use of chem- ability to stand on its own feet, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has Peshmerga faced each other ical weapons. to thrive and to defend itself. been pursuing “full economic across the frontiers between integration” with Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq But they never ceased to So are the Iraqi Kurds now on Kurdistan. Meanwhile, its rela- in an atmosphere so tense, dream of independent state- the brink of their third, per- tions with the Iraqi govern- noted Shabbout, that hostilities hood. And the first of two great haps final, breakthrough, the ment have been relentlessly could have broken out at any breakthroughs toward this great losers of Sykes-Picot deteriorating, with the two moment. grew out of the megalomaniac about to become, 90 years on, now on opposite sides of the folly of Saddam himself, with the great winners of the Arab great Middle Eastern power And it wasn’t only Shabbout, his invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Spring? They themselves cer- struggle that pits Bashar but Maliki himself, who One of the entirely unforesee- tainly hope so. “Not only is Assad’s Syria, Shiite Iran, warned that if war did break able consequences of this was Iraqi Kurdistan undergoing an Maliki’s Iraq, and Hezbollah out it wouldn’t be just a war the establishment of an inter- unprecedented building against the Syrian revolution- between Kurdish rebels and nationally protected “safe boom,” reports Joost aries, most of the Sunni Arab Baghdad, as it used to be ➤ haven” in northern Iraq that Hiltermann in the American states and Turkey itself. under Saddam. It would be an

54 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

➤ and, more importantly, the Workers Party, or PKK. Having B, the Maliki regime really is Under pressures from this Kurds. established a strong presence contemplating the seismic struggle, Turkey’s extraordi- in “liberated” Syrian step of letting the Kurds go of nary courtship of Iraq’s Kurds The allurements that an inde- Kurdistan, the PKK is now their own free will. has continued to bloom, and to pendent Kurdistan could prof- seeking to turn this territory move from the merely eco- fer in return would include its into a platform for reviving the David Hirst is a former Middle East nomic to the political and role as a potential source of insurgency in Turkey itself. correspondent for The Guardian strategic as well. In fact it has much-needed, abundant and and author of “Beware of Small moved so far – the Kurds reliable oil supplies, as a sta- It is even said that Erdogan has States: Lebanon, Battleground of believe – that Turkey might ble, accommodating ally and gone so far as to promise the Middle East.” He wrote this soon break with Maliki’s buffer between it and a hostile Barzani that Turkey would pro- commentary for THE DAILY STAR. essentially Shiite regime alto- Iraq and Iran, and even – in a tect his would-be state-in-the- gether, and deal separately policy option as extraordinary making in the event of an Iraqi (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: with those two other main as Turkey’s own – as a collabo- military onslaught. However, http://www.dailystar.com.lb) components of a crumbling rator in containing fellow presumably that would never Iraqi state, the Arab Sunnis Kurds, such as the Kurdistan come to pass if, adopting Plan-

December 25, 2012 Official: Iraq's northern Kurdish suspends crude oil exports due to payment row with Baghdad By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, proven reserves of conventional crude, Associated Press about 143.1 billion barrels, and oil revenues make up 95 percent of its budget. BAGHDAD- An Iraqi Kurdish official In addition to the dispute over develop- said on Tuesday that the country's self- ment oil resources, the Kurds and the cen- ruled northern Kurdish region has sus- tral government in Baghdad have been in a pended oil exports over a payment row long-running dispute over lands claimed by with Baghdad, a development that could the Kurds and power-sharing. Along with add to already souring relations between Sunni Arabs, the Kurds accuse the country's the Kurds and the Arab-led central Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of government. consolidating power in his hands and mar- Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the ginalizing political opponents.Separately, Kurds have unilaterally struck more than 50 Iraq and neighboring Jordan have agreed to deals with foreign oil companies, even speed efforts to build a pipeline to export though Baghdad says they have no right to Iraqi oil through the Jordanian Red Sea port do so. In 2011, the two sides reached a ten- of Aqaba, according to Jordan's Petra news tative deal by which the Kurds send the oil agency. to Baghdad, which sells it, and pays 50 per- The deal calls for an oil pipeline that cent of the revenues to the developers to would have a capacity to export one million reimburse the development costs. The Associated Press over the phone from barrels a day, according to the news agency In April, the Kurds halted exports of the self-ruled region's capital, Irbil. and al-Maliki's office. The two sides signed around 100,000 barrels a day, saying that He said the Kurdish region of Iraq was an economic cooperation agreement that Baghdad had made only two payments exporting around 180,000 barrels a day includes the pipeline project during a brief under the agreement and had failed to pay before recently starting to decrease the visit by al-Maliki to Jordan on Monday. $1.5 billion they say they were owed. shipments. He didn't say when exactly They also agreed to boost the capacity Four months later, the Kurds agreed to exports were halted but said it was in the of a natural gas pipeline to supply Jordan restart exports as a goodwill gesture. That past few days. with additional Iraqi gas. In addition, Iraq allowed the two sides to reach a new agree- Faisal Abdullah, the spokesman for said it could raise the amount of crude oil it ment under which Baghdad would pay 1 Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy exports for Jordanian domestic use, and trillion Iraqi dinars (about $848 million) to affairs, confirmed that the full amount will double to 60,000 tons the amount of the companies in September. wasn't paid. He said the payments were sus- heavy fuel it exports to Jordan monthly, However, Ali Hussein Balo, the advisor pended because the Kurds were pumping according to Petra. of the Kurdish Ministry of Natural less than the 200,000 barrels a day they had Violent demonstrations broke out in Resources, said Baghdad sent only 650 bil- pledged. He wouldn't give more details. Jordan last month after the government lion Iraqi dinars (about $550 million) and The latest move could dash Iraq's hopes removed subsidies to offset $5 billion in withheld the rest. That prompted the Kurds' to pump 3.7 million barrels a day and to losses from a rising fuel bill. Heating and latest move. export 2.9 million barrels a day next year. cooking gas prices have jumped sharply "The region has found itself forced to Daily production last month averaged since. To help, al-Maliki's Shiite-led halt the oil exports as Baghdad didn't fulfill around 3.2 million barrels and daily exports government last month announced a one- a commitment it made in the September averaged 2.62 million. time gift of 100,000 barrels of oil to Sunni Muslim Jordan. Ë agreement in regard to payment," Balo told Iraq sits atop the world's fourth largest

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

CTTMN/mtaAL ïicraJbii; ^Sribunc December 26, 2012 that you can think of. "They speak of the rebels like dogs, terrorists, Islamists, Wahhabis," the friend said, using a term for adherents Devils brew of to a puritanical form of Islam. "This is why he will keep going to the end." The friend added that even though Mr. Assad sometimes spoke of dialogue, he mainly wanted to be a hero fending choices for Assad off a foreign attack. "He is thinking of victory only victory." Such a crisis is the last thing that was Monday that Mr. Assad, despite official BEIRUT expected for the young Bashar al-As¬ denials, was "totally aware" that he sad. He was the stalky, shy second would have to leave and was "looking brother with the receding chin, dragged Fight, flee or relocate? for a way out,' ' though the timetable was from a quiet life as a London His life and legacy, and unclear. "More importantly," said the ophthalmologist after the death in 1994 diplomat, who is currently outside Syria of his swaggering older brother, Basil

Syria's fate, are at risk but whose responsibilities include the al-Assad, who crashed his sports car country, "powerful people in the upper while speeding toward the airport. . circle of the ruling elite in Damascus are Mr. Assad's father, Hafez, held power BY ANNE BARNARD feeling that an exit must be found." from 1970 to 2000, raising a second-tier ANDHWAIDASAAD Yet others close to Mr. Assad and his clan from the oppressed Alawite minor¬

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria sits circle say any retreat would clash with ity to power and wealth. But critics say in his mountaintop palace as the tide of his deep-seated sense of himself, and the Assads used four decades in power war licks at the cliffs below. with the wishes of increasingly em¬ not to promote meaningful ethnic and

Explosions bloom over the- Damascus powered security officials, whom one religious integration, but to. cement

suburbs. His country is plunging deeper friend of the president's has come to see Alawite rule with a secular face. into chaos. The United Nations' top en¬ as "hotheads." After the uprising began as a peaceful

voy for the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Mr. Assad believes he is "defending his protest movement in March 2011, Mr. As¬ Brahimi, met with Mr. Assad in the country, his people, and his regime and sad rejected calls for deep reform from palace on Monday in an urgent effort to himself" against Islamic extremism and his people, from Turkish officials who resolve the nearly two-year-old conflict. Western interference, said Joseph Abu had spent years cultivating him, even How Mr. Assad might respond to Mr. Fadel, a Lebanese political analyst who . from militant groups he had long supports Mr. Assad and met with govern¬ Brahimi's entreaty depends on his psy¬ sponsored, Hamas and Hezbollah, ment officials last week in Damascus. chology, shaped by a strong sense of which, according to Hamas, offered to ar¬ Analysts in Russia, one of Syria's mission inherited from his iron-fisted fa¬ range talks with the rebels. Instead, Mr. staunchest allies, say that as rebels try ther and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad; Assad took his father's path. To put down to encircle Damascus and cut off escape his closest advisers, whom supporters an Islamist revolt in the 1980s, Hafez al- routes through Hama Province to the describe as a hard-line politburo of his Assad bulldozed entire neighborhoods coast, the mood in the palace is one of father's security men; and Mr. Assad's and killed at least 10,000 people. The son panic, evinced by erratic use of assessment, known only to himself, now presides over a crackdown-turned- weapons: Scud missiles better used about what awaits him if he stays vic¬ civil-war that has killed four times that against an army than an insurgency, tory, or death at the hands of his people. number, and counting. naval mines dropped from the air in¬ From his hilltop, Mr. Assad can gaze In a government thathasbecome even stead of laid at sea. toward several possible futures. more secretive, it is impossible to know But even if Mr. Assad wanted to flee, it East of the palace lies the airport and exactly how Mr. Assad makes his de¬ is unclear whether the top generals a possible dash to exile, a route that cisions. Some people say that he wanted would let him out alive, Russian ana¬ some say Mr. Assad's mother and wife to change but that his father's generals lysts say, as they believe that if they lay may have taken. But the way is blocked, and intelligence officials, along with his down arms, they and their dispropor¬ not just by bands of rebels, but by a be¬ mother, convinced him that change tionately Alawite families will die in lief that supporters say Mr. Assad would bring about their downfall. vengeance killings, and need him to shares with his advisers that fleeing "There are two Bashar al-Assads," rally the troops. would betray both his country and his said Jurgen Todenhofer, a German jour¬ "If he can fly out of Damascus," said father's legacy. nalist who interviewed him in July. One Semyon A. Bagdasarov, a Middle East He can stay in Damascus and cling to is a quiet man "who doesn't like his job" expert in Moscow at this, he laughed even die for his father's aspira¬ dryly "there is also the understand¬ tions, to impose a secular Syrian order Either the Syrian president ing of responsibility before the people. A and act as a pan-Arab leader on a re¬ person who has betrayed several mil¬ "is a professional liar or he gional and global stage. lion of those closest to him." can't deliver on what Or he can head north to the coastal Many Syrians still share Mr. Assad's mountain heartland of his minority he promises." belief that he is protecting the Syrian Alawite sect, ceding the rest of the coun¬ state, which helps explain how he has try to the uprising led by the Sunni held on this long. At a lavish lunch hos¬ Muslim majority. That would mean a and wants a way out, he said; the other ted by a Lebanese politician outside dramatic comedown: reverting to the wants to show his family and the world, Beirut in September, prominent Syrian smaller stature of his grandfather, a tri¬ "I'm not a softy." Others say that Mr. backers of Mr. Assad Alawites, Sun- bal leader of a marginalized minority Assad's impulses toward change were nis and Christians spoke of the presi¬ concerned mainly with its own survival. always meant only to bring access to the dent as the bulwark of a multicultural, Mr. Brahimi was closemouthed about luxuries and approval of the West. modern Syria. the details of his meeting, but has The Assads were raised by their fa¬ But one friend of Mr. Assad's, step¬ warned in recent weeks that without a ther and their uncles aggressive men ping out of earshot of the others to speak political solution, Syria faces the col¬ to believe "they were demigods and frankly, said the president's advisers lapse of the state and years of civil war Syria was their playground," said Rana were "hotheads" who were telling him, that could dwarf the destruction caused Kabbani, the daughter of a prominent by the conflict that has taken more than " 'You are weak, you must be strong,' " diplomat who knew them growing up. 40,000 lives. adding, "They are advising him to Turkish officials say that in frequent A Damascus-based diplomat said strike more, with the planes, any way talks during the revolt's first months,

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

Mr. Assad listened calmly to their criti¬ Mr. Assad was long believed to take ad¬ litias, which have carried out attacks on cisms, took personal responsibility for vice from his mother; his brother Maher, government opponents. the government's actions and promised who heads the army's feared Fourth Di¬ If there ever existed moderates in the to seek resolution. "Either he is a profes¬ vision; his brother-in-law Asef Shawkat; government who might cajole Mr. As¬ sional liar or he can't deliver on what he and his cousins, the Makhloufs. sad to hand power to a successor who promises," said a senior Turkish official, But his mother is believed to have fled could preserve the Syrian state, that op¬ speaking on the condition of anonymity. Syria in recent weeks. Mr. Shawkat, the tion now appears increasingly remote. Now, Mr. Assad, 47, faces a set of un¬ deputy defense minister, was killed in a palatable choices. Fleeing to become ah bombing in July. The Makhloufs are be¬ Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick Alawite militia leader is most likely hard lieved to be spiriting money out of the contributed reportingfrom Beirut, Ellen to imagine for the president, who grew country. Maher has been reported to Barryfrom Moscow, Sebnem Arsufrom up in Damascus, reached out to and mar¬ have lost a leg in the bombing, but still to Istanbul, Rick Gladstonefrom New York, ried into the Sunni elite, and was even be commanding troops. and an employee of The New York Times mocked in his ancestral village for his Turkish, Russian, Syrian and Leba¬ from Tortus, Syria. Damascus accent, said Joshua Landis, a nese analysts agree: Mr. Assad's main professor at the University of Oklahoma . advisers are now his father's hard¬ who studies Syria and the Alawites. liners and the leaders of the shabiha mi

IRAK -© n° 1155 du 20 décembre 2012 au 2 janvier 2013

Souleymanieh ou Diyarbakir Ces Kurdes irakiens [grande ville à majorité kurde du sud-est de la Turquie]. qui rêvent d'Istanbul Maliki sur le départ Aujourd'hui, la moitié de la population du Alors que les relations entre les Kurdes de Turquie Kurdistan d'Irak, autonome depuis et le gouvernement d'Ankara sont au plus bas, ceux 1991, a moins de vingt ans et ne se sent donc plus très irakienne. Cette d'Irak sont devenus les fidèles alliés de la Turquie. situation est un legs de la dictature de Saddam Hussein, qui a opprimé

eux, se sentent-ils de plus en plus les Kurdes et dilapidé les richesses Zaman Istanbul proches de la Turquie ? du pays. Au fur et à mesure que le

La meilleure réponse à cette ques¬ Premier ministre chiite irakien, Le "Family Mail" est le plus tion m'a été faite par un professeur NouriAl-Maliki, manifeste son envie grand centre commercial en psychologie de l'université de de reprendre le contrôle de la région d'Erbil. Il symbolise parfai¬ Souleymanieh [grande ville du kurde, c'est à dire aufur et à mesure tement l'augmentation du pouvoir Kurdistan irakien]. "C'est en réalité qu'il se "saddamise" comme on le d'achat des Kurdes d'Irak. En effet, un phénomène nouveau. Une ten¬ dit de plus en plus, les rapports le revenu par tête d'habitant, qui, dance qui s'est développée après l'ar¬ entre Erbil et Bagdad se distendent. au Kurdistan d'Irak, était il y a dix rivée d'Erdogan aupouvoir en Turquie. La mise sur pied par Maliki d'une ans de 300 dollars, a, selon les sta¬ Je vous donne un exemple qui me brigade militaire baptisée tistiques officielles locales, dépassé concerne personnellement. Avant "Commandement de l'opération les 4 500 dollars et j'ai même ren¬ 2002, chaquefois queje me rendais du Tigre" [et créée dans le contexte contré des gens qui évoquaient le en Turquie,je subissais les vexations de la rivalité entre Kurdes et Arabes chiffre de 6 500 dollars. La plupart systématiques despoliciers turcs dès par rapport à la ville de Kirkoùk ] des magasins de ce centre com¬ que ceux-ci voyaient l'inscription est la dernière illustration de la ten¬ mercial appartiennent à des per¬ Kurdistan sur mon passeport. Mais, sion de plus en plus palpable dans sonnes venues de Turquie, illustrant maintenant, la situation a complè¬ les relations entre Kurdes et Arabes ainsi le rôle croissant des entre¬ tement changé. Je suis désormais irakiens. C'est paradoxal, il y a prises turques qui débarquent dans respecté etj'en suis heureux. Istanbul encore quelques années, la Turquie la région et participent au déve¬ est notre porte d'ouverture vers se tenait aux côtés du gouverne¬ loppement du Kurdistan. Le rap¬ l'Ouest..." De même qu'Erbil et ment central irakien, gardant ses prochement s'effectue aussi dans Souleymanieh incarnent pour les distances vis-à-vis d'Erbil, pour les esprits entre la Turquie et le Arabes irakiens l'endroit où ils marquerson attachement au main¬ Kurdistan irakien. tien de l'intégrité territoriale de peuvent souffler et fuir la chaleur On se trouve dans une situation l'Irak (et, par conséquent, de la étouffante des régions plus méri¬ paradoxale. En effet, alors que les Turquie). La situation s'est aujour- . dionales de l'Irak - ce qui explique relations entre Ankaraet le Kurdistan d'hui totalement inversée pour des notamment que les hôtels y . de Turquie ne cessent de se dété¬ raisons économiques, politiques et poussent comme des champi¬ riorer, les liens avec les Kurdes d'Irak culturelles de plus enplus évidentes. gnons -, Istanbul est devenue se renforcent. Il n'est un secret pour Comme me l'a dit un observateur pour de nombreux Kurdes ira¬ personne qu'Ankara ne s'est pas avisé de la région, "la Turquie ne kiens un lieu où ils se sentent à bien comporté vis-à-vis de ses peutplmprivilégier Bagdad au détri¬ l'aise et où ils peuvent nouer toutes propres Kurdes. Le soulèvement ment du Kurdistan irakien. En effet, sortes de contacts. N'oublions mené par le PKK [le mouvement tant [le présidait syrien] Assad que pas qu'Istanbul est la plus grande armé kurde] continue. Pourquoi, Maliki sont sur le départ ." ville kurde du monde - plus grande dans ces conditions, les Kurdes SahinAlpay encore de ce point de vue qu'Erbil, d'Irak, du moins la plupart d'entre

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

Samedi 29 décembre 2012 Vivre et mourir, au rythme des combats, dans les rues d'Alep

« - ?

%

r » \ ;

_;_> Six mois après l'entrée de l'Armée syrienne libre dans la deuxième

ville du pays, les combats se poursuivent

que l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL) est de sécurité du régime, il y a huit coucou suisse au milieu des tirs en rafales. Il est 15 heures. On se croi¬ entrée dans Alep, dontelle contrôle ans.enallantacheterdes sous-vête¬ rait en pleine nuit. Reportage un peu plus de la moitié. Ces jours- ments. On l'avait battu quelques Dans la partie de la ville tenue ci, on y vit et on y meurt à l'heure jours, puis libéré contre des Alep (Syrie) par les rebelles, les ordures s'amas¬ des incertitudes, des alliances qui « aveux » danslesquels il reconnais¬ Envoyée spéciale sent un peu partout en tas impres¬ se nouent et se dénouent ou des saitêtreunterroriste, et unbillet de convictions qui basculent. 50 dollars glissé sous la table. sionnants, où fourragent des Un type nettoie sa « Dans ce souk, on vendaittoutes L'aventure l'avait plutôt conforté gamins et des moutons à longs kalachnikov et un les richesses possibles, des tapis, des dans l'idée qu'au pays des Assad, il poils. Un groupe indistinct s'est autre, à côté de lui, diamants, des antiquités», se ren- fallait être bien sot pour se mêler endormi, hommes, femmes, épluche l'ail pour la d'autre chose que de ses affaires. enfants roulés ensemble dans une soupe. Il a posé à ses Chaque quartier s'est Le 20 juillet 2012, tout le quar¬ couverture, comme une portée de pieds son revolver tier, ou presque, a regardé les rebel¬ chats dans le hall d'un immeuble et son tricot entamé, avec les organisé en « conseil les entrer en ville avec une sorte de démoli. L'état de guerre a mélangé aiguilles plantées dedans: c'est civil », parvoisinage, stupéfaction. Qui étaient ces gens les cartes, les gens, les genres. une écharpe rayée aux couleurs de des campagnes, qui prétendaient Plus personne ne semble exer¬ la rébellion. Un petit feu éclaire les cousinage, réseautage, venir les libérer avec leurs claquet¬ cer son véritable métier. Sur une parois de la casemate, qui était, il y basé sur des relations tes et leurs kalachnikovs d'occa¬ caisse renversée, un tailleur vend a quelques mois encore, une bouti- sion, eux les habitants d'Alep si des bougies. Un informaticien en quede«souvenirsorientauxetfolk- de proximité fiers de leur teint blanc? L'électri¬ uniforme del'armée rebellecontrô¬ loriques» dans la vieille ville cien avait fui, comme tout le mon¬ le les voitures. Dans un jardin d'Alep. La ligne de front zigzague gorge un électricien. « Vous êtes au de, persuadé que c'était l'affaire public, un mécaniciengrimpe dans quelques centaines de mètres plus c.urdelabelleAîep,capitaleécono- d'une semaine. Au bout de deux les arbres pour en faire du bois de haut à travers les ruelles du souk. mique de Syrie. » Il est assis sur son mois, l'exil en Egypte avait dévoré chauffage. Un conducteur de bus Un avion passe. Le type à la kala¬ canapé dans une pénombre glacia¬ ses économies. Et le voila de retour public, dont plus aucun ne fonc- ' chnikov s'étonne. Ça bombardait le, coiffé d'un sac en plastique noué dans son petit bout de souk désert, tionne,vendhors de prixde l'essen¬ moins depuis quelques jours. Pour¬ sur la tête. Il fait des mines pour où n'habitent plus que sept ce turque de contrebande. quoi? Chacun a ses explications, s'excuser: «Je crains l'humidité.» familles sous le contrôle de l'ASL. Chaque quartier a commencé à multiples et volatiles. De gros com¬ Comme dans toute la ville, le cou¬ De l'autre côté de la ligne de s'organiser en « conseil civil », par bats mobiliseraient ailleurs les for¬ rant a sauté depuis deux mois, plus front, les tireurs embusqués du voisinage, cousinage, réseautage, ces du régime, à Damas et Hama. de chauffage, un peu d'eau mais régime leur envoient des messa¬ basés sur des relations de proximi¬ Peut-être que les défenses anti¬ pas souvent. On entend un obus de ges-, «si vous traversez, on vous téoùchacundoit avanttoutconnaî¬ aériennes, dont l'armée rebelle a mortier tomber juste derrière. tue ». L'électricien a essayé une fois tre l'autre et en répondre, comme si enfin pu s'équiper, découragent L'électricien n'ose plus circuler de passer officiellement un check¬ quarante ans de dictature avaient aussi les décollages. dans son propre appartement point. «On m'a regardé comme un pétri de défiance une société entiè¬ L'autre homme, qui a repris son depuis que les deux pièces du fond animalparce queje vis de cecôté-ci .- re. Cela engendre des réalités diffé¬ tricot, annonce que deuxroquettes ont été dévastées par les combats. je n'étaisplus un des leurs. » Alors, il rentes, parfois contradictoires, viennent de tuer 18 personnes du Par la fenêtre, un graffiti annon¬ s'est résolu à frayer avec les rebel¬ comme autant de petites républi¬ côtéde l'aéroport. Le régimetombe¬ ce, surle murd'enface : « Bacharest les. «Ici, on a une katiba [unité ques indépendantes qui cohabi¬ ra, ça fait peu de doutes ici. Mais on mon Dieu ». L'homme tempère : ce combattante] correcte, c'est-à-dire tent, sans lien entre elles, ni même a tantôt l'impression que les com¬ n'est pas qu'on aimait vraiment qu'elle ne vole pas. » Au-dessus du de volonté d'en tisser. bats vont durer encore une éterni¬ Bachar dans le quartier, mais on canapé, l'horloge fait soudain sur¬ A Salaheddine, par exemple, té et tantôt qu'il n'y en a plus que n'aimait surtoutpasles ennuis. Lui- sauter, sonnant avec un bruit de c'est Abou Nazer, un gros garçon pour une minute. Celafait six mois même avait été arrêté parles forces

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

timide de 38 ans, qui a été choisi A l'ouest, l'armée régulière ; à l'est, l'ASL et les combats ' pour diriger le conseil. Il est direc¬ Vers la Turquie teur des ventes dans une usine de ïutçtm o. l,! wr,ll?ru-r' ,1;- cosmétique de l'immense zone Je srtvntilv ki.Ttft (s.i.'viifi' VersAnadan. industrielle autour d'Alep, «ville Aiazet V» . . la Tow* -'W*^ zonc co réputée pour son bon goût et son -.VU* ""0fflS $ Damas industrie de la mode », dit-il. Son produit vedette était la teinture. «Blonde, bien sûr. Quellefemme ne rêvepas d'être blonde ? » L'usine est

aujourd'hui arrêtée, comme 90% d'entreelles. Unetrentaine de béné¬

voles s'activent devant l'unique

benne à ordures. Seul le responsa¬ Q H ^!e' rie v:l';. pnuver rwnt. 1 CPiePiDli' de '.: AL-NASR #PhMS3sd-.*'tjh-Ai-jjbn : - ble du nettoyage faisait partie de ©HMc!Shera:r p.. . ..-: .:- " .

l'équipe précédente, du temps de O P^'S tfcJU'ïl'Ce r ' BAP.ALHAD1D " '?.^ Université ' iMânL-BAD -- Voie ferrée . ' : d'A'ep Bachar. Tous les autres se sont

.' ' nir, soutient un bénévole. Trop cor¬ ^.VersIaTutxjuie ' ' ' ititxHI»

rompus: ilfallait donner un bak¬ I AL-QASR chich pour tout. Nous, on va n - A construire un monde nouveau. ».

Dans un immeuble de Tarik Aéroport © Zone industrielle International Al-Bab, quartier tranquille, ça râle , mîlitsirr endouceenvoyant unrebellegrim¬ -ebe/fe *; .**. eu de combats ' te PO juillet per dans les étages. « Ou 'est-ce qu'il JB* vientfaire ici, celui-là ? Le bâtiment % va se faire bombarder à cause de m* lui. » Le soldat n'est pas dupe : «Les / / gens nous font des sourires par- C ÉCONOMIQUE TRADITIONNEL QUARTIERS POPULAIRES QUARTIERS AISÉS FORCES EN PRÉSENCE devant, mais la moitié du quartier a, Ligne de partage mouvante VleWe vide et souks B Habitats collectifs aa Quartiers chrétiens attend que Bachar revienne. » à loyers modérés (à l'ouest l'armée, et à l'est les opposants) A l'école Mustapha.Al-Aissa, un Centn MHHUQ Sa Zone d'habitat informel r Quartiers aisés des années 1960 et zone de commerces populaires Quartier populaire peuplés par la classe moyenne .' ' '. Lieux emblématiques groupe de professeurs a dû négo¬ à majorité sunnite. et supérieure sunnite et chrétienne. * tenus par l'armée cier longuement le départ des sol¬ FOND DE CARTE ÉLABORÉ AVEC L'EXPERTISE DE THIERRY BOISSIERE. ANTHR0P01 OGUF AU GREMMO (MAISON DT L'ORIENT ET DE I A MÉDITERRANÉE). RESPONSABLE DF l 'IFPO A Al FP DE dats des bâtiments, qu'ils avaient 7O08 » 2010. AUTEUR AVEC J -C. DAVID (CNRS) D'ALEP. VILLE ET TERRITOISES. AUX PRESSFS DFI'IFPO. À PARAITRE FIN Ï01Z annexés en caserne, comme sou¬

vent. Depuis un mois, 550 élèves offert 1000 dollars. «On n'a pas voulons dire aujourd'hui à cesfem¬ avecunekalachnikovpourdeuxsol- sont inscrits en primaire mais acheté de cahier, mais du laitparce mes: "nous sommes avec vous"», dats. Puis unepourdix et à lafin, on Abou Laai, le directeur, 22 ans, refu¬ qu'aucun enfant n'a de quoi man- dit le coordonnateur du projet. Il a n'avait plus de munitions.» Alors se de prendre plus de 200 écoliers. appelé son organisation « La ligue qu'aucun pays ni institution n'ac¬ «Au moins, le massacre sera limité de charité sunnite» et annonce ceptent de se mouiller pour ces s'il y a un bombardement.» Abou « On n'a pas acheté d'emblée: «Je sais qu'on nous rebelles exsangues, Jabat Al-Nous¬ Laai se laisse stoïquement interro¬ de cahier, mais du lait prendpourdes islamistes. » ra distribuede l'argent,vite et beau¬ ger sur le système scolaire. Comme partout, le problème du coup. «Aujourd'hui, la nouveauté Oui, l'éducation est un des parce qu'aucun enfant financement s'est posé très vite et est que le Front Al-Nousra n'appli- . piliers du régime de Damas et tous n'a de quoi manger là encore, chacun fait ce qu'il peut. que plus seulement cette stratégie les livrets portent, sous une photo Pour son réseau d'école, « La ligue dans le domaine militaire, mais aus¬ du président, l'inscription: «Avec avant de venir» de charité sunnite »a essayé de fai¬ si dans toute la société civile», Bachar, les enfants sont heureux». Un habitant d'Alep re le tour des ONG et des institu¬ reprend un professeur. , Oui, certains enseignants - pas tions. Toutes ont décliné, saufune : Dans la boutique d'un charpentier, tous - demandent aux écoliers de geravant de venir. » Certains ont la le front Al-Nousra. une distribution alimentaire s'or¬ dénoncer leurs parents, par exem¬ gale, tous des poux et de plus en C'est le nom sur lequel tout le ganise quand les portables se met¬ ple s'ils regardent des chaînes de plus la leishmaniose, qui avait été monde bute aujourd'hui en Syrie : tent soudain à sonner en même télé étrangères. Oui, il faudrait tout éradiquée. Au heu de prendre un personne n'arrive à définir vérita¬ temps. C'est un message, comme changer, jusqu'auxmanuels scolai¬ nouveau prof, Abou Laai préfére¬ blement la réalité qu'il recouvre, le gouvernement en envoie régu¬ res. Et aussitôt il précise : «De toute rait une infirmière. les journalistes ne sont pas les bien¬ lièrement à tous les abonnés du façon, les livres, on les brûle. » Sont- Sous le porche, deux gamins tra¬ venus et les Etats-Unis viennent de réseau syrien en les ciblant par ils mauvais à ce point ? Et là, sou¬ fiquent des munitions comme des le classer sur la liste des organisa¬ région : «Peuple d'Alep, les terroris¬ dain, son jolivisage d'enfant modè¬ billes et jouent aux « martyrs », la tions terroristes. Le phénomène a tes sont parmi vous. Si vous ne les le se fronce. Il n'en peut plus de ces nouvelle mode des cours de récréa¬ surgi, il y a un an, très rapidement, combattezpas, vous serez bombar¬ questions « ne sont pas les tion qui consiste à s'écrouler à ter¬ sousforme d'une katiba de combat¬ dés. L'armée estforte. » vraies questionspour nous mainte¬ re, comme fauchés au combat en tants aguerris, à la fois étrangers et Cela fait rire Moustapha, un tra¬ nant» -. les livres sont mauvais, cer¬ s'écriant «Allah akbar». syriens, prônant un islam assez ducteur d'anglais, venu proposer tes, mais on ne les brûle pas à cause La réouverture de l'école Musta¬ radical pour attirer des fonds de l'aide. Lui aussi, il y a quelques de ça. On les brûle pour se chauffer. pha Al-Aissa s'inscrit dans une ini¬ notamment d'Arabie Saoudite et mois, a essayé de lancer un «appel Al'étage en dessous, une trentai¬ tiative privée, fédérantdéjàune cin¬ du Qatar. pourAlep », encontactant des dizai¬ ne de gamins scandent : «Hello, my quantaine de profs dans douze éta¬ La grande majorité des rebelles nes d'ONG internationales par friend» dans une pièce si sombre blissements. Ils tiennent réunion syriens s'en sont longtemps ouver¬ Internet. Il a rencontré « la solitude qu'on n'arrive pas à lire au tableau. plusieurs fois par semaine, lesfem- tementdéfié, défendant leur « révo¬ au c du chaos », dit-il. People in Ceux qui ont un manteau ne l'ont mes doivent porter un. foulard lution». «Mais au bout d'un need, petite structure tchèque, a été pas retiré, la plupart sont pieds nus pour y assister. «Ily a deux ans, le moment, on n'a plus eu le choix», la seule à répondre, envoyant dans leurs chaussures. Le mois der¬ régimedeBachara chassé toutes les estime un commandant de l'ASL. 5000 dollars et 50 tonnes de farine nier, un donateur du quartier a enseignantes avec un voile. Nous «On avait commencé à se battre allemande. Selon Moustapha, c'est

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

l'uniqueassociationinternationale nous apportent de bon?». On seule famille à qui personne ne ça bombarde, au pointque les rebel¬ demande au bénévole si la situa¬ rend visite. On les aperçoit seule¬ les doivent parfois se replier, ce qui «Peuple d'Alep, les tion aujourd'hui à Alep pourrait ment quand les avions de combat n'arrive pas ici. Alors «des soldats préfigurer la Syrie future avec ces arrivent : alors, une main sort à la de l'armée régulière se déploient terroristes sont parmi poussées de religion à travers la fenêtre et agite un drapeau blanc. dans les rues, entrent dans les mai¬ vous. Si vous ne les société. Il hausse les épaules. «On Plus bas, dans le quartierde Sala- sons où ils peuvent, au hasard, et le sait de moins en moins. On vit ici heddine, cinq enfants sont assis tuent les gens, parfois au couteau ». combattez pas, vous dans une autre dimension. » face à un poêle éteint. Pour les invi¬ Tout le monde s'enfuit, pourchassé serez bombardés » 18 heures. Bientôt le moment de tés, on s'ingénie à vouloir offrir un par un hélicoptère. Cela dure quel¬ se coucher. «Que faire d'autre?», café : une femme allume un feu ques heures, puis l'A SL revient. Un SMS envoyé rit un étudiant devant La fleur sur le palier. L'eau met un temps Le père affirme qu'en un mois ils par le régime d'Alep, le meilleur kebab de la ville, . infini à chauffer. La pièce est vide, ont vécu trois fois de telles offensi¬ qui fournit « tout ce qui est bon,, tout ce qui a pu être vendu l'a été, y ves. Personne n'en parle ni ne sait

ayant une antenne en ville. Ce jour- même une épouse». Et l'étudiant compris un balai presque neuf à vraiment ce qui se passe là-bas : la

là, il y a 300 colis à donner pour ajoute: «Rendez-moi au moins poils roses. Reste la télé, recouver¬ zone - comme tant d'autres en

3 000 familles. Alors, il faut choisir, Facebook et mafiancée, qui vit de te d'un voile de dentelle, noué par Syrie - est inaccessible pour les ou essayer. « Quand est-ce que tes l'autre coté de la ligne defront. » des rubans rouges. '«Qui achète journalistes. Le père balaie de la

enfants ont mangépour la dernière Les bombardements ont repris une téléquand il n 'yaplus d'électri¬ main la pièce nue, les rues presque fois ? » demande un bénévole. sur le «quartier de la jeunesse», cité ? », sourit le mari. On demande entièrement démolies et baptisées

Dans la file, une femme ne un programme résidentiel que le des nouvelles d'un voisin. Il est «le quartiermartyrd'Alep». Soupir

répond pas. Elle, a honte. Plus tard, régime venait de construire pour, mort. Et cet autre ? Non, lui n'est d'aise: «Ici, on est mieux.» Une

pour la Syrie, elle voudrait un Etat ses cadres et ses privilégiés. Avec pas mort. Blessé. On se félicite. vingtaine de familles sont déjà

'« qui ait quelque chose à voir avec les combats, ils ont fui et des réfu- . Le père raconte qu'ils se sont revenues à Salaheddine. D'autres

Dieu ». Quoi exactement, elle ne giés s'y sont installés. Des pre¬ d'abord enfuis chez des proches, ont annoncé qu'elles arrivaient. sait pas, mais « qu 'est-ce que lespar¬ miers habitants, il ne reste qu'une dans la région d'Idlib. Là-bas aussi, Florence Aubenas tis comme en Europe ou Bachar

j&lîîoîide

Samedi 29 décembre 2012

Une cité prospère devenue l'épicentre du conflit syrien

Longtemps restée à l'écart de l'embrasement qui gagnait le pays, la ville du nord a basculé dans

partie des brigades rebelles. les combats à la mi-juillet d'Alep apparaît comme un concen¬ Plus ou moins réunies sous le

que un porte-parole de l'Armée tré de ce que la guerre en Syrie recè¬ commandementduconseil militai¬ Beyrouth syrienne libre (ASL) pour le secteur le de plus radical. Alors que les bom¬ re de l'ASL, les brigades rebelles Correspondante ouest ^^ joint par téléphone. bardementsaériens et de l'artillerie (dontla principale,At-Tawhid,com¬

Maisla raison principalequi a retar- pilonnent la ville, les riches fuient prend 116 bataillons) mènent Alep va-t-elle devenir, ainsi dé l'entrée d'Alep dans la révolu¬ pour Damas ou l'étranger. Certains aujourd'huidesopérations conjoin¬ que le jure un militantlocal, tion était la présence massive des rejoignent de loin l'insurrection en tes régulières avec Jabat Al-Nousra. «le tombeau de l'armée de forces de sécurité et des chabiha - finançant les rebelles. Les plus Au départ pauvrement équi¬ Bachar Al-Assad»? Longtemps miliciens à la solde du régime - qui démunis changent de quartier, au pée, l'ASL a vu son efficacité consi¬ fleuron de l'économie syrienne, y ont fait régner la terreur. gré des défaites et des victoires. dérablement améliorée grâce à ce deuxième ville du pays avec envi¬ La révolte ne gronde pas à Alep, Depuis le début des combats, au partenariat et depuis la prise de ron 2 millions d'habitants, Alep où vivent en bonne entente une moins 4792 Aleppins, civils ou deux grands entrepôts d'arme¬ bénéficie, de par sa proximité avec majorité de musulmans sunnites rebelles, ont été tués, selon le. ment à Lahan Khan et à Touman. la Turquie, d'une position géogra¬ et d'importantes communautés décompte du Centre de documen¬ Même si elle affirme contrôler phique stratégique. La bataille qui arménienne et kurde, mais elle a tation des violations en Syrie, un 80% de la ville, l'ASL n'a cepen¬ y fait rage depuis juillet est donc très vite gagné la campagne, où groupe de militants des droits de dant toujours pas réussi à s'impo¬ un enjeu capital pour le régime des manifestations s'organisent. l'homme. Un chiffre qui exclut les ser dans l'ensemble d'Alep. Les comme pour ses adversaires. Les premiers combats à Alep pertes de l'armée régulière et les batailles décisives se déroulent Alep n'a pas la réputation d'une éclatent à la mi-juillet, avec une morts étrangers. désormais à l'extérieur. cité docile. En 1982, elle était, avec intensité qui prend de court le régi¬ Cela est une autre spécificité La première cible des rebelles Hama, le théâtre d'une rébellion me, mais aussi de nombreux mili¬ d'Alep : seuleville insurgée à dispo¬ est le village chiite de Zaharaa, à menée par les Frères musulmans tants qui n'y croyaient plus. De ser d'un arrière-pays « libéré » et une vingtaine de kilomètres au contre le régime d'Hafez Al-Assad. fait, les rebelles proviennent en d'une portion de frontière qu'elle nord-ouest, depuis lequel l'artille¬ La répression, qui aboutit à la des¬ grande majorité des campagnes. contrôle,"elle est devenue la desti¬ rie du régime pilonne toute la truction d'Hama et à la mort de Ils sont soldats déserteurs, fer¬ nation logique des combattants région. Selon la même source de 10 000 à 20 000 de ses habitants, a miers ou agriculteurs. Les violen¬ étrangers. Y ont afflué des révolu¬ l'ASL contactée parleMonde, Zaha¬ été moins féroce à Alep, mais y a ces se dirigent aussitôt contre les tionnaires venus prendre les raa serait actuellement encerclé laissé des traces. chabiha et le redoutable clan Nabih armes pour la cause du «prin¬ par les rebelles et n'est plus ravi¬ Malgré les appels incessants des dont le chef, Zino Berrih, est massa¬ temps arabe » et des djihadistes, taillé que par hélicoptère. militants, la ville semblait imper¬ cré le 31 juillet par une foule déchaî¬ affiliés ou non à Al-Qaida. L'autre grande bataille se dérou¬ méable au climat insurrectionnel née. Les images de son exécution se Parmi ces derniers, Jabat le près de l'aéroport d'Alep où des qui s'était emparé de la Syrie répandent surInternet. Pourla pre¬ Al-Nousra, apparu en Syrie en jan¬ combats très violents opposaient, depuis mars 2011. Alors que Deraa, mière fois, l'ASL est mise en cause vier, a fait du gouvernorat d'Alep dans la nuit du jeudi 27 au vendre¬ Homs, Hama et Idlib s'embra¬ pour des exactions que personne son champ de bataille privilégié. di 28 décembre, les insurgés au saient, la riche cité du nord restait ne peut nier ou mettre surle comp¬ Mieux armés et plus entraînés que 18e bataillon de l'armée de Bachar silencieuse, à l'exception de mani¬ te du régime. les soldats de l'ASL, ses hommes se Al-Assad, dernier rempart du régi¬ festations à l'université. sont imposés (avec parfois leur me avant la prise de ce lieu haute¬ «Les marchands soutenaient le Un concentré de la guerre visiontrès radicale de l'islam) mal¬ ment stratégique. régime, ils voulaient poursuivre A bien des égards, la bataille gré les réticences initiales d'une CÉCILE HENNION leurs activités à tout prix», expli-

60 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

December 26, 2012 Spinoff: The Syrian Crisis and the Future of Iraq President, Mohammed Morsi, has demons- will no longer be physically secure in what HENRI J. BARKEY trated that he can be an adept realpolitiker has been, compared to Egypt, a personal- in regional politics, particularly during the ized and under-institutionalized arrange- here is an unremarked paradox in the December 2012 edition of the Gaza crisis. ment. But it is also because of the sheer tumult of the contemporary Middle physical destruction the country is experi- TEast. Syria is an economically impoveri- Only a few years ago, too, the notion that encing. Assad’s policy of leveling towns shed country of a little more than 20 mil- the Syrian police state would be brought to that have fallen into rebel hands destroys lion people that has been politically stag- its knees by a profoundly under-armed and not only physical infrastructure but also nant until 23 months ago. Egypt, by disorganized opposition movement would the tools and institutions of state power, contrast, never socially at rest and with its have been dismissed as fantasy. But it is from police stations to municipal offices ancient energies newly bestirred, is at 80.5 happening now before our very eyes, and and all kinds of bureaucratic records. million people more than four times larger. the consequences of the Assad regime’s Worse is that there still is a great deal more Yet it is the carnage in Syria, not the conti- downfall are unlikely to be to be as tame as violence and destruction yet to come. If the nuing multiparty political tightrope act in those that have emanated so far from fighting culminates in an onslaught on Egypt, that is more likely to unleash a tor- Egypt. Three reasons help explain the dif- Damascus, then the remnants of the Syrian rent of violence and instability throughout ferences. state are bound to suffer from terrible the Middle East. Before it has run its physical and psychological violence. There course it could undo multiple existing First we must consider blood and time. The will be no state left to inherit. regimes and even alter the region’s post- Egyptian transformation, unlike the upris- World War I territorial boundaries. ing in Syria, has been relatively bloodless. hird, Egypt, in contrast to Syria, is Fewer than 1,000 people died in Egypt; the fairly homogenous. It has a substantial This is because as a consequence of the count in Syria is at least 40,000 and mount- TCoptic minority that has been rendered Syrian uprising the fate of Iraq now hangs ing. Mubarak’s fall was also swift: Protests powerless after years of discrimination, but in the balance and, with it, the fate of the began on January 15, 2011, and he was the Copts have no political ambitions, kin- Middle East. The overflow of Syria’s civil gone by February 11. Assad’s regime has dred regional connections or territorial war into Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and weathered more than 20 months of first claims. They constitute a strictly Egyptian even Israel (via the Druze in the Golan civil unrest and then very violent civil war. phenomenon that exhibits none of the Heights) has been often noted, but, surpris- All indications are that the Ba’athi regime cross-boundary characteristics of many ingly, the mainstream Western press seems in Damascus will continue fighting for as minority groups in the region. Syria, howe- to have forgotten that Syria also shares a long as it can. One ought not be too sur- ver, lies on two important sectarian and border with Iraq. Iraq’s strategic location prised if a year from now it is still clinging ethnic fault lines. The ruling Alawis, and its cross-sectarian and cross-ethnic to power, albeit it perhaps in a rump state whose religion is a heterodox offshoot of fault lines make its implosion a great threat distant from Damascus. However, the an already heterodox Shi’a Islam, enjoy to the long-term stability and well-being of length and extent of the bloodletting will support from Shi’a-dominated Iran and the the region. The shock waves—unbridled permanently stain Syria’s body politic. The Lebanese Shi’a paramilitary group, sectarian and ethnic violence, possible longer the insurrection takes to resolve one Hizballah. In the region’s burgeoning interstate interventions and warfare, and way or another, the worse will be society’s Sunni-Shi’a conflict, which pits Saudi much higher oil prices—could also jolt the future divisions. Arabia and the Gulf countries against Iran, international economy, sparing no one. Syria is a significant prize. Its importance Second, the Egyptian state did not collapse has been even more enhanced since the t is helpful to contrast the Syrian crisis with Mubarak’s demise. As cranky, ineffi- ascent of Shi’a power in Baghdad. We with the 2011 Egyptian revolt and its cient and inept as the Egyptian state and should remember that in the 1980s Saudi aftermath.I Only a few years ago, the sug- bureaucracy may have been in the past, Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf countries gestion that a Muslim Brotherhood they remain a principal source of stability financed and supported Saddam Hussein’s government would one day replace the and employment. These institutions were war on the Iranian revolution. Those secta- solidly pro-Western Mubarak regime in for the most part untouched by the events rian animosities continue to haunt the Egypt, through elections no less, would of 2011. The Muslim Brotherhood, as a region. have sent shivers through most regional as result, has inherited the structures of a state well as Western capitals. Egypt’s military- that has remained largely intact—though it Syria is also on the cusp of Arab-Kurdish, backed regime collapsed without grave is not yet clear how loyal those structures Persian-Kurdish and Turkish-Kurdish divi- effects or a dramatic shift in the regional may be to a new leadership that differs in sions. Emboldened by the current civil balance of power, at least not yet. Iran, kind from that under which those struc- war, Syrian Kurds have been swept by a which had assumed that Mubarak’s demise tures took shape. By contrast, the highly nationalist euphoria. They had been brutal- would herald a new anti-Israeli and anti- sectarian Syrian state is unlikely to survive ized by Damascus; many were also denied Western power center in Cairo, has been the civil war. This is partly because the citizenship and with it access to schools, III sorely disappointed. Egypt’s new Alawi core and its co-opted Sunni partners hospitals and other government

61 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

III services. Untrusting, too, of the rebel Damascus was once the seat of Islam’s first patron in Tehran. For these Sunnis, the Free Syrian Army and the political group- great empire, the Umayyad Dynasty. probable collapse of Shi’a offshoot Alawi ings that constitute the political opposition, Under the Ottoman Empire and since, rule in Damascus is a potential sign that the they have remained on the sidelines look- independent Syria has stagnated. With its pendulum is swinging back in their favor. ing to consolidate their power. The Syrian poorly managed economy perpetually in Change in Syria, given the porous borders Kurdish strategy for the time being seems shambles, Syria has been barely getting by. between the two countries, especially in to count on the civil war weakening both Its agriculture remained underdeveloped the Sunni-controlled provinces of Anbar the opposition and the central government, despite the country’s relatively abundant and Nineveh, is likely to give further impe- leaving them in a better bargaining posi- hydrological riches. Syria’s centuries-old tus for Sunnis to resist the Nuri al-Maliki tion when the carnage comes to an end. sophisticated Sunni trading class plies its government in Baghdad. It is for this rea- wares mostly outside of its homeland. The son that the Iraqi Prime Minister has sup- The developments in Syria’s Kurdish authoritarian Syrian state has stifled its ported Assad’s beleaguered regime. His region are alarming for both Turkey and agricultural and industrial/trading sectors policy is likely to earn even more enmity Iran. Were Syrian Kurds to win significant alike with an omnivorous and burgeoning from Sunnis who see him acting on sectar- autonomy in a post-Assad Syria, akin to class of crony businessmen. ian impulses. After all, Iraqi Shi’a had been the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government the victims of Assad’s policy of facilitating (the KRG), then two of the region’s For these reasons as well as those of geog- the flow of foreign jihadis into Iraq during Kurdish territories will have achieved a raphy, Syria pales in comparison to Iraq the American occupation, for the sole pur- modicum of self-governance and no doubt when it comes to regional political signifi- pose of killing Shi’a. will coordinate to some extent. The cance. Iraq, a nation of nearly 33 million, demonstration effect on Turkey and Iran is first and foremost a major oil producer. Today Iraq is held together by a shoestring. would be hard to contain. Turkish Kurds Its relevance as a producer will only grow Violence is on the upsurge, and Maliki is are already demanding the devolution of with time because so many new fields and increasingly demonstrating his authoritari- central government powers to all of hydrocarbon sources are in the process of an tendencies as he pushes forward with an Turkey’s regions. Long-dormant Iranian being discovered and brought online. agenda that has not won him any friends in Kurdish formations are also showing signs Global oil demand, especially because of the region. The Saudis have not given him of waking from their slumber. The emer- the growth in emerging economies such as much quarter and would like to see him go. gence of a Syrian Kurdish enclave is also China, India, Turkey and Brazil, will con- He has made an enemy of Turkish Prime putting pressure on Massoud Barzani, the tinue to increase while new oil becomes Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as each president of the KRG, who has developed more expensive and more difficult to find. accuses the other of putting sectarian inter- a careful and harmonious relationship with Iraqi ambitions, even if exaggerated at ests ahead of regional interests and stabili- Ankara. times, are likely to make that country a ty. Turks provided refuge to the Iraqi Vice pivotal state in the global and regional oil President Tariq al-Hashimi, who escaped he waves created by sectarian and eth- equation. Already Iraqi oil production has following his indictment on charges of nic discord in Syria, however, will be overtaken that of neighboring Iran. helping Sunni death squads to operate in Tmost harmful to Iraq. Syria’s intrinsic Baghdad. This increasing regional rift may power, role and influence in the region are Both Syria and Iraq are situated on the be music to the ears of many Iraqi Sunnis, vastly overestimated. The belief that Syria Sunni-Shi’a fault line. As contentious the who have been heard saying, in effect, “the is the “heart of the Arab world” reflects the current sectarian-driven conflict may be in Ottomans are back in Istanbul, the dramatic magical thinking that permeates Syria, the Shi’a offshoot there, the ruling Umayyad are about to re-conquer the region. Hafez al-Assad, the current Alawis, constitute a small minority, maybe Damascus, and next Sunni Abbasid power President’s father, played on this to suc- 12 percent of the total population. The will return to Baghdad.” cessfully marshal Syria’s meager resources Alawis owe their privileged position to into what appeared to be a winning diplo- Hafez al-Assad, who as an Alawi general A Sunni victory in Damascus will neces- matic strategy. He understood that Syria’s went about systematically embedding fel- sarily mean a shift in the regional sectarian importance was directly tied to Israel, so low Alawis in senior positions throughout balance of power. Sunnis in Iraq have also he crafted a spoiler’s foreign policy in part the security bureaucracy. The security revived the idea of seeking autonomous by nurturing both Hizballah and Hamas agencies also became a source of jobs and arrangements like the KRG, something (although Israeli missteps had much to do upward mobility for poor Alawis, as well they had violently supressed earlier. What with the emergence of both) and employed as allied minorities like Druze and some is at stake is the 1916 Sykes-Picot Anglo- them to fashion a “rejectionist bloc” that Christians. The state assumed a sectarian French-drawn regional boundaries. Having included Iran. This more than anything character. The Syrian uprising, if success- “lost” Syria, Iran’s natural reaction will be else made Father Assad and Syria actors of ful, will result in the Sunnis toppling the to double down in Iraq, where it already consequence on the international stage. In Alawi-dominated state. has a great deal of influence. It will want turn, this bought him time and peace at Iraq to provide strategic depth. It is even home not just to consolidate his and his In Iraq the situation is different. The Shi’a conceivable that Tehran will create a Shi‘a family’s rule but to also bat away criti- majority (some 55 percent) has finally analogue of the Brezhnev Doctrine—once cisms of mismanagement and the lack of assumed power thanks in large measure to a government is Shi‘a, it stays Shi‘a, even economic progress. In one sense at least, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. It has if we have to send expeditionary forces to little has changed: The current President’s been difficult for Iraqi Sunnis to accept the keep it that way. Will the neighbors stand defensive narrative on the Syrian civil war rise to power of the Shi’a majority after idly by if this were to occur? emphasizes only one issue: Syria’s critical having enjoyed unrivaled power through- role in the rejectionist front against Israel, out Ottoman rule and since Iraqi independ- Iranian behavior even well short of a mili- whose supporters are claimed to be the real ence. Many Sunnis in the region, not just in tary intervention can mightily complicate source of opposition to the government. Iraq, perceive themselves in a Manichaean matters in Baghdad as Maliki tries to navi- struggle with the Shi’a and their powerful gate treacherous waters: He will not III

62 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

III want to appear to be in Tehran’s nize its Turkish ally, KRG leader Barzani indeed counseled Turkish Kurds to settle pocket while trying to extend a branch to has been careful not push the independ- with Erdogan on account that he is the Sunnis, something that will be extremely ence issue. Tensions with Baghdad are most likely and capable Turkish Prime difficult in any case. Iraq will therefore mounting beyond the oil and gas issue. Minister. So far, feeling the winds of become the new front line in the Sunni- KRG claims to Kirkuk and other parts of change at their backs, the PKK and its Shi’a war, and one naturally expects the northern Iraq not formally under its feder- supporters in Turkey have appeared most Saudis and other Gulf countries to pour al sovereignty lurk behind all questions; reluctant to take this advice. This reluc- resources into this conflict even beyond these were supposed to have been tance and Erdogan’s mismanagement of those they are already putting forth. resolved through a referendum that kept the situation have led to increased ten- being postponed. In November 2012, a sions and hostilities. All this puts Barzani he intensification of the Sunni-Shi‘a skirmish between KRG military forces and the KRG in an impossible situation, conflict in Iraq also has repercussions and the Iraqi police risked flaring into a and were the Syrian uprising to end with Tfor the KRG. Buoyed by increased oil ear- major confrontation until cooler heads on an all-out Arab-Kurdish clash in that nings, the KRG has done well but has both sides prevailed. Complicating mat- country, the region could be faced with a found itself increasingly at odds with the ters further for Iraq is the precarious new ethnic conflagration, and its first central government in Iraq. The explora- health of its President, former Kurdish casualty would be the tenuous stability of tion and sale of oil and gas, as well as the leader, Jalal Talabani, who has not only Iraq. federal competencies and disputed territo- managed to get Maliki and the Kurdish ries, mainly those claimed by the KRG, leadership to compromise but has also erhaps few countries today are as sus- are among the issues that divide the worked hard to contain sectarian tensions. ceptible as Iraq to the meddling of governments in Erbil and Baghdad. The Poutside powers. The Iraqi government has Iraqi government has threatened interna- The Kurds of the region are not united, to fend off the encroachment of states that tional companies doing business in the and therein lays the greatest challenge for fear the implications for their own domes- petroleum sector in KRG territory without Barzani. The Syrian uprising has brought tic politics of developments in Iraq. its permission. Still, several big interna- that country’s Kurds to the forefront. Outside meddling is not always motivated tional oil companies, including Biding their time, they have so far by expansionary or grandiose goals but ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total, have remained largely on the sidelines of the sometimes by defensive ones. Saudi decided to risk Baghdad’s wrath as they Syrian civil war, mistrustful of both sides. Arabia, most of the Gulf countries and elected to expand their investments in the Syrian Kurds are themselves divided by Jordan fear the consequences of Shi’a KRG, sometimes by abandoning or sel- geography and political allegiances. The power; Iranians, Turks and Syrian have ling their assets in southern Iraq. largest and most powerful organization is eyed Iraqi Kurds with a great deal of the PYD, the Democratic Union Party, consternation because of the demonstra- The KRG has also pursued a policy of which is affiliated with the PKK. Barzani tion effects of their successes. That said, rapprochement with Ankara despite the has tried to bring the PYD and its much the complexity of Iraqi domestic politics latter’s deepening problems with its own weaker opponents, the KNC, Kurdish also means that different internal groups Kurdish minority. Ankara, long opposed National Council, together on a number of seek the patronage and meddling of the to Kurdish ambitions in northern Iraq, has occasions, but with limited if any success. outside powers. Turcoman groups have made its peace with the KRG, hoping that The PYD’s brand of Kurdish nationalism closely aligned themselves with Turkey under the careful leadership of Barzani is at odds with that of Barzani’s: The and have occasionally entangled Turkish Iraqi Kurds will cooperate with Turkish Syrian group, while not participating in authorities in their dangerous plans. efforts to contain both the Turkish any violence against Turkey, nevertheless Kurdish insurgent group, the PKK, head- has declared its allegiance to the jailed Even the United States, by virtue of its quartered in the mountains of northern PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. long occupation of Iraq, has a stake in that Iraq, and Turkish Kurds’ increasingly country that exceeds its traditional region- bolder demands. Turkish companies have In effect, there is a clash between two al interests, whether in balance of power found a welcome haven in the KRG; from forms of nationalisms. One is pan- or stability. The descent of Iraq into civil banks to consumer durable makers to con- Kurdish, leftist and militant, the other is war and chaos would be particularly dam- struction firms, hundreds if not thousands prudent, centrist and privileges the inter- aging to Washington’s self-image, domes- of Turkish companies are now doing busi- ests of the KRG above all else. The PYD’s tic politics and, of course, its international ness with Iraqi Kurds. Turkey, with its resistance to Barzani is curious consider- standing, precisely because it has invested expanding need for energy, is also eyeing ing the Iraqi Kurdish leader’s political and so much blood and treasure there. the KRG’s carbon resources for both its economic assets: He is, after all, in control own needs and for shipment into Europe. of a territory that is welcomed in many Following the most recent Iraqi parlia- In the struggle between Erbil and capitals, including Washington, and pos- mentary elections, the United States, Baghdad, Ankara is increasingly siding sesses significant oil-derived resources. Turkey and the Iranians were heavily with the Kurds. Strengthening the KRG is The pragmatic thing for Syrian Kurds in involved in influencing the composition a way for Ankara to weaken Maliki. the aftermath of the Syrian uprising would of the governing coalition. The unavoid- be to gravitate toward the KRG in search able proliferation of outside actors in Iraq Although the KRG has no intention at the of resources and protection. But the slow does not bode well for the future of Iraqi present time of initiating a process that but forceful gathering momentum of the cohesion. It may be that Iraq is destined would lead to de jure independence and Turkish Kurdish nationalist movement to break up, but, if this is the case, the sig- hence the formal territorial breakup of and its transformation into a autonomy- nificance of the Syrian crisis is that it can Iraq, it will not shy away from declaring seeking one is casting a long shadow. The certainly hasten the process. independence were Iraq to fall victim to Turks had hoped that both Barzani and centrifugal forces emanating from the Talabani, would exert a calming influence Sunni-Shi‘a conflict. Reluctant to antago- on Turkish Kurds; both leaders have

63 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti DECEMBER 26, 2012

A worker at Tawke oil field in Iraq impasse Iraqi Kurdistan. DNO is producing costing $20 100,000 bpd at Tawke but pro- million a day duction could be higher, says the Hadeel al Sayegh company, if it was thenational.ae not hampered by bureaucracy. raq is losing US$20 million (Dh73.5m) a day, Sebastian Meyer / cutting into the country's budget, after oil Corbis Iexports from the Kurdish autonomous region halted because a deepening political crisis is delaying payments. At the heart of the dispute are fundamen- tally different approaches in giving foreign Kurdish ministry of natural resources, said the ged. companies access to the fields. regional government had no choice but to halt Iraq exports 2.6 million bpd of crude and Kurdistan grants companies production- exports after Baghdad failed to fulfil a commit- will increase this to 2.9 million next year, Mr sharing agreements in which companies can ment to pay 1 trillion Iraqi dinars (Dh3.16 bil- Qassem said. The nation's average crude take a share of the output. In contrast, lion) owed to companies working in the region output is 3.2 million bpd. Capacity is 3.4 mil- Baghdad uses a service-contract model that for their output. Mr Balo said it paid only lion bpd and will increase to more than 3.5 pays foreign partners a per-barrel fee, which 650bn dinars. million in 2013, he said. many executives say is not high enough to The US majors ExxonMobil and Chevron, Political tensions peaked after central and compensate for the risk involved. along with the French major Total, have ange- Kurdish forces, called the Peshmerga, cla- "The Kurdish authorities have committed red Baghdad by signing oil deals with KRG shed for the first time last month. The presi- to 200,000 barrels a day [bpd]. If we take an this year without the central government's dent, Jalal Talabani, of Kurdish origin and average of $100 for the price of oil, that's permission. seen as a unifying force among rival factions, taking $20 million from the budget," said The political row has had major repercus- asked forces on both sides to exercise res- Abdel Ilah Qassem, the adviser to Baghdad's sions for Sharjah-based Dana Gas, an explo- traint and patience. deputy prime minister for energy affairs rer and producer, which was forced to restruc- Mr Talabani suffered a stroke and was Hussain Al Shahristani. ture its $1bn sukuk after disruptions in pay- hospitalised last week, before being sent to "It's a political crisis, one that even the ments from Iraq and Egypt. Germany for care leaving political matters on politicians don't know how long it will take to In April, the Kurds stopped the exports of hold. resolve." around 100,000 bpd due to delays in pay- Iraqi Kurdistan has aligned its economic Crude exports halted on Saturday, the ments. Four months later, exports resumed. foreign policy with Turkey. The autonomous latest show of hostility between Iraq's central That allowed the Kurdish and central govern- region plans to build an independent oil pipe- government and the Kurdish Regional ments to reach a new agreement on payment. line in the next two years, Ashti Khawrami, the Baghdad says the subsequent suspension of Kurdish natural resources minister, told Government since the withdrawal of US N forces last year. payments was because the Kurds were pum- Bloomberg last month. Ali Hussein Balo, the adviser to the ping less than the 200,000 bpd they had pled-

December 28, 2012

fabric) by playing on sectarianism and spreading the poison of division damages the interests of all, and whoever does this Iraq militia issues threat will not be safe from harm." Asaib al-Haq fighters broke away from against Turkish interests anti-U.S. Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army. The militia, one of several in AGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi militia on foreign oil firms. Iraq, is well-organised but its numbers are Thursday issued a threat against Turkish Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan unknown. interests in Iraq, responding to what it descri- this week accused Iraqi premier Nuri al- B Another source of tension between bed as Turkey's "blatant interference" in the Maliki's government of behaving in a secta- Baghdad and Ankara is the presence in country's internal affairs. rian manner and warned Iraq was in danger Turkey of fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tareq Relations between Turkey and Iraq have of being plunged into strife like that in neigh- al-Hashemi, who has been sentenced to been deteriorating over the past year, with bouring Syria. death in Baghdad on charges of running the two countries trading accusations of inci- "We refute and denounce the recent death squads. ting sectarian tensions, and summoning comments of the Turkish prime minister and Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim who fled to each other's ambassadors in tit-for-tat consider them a blatant interference in the Turkey earlier this year when Shi'ite-led Iraqi manoeuvres. internal affairs of Iraq," read a statement authorities sought his arrest, has denied the Ankara has angered Baghdad by cultiva- released by Asaib al-Haq, which carried out charges against him and accused Maliki, a ting close ties with Iraq's autonomous some of the most prominent attacks on forei- Shi'ite Muslim, of conducting a political Kurdish region, which has defied the central gners during the Iraq war. I witch-hunt against Sunni opponents. government by signing contracts with "Any attempt to rip apart (Iraq's national

64 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December 27, 2012 Syrian conflict threatens to fracture Iraq Semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government are on a collision course as the Kurds increasingly side with the Syrian opposition and Baghdad stands by the Assad regime.

"Maliki is worried about the emergence of a post-Assad Sunni Islamist order in Syria... he finds that he has to support Kurdish Peshmerga soldier Assad by default. This puts him de holds a Kurdistan flag in facto in the Iranian camp and in conflict August during a deploy- with Turkey." ment in the area near the northern Iraqi border with The Iraqi Kurds are at the opposite end Syria, which lies in an area of the equation from Maliki. Though disputed by Baghdad and Turkey treats its own Kurdish popula- the Kurdish region of tion poorly, the KRG's deep mistrust of Ninawa province. Baghdad has seen a tactical relationship AzadLashkari/Reuters/File developing between Ankara and Erbil and, by extension, the regional Sunni By Mohammed A. Salih powers backing the Syrian uprising. Christian Science Monitor The emerging sectarian alliances have prompted Baghdad and the KRG to Although the majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, Hiltermann says the rbil, Iraq — In September, as the throw themselves into opposing camps KRG's interest is not about religion, but Iraqi government reached one of in the Syrian war, creating conflicting an attempt to further nationalist goals. itsE lowest points in relations with interests in the supposedly unified "They [Kurds] have long-term aspira- Turkey in years, Ankara welcomed Iraqi country. tions to independence, and today this Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani means allying themselves with Turkey, as a guest of honor at a convention hos- As regional and Western diplomats which is encouraging them to take dis- ted by the ruling Justice and point fingers at Iraqi Prime Minister tance from Baghdad," Hiltermann says. Development Party. Nouri al-Maliki for aiding embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – a Although Iraq's constitution gives the The semi-autonomous Kurdistan charge which Baghdad vehemently federal government theoretical control Regional Government (KRG) in northern denies – Iraqi Kurds are increasingly of the country's foreign policy, the KRG Iraq and the federal government in involved with the opposition, lured by seldom defers to Baghdad on matters Baghdad have not seen eye to eye for the possibility that in a post-Assad of international relations. years, and the gap between the two is Syria, Kurds there might achieve some now widening, particularly when it degree of autonomy. That would allow Iraq's Kurds have enjoyed a high level comes to foreign policy. That's been put the KRG to expand its foothold. of autonomy in northern Iraq since the in stark relief by the ongoing civil war 1990s, when the West backed a no-fly in Syria, which has shifted the fortunes The KRG has hosted leaders of the zone to protect the Kurds during an of Iraq's Kurds. Syrian opposition in its regional capital, Erbil, much to Baghdad's dismay. It has uprising against Saddam Hussein's regime. The KRG has its own diplomat- A decade ago, Iraq was a Sunni Arab- also lent support to Kurds in northeast- ic representatives in some key interna- dominated dictatorship that shared ern Syria – Barzani publicly admitted in tional capitals – Washington, London, many problems with the Sunni Turks to July that his government is providing Paris, and Moscow among them – and the north. Both countries had restive them with military training. And now more than 20 countries, including the ethnic-Kurdish separatist movements some of the Kurdish factions there are US, have diplomatic missions in Erbil. and uneasy relations with their Shiite holding talks with the mostly Arab and Persian neighbor, Iran. Syrian opposition to decide whether and how to join them in the fight To say that Baghdad has a problem with the KRG's overtures to the Syrian oppo- Today, Iraq has a Shiite-dominated gov- against President Bashar al-Assad, even sition and its backers is to put it mild- ernment that is close to Tehran, which though the relationship between the ly. is supporting Syrian President Bashar two camps has been strained by several al-Assad's regime in Syria's civil war. bouts of fighting. "They have completely gone their way Turkey, still eager to prevent Kurdish and are sometimes on a collision line separatist sentiments within its bor- "The Syria crisis is forcing everyone with the federal government [in ders, now sees the Iraqi Kurds as a around Syria to choose sides," says Baghdad]," says Saad al-Muttalebi, a potential ally in opposition to the inter- Joost Hiltermann, who follows Iraq for prominent figure in Maliki's ➼ ests of Iran, Baghdad and Damascus. the International Crisis Group (ICG).

65 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

➼ coalition. "Unfortunately the KRG based coalition government in Baghdad, made the energy-thirsty Turkey more behaves as if it's an independent state but day after day we see it becoming interested in developing closer ties with and sets up its own international poli- more autocratic," Safin Dizayee, the offi- the KRG without much regard for cies... without any consideration to the cial spokesperson for the KRG, told The Baghdad's opposition. Erbil has been central government." Monitor at his office in Erbil. happy to go along.

Politicians in Baghdad are particularly "[Iraq's] foreign policy is determined not But for a country with a long history of unhappy with KRG's closer ties to by the institutions of the state, but by internal conflict and instability, the cur- Turkey, which harbored exiled Sunni certain individuals within the state or a rent regional shift may not pay off in the Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi certain party," Dizayee explains, refer- end. after he fled Iraq earlier this year. Mr. ring indirectly to Maliki and his Shiite Muttalebi, who used to serve as an advis- Dawa Party. "And when it comes to the "Baghdad and Erbil are taking decisions er to Maliki, lashed out at Turkey for policy of that party toward Syria, that that they believe will enhance their choosing "an unwise course of action" might be actually questionable." regional and domestic positions," says and "misusing its relations with Iraq." Ahmed Ali, a Middle East analyst at Turkey's annual trade with Iraq stood at Georgetown University. But in a region But Erbil sees Ankara as a critical coun- around $11 billion in 2011, according to of ever-shifting alliances, there is danger terbalancing factor against Baghdad, Turkish government's figures, but in charting "domestic policy while think- which the Kurdish government accuses Kurdish officials say about 70 percent of ing that regional alliances are perma- of being increasingly heavy-handed. the trade occurs with the Kurdish nent and will help them fulfill their region. The discovery of large oil plans." Ë "It is true that there is a federal broad- reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan has only

December 28, 2012

of them looking for jobs, according to Khider Domle, a Kurdish journa- list. "There is no food now, everything is expensive, there is no work," Domle said. "A lot of them cross because they think they can find a job here." Others, like Mohammed, come to escape the fighting. The Syrian Kurd , who studied in the city of Aleppo, talks about snipers, bombardments and the daily sense of fear.While war was raging in Aleppo, Mohammed's native region of northeastern Syrian, where the bulk of Syria's Kurdish minority resides, had remained calm. But the violence between the regime of President Bashar Assad and the opposition has since spread north. SYRIA CLASHES WITHIN THE OPPOSITION "They attacked my home and stole everything from my home an des- troyed my shop," Mohammed said, referring to the Syrian insurgents. In the past few weeks there have been repeated clashes between Syrian Kurds caught up in rebels and supporters of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). The PYD is an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group which has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The PYD is also midst of Syrian believed to be an ally of Assad, whose regime has largely withdrawn from the Kurdish territories over the past few months leaving the PYD in conflict charge. This is apparently the reason why the Syrian rebels have been trying to drive back the Kurdish militia. According to Assos Hardi, publisher of the northern Iraqi newspaper Awene, the PKK is playing a "dangerous game." Hardi fears that the col- Naomi Conrad lapse of the Assad regime might make life even more dangerous for Kurds in Syria, as the rebels might want to take revenge on them. A GROWING number of Syrian Kurds are fleeing to northern Iraq. But the Syrian civil war is also splitting the Kurds. There have been They are afraid of being caught up in a civil war between Syrian reports of clashes among different Kurdish groups. The reason: In addi- rebels and Kurdish fighters. But also fear neighboring Iran may be tion to the PKK and PYD, the Kurdish government of northern Iraq has drawn into the fighting. also been playing a role in the conflict. According to Hardi, by suppor- "They force you to shoot and kill children, women and men, but I was ting the rebels the government is seeking to ensure its influence in not able to do that," Mohammed said. In order to avoid conscription in Syria's Kurdish territories after the downfall of Assad. the Syrian Army, he managed, under the cover of darkness, to sneak Mohammed said the current situation has him scared. across the border into northern Iraq. The 27-year-old engineer has been "The Free Syrian Army will kill us because we are Kurds," he said, refer- living in a refugee camp located in the small town of Dohuk since April. ring to the radical factions within the rebel groups. Every day there are hundreds of people who, like Mohammed, decide to cross the border into neighboring Iraq. He said none of his friends joined any of the fighting sides, but that he initially supported the uprising against Assad. According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are around 67,000 Syrian refugees living in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Many "We had nothing under Assad," he said. "We were not allowed to

66 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

speak our own language or say anything against the regime." Assad regime. On the other hand, the Kurdistan Regional Government seems to sympathies with the Syrian rebels." A FURTHER ESCALATION? More than anything, Mohammed wants to be able to go back home to Domle was hopeful that an agreement reached between the various his parents and five sisters, who still live in Syria. But he said he Kurdish factions at the end of November will last. However, his col- believes it will take a while until calm is once again restored. I league Hardi was less optimistic. He said he fears further escalation of the conflict, possibly even between the northern Kurdish govern- ment and the central government of Iraq. "The government in Baghdad is closely affiliated to both Iran and the

December / 28 / 2012

Thousands bid farewell to Kurdish politician Elçi

Thousands of people attend the funeral ceremony for mosque. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Şerafettin Elçi, also a Kurd and who is receiving care a prominent in a German hospital following a Kurdish politi- stroke, sent a wreath. cian, that was The flag of the outlawed Kurdistan held in his Workers’ Party (PKK) was hung brie- hometown of fly on two occasions from the walls Cizre in surrounding the mosque, while the Şırnak. AA portrait of its jailed leader, Abdullah Photo Öcalan, appeared at the moment the coffin entered the mosque. “He was the uncle of my friend. for speaking in Kurdish to constituents [He was] a very good person. I am not Hürriyet Daily News / Barçın Yinanç from Diyarbakır who did not know a Kurd but he cared a lot for me,” said Turkish. Yalçın Yardımcı, who is currently wor- İZRE -Thousands flocked to the While the CHP was represented by king as a notary in Kızıltepe, a mainly streets of the southeastern district a delegation headed by two deputy Kurdish town 170 kilometers away of Cizre yesterday to bid farewell to late leaders, it was the pro-Kurdish Peace C from Cizre. politician Şerafettin Elçi, one of the and Democracy Party (BDP) that no “’We are the last generation [that most iconic figures of the Kurdish poli- doubt enjoyed huge popularity, as co- can] solve this problem,” Elçi said in tical movement in Turkey. leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and his last public statement. Elçi, who died on Dec. 25, was Gültan Kışanak, along with many “This is very important. I have buried in his native town of Cizre in high-level figures, were applauded by been in Kızıltepe for three-and-a-half the province of Şırnak, where his body thousands as they approached the years and our work is very difficult will be “washed by the waters of the mosque where the religious ceremony with the new generations,” Yardımcı Tigris,” according to his wishes. was held. said. “I believe people are here to salute “His presence served as a bridge the courage that brought him from the KRG OFFICAL AT FUNERAL between two communities that are desk of the ministry to a prison cell,” increasingly falling apart,” said said Hüseyin Aygün, a lawmaker of A delegation from Masoud Gencay Gürsoy, a human rights acti- the main opposition Republican Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party vist. “I hope his last statement will People’s Party (CHP) and part of a (KDP), to which Elçi was known to be [encourage] the current political younger generation of politicians close, also came to Cizre from northern G elites.” advocating Kurdish rights. Elçi caused Iraq. Flags of the Kurdistan Regional turmoil in the 1970s when he said, “I Government (KRG) were seen in the have Kurdish origins” – the first-ever hands of several children, while a big- member of Turkish Parliament to ger one led the group that brought the openly declare his Kurdish roots – and coffin to Ulucami, a 12th-century

67 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti .sa* Abdallah, un djihadiste antichiite en Syrie

Des centaines de combattants étrangers sont venus prêter main-forte à l'ASL contre le régime « impie » de Damas

Reportage le fait que le logement et l'automo¬ quej'aifait,c'estenpensantauxlar- hadistes étrangers venus en Syrie bile étaient « neufs ». On ne sait pas mes des enfantssyriens »,se conten- combattre contre le régime Selma (Djebel Akrad, Syrie) ce qu'il est advenu de la femme. te-t-il de répondre quand on lui « impie» de Bachar Al-Assad. Très Envoyé spécial C'est son premier djihad et demandeles raisons de son engage¬ Abdallah ne voulait pas s'encom¬ ment. Joufflu et un peu corpulent, Là guerre qu'Abdallah Avant de partir pour la brer de tout ce qui pourrait lui don¬ il n'a pas l'allure d'un combattant est venu mener est un guerre sainte, Abdallah s'est nerlanostalgied'une « vieconforta¬ aguerri. C'est plutôt un jeune hom¬ séparé de tout : « Son appar¬ ble». Il s'est dit qu'un petit pécule me de 26 ans à peine sorti de l'ado¬ djihad contre l'hérésie tement, sa voiture et sa femme». en liquide ne serait pas de trop en lescence, l'ovalede sonmenton sou¬ chiite, pire, à ses yeux, C'est lui qui énumère, précisé¬ Syrie. Il a également vendu son ligné par un collier de barbe. ment dans cet ordre. Il insiste sur magasin de parfumerie. «Tout ce Il est l'un de ces centaines de dji- que l'impérialisme occidental Les combats gagnent la région alaouite, méfiant, Abdallah ne consent qu'à

donner un' prénom, probable¬ ctur et bastion du système Assad ment faux. Il ne veut pas dire de quelle ville il est originaire en Ara¬

C'EST UN NOUVEAU développe¬ bie Saoudite, ni par où il est passé de Jisr Al-Choughour, attaquant 45 000 morts. Les massacres com¬ ment dans le conflit syrien. Désor¬ pour arriver en Syrie. « Dieu » a sur leur passage les villages alaoui¬ munautaires, à l'instar de celui mais, la rébellion, qui s'enhardit donc guidé ses pas, probablement tes, qui se vident de leurs habi¬ d'Houlaen mai (108 morts, princi¬ de semaine en semaine, s'attaque via Antakia, dans le sud de la Tur¬ tants à l'approche de l'Armée palement sunnites) et de celui d'A¬ au « réduit » alaouite, cette zone quie, jusqu'au djebel Akrad, un syrienne libre (ASL). Au centre, ils qrab (125 à 150 personnes, essen¬ montagneuse et côtière dont la massif montagneux du nord- s'attaquent à des villages isolés. tiellement alaouites, semble-t-il), population est considérée comme ouest de la Syrie presque entière¬ L'armée a repris mercredi le 11 décembre dans des circons¬ acquise au régime du président ment aux mains de la rébellion. La 26 décembre Maan, une localité tances encore troubles à ce jour, Bachar Al-Assad. frontière turque n'est pas ouverte alaouite tombée aux mains des risquent de se multiplier. La montagne alaouite et la ban¬ à cet endroit-là, mais les passeurs rebelles deux jours plus tôt. L'influence croissante du de maritime, qui court de Tartous la franchissent sans difficulté, sur¬ Front Al-Nousra, qui vient d'être à Lattaquié, sont souvent présen- tout dans le sens Turquie-Syrie. Massacres communautaires classé par Washington comme . tées comme l'ultime refuge possi¬ Abdallah dit être arrivé seul, à Cette stratégie a trois objectifs. organisation terroriste en raison ble du clan au pouvoir, qui y titre individuel, pas en groupe. A Elle vise d'abord à empêcher le de sa proximité idéologique avec aurait stocké une grande quantité chaque question précise, il esqui¬ régime de se constituer une zone Al-Qaida et de la présence de d'armement lourd. Les alaouites, ve et répond par une généralité de repli homogène. L'insurrection nombreux djihadistes étrangers communauté dont est issu le clan appuyée d'une sourate du Coran, est ainsi en passe d'empêcher tou¬ en son sein, ne va certainement Assad, originaire du village de Qar- dont l'exactitude laisse parfois te continuité territoriale entre pas apaiser les choses : l'obses¬ daha, relèvent d'une branche dissi¬ dubitatifmais qui enimpose beau¬ alaouites de Syrie et de Turquie. sion anti-alaouite - et par exten¬ dente du chiisme et seraient sou¬ coup à ses coreligionnaires Ensuite, ces attaques mobilisent sion anti-chiite - y est aussi forte, dés parla solidarité confessionnel¬ syriens. A l'évidence, sa motiva¬ des forces au moment où l'insur¬ sinon plus, que le rejet du régime tion est avant tout religieuse. «Le le face à une insurrection essen¬ rection intensifie sa pression sur de Damas . Le 21 décembre, le Prophète -la paix et la miséricorde tiellement sunnite et de plus en la capitale, Damas, et continue de conseiller spécial de l'ONU pour soitsurLui-aditquel'arméedel'is- plus fondamentaliste, au point de tenir une bonne partie d'Alep. la prévention du génocide a mis lam reviendrait un joursur terre et tenir les alaouites et les chiites Car le régime ne peut laisser les en garde contre les risques de que ce retour commencerait au pour des «apostats». localités alaouites sans défense : représailles qui pèsent sur les pays de Cham [le nom arabe de la Attaquer la région alaouite, elles fournissent l'essentiel des communautés minoritaires en Syrie]. C'est pour cela que je suis c'est donc viser le csur du systè¬ forces armées qui combattent Syrie :.« Je suis profondémentpré¬ ici. » Il n'aime pas désigner la Syrie me puisque c'est là que se recrute aujourd'hui sur le terrain. Ce occupépar lefait que des commu¬ par son nom officiel, trop occiden¬ l'essentiel des officiers et des serait une trahison qui ne passe¬ nautés entières risquent de payer talisé à son goût. Et il parle de « la recrues fraîches qui tombent cha¬ rait pas dans une communauté le prix des crimes commispar le terre des deux sanctuaires» que jour sous les balles de l'insur¬ loin d'être enthousiaste envers gouvernement syrien », a souli¬ (La Mecque et Médine) pour évo¬ rection. Dans le djebel Akrad et le Bachar Al-Assad, mais solidaire gné Adama Dieng dans un com¬ quer son propre pays, l'Arabie djebel turkmène, à l'extrême pour l'instant face à la menace muniqué. Saoudite. Pieux à l'extrême, il for¬ nord-ouest de la Syrie, mais aussi sunnite. « Le conflit est devenufranche- ce d'un regard un combattant à dans la région centrale de Hama, Enfin, il y a une dimension psy¬ ment communautaire dans sa éteindre sa cigarette à peine allu¬ les insurgés n'hésitent plus à atta¬ chologique non négligeable dans nature », déplorent, quant à eux, mée. «Haram » : c'est péché. quer des villages alaouites. Dans ces attaques. Les insurgés veulent les membres de la commission Abdallah n'a jamais songé à se le Nord-Ouest, les insurgés, en faire payer à leurs voisins le prix d'enquête indépendante sur les rendre en Egypte, en Tunisie ou position de force sur les hauteurs, de la répression qu'ils subissent droits de l'homme pour le comp¬ même en Libye au début des révo¬ s'approchent peu à peu de Latta¬ depuis plus de vingt et un mois et te des Nations unies en Syrie.» lutions arabes qu'il a suivies pas¬ quié, la principale ville côtière, et qui a déjà causé plus de Christophe Ayad sionnément à la télévision. Mais

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

quand les troubles ont éclaté en moins, ils ne cherchent pas à nous La plupart des combattants aguerris, notamment Syrie, son sang de fidèle n'a fait convertirau christianisme. » les Tchétchènes, les Libyens ou les qu'un tour. «Je savais par mes Ses opinions reflètent fidèle¬ djihadistes étrangers Irakiens. Ils préfèrent partir com¬ ment la rhétorique haineuse du amis syriens en Arabie Saoudite sont arrivés à partir battre à Alep, théâtre de féroces que la Syrie étaitdirigépar un régi¬ cheikh Aarour, un religieux salafis¬ combats urbains depuis me opposé à l'islam. Aller à la priè¬ te syrien installé en Arabie Saoudi¬ du mois de mars 2012, juillet 2012. D'autres sont «utili¬ te depuis le début delà révolte, d'où re de l'aube ou le simplefaitdépos¬ lorsque la rébellion sés » pourmenerdes attentats suici¬ séder un ouvrage sur la vraie reli¬ il délivre ses prêches anti-alaouites des, surtout par le Front Al-Noùsra. gion [c'est-à-dire, pour lui, l'islam sur une chaîne de télévision par s'est militarisée Abdallah, lui, est avant tout un sunnite dans sa version la plus satellite. Maisellesrejoignentaussi idéologue. Peu expérimenté mili¬

. rigoriste, le wahhabisme] estpassi¬ celles du pouvoir saoudien, qui ne ticulier,etles Maghrébins, engéné- tairement, sans connaissance ble de trois ans de prison. Lesfilles ménage pas son soutien à la rébel- ral, forment le principal contin¬ sérieuse du terrain et de la société n'ontpas le droitdeporterie voileà lionsyrienne, pourfaire pièceàl'al- gent de djihadistes internatio¬ syrienne, il contribue essentielle¬ l'école, comme chez vous, en Fran¬ liance stratégique entre le régime naux venus en Syrie. La plupart ment à radicaliser ses coreligion¬ ce», croit-il savoir. de Damas et l'Iran, l'ennemi juré sont arrivés à partir du mois de naires par un discours anti-alaoui-

Pourlejeune homme, qui se pré¬ des monarchies du Golfe. mars 2012, lorsque la rébellion te sans nuances. Assis aux côtés sente comme un «salafiste», la Arrivé il y a quelques mois en s'est militarisée, contrairement d'Abdallah, Moataz, son ami Syrie est dirigée par des «apos¬ Syrie, Abdallah prétend avoir aux affirmations du gouverne¬ syrien qui semble en voie de « sala- tats», des «chiites», auxquels il appris le maniement des armes ment syrienquiadécritle soulève¬ fisation » accélérée, paraît moins

assimile la confession alaouite de lors d'une courte formation avec la ment, dès ses premiers jours en tranché dans ses positions : «jesais

la famille Assad au pouvoir. Et la brigade Souqour Al-Ezz (les Aigles mars 2011, comme une entreprise qu 'ily a des alaouites qui sontpour

guerre qu'il est venu mener est un de la volonté) et se vante d'avoir de déstabilisation menée par des la révolution, et des sunnites qui djihad contre l'hérésie chiite, bien participé, début septembre à l'as¬ « bandes armées salafistes » défendent le régime», concède-t-il. pire, à ses yeux, que l'impérialis- saut victorieux contre la position venues de l'étranger. Abdallah quittera la Syrie, non me occidental. A la question de gouvernementale de Burj Al-Qas- Abou Burhan, un ancien officier pas à la chute du régime mais à « la savoir ce qui est pire, de l'invasion sab. Son groupe de combattant déserteuraujourd'hui à la tête d'un conversion du pays au vrai islam », de- l'Irak par George Bush ou de la (katiba) compte moins dedixétran¬ groupearmé à Selma, assure contre c'est-à-dire l'instaurationde la cha- répression de Bachar Al-Assad en gers sur une centaine de membres, toute évidence n'avoir vu aucun ria (loi islamique). Moataz lui cou- : Syrie, Abdallah répond sans hési¬ assure-t-il, sans qu'il soit possible étranger dans le djebel Akrak : «Je pe la parole : «Nosfrères étrangers ter une seconde: « Bachar est pire de vérifier. Et son compagnon suis contre la présence de combat¬ quitteront lepays quand le régime . parce qu'il se fait passer pour un syrien, Moataz, assure que le nom¬ tants étrangers. Ils ne connaissent sera tombé. La suite, c'est aupeuple musulman et qu'il cherche à bre de combattants étrangers ne pas le pays, viennent avec des idées syrien d'en décider librement.» convertir les sunnites au chiisme. dépasse pas 10% dans les différen¬ loin de notre culture. Ce n'est pas Pourune fois, c'estau tourd'Abdal¬ Les Américains, ce sont des enne¬ tes katibas du djebel Akrad. d'hommes que nous manquons lah d'opiner en silence. mis et des mécréants, mais au Il semble que les Libyens, en par- mais d'annes. » Certains sont des Lewis Roth,

gw^l Turquie/PKK : un responsable turc confirme des négociations avec Ôcalan

ISTANBUL, 31 décembre 2012 (AFP) Ôcalan, qui purge une peine de prison à vie depuis 1999 sur l'île-prison d'Imrali, dans le nord-ouest de la Turquie.

Les parties à la négociation espèrent mettre à profit la trêve de fait imposée par UN RESPONSABLE TURC a confirmé lundi une information de presse fai¬ l'hiver pour parvenir à un accord débouchant sur un désarmement des rebelles sant état de discussions entre les services secrets turcs et le chef empri¬ du PKK au printemps, indique Hûrriyet. sonné des rebelles kurdes, Abdullah Ôcalan, avec pour objectif le désar¬ mement de l'organisation. Sont notamment en discussion le sort des cadres du PKK, qui seraient accueil¬ lis par un ou des pays tiers, la Turquie recommandant que cet exil n'ait pas lieu "Ce sont les services de renseignement qui sont en pourparlers avec lui (...) dans un pays limitrophe de son territoire, comme l'Irak ou les rebelles disposent L'objectif est le désarmement du PKK (Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan, inter¬ de camps, ou en Europe, souligne le journal. dit). Tout dialogue en ce sens qui peut aboutir à un arrêt des violences est sou¬ tenu par le gouvernement", a déclaré Yalçin Akdogan, principal conseiller poli¬ Ôcalan réclame de son côté une amélioration de ses conditions de détention, un tique du Premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. contact direct avec son organisation et des gestes en faveur de la minorité kurde pour la convaincre du bien-fondé de ce désarmement, ajoute le quotidien. M. Akdogan, qui s'exprimait sur la chaîne de télévision d'information NTV, a estimé qu'"Ôcalan était toujours l'acteur principal" pour régler le conflit kurde qui M. Erdogan a mentionné vendredi dans une interview télévisée la poursuite perdure depuis 1984, tout en émettant un doute sur son influence sur les d'entretiens avec Ôcalan, sans en préciser la nature.

quelque 2.000 militants retranchés dans le nord de l'Irak, d'où ils attaquent la "Les rencontres sur l'île se poursuivent parce que nous devons obtenir un résul¬ Turquie. tat. Tant qu'il y a une lueur (d'espoir) nous poursuivons ce processus", a-t-il

"Il faut voir comment Qandil (zone montagneuse irakienne où se trouve ie com¬ déclaré.

mandement militaire du PKK) va réagir à ce processus", a-t-il dit. Une précédente tentative de négociation avec le PKK en 2009 avait échoué.

M. Akdogan, qui est aussi député du Parti de la justice et du développement Le conflit kurde en Turquie a fait, selon l'armée, plus de 45.000 morts. Les (AKP, issu de la mouvance islamiste), au pouvoir, s'est voulu "réaliste" et a rebelles ont d'abord revendiqué l'indépendance du Sud-Est anatolien, peuplé en estimé que l'arrêt des combats entre les forces turques et les rebelles n'était pas majorité de Kurdes, avant d'évoluer vers une demande d'autonomie régionale. pour demain. En parallèle au dialogue amorcé avec Ôcalan, l'armée turque continue de com¬ "Il ne faut pas donner de faux espoirs au peuple. Soyons réalistes. A court terme, battre les rebelles, a précisé M. Akdogan, qui a fait état de 10 rebelles abattus cela ne paraît pas faisable", a-t-il souligné. lundi à Lice, dans la province de Diyarbakir (Sud-Est anatolien).

Il a cependant insisté sur le fait que l'usage de la force "ne suffit pas pour en finir Les rebelles ont été tués au cours d'une opération menée conjointement par des avec le PKK", qui a engagé une lutte armée contre les forces d'Ankara il y a près unités des forces spéciales de l'armée de terre, de la gendarmerie et de la de 30 ans. police, secondées par des miliciens kurdes pro-Ankara et disposant d'un soutien

Selon le quotidien Hûrriyet, des responsables du MIT, l'Agence nationale du ren¬ aérien, a annoncé dans un communiqué le gouverneur de Diyarbakir, Mustafa seignement, se sont entretenus pendant quatre heures le 23 décembre avec Toprak. L'opération se poursuit, a ajouté le gouverneur, o

69 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti December 28, 2012 Tens of thousands of Iraqi Sunnis rally, intensifying pressure on Shiite-led government

KARIM KADIM , Associated Press

ALLUJAH, Iraq – Tens of thousands Fof Iraqi Sunnis angry over perceived second-class treatment by the Shiite- led government massed along a major western highway and elsewhere in the country Friday for the largest protests yet in a week of demonstrations. The well-organized rallies, which took place after traditional Friday prayers, underscore the strength of a tenacious pro- test movement that appears to be gathering support among Sunnis, whose sense of grie- vance has been increased by arrests and prosecutions that they feel underscore Shiite political dominance. The biggest of Friday's demonstrations took place on a main road to Jordan and Dec. 28, 2012 - Protesters chant slogans against Iraq's Shiite-led government as Syria that runs through the cities of Fallujah they wave national flags during a demonstration in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, and Ramadi in the Sunni-dominated desert Iraq. (AP) province of Anbar, west of Baghdad. Several thousand protesters took to the streets in Fallujah, holding aloft placards fall of the regime." bout of unrest, the demonstrations also tap declaring the day a "Friday of honor." Some Thousands likewise turned out in the into deeper Sunni fears that they are being carried old Iraqi flags used during the era of northern Sunni towns of Tikrit and Samarra, marginalized by the government of Prime former dictator Saddam Hussein, whose where they were joined by lawmakers and Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Although the Sunni-dominated government was ousted in provincial officials, said Salahuddin provincial government includes some Sunni Arabs and the U.S.-led invasion nearly a decade ago. spokesman Mohammed al-Asi. Kurdish officials as part of a power-sharing agreement, it draws the bulk of its support At a conference in Baghdad, Prime Others raised the current flag, which was from Iraq's majority Shiites. approved in 2008. A few hoisted the banner Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned against a of the predominantly Sunni rebels across the return to sectarian conflict and cautioned Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, another border who are fighting to oust Syrian that the country is close to returning to the top-ranking Sunni politician, is now living in President Bashar Assad. "dark days when people were killed because exile in Turkey after being handed multiple of their names or identities." death sentences earlier this year for alle- Massive crowds also blocked the high- gedly running death squads -- a charge he He also used the occasion to take a jab way in Ramadi, further to the west, to dismisses as politically motivated. demand "fair treatment" from the govern- at the protesters in Anbar. Sunni-dominated Anbar province has ment and the release of prisoners, said Dhari "Nations that look for peace, love and been the scene of several large demonstra- Arkan, the deputy governor of Anbar pro- reconstruction must choose civilized ways to tions and road blockages since last Saturday. vince. express themselves. It is not acceptable to The vast territory was once the heart of the express opinions by blocking the roads, "The people have demands that must be deadly Sunni insurgency that emerged after encouraging sectarianism, threating to met by the Baghdad government immedia- the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. tely or these demonstrations will spread launch wars and dividing Iraq," he said. nationwide," Arkan said. "The people can "Instead we need to talk, to listen to each Al Qaeda is believed to be rebuilding in bring down the regime, just like what happe- other and to agree ... to end our diffe- pockets of Anbar, and militants linked to it ned in other Arab Spring countries." rences." are thought to be helping Sunni rebels in Syria. In the northern city of Mosul, abound The demonstrations follow the arrest last 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets to week of 10 bodyguards assigned to Finance denounce what they called the sidelining of Minister Rafia al-Issawi, who comes from Sunnis in Iraq and to demand the release of Anbar and is one of the central government's Sunni prisoners. As in protests earlier in the most senior Sunni officials week, demonstrators there chanted the Arab While the detentions triggered the latest Spring slogan: "The people want the down-

70 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 31 December 2012

including a wide range of social Marking a new epoch in Kurdish history? groups. The members could be tribal leaders and urban educated young, the traditionalists as well as modernists, the conservatives The legacy of Mam Jalal as well as Marxists. A political government - was characterized party can impossibly include all by civil war between these two these current at the same time The Kurdish Globe main organizations in South. without internal conflicts. As By Behrooz Shojai mentioned before this motley However, the outcome of this crowd could impossibly co-exist political constellation showed to within the same political party, be not only good but a sheer the intellectuals and leftist finally resident Jalal Talabani, or necessity after the constitutional left the party or were perhaps Mam (Uncle) Jalal, as his implementation of the Kurdistan forced out of the party. friendsP and foes call him, marked Region within a Federal Iraq. a new epoch in Kurdish history. Mam Jalal has in two ways sup- Mam Jalal and his father-in-law This is true not only for Southern ported the consolidation of Ibrahim Ahmad headed the Kurdistan but for all of greater Kurdistan Region since 2003. "renegades". It is also important Kurdistan. Mam Jalal started his Firstly, his office as President of to acknowledge the role of Mam career as a member of the Iraq gave a strong Kurdish hand Jalal in the resumption of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Baghdad. Without a strong Kurdish national movement in (KDP), advancing as the first Kurdish presence in Baghdad the the South in the aftermath of chairman of KDP's Youth organ- Kurdish region would probably 1975's collapse. Betrayed by ization and later on as a member not have the strength and the Iraqi President and Head of allies, frustrated and disillu- of its politburo. There was how- power it has now. As a political Patriotic Union of Kurdistan sioned, the KDP leadership had ever a split between the members veteran with tremendous cultural Jalal Talabani. PRESS PHOTO almost submitted to the circum- of politburo and the head of competence, Mam Jalal has been stances. I can't imagine that with- party, the late Mustafa Barzani. able to tackle many problems out the emergence of PUK in with various political factions in 1975 the KDP would resume the Mam Jalal along with the left Baghdad. constituted the greatest peace- struggle again. The PUK was not wing party members left the keeping force in Iraq. He has only a new ignition of Kurdish KDP in 1966. Mam Jalal eventu- No other figure could be a better been the only one who, as the national movement, but also a ally founded the Patriotic Union representative of the New Iraq President of Iraq, could satisfy home for a new generation of of Kurdistan (PUK), an umbrella than Mam Jalal. With his com- all constituent parts of Iraq. alienated Kurdish patriots. organization which comprised of promising approach and his several Kurdish leftist parties in familiarity with the ways of the For Kurdish concern, the exis- PUK could coordinate and incor- the aftermath of 1975's break- world, he has probably changed tence of PUK has been important porate the efforts of several down of Kurdish nationalist the world's impression about for the process of democratiza- Kurdish leftist organizations, movements. The split of Kurdish Iraq, which was characterized by tion in Kurdistan Region. PUK's who by then would never find an national movement in southern a tyrant like Saddam. As a talent- foundation was necessary for the ally within the KDP and their Kurdistan had direct implications ed political personality and cul- diversification of political atmos- scattered struggle would be wast- on other parts of Kurdistan. After turally competent leader, Mam phere for the Kurds in the South. ed. Mam Jalal's PUK became 1975's organizational split in the Jalal could interact with adven- The armed conflict that resulted eventually an asylum for a new south, a whole set of organiza- tures and eccentric dictators in after its foundation should rather generation of Kurdish national- tions were founded on the basis Middle East, relating to the be ascribed to the assabiatic and ists. KDP members may be of of their allegiance to either the words of Imam Khomeini with- parochialist political culture of other opinion, but PUK's emer- KDP (called Melayis, indicating out any difficulties, as well as the Kurds in the South. In the gence and ideas profoundly the title of Mulla Mustafa interacting with political leaders peaceful Kurdistan Region, Mam helped to improve KDP's politi- Barzani) or PUK (so called in the West without any problems Jalal's PUK has played a major cal structure, ideas and democra- Jalalis relating to Jalal Talabani). of miscommunication due to his role in the consolidation of the tization of its body. PUK was the extended knowledge of western practice of democracy. Even the necessary opposition that KDP The Marxist organizations in way of thinking. emergence of Change List, head- needed to ransack and reform northern Kurdistan were conse- ed by Nawshirwan Mustafa, the itself. PUK set about a mecha- quently pro-PUK and center-left Mam Jalal has been the most tal- former ally of Mam Jalal and the nism of checks and balances in organizations were pro-KDP. ented head of state in Iraq, a fact political theorist of PUK, should the Kurdish politics in the South. The same could be said about that the Kurds should take pride be ascribed to the existence of The existence of PUK improved Western and Eastern Kurdistan. in. His ethnic background never PUK and Mam Jalal. The the accountability of the Kurdish This was important for the dem- constituted any bias in his deci- Change List is the only opposi- political body. The Kurdish soci- ocratic development of the sion-making, on the contrary his tion party in the Kurdistan ety is characterized by a diversi- Kurdish national movement, Kurdish background made him Parliament. No doubt, Mam ty of political communities were although it implied armed con- equally distanced to both Shiites Jalal's PUK has been of immense Mam Jalal created a political flicts between various Kurdish and Sunnis in Iraq. It also elimi- importance for the sake of space for this diversity. organizations that cost the nated a conflict-triggering situa- Kurdish democracy. Kurdish people the life of thou- tion between Shiites and Sunnis, Mam Jalal marked a new epoch sands of their youths. This bipo- who equally claim that the presi- Since the foundation of KDP in in the Kurdish history that even- lar political culture could be dent should be of them. His 1946, a new generation of Kurds tually ended in more democrati- quite fruitful for the Kurdish office as President of Iraq satis- comprised of highly educated zation of the Kurdish movement. democracy if the Kurds had a tra- fied also Kurds and gave them a individuals had entered the dition of democratic interaction, sense of psychological recover- party's political body. Until 1966, but in absence of such, the 1990s ing from Saddam's rule of terror. the KDP was the only political - the first period of Kurdish self- Overall, Mam Jalal alone has current in Southern Kurdistan

71 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti DECEMBER 21, 2012 An Interview with Nechirvan Barzani: Will There Be an Independent Kurdistan? think building this pipeline could By Jay Newton-Small threaten the integrity of Iraq?

rbil —If there is one man who Barzani: That’s a joke [chuckles]. No, deserves the credit for the growing really, that’s a joke. First of all everybody Turkish-Kurd rapprochement, it’s knows and realizes Turkish policy. Turkish PrimeE Minister Nechirvan Barzani of Iraqi policy is against any Kurdish independ- Kurdistan. Five years ago Kurds and for- ence, I mean it’s obvious. So this is the fate eigners alike laughed in his face when he that we have been given. Turkey has always told them that not only did he want Iraqi had that power, that authority to militarily tive. When we agreed to all these 14 points Kurdistan to export its own oil, but that he stop us. I will gladly say the opposite. What he rejected it. We don’t know what formula wanted to export it to Turkey, which has threatens Iraq’s integrity is the perform- that we use to create an understanding. But had an intractable problem with its own ance of Prime Minister Maliki in Baghdad. of course we’re expecting these things to large Kurdish minority. Barzani’s strategy Maliki wants to utilize that campaign happen. We knew that after the withdrawal was one of patience: starting with confi- against us. We have a door of hope, which of the American troops, things would dence-building with the Turks and then is Turkey. And if that door, that hope is change and this would be a normal thing to coaxing small oil companies and then larg- closed, it will be impossible for us to sur- happen in Iraq. America came to this coun- er ones to risk Baghdad’s ire to drill for oil render to Baghdad. We will do something try, spent huge amounts of money and have not only in the autonomous region but in that will put in danger the interests of all sacrificed lives. But they handed over the territory disputed by both Barzani’s gov- those concerned. keys to others. ernment and the Iraqi central government. Barzani sat down with TIME on December TIME: Is it ironic that you’re pinning TIME: To the Iranians? 13 to talk about the Turks, his stormy rela- your hopes on Turkey, given how tionship with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri badly they have treated the Kurds in Barzani: I said to others, okay [laughs]. al-Maliki and the potential for an inde- the past? Whatever problems, whatever you like, pendent Kurdish state–and how that would they have left all these problems behind. I’ll affect members of the non-Arab ethnicity, Barzani: Things have changed in Turkey. pose a question: Why did you come to Iraq? which lives in Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria. It’s very simple. Turkey needs something What’s the reason? If the only intention He spoke sometimes in English and other that it doesn’t have. We need certain things was to hand over Iraq’s keys to others, then times through the translation services of that we don’t have. This has been the prop- why did you come? Why? This is really the his Foreign Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir. er understanding on both sides. And it question for Americans. Therefore, Below are excepts from that interview: doesn’t have anything to do with politics. America is also responsible for the situa- It’s an economic matter. They would like, tion and what happens now. There is a TIME: My understanding is that the and we would like likewise, to achieve moral responsibility on the United States. people laughed at you when you first progress. Because Turkey is a very impor- Because until the last moment when then suggested that Kurdistan drill and tant country for us. Of course if we are able Americans were here they did not help us to export its own oil. True? through economic cooperation to further solve these problems. And they knew that develop this relationship, we will certainly these were problems that would linger. Barzani: That’s true [laughs]…. We start- do it. How does Baghdad act? Baghdad believes ed with small projects. Small companies. I or perceives that they will be stronger, but mean of course always we’ve been accused TIME: You have a large number of especially I’m talking about Prime Minister of bringing small companies but now we Iraqi troops mustered at your bor- Maliki, he’s waiting for F16s and M1 tanks, have big companies like Exxon Mobil, der, could this turn into a war? and being in that strong position to come Chevron, Total, Gazprom. It has been and talk to us. To impose a solution on us. changed a lot. The total investment so far in Barzani: They are not far from each other, Imposing any kind of solution would create spending has been about $15 billion. $15 the forces. But let me discuss that in a dif- a problem on the ground. There has to be billion they spending in this country. It’s a ferent way. Unfortunately, Prime Minister an agreement, a compromise. We are ready lot of change. But of course we have a long Maliki wants to create tension in these for that. We know that we cannot solve this way to go – this is not all. So the first com- areas. We sent our own delegation to problem through who’s strong and who’s pany that we started with was a Norwegian Baghdad. They had a memorandum of 14 weak. Ok, we have to be ready for compro- Company called DNO. Of course at the points. Our military forces and the Iraqi mise, both sides. And we as the KRG are beginning there was a huge campaign on side, both sides of the military they had ready for that, we’re ready for dialogue, for me personally as well [saying that] I’m cor- agreed on that. And we were pleased that compromise, for talk, for everything. rupt, I’m benefiting from this personally, this would be implemented and the prob- stories about me personally. But I resisted lem would be solved. When we went to TIME: Will there come a point where and ignored all these accusations and we Maliki he rejected all of that. So the point is you feel you can no longer bargain continued the path. in what way he moves to solve the prob- with Maliki and it’s better to be on lems? The way we see it his is more inter- your own? TIME: The U.S. State Department ested in sorting out the differences through said they oppose the Turkish pipeline violence. The areas that are called the dis- Barzani: We have a constitution in this because they worry that it could puted territory, this is a very sensitive issue country. We will not take any other step ➼ threaten the integrity of Iraq. Do you for KRG, for Kurdish. It’s extremely sensi- until we lose hope in that constitution.

72 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti

➼ There is no doubt if and when we lose region? good opportunity. But we have a lot of chal- hope that the constitution is not adhered lenges as well. How we can – I mean an to, certainly there are other options. Barzani: Five years ago, it was so difficult, independent Kurdistan – first of all we really. Five years or more, it was difficult to have to convince at least one country TIME: Also for Turkey, the PKK are expect that, really. Because I remember, around us. Without convincing them, we here. Is that awkward? For them, for Turkey especially, they had 200,000 troops cannot do this. Being land locked we have you, for the Turks? on the border. They threatened us, we will to have a partner, a regional power to be enter here. And instead of that right now convinced and internationally, a big power Barzani: Regarding that, it’s only the issue we have almost $8 billion in trade with to be convinced to support that. What we of the PKK. Turkey has to understand one Turkey. Only with the KRG. And the major want right now is to have an economic thing: this is a political question. It cannot Turkish companies in construction, in independence within Iraq. And the biggest be solved militarily. There has to be a polit- other areas, they are active here. And for threat on Iraq’s unity is Prime Minister ical decision to solve this question. We have the opening ceremony of the new Erbil air- Maliki. Because Prime Minister Maliki is continuously raised and discussed this port Prime Minister Erdogan, he came acting very unilaterally and as a one man issue with Turkey. Always. And we will con- here. So, it’s a big change. It’s a really big show. This will not help to solve Iraq’s tinue to do so. We are attempting to play a change in terms of the relationship with problems. The Kurdish concern about role so that there will be a political solution Turkey. Maliki is not only the Kurdish concern. It for this question. you go talk to any Shi’a, Turkman, Sunni, TIME: Is it possible to say that you they have exactly the same concern about TIME: Did you imagine five years ago are closer than ever to an independ- the Prime Minister. This is the reality. that you would be receiving heads of ent Kurdistan? Everybody is unhappy with the perform- state here? That Kurdistan would ance of the prime ministe N have come so far as an independent Barzani: I believe, yes, we have a very

December 31, 2012

given better jail conditions. It said he would not talk with his lawyers or the Turkey discussing main legal pro-Kurdish party until the talks with the state were completed. Ocalan, who founded the PKK in 1974 to disarmament with fight for an independent Kurdish state, is in virtual isolation on the island of Imrali in the Sea of Marmara and has not even Kurdish leader seen his lawyers for months. Seda Sezer / Reuters peace talks with Ankara, and leaked recordings indicated that senior intelli- But after he gave the order through his gence officials had held secret meetings brother in November to end the 68-day ISTANBUL - Turkey has begun discussing with PKK leaders in Oslo. hunger strike by hundreds of PKK mili- disarmament with Kurdish militants after tants in prisons across Turkey, it was concluding that it is unlikely to defeat But the initiatives ran aground, and the obeyed immediately. them militarily, Prime Minister Tayyip last nine months have been some of the Erdogan's chief adviser said on Monday. bloodiest of a conflict that has now lasted The justice minister then said there almost three decades and claimed more would be further talks with the PKK, and The government has been in talks in than 40,000 lives, most of them PKK figh- Akdogan made clear on Monday that recent months with Abdullah Ocalan, jai- ters. Ankara saw Ocalan as its main interlocu- led leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party tor. (PKK), to end a hunger strike by jailed With any hint of concessions to the PKK PKK members, but Monday's comment fiercely opposed by nationalists, and the- Negotiations with a group designated a was the first confirmation that attempts refore politically fraught, it is not clear on terrorist organization by Turkey, the to negotiate a wider peace settlement what basis the government now considers United States and the European Union were on the agenda. it might be able to negotiate a truce. would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. "The main aim for the government is to DECLARATION But Erdogan for his part is under pressure disarm them. You cannot get results and Akdogan gave no further details but the abolish an organization only with armed to stem the violence, which has included daily Hurriyet said directors of the MIT Kurdish bomb attacks in major cities as struggle," Yalcin Akdogan said in an inter- intelligence agency had met Ocalan for view with NTV television. well as fighting in the mountainous sou- four hours on December 23 with the goal theast. He said the government was cautious of issuing a declaration on ending the about the prospects of progress: "We have conflict in the first months of 2013. Akdogan said 10 militants had been killed to see how Qandil (PKK headquarters in in fighting in southeast Turkey on "Getting the group to put down its wea- Monday. northern Iraq) will react ... The organiza- pons formed the main item on the agenda tion (PKK) also saw that they cannot get in the talks," the paper said, without spe- Erdogan's government has widened cultu- anywhere through armed struggle." cifying its sources. ral and language rights for Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of Turkey's After his capture in 1999, Ocalan let it be "If the target is achieved, the PKK, which known that he was open to a political set- 75 million population, since taking power has halted operations due to winter a decade ago. tlement that secured more rights for the conditions, would begin to disarm in the Kurds who inhabit Turkey's southeast. spring." But Kurdish politicians want greater poli- In July 2011, a month after Erdogan's AKP tical reform including steps towards auto- Hurriyet said Ocalan had demanded to be nomy for their region. G party won a third term, he proposed put in direct contact with the PKK, and

73 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti 28 décembre 2012 Les sunnites mobilisés contre le gouvernement Maliki en Irak par Raheem Salman et Kamal Naama Des sunnites AMADI, Irak (Reuters) - Plusieurs irakiens manifes- dizaines de milliers de membres de tent contre le gou- la minorité sunnite irakienne ont mani- R vernement à festé vendredi contre la politique du Ramadi, à l'ouest Premier ministre chiite Nouri al Maliki, une démonstration de force susceptible de Bagdad, le 28 de raviver les tensions religieuses. décembre 2012. Soixante-mille personnes se sont ras- REUTERS/Ali semblées à Falloudja, 50 km à l'ouest de al-Mashhadani Bagdad, sur le principal axe routier est- ouest bloqué depuis une semaine. "L'Iran dehors ! Bagdad doit rester libre !", ont scandé les manifestants, qui ont brûlé des drapeaux de la République islamique. Le mouvement a débuté la semaine J'espère que nous irons à Bagdad", a A Ramadi, chef-lieu de la province, dernière après l'arrestation de gardes du déclaré l'un d'eux. des manifestants ont défilé avec le por- corps du ministre des Finances, un sun- trait du Premier ministre turc Recep nite. Beaucoup de ses coreligionnaires, VERS UNE INTERVENTION ARMÉE Tayyip Erdogan, qui a pris fait et cause qui ont dominé l'Irak jusqu'au renverse- AU KURDISTAN ? pour l'insurrection syrienne et affiche de ment de Saddam Hussein, accusent le plus en plus ses divergences avec son chef du gouvernement de s'opposer au D'autres rassemblements ont eu lieu homologue irakien. partage du pouvoir et le jugent trop à Mossoul et à Samara, dans le Nord, où Un modeste rassemblement contre le proche de l'Iran chiite et non arabe. le slogan-phare du printemps arabe, "Le chef du gouvernement turc a en Le Premier ministre avait déjà peuple veut la chute du régime !", a revanche eu lieu à Nadjaf, ville sainte ordonné l'arrestation du vice-président retenti. chiite située à 160 km au sud de la capi- sunnite Tarek Hachémi, qu'il accuse de "Il n'est pas acceptable de s'exprimer tale. diriger des escadrons de la mort, juste en bloquant des routes, en incitant à la L'influent imam chiite Moktada Sadr, après le retrait des troupes américaines sédition et au sectarisme, en tuant, en rival du chef du gouvernement, a toute- d'Irak, en décembre 2011. sonnant la charge et en divisant l'Irak", a fois exprimé son soutien aux manifes- Un an après ce retrait, les tensions déclaré le chef du gouvernement, lors tants sunnites et a condamné la "poli- religieuses qui s'ajoutent aux conten- d'une conférence sur la réconciliation tique sectaire" de Nouri al Maliki. tieux entre Arabes et Kurdes, notam- nationale retransmise à la télévision. Le Premier ministre chercherait à ment sur le partage des revenus pétro- Ces derniers jours, des manifestants monter ses rivaux les uns contre les liers, menacent à nouveau la stabilité de sunnites ont brandi le drapeau irakien autres pour renforcer ses alliances avant l'Irak, où les violences intercommunau- en vigueur sous le règne de Saddam les élections régionales de l'an prochain taires ont culminé entre 2005 et 2007. Hussein et celui des rebelles syriens, qui et les législatives de 2014. Les manifestants réclament combattent un gouvernement lui aussi Certains commentateurs évoquent la l'abrogation d'une législation antiterro- proche de l'Iran. perspective d'une confrontation armée riste qu'ils jugent pénalisante pour les Des activistes d'Al Qaïda se regrou- avec le Kurdistan autonome pour le sunnites, et la remise en liberté de déte- peraient dans la province occidentale contrôle des gisements pétroliers du nus. d'Anbar, majoritairement sunnite, et pas- Nord, qui permettrait à Nouri al Maliki "Je suis venu à Falloudja pour expri- G seraient la frontière syrienne pour aller de rallier la minorité sunnite à sa cause. mer mon soutien à leurs revendications. prêter main forte aux insurgés.

commercial avec Bagdad, a annoncé mardi un responsable kurde irakien. Irak: Cette situation pourrait mener à une escalade des tensions, déjà vives, entre les Kurdes et le gouvernement central irakien. le Kurdistan suspend ses Depuis l'invasion américaine, en 2003, les Kurdes ont unilatéralement conclu plus de 50 ententes avec des compagnies pétrolières étrangères, exportations pétrolières et ce, même si Bagdad soutient qu'ils n'en ont pas le droit. BAGDAD - 25 décembre 2012 Associated Press En 2011, les deux parties en étaient arrivées à une fragile entente: les Kurdes exporteraient leur pétrole à Bagdad, et gouvernement central serait responsable de vendre l'or noir, puis de verser 50 pour cent des LES EXPORTATIONS pétrolières en provenance de la région du profits aux promoteurs afin de rembourser les coûts de développement. ➡ Kurdistan, en Irak, ont été suspendues en raison d'un différend En avril dernier, les Kurdes avaient cessé d'exporter environ

74 Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Özeti ➡ 100 000 barils par jour, soutenant que Bagdad avait effectué seule- septembre en ce qui a trait aux paiements», a dit le responsable lors ment deux versements et n'avait pas déboursé quelque 1,5 milliard $ d'une entrevue téléphonique avec l'Associated Press. auquel ils disaient avoir droit. Selon Ali Hussein Balo, le Kurdistan irakien exportait environ 180 000 Quatre mois plus tard, les Kurdes avaient accepté de reprendre les barils quotidiennement avant de commencer à diminuer les charge- exportations, afin de témoigner de leur bonne foi. ments. Cela avait permis aux deux parties de conclure une nouvelle entente en Il n'a pas spécifié à quel moment les exportations ont cessé, mais a vertu de laquelle Bagdad paierait environ 848 millions $ aux entreprises affirmé que cela s'était produit au cours des derniers jours. en septembre. Le porte-parole du vice-premier ministre irakien chargé de l'Énergie, Or, Bagdad a versé seulement 550 millions $ et retenu le reste de cette Faisal Abdullah, a confirmé que Bagdad n'avait pas versé la somme somme, soutient Ali Hussein Balo, conseiller du ministère kurde des d'argent dans son intégralité. Il a cependant précisé que les paiements Ressources naturelles. avaient été suspendus puisque les Kurdes n'arrivaient pas à fournir les 200 000 barils quotidiens qu'ils s'étaient engagés à exporter. Il n'a pas «La région (du Kurdistan) se voit contrainte de suspendre les exporta- H tions de pétrole puisque Bagdad n'a pas respecté les engagements pris en fourni plus de détails.

31 décembre 2012

demain. Il a cependant insisté sur le fait que l'usage de la force La Turquie discuterait "ne suffit pas pour en finir avec le PKK", qui a engagé une lutte armée contre les forces d'un désarmement avec d'Ankara il y a près de trente ans. Ocalan aurait, quant à lui, le chef du PKK déclaré qu'il devait être mis en Le Monde avec Reuters relation directe avec le PKK et que ses conditions de détention bdullah Ocalan, principale s'étaient améliorées. De telles figure du Parti des travail- négociations auraient été leursA du Kurdistan, est empri- impensables il y a encore sonné à Imrali, une île de la mer quelques années. Des contacts de Marmara, depuis son arresta- récents se sont révélés tendus, tion en 1999. Abdullah Ocalan, certains membres de principale figure du Parti des l'opposition nationaliste ayant travailleurs du Kurdistan, est fermement condamné toute emprisonné à Imrali, une île de idée de négociation. la mer de Marmara, depuis son Abdullah Ocalan, sur- arrestation en 1999. | nommé parfois "Apo" AP/Abdurrahman Antakyali ("l'Oncle"), est emprisonné à Des responsables des ser- Abdullah Ocalan, principale figure du Parti des travailleurs Imrali, une île de la mer de vices de renseignement turcs du Kurdistan, est emprisonné à Imrali, une île de la mer de Marmara, depuis son arresta- ont discuté de la perspective Marmara, depuis son arrestation en 1999. | tion en 1999. Le PKK, considéré d'un désarmement des sépara- AP/Abdurrahman Antakyali comme une organisation "terro- tistes kurdes avec Abdullah riste" par Ankara, les Etats-Unis Öcalan, le dirigeant kurde et l'Union européenne, est tenu emprisonné depuis 1999, rap- le chef historique du PKK dans porte Hürriyet. par le gouvernement central porte le quotidien turc Hürriyet le but de mettre un terme au pour responsable de la mort de lundi 31 décembre. Ces infor- mouvement de grève de la faim UN DÉPÔT DES ARMES AU plus de 40 000 personnes mations ont été confirmées observé par des centaines de ses PRINTEMPS ENVISAGÉ depuis qu'il a pris les armes dans l'après-midi de lundi par partisans dans les prisons pour obtenir l'autonomie des Yalçin Akdogan, principal turques. Le conseiller du pre- "Obtenir que le groupe Kurdes de Turquie. conseiller politique du premier mier ministre a estimé dépose les armes était le point Les rebelles ont d'abord ministre turc, Recep Tayyip qu'"Ocalan était toujours principal figurant dans l'agenda revendiqué l'indépendance du Erdogan. l'acteur principal" pour régler le des négociations, écrit Hürriyet, Sud-Est anatolien, peuplé en "Ce sont les services de ren- conflit kurde qui perdure depuis sans toutefois préciser ses majorité de Kurdes, avant seignement qui sont en pour- 1984, tout en émettant un doute sources. Si l'objectif est atteint, d'évoluer vers une demande parlers avec lui [...]. L'objectif sur son influence sur les le PKK, qui a stoppé ses opéra- d'autonomie régionale. En est le désarmement du PKK quelque 2 000 militants retran- tions à cause de l'arrivée de parallèle au dialogue amorcé [Parti des travailleurs du chés dans le nord de l'Irak, d'où l'hiver, déposerait les armes au avec Ocalan, l'armée turque Kurdistan, interdit]. Tout dia- ils attaquent la Turquie. printemps." continue de combattre les logue en ce sens qui peut abou- Les directeurs de l'agence Mais M. Akdogan, qui est rebelles, a précisé M. Akdogan, tir à un arrêt des violences est des renseignements turque aussi député du Parti de la jus- qui a fait état de 10 rebelles soutenu par le gouvernement", (MIT) ont rencontré Ocalan le tice et du développement (AKP, abattus lundi à Lice, dans le a déclaré Yalçin Akdogan sur la 23 décembre pendant quatre issu de la mouvance islamiste), Sud-Est anatolien. Une précé- chaîne de télévision heures pour travailler à au pouvoir, s'est voulu "réaliste" dente tentative de négociation d'information NTV. l'élaboration d'une déclaration et a estimé que l'arrêt des com- avec le PKK en 2009 avait Ankara a entamé ces der- sur la fin du conflit dans les pre- bats entre les forces turques et échoué. J niers mois des discussions avec miers mois de l'année 2013, rap- les rebelles n'était pas pour

75