Information and Liaison Bulletin N°333
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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.