Turkish Forum

Category: Iraq

  • The Kurdistan Regional Government Launches Oil Exports through Turkey

    The Kurdistan Regional Government Launches Oil Exports through Turkey

    The Kurdistan Regional Government Launches Oil Exports through Turkey

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 105
    June 2, 2009
    By: Saban Kardas
    The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has started to export its oil to European markets, under partnerships with Turkish and other international energy companies. Following a new consensus on the distribution of revenues between the central administration in Baghdad and the KRG, oil from the Tawke and Taq Taq fields will be transported via the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan in the Mediterranean.

    A crucial aspect of the project has been the entry of international companies into the flourishing regional economy. The KRG has tried to attract foreign investment as a means to generate wealth and consolidate its authority within northern Iraq. Having successfully attracted foreign capital, the KRG signed independent contracts for the development of the oil fields, which caused a dispute with the central Iraqi government. In May, KRG officials announced that they received Baghdad’s approval to export oil through Iraqi pipelines (www.krg.org, May 10). Although it allowed these exports, “the central government still refuses to recognize the production-sharing agreements Kurdish authorities have signed with oil firms.” This situation created uncertainty regarding the payment of foreign investors’ revenues, but the statements from KRG officials indicate that this will not become a major issue (Today’s Zaman, June 2).

    A joint venture between the Turkish company Genel Enerji, a subsidiary of the Cukurova group, and the Canadian-Swiss Addax Petroleum will run the operations in the Taq Taq field in Erbil. Their joint investments are valued at over $350 million. The Norwegian DNO operates the Tawke field in Dohuk, where the Genel Elektrik also holds a 25 percent stake (Hurriyet Daily News, June 2). The investors designate Taq Taq as “a potentially world class oil field” (www.addaxpetroleum.com). KRG sources also claim that the oil from this region is high quality and expect the new production to “improve on the overall quality of the present Kirkuk oil mix.” Oil from the Tawke field will be directly transferred to the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik through an auxiliary pipeline. As a temporary measure, the crude from the Taq Taq will first be transported by road to the existing local pipeline networks – and from there it will connect to the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik export pipeline (www.krg.org, May 8).

    Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) will market the exported oil from both fields and the revenues will be deposited in the federal account. Under the Taq Taq deal, Baghdad will receive 88 percent of the revenues, 17 percent of which will go to the KRG. Foreign investors will receive a 12 percent share. The Tawke deal reportedly has similar stipulations (www.krg.org, May 8; www.alarabiya.net, June 1).

    Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, KRG President Masoud Barzani, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, as well as other dignitaries from the KRG and representatives of the investors participated in a ceremony held in Erbil to celebrate the export deal. Talabani described this development as a “historic step” and contended that it signified how the Iraqis can work together for the prosperity of the country. In a move to allay concerns over the legality of the contracts, Talabani said “these contracts are legal, constitutional and legitimate and they are in the interests of the Iraqi people” (www.alarabiya.net, June 1).

    Earlier, one KRG representative, Halid Salih, also emphasized that they were acting within the boundaries set by the Iraqi constitution. He noted that they entered into agreements with foreign companies according to the constitution, which granted greater autonomy to regional governments to explore oil following its revisions in 2005 (Cihan Haber Ajansi, June 1).

    Echoing similar sentiments, Nechirvan Barzani described this project as a gift of the KRG to the Iraqi people. He emphasized the KRG’s respect for the central administration, but stressed how hard they worked to secure a fair share of the region’s revenues. Barzani explained that:

        “Fortunately, we possess abundant natural resources … We must use these resources … for the benefit of all the people of Iraq… We signed contracts with international oil companies in order to bring capital, technology, know-how and experience to our region and to the entire country… We are proud to contribute to Iraq’s increased production and revenues. In reality, revenue-sharing will bind us together more than any political slogan” (www.krg.org, June 1).

    Oil exports will begin at an initial rate of around 100,000 barrels per day. 60,000 barrels will be pumped from the Tawke field, while the remaining 40,000 of the light crude will come from the Taq Taq field. Havrami said the crude exports from both fields are expected to reach 250,000 barrels per day within one year, 450,000 barrels per day by the end of 2010 and 1 million barrels per day by 2013. According to current price estimates, within four years, the annual revenues from exports might reach $20 billion (www.tempo24.com.tr, June 2).

    This agreement highlights the prospect for mutually beneficial economic cooperation, if internal political disagreements are set aside. Since the country urgently needs revenues to recover from the effects of a devastating war, the wealth brought by the oil exports might offer further incentives for political reconciliation, and help heal the feud between the KRG and the central administration. Nonetheless, it remains unclear how other political actors within the Iraqi political scene will react. Other than President Talabani, himself a Kurd, non-Kurdish members of the Shiite Arab dominated Iraqi central government did not attend the ceremony, which might indicate some enduring disagreement. Similarly, Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani also reportedly questioned the legality of the KRG’s deal.

    In any case, such joint projects have the potential to boost not only ties between the KRG and the central administration, but also Ankara’s relations with both the KRG and Baghdad. Economic collaboration serves as a major driving force to sustain the existing security cooperation partnership within the region (EDM, April 13).

    https://jamestown.org/program/the-kurdistan-regional-government-launches-oil-exports-through-turkey/
  • Turkey lets more water out of dams to Iraq – MP

    Turkey lets more water out of dams to Iraq – MP

    reuters* Iraq MP says Turkey boosts river flow, after complaints

    * MP says still falls short of amount needed

    * Iraq facing “catastrophe”, water boss says

    By Muhanad Mohammed

    BAGHDAD, May 23 (Reuters) – Turkey has boosted the flow of the Euphrates river passing through its dams upstream of Iraq to help farmers cope with a drought after Iraqi complaints, but it is still not enough, a top Iraqi lawmaker said on Saturday.

    Iraq is mostly desert and its inhabitable areas are slaked by the Tigris, which comes down from Turkey, the Euphrates, also from Turkey but passing through Syria, and a network of smaller rivers from Iran, some of which feed the Tigris.

    Iraq accuses Turkey, and to a lesser extent Syria, of choking the Euphrates by placing hydroelectric dams on it that have restricted water flow, damaging an Iraqi agricultural sector already hit by decades of war, sanctions and neglect.

    The dispute is a delicate diplomatic issue for Iraq as it seeks to improve ties with its neighbours and Turkey is one of Iraq’s most important trading partners.

    Saleh al-Mutlaq, leader of a Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, said he flew to Turkey on Friday and met Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul to ask them to release more water from the river, which has been depleted by a drought.

    “They have since increased the quantities of water coming to Iraq by 130 cubic metres per second,” he said.

    “It’s not enough, but it has partly solved the water problems preventing our farmers from planting rice,” he said.

    That makes the flow of water to Iraq 360 cubic metres per second, up from the 230 cubic metres per second that Iraq received before Turkey took action.

    Iraq’s director of water resources, Oun Thiab Abdullah, said last week that Iraq faced a catastrophe this summer unless Turkey triples the Euphrates water flow. A drought has already withered crops and created severe water shortages. The river has dropped 35 percent since January, Abdullah said.

    Iraq wants Turkey to let 700 cubic metres per second out, almost double what now flows through even after the increase.

    Iraq’s parliament voted last week to force the government to demand a greater share of water resources from neighbours upstream of its vital rivers, Turkey, Iran and Syria, turning up the heat on long running disputes.

    They agreed to block anything signed with the nations not including a clause granting Iraq a fairer share of river water.

    Turkish firms dominate northern Iraq’s economy and Turkish firms have billions of dollars of contracts in Iraq.

    Some 400,000 barrels of Iraqi oil a day — more than a fifth of its exports — are piped through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Jon Hemming)

    Source: www.reuters.com, May 23, 2009

  • DEBKAfile Exclusives in Week Ending May 20, 2009

    DEBKAfile Exclusives in Week Ending May 20, 2009

    Summary of
    Washington threatens to evacuate three US bases over Qatar’s pro-Iran policy May 15: The Obama administration has secretly warned Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani that he risks losing the three big American bases located in the emirate if he persists in promoting Iran’s radicalizing influence over Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians.

    An American military withdrawal from the emirate, especially the big Al Odeid air base and Central Command headquarters, would be a crushing blow to Al Thani. It would leave Qatar and the rest of the Gulf unprotected in any military conflagration in the region over Iran’s nuclear program.

    It alarmed Emir al Thani enough for him to takes steps, one of which was to direct the news editors of al Jazeera TV station, which he owns, to moderate the anti-American line of its English and Arabic language broadcasts.

    May 15 briefs: – Egyptian security officers uncover big arms cache near Israeli border in Sinai.
    It contained 260 rockets, 40 mines, 50 mortar shells, anti-air missiles.
    They were bound for Hamas in Gaza Strip.
    – Pope winds up five-day visit to Israel, Palestinian territories Friday noon.
    – Tony Blair to US Congress: Neither Israelis nor Palestinians want to resume peace talks.
    They must be pushed.
    Israel will never accept a Palestinian state without a stability guarantee.
    – US Federal court refuses Palestinian Authority appeal against $116 m compensation for couple stabbed to death in 1996 terror attack.

    US upholds Israel’s nuclear position as long as Iran enriches uranium 16 May: This statement by a senior American official in Vienna paves the way for an Israeli request to extend the 40-year old “ambiguity” arrangement approved by Obama’s predecessors for its nuclear program.

    The senior US official, addressing preparatory talks for a nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference in 2010, made it clear that US arms control negotiator Rose Gottermoelle did not break new ground last week when she urged presumed atomic powers India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea to join the nuclear non-proliferation pact. He said: The four presumed nuclear nations were unlikely to join the NPT “until there is a change in the overall political and security context.” He added: “In the particular case of the Middle East, Israeli adherence to the NPT is only going to be possible in the context of… full compliance with [the treaty in the region].”

    Establishing a Middle East nuclear weapons-free zone “depends on Iran fully complying with its NPT obligations and suspending uranium enrichment.”

    Jordan’s Abdullah appoints his 9-year son crown prince, sacks Hazme
    DEBKAfile Exclusive Report     17 May: Jordan’s King Abdullah II has been hyperactive on the Palestinian issue in the last few days to draw attention from a highly controversial decree which has taken Amman by storm: the appointment of his 9-year old son, Hussein, as crown prince, after summarily sacking from the post his 27-year old half-brother Prince Hazme, son of King Hussein and US-born Queen Noor, who lives in America.

    This decision has aroused a major to-do in the royal court as well as opposition in Jordan’s government and military elite. They fear Abdullah’s his appointment of a young child as first in line to the throne will plunge the kingdom into a period of instability. They also accuse him of breaking a deathbed promise to his father.

    When King Hussein knew he was dying of cancer in 1999, he pulled the post of crown prince from his brother, Prince Hassan, and passed it to his own son, Abdullah, against a pledge to appoint Prince Hamze next in line to the throne.

    May 17 briefs: – Hatred of Jews intensifies among Israeli Arab community, according to a new poll.
    Increased numbers – 40% – deny Holocaust and the Jews’ right to a state.
    – Israel registers 3.4 percent negative growth in first quarter.
    Exports drop 48 percent as recession begins to bite.
    – Netanyahu to visit Sarkozy in Paris in two weeks.
    – Al-Shabab militia captures key Jowhar town north of Mogadishu from Somali government troops. – Netanyahu arrives in Washington for talks with Obama Monday.
    He will also meet Gates, Clinton, Jones and national American-Jewish leaders.
    – First women elected to Kuwait parliament.
    Sunni parties lose 10 of 21 seats, Shiite minority doubles representation to nine.
    – Egypt finds half-ton Hamas weapons cache near Gaza border – second Egyptian haul in a week.
    – Peres meets Jordan’s Abdullah in Amman.
    – Arab League Secy Amr Musa: Main ME concern is nuclear Israel not Iran.

    US-Israel summit shadowed by Obama’s soft stand on Iranian enrichment
    DEBKAfile Exclusive Report     18 May: DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that the gap between US president Barack Obama and Israel prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Iran was wider even than on the Palestinian issue.

    Overshadowing their outwardly easy conversation was the US president’s growing inclination to meet Iran halfway on uranium enrichment. He is seriously considering taking up the Anglo-German proposal for an international monitoring mechanism strict enough to preclude Iran’s attainment of weapons-grade enriched uranium after being advised by US intelligence and nuclear experts that this is feasible.

    Israeli intelligence and military experts take the opposite view. They believe the Anglo-German plan gives Iran the perfect cover for concealing its race for a nuclear bomb, a misgiving shared by the political and military establishments of the moderate Arab governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

    It is their view that if Obama adopts this plan, Iran can be sure of arriving at a nuclear weapon capability by the end of 2010, after winning six clear months for moving forward.

    No agreement on Iran, Palestinians in Obama-Netanyahu talks 18 May: US president Barak Obama stood by his demand for a Palestinian state while Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu continued to avoid this formula in their talks at the White House Monday, May 18, their first since both took office.

    They agreed that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat not only to Israel and the US but a destabilizing factor for the world and the region. However, Obama said he is in the process of reaching out to Iran and is confident he can persuade its leaders that a nuclear bomb is not in their interest either. These talks can’t go on forever,” he said: “At the end of the year we’ll see where we stand.”

    Netanyahu was less sanguine: “A nuclear-armed Iran which calls for Israel’s destruction is unacceptable and would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella.”

    The US president called on Israel to stick to the road map as “ratified at Annapolis” (which Netanyahu has rejected) and stop settlement activity. The Palestinians must fight terror. Obama pledged US involvement in peace talks as a strong partner.

    Netanyahu said he was ready to start talks with the Palestinians immediately. He wanted the Palestinians to rule themselves, but peace means they must recognize Israel as a Jewish state with the right to defend itself and live in security.

    Both agreed that Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia should be constructively involved in the Israel-Palestinian peace track and do more to develop relations with Israel at the outset.

    Nasrallah places his Hizballah on war preparedness
    DEBKAfile Exclusive Report     18 May: During a videotaped speech haranguing Israel for staging threatening military maneuvers, Hizballah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah Monday night, May 18, ordered a call-up of reserves and placed his terrorist militia on war preparedness.

    Our military sources reported that Hizballah was exploiting the alleged flight of suspected Israeli spies from Lebanon across the border into Israel to wind up border tension.

    On May 18, Elie al-Hayek, 49, a mathematics professor from Qleia, who walks on crutches, fled to Israel with his wife and three children after being accused of spying for Israel along with 13 other Lebanese nationals. Hizballah’s Al Manar TV claimed that two more suspected spies escaped Monday and several last week. Beirut has lodged a complaint with UNIFIL headquarters at Naqoura and demanded the escapees’ extradition.

    The spy mania gripping Beirut is exploited by the different parties campaigning for election on June 7.
    Hizballah is it and the escape of suspects to inflame border tension, and lift its image as the true custodian for the south after government and UNIFIL forces proved incapable of guarding the Lebanese-Israeli border.

    		 US Treasury targets Syria-based al Qaeda facilitator for Iraq
    DEBKAfile Special Report

    18 May: Damascus has ordered Syrian intelligence to permit Saad Uwayyid Ubayd Mujil al Shammari aka Abu Khalaf – named by Washington as the senior leader of al Qaeda’s Syria-based support network – to step up the flow of suicide bombers into Iraq to 20-30 a month.

    Abu Khalaf is a threat to “the safety of Coalition forces and the stability of Iraq,” said Stuart Levey, US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial intelligence.

    In the early stages of its diplomatic exchanges with Washington, Syrian president Bashar Assad ordered the al Qaeda facilitator to slow down the traffic of foreign al Qaeda terrorists into Iraq. But when US presidential envoys started visiting Damascus on a regular footing, he lifted these restraints. As a result, al Qaeda reactivated its smuggling route for suicide bombers, weapons and explosives through the Euphrates River into Iraq’s Anbar province.

    In April, therefore, the US military death toll in Iraq shot up to 18 – double the March figure.

    Special US Marine forces patrol the river by boat to intercept them. On May 1, a patrol was ambushed in Anbar by al Qaeda suicide killers, who left two US marines and a seaman dead after a firefight.
    Assad is not expected to heed the renewed US sanctions over his backing for terrorists. Since last year, Abu Khalaf has also been recruiting North Africans for al Qaeda’s Iraq networks.

    Diskin: Hamas will not give Mid East peace a chance, can be toppled 19 May: US president Barack Obama’s planned Middle East initiative is a non-starter as long as the extremist Hamas rules the Gaza Strip, said Shin Bet (internal security agency) director Yuval Diskin Tuesday, May 19.

    Israel must decide once and for all whether to topple the Hamas regime, which can be done without conquering the Gaza Strip, in his view. Hamas will not let go of the Gaza Strip or its fundamentalist ideology, Diskin warned, while the Palestinian Authority is equally determined to hold on to the West Bank. But if elections were held on the West Bank today, Hamas would win.

    Until Egyptian special forces clamped down on smuggling through Sinai, Hamas had managed in four months to smuggle 46 anti-air missiles, 330 mortars, 37 short-range ground missiles and 17 tons of explosives into Gaza. It is aiming for missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv, 63 kilometers away, although there is no evidence it has succeeded.”

    In Gaza City, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum forbade the Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations with the “Zionist enemy.”

    May 19 briefs: – US denies training “terrorists in Iraq’s Kurdish region” as charged by Iran, accuses Tehran of meddling in Iraq.
    – Abbas forms new Palestinian cabinet in Ramallah headed by Salam Fayyad.
    It is recognized by foreign governments but not by most of Abbas’ own Fatah party or Hamas.
    – Brown unveils major UK parliamentary reform in light of scandal over MPs’ income, allowances.
    UK Commons speaker Michael Martin forced to resign.
    – Ethiopian troops return to Somalia after Islamists seize towns from transitional government —
    – Israel’s High Court orders government to extend equal support to orthodox and non-orthodox Jewish religious bodies —

    Israeli air force hits Hamas-Gaza hard amid Lebanon border tensions
    DEBKAfile Special Report     20 May: In response to a twin Qassam missile attack from Gaza Tuesday, May 19, the Israeli Air Force went into action early Wednesday against a range of Hamas positions in Rafah, Khan Younes, Zeitun and Tufah suburbs of Gaza city and, Deir Balakh.

    DEBKAfile’s military sources also that several Sinai-Gaza smuggling tunnels, missile foundries and three Hamas command posts in Gaza City were struck in Israel’s most extensive Gaza raid since its major offensive ended in January. The Palestinians reported casualties.

    Tuesday night, the Palestinians fired a twin Qassam volley at Sderot. One missile injured a man and damaged his home.

    That morning, Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin told the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee that Hamas has cut back on its attacks because it needed a respite for rearming and regrouping after the Israeli offensive. Hamas loosed the missiles to prove him wrong and show US president Barack Obama and the Israeli prime minister Netanyahu in Washington who really called the shots in the Gaza Strip.

    After Sderot was hit, defense minister Ehud Barak and Netanyahu decided on powerful aerial retaliation.

    This was all the more necessary as Hamas was deemed to be testing the new Israeli government’s military reflexes and resolve. Another factor was the Hizballah leader’s decision of May 18 to raise border tension with Israel ahead of Lebanon’s June 7 election.

    US Vice President Biden consigned urgently to Beirut 20 May: The White House has urgently consigned vice president Joseph Biden to Beirut. He arrives May 22 to back the pro-Western government parties’ bid for re-election against Iran’s Hizballah and pro-Syrian factions, led by Gen. Michel Aoun. Lebanon’s fall into Iranian-Syrian hands would be a damaging setback for Washington.

    Senators call on Obama to take into account the risks Israel runs from a peace accord 20 May: Seventy-six US senators have called on President Barack Obama to continue to support Israel and “take into account the risks it will face in any peace agreement,” Tuesday, May 19, after meeting Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

    In a letter signed by 76 of 100 senators, Obama is told that “without a doubt, our two governments will agree on some issues and disagree on others, but the United States’ friendship with Israel requires that we work closely together as we recommit ourselves to our historic role of a trusted friend and active mediator.

    “We must also continue to insist on the absolute Palestinian commitment to ending terrorist violence and to building the institutions necessary for a viable Palestinian state living side-by-side, in peace with the Jewish state of Israel,” they wrote.

    Israel has no adequate interceptor for Iran’s new long-range missile
    DEBKAfile Special Report     20 May: DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Israel, the US and Europe were floored by Iran’s successful launch Wednesday, May 20, of a two-stage, solid-fueled 2,000-kilometer range missile, but most of all by the accuracy of its aim in destroying its target, as proudly claimed by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    US missile tracking systems confirmed the Iranian President’s boast of Sejil-2’s precision. Sounds of concern came from the Obama administration.
    Western military sources say Iran is at least two or three years ahead of Israel’s missile defenses.

    The Arrow 2 anti-missile missile system is no match for the Sejil, while Arrow 3 which would be, is still under development. Until now, the Americans and Israelis were confident that any incoming Iranian missile would veer off target and be easily intercepted. This assumption was nullified by the Sejil-2 launch.

    Iran’s feat comes at a critical time for its efforts to build a nuclear arsenal of at least 10-12 nuclear warheads. It obviates the strategic value of any understandings reached by President Obama and prime minister Netanyahu on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

    Israel marks annual Jerusalem Day

    21 May: At a national ceremony for the soldiers who died in the Battle for Jerusalem in 1967, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared at the Ammunition Hill Memorial site: “I say here what I said in the United States this week: Jerusalem will never be divided and it will remain forever under Israeli sovereignty.”

    President Shimon Peres said: “Jerusalem has never been the capital of any other nation except for the Jewish people.”

    Under foreign rule, Jews were denied access to their holy places. Today, members of all faiths are free to worship at their shrines in Israel’s capital.
  • Al-Sadr’s visit to Turkey- end to Iran’s influence in Iraq

    Al-Sadr’s visit to Turkey- end to Iran’s influence in Iraq

    al_sadr_muqtada1Azerbaijan, Baku, May 5 /Trend News, U.Sadikhova, R.Hafizoglu/

    The visit of the leader of Shiite resistance of Iraq Muktada Al-Sadr to Turkey will strengthen Al-Sadr’s position as a political leader and weaken the influence of Iran on the Shiite party of Iraq, experts say.

    “With his position, Al-Sadr showed that he moved from the level of a religious figure to the political level, Turkish leading analyst on the Middle East, Mustafa Ozcan told Trend News in a telephone conversation from Istanbul. – Al-Sadr seeks to strengthen in the internal policy of Iraq, therefore, it is not excluded that he wants to weaken the influence of Iran.

    In the end of last week, former Head of Mahdi Army, Al-Sadr, who has resisted the U.S. presence in Iraq, discussed with the Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Rajap Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara the question of establishing stability in Iraq, as well as the upcoming elections in Iraq in December 2009, TRT Russian website reported.

    Al-Sadr’s visit to Turkey was the first public appearance of the leader of the Shiite resistance since 2007, supporters of whom – “sadrities” – took 28 out of 275 seats in the Iraqi Parliament.

    Al-Sadr was the top of the list of persons searched by the USA after a series of explosions, organized by his supporters in the Iraqi cities. He also opposed the agreement on security between Baghdad and Washington, envisaging the stay of the American troops in the country by the end of 2011.

    Analysts believe that Al-Sadr is interested in strengthening ties with Ankara, which maintains the same attitude towards all political and religious groups in Iraq.

    Al-Sadr supported preserving the unity of Iraq and non-division of the country into autonomies, said Joost Hiltermann, an analyst on the Iraq policy.

    “The forces inside Iraq that save a stronger central state and the national Iraqi identity are more eager to meet with neighboring states that also saver to Iraq staying as a single country,” Hiltermann, deputy director of the Middle East program at the International Crisis Group, told Trend News in a telephone conversation from Istanbul.

    He said that it is not excluded that this visit is directed against some Iraqi Shiites, who focused on the decentralization of Iraq.

    Analysts regard al-Sadr’s position as his move from the category of religious leaders to the political category, given the dissolution of the religious Shiite movement Mahdi Army, which is based in major cities Mosul and Kerbala.

    Ozcan believes that al-Sadr wants to create a political party like the Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah.

    Al-Sadr’s interest in the upcoming elections in Iraq and the presence of 30 supporters in parliament show a desire to strengthen its position as a political leader, experts said.

    His visit to Turkey will help to join the ranks of political leaders of Iraq, to which Ankara maintains a neutral attitude, said a leading analyst for the Middle East Husni al-Makhally.

    “Visit [Al-Sadr], in Sunni country [Turkey] is very important to most of Iraq’s internal problems,” al-Makhally told Trend News over phone from Istanbul.

    He did not rule out that the visit is aimed at weakening Iran’s influence in Iraq, which is among the Shiite political and religious factions.

    Iran has close ties with Shiite communities Kerbala and Najaf, and also liaises with the Government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Shia by the origin and leader of Al-Dawa party.

    Sadrities seek to weaken Iran’s influence and consider communications between Baghdad and Ankara as important relations with Tehran, believes al-Makhally.

    Mustafa Ozcan also does not exclude that the United States welcome the visit of al-Sadr to Turkey, as it puts off Iran from the internal politics of Iraq.

    Al-Sadr himself is not enthusiastic about the influence of Iran, and therefore wants to put an end to Iran’s influence on domestic politics of Iraq “-said Ozcan.

    In March, President of Turkey Abdullah Gul traveled to Iraq – for the first time over 33 years of relations between the two countries. Ankara, receiving Sadr after President Gul’s visit to Baghdad, once again proved how important it for political unity and territorial integrity of Iraq

    Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at: trend@trend.az

    Source:  news-en.trend.az, May 5 2009

  • An aspect of the misfortune to which Kerkuk region is exposed

    An aspect of the misfortune to which Kerkuk region is exposed

    An aspect of the misfortune to which Kerkuk region is exposed: Satellite Maps of 2002 is compared with maps of 2007 

    Date: May 05, 2009

    No: Rep.9-E0509

    In the early morning of Thursday 15 April 2009, the inhabitants of the oldest Kerkuk neighborhood, Musalla, were awakened by the sound of bulldozers destroying the wall and graves of the Seyyid Kızı part of the large Musalla Turkmen graveyard.[1] The Musalla graveyard is the oldest graveyard in Kerkuk and comprises thousands of graves including those of many celebrated Turkmen. Inhabitants flocked to the area, stopping the demolition before complaining to the police office. Nevertheless, about 15 graves were destroyed.

    After investigation, it was found that an official contract was given by the chief of the Investment Commission of Endowments directorate of Kerkuk, a Kurd from Kerkuk, for the building of a commercial complex in that part of the graveyard.[2] The Commission director [3] is a Peshmerga Kurd brought from the province of Sulaymaniya during the distribution of senior posts between members of the Kurdish KDP and PUK political parties directly after occupation. The person who was given contract is a Kurd from Sulaymaniya province, too.

    This is part of policy of the Kurdish political parties, who remain alone in administering Kerkuk since the occupation in 2003, to eradicate the Turkmen characteristics of the region in their attempts to Kurdify the province, control the huge oil reserve and annex it to the Kurdish region. The names of streets, bridges, villages and sub-districts were changed to Kurdish. The signboards inside governmental offices and hospitals were changed to Kurdish, even though a large part of the Kerkuk population cannot read it. Sculptures of prominent Kurds, such as, killed-Peshmerga militants, have also been erected on the streets.

    In 2003, the first Kurds-dominated Kerkuk city council has dramatically Kurdified the administration, which was mainly distributed between the two Kurdish parties, KDP and PUK. Approximately 10,000 staff was appointed to Kerkuk governmental offices, of whom almost 80% were Kurds brought from Duhok, Sulaymaniya and Erbil. Security forces have been completely replaced by Kurds. They dominate the police system. Thousands of Peshmergas militants from other Kurdish regions are also distributed in Kerkuk province.

    Kurdish political parties have also settled tens of thousands of Kurdish families in Kerkuk province. Kerkuk’s population, which was 870,000 at the day of occupation, became more than 1,300,000, [4] Moreover, more than 100,000 Arabs have either left Kerkuk or been expelled by the Kurdish Peshmerga militants. About thirty Arab villages in the south and south west Kerkuk was evacuated. The population of some Kurdish villages has been increased several-fold, for example, Kara Injir and Shuwan.

    The incoming families have built on almost every piece of undeveloped land within Kerkuk city. [Table 1] Many large Kurdish neighborhoods and shopping centers have been erected, particularly to the east and north of Kerkuk city. [Map 1 and 2] The Kerkuk city area is increased about 20 km2 [Map 3]. These lands mostly belonged to Turkmen and also to municipality and government. The number of complaint cases which have been presented to the Property Claim Commission (PCC) in Kerkuk is about 40,000, about 80% of which are of Turkmen. The Kurdified administration of Kerkuk has continually hampered the decisions of the PCC. Today, about 20% of the cases are only completed. Many of those who win the decision of the PCC still could not get their lands.

    UNAMI office in Kerkuk

    The degree to which the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is involved in Kerkuk issues requires close monitoring of the situation in the province. Furthermore, UNAMI is going to make a historical decision on Kerkuk which is going to influence deeply all the Iraqi communities and the future of Iraq. Despite numerous calls for a UNAMI representation in Kerkuk from Arab and Turkmen groups, it was before about a year such a presence was established and it remains under resourced and challenged in meeting the requirements of the multifaceted Kerkuk crisis.

    The UNAMI representative lacks a permanent staff, and staff members are frequently replaced with others and work only two or three days in a week. Rarely can two staff members be found at the same time. There is no bureau assigned for the UNAMI in Kerkuk. A room had been assigned to UNAMI staff during the meetings of the Kerkuk Article 23 Commission in the building of the Kerkuk governorate. At the time Arab and Kurd, but not Turkmen, translators were present – making Turkmen authorities worry about the accuracy of the translation of such historical negotiations.

    Recommendations:

    ü To the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq

    · Complete the institution of UNAMI office in Kerkuk and provide it with sufficient staff.

    · Provide the office with experts in human rights, public relations, minority issues, urbanization engineers and international law.

    · Provide a Turkmen – English translator

    ü The Iraqi government

    · Provide the requirements to the Kerkuk Article 23 Commission to enable the commissioners to realize their mission

    · Realize the decision, which you made, to evacuate the governmental buildings in Kerkuk

    · Replace Peshmerga militants with Iraqi army units throughout Kerkuk province

    ü The Kurdish parties

    · Abandon the inflexible policies to assist the solution of Kerkuk problem and facilitate the reconciliation processes which certainly quicken building of Democratic Iraq and establishment of regional stability.

    ü The international civil society organizations: Human Rights Watch & Amnesty International

    · Open offices in Kerkuk to closely observe the human rights situation and huge demographical changes [Map 1, 2 and 3] and publish regular reports

    ü To the international community and authorities

    · Actively support the decisions of Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament, particularly, on Kerkuk, and provide or withdraw your support accordingly.

    ü The Turkmen and Arab groups in Kerkuk

    · Institute a well developed press office staffed with English speaking journalists to enlighten the international community about:

    o Developments in Kerkuk issues, particularly, that of the Kerkuk commission

    o The huge human rights violations since occupation, the dramatic demographic changes and the Kurdish domination of almost all power centers in Kerkuk

    ______________________________

    References:

    1. For centuries, Musalla graveyard is visited every Thursday by thousands of females of Kerkuk. Whilst such phenomenon shows the degree of importance which Kerkuk people give to the dead, at the same time, it is considered one of the very few social activities for females in such a conservative community.

    2. Kurdish families had already built tens of houses at the east and north of Musalla graveyard.

    3. It is well known that almost all the finances and lands which the directorate of endowments of Kerkuk province possesses have been donated by Turkmen.

    4. The numbers of both the Kurds and the Turkmen, who had been exiled from Kerkuk province during the Arabification policies of Ba’ath regime, were 100,000 according to the United States Special Committee for Refugees and 120,000 according to the Human Rights Watch and the Kurdish parties. It should be known that a large number of the expelled Kurdish families were not born in Kerkuk, the came to Kerkuk from other Kurdish province.

    Table No. 1. Estimated Turkmen, municipality and government lands which were appropriated by Kurdish militias and families after occupation

    Numbers
    Address

    4.784.200 m2

    Huge lands has been appropriated and built by Kurdish Peshmerga and Kurdish families:

    ü 4.085.000 m2 Second Army Corps Complexes [Map No. 4 and 5]

    ü 237.500 m2 Khalid Army center (Muasker Khalid)

    ü 305.700 m2 East and North of Musalla Graveyard [Map No. 6 and 7]

    ü 156.000 m2 Arasa Region

    1,915 Houses
    Houses of Army Corps opposite al-Hurriyya Airport:

    ü 30 Houses (300m2 each house)

    ü 30 Houses (300m2 each house)

    ü 94 Houses (450m2 each house)

    Officers Houses / opposite Army Corps:

    ü 40 Houses (400m2 each house)

    ü 23 Houses (400m2 each house)

    Officers Houses / Hay al-Wasiti:

    ü 122 Houses (400m2 each house)

    Non commissioned Officer Houses / opposite Army Corps:

    ü 124 Houses (170m2 each house)

    ü 80 Houses (150m2 each house)

    Army Flats / opposite Army Corps:

    ü 48 Houses (170m2 each house)

    The Houses of Military Bases / opposite al-Hurriyya Airport:

    ü 39 Houses (600m2 each house)

    ü 15 Houses (600m2 each house)

    Houses of Store of foodstuffs

    ü 120 houses

    Houses built on 13800 M2 Lands facing Sahat al-Tayaran

    ü 700 houses

    Houses built near al-Shamal Garage in front of Suq al-Hasir

    ü 200 houses

    Houses built at the side of Gas al-Shamal and given to Kurdish families

    ü 250 houses

    21 buildings
    Baath Party team Centers

    ü al-Arapha (Nearby the Arapha market center) – 1 floor

    ü Domiz Quarter / Behind the Dispensary by Kurdish Democratic Shabiba Union – 2 floors

    ü Iskan Quarter by a Kurdish organization – 2 floors.

    ü 7 Nisan by Kurdish families expelled from Kerkuk – 2 floors (300 m2)

    ü Shahit Mahir Center by Kurdish Shabibat Babagurgur Center – 2 floors.

    ü al-Nakhwa by Congress for the Freedom of Kurdistan / 2 floor

    ü al-Hay al-Askeri – 1 floor

    ü al-Qadisiyya al-Ula on the main street – 2 (375 m2)

    ü al-Qadisiyya al-Thaniyya – 1 (348.66 m2)

    ü Martyr Aoda in al-Qadisiyya al-Thaniyya 1 (359.36 m2)

    ü al-Hurriyya al-Ula – 2 floors

    ü al-Hurriyya al-Thaniya – 1 floor

    ü Hay al-Nasr al-Ula (412.5 m2)

    ü Hay al-Nasr al-Thaniyya – 2 floors

    ü Hay al-Hujjaj – 1 floor

    ü al-Uruba Quarter – 1 floor

    ü al-Shorja – 2 floors

    ü Hay Girnata – 1 (800m2)

    ü Sakr al-Arab – 1 floor

    ü 1 Mart – 2 floors

    ü Hay al-Nidaa – 2 floors

    15 buildings
    Government Buildings: (Few of these buildings were evacuated)

    ü General Security Directorate/close to Kerkuk Secondary School–4 floors

    ü Building of store of Ministry of defense – 1 floors

    ü al-Qudus Fidaiyyi Saddam Center in Hay al-Nur al-Thaniyya – 1 floor

    ü al-Mansur Security Directorate – 1 floor

    ü Military Guest Hose / Atlas Street 1 (800m2)

    ü Mandhuma al-Sharqiyya Lial-Istithmarat – 2 floors

    ü Kerkuk Recruitment (Tajnid) Directorate – 1 floor

    ü Arapha Security Office -1 floor

    ü Kerkuk Inspection (Jawazat) Directorate by Kurdish al-Taakhi Association – 1 floor.

    ü Iraqi Women Union by under the same name by the Kurdish authorities – 2 floors.

    ü Security Unit of Kerkuk/close to Directorate of agriculture by Kurdish Islamic Association–2 floors

    ü Center of Jerusalem Army by Center of Kurdistan Democratic Party – 2 floors.

    ü Workers Union Syndicate by Kurdish Workers Union and Faculty of Science – 3 floors.

    ü Northern Center of Ba’ath Party Organizations by Kurdish Democratic Organizations/ Faili Kurds Foundation – 2 floors.

    ü Building of store of foodstuffs

    265 shops
    215 shops were distributed to the Kurds at the Garage al-Hawija

    12 complexes
    Government complexes:

    ü Both Kerkuk Physicians and Engineering clubs were occupied by the Kurdish Parties.

    ü The Officer Housing complexes, which is turned into Kurdish Students Union Center includes:

    · Officer Hosting department

    · Officers Club

    · Officer Market

    ü The historical large Kerkuk Barracks, were taken by the Kurds and used as Kurdish Cultural Center.

    ü Gunpowder Stores – several buildings

    ü Scutcher

    ü Directorate of municipalities

    ü Directorate for social welfare in al-Wasiti neighborhood

    ü The old large prison of Kerkuk,

    ü Military Police complex in the center of the City. ± 0.5 x 0.5 km

    ü The large Olympic Sports Complex in al-Shorja neighborhood.

    ü National Kerkuk al-Sharika Sports Complex which is about 7 x 5 km2

    ü Kerkuk Sports and Youth Complex by the Kurdistan Shabiba Union. ± 0.5 x 0.5 km

    New Neighborhoods
    Neighborhoods built by Kurds

    1. Several Neighborhoods along the eastern border of Kerkuk city, which is about 25 kilometers. [Photo 1, 2 and 8]

    2. Hundreds of houses on both sides of Leylan Road

    3. Northern boundary of the city is extended about 10 km

    4. Baghdad Road neighborhood behind the Festival Stadium, a public land appropriated by Kurdish families where they built ±100 houses.

    5. Houses built in Hay al-Qadisiyya and Hay al-Askeri Neighborhoods.

    6. Along both sides of the road (± 5Km) between Shorja and al-Qadiaiyya neighborhoods

    7. Hundreds houses at the eastern side of the Musalla graveyard [Map 8]

    8. Fifty houses behind the residential apartments on the football stadium Seyyid Kizi in Musalla neighborhoods

    9. Sixty houses behind the old industry school in Musalla neighborhoods

    10. 59 houses were built near the mosque Ashra al-Mubashshara and military account headquarters

    11. 110 houses behind the police houses and in front of al-Amal al-Shaabi distributed to Kurdish families

    12. Twenty Luxury houses of Domis distributed to Kurds – Korya side

    13. Two hundreds Luxury houses of Domis distributed to Kurds – citadel side

    14. Large number sporadic pieces of lands were built by Kurdish families inside the city

    Enlarge the Map

    SOITM
    www.turkmen.nl

  • Kurdish Jewish History Arrives In Baltimore

    Kurdish Jewish History Arrives In Baltimore

    Kurdish-Jewish history preserved by author and son of an immigrant.

    Rochelle Eisenberg
    Staff Writer

    ariel-sabar

    When Ariel Sabar was growing up in Los Angeles, he was embarrassed by the exotic ways of his immigrant Kurdish-Jewish father, Dr. Yona Sabar. Dr. Sabar, a professor of Aramaic at the University of California-Los Angeles, was born and raised in the remote northern Iraqi village of Zakho.

    Years later, Mr. Sabar decided to travel to Zakho with his father. The result is “My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search For His Jewish Past In Kurdish Iraq” (Algonquin Books), winner of the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography.

    Next Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m., Mr. Sabar will speak at the Center for Jewish Education, at 5750 Park Heights Ave., about his book as part of CJE’s “On The Same Page” initiative. The program was piloted two years to bring together Jewish adults to discuss books with Jewish themes.

    The BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES spoke recently with Mr. Sabar. He worked as a journalist for 15 years, including three years as an investigative reporter at the Baltimore Sun.

    Why did you write the book?

    I was the consummate 1980s L.A. boy. I bought into the L.A. mythology. I boogie-boarded, bought my clothing at a surf shop. As I saw it through a boy’s eyes, my dad didn’t fit in. He didn’t know how to dress, he cut his own hair. I kept him at arm’s length

    The turning point in my life was the birth of my own son, Seth, in 2002. When you have your own kid, it changes your perspective of your relationship with your parents. I felt I was unfair to my own father.

    I also was drawn to the story about a forgotten-but-ancient group of Jews who were part of the oldest community of the Diaspora.

    What was your biggest surprise in Zakho?

    I heard that in Kurdistan (sic), the Jews and Muslims got along. I always was skeptical.

    People knew immediately we were Jews. The first thing the hosts said was, “Welcome to your home.” They invited us to drink tea and eat elaborate meals. There were still fond memories of Jewish life.

    Saddam Hussein tried to rename the Jewish quarter “the Liberated Quarter.” He didn’t want a trace. [After Saddam’s overthrow], my dad’s hometown went back to calling it “the Jewish Quarter.”

    What do you see as disheartening today between Jews and Muslims?

    People look at Iraq and read the headlines. There is this assumption that this was always the way, that they hated each other all the time. The story of the Kurdish Jews and the Jews in Iraq was that when the Israelites were exiled, they formed a pretty good pluralistic society. There were problems, but nothing of the scale of what was seen in Europe.

    What can American Jews learn from the history of the Kurdish Jews?

    What we can take away is the value of reaffirming our ties to our families’ histories. One of the themes of the book is that in the face of so much change, what can we hold on to? Make an effort to talk to grandparents, write down or video their stories and discus what it is about the past you want to preserve.

    Any stories from people you met on your book tours?

    Once or twice, a father of Mideastern background, in one case an Iraqi and in one case even a Kurdish Jew, said to me, “Now I have something to pass on to my child.”

    One son said, “I had no idea I had this history. I didn’t realize we had a rich past.”

    What also came out of the book tour were documents and memoirs that were given to me. I’ve became a repository of Kurdish Jews. I hope to maintain the e-mails and documents that people sent to me.

    What’s your next project?

    It was inspired by the story of how my parents met. My father was in his first year in New York and thinking of going back to Israel. America was not what it seemed. He sees a woman entering Washington Square park, taking photos of people who didn’t succeed in America. It reminded him of the Kurds in Israel. He talked to her and they got married four months later.

    I want to find other stories of people with strikingly different backgrounds, who happen to meet by chance in New York iconic public places.

    Anything else?

    A big Iraqi magazine wrote a four-page spread on the book. I have made friends on Facebook with Kurds in Turkey. An Arab radio station did a piece. The book is being translated into Hebrew, to be published later this year or early next year, and the Dutch have bought the rights to the book. You see the way the book is being received by all three faiths. It’s an affirmation.

    Source:  www.jewishtimes.com, May 1, 2009