Turkish Forum

Category: Iraq

  • Protect Iraq’s Turkmen Cultural Heritage from Barbaric “Kurdish” Terrorists

    Protect Iraq’s Turkmen Cultural Heritage from Barbaric “Kurdish” Terrorists

    by Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

    November 13, 2008

    In five previous articles, entitled “William Guthrie´s Turcomania: the Correct Name for Inexistent Kurdistan” ), “Jews and Turkmen Can Prosper Again in Tuz Khurmatu – With Turkey Annexing North Iraq” ), “Iraq´s Turkmenia to Merge with Turkey: Primary Concern of All Turks and Muslims” ), “Tombstone on Fake Kurdistan: Turkmen Political and Religious Movements in Iraq” ), and “Turkmen Culture and Literature in Northern Iraq – True Identity vs. Fake Kurdish Propaganda” ), I published the first five chapters of an insightful book published by Mofak Salman Kerkuklu, one of the Turkmen foremost intellectuals, on “The Turkmen City of Tuz Khormatu”.

    As the book bears witness to the Turkmen identity of the Northern Iraqi city, it consists in an excellent refutation of disastrous plans that provide for the formation of a fake state ´Kurdistan´ which will plunge into strife and disaster the subjugated non-Kurdish nations and ethno-religious groups, either those identified as unrelated (Turkmen, Aramaean, Jewish) or those labeled “Kurds” (Zaza, Sorani, Yazidi, Ahl-e Haq, Feyli, etc.).

    In the present article, I publish the book´s sixth and seventh chapters, which are dedicated to the historical places and the social life in Tuz Khormatu, in Northern Iraq. Through various testimonies, the unbreakable interconnection with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Azerbaijan and Central Asia is highlighted.

    This chapter´s subject is politically critical because the international community, and more particularly the US – for the time they plan or will be able to sustain US soldiers there – are responsible for the preservation of the Turkmen cultural identity and heritage in the US-occupied North Iraq.

    The paranoid US – EU decision to consider terrorist groups as possible interlocutors and to unwisely demonstrate predilection to unrepresentative political groups that have provenly terrorized other nations and ethno-religious groups risks leading to situations encountered in Taleban Afghanistan, involving destruction of culturally significant sites and archeological places within a project of elimination of the targeted nations´ and ethno-religious groups´ proofs of historicity and historical prevalence over the fabricated nation “Kurds”. In this regard, several Turkmen, Aramaean (mistakenly called ´Assyrian´), Yazidi and Mandaean sites should be immediately included into the World Heritage List of the UNESCO (see: .

    The Turkmen historicity of many lands falsely claimed as ´Kurdish´ will be one of the obstacles to the evil plans of the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge to set up a bogus-state called Kurdistan that will be the Hell-on-Earth.

    The Turkmen City of Tuz Khormatu

    By Mofak Salman Kerkuklu

    Historical places in Tuz Khormatu

    The history of Tuz Khormatu goes back to ancient times. There are several temples, shrines and historical places in Tuz Khormatu, which I would like to mention.

    6.1 Gawer Kalasi (Christian Castle)

    One of the most important historical places in Tuz Khormatu to visit is the Gawer Kalasi, which means ´Christian castle´ in the Turkmen language. The history of the castle goes back to the Assyrian era. The Gawer Kalasi is located at the top of the Murtada Riza Mountain, which overlooks the Ak Su River, opposite the Tuzlug.

    6.2 The Shrine of the Sepulcher of Imam Murtada

    The shrine of the sepulcher of Imam Murtada is located on the top of the Mursa Ali Dagi (´Mursa Ali Mountain´), overlooking the Ak Su River. The shrine was deliberately destroyed by the previous Ba´ath regime. After the toppling of Saddam Hussein´s regime, the shrine was rebuilt with donations from the people of Tuz Khormatu. The local Turkmen people restored the shrine with the consent of the Tuz Khormatu councilor, and the permission and knowledge of the Deputy Governor of Kirkuk; however, the Kurdish militia, who are attached to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, destroyed the sepulcher of Imam Murtada on the 23rd August, 2003. The destruction of the shrine led to a big protest by the Turkmen in the district, which resulted in the death of seven Turkmen, who were shot by the Kurdish militia when they opened fire on the civilian Turkmen protestors.

    6.3 Ottoman Mosque (Eski Osmanli Camesi)

    There are several historical mosques in the city of Tuz Khormatu and one of these is the Eski Osmanli Camesi ´Ottoman Mosque´. The mosque was built in the era of Sultan Abdulhamid the Second, in 1887. The Eski Osmanli Camesi is located next to the Baglar Tuker River and opposite the Umuma Ve Tufula Clinic (the ´general baby clinic´). The Eski Osmanli Mosque consists of several rooms, libraries and a visitors´ room and has a huge garden. Mullah Mohammed, a religious figure, was the first Imam to preach in the mosque; he was followed by Mullah Taha. After the death of Mulla Taha, his son, Mullah Cemal, was appointed as imam of the mosque on the 25th of April 1925.[1]

    Mullah Cemal Taha was born in 1906. He was very active, hospitable, kind and extremely generous. He believed in reformation in society. He was also very explicit and knowledgeable in explaining the Holy Koran and he was a well known poet in the area.

    6.4 Shrine of the Sepulcher of Imam Ahmet

    The shrine of the sepulcher of Imam Ahmet and his graveyard are located in east Tuz Khormatu. The shrine of the sepulcher of Imam Ahmet dates back to the family of Imam Moussa Al_Kazim. The shrine is visited by the people and has a tremendous religious value in Turkmen Shi’aa society.

    6.5 The Great Prophet Mosque and Husseiniya Tuz Al_Kabir

    The Great Prophet Mosque and Husseinieh Tuz Al kabir were both built with local donations and the mosque is located in the Husseinieh Bazaar. The Husseinieh was originally a house belonging to a religious figure, Kazim Khalow El Assaf, but he had no next of kin. After his death, in his will, he donated his house to the mosque. The house was then converted to a mosque in 1926. The conversion was carried out with the help of local donations and the religious figure Sheikh Mohammed Ali Al Kenchi was appointed as the first Imam of the mosque in 1960. He later moved and settled in Baghdad and his positioned was filled by Sheikh Ibrahim Al Mushkini. [2]

    The Husseinieh Tuz Al kabir was continuously refurbished by local donations and has been used continuously by the locals for religious festivals and especially during the fasting month of Ramadan and the months of Muharram Al haram and Seffer, which are very important months for the Muslim people.

    6.6 Shrine of the Sepulcher of Imam Hassan

    The shrine of the sepulcher of Imam Hassan is located in the north of the Tuz Khormatu district.

    6.7 Imam Ali Mosque (Cami Albaghdadi)

    Jewad Kazim Al Bahgdadi knows the Imam Ali Mosque as the Al Bahgdadi Mosque. It was built in 1966. The mosque consists of several rooms, including a library and a reception room and has a huge garden. Imam Sheikh Ghulam Ali Sekhendan was appointed as the first Imam of the mosque. The mosque was administered by Haj Mohammed Ahmed Beyrakdar.

    The mosque is located in the Safer neighborhood near the shrine of Shah Ma´asuma and a Husseinieh is attached to the mosque.

    In addition, there is another well known historical mosque, named the Al Cumhuriya Mosque, which is located in the Al Cumhuriya neighborhood on the main road of the district. The mosque was built in 1982. Moreover, there are other mosques in the district: dating back to 1250, such as the Bagi Mosque, Kinar Teppe Mosque and Imam Ahmet Mosque. [3]

    6.8 Diwan Khana Qanber Agha

    The Diwan Khana Qanber Agha is located on the Buyuk Arkh River opposite the house that was built by the well known builder Usta Said in 1923 for the Haj Qanber.

    The Diwan Khana Qanber Agha was used as a hospice for visitors from various places. In addition, it has been used by the local population as a gathering point, to discuss and solve problems that have occurred among the public. After the death of the Haj Qanber, his son Zaynal Abdin Agha took over. The ruins of the Diwan Khana are still present in the area. [4]

    6.9 Ulu Teppe and Pesh Permak

    One of the historical places in Tuz Khormatu is Ulu Teppa (Ulu Hill). Ulu Teppe is five metres high and the site has been registered as a historical place by the Iraqi archaeological office. Archaeological excavations in the Ulu Teppe area are still in process.

    Another historical site in the north east of Ulu Teppe is called Bes Permak, which means ´Five Fingers´ in the Turkmen language; the building looks like five fingers and the place is built from bricks. There is some suggestion by historians that the building was used for food preparation by the people living in the Gawer Kalasi (´the castle of the Christians´). This site dates back to the Khoriyeen Era. [5]

    In addition, on the main road towards the Turkmen sub‐district named Yenkija, substantial historical remains, such as pottery and broken bricks, have been found by Iraqi archaeologists in the area named Tasli Teppe, which means ´Rock Hill´ in the Turkmen language.

    Archaeological excavations in this area are still in process and the site has been registered as a historical place at the Iraqi archaeological office. [6]

    6.10 The Jewish Synagogue (Torah)

    The Jewish Synagogue in Tuz Khormatu is located next to the Buyuk Arkh – which means ´the Big Stream´ in the Turkmen language – on the east of the Tuz Khormatu district. The history of Jewish Synagogue in Tuz Khormatu goes back to the 1307H. The Jews who were living in area built the Synagogue.

    The Synagogue consists of several rooms and a large hall and is 12 × 8 square metres. The shape of the Star of David is built in the ceiling of the hall. A swimming pool was built next to the Jewish Synagogue, which was used on Saturdays by the Jewish community as a part of their religious worship.[7]

    There is also a Jewish graveyard, bearing names such as ´Makberat Alyahud´, which is loca ted at the site of the Shuala School. The graveyard was converted to government buildings and agricultural offices after the emigration of the Jews from Tuz Khormatu in 1951. [8]

    6.11 Dokuz Daglik

    One of the historical places in Tuz Khormatu is Dukuz Daglik, which means ´nine mountains´ in the Turkmen language and is located at the east of the Murtada Ali Dagi (Murtada Ali Mountain). There is a series of caves embedded inside of the mountain: these caves were used as a hiding place during World War One. [9]

    6.12 Buyuk Kayseri and Buyuk Kan

    The Khan and the Marquee at the Kayseri Bazaar is known as Khan Canet Casim. Sheikler Hassan built it; he originally came from the Tisin neighborhood in the city of Kirkuk. The Khan is linked to several shops inside the Kayseri Bazaar. There are over 30 highly decorative shops within the closed market. These shops were built in 1863; they have also been used as resting and exchange point for storing commodities. [10]

    Social life in Tuz Khormatu

    Turkmen society in Tuz Khormatu is very family oriented; people living in the district are almost related to each other, and the old family lines are preserved to date.

    The population of the district before the 1960s could be considered as one big family, in that everyone helps each other and provides aid for the welfare of the needy, even nowadays.

    In fact, the overwhelming population in Tuz Khormatu are related to each other; intermarriages among families and relatives are common. The society in the district is based on helping and providing aid to each other, visiting the sick and providing help for those in need. Religious buildings, such as Al hussieniya, have been used regularly for celebration and for family gatherings.

    Notes

    1. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 86

    2. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 52

    3. Ibid, page 53

    4. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 66

    5. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 65

    6. Ibid, page 65

    7. Ibid, page 65

    8. Ibid, page 65

    9. Ibid, page 66

    10. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 66

    Note

    Picture: Tuz Khurmatu socializing: Ilangoz Akber, Nuri Fatah Pasha, Qanber Effendi, Rashid Sadik Cayir and Mahdi Ali Effendi, 1960

  • Russia Supports Kurdish Future

    Russia Supports Kurdish Future

    by Martin Zehr

    November 11, 2008

    In the latest Presidential election the U.S. has chosen to withdraw from Iraq. There will be an inevitable vacuum in the region. Many expect Turkey and Iran to become dominate in the region. Clearly, in a region that has depended on the U.S. to define the balance of powers for so many years, this is a possibility. Turkey has been pumped up over the years with U.S. military aid and supplies and looks to aggressively define its role. Syria as a Ba´athist power would be most likely to align with the militaristic Turkish regime.

    Iran has social forces in the region but no real military power. Iran´s effort to acquire a nuclear weapon is clearly an attempt to address this. Should some power demonstrate a willingness to act decisively the influences of Hezbollah and Hamas on the ground could be eliminated in a week´s time. Iranian influence is based on its programs for dispossessed populations and military supplies to its sponsored militias. Iran´s performance in the Iran-Iraq war demonstrated that its military capabilities are limited. Iran may be able to influence the political landscape of Lebanon and Gaza, but it is unable to consolidate these gains territorially or economically. Militarily, Hamas and Hezbollah are engaged in a war for the Safavid Empire and its restoration. The Palestinian national question has been subordinated and redefined as an Islamic trust.

    At issue is land power versus military power. Russia presents itself in this context as the dominating Asian power in the region. Economically, Turkey is dependent on Russia depends on Russia for 29 percent of its oil and 63 percent of its natural gas. Turkey´s bubble as a regional power is dependent on its alliance with the United States. Otherwise, it pops and becomes just one of several Islamist powers trying to configure a new caliphate capable of governing. Turkey´s secular status is based on its military rule and is decreasing as the Turkish military accommodates the Islamism of Justice and Development (AK). Russia has obviously faced a contentious Turkey in agricultural trade disputes, energy issues and in Turkey´s supplying Georgia with military equipment.

    Last year Russia opened a consulate within the Kurdish Autonomous Region. The statement by Nechirvan Barzani Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government declared: “We in the Kurdistan Region believe in friendship and good relations with the international community, and have been trying hard to achieve this, especially with countries like Russia with whom we share a common history.” Russia´s economic and political role in the region is growing. Its recognition of the KRG and its work with the KRG on economic and political issues are significant.

    Moving forward means learning to address old problems with new solutions. Turkey remains a threat poised on the border of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. Russia is a power that has recognized the Kurdish nation. IntelliBriefs website reports: “Russia has made significant strategic forays in the Middle East especially in countries which were known to be strong military allies of the United States. Today it has both a political and strategic foothold in the Middle East.”

    Russia has not been oblivious to Turkish actions on the border of northern Iraq in its plans against the Kurdish peoples and nation. In 2007, Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences in Moscow, elaborated that such an invasion would create a “hotspot” for Russia close to its borders. He predicted that such a Turkish invasion would create “instability, risks and challenges that would be very hard to deal with.” The Russian parliament passed an appeal in 2007 to the Turkish government calling on it to show “wisdom and restraint,” and warning about possible negative consequences of a cross-border military campaign.

    In the meantime, in October the Turkish Parliament passed 511-18 an extension authorizing Turkish troops to invade Iraq. As indicated in my article “Turkish Troops Enforce Baghdad´s Violation of the Kirkuk Referendum” such an action is simply a means of enforcing what Baghdad is not capable of enforcing itself, the refusal to implement Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. It is clear that Russia is a more significant power in the region and has a much longer historical role in the region than the United States. As the United States relinquishes its influence in the region there will be new decisions to be made. One thing is assured: Turkish antipathy towards the Kurdish nation and peoples has shown no indications of changing.

  • Galbraith Backs Ethnically Divided Iraq

    Galbraith Backs Ethnically Divided Iraq

    by Peter W. Galbraith [contact information]

    November 14, 2008

    Ambassador Peter Galbraith, senior diplomatic fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, talked about Iraq on NPR’s All Things Considered on November 12. The transcript is below.

    SIEGEL: Well, our guest today has written in support of the partition of Iraq, the idea of splitting the country up into three countries, Sunni, Shia, and Kurd. Peter Galbraith is a former U.S. ambassador to Croatia and now senior diplomatic fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. And Peter Galbraith, partition, still a good idea?

    Mr. PETER GALBRAITH (Senior Diplomatic Fellow, Center For Arms Control and Non-Proliferation): Well, I don’t actually advocate partition. My point is that the country has already broken up, and the United States should not be in the business of putting it back together. We have, in the north, Kurdistan, which is, in all regards, an independent country except it doesn’t have international recognition with its own army, its own government.

    And now between the Shiites and the Sunnis, there are two separate armies. There’s a Shiite army. It’s the Iraqi army, but it’s dominated by the Shiites. And in the Sunni areas, there’s now the Awakening, a hundred-thousand-man-strong militia. And it is because of the Awakening, and not so much the surge of U.S. troops, that there’s been this enormous decline in attacks by al-Qaeda. But they remain very hostile to the Iraqi government, and the Iraqi government sees them as a bigger threat than al-Qaeda.

    SIEGEL: Are you satisfied by the degree to which the incoming Obama administration – what has been the Obama campaign – sees as the reality of Iraqi politics? Is it close enough to what you see as the reality of Iraqi politics?

    Mr. GALBRAITH: Yes. Of course, it’s very encouraging to me that Joe Biden is the incoming vice president. He has been the prime proponent of a decentralized Iraq. And although in the campaign Senator McCain described his plan as, I think, a cockamamie idea, it is in fact what the Bush administration has done in part. The Bush administration, in 2007, decided to finance a Sunni army, which is the Awakening. And that’s why we’ve had success. Biden would only take this a next step and encourage the Sunnis to form their own region, which would control that army just as the Kurdistan region controls the Peshmerga, which is the Kurdistan army.

    SIEGEL: Iraq has prickly relations with – certainly with two of its neighbors. Turkey is distressed at the possibility of a de facto or truly independent Kurdistan on its border. And the Iranians have, it seems, have been intervening in a variety of ways. Is a decentralized, loosely federalized, some would say partitioned, Iraq, is it capable of actually defending its own interests against bigger neighbors?

    Mr. GALBRAITH: Well, Iraq is not, today, defending its interests. The Iranians wield enormous influence because the United States actually paved the way for Iran’s allies to become the government of Iraq. With regard to the Kurds, actually there’s been a change in attitude on the part of Turkey. There was a time when they thought the idea of an independent Kurdistan, or a de facto independent Kurdistan, was an almost existential threat to Turkey. But increasingly Turks recognize, first, that this is an accomplished fact. It’s already happened. And second that there are opportunities. After all, they share in common they’re secular, they’re pro-Western like the Turks, aspire to be democratic, and they’re not Arabs.

    SIEGEL: Should the Obama administration, once it takes over, should it have a new diplomatic initiative in Iraq? And is there an occasion for some Iraqi version of the Dayton peace conference that addressed the war in the Balkans some years ago?

    Mr. GALBRAITH: Yes. There are two things that the United States can do that would enhance stability in Iraq as it leaves. First, to try and solve the territorial dispute over Kirkuk and other disputed areas between the Kurds and the Arabs, and secondly to work out a modus vivendi between the Iraqi government and the Shiite-led army and the Sunni Awakening as to who will control what territory. And a Dayton-style process, with a tough negotiator like Richard Holbrooke, if he doesn’t end up being secretary of state, I think that’s exactly what the Obama administration should look at doing.

    SIEGEL: So, in that argument, it’s not, let’s try to do away with this conflict between Shia and Sunni and armed groups, but rather, let’s try to negotiate a better, more equitable deal and more stable deal between the two groups that will continue to exist for the near future.

    Mr. GALBRAITH: Precisely. And if we can minimize the things that Sunnis and Shiites are going to fight over, it may be, over time, that they will find it in their interest to have much greater cooperation and that voluntarily they’ll build a stronger Iraqi state. I think it’s unlikely the Kurds would ever join that, but I think it’s quite possible as between the Sunnis and Shiites.

    SIEGEL: Well, Peter Galbraith, thank you very much for talking with us today.

    Mr. GALBRAITH: Well, thank you.

    SIEGEL: That’s former U.S. ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, who is author of a new book called “Unintended Consequences: How War In Iraq Strengthened America’s Enemies.”

    Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith is the Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his work focuses on Iraq, the greater Middle East, and conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, specifically in the Balkans, Indonesia, Iraq, India/Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. Galbraith has authored numerous books, including, most recently, The End of Iraq (2006).

  • Abduction Turkmen News Reader by Kurdish forces in Erbil

    Abduction Turkmen News Reader by Kurdish forces in Erbil

    By Mofak Salman

    Turkmeneli TV news reader Mr. Timor Beyatli

    Mr. Timor Beyatli is a Turkmen [1] citizen who is employed by the Turkmeneli [2] TV as a news reader at the Arabic section that broadcast from Kerkuk in Iraq. On the 5th of November 2008, Mr Timor Beyatli was on his way to Turkey to participate in conference about Media and Journalism in Istanbul, Turkey.

    On the same day he left the city of Kirkuk to head towards the city of Erbil to get his flight from Erbil airport and an approximately 6.45pm before boarding his airplane he had made his a final call to his family in Turkey informing his family that he would be on his way to Istanbul airport and he would contact them upon his arrival in Istanbul, but unfortunately when the plane was landed in Istanbul he was not among the arrival of passengers.

    In fact he was abducted at the airport in Irbil airport by a Kurdish security force known as the Asayish [3] that belongs to the Kurdish leader of the KDP party Massuad Barzani prior the flight which was at 8.15pm. Mr. Tamur Beyatli was transferred from the Erbil airport to a prison in the city of Erbil for further investigation.

    Also on the 25th November, 2007 Mr. Hassan Turan, a member of the governing council of Kirkuk, was arrested by the Kurdish Asayish at Erbil airport in northern Iraq following his return from participation in the international conference that was held in Istanbul in Turkey under the name of Kudus and International Conjunction .

    In addition to that, on Saturday 27th October, 2007 Qasim Sari Kahya, the Turkmen writer, journalist and Secretary Editor for the Fraternity Club of Kardeslik in Baghdad, was abducted along with another three Turkmen citizens near the Kirkuk General Hospital by a Kurdish security force known as Asayish. Although, several hours later, three of the detainees were released, Mr. Qasim was kept for further interrogation.

    Moreover, Mr. Lokman Nejam Ahmed was born in 1st July 1968 in the district of Telkeef that is linked to the city of city of Mosul. He was arrested on the 8th of July 2007 on the Iraqi/Turkish border Ibrahim Alkhalil by the Kurdish secret police that are known as Asayish while he was travelling from the city of Mosul to Turkey with a group of a Turkmen from the city of Erbil.

    Document shows the kidnapping and arresting the Turkmen in North of Iraq. Parts of confidential State Department documents circulated to the White House, the Pentagon and the U.S Embassy in Baghdad about the abduction of the minority Arabs and Turkmen in Kirkuk and their transfer to the Kurdish north. 

    Because of the public, political, and journalistic outrage and due to the public appeal on TV and radio and Media, Mr. Tamur Beyatli was released on 7th November 2008. He was released without from the detention without formal charges and his case has not been submitted to the court.

    Thus, the Turkmens plight to all the human right organisations, government officials, intellectuals, and Iraqi and Turkish government for immediate intervention to put pressure on the Kurdish police whom are terrorising the Turkmen people in Turkmeneli.

    Turkmen of Iraq also call upon the Iraqi Journalists Union and all Iraqi and international organizations defending the rights of journalists and freedom of the press to move immediately to the authorities of the Iraqi government at the highest levels for the protection of the Turkmen, Arabs and Assyrian from the Kurdish oppression that are carried by Kurdish parties in North of Iraq.

    Mofak Salman

    Turkmeneli Party Representative for Both Ireland and United Kingdom

    [email protected]

    [1] Turkmen: The Iraqi Turkmen live in an area that they call “Turkmenia” in Latin or Turkmeneli” which means, “Land of the Turkmen. It was referred to as “Turcomania” by the British geographer William Guthrie in 1785. The Turkmen are a Turkic group that has a unique heritage and culture as well as linguistic, historical and cultural links with the surrounding Turkic groups such as those in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Their spoken language is closer to Azeri but their official written language is like the Turkish spoken in present-day Turkey. Their real population has always being suppressed by the authorities in Iraq for political reasons and estimated at 2%, whereas in reality their numbers are more realistically between 2.5 to 3 million, i .e. 12% of the Iraqi population.

    [2] Turkmeneli is a diagonal strip of land stretching from the Syrian and Turkish border areas from

    around Telafer in the north of Iraq, reaching down to the town of Mendeli on the Iranian border in

    Central Iraq. The Turkmen of Iraq settled in Turkmeneli in three successive and constant migrations

    from Central Asia, this increased their numbers and enabled them to establish six states in Iraq.

    [3] Asayish is an unrecognized and illegitimate force that is utilized by both Kurdish parties to terrorize innocent civilian people. They are used to kidnap and kill people who defy the Kurdish aspiration for establishing a Kurdish state.

  • Dear President-elect Barack Obama

    Dear President-elect Barack Obama

    Thursday 13/11/2008

    Ahmad Yilmaz

    Dear President-elect Barack Obama,     
    On behalf of the Iraqi Turkmen community in the United States, we would like tocongratulate you on your election as the 44th President of the United States. In these troubling times, we understand that your presidency will undoubtedly face tough policy decisions at home and abroad – especially in Iraq.     

    Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Turkmens (the third largest ethnic group in Iraq) have struggled to have their voices heard in the formation of the new Iraqi government. While the mainstream public has come to recognize Iraq as a nation comprised of only Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, ethnic minorities of Iraq have become invisible in the eyes of U.S and Iraqi policymakers.     

    Thus, as the next President of the United States, we hope that you and your newly formed administration makes a conscious effort to include Iraqi Turkmens in any rhetoric regarding the future of Iraq and consider our people as an integral piece to a complex puzzle. We look forward to communicating regularly with you regarding matters pertaining to Iraqi Turkmens. Again, we send you our sincerest congratulations.

    Thank you,     
    Ahmad Yilmaz     
    Nov.12, 2008

    M.A – International Relations, University of Chicago     
    Member, Bir Ocak Turkmen Cultural Association – Chicago
    6334 N. Kedzie Avenue
    Chicago , IL. 60659
    Tel : (773) 764 3479
    e-mail : [email protected] 

  • Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation

    Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation

    Istanbul/Brussels, 13 November 2008: Turkey’s newly adroit management of its relationship with Iraqi Kurds has resulted in a tentative victory for pragmatism over ultra-nationalism, but many obstacles remain before relations can be normalised.

    Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation?,* the latest background report from the International Crisis Group, examines the study in contrasts that has been Ankara’s policy: Turkey periodically sends jets to bomb suspected hide-outs of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and expresses alarm at the prospect of Kurdish independence, yet it has now significantly deepened its ties to the Iraqi Kurdish region.

    “Both Turkey and Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have made a breakthrough in challenging ultra-nationalism”, says Oytun Çelik, Crisis Group’s Istanbul-based analyst. “They should continue to invest in a relationship that, though fragile and beset by uncertainties over Iraq’s future, has become more pragmatic and potentially very fruitful”.

    Ankara’s policy toward Iraq is based on two core national interests: preserving that country’s territorial integrity and fighting the PKK, whose rebels use remote northern Iraqi border areas as staging ground for attacks inside Turkey. From Turkey’s perspective, Iraq’s disintegration wo

    International Crisis Group – 81 Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation.