Kurds flock to Kirkuk, claiming land and oil

"Clearly, for the Kurds, Kirkuk is a strategic prize," said Col. David Gray, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, charged with securing the province. "They feel very strongly about bringing their people to Kirkuk to right the wrong that was done under Saddam's regime and the Arabization program. That does collide, of course, with the other groups in the province." Arabs and Turkmens argue that many of the Kurds moving in were not displaced by Saddam -- they originated elsewhere and are settling here to ensure that the province is voted into Kurdistan in 2007.

"The Kurds are building property, houses on land they don't own," said Sangul Chapuk, a Turkmen politician who served on the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council.

The last accurate census showed that the Turkmens, a Central Asian ethnic group that governed this area under the Ottoman Empire, had a slight majority. That was in 1957. The numbers drastically changed under Saddam's decades-long program of ethnic displacement and further shifted after the American invasion. Capt. Greg Ford, 1st Brigade's intelligence officer, estimated that 85,000 to 350,000 Kurds had moved into the Kirkuk region since spring 2003.

TURKEY, IRAQ AND THE KURDS

By Tulin Daloglu
November 1, 2005
washington times

When President Bush welcomed President Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq to the Oval Office last Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry asked why he was being called "president." If one needs to put words in U.S. officials' mouth, they would say, "Turks are unpleasantly missing the point when it comes to the onus of our relations with the Kurds."

Robert S. Deutsch, the deputy senior adviser on Iraq to the secretary of state, explained at an exclusive briefing for the Turkish journalists that the title is granted to Mr. Barzani by the Iraqi constitution, and it doesn't present a threat to Iraq's territorial integrity and national unity. Still, practically, when Turks look at America as an example of a federal state, they see only one president to be welcomed abroad.
As in Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," there is a strict contradiction between the reality and the truth as it appears today. What is real is that America is fighting against global terrorism, and Iraq is a needed front in that war. But fighting terrorism in Iraq was never meant to break up the country or create a Kurdistan that would threaten Turkey's territorial integrity.
The truth as it appears today is that Sunnis and Shi'ites are clashing for the first time since the war in Iraq began — which heightens anxiety about the possibility of a civil war. The insurgency continues. Iraqis still do not have security. And the Kurds are trying to maximize their gains and extend the borders of an autonomous Kurdistan.
The Washington Post reports that Iraqi Kurdish leaders are paying Kurds to resettle in Kirkuk for the expected 2007 referendum, which will define the city's region. Kirkuk is oil-rich, which would guarantee the Kurds enough wealth to survive independently. According to The Post, Lt. Col. Anthony Wickham said, "Does that bring greater stability to Kirkuk? No. It brings pandemonium."
Which is exactly the point. The Kurds are thinking more of their own welfare than that of Iraq as a whole. In addition, Kurds' reluctance to fight a terrorist Kurdish separatist organization — the PKK — confuses the situation, particularly in Turkey.
"We were accustomed to viewing them as tribal leaders," Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, the Turkish chief of general staff, said last Friday. "Now, Talabani is the President. Barzani is in another position. We have to accept the changes. If Jalal Talabani comes to Turkey tomorrow, he will come as a head of state."
Alas, Turkey has supported the political process in Iraq; more than 300 Iraqis — Kurds, Sunnis and Shi'ites — have been trained about building democratic institutions in the parliament and other state bodies. Clearly, Turkey's contributions in creating a united and democratic Iraq distinguish it from Syria and Iran.
Turkey is asking the United States to deal with the PKK in Northern Iraq simply because it asks for a reality statement. The PKK is a terrorist organization, according to the State Department's terrorism report, which wants to create an independent Kurdistan with land from the southeast and eastern parts of Turkey.
Kurds in Iran and Syria closely watch the Iraqi Kurds' experience with the United States. It echoes the worries among Turks whether the United States and Europe really believe the PKK is a terrorist organization.
Today's Turkey has begun the process of joining the European Union, and its improving democracy and human-rights record means its Kurdish citizens will benefit. But if Iraqi Kurdish leaders continue to shy away from acting against PKK terrorism, the people will once again suffer. They must state clearly that the PKK is not a human-rights group, and that Kurds can claim their rights peacefully and democratically.
Iraqi Kurds have fought alongside Turkish troops against the PKK in Northern Iraq before. If Iraqi Kurds hesitate to fight PKK terrorists, who kill Turkish citizens because they don't want to act against their fellow Kurds, how can Muslims be asked to fight radical Islamists like al Qaeda? Iraqi Kurds should assure Turkey that terrorism will not be part of the Kurdish quest for rights, and Turkey, the only democratic nation in the neighborhood, should protect them as it did during the first gulf war. The Turkish Parliament allowed U.S. jets to patrol the northern no-fly zone to protect Kurds from Saddam Hussein.
There is more friendship between the Kurds and the Turks than the animosity that clouds it. It is time that America sheds light on that friendship by acting against the PKK.

Tulin Daloglu is the Washington correspondent and columnist for Turkey's Star TV and newspaper. A former BBC reporter, she writes occasionally for The Washington Times.

Various private armies still exist, threatening Iraq's national

... San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
... He also claimed the troops did not respect their brigade commander, Col. Bashar Hussein, an ethnic Turkoman from the northern city of Kirkuk. ...

The ultimate quagmire

[ATimes]
... continue, not even making headlines - explosions at police stations, assassinationsof "Baghdad officials", executions of collaborators, mortars over the Green Zone,scores of innocent civilian victims of car bombings, Marines killed in the Sunnitriangle, Shi'ite death squads, Turkmen fighting Kurd for Kirkuk ... ...

The resistance will go on

Al-Ahram Weekly - Cairo,Egypt
... results, the Sunni lists -- particularly list number 618 of the IAF -- was not sectarian- based; that it included Kurdish, Shia and Turkoman candidates who ...

Sunni leaders challenge the validity of ballot

Financial Times - London,England,UK
... In the mixed-ethnic province of Kirkuk, a Kurdish alliance took 52 per cent of the vote followed by Sunni and Turkoman coalitions with 14 and 12 per cent ...

Life in Kerkuk Getting Hard

[NEWS IMPRESSION]
Zaman Online - Istanbul,
TurkeyKerkuk (Kirkuk), the fourth biggest province of Iraq, has become the most wretched town in the North of the country though it sits on rich oil reserves. ...

Israeli-Turkish Relations in Crisis

Media Monitors Network - CA,USA
... the Turks used to show little interest in the developments in Iraq, but now ... including the oil-rich Kirkuk region, populated by an important Turkmen community. ...

EU Commission on a mission to protect the Assyrians and Turkmen of Iraq

Assyria Times - CA,USA
... On the specific situation of the small communities living in Iraq such as the Christian, Assyrian and Turkmen, the need to ensure that all ethnicities ...

We vote, then we throw you out

Atimesonline

By Pepe Escobar

FIRST, a quick look at the environment ahead of Thursday’s elections in Iraq. Political assassinations, party headquarters burned, abductions (all largely unreported by Western corporate media). A former prime minister, Iyad Allawi — widely known in Baghdad as “Saddam without a moustache” — saying on the record that human rights in President George W Bush’s Iraq are worse than they were under Saddam. Current Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari’s Da’wa Party accusing Allawi of defending the occupiers. Allawi accusing Jaafari’s government of corruption. Former Pentagon asset Ahmad Chalabi’s campaign posters with the inscription, “We liberated Iraq.”

Unstoppable Kurdish Constructions in N. Iraq

Zaman Online - Istanbul,TurkeyAll eyes are on the general election results in the northern Iraqi city of Kerkuk (Kirkuk) as Kurds flocking to the city continue construction works of their ...

The Iraqi Oil after the Elections, an Opportunity or an Illusion?

Dar Al-Hayat - Saudi Arabia... Most dangerously, the capacity of the two giant fields in Kirkuk and Rumeila is steadily diminishing - a problem, which, if unresolved, will curtail production ...

Turkmen Also Complain About Kerkuk Governor

Zaman Online - Istanbul,Turkey... Turkmen parliamentary representative Riyaz Sarikahya, in his interview with Cihan News Agency, said: "Kirkuk city borders should have been closed. ...

Demonstrations over Fuel Price Increases in Iraq

Bay Area Indymedia - San Francisco,CA,USA... This result has provoked consternation among Turkmen and Arabs, who also live ... detonated roadside bombs and conducted assassinations all over Iraq late Saturday ...

Election complaints in Iraq

Daily Journal - Caracas,Venezuela... Al-Sadr, whose militia has twice fought US forces in southern Iraq, had reluctantly ... Saad Arkij, head of an ethnic Turkmen slate in the north, complained that ... continue

The US should set a withdrawal deadline

International Herald Tribune - France... The American experiment in Iraq unfortunately has accelerated the re-tribalization ... tribe or ethnic group - Sunni, Shiite, Christian, Kurdish, Turkmen - as the ... continue

Attack On Turkmen Front Offices

19 Dec 2005 15:23:50 GMTSource: Reuters
KIRKUK - Gunmen attacked offices of the Turkmen Front on Sunday in the northern city of Kirkuk. A guard was killed and three others wounded, a spokesman for the party said.

Suspected Vote Crisis Expects Kerkuk

By Ercan Gun Published: Saturday, December 17, 2005 zaman.com
The Kurdish Alliance leads a clear victory in Kerkuk (Kirkuk) after the elections which were held in a high tension atmosphere due to the last minute approval of suspected Kurdish Votes in Kirkuk.

Kerkuk on Tenterhooks After Demographic Change

By Ercan Gun Published: Sunday, December 18, 2005 zaman.com
Kurds, who changed the demographic structure of Kerkuk (Kirkuk) before the Iraqi elections via migrations outside Kirkuk, came out as the first party in the Iraqi parliamentary elections.

Kurdish frauds

Wach Turkmeneli TV

By Mofak Salman

Photos showing Kurdish frauds have been reported at the voting center in Turkmen City of Altunkoperi, Iraq, where Kurds from North of Iraq were casting their votes. The ink that was used could easily be washed off with some chlorine (bleach). The above photos show Kurdish voters were caught red handed in Altunkoperi, Iraq.

According to the ministry of the commerce the number of the Kurds who were deported from Kerkuk under the Arabization policy by the previous regime was 11,685. However, after the occupation of Kerkuk by the Kurdish militias, the number of the Kurds brought by the both Kurdish parties from outside of Kerkuk city and surrounding area has exceeded 300,000 Kurds.
However during the election on the January 2005. The Independent Electoral commission in Iraq Mr. Yahya Alasi had objected on the participation of illegitimate of 72,000 Kurds whom were illegally being added to the list of the eligible voters by the both Kurdish parties.
Instead of the fulfilment of the above request by the Mr.Yahya Alasi for the removal of the 72,000 illegitimate Kurds the commission has removed Mr.Yahya Alasi from his position forcibly because of the both Kurdish parties insistence.
Moreover, the visits of Deputy of US foreigner minister A. Richard to Iraq 2005 showed the green line and the encouragement to the both Kurdish parties to add the name of 108,000 illegitimate Kurdish voters name to the voting list; this caused an outraged among the Iraqi Turkmen
The Independent Electoral commission for the monitoring the election for the Iraqi parliament members from 13th to the 15th of December, 2005 has discovered a wide range of irregularities carried out by the both Kurdish parties by added 81,000 illegitimate Kurdish names in to the voting list in Kerkuk and surrounding areas by providing them with forgery documents in order to qualified them for the election.


We the Turkmen of Iraq are calling upon the US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and UN representative for Iraq Mr Ishraf Kazi to make sure the removal of the 81,000 illegitimate voters by the election committee whom forcibly inserted to the election list is valid and they should adhere to their decision.
Moreover, the removal of 81,000 unqualified Kurdish voters by using forged document that was provided to them by both Kurdish parties and according to the document numbers 614 /617, dated on the 9/12/2005 and 10/12/2005 accordingly that was released should not been allowed to vote, otherwise allowing these illegal voters to vote is unfair and would be a blow against democracy, and breach of the election rule.
It is shocking to see that the Independent Electoral commission for the monitoring the election for the Iraqi parliament members has deviated from its decision and allowed the illegitimate Kurdish voters to vote. It is utterly unacceptable to see that the independent electoral commission has bowed to the Kurdish pressure.
This clearly indicates that the independent commission is incapable and incompetent in fulfilling its duty. Also the Turkmen of Iraq has completely lost trust in the above commission; therefore we are calling on the UN representative in Iraq for urgent need for establishing independent committee to discuss the above changing.