WHO IS WORKING ON THE TURKMENS' TITLE DEEDS THAT WERE LOOTED BY THE PESHMERGA IN KERKUK?

Comments: Back in June 2004, Fikret Ertan , Todays Zaman columnist, was wondering in his article "ISRAEL WORKS..." whether Turkey was working on the title deeds of the Iraqi Turkmens that were looted by the Kurdish Peshmerga in Kerkuk in 2003…

Does any one have any information about WHO is actually doing something for the Turkmens???

Israel Works...
By FIKRET ERTAN
Published in http://www.zaman.com/?bl=columnists&alt=&trh=20040619&hn=9564
06.19.2004

The Iraq war and its results have brought many unanticipated issues to the agenda and initiated many developments.

The developments regarding Iraqi Jews is the most interesting issue. Here, Northern Iraqi Jews are discussed rather than Iraqi Jews in general; the issue is even presented as Kurdish Jews. However, like I said, world Jewish organizations, Israel and America consider the issue within frame of all Iraqi Jews and conduct important studies on this.

Due to its nature and existence, Israel undoubtedly is the country that is most interested in the issue and works the most on it. Israel scurries to collect information on this issue and claim the heritage both of Jewish people still living in Iraq (40-50 people, most of whom are old) and those who were forced to leave Iraq because of fighting over the past 50 years.

These are of course confidential studies in the sense that mainstream media neglect to report about them. However, now and then there is some interesting news reported by a few newspapers about these studies.

I encountered such news earlier this month. The news is really very interesting and eye opening. The news states, "...last week Israel happened to obtain valuable documents regarding the fate of hundreds of properties, which the Jewish community in Iraq claimed." There are the details of the properties belonging to members of the Jewish community, court records of the community's properties, related accommodation plans, maps, a few hundred documented marriages between the years 1949-2001 and death certificates. The documents, examined by offices connected to the Diaspora Community and Israeli Minister Natan Saranski could affect future indemnity applications for Iraqi Jews' lost properties.

Natan Saranksi is the president of Ministers Committee that follows the Jewish communities' property rights. Saranki's bureau announced that the documents total some 800 pages and that they had the photocopies while the originals were still in Baghdad. He said that the photocopies were sent to Israel by the U.S. State Department.

While American officials connected to the U.S. State Department Representative Edward O'Donnel's bureau of Holocaust Issues avoid making statements about the original documents, Israeli officials say that they believe 'Iraqi collaborators' helped obtain the documents.
American officials conducted an investigation at Iraqi Intelligence Agency, Muhaberat, headquarters nearly six months ago and found a package of documents on Iraqi Jews community. However this package was almost ruined because of water damage so they had to try and salvage the documents in America.

At this point, Saranski contacted American officials and disclosed that Israel was interested in everything that the U.S. found on Iraqi Jews. Saranski's spokesman Rivka Kanarek said that they "only received black and white photocopies", while it is pointed out that the Iraqi Jews' leader in Israel, Mordahay Ben-Porat, was invited to Sarabki's office to examine the documents.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the documents, which are in Arabic, have been sent to Middle Eastern experts to be translated and examined..."

This is the news. It is clearly understood from the news that Israel works very hard for the Iraqi Jews. In that sense, I wonder whether Turkey works on the title deeds of the Iraqi Turkmens that were looted by peshmargas in Kirkuk.

Israel works, I do not know about us...

June 15, 2004
e-mail:f.ertan@zaman.com.tr <mailto:f.ertan@zaman.com.tr>