EUROPEAN - TURKMEN FRIENDSHIPS

Syrian Kurds form their own council in Arbil

2012-01-19T09:48:00.000+01:00

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Riot police stand guard as Syrian Kurds protest in front of the UN office in Arbil to demand the departure of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. AFP photo

Syrian opposition Kurdish parties are preparing to announce the formation of their own “National Kurdish Council” in the northern Iraqi capital of Arbil, the Hürriyet Daily News has learned.

“There will be a meeting of the Syrian Kurdish groups on Jan. 21 in Arbil. The Kurdish parties participating in the meeting will make a call to all the other Syrian Kurdish parties to join them,” Kendal Efrini, a Syrian Kurdish opposition member and representative of the Alliance of Syrian Liberals in Europe, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview on Wednesday.

Dr. Abdul Hakim Bashar, secretary-general of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria, will lead the National Kurdish Council, which will become the second national council established by opposition forces after the establishment of the Syrian National Council.

France-based Efrini said he would also attend the meeting. “Right now, there are five or six Kurdish parties joining the National Kurdish Council. We want to broaden this council as much as possible.”

A member of the Syrian National Council who wished to remain anonymous said most of the leaders of the Syrian Kurdish parties had been staying in Arbil under the protection of the Kurdistan Regional Government for some time.

“We don’t know yet whether they will achieve their goal of uniting the Kurdish parties under one umbrella – we need time to see that,” he said.

The Syrian National Council described itself as the largest Syrian opposition group – including Islamists, leftists, liberals, Arabs, Christians and Kurds – when it was established in Istanbul on Aug. 29, 2011 under the leadership of Burhan Ghalioun.

There are around 15 different Kurdish parties in Syria, a few of which are represented in the Syrian National Council.

January/19/2012

Turkish Officials: Israeli Drone Surveillance Data Given to PKK

2012-01-18T18:55:00.000+01:00

Drone Data Used to Set Up PKK Camps in Northern Syria

by Jason Ditz, January 17, 2012

Antiwar.com

Officials from the Turkish intelligence agencies are reporting that surveillance data collected by Israeli drones is being given to the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in helping them plan operations against Turkish targets.

A new report says that the surveillance has been going on for awhile, and that Turkey has caught Israeli drones flying over its southern provinces. They also say that PKK leaders have repeatedly visited Israel in recent months, presumably to get access to the data.
The consequences of the move are so far unclear, but Turkish officials believe that the data was used to help the PKK set up training camps in Northern Syria in places where the presence of border patrol isn’t as strong.

The revelation could have serious consequences for Israel’s already strained relationship with Turkey. So far Israeli officials haven’t addressed the latest claims, but in September Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged Israel to begin arming the PKK to “punish” Turkey for perceived diplomatic slights.

TURKMEN CONDEMN THE ATTACK AGAINST THE TURKISH EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD

2012-01-18T18:33:00.002+01:00

please see:

http://merryabla64.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/iraqi-turkmen-condemn-attack-against-the-turkish-embassy-in-baghdad/

Rocket hits Turkish embassy compound in Baghdad

2012-01-18T14:59:00.000+01:00

NTV

AA photo

One of three rockets fired near the Turkish embassy in Baghdad hit the perimeter walls surrounding the compound today.
It was not yet known where the two other rockets landed.

January/18/2012

Hürriyet

Iraq's Turkmen fight for identity in Kirkuk (VIDEO)

2012-01-14T02:11:00.001+01:00

REPOSTING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djEPDI6xlJ0&feature=player_detailpage

Ajoutée par AlJazeeraEnglish le 18 avril 2011

The third largest ethnic group in Iraq, the Turkmen have long complained of discrimination, especially in the city of Kirkuk where the local government has been largely controlled by Kurdish parties.

That began to change recently with a Turkmen politician elected as head of the provincial council, but many say more needs to be done to preserve the Turkmen identity.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Kirkuk.

Bulgaria condemns communist Turkish assimilation

2012-01-11T19:41:00.000+01:00

SOFIA - Agence France-Presse

Men dressed as soldiers parade in front of the Alexander Nevski Cathedral during celebrations marking the 134th anniversary of Sofia's liberation from Ottoman rule in the centre of the Bulgarian capital January 4, 2012. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Bulgaria's parliament adopted on Wednesday a special declaration condemning the forcible assimilation of the country's sizeable Turkish minority under communism.

The declaration specifically centred on the so-called "revival process" in the mid-1980s when Bulgaria's ethnic Turks were forced to change their Muslim names to Bulgarian ones.
Those who refused to do so were jailed and many killed, sparking several deadly attacks in public places and straining relations between Bulgaria and Turkey.

Shortly before communism fell in 1989, the authorities opened the borders to those Bulgarian citizens of Turkish origin who wanted to emigrate to Turkey. Around 360,000 people left, 170,000 of whom later returned.

Their exodus, dubbed with some irony in Bulgaria the "Big Excursion," was condemned on Wednesday by MPs as "a form of ethnic cleansing performed by the totalitarian regime." The declaration called for those responsible for the "revival process" to be brought to justice and punished.

"The attempt to cover it up with a statute of limitations transfers the guilt from the concrete culprits to the whole Bulgarian people," it added.

About 13 percent of Bulgaria's current population of 7.3 million are Muslims, with most belonging to the ethnic Turkish minority.

A recent study found they were increasingly becoming less religious even if practising traditional rituals enthusiastically.

January/11/2012

Iraq: A country in shambles

2012-01-10T07:26:00.000+01:00

In Sadr City, Bahgdad, the streets are cracked, filled with potholes, and strewn with refuse [Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera]

Despite promises made for improvements, Iraq's economy and infrastructure are still a disaster.

Dahr Jamail Last Modified: 09 Jan 2012

Baghdad, Iraq - As a daily drumbeat of violence continues to reverberate across Iraq, people here continue to struggle to find some sense of normality, a task made increasingly difficult due to ongoing violence and the lack of both water and electricity.

During the build-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration promised the war would bring Iraqis a better life, and vast improvements in their infrastructure, which had been severely debilitated by nearly 13 years of strangling economic sanctions.

More jobs, improved water availability, more reliable electricity supplies, and major rehabilitation of the medical infrastructure were promised.
But now that the US military has ended its formal military occupation of Iraq, nearly eight years of war has left the promises as little more than a mirage.

Ongoing water shortages

Hashim Hassan is the Deputy Director of the Baghdad Water Authority (BWA), and he admits to an ongoing shortage of clean drinking water for Baghdad's seven million residents.

"We produce 2.5 million cubic litres daily, so there is a shortage of 1m cubic litres every day," Hassan explained to Al Jazeera. "We've added projects to increase water availability, and we are hoping to stop the ongoing shortage by the end of 2012."

According to Hassan, 80 per cent of the Baghdad's piping network needs rehabilitation - work currently underway - in addition to positioning 100 compact units around the city, which would increase clean water availability until larger plants can come fully online.

Several water treatment plants are already being extended, including one that would increase the capacity of a wastewater treatment facility in Sadr City, a sprawling slum of roughly three million people.

Follow in-depth coverage of the nation in flux

Hassan said that health committees and the Ministry of Environment carry out tests, and along with BWA testing, 1,000 water samples are checked daily, "less than one per cent of the samples fail" he said. The "acceptable threshold" is five per cent.

Bechtel, a multi-billion dollar US-based global engineering and construction company - whose board members have close ties to the former Bush administration - received $2.3bn of Iraqi reconstruction funds and US taxpayer money, but left the country without completing many of the tasks it set out to.

Bechtel's contract for Iraq had included reconstruction of water treatment systems, electricity plants, sewage systems, airports and roads.
Managers at water departments around Iraq say that the only repairs they managed during the US occupation were through UN offices and humanitarian aid organisations. The ministry provided them with very little chlorine for water treatment. "New projects" were no more than simple maintenance operations that did little to halt collapsing infrastructure.
Bechtel was among the first companies, along with Halliburton (where former US Vice-President Dick Cheney once worked), to have received fixed-fee contracts drawn to guarantee profit.

Ahmed al-Ani who works with a major Iraqi construction contracting company told Al Jazeera the model Bechtel adopted was certain to fail.

"They charged huge sums of money for the contracts they signed, then they sold them to smaller companies who resold them again to small inexperienced Iraqi contractors," Ani said. "These inexperienced contractors then had to execute the works badly because of the very low prices they get, and the lack of experience."

According to a March 2011 report by the UN's Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit, one in five Iraqi households use an unsafe source of drinking water, and another 16 per cent report daily supply problems.

The situation is even worse in rural areas, where only 43 per cent have access to safe drinking water, and water available for agriculture is usually scarce and of very poor quality. These facts have led more Iraqis than ever to leave rural communities in search of water and work in the cities, further compounding already existing problems there.

The UN report states: "Quality of water used for drinking and agriculture is poor, violating Iraq National Standards and WHO guidelines. Leaking sewage pipes and septic tanks contaminate the drinking water network with wastewater. Eighty per cent of households do not treat water before drinking. Furthermore, just 18 per cent of wastewater is treated, with the rest released directly into waterways."

And this is exactly what many Iraqis experience first-hand.
"Sometimes we turn on the tap and nothing comes," explained Baghdad resident Ali Abdullah. "Other times the colour is brown, or yellow, or sometimes even smells of benzene."

Electricity and sewage

Street side electricity generators are now a common sight around Iraq's capital city, where the average home receives between four and eight hours of electricity each day. Some areas, such as Sadr City, receive an average of less than five hours a day, with some portions of the area receiving a mere hour to two a day - and sometimes none at all.

Many people opt to simply pay private vendors for electricity from the generators, whose owners run lines to their respective clients.

Some areas of Baghdad continue to receive one to five hours of electricity a day [Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera]

Nabil Toufiq is a generator operator who serves 220 homes for 12 hours each day.

"We buy our diesel on the black market, not from the government," he told Al Jazeera. "We expect this business to continue forever because government corruption prevents them from fixing our problems."

Abu Zahra, a media liaison worker with the office of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Sadr City, Baghdad, explained that, in addition to the ongoing lack of electricity, every aspect of the infrastructure in the area needs improvement.

"We are depending on the street generators," Zahra said, before going on to say that roads have been resurfaced, but due to corruption causing corners to be cut, the pavement begins to fracture and break apart within six months, causing the cycle to begin again.

This is readily apparent, as the garbage-strewn roads are bumpy, cracking, with potholes abundant.

Turn off one of the main thoroughfares through the area and one quickly finds dirt roads with sewage streaming down the gutters.

Zahra said that one of the hopes of Sadr joining the political fray was that this area of Baghdad would obtain better services - but this has clearly not come to pass.

"Sadr asked the government to give better services and jobs here, but nothing has happened," he said, while children played near raw sewage. "There have been demonstrations here where people carried shovels asking for work, and empty kerosene cans asking for fuel. Meanwhile, we have a totally failed sewage system that needs complete reconstruction."

While water-borne diseases and diarrhoea are common across Baghdad, but they are rampant in Sadr City, where the lack of potable water, coupled with raw sewage flowing through many of the streets, make the spread of disease inevitable.

Toufiq pointed out an issue that does not bode well for the future - and likely aptly describes the root of Iraq's myriad problems.

"Many people make a living from the system being broken," he said. "From the government, to me, to the gas sellers."

Broken economy

According to the UNDP, Iraq has a poverty rate of 23 per cent, which means roughly six million Iraqis are plagued by poverty and hunger, despite the recent increase in Iraq's oil exports. Iraq's Ministry of Planning has also announced that the country needed some $6.8bn to reduce the level of poverty in the country

Zahra concurs.

"No-one in my family has a job," he said. "And in my sister's house, they are seven adults, and only two of them work."
Inside a busy market, Hassan Jaibur, a medical assistant who cannot find work in his field, is instead selling fruit.

"The situation is bad and getting worse," he said. "Prices continue to rise, and there are no real jobs. All we can do is live today."

Jaibur said he and his family are living on the fruit he sells, but he has a sick child and any profits he earns all go to medication.

"All of my relatives and friends are in a similar situation," he added. "Most of them try to find work as day labourers."

Gheda Karam, like so many in Iraq today, is the sole supporter of her family
[Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera]

Gheda Karam sells dates and fruits. Her husband was paralysed during the Iraq-Iran war, and the benefits they get from the government for his disability are not enough.

"My family is suffering too much," she told Al Jazeera. "Even yesterday we did not eat dinner. We are 20 of us in an old house, and I'm the only one with work."

She paused to cry, then wiped away the tears.

"My children see things in the market they want to eat or drink, but we can afford none of it, and I am in debt to the fruit sellers. God help us."

The state of the economy in Iraq is a disaster. Yet this irony is highlighted by the fact that Iraq has proven oil reserves third only behind Saudi Arabia and Iran - hence one would expect it to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

But nowhere is the lack of economic growth more evident than in Baghdad. According to the Central Bank of Iraq, unemployment and "under-employment" are both at 46 per cent, although many in Iraq feel this is a generously low estimate.

Iraq continues to have a cash economy; meaning there are no credit cards, almost no checking accounts, no transfer of electronic funds, and only a few ATMs.

Iraq lacks a functioning postal service, has no public transportation, nor a national airline - and most goods sold in Iraq are imported.

Only in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq is there rapid development and an effectively functioning government.

Iraq is ranked the eighth most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International. That means Iraq is tied with Haiti, and just barely less corrupt than Afghanistan.

One of Iraq's ministers recently took a forced resignation because he signed a billion-dollar contract with a bankrupt German company, along with a shell company in Canada, which had no assets or operations, only an address.

Lack of security

Recent spates of coordinated bombings that have killed more than 100 Iraqis and wounded more than 200 in the past few weeks are evidence of Iraq's current security situation.

Despite Iraq's own forces numbering 280,000 soldiers with 645,000 police and border guards, for a total of nearly one million men, and a capital city clogged with checkpoints, security remains elusive.

As Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki said recently, there can be no security without political stability. Given that his critics accuse al-Maliki of upsetting the delicate political balance within the Iraqi government by ordering the arrest of Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi, his words ring truer than ever.
Despite most of the daily violence in Iraq having long since fallen from the headlines, reports are constant and blood continues to flow.

Reported attacks around the country on January 3 included a roadside bomb killing an Iraqi soldier near Mosul, a sticky bomb seriously wounding a Pershmerga guard in Kirkuk, gunmen killing a Sahwa militia member and his wife in Muqdadiya, and a roadside bomb which wounded three civilians in Baghdad - to name but a few.

When most Iraqis are asked what their main concern is, "security" tends to be the first answer, then followed by electricity, water, jobs, and healthcare. Yet security is the foundation upon which the rest of the infrastructure can be built, so ongoing attacks across Iraq, and the chaos they bring, do not bode well for the future.

In December 2011, Iraq signed a deal worth roughly $3bn to buy 18 more F-16 fighter jet planes from the United States - a controversial move given that it occurred while Maliki was making moves his critics say were nothing more than consolidating power.

During a December press conference with al-Maliki, President Obama said, "We've got to train [Iraq's] pilots and make sure that they're up and running and that we have an effective Iraqi air force."
Most Iraqis would prefer to have their streets safe, before worrying about their airspace.
And for people like Gheda Karam, whose family is having to skip meals on a regular basis, a government that would spend $3bn on improving infrastructure and the economy would be preferred over one that buys highly advanced warplanes.
Follow Dahr Jamail on Twitter: @DahrJamail
Source: Al Jazeera

Irak Meclis Üyesi Neftçi'ye saldırı

2012-01-08T20:47:00.000+01:00

Irak Meclis Üyesi Neftçi'ye saldırı

Pazar, 08 Ocak 2012 20:58

Bugün akşam saatlerinde Türkmen Asıllı ve Irak Meclis Üyesi Jale Neftçi'nin evinin, kimliği belirsiz silahlı kişiler tarafından tarandığı öğrenildi.

Kerküklü Irak Meclis Üyesi Neftçi evine akşam saatlerinde meydana gelen silahlı saldırıda yaralanan olmazken evde maddi zarar meydana geldi.

Kerkük Polis Müdürü Cemal Tahir AA'ya yaptığı açıklamada, bugün akşam yaşanan olayda can kaybı yaşanmadığını ve Kerkük polisi olarak hemen olay yerine vardıklarını, konu hakkında araştırma yaptıklarını belirtti.

Tahir "olaydan hemen sonra Irak Meclis Üyesi Jale Neftçinin evinin bulunduğu yere polisler yetişti ve olayı araştırmak ve faillerini bulmak için bir ekip oluşturduk. Bu ekip olayı araştıracak ve failleri bulup adalete teslim etmek için çalışacak" dedi.

A..A

Western Oil Firms Remain As US Exits Iraq

2012-01-08T19:05:00.000+01:00

By Dahr Jamail

08 January, 2012

Al Jazeera

Iraq plans to increase its oil production capacity up to 12 million barrels per day by 2017 [Al Jazeera]

Baghdad, Iraq - While the US military has formally ended its occupation of Iraq, some of the largest western oil companies, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell, remain.

On November 27, 38 months after Royal Dutch Shell announced its pursuit of a massive gas deal in southern Iraq, the oil giant had its contract signed for a $17bn flared gas deal.

Three days later, the US-based energy firm Emerson submitted a bid for a contract to operate at Iraq's giant Zubair oil field, which reportedly holds some eight million barrels of oil.

Earlier this year, Emerson was awarded a contract to provide crude oil metering systems and other technology for a new oil terminal in Basra, currently under construction in the Persian Gulf, and the company is installing control systems in the power stations in Hilla and Kerbala.

Iraq's supergiant Rumaila oil field is already being developed by BP, and the other supergiant reserve, Majnoon oil field, is being developed by Royal Dutch Shell. Both fields are in southern Iraq.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Iraq's oil reserves of 112 billion barrels ranks second in the world, only behind Saudi Arabia. The EIA also estimates that up to 90 per cent of the country remains unexplored, due to decades of US-led wars and economic sanctions.

"Prior to the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, US and other western oil companies were all but completely shut out of Iraq's oil market," oil industry analyst Antonia Juhasz told Al Jazeera. "But thanks to the invasion and occupation, the companies are now back inside Iraq and producing oil there for the first time since being forced out of the country in 1973."

Juhasz, author of the books The Tyranny of Oil and The Bush Agenda, said that while US and other western oil companies have not yet received all they had hoped the US-led invasion of Iraq would bring them, "They've certainly done quite well for themselves, landing production contracts for some of the world's largest remaining oil fields under some of the world's most lucrative terms."

Dr Abdulhay Yahya Zalloum, an international oil consultant and economist who has spent nearly 50 years in the oil business in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, agrees that western oil companies have "obtained concessions in Iraq's major [oil] fields", despite "there being a lack of transparency and clarity of vision regarding the legal issues".

Dr Zalloum added that he believes western oil companies have successfully acquired the lions' share of Iraq's oil, "but they gave a little piece of the cake for China and some of the other countries and companies to keep them silent".

In a speech at Fort Bragg in the wake of the US military withdrawal, US President Barack Obama said the US was leaving behind "a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people".

Of this prospect, Dr Zalloum was blunt.

"The last thing the US cares about in the Middle East is democracy. It is about oil, full stop."

A strong partnership?

A White House press release dated November 30 titled, "Joint Statement by the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee", said this about "energy co-operation" between the two countries:

"The United States is committed to supporting the Republic of Iraq in its efforts to develop the energy sector. Together, we are exploring ways to help boost Iraq's oil production, including through better protection for critical infrastructure."

Iraq is one of the largest oil exporters to the US, and has plans to raise its overall crude oil exports to 3.3m barrels per day (bpd) next year, compared with their target of 3m bpd this year, according to Assim Jihad, spokesman for Iraq's ministry of oil.

Jihad told Al Jazeera that Iraq has a goal of raising its oil production capacity to 12m bpd by 2017, which would place it in the top echelon of global producers.

According to Jihad, Iraq's 2013 production goal is 4.5m bpd, and in 2014 it is 5m bpd. The 2017 goal is ambitious, given that Iraq did not meet its 2011 goal, and many officials say 8m bpd capacity is more realistic for 2017.

Unexplored regions of Iraq could yield an additional 100bn barrels, and Iraq's production costs are among the lowest in the world.

To date, only about 2,000 wells have been drilled in Iraq, compared with roughly one million wells in Texas alone.

Globally, current oil usage is approximately 88m bpd. By 2030, global petroleum demand will grow by 27m bpd, and many energy experts see Iraq as being a key player in meeting this demand.

It is widely understood that Iraq will require at least $200bn in physical and human investments to bring its production capacity up to 12m bpd, from its current production levels.

Juhasz explained that ExxonMobil, BP and Shell were among the oil companies that "played the most aggressive roles in lobbying their governments to ensure that the invasion would result in an Iraq open to foreign oil companies".

"They succeeded," she added. "They are all back in. BP and CNPC [China National Petroleum Corporation] finalised the first new oil contract issued by Baghdad for the largest oil field in the country, the 17 billion barrel super giant Rumaila field. ExxonMobil, with junior partner Royal Dutch Shell, won a bidding war against Russia's Lukoil (and junior partner ConocoPhillips) for the 8.7 billion barrel West Qurna Phase 1 project. Italy's Eni SpA, with California's Occidental Petroleum and the Korea Gas Corp, was awarded Iraq's Zubair oil field with estimated reserves of 4.4 billion barrels. Shell was the lead partner with Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, winning a contract for the super-giant Majnoon field, one of the largest in the world, with estimated reserves of up to 25 billion."

Zalloum says there is a two-fold interest for the western oil companies.

"There is development of the existing fields, but also for the explored but not-yet-produced fields," he said. "For the old fields, there are two types of development. One is to renovate the infrastructure, since for most of the past 25 years it has depreciated due to the sanctions and turmoil. Also, some of these fields have different stratum, so once they use innovative techniques like horizontal drilling, there is a huge potential in the fields they have explored."

But there are complicating factors. As a spasm of violence wracked Baghdad in the wake of the US military withdrawal and political rifts widen, Iraq's instability is evident.

"Iraq has lots of cheap-to-get oil, but it also has a multitude of problems - political, ethnic, tribal, religious etc - that have prevented them from exploiting it as well or as quickly as the Saudis," says Tom Whipple, an energy scholar who was a CIA analyst for 30 years. "Someday it may turn out that Iraq has more oil underground than Saudi Arabia. The big question is how stable it will be after the US leaves? So far it is not looking all that good."

Jihad, Iraq's ministry of oil spokesman, however, said attacks against Iraq's oil pipelines have minimal effect on production capabilities, and claimed "sabotage will not affect our oil production and exports because we can fix these damages within days, or even hours".

Whipple, a fellow at the Post-Carbon Institute, says Baghdad had driven a hard bargain with western oil companies.

"The only reason they are participating is because everybody else is and they hope to get a foot in the door in case some new government in Iraq changes its policies to let other outsiders make more money. Remember it is not all the traditional western oil companies that are in there; the Chinese, Russians and Singapore all want a piece of the action."

Wrong idea?

Spokesman Jihad told Al Jazeera that the reason many Iraqis think western oil companies are operating in Iraq is simply to steal Iraq's oil.

"These ideas were obtained during the regime of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein, and these are the wrong ideas," he said. "The future will help Iraqis understand these companies have come to work here to help Iraq sell its oil to help the people, and they work to serve the country."

Jihad admitted that his media office works "to help Iraqis understand the nature of the work of these companies and their investing in Iraq".

Despite the efforts of Jihad's office to prove otherwise, Iraqis Al Jazeera spoke with disagree.

"Only a naïve child could believe the Americans came here for something besides our oil," Ahmed Ali, an unemployed engineer, told Al Jazeera. "Nor can we believe their being here has anything to do with helping the Iraqi people."

Basim al-Khalili, a restaurant owner in Baghdad's Karada district, agrees.

"If Iraq had no oil, would America have sacrificed thousands of its soldiers and hundreds of billions of dollars to come here?"

Oil analyst Juhasz also agrees.

"The US and other western oil companies and their governments had been lobbying for passage of a new national law in Iraq, the Iraq Oil Law, which would move Iraq from a nationalised to a largely privatised oil market using Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), a type of contract model used in just approximately 12 per cent of the world's oil market."

She explained that this agreement has been summarily rejected by most countries, including all of Iraq's neighbours, "because it provides far more benefits to the foreign corporation than to the domestic government".

But it has not been an easy road for the western oil companies in Iraq.

"Major western companies, such as Chevron and ConocoPhillips, that had hoped to sign contracts were unable to do so. A third round [of contracts] took place in December 2010 and saw no major western oil companies (except Shell) win contracts. I believe that there was an Iraqi backlash against the awarding of contracts to the large western major oil companies. Thus, in December 2010, fields went to Russian oil companies Lukoil and Gazprom, Norway's Statoil, and the Angolan company Sonangol, among others."

Unlike under Iraq's Oil Law, these contracts do not need to go through parliament, according to the central government. This means the contracts are being signed without public discourse.

"The public is against privatisation, which is one reason why the law has not passed," added Juhasz. "The contracts are enacting a form of privatisation without public discourse and essentially at the butt of a gun - these contracts have all been awarded during a foreign military occupation with the largest contracts going to companies from the foreign occupiers' countries. It seems that democracy and equity are the two largest losers in this oil battle."

Iraq's oil future

Under the current circumstances, the possibility of a withdrawal of western oil companies from Iraq appears remote, and the Obama administration continues to pressure Baghdad to pass the Iraq Oil Law.

Nevertheless, resistance to the western presence continues.

"The bottom line is that it seems clear that the majority of Iraqis want their oil and its operations to remain in Iraqi hands," said Juhasz. "Thus far, it has required a massive foreign military invasion and occupation to grant the foreign oil companies the access they have thus far garnered."

While Iraq's security remains as volatile as ever, as does the political landscape - which can change dramatically at any moment - there is one thing we can always count on as being at the heart of these conflicts, and that is Iraq's oil.

Dahr Jamail is an American journalist who is best known as one of the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from Iraq during the 2003 Iraq invasion. He spent eight months in Iraq, between 2003 to 2005, and presented his stories on his website, entitled Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches. Jamail writes for the Inter Press Service news agency, among other outlets. He has been a frequent guest on Democracy Now!. Jamail is the recipient of the 2008 The Martha Gellhorn Prize for JournalismFollow Dahr Jamail on Twitter: @DahrJamail

pro-Arab Turkmen Vs pro-Kurdish: Turkmen gunfight in Kirkuk

2012-01-08T13:32:00.000+01:00

07/01/2012 19:19

KIRKUK, Jan. 7 (AKnews) – A gunfight has broke out in the disputed oil-rich city of Kirkuk between the guards of a pro-Kurdish Turkmen leader and an al-Iraqiya lawmaker’s but without leaving casualties, according to police.

An argument turned into gunfight between guards of Iraqi lawmaker Zhale al-Naftchi who is MP in the al-Iraqiya list led by Sunni-Arab backed Ayad Allawi and guards of Irfan Kirkukli, leader of the Turkmenli Peoples’ Party (TPP) – that’s close to the Kurdish Patriotic of Kurdistan Party (PUK) led by Kurdish Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

Turhan Abdul Rahman, assistant police chief in Kirkuk, told AKnews that “the gunfight did not cause any casualties. The legal procedures have been taken and now there is no problem”

Ali al-Salihi, al-Nafthchi’s office manager, told AKnews that “the house of the MP al-Natfchi has been damaged due to the intense gunfire from the guards of Irfan Kirkukli”

“The son of Kirkukli alone fired more than 40 shots on al-Naftchi’s house. He [Kirkukli] and his children often harass us. I don’t know who they think they are” al-Saihi said.

Kirkukli could not immediately be reached for a comment about the incident.

The oil-rich city of Kirkuk is of multi-ethnic make-up. Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Christians live in the city. It is one of the territories disputed between Baghdad and Kurdistan Region. Since 2003, Kirkuk has been one of the unstable provinces with frequent armed attacks.

By Abdullah al-Amiri

RY/AKnews

Turkmens to suffer again as Iraqi blocs sharpen their swords

2012-01-01T15:39:00.000+01:00

Turkmens to suffer again as Iraqi blocs sharpen their swords

1 January 2012 / CEREN KUMOVA, ANKARA TODAY’S ZAMAN

Although most fear a collision of both a sectarian and ethnic nature is awaiting Iraq in the post-US era, experts believe threats from the blocs in favor of a federation are leverage for blocs to impose their will on one another, but they also voice concern that minorities, led by the Turkmens, will suffer under the weight of the fight before the blocs reach a consensus, if they ever do.

Only a day after the last US troops withdrew from Iraq, powerful blocs of Sunni and Shiite leaders drew their swords in a fight to snatch power from each other, reviving a scene from back in 2007 when blocs gathered along sectarian lines and took thousands of lives monthly to prove their worth in Iraqi politics.

However, a significant minority group, the Turkmens, say the pressure was always there, before the US intervention, and maybe more increasingly, after their pullout.

Having already issued an arrest warrant for the top Sunni official and asked for the resignation of the second in line, Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made the first move against rivals in the fear that Iraq might see another era of Sunni dominance and in the hope that he gathers enough power under the grip of the Shiite bloc to ensure Shiite control the country.

While Sunni and Shiite blocs took up the fight from where they left off in 2007, and the Kurdish administration started gaining political power through oil deals it secured with foreign companies, other smaller groups, most significantly the Turkmens, worry that they will be trampled as the conflicts continue.

“The Turkmen community in Iraq is the only one without arms,” Mehmet Tütüncü, the general director of İstanbul-based Iraqi Turks Culture and Mutual Aid Society (ITKYD), told Sunday’s Zaman as he expressed concern over the fate of the minority group. “If, God forbid, Iraq falls into three pieces as most believe it will, the situation of the Turkmens will be even worse, as they will be split between Kurdish and Arab blocs geographically,” he added to point out that an extensive conflict among the powerful blocs might shake the ground the Turkmen community stands on. However, he also claimed that the Turkmens would not side with any party if at some point Iraq becomes a federation, saying, “We always say the Turkmens are a part of Iraq; the Turkmens will never be a part of a part.”

According to Tütüncü, Turkmens are divided almost equally among Shiite and Sunni, but they stand together according to their ethnic identity. There are approximately 2.5 to 3 million Turkmens in Iraq, Tütüncü claimed, citing a census held in 1957, after which “Turkmen” was not listed under the category of ethnicities -- “one could either be Kurdish or Arab.” He suggested that Kirkuk was historically a Turkmen city but overrun by Arabs during Saddam’s reign and by Kurds after 2003, the year of the US intervention. “The demographic structure of the city is far from reflecting its historical settlers,” Tütüncü claimed, but both Kurds and Arabs make the same claim, saying they are the historical owners of the oil-rich Iraqi provinces.

Oil is a curse for Iraqis

Alongside the blocs’ strong desire for political dominance over each other, the Iraqi conflict is also significantly an economic one, with many areas in the country blessed with natural resources, drawing attention from the rest of the world for a share of the oil profits. The semiautonomous Kurdish administration of the north, in particular, proves to be an example where economics dominates the political scene, as the administration has struck deals with oil companies that acted against their arrangements with the Baghdadi government as they recognized the Kurdish authority as the rightful owners of the resources. Rich fields of oil are also found in the Turkmen provinces, but since the status of the Turkmen hometowns are still vague, the oil is not a contributor to their society but a cause of conflict since all blocs lay claim to the same lands. “The main challenge for Iraq lies with the integration of Kurds into central Iraqi administration, but it is still a mystery where that road will lead since Kurds are able to use their oil resources to secure economic and political power from oil deals,” Ramazan Gözen, an academic at Yıldırım Beyazıt University, told Sunday’s Zaman, as he advocated that natural resources and economic activities across the country should be supervised by Baghdad, not by local or regional administrations. “Oil deals struck by countries with the Kurdish administration steer Iraq away from solidarity for the benefit of big companies by providing the means for the Kurds to opt for a federal structure in the country,” he added. “Oil has always been a curse for the Turkmens, a major reason for the controversy regarding their lands; instead of wealth and prosperity, oil has brought trouble to the Turkmens,” Tütüncü added to clarify that wealth has its own complexities.

Turkey changes perspective on Iraq

Turkey’s approach toward Iraq also took another form after the US intervention, as the country extended its vision of Iraq consisting only of its border with Turkey and its perspective that focused on protection of Turkmens in the country. Although the struggle of the Turkmens to remain unharmed by clashes still has enormous significance for Turkey’s Iraq policy, the country is now more concerned with the stability of Iraq as a whole, rather than of its parts. “Turkish policy on Iraq before 2000 was focused solely on the Turkmens, which was a rather narrow vision that did not help anyone,” Gözen said, as he said that the Turkish attitude toward Iraq has changed over the last decade. “Now the horizon is farther away with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visiting Shiite headquarter cities, then moving on to lunch with Kurdish administration in the north,” he stated to express the change in the Turkish official Turkish perspective with regards to Iraq. Gözen also signaled that such moves were unthinkable in the last decade but that today’s Turkey was well aware that it had to ignore ethnicity and sect to help Iraqi maintain the stability the country urgently needs in the fragile Middle Eastern region. “Turkey is apparently at odds with Maliki, who probably believes Turkey is hostile to him because he is of Shiite descent,” Ufuk Ulutaş of the Ankara-based Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) told Sunday’s Zaman. He agreed that sect and ethnicity had to be ignored when looking at Iraq. “It is hard for a country [Iraq] that is psychologically divided into political blocs to understand how another country might be blind to its blocs, but this is exactly the position of Turkey toward Iraq now,” he added, stressing that Turkey was not seeking to have one bloc benefit at the expense of another because any power imbalance would harm Turkey drastically. Ulutaş also doesn’t believe Iraq will break up into pieces after the US pullout, thinking none of the blocs that currently seem to be battling actually wants to be on its own through independence.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-267270-turkmens-to-suffer-again-as-iraqi-blocs-sharpen-their-swords.html

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TURKMEN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

2011-12-20T14:03:00.000+01:00

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TURKMEN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

The attacks against the Turkmen were once again denounced by an announcement published by Turkmen Members of Parliament. In the joint announcement published by Turkmen MP’s a demand to stop the attacks, kidnappings and murders directed at Turkmen was made and it was underlined that the Presidency, Prime Ministry as well as the Parliamentary Offices must intervene.
Members of Parliament Erşet Salihi, Hasan Bayatlı, Abbas Bayatlı, Jele Neftçi and Müdrike Ahmet were present at the Press Conference.

Head of Iraqi Turkmen Front and Kirkuk MP Erşet Salihi read the statement to the press. He said that the government and parliament have maintained their silence regarding the attacks against Turkmen and that it was crucial that the Presidency, Prime Ministry and Parliamentary Office intervene to stop the attacks.

In his speech Erşat Salihi indicated that the attacks against Turkmen were being discussed by the Human Rights Commission of the European Parliament and appealed to President Celal Talabani. Erşat Salihi demanded that Celal Talabani convenes the representatives of political groups to intervene in the attacks against Turkmen.

Kirkuk MP Erşet Salihi said that if the Iraq government did not take necessary action to stop the attacks against Turkmen and arrest the culprits then they would be obliged to apply to international authorities.

Another Turkmen MP, Abbas Bayatlı also demanded that a commission consisting of the Presidency, Prime Ministry and Parliamentary Offices be established in Kirkuk and that serious action be taken to stop the acts of violence against Turkmen.

kerkuk.net

Avrupa Parlementosunda Irak Turkmenler insan Haklari (gorusler1)

2011-12-17T23:37:00.000+01:00

• Avrupa Parlementosunda Irak Turkmenler insan Haklari (gorusler1)

Iraq's minorities need action from EU, By Metin KAZAK, Bulgarian MEP from ALDE

2011-12-17T22:50:00.000+01:00

Iraq's minorities need action from EU

No easy solution and time is running out

ARTICLE
DECEMBER 17, 2011 - 10:06AM
BY METIN KAZAK,BULGARIAN MEP FROM ALDE

When people are kidnapped in Kirkuk they disappear. Some do return to their families, after large ransoms are paid, while others become the victims of their kidnappers. Bombings are a daily occurrence and no one knows the target of two terrorists that accidently killed themselves assembling a bomb on 11 December.

It is no wonder that the Turkmen community of Kirkuk and other so-called disputed areas are under siege. Many are searching either for a way out or the support at home and abroad needed to sustain their centuries-old communities that, like others, have been rocked by the instability that is only now beginning to ebb away from Iraq.

As many of my colleagues that deal with Iraq have agreed, the European Union has to play a more joined-up and constructive role in Iraq as the United States draws down its forces before exiting completely on 31 December 2011.

To date, I have not seen the signs that this is happening. This sentiment is shared amongst colleagues, civil society, and observers from all manner of backgrounds, party, and experience. The EU’s delegation within Iraq remains woefully small, under-resourced, and under-staffed.

More worrying is the complacent, or at worst disengaged, attitude that seems to characterise the approach to Iraq from the European Commission, and newly formed EEAS. The EU has projected itself as an international actor and has been believed, especially by those that follow it from afar, and in this I include Kirkuk.

Kirkuk reflects many of the gnawing deficiencies within Iraq today. The 2005 constitution has still to be formally adopted, a process for normalising relations between communities remains dormant, and all the while demographic change, dislocation and insecurity is eating away at Turkmen communities, livelihoods and futures as the city’s cultural fabric is eroded bomb by bomb.

Every week, Turkmen professionals, including much-needed doctors, are leaving after facing death threats, intimidation or discrimination in the workplace. Their children have limited prospects, with little if any tuition in their mother tongue, excluded from state jobs, and with no signs that the thousands of property claims will be resolved soon.

But when the Subcommittee on Human Rights convened on 5 December 2011 it did so with a clear desire – to raise awareness of the situation facing the Turkmen of Iraq and to make the first step in identifying the action that can – and should – be taken to safeguard the future of Iraq’s communities, of which Turkmen are the third largest.

It was a meeting that had been long overdue, and the interest from colleagues and the public was a demonstration of the European Parliament acting in concert with the real interests of policymakers and European citizens.

The message from invited academics was also clear, namely that the situation in Kirkuk is acute and the risks are real. In identifying the dangers, the existing and mostly failed initiatives to solve them, and drawing comparisons I believe we are closer to understanding one of the world’s most complex conflicts.

We cannot pretend that a solution is easy or imminent but we know that time is running out. The coming year will be a time when my colleagues and I intend to support the discussions into community security, property reparations, multi-lingual education, confidence building measures, and parliamentary capacity building needed to help make a solution realisable. The European institutions must be part of this and I hope to bring to their attention the realities facing Turkmen and their neighbours today.

Soon a new year will be dawning for the EU in Iraq, and with this must come resolutions. The EU must resolve to demonstrate its commitment to the people of Iraq as a whole and to the Turkmen in particular. As a community, the Turkmen have been listening to the EU make promises for too long and for almost a decade they have seen nothing. That must change in 2012.

About the Author

Metin Kazak, Bulgarian MEP from ALDE
http://www.neurope.eu/article/iraqs-minorities-need-action-eu

Infamous Blackwater mercs set to make Iraq return after massacre

2011-12-15T22:24:00.000+01:00

Avrupa Parlementosunda Turkmen Haklari Gorusmeleri (youtube)

2011-12-07T21:32:00.003+01:00

From left to right: Mr Metin Kazak, MEP - Prof. Ibrahim Sirkeci - EEAS Representative - Ms. Barbara Lochbihler, Chair - Prof Stephan Wolff - Mr. Hasan Özmen

PUBLIC HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF TURKMEN IN IRAQ

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT BRUSSELS

5 DECEMBER 2011

Avrupa Parlementosunda Turkmen Haklari Gorusmeleri (youtube)

Please click on the links hereunder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8UajdVbaK8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiZXEjp1-6I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c02ZWbQJtQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N55vh9qv-Iw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2_sEBCDW5w

Further destruction of Iraq's Higher Education: Blazing fires, forged degrees and silencer guns

2011-12-02T22:58:00.000+01:00

by Dirk Adriaensens, member of the BRussells Tribunal executive Committee

(01 December 2011)

“Fire and gunpowder do not sleep together”….except in Iraq.

Please click on the link below to read the article:

http://www.brussellstribunal.org/pdf/HigherEducation011211.pdf

Hearing on Human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq at the European Parliament Brussels

2011-12-01T11:31:00.002+01:00

Subcommittee on Human Rights

Public Hearing on

Human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq

5 December 2011

15.30 – 16.30

Room: Altiero Spinelli (ASP) 1 G 2

European Parliament, Brussels

Draft Programme

1. Introductory remarks by Mr Metin Kazak, MEP

2. Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham,

On minority rights in Iraq and prospects for the Iraqi Turkmen within Iraq

3. Mr Hasan Özmen, Member of Parliament, Council of Representatives of Iraq,

On the plight of the Iraqi Turkmen since 2003

4. Professor Ibrahim Sirkeci, Director of the Centre for Transnational Studies at Regent’s College,

On the effects of migration and the future security of the Iraqi Turkmen

5. EEAS Representative

6. Discussion

7. Concluding remarks by Ms Barbara Lochbihler, Chair

The hearing can be followed online:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/homeCom.do?language=EN&body=DROI

Deputy Prime Minister Bozdağ received ITF Turkey Representative Kazancı

2011-11-29T23:12:00.000+01:00

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey Bekir Bozdağ received ITF Turkey Representative Dr. Hicran Kazancı in his office. The message of the meeting was that Turkey was a constant supporter of the Turkmen.

At the meeting which took place in the offices of Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ Dr.Kazancı said that two important issues which were of interest to the Turkmen had taken place recently in Iraq. Hicran Kazancı underlined that these issues were the federal debates and particularly emphasized the matter of security. Kazancı said, "As you are aware, the US troops are beginning to withdraw and during this process attacks on Turkmen have increased. Particularly terror groups who are irritated by proper procedures have escalated their attacks and the Iraqi Turkmen Front has become a serious target. "

Hicran Kazancı underlined that regarding the federal debate the Iraqi Turkmen Front has adopted and executed a policy which favors the unity and integrity of Iraq and said, "We oppose placing the federal debate on an ethnic sect basis. If a federal system is being considered then the system must consist of more than three zones because a three zone system may lead to division. "

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ emphasized that Turkey would always side with the Turkmen. Deputy Prime Minister Bozdağ said, "Turkey supports unity and integrity in Iraq. Peace, stability and political unity in Iraq are important for us. As Turkey, we will continue to support these issues. "

Dr. Hicran Kazancı

Iraqi Turkmen Front

Turkey Representative

Azerbaijani MP meets leaders of Iraqi Turkmen Front

2011-11-29T22:50:00.000+01:00

Azerbaijani MP meets leaders of Iraqi Turkmen Front

Tue 29 November 2011 14:37 GMT
15:37 Local Time

Text size:

Ganira Pashayeva

A bomb attack has been carried out in the home of Spokesperson for Iraqi Turkmen Front Ali Mehdi.

It was announced by Azerbaijani MP Ganira Pashayeva who is on a visit to Iraq.

Three separate explosives placed in front of Mehdi’s house in the Tisin area of Kirkuk exploded in sequence.

The explosion has claimed one life and injured 19 people. The neighboring buildings have also suffered damage. Ali Mehdi survived the explosion, the MP said.

Pashayeva met with Iraqi MPs of Turkish origin Zhala Yunus Neftchi and leadership of the Iraqi Turkmen Front today.

An explosion also occurred near the hotel where the Azerbaijani MP stayed.

She added that the explosion occurred near the hotel she stayed and building of the Iraqi parliament.

The explosion injured six and killed one.

There is also an MP among the injured, Pashayeva noted.

Pashayeva said they are accompanied by military vehicles and bodyguards wherever they go after the explosion took place.

“The Parliament and Rashid Hotel operate under a tight security. But the explosion showed that there is no safer place here.”

Pashayeva will attend an international conference in Baghdad, hold a number meetings here and visit Najaf, Karbala, Kufa, Kazimeyn and Kirkuk.

Gun.Az

IRAQI TURKMEN MARCH AGAINST TERRORISM (LONDON 2011) VIDEOS

2011-11-28T19:51:00.000+01:00

مظاهرة عارمة ضد الأرهاب في العاصمة البريطانية لندن

شاركت الاف من المواطنيين من الجالية التركمانية والتركية والاذرية في مظاهرة عارمة ضد الارهاب في العاصمة البريطانية لندن وذلك يوم الأحد المصادف 27من شهر الحالي.

نظمت المظاهرة من قبل كل من ممثلية الجبهة التركمانية العراقية وأتحاد جمعيات القبرص التركية واتحاد أتراك بريطانيا ومنظمات مدنية لتعبير عن استنكارهم لأرهاب الذي يتعرض لها المنطقة من قبل منظمات ارهابية.

هذا وقد شاركت الجالية التركمانية بكثافة في هذه المظاهرة لتعبير عن رفضهم للارهاب أينما كان وخصوصآ فيما يتعرض لها التركمان في مناطق تركمان ألي في العراق من ارهاب منظم لافراغ المنطقة من هذا المكون الاصيل.

بدأت المظاهرة من بلغيريف سكوير مرورآ بهايد بارك كورنر و بيكاديلي ستريت وانتهت بمقر رئيس الوزراء البريطاني في داوننغ ستريت حيث تم أستقبالهم في المقر لتسليم رسالة لرئيس الوزراء البريطاني السيد ديفيد كامرون من قبل ممثلين عن المشاركين في هذه المظاهرة وهم كل من:

السيدة سندس عباس ممثلة الجبهة التركمانية العراقية في بريطانيا

السيد أحمد باش تورك رئيس أتحاد جمعيات القبرص التركية في بريطانيا

السيدة شازية سزمت عضوة الهيئة التنفيذية في اتحاد أتراك بريطانيا

السيد اتيلا عباجي اغلو عضو الهيئة التنفيذية لاتحاد أتراك بريطانيا

المكتب الاعلامي

ممثلية الجبهة التركمانية العراقية المملكة المتحدة

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8MErM3vHMA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiIYSRVCEvM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TatdGHp7NIY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Iraqi Turkmen Hoyrat - ABDULVAHİT KÜZEÇİOĞLU

2011-11-28T18:43:00.000+01:00

ABDULVAHİT KÜZEÇİOĞLU 2011 KERKÜK MUHALİF HOYRATI

The Turkmen have an important role in Iraq

2011-11-26T13:57:00.000+01:00

Jeffrey: The Turkmen have an important role in Iraq

Turkmen Members of Parliament discussed the situation foreseen in Iraq after the US forces withdraw as well as the systematic targeting of Turkmen not only in Kirkuk but also in other regions with USA Ambassador to Iraq his Excellency James Jeffrey. Ambassador Jeffrey received the Turkmen MPs in his Baghdad office and said that the Turkmen had an important role in the political efforts in Iraq.

At the meeting the situation after the US troops was discussed and in addition it was specified that the targeting of Turkmen had reached serious proportions which threatened the security of Kirkuk and the necessity for finding a final solution to this issue was emphasized. The Turkmen MPs presented a consensus on all debated issues.

Head of Iraqi Turkmen Front and Member of Parliament Erşat Salihi stated that Ambassador Jeffrey had underlined the role of Turkmen on the political stage of Iraq. The meeting was attended by Head of ITF and MP Erşat Salihi and MPs Abbas Bayatlı, Hasan Özmen Bayatlı, Jale Neftçi, Müdrike Hasan and Hasan Vehap.

kerkuk.net

BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR 1433 TO ALL MUSLIMS

2011-11-26T11:36:00.000+01:00

The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal decided that Bush and Blair committed genocide and crimes against humanity by leading the invasion of Iraq in 2003

2011-11-26T09:19:00.000+01:00

Bush, Blair Found Guilty of War Crimes

By Press TV

November 25, 2011 --- A War Crimes Tribunal in Malaysia has found former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair guilty of war crimes for their roles in the Iraq war.

The five-panel Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal decided that Bush and Blair committed genocide and crimes against humanity by leading the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday.

In 2003, the US and Britain invaded Iraq in blatant violation of international law and under the pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction allegedly stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The Malaysian tribunal judges ruled that the decision to wage war against Iraq by the two former heads of government was a flagrant abuse of law and an act of aggression that led to large-scale massacres of the Iraqi people.

Bombings and other forms of violence became commonplace in Iraq shortly after the US-led invasion of the country.

In their ruling, the tribunal judges also stated that the US, under the leadership of Bush, fabricated documents to make it appear that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

However, the world later learned that the former Iraqi regime did not possess WMDs and that the US and British leaders knew this all along.

Over one million Iraqis were killed during the invasion, according to the California-based investigative organization Project Censored.

The judges also said the court findings should be provided to signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, and added that the names of Bush and Blair should be listed on a war crimes register.

Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission: Bush and Blair charged with having committed Crimes Against Peace

2011-11-24T15:47:00.007+01:00

CHIEF PROSECUTOR OF THE KUALA LUMPUR WAR CRIMES COMMISSION v.

GEORGE W BUSH & ANTHONY L. BLAIR

CRIMINAL PROCEEDING NO. 1-CP-2011

Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Corum: Judge Abdul Kadar Sulaiman, Judge Salleh Buang, Judge Tunku Sofiah Jewa, Judge Alfred
L. Webre, Judge Shad Saleem Faruqi.

Prosecution: Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar, Prof Francis A. Boyle, Avtaran Singh, Usha Kulasegaran,
Gan Pei Fern.

Amici Curiae: Jason Kay Kit Leong, Sook Kok Weng, Pan Shan Ping, Mohd Zharif Shafiq, Zyzan

Syaidi, Muhammad Khirul.

Registrar: Musa Ismail.

22 November 2011.

UNANIMOUS VIEWS AND FINDINGS

The two accused, George W Bush and Anthony L. Blair, at the material times the Heads of

Government of the United States of America and the United Kingdom respectively, have been charged by the Chief Prosecutor of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission with having committed CRIMES AGAINST PEACE, in that they have planned, prepared and invaded the sovereign state of Iraq on 19 March 2003 in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law.

The Particulars of the Charge state, inter alia, that on 19 March 2003, the two accused launched a war

against Iraq without the sanction of the United Nations and without just cause whatsoever.

The two accused were not present at the proceedings though duly served. Nor were any attorneys or

counsel present in their behalf. Pursuant to Article 15 of the Charter of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes

Commission & the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal

(hereinafter referred to as “the Charter”), an Amicus Curiae was appointed by the Tribunal to assist the

Tribunal by presenting an unbiased assessment of the charge and evidence against the accused.

The Amicus Curiae entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of both the accused.

Please click on the link below:

http://www.brussellstribunal.org/pdf/Extempore_Judgment_KL_War_Crimes_Tribunal.pdf

Arap Baas Partisi Diktatörü Suriye Türkmenlerine yeni bir katliam düzenledi

2011-11-21T17:16:00.000+01:00

Arap Baas Partisi Diktatörü

Suriye Türkmenlerine yeni bir katliam düzenledi

Yazam: Sadun KÖPRÜLÜ

Uzun yıllardan beri Suriye Türkmenleri Arap Baas partisi yönetimi diktatör Hafız

Esad Tarafından her türlü baskılara, asimilasyon politikasıyla yok olmaya doğru acı durumları yaşayarak, binlerce Suriyeli Türkmenler işkence, baskı altında şehit düşerek, günümüz kanlı rejimin oğlu Beşar Hafız Esat yönetimi 3500 Milyon Suriye Türkmenlerine karşı babasının her türlü acımasız işkenceyle asimilasyon politikasını sürdürmeye çalışarak, Araplaştırma politikası, asimile yöntemini uygulayarak, çok sayıda Suriye Türkmenleri işkence altında şehit olarak binlerce Türkmenler dikta rejimin uzun yıllardan hapishanesinde yaşamaktadır

ve ön binlerce Suriyeli Türkmenler kendi ana dillerini unutarak Araplaşmışlardır

Suriye Türkmen soydaşlarımız Arap Baas Partisi tarafından her türlü haksızlığa maruz kalmakla, anayasal, kültürel haklarından uzun yıllardan beri günümüze kadar yoksun kalmışlardır, ana dillerinde okumak eğitim görmek, kitap, gazete, dergi yayınlamak yanında, Türkçe bir Televizyon radyo evi, dernek, örgüt kurmak, İnternet site alanında her bir çalışmaları yasaklanmıştır.

Uzun yıllar Suriye’ni yöneten Arap Baas partisi diktatörü Hafız Esad iktidarı bırakmadan ölümünden sonra Arap Baas partisini kıyıcı rejimin oğlu Beşar Esad yürütmektedir.

Türkmenlere karşı tüm baskı asimilasyon politikasını yöneterek, acımasız yüzlerce Türkmenleri idam ederek, uzun yıllar hapishaneye atmıştır,

Bu günlerde dikta rejim Devlet Başkanı Beşar Esad’ın aldığı tüm önlemlere rağmen, Artık milletimize baskı soykırım Düzenleyen diktatörler biran önce yok olmalıdır, düşmelidir.

Beşar Esad’in cezalandırılmasına engel olan İran, Rusya komünist sosyalist rejimler

Şehit kanlarının hesabını bir gün vereceklerdir.

Artık Saddam rejiminin düştüğü gibi Esad rejimi gibi rejimlerde düşmelidir.

Hiçbir hakları olmayan Suriye Türkmenlerin tüm hakları verilerek, zorlukla kanla, canla birden alınmalıdır.

iki gün süren Hafız Rejimi acımadan Türkmen köylerinde Türkmenlere yönelik uygulamış olduğu kanlı katliamda yüzlerce Türkmen şehit olmuştur.

Çok sayıda yaralılar olmuştur.

Dünya birden bu kıyıcı eylemlere katliama sessiz kalmaktadırlar.

Nerde bu insan hakları didikler? Nerde BM Af örgütü? nerde Lahey mahkemesi, nerde Amerika, Avrupa devletleri? Nerede Türkiye, Türk Cumhuriyetleri? Bu katliama sesiz kalmamaları gerekmektedir soydaşlarımız şehit oluyor, idam oluyor, bizinde sesimiz bile çıkmadan, yerimizden bile kımıldamıyoruz Nerde Dünya

Kamuyu? Nerde Türk medyası?

Bu gün Suriye’de yeni katliamda şehit olan Türkmenlerin sayıları yüz binlerce olarak, birçok Suriyeli Türkmenlerde yönetim tarafından kayıp olarak izleri bile bulunmamaktandı, Suriye diktatörü Türkmenlere karşı 1982 yıllarında Hama Türkmenleri Hafız Esad döneminde de on binlerce şehitler vermiştir.

Bugün Suriye’de yaşayan Türkmenlerin durumuna Irak Saddam döneminden hiçbir farkı olmadan acılar, baskılar, işkenceler sürmektedir.

Suriyeli kardeşlerimiz canlarını, kanlarını vererek şehit düşerek, topraklarını, ana yurtlarını Dillerini korumaya sahipsiz olarak

Türkiye’nin ve Türk dünyasının politikasının dış Türklere karşı olması ve onlara destek vererek hakları savunma yanında canlarını dikta Baas Rejiminden korumaları gerekmektedir, ve kendimizden, dilimizden, varlığımızdan, kanımızdan, canımızdan olan tüm dünya Türklerinin yanlarında olarak onlara sahip çıkmak, destek, moral vermeliyiz onları savunmak, en kutsal görevimizdir çünkü Türklük ile yaşamak ölmek bizler için kutsaldır, çok önemlidir.

İki gün süren Suriye Türkmenlerine karşı katliamda

Dikta rejime karşı protestoların 8 ayı aşkın sürmesiyle birçok Suriyeli Türkmenlerin yaşadığı bölgelerde, köylerde katliam sürmektedir rejime bağlı güvenlik güçlerinin ateş açması sonucu yüzlerce Türkmen şehit düşerek Humus'ta 19 Şam'ın Hareste bölgesinde çok sayıda şehit düşerek Humus’un Hule ilçesinde ve Tıllıf Türkmen köyünde şehit olan Türkmenlerden

1-Mahmut Muhammet Yasin,

2-Muflih Cesim Kasım 3-Halit Kasım, 4-Salah Kasım, 5-Ahmet Halit Hasan,

6-Süleyman Ali Meştan,

7-Muhammet Cuma Karamusa,

8-Mülham Emin Iğır,

9-Vesil Meşten,

10-Ahmet Meşten.

11- Ahmet Kasım Hataylı Semih

12- Ahmet Küçük

13-Abdurrahman

Mahmut Cansız

14-Mehmet İzmirli

15-Zeynel Abdın Hatip

16-Nur Mahmut Read

17-Haç Abulilah Şeyh Maruf şahap

18-Mehmet Şahap

19-Velid İbrahim

Abdülkerim 20-İbrahim İsmail

21-Sümer Huri

22-Mehmet Derviş annesi Resmiye ile birlikte

23-Ahmet Mardinli

24-Yahya Mardinli

25-hasan Antepli

Bunun yanında

Şam Üniversitesi Edebiyat ve Tıp Fakültesinden 12 Türkmen öğrencisi tutuklanmıştır. İnsan Hakları Gözlemcileri vermiş oldukları demeçlere göre günümüze kadar 2 bin 701'i sivil, 880'i güvenlik güçlerinden olarak Suriye genelinde toplam 3 bin 581 kişi yaşamını yitirmiştir.

Ayrıca 53 Türkmen Suriye’nin başka bölgelerinde şehit olmuştur.

Ve çok sayıda Türkmenler Humus Baba Amru Mahallesinde şehit olmuştur.

Şehitlerimize Allah’tan Cennet Rahmet dileriz, yaralarımıza şifa niyaz ederek Türk milletimizin başı sağ olsun.

KUALA LUMPUR WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

2011-11-21T16:28:00.000+01:00

KUALA LUMPUR WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

2011-11-21T16:25:00.000+01:00

GEORGE W BUSH AND ANTHONY L BLAIR LIVE STREAMING OF WAR CRIMES TRIAL

Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal

Global Research, November 22, 2011

- 2011-11-19

CLICK TO VIEW

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kl-war-crime-tribunal

Chief Judge, Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal

Streaming Video: Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal -

The following URL will stream video of each session of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal within 1-2 hours after the specific session has ended. To access this streaming video please go to:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/war-is-a-crime-exhibition

Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal

Schedule of Sessions

Saturday Nov. 19, 2011 9AM - 5 PM Kuala Lumpur time;

Sunday Nov. 20, 2011 9AM - 5 PM Kuala Lumpur time;

Monday Nov. 21, 2011 9AM - 5 PM Kuala Lumpur time;

Tuesday Nov. 22, 2011 9AM - 5 PM Kuala Lumpur time;

CONVERT TO YOUR TIME ZONE:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Sessions of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal will also be online on You Tube.

Michel Chossudovsky, Cynthia McKinney and Dirk Adriaensens are in Kuala Lumpur for the hearings.

Les espions de l’or noir, par Gilles Munier – nouvelle édition

2011-11-20T19:06:00.000+01:00

Les espions de l’or noir, par Gilles Munier – nouvelle édition

La seconde édition des Espions de l’or noir * aux Editions Encre d’Orient comprend une enquête sur « les manipulations secrètes occidentales dans les Printemps arabes ».

Aujourd’hui, écrit l’auteur, « La politique de la canonnière, abolie en 1907, a été remplacée par celle du porte-avion, les espions classiques par des journalistes complaisants et des militants d’organisations humanitaires pervertis. Le temps est aux mercenaires des sociétés militaires ou d’espionnage privées. Internet, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, et l’indispensable téléphone satellite Thuraya, sont les nouveaux outils de déstabilisation nécessaire à l’organisation de révolutions dites démocratiques. Le monde n’a pas changé. Pour les grandes et moyennes puissances, l’exploitation éhontée des pays du tiers-monde est toujours la règle, notamment lorsque des champs pétroliers et des positions géo-stratégiques sont en jeu ».

Critique des Espions de l’or noir par Paul Balta, écrivain et journaliste, spécialiste du monde arabe (Confluences Méditerranée – 2011) :

Journaliste indépendant, Gilles Munier est un bon spécialiste du Proche- Orient. Il a, entre autres, suivi sur place le conflit Irak-Iran (1980-1988) et les deux guerres du Golfe : l’invasion du Koweït par Saddam Hussein en 1990, puis sa libération par une coalition dirigée par les Etats-Unis en 1991. L’embargo international qui a ensuite frappé l’Irak a ruiné le pays et fait 500 000 morts. À partir de ce terrible constat, il explique pourquoi et comment le principal enjeu de ces affrontements a été l’or noir.

D’entrée de jeu, l’auteur donne la liste et l’identité de 51 personnages liées à la question pétrolière et qui ont joué un rôle important, mais qui sont moins connus que Guillaume II, Hitler, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Lawrence d’Arabie, des monarques britanniques et saoudiens et d’autres personnalités. Il y a aussi les irréguliers du groupe Stern et du Shay, ancêtres du Mossad et de la CIA. Il rappelle que depuis la découverte des champs pétrolifères de Bakou, au XIXe siècle, puis de Perse et de Mésopotamie, au début du XXe, les luttes d’influence entre grandes puissances pour s’en emparer n’ont jamais cessé. Il explique aussi comment, depuis Napoléon Ier, des lignées d’agents secrets ont contribué au démantèlement de l’empire ottoman afin d’assurer aux Occidentaux la suprématie sur les principales ressources pétrolifères du monde. Ces dernières ont été à l’arrière-plan des deux guerres mondiales et de nombreux conflits régionaux jusqu’aux plus récents en Géorgie et en Irak.

D’une impressionnante culture, Gilles Munier remonte dans le temps et nous rappelle que c’est en entrant en Mésopotamie au IVè siècle av. J-C. qu’Alexandre le Grand, fut le premier occidental à entendre parler du pétrole et de son utilisation. La saga se déroule jusqu’à nos jours au cours de dix-sept chapitres.

Citons quelques titres de quelques-uns parmi eux pour illustrer ce cheminement et éveiller votre curiosité. II – Les espions de Napoléon, précurseurs du Grand jeu. III – William Cohen-Palgrave, l’espion jésuite qui voulait évangéliser les Wahhabites. VII – Allemagne : la marche vers l’Orient pétrolier. X – Thomas Edward Laurence, l’espion trop médiatisé. XI – Gertrude Bell, l’espionne au coeur brisé. XV – Pétrole : la France à la remorque des Anglo-saxons. Une des trois cartes montre le célèbre tracé du chemin de fer Berlin-Bagdad puis, tout au long de l’ouvrage, nous découvrons les portraits des espions, espionnes et autres acteurs cités.

* 231 pages, avec cartes et index – 21 euros

http://www.france-irak-actualite.com/article-les-espions-de-l-or-noir-par-gilles-munier-nouvelle-edition-89311950.html

IRAQ: Turkmen approved as official language

2011-11-20T14:17:00.000+01:00

State Minister for Province Affairs Turhan Müftü said that the Council of Minister had approved the special law accepted the Turkmen language as the official language in regions with dense Turkmen populations today.

Turhan Müftü gave an exclusive interview for our cameras and said that in official correspondence with government agencies the Turkmen language would be used in the same way as Arabic and Kurdish.

kerkuk.net

Iraqi Turkmen Front Meets to Discuss Intense Agenda

2011-11-20T14:06:00.000+01:00

KIRKUK (Cihan) - The Iraqi Turkmen Front or ITF met in Kirkuk, Iraq with the agenda of discussing the removal of American soldiers from Iraq and cases of kidnap and murder of the ethnic Turkmen community.

ITF President Ersad Salihi feels that American forces leaving Iraq will create more tensions in Iraq as Iraqi Turkmen feel more in the crosshairs of opposing groups without sufficient support from the central government.

President Salihi also said that “Although we have been trying to draw heed to kidnappings and murders of the members of Turkmen community alas neither Iraq government nor parliament responded to our inquiries.”

“We have sent a written statement today in this matter to the Iraq president asked for an immediate and effective action” Salihi added.

Talking about the issues the community is facing, Salihi noted that “Iraqi Turkmen community’s safety is in danger”

http://www.cihanmedya.com/media_services/product.do?method=detail&productId=2243&productDetailId=119537798&activePage=0&productEvent=MaxNew

Thomas Jefferson about Banking institutions

2011-11-19T13:53:00.000+01:00

Une citation en 1802 du 3ème président des États-Unis d’Amérique (1801 à 1809).

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Thomas Jefferson (Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, 1802)

Traduction française:

"Je pense que les institutions bancaires sont plus dangereuses pour nos libertés que des armées entières prêtes au combat. Si le peuple américain permet un jour que des banques privées contrôlent leur monnaie, les banques et toutes les institutions qui fleuriront autour des banques priveront les gens de toute possession, d'abord par l'inflation, ensuite par la récession, jusqu'au jour où leurs enfants se réveilleront, sans maison et sans toit, sur la terre que leurs parents ont conquis"

Thomas Jefferson (1802)

President Abdullah Gül: Turkmens should work for unity of Iraq

2011-11-19T10:40:00.002+01:00

Turkmens should work for unity: Gül

Thursday, November 17, 2011

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkmens-should-work-for-unity-gul-2011-11-17

Iraq’s Turkmens should not only work to protect the rights of their community but also for the unity of Iraq, Turkish President Abdullah Gül has said.

Gül met yesterday with Erşat Salihi, the leader of the Turkmen Front party, expressing Turkey’s desire to maintain close ties with all ethnic and religious groups in Iraq.

“I believe that while defending the rights of the Turkmens in the best possible way, [Salihi] will make contributions also to the fraternity and peaceful co-habitation in Iraq between Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs,” Gül said.

Salihi said all of Iraq’s neighbors should adopt the same policy of equal treatment of the country’s communities, but added that it “is our natural right to be a bit closer” to Turkey.

Alarmed over a wave of assassinations and abductions targeting their community, Iraqi Turkmen leaders have recently appealed to Turkey for support, saying Turkmens in the ethnically-mixed oil-rich city of Kirkuk were particularly demoralized.

Also yesterday, Gül received Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi after the visiting official held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Cemil Çiçek.

Çiçek said Iraq needed to stop the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from using its northern regions as a shelter and a base for attacks on Turkey.

Çiçek also lent support to a proposal from Nujaifi for a four-way meeting in Baghdad between the parliament speakers of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia to discuss regional tensions.

President Gül Receives Iraqi Turkmen Front Leader

2011-11-19T10:25:00.000+01:00

President Gül Receives Iraqi Turkmen Front Leader

President Abdullah Gül, during his reception of the Iraqi Turkmen Front Leader, Erşat Salihi, and his accompanying delegation at the Çankaya Presidential Palace, promulgated that Turkey is doing whatever is necessary for the union and solidarity and integrity of Iraq.”

The President further stated that they will continue to do their best for the betterment of Iraq and declared the Iraqi Turkmen people to be a robust bridge between Turkey and Iraq, extending his love and good wishes to the Turkmen community and all the Iraqi people as well. He further lauded the Iraqi Turkmen Front Leader Salihi for holding an understanding that will help all the communities in Iraq live in peace and union and solidarity.

As for Salihi, he evinced their happiness about the fact that Turkey treats all parties in Iraq equally and supports Iraqi people.

T.C CUMHURBAŞKANLIĞI

Dr. Hicran Kazancı

Iraqi Turkmen Front

Turkey Representative

CUMHURBAŞKANI GÜL, IRAK TÜRKMEN CEPHESİ BAŞKANI ERŞAT ‎SALİHİ’Yİ KABUL ETTİ

2011-11-17T21:19:00.002+01:00

Published in Iraqi Turkmen Front Newspaper

Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül, Irak Türkmen Cephesi Başkanı Erşat Salihi ve ‎beraberindeki heyeti Çankaya Köşk’ünde kabul etti. Görüşmede, Türkiye’nin ‎Irak’a desteği konusu öne çıktı. Gül , “Irak’ın birliği, bütünlüğü ve güçlü olması ‎için Türkiye olarak elimizden gelen her şeyi yapıyoruz” dedi.‎

Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül,Irak Türkmen Cephesi Başkanı Erşat Salihi ‎ve beraberindeki heyeti Çankaya Köşk’ündeki makamında kabul etti.

Erşat Salihi Başkanlığındaki heyet, Irak’taki son gelişmelerle ilgili ‎Cumhurbaşkanı Gül ile görüş alış verişinde bulundu.

‎

Kabul sırasında Cumhurbaşkanı Gül, Irak ve Türkiye arasında Türkmenlerin ‎büyük bir köprü rolü üstlendiğini belirterek, ” Irak’ın birliği, bütünlüğü ve ‎güçlü olması için Türkiye olarak elimizden gelen her şeyi yapıyoruz. ‎Yapmaya da devam ediyoruz.” dedi.

Irak Türkmen Cephesi Başkanı Erşat Salihi ise,Türkiye’nin Iraklıların ‎yanında olmasının, eşit mesafede durmasının Iraklılar için büyük bir gurur ‎kaynağı olduğunu ve diğer komşu ülkelerden de bu gibi adımları ‎beklediklerini söyledi. Amerika’nın Irak’tan çekilmesinin ardından oluşacak ‎tablonun önemli olduğunu belirten Salihi, Kürt yönetimi ile görüşmeye açık ‎olduklarını ifade etti.‎

Cumhurbaşkanı Gül daha sonra, Irak Türkmen Cephesi Başkanı Salihi’nin ‎büyük bir mücahit olduğunu belirterek, Türkmen dayanışmasından dolayı ‎Ebu Garip Cezaevi’nde dokuz yıl kaldığını, bir kardeşini şehit verdiğini, tüm ‎ailesinin Irak’ın güneyine sürüldüğünü ve o dönemlerde çok büyük cefalar ‎çekmiş biri olduğunu söyledi.

‎

Cumhurbaşkanı Gül, Irak Türkmen Cephesi Başkanı Salihi’den Irak’a ‎döndüğünde tüm Türkmenlere ve herkese muhabbetlerini ve sevgilerini ‎iletmesini istedi.‎

kerkuk.net

Iraq Inquiry report to be delayed until summer of 2012

2011-11-17T11:30:00.000+01:00

The publication of Iraq Inquiry report will be delayed for at least six months due in part to a dispute over the release of secret documents.

The Chilcot inquiry had hoped to release its report into the run-up to the 2003 invasion and its aftermath before the end of the year.
But it now says this will not happen until next summer at the earliest.
Co-operation from the government was needed to publish declassified material in a “satisfactory manner”, it added.
In a statement, the Inquiry said it had advised No 10 that it would need until next summer, at least, to produce a report which would “do justice to the issues involved”.
Although it has never given a date for publication, the inquiry indicated it hoped to do so either in late 2011 or early 2012.

‘Much to do’

Although “considerable progress” had been made, the inquiry warned there was “still much to do” and hinted at the slow progress in securing the release of certain documents.
It added: “As well as drafting the report, the inquiry will need to negotiate the declassification of a significant volume of currently classified material with the government, to enable this to be quoted in, or published alongside, the inquiry’s report.

“That process has begun but there will be a series of further major requests as drafting progresses.
“The inquiry has made clear that it will need co-operation from the government in completing this in a satisfactory and timely manner.”

The Inquiry held 18 months of public hearings between the end of 2009 and early 2011.
Those giving evidence included former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, senior Cabinet ministers during their governments, military commanders and diplomats.

At one hearing in early 2010, inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot expressed his frustration about his committee’s inability to publish certain classified documents relating to Iraq policy.
Although the committee could see these documents, their public release had not been sanctioned by the government – a move also criticised by Lord Goldsmith, attorney general in the run-up to war.
One hundred and seventy-nine British troops were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, when UK forces left the country
BBC NEWS

Head of Turkmen Front invites the Republic President to hold an exceptional meeting for heads of political masses

2011-11-16T23:30:00.000+01:00

Head of Turkmen Front invites the Republic President to hold an exceptional meeting for heads of political masses

Head of Turkmen Front, deputy of Iraqi List, Arshad Alsalihi invited the republic president, Jalal Talabani to call heads of the masses for an exceptional meeting to discuss the subject of targeting Turkmen in Kirkuk.

Alsalihi said in a press statement that the republic president has to call for holding an exceptional meeting for heads of political masses to discuss the reasons behind targeting Turkmen in Kirkuk.
Alsalihi previously held the Parliament council the responsibility for shedding Iraqi blood in Kirkuk, considering that the council failure to send a Parliament committee to Kirkuk as being responsible for every Turkmen blood drop shed, demanding the security systems in the central and local government to duplicate their efforts to protect sons of the Turkmen component

TURKMEN ASPECT

Turkmen Call For New Provinces

2011-11-16T20:50:00.000+01:00

Iraq Attacks Kill Four As Turkmen Call For New Provinces

Monday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 10 Wounded

by Margaret Griffis, November 14, 2011

Antiwar Forum

Iraq’s Turkmen are now wading in to the growing "regions" fray, calling on the central government to create two new provinces in northern Iraq and give them regional status. The districts in question are Tuz Khormato in Salah ad Din province and Tal Afar in Ninewa. A Turkmen representative in the National Alliance, Fawzi, Akram Tarzi, said those areas had suffered from injustice and lack of services in the past. He is also confident that giving the multi-ethnic districts a new status would not undermine national unity. Parliament Speaker Usama Nujaifi supported Tarzi’s statement by separately adding that the constitution permits such regions.

Recently, Salah ad Din province, where Tuz Khormato is located, started its own bid to reclassify itself as an autonomous region, much in the style of Iraqi Kurdistan. The bid is in response to the arrests of Sunni Arabs under the guise of a Ba’ath Party crackdown. They were followed by Diyala province. Basra and other southern provinces have long been pursuing similar paths as well.

John Needham’s “Notification of War Atrocities and Crimes”

2011-11-15T09:42:00.000+01:00

John Needham’s “Notification of War Atrocities and Crimes”

For pictures please click on: http://www.theveteransproject.org/?p=1258

The Veterans Project (11.13.11)

The November 12 episode of 48 Hours Mystery mentioned a letter U.S. Army Private John Needham sent to high-ranking military officials in which allegations of various war crimes are detailed. The program focused on only one of those incidents, and included only one of several photographs that John had submitted with his letter to substantiate his accusations. CBS chose to blur the image “because it’s so graphic.” Here is John’s letter with that image and additional photographic evidence, all of which is completely uncensored. WARNING: The images are very disturbing, as are John’s allegations:

December 18, 2007

To: Mr. Randy Waddle, Assistant Inspector General, Ft Carson, Colorado

CC: LTC John Shawkins, Inspector General, Ft Carson, Colorado

Major General Mark Graham, Commanding Officer, Ft Carson, Colorado

Major Haytham Faraj, USMC, Camp Pendleton, California

Lt General Stanley Greene, US Army Inspector General

Subject: Formal Notification of War Atrocities and Crimes Committed by

Personnel, B Company, 2-12, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry

Division in Iraq

Dear Mr. Waddle

My name is John Needham. I am a member of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, (BCo,2-12INF,2BCT,2ID . I deployed with my unit to Iraq from October 2006 until October 2007 when I was medically evacuated for physical and mental injuries that I suffered during my deployment. The purpose of my letter is to report what I believe to be war crimes and violation of the laws of armed conflict that I personally witnesses while deployed in Iraq.

Upon arriving in Iraq in October of 2006 my unit was assigned to the ¼ Cavalry unit at Camp Prosperity. In March of 2007 I was sent back to my unit, B Company 2-12 at Camp Falcon. It was at Camp Falcon that I observed and was forced to participate in ugly and inhumane acts against the Iraqi citizens in our area of responsibilities. Below I list some of the incidents that took place.

In March of 2007, I witnessed SSG Platt shoot and wound an Iraqi national without cause of provocation. The Staff Sergeant said that he suspected the Iraqi be a “trigger” man. We had not been attacked and we found no evidence on the man to support the suspicion. As the Iraqi lay bleeding on the ground, PVT Smith requested to administer first aid to the Iraqi. SSgt Platt said no and “let him bleed out.” When SSG Platt walked away, Pvt Smith and PVT Mullins went to the Iraqi, dragged him to an alley, and applied first aid. They then drove him to the cache for further treatment.

In June of 2007 1SG Spry caused an Iraqi male to be stopped, questioned, detained, and killed. We had no evidence that the Iraqi was an insurgent or terrorist. In any event when we stopped he did not pose a threat. Although I did not personally witness the killing, I did observe 1sg Spry dismembering the body and parading of it while it was tied to the hood of a Humvee around the Muhalla neighborhood while the interpreter blared out warnings in Arabic over the loud speaker. I have a photo that shows 1SG Spry removing the victim’s brains.

On another occasion an Iraqi male was stopped by a team led by Sgt Rogers as he walked down an alleyway. The Iraqi was detained and questioned then with his hands tied behind his back, SGT Rogers skinned his face.

1ST Spry shot a young Iraqi teenager who was about 16 years old. The shooting was unprovoked and the Iraqi posed no threat to the unit. He was merely riding his bicycle past an ambush site. When I arrived on the scene I observed 1SGT Spry along with SSG Platt dismember the boy’s body.

In August of 2007, I responded to radio call from SGT Rogers reporting that he had just shot an Iraqi who was trying to enter through a hole that the platoon had blown in a wall to allow them observation of the area during a security patrol. When I arrived, I saw a one armed man who was still alive lying on a barricade. The man was about 30 years old. He had an old Ruger pistol hanging from his thumb. It was obvious to me that the pistol was placed there because of the way it hung from his thumb. The Iraqi was still alive when I arrived. I saw SGT Rogers shoot him twice in the back with hollow point bullets. The Iraqi was still moving. I was asking why they shot him again when I heard Sgt Hoskins say “he’s moving, he’s still alive.” SPEC Hoskins then moved to the Iraqi and shot him in the back of the head. SSG Platt and SGT Rogers were visibly excited about the kill. I saw them pull the Iraqi’s brains out as they placed him in the body bag. CPT Kirsey must have learned something about this incident because he was very upset and admonished the NCOs involved.

I have seen and heard 1SGT Spry brag about killing dogs. He kept a running count. At last count I remember he was boasting of having killed 80 dogs.

On many occasions I observed SGT Temples, SSG Platt and SGT Rogers beat and abuse Iraqi teenagers, some as young as 14, without cause. They would walk into a house near areas where they suspected we had received sniper fire, then detain and beat the kids.

I have photos that support my allegations. I also have numerous other photos on a laptop PC that the unit illegally seized from me. I have requested its return but they have refused.

My experiences have taken a terrible toll on me. I suffer from PTSD and depression. I had no way to stop the ugly actions of my unit. When I refused to participate they began to abuse and harass me. I am still in treatment at the Balboa Naval hospital. I respectfully request that you investigate these matters, that you protect my safety by reassigning me to a different unit that is not located at Fort Carson, that you return my PC or, at least, seize it to protect the evidence on it, and that you issue a military protective order to prohibit the offending members of my unit from harassing, retaliating, or contacting me.

I have some photographs and some supporting documentation to these allegations.
Respectfully,
PFC John Needham

US Army

John’s father, Michael Needham, will read the above letter at a special Human Rights Day event in Los Angeles on December 10. Click here for info. http://www.theveteransproject.org/?p=1258

IRAQ NATION OF TEARS (JourneymanTV videos)

2011-11-12T10:53:00.002+01:00

IRAQ NATION OF TEARS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AgqcJyT7hk&feature=player_embedded

Iraq continues to be dogged by violence. In the face of an ever worsening situation the people are losing patience with the incumbent government. Will Iraq be the next country to rise up?

"Look at the child. Film it! Show the world!" A man screams at the camera, his face red with emotion, as he stands beside the mutilated body of a young boy. Yet the boy's mother and father have no energy for anger, they can only weep. This is daily life for the people of Baghdad. Everyday there are more explosions and more deaths. "This is our life - we bury the dead then come to play", says Bilal in a Baghdad pool room. He has watched his friends and family die, he is out of work and lives in a tiny space with his mother and two brothers. He is just one of the many who see no hope for the future of Iraq. "They came with sweet-talk; where are they now?",one man says of the government as he sits on a pile of rubble. The people here are trying to reclaim the few possessions they have from the site of a bombing. They are all full of anger at Iraq's politicians, because the situation has not changed. The bombings, killings and burials continue and it is taking a terrible toll on Iraq. As the anger and resentment builds no one can tell what will happen next.

FALLUJAH, IRAQ - The Hidden Massacre (Video)

2011-11-09T10:48:00.000+01:00

Fallujah - The Hidden Massacre

Veteran admits: Bodies melted away before us.

Shocking revelation RAI News 24.

WARNING

This video contains images that depict the reality and horror of war.

It should only be viewed by a mature audience

November 15, 2005

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10907.htm

The cause of congenital anomaly and cancer in Fallujah Iraq is identified as Enriched Uranium from novel weapons systems deployed by the US.

2011-11-07T11:25:00.000+01:00

Dr Chris Busby & Malak Hamdan

October 18, 2011

Press release: 17 th October 2011

The cause of congenital anomaly and cancer in Fallujah Iraq is identified as Enriched Uranium from novel weapons systems deployed by the US.

Remarkably high levels of congenital anomaly at birth, together with high cancer rates in Fallujah, Iraq were previously found in a joint UK Iraqi epidemiological study published in the International Journal of Environment and Public Health in July 2010 and reported in The Independent. The illnesses and unusual changes in the sex-ratio at birth, were shown to appear following the US-led attacks on the town in 2004.

Many believed that Depleted Uranium weapons were employed but no evidence of this was available. USA forces denied using DU. Now, one year after this, the authors have nailed down the cause of the genetic and genomic effects found in Fallujah. Samira Alaani and Muhammed Tafash, two paediatricians at Fallujah General Hospital, Chris Busby, Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster, Malak Hamdan, a chemical engineer and Eleonore Blaurock Busch, whose laboratory in Germany carried out analytical work has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Conflict and Healththe results of an exhaustive study of contamination in Fallujah. They began by analysing the hair of 25 parents of children with congenital malformations using highly sensitive Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS).

Metal contamination is excreted into hair at same rate as it is excreted into urine. There were high values of Calcium, Magnesium, Strontium, Aluminium, Bismuth, Mercury and Uranium. However, of these only Uranium, which is radioactive, is associated with cancer and birth defects. Uranium levels were significantly higher than those expected on the basis of other published control measurements of uncontaminated populations, particularly Israel and Sweden. Levels reported for soil, tap, river and well water were unable to explain the hair results, but showed, surprisingly that the environmental Uranium was not natural but was man-made. It was not, however DU. The ratio of the two isotopes of Uranium U238 and U235 is always 138 in natural Uranium deposits. For DU, the ratio is always high: pure DU has a ratio above 400. However, in Fallujah, both in the hair of the parents and in the environmental samples, the Uranium ratio was significantly low, implying the presence of Enriched Uranium. To investigate the source of the Uranium, because the women in Fallujah have long hair, and hair grows at a known rate or about 1cm a month, the team was able to obtain historic exposure information by analysing along the length of the hair of 5 women.

Hair contamination was much higher in the past. In the case of one woman whose hair was 80cm long, taking the hair end back to 2005, just after the attack, the Uranium concentration in 2011 defined exposures to very high levels of uranium in the past. In the paper, the authors introduce evidence that the effects on child health are clear to see in the whole of Iraq as well as in the children of Gulf War veterans. This is also true for childhood cancer which was reported in the epidemiological study to be shockingly high in Fallujah with rates about 14 times those expected on the basis of populations in Egypt. The anomalously high genotoxic effects of Uranium are also discussed. Uranium binds to DNA and work by Chris Busby reported in New Scientist in 2009 shows that the element concentrates natural background gamma radiation into the DNA through a process termed the secondary photoelectron effect.

Given that man-made Enriched Uranium is found in the Fallujah environment and that levels were higher in the past, the authors conclude that a uranium based weapon of some type was employed in the Battle of Fallujah, and is the main cause of the high levels of cancer and congenital disease. The paper discusses weapons systems and cites patents which call for the use of Uranium in shaped charges and other types of anti-personnel weapons (rather than the anti-tank DU weapons used in GW1). Included also are thermobaric devices and novel uranium packed explosives which kill by charring victims and pressure effects which cause lung collapse.

It is of interest that Enriched Uranium signatures have also turned up in other recent battlefields, notably in the Lebanon, where soil from a missile crater in Khiam and also dust from an ambulance air filter both showed the presence of Enriched Uranium in 2006, a finding reported in The Independent by Robert Fisk. The authors are unable to explain why these weapons contain or produce slightly enriched Uranium and call for the military to now reveal the truth about the weapons systems being employed in modern battlefields.

Dr Busby said: What we have found makes it perfectly clear that a new generation of Uranium based weapons exists, is being employed in all modern battlefields and leads to shocking increases in cancer and congenital illness in innocent civilians and soldiers alike. Whether there is slightly enriched Uranium to cover up the use of Uranium weapons, or whether the enrichment is an integral requirement of some new weapons system, what we see is the deployment of a device of indiscriminate effect with terrible and indiscriminate consequences. It is most likely that this weapon is also being employed by NATO forces in Libya, and we will wait and watch with concern for increases in cancer and birth defects following this latest war.

He continued: There has been a sustained effort to stop us making this study and then to stop us publishing it. We have been attacked by people writing to our funders so we had no money to pay for the analyses, to the Journals we were sending the study to even before we sent it, to our Universities and Hospitals and Institutions. It was rejected by The Lancet without even being sent for Peer Review. It was rejected by the International Journal of Environment and Public Health where we published our previous paper, without being sent to a reviewer on the basis of pressure brought on the editor from outside by people who hacked into the computers of the authors and knew about the paper before the journal received it. The implications of this discovery are extremely serious.

First it means that all the measurements made for Depleted Uranium DU on Gulf War 2 veterans are now useless as indications of exposure to Uranium dust and must be revisited.
Second it shows that Uranium is now being used routinely in anti-personnel weapons and no longer only in anti tank weapons.
Finally it means that the focus of the NGOs on banning Depleted Uranium (DU) is misplaced and such a ban pointless since DU has not been deployed for a long time as the military rightly (and with some concealed amusement) say.

The local civilian effects and global civilian exposures to this material represents a human rights issue of the greatest magnitude.

Malak Hamdan added:
This extraordinary discovery of a new uranium weapon should serve as a wake-up call to the entire world. We cannot keep denying that these radioactive weapons can discriminate in their effects between military and non-military targets. Because of this, enormous numbers of innocent people have died and will die in the future. Countless parents will watch their children with horror and pity as for several generations children will continue to be born with congenital anomalies as result of the genetic heritable effects induced by this exposure to uranium dust.

Contact:
Chris Busby +44 1970 630215; Mob +44 7989 428833
- c.busby@ulster.ac.uk
- christo@greenaudit.org

Malak Hamdan +44 7903153163
- malakhamdan@hotmail.com
- malak@thecbdf.org

Dr Chris Busby is Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster, Guest Reseacher at the German Federal Agricultural Laboratory, Julius Kuehn Institute, Braunschweig, Germany, Director of Green Audit, www.greenaudit.org, and is the Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk www.euradcom.org

Malak Hamdan a Chemical Engineer and is President of the London-Based Cancer and Birth Defects Foundation, www.thecbdf.org

For more information please visit www.thecbdf.org

The team at The Cancer and Birth Defects Foundation, Entesar Ariabi and Abdulmunaem Almula, have supported this research.

This article was published on Uruknet

Iraq - Enriched uranium weapon new battlefield horror

2011-11-06T17:30:00.000+01:00

Chris Busby - Enriched uranium weapon new battlefield horror (25-Oct-11)

IRISH ACTIVISTS KIDNAPPED BY ISRAEL

2011-11-05T09:56:00.000+01:00

IRISH ACTIVISTS WHO WERE TRYING TO BREAK THE ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF GAZA KIDNAPPED BY ISRAEL

SURİYE’DE DEĞİŞİMİN ORTAYA ÇIKARDIĞI TOPLUM: SURİYE TÜRKMENLERİ

2011-11-04T13:32:00.001+01:00

ORSAM Rapor 83: SURİYE’DE DEĞİŞİMİN ORTAYA ÇIKARDIĞI TOPLUM: SURİYE TÜRKMENLERİ (TR)

- 7. yüzyıldan itibaren Oğuz boyları akıncılarının Irak ve Suriye’de görünmeye başladığı ve yoğun Türk göçlerinin 10. ve 11. yüzyıllarda gerçekleştiği bilinmektedir. Tolunoğulları ile başlayan Türklerin yerleşimi 11. yüzyılda Selçukluların bölgeye gelmesi ile devam etmiştir. Buradaki Türk boyları, 1096 yılında Haçlı seferleri başladığında Selahattin Eyyubi komutasındaki Müslümanlarla birleşerek Haçlılara karşı bölgeyi savunmuştur.

- Yavuz Sultan Selim, 1516 yılında Mercidabık’ta Memlukluları yenerek bugünkü Suriye topraklarını Osmanlılara bağlamıştır. 1516’dan sonra yönetimi Osmanlı Devleti’ne geçen bölge 1918 yılına kadar kesintisiz olarak 402 yıl boyunca Türklerin hakimiyeti altında kalmıştır. Bu dönemde Suriye’de Türkmen yerleşimi artarak devam etmiş ve bölgede önemli bir Türk nüfusu oluşmuştur.

- I. Dünya Savaşı sonrasında bölgedeki Türk idaresi sona ermiştir. Ancak Türkiye’nin Suriye’ye olan ilgisi Kurtuluş Savaşı sırasında da devam etmiştir. Osmanlının çekilmesi ile Suriye Türkmenleri milli mücadeleye başlamıştır. Ahmet Nabğalı liderliğindeki Suriye Türkmenleri, Gazi Mustafa Kemal’in de ilgisini çekmiştir. O tarihlerden bu yana Suriye Türkmenleri henüz lider çıkaramamıştır.

- Türkiye ile Fransa arasında 20 Ekim 1921 tarihinde imzalanan Ankara Anlaşması’nın 7. maddesi, “Suriye’deki Türkmenlerin resmi dillerinin Türkçe olması ve tüm kültürel sosyal haklarının korunmasını” içermektedir. Dolayısıyla Ankara Anlaşması Suriye Türkmenleri konusunda Türkiye’ye garantörlük vermiştir.

- Suriye’de Türkçe konuşan Türkmen sayısının yaklaşık bir buçuk milyon, Türkçeyi unutmuş Türkmenlerle beraber sayının 3,5 milyon civarında olduğu belirtilmektedir. Dillerini unutmuş olan Türkmenler kimliklerinin bilincinde olmakla birlikte yaşadıkları bölgenin dili, kültürü ile bütünleşmiştir. Ancak Türkmen kimliklerinin bilincedirler. Küçük gruplar halinde yaşayanlar önemli ölçüde Araplaşmıştır. Suriye Türkmenlerinin büyük çoğunluğu Sünni Hanefi mezhebine mensuptur. Çok az sayıda Alevi Türkmen bulunmaktadır. Suriye Türkmenlerinin konuştukları diller Arapça ve Türkçedir. Türkiye Türkçesine çok yakın bir Türkçe konuşulmaktadır.

- Suriye Türkmenlerinin ekonomik faaliyetlerine bakıldığında, Halep Türkmenlerinin genellikle tarım ve ayakkabı sanayisi ile geçimlerini sağladıkları görülmektedir. Lazkiye ve Tartus Türkmenleri narenciye ve ormancılıkla meşgul olurken Hama ve Humus Türkmenleri hayvancılık ve tarımla uğraşmaktadırlar. Şam’da yaşayan Türkmenler memurluk ve serbest meslek, Rakka ve Dera’da ise tarım başlıca gelir kaynağıdır.

- Kimi dönemlerde bazı çıkışlar olsa da genel olarak Türkmenler arasında siyasal bir milliyetçilik gelişmemiştir. Türkmenler arasında tepkisel ve kültürel bir milliyetçilik vardır. Suriye sisteminin sert yapısı, Türk hareketinin siyasallaşmasını önlemiştir. Ancak özellikle son halk ayaklanması ile beraber uyanışa geçen bir Türkmen milliyetçiliği de görülmektedir. Kendi haklarını aramak, Suriye toplumu içinde kendi benliklerini bulmak ve varlıklarını ispat etme çabası içindedirler.

Suriye’de yaşanan halk ayaklanması Suriye Türkmenleri açısından fırsatlar sunmaktadır. Suriye’de devrimin başarıya ulaşması durumunda sivil demokratik bir siyasal sistem ortaya çıkabilir. Bu ortam içinde Suriye Türkmenlerinin en büyük beklentisi, yeni anayasada Suriye halkını oluşturan unsurlardan biri olarak yer almaktır. Bunun yanı sıra anadilde eğitim ve diğer sosyal, kültürel hakların verilmesini talep etmektedirler.

- Türkmenler hali hazırda muhalif hareketlerin içinde yer almaktadır. Suriye genelinde Mart 2011 tarihinden Kasım 2011’e kadar 300 civarında Türkmen hayatını kaybetmiştir. Ayrıca yüzlerce kayıp ve tutuklu Türkmen bulunmaktadır. Türkmenler, Türkiye’den Suriye’yi ve Türkmenleri dünya gündemine taşımasını beklemektedir. Suriye’de oluşacak yeni devlet sisteminde Türkmen kimliğinin ve haklarının yeni anayasa çerçevesinde korunması konusunda destek olunması gerekmektedir ancak şu ana kadar Türkmenler için henüz somut adım atılmamıştır.

İçindekiler

Takdim

Özet

1. Tarihçe

2. Günümüzde Suriye Türkmenleri

2.1. Şam Türkmenleri

2.2. Halep Türkmenleri

2.3. Humus Türkmenleri

2.4. Bayır – Bucak (Lazkiye) Türkmenleri

2.5. Hama Türkmenleri

2.6. Golan (Kuneytra) Türkmenleri

2.7. Tartus Türkmenleri

2.8. Rakka Türkmenleri

2.9. Idlib Türkmenleri

2.10. Dera Türkmenleri

3. Suriye Türkmenlerinin Aşiret, Mezhep ve Nüfus Yapıları

4. Suriye Türkmenlerinin Sosyal, Siyasal ve Ekonomik Durumu

Sonuç Yerine: Suriye’de Halk Ayaklanması ve Türkmenler

Harita – 1 Suriye Türkmenlerinin Yaşadıkları Bölgeler

Tablo – 1 Şam’a Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 2 Halep’e Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 3 Humus’a Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 4 Lazkiye’ye Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 5 Hama’ya Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 6 Kuneytra’ya Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 7 Tartus’a Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 8 Rakka’ya Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 9 Idlib’e Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

Tablo – 10 Dera’ya Bağlı Türkmen Köy ve Kasabaları

http://www.orsam.org.tr/tr/trUploads/Yazilar/Dosyalar/2011114_83raportum.pdf

http://www.orsam.org.tr/tr/raporgoster.aspx?ID=2856

Iraq Türkmen Cephesi Avrupa Birliği Temsilcisi Dr. Hassan Aydinli, Türk Cumhuriyetinin 88. Yıl dönümü kutlamalarına katıldı.

2011-11-01T18:18:00.000+01:00

Iraq Türkmen Cephesi Avrupa Birliği Temsilcisi Dr. Hassan Aydinli, Türk Cumhuriyetinin 88. Yıl dönümü kutlamalarına katıldı.

Brüksel'de,Türk Cumhuriyetinin 88. Yıl dönümü bayramının resepsiyonuna konukları, T.C. Büyükelçilik Geçici Maslahatgüzarı Korkut Tufan, eşi Pınar Tufan, Brüksel Başkonsolosu Mehmet Poroy ve eşi Ayşegül Poroy ile birlikte karşılayarak, bayram tebriklerini kabul ettiler.

Türk Cumhuriyetinin 88. yıl dönümü bayramı, şehitler ve Van depremi nedeniyle, buruk molarak kutlandı.

Buruk bir şekilde verilen resepsiyona AB Nezdinde Büyükelçi Selim Kuneralp, NATO Nezdinde Büyükelçi Haydar Berk, KKTC Büyükelçisi Ahmet Erdengiz, Azerbayıcanın AB nezdindeki Büyükelçi Emin Eyübov, NATO nezdindeki Temsilci Hazer İbrahim, Brüksel Büyükelçisi Anvers Başkonsolosu Deniz Çakar, Uluslararası Askeri Karargah (İMS) Türkiye Temsilcisi Tuğgeneral Suat Sönmez, Brüksel Hükümeti Devlet Bakanı Emir Kır, Emirdağ Belediye Başkanı Cengiz Pala, Türk kökenli belediye başkan yardımcıları Sait Köse, Hava Ardıçlık, Nezahat Namlı, belediye meclis üyesi İlknur Cengiz, Nebahat Acar, Halis Kökten, müşavirler ve Büyükelçilik temsilcileri yanında Yabancı misyon şefleri, Türk Sivil Kuruluş temsilcileri ve sanatçılar katıldı.

ITC Avrupa Birliği Temsilciliği
İnformasiyon bürosu

Büyük Türkmen Oymak Aşiretlerinden Bayat boyundan Bahadırlı Aşireti

2011-11-01T15:00:00.000+01:00

Yazan: Sadun KÖPRÜLÜ

Dünya Türkmenleri tarih boyunca büyük bir millet olarak Türk tarihimizde önemli yerlerde bulunarak birçok devletler Türkiye, Irak, İran, Hindistan, Suriye gibi topraklarda kurarak dillerine, gelenek, göreneklerine bağlı olarak her zaman toprak, bayrak, vatan aşkıyla, sevgisiyle coşmuşlardır,

Birçok baskılar yüzünden bir bölüm Türkmen aşiret oymaklarımız günümüzde Araplaşarak, Kürtleşmişlerdir, bir bölüm Türkmen kardeşlerimizde tüm engellere, korku, baskıya rağmen dillerini, Türkmen ırklarını korumaktadırlar, ayrıca günümüzde Araplaşan, Kürtleşen Türkmenlerde aşiretini, oymağını, soyunu, boyunu araştırmakla Türk olduklarına dair kanıtlar, belgeler elde etmişlerdir.

Bu Aşiretlerden Afşar, Reyhanı, Karageçiler, Babanlar, Zengiler, Zengeneler, Atmacalar, Bayatlılar, Karagollular, Karakollular, Bahadırlılar, Kakailer, Şebekler, Haydarılar, Salihılar gibileri

Türk dünyası ve dünyanın her yerinde bulunan Türkmen Oymak aşiretleri

Oğuz hanın 24 boyundan gelerek birçok aşiretlere bakınca boyları, soyları Türkmen olarak Büyük atabeyler, devletler kurmuşlardır.

Oğuz Hanın boyunda olan tanınan Bayat oymağının Boyundan Bahadırlı aşiretler günümüzde Irak, Telafer, Türkmen Bayat köylerinden Karanaz, Karatepe, Hasadarli, Emirli, Yengice, Selman bek, Hanekın, Şehreban, Kızrabat, Mendeli, İran, Türkmen Sahra, Suriye, Halap, Humus, şehirlerinde köylerinde ayrıca Irak’ın güneyi, kuzeyinde, Batı, doğusunda yüz binlerce Bayat oymağının boyları bulunmaktadır.

Irak Türkmenleri tüm baskılara rağmen ana dillerini koruyarak tüm sinsi, acı politikaya biz varız diye bağırmaktayız doğru seçim olurda ikinci millet olan Irak Türkmenleri günümüzde yüzlerce oymak, aşiretlerden uyuşmaktadır en büyük aşiretlerden Bayat, Karakol, Salihı, Haydarı, Deregezenler, Alaybeyleri, Himatlı, Bayraktar, gibi birçok aşiretler Türkmen milletinin öncüleridir, son günlerde Karakolların

(Karagol) aşireti üstünde yapmış olduğumuz araştırma, çalışmalarda Osmanlı Arşivinde bulunan kayıtlarıma göre bir Türkmen aşireti olduğu ortadadır bu büyük aşiret Irak’ın kuzeyi, doğu, batı, güneyi Vasit, Yusuf iye, Seydiye, Bağdat, Kelbala, Necef, Hilla, Diyala, Basra, Selahattin, Rumadı, Suleymeniye, Kerkük, Aziziye ve birçok şehirlerde elimize geçen kaynaklarda n ve birçok çalışma sonucu tam olarak Karakolların

(Karagolların ) Nüfusu bir Milyon 400 olarak acaba Bayat ve öteki Türkmen aşiretinin sayısı nüfusu ne kadar olacaktır?

Artık bunu bilmeyenler bilsin bizler Irak Türkmenleri Irak’ta en yoğun nüfus biziz Araplardan sonra geliriz, ama hiç araştırmıyoruz, artık uyanmalıyız, çalışmalıyız birey olarak sağlam nüfus sayımı taparak Arap, Kürt yazanlar kendi milletine, kendi diline dönsünler çünkü tarih hiçbir zaman onları af etmeyecektir.

Türkmen Bahadırlar aşiretimiz Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Eskişehir,

Trabzon, Hatay, Adana, Osmaniye, Muş, Kars, Erzurum, Şanlıurfa, Gümüşhane, Kelkit, Reyhanî,

Kayseri, Çorum, Yozgat, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Ankara’nın bala ilçesinde, Tokat, Kilis’te bulunmaktadırlar.

Tüm Türklerin Ataları olan Oğuz han Türkmenlerden olarak 24 Türkmen boyu Türkmenlerin yaşamış oldukları tüm ana topraklarına dağılmışlardır, en önde gelen boylar ise Bayat Boyundan çıkan Bahadırlı aşiretidir.

Bahadırlılar ilk önce kendi toprakları olan Orta Asya’dan Türkmenlerin öz be öz toprakları olan Anadoluya yarlaşmışlardır,

Artık eskiden olduğu gibi bu topraklar kendilerine yurt edinmiştiler Oğuz boyunun tanınan Bayat Boyuna bağlı olan Bahadırlı aşireti Türkiye’de olduğu gibi Suriye, Irak, İran Türkmenlerinde de Bahadırlılar aşireti birlik severek her zaman birbirlerine sahip çıkmaktadırlar, Türkmen dillerini severek birçok yerlerde bir araya gelerek, birbirlerine kız vererek daha fazla kan kardeşlik, bağlarını güçlerini güçlendirmeye çalışmaktadırlar ve dünyanın her yanında Bahadırlılar Türkmen olduklarını dile getirerek, milli Türkçülük duygularına gönülden, içten bağlıdırlar.

Türkiye’nin dört bir yanında izleri bulunan Türkmen Bahadırlı aşireti her bir alanda dernekler kurmakla hızlı çalışmalar yapmaktadırlar.

Bahadırlı büyük Türkmen aşireti olarak Babürşah imparatorluğunu 7 oymakla birlikte kuranlardır ve Osmanlı Sultanı Kanuni Süleyman döneminde Oymakbaşı Bahadır han olarak Anadolu’ya göç etmeye başlamışlardır

Ayrıca Bahadır aşireti Karakeçili aşireti ile bir bağdandır bir kolundandır

Babürşah İmparatorlu. 1525 Panipat Meydan Muharebesinde Babür Şah, Gang’a hâkim olarak grup Babür Şah’tan ayrılmakla Anadolu’ya yerleşerek, Karakeçili aşireti ile göçlerini birleştirmişlerdir,

Türkmen Bahadırlı Bâbürlü, çok çalışkan bilgili olarak uzun süre büyük devletlerini kurarak

Dünyanın yedi harikasından birisi konumuna olan Taç Mahal adlı büyük abideyi Hindistan’ın ve Hindistan’daki Türklerin, Müslümanların gurur kaynağı sayılmakla her yıl milyonlarca insanlar dünyanın değişik ülkelerinden Taç Mahal’i görmek için Hindistan’a gelmektedirler.

Taç Mahal, Bahadır, Babür İmparatorluğunun 6. hükümdarı Şah Cihan (1593-1666) tarafından, o zamanki imparatorluğun başkenti olan Hindistan'ın Agra şehrinde, Jumna (Yamuna) ırmağının kıyısında yapılmıştır.

Hindistan’da Bâbürlüler, Bahadırlılar Devleti hükümdarlarından. Cihangir Selim Şahın oğludur. 1592’de Lahor’da doğmuştur. Sarayda iyi bir öğrenin görerek Şehzâde olarak önemli devletin kalkınmasında hizmetler göstermiştir.

Taç Mahal, Türk Mimarcısı İsa Efendi tarafından yapılan Hindistan'daki bu harika yerini korumaktadır Taç Mahal, Babür (Bahadır) Kahraman yiğitler İmparatorluğu’nun Timuroğulları hanedanının 5. hükümdarı Şah Cihan tarafından, imparatorluğun o zamanki başkenti olan Hindistan'ın Agra şehrinde, Yamuna Nehri'nin kıyısında yaptırılmış,

Bir önemli anıt mezarı olarak Dünyada aşk, sevgi için dikilen en büyük, en güzel, kutsal anıt sayılmaktadır.

Bu türbe, Şah Cihan'ın büyük bir aşkla sevdiği eşi Ercümend Banu 'nun (Mümtaz Mahal) ölümü üzerine, onun hatırasına önem verilerek yaptırılmış.

Babür Şah,(14 Şubat 1483, Fergana - 26 Aralık 1530, Agra; (taht: 1526 - 1530) )Dili Çağatay Türkçesi Olan Babür İmparatorluğu'nun kurucusu ve ilk hükümdarı.

Babası Timur'un üçüncü oğlu Miran Şah'ın torunlarından Fergana valisi Ömer Şeyh Mirza, annesi Cengiz Han'in torunlarından Doğu Çağatay hanı olan Yunus Han'ın kızı Kutluğ Nigâr Hanımdır,

Bâbürlüler günümüzde büyük bir Türkmen oymağı, aşireti olarak, Bahadırlı diye adlanarak tanınmaktadır Bahadırlı aşireti

Oğuz Han’ın ikinci oğlu olan Ayhan hanın dört oğlundan en küçük oğlu Papir (Babür), Bahadırlı aşiretinin kurucusu başıdır Bahadırlı Hindistan’dan sonra çoğunluk Horasan İran’ın bir çok şehirlerinde yaşamaktadırlar.

Ayrıca Suriye’nin birçok Türkmen köy şehirlerine yerleşmişlerdir.

Bahadırlı Oğuz Türkmen aşiretine bağlı çok sayıda aileler Türkiye’nin her yerinde Irak, İran, Suriye, Hindistan, Afganistan ve birçok ülkelerde izleri görünmektedir.

Bahadırlı aşireti Oğuz Türkmen boyu olarak, Hindistan’dan, Kafkasya’dan, Horasan’dan Anadolu’ya, Suriye, Irak’a, gelerek tanınmışlardır Bahadırlı Selçuklu ve Osmanlı dönemlerinde bile çok önemli görevler de yer almışlardır.

Türkmen Bahadırlıların her zaman olduğu gibi günümüzde yürekleri Türklük için yanarak coşmaktadır topraklarını, bayraklarını gönülden delicesine, sevmektedirler.

Ve her türlü alanda yardıma koşmaktadırlar. Türkmen Bahadırlı aşireti yiğit, kahraman savaşçı topraklarını şehitler vererek savunmaktadırlar

Fransız işgali karşı birlikte düşmana saldırarak topraklarını kurumaya her türlü görevler yapmışlardır. Oğuz hanın Büyük Bayat oymağın bir kolu olan Bahadırlı kardeşlerimiz dillerini eğe unutmuşlarsa kendilerine dönsünler onlar büyük Türk milletinin oğullarıdır büyük Türk İmparatorluğu Hindistan’da kuranlardır

Representative of Iraqi Turkmens: “Azerbaijan has very distinct place in the hearts of Iraqi Turkmens” – INTERVIEW

2011-11-01T14:09:00.000+01:00

Representative of Iraqi Turkmens: “Azerbaijan has very distinct place in the hearts of Iraqi Turkmens” – INTERVIEW

[ 31 Oct 2011 14:43 ]

“We see Azerbaijan as Motherland, Turkey – as Fatherland”

Baku. Parvin Abbasov – APA. APA’s interview with representative of Iraq-based Kerkuk News Agency Ersan Sarikahya

- What is current state of Kerkuk Turkmens in Iraq?

- We couldn’t bring the problems we faced in 85 years and during Saddam’s tyranny to the notice of anyone in the world, because we faced with media embargo too. We lost many people because of media embargo. Their only guilt was that they were Turks.

Azerbaijan has very distinct place in the hearts of Iraqi Turkmens because we speak in same language, carry same culture. It can not be accidentally. We moved to those lands one time, but we didn’t hurt anyone. We brought only culture to those lands. We were not against any ethnic group. In return for it, other ethnic groups were against us.

- What is the level of relations of Kerkuk News Agency with Azerbaijani media?

- We signed a deal with the Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. But we would like to work with other TV channels and media organizations too. We must have the right of expression here. We see Azerbaijan as Motherland, Turkey- as Fatherland.

- Which problems do the Kerkuk Turkmens have most of all?

- I will describe the situation after Saddam Hussein. At present we have school problems. We can send our children, students to good schools, though according to the ethnic division of Iraqi population, we are third. We must have to open own schools, university, get education in our native language. But we don’t have these opportunities. The state doesn’t help us necessarily, because we didn’t take a side there, we take neutral position in the domestic struggle. Being a Turkic nation, we support only peace. There are 10 MPs from our nation in Iraqi parliament. But one tries to press them behind closed doors, their votes are not enough. Despite the activity of our MPs, the situation is still uninspired. The question is, we can’t deliver our voice to the world. Despite being a third ethnic group, they don’t hear us, because the foreign press doesn’t work with us.

- The various figures are sounded on the number of Iraqi Turkmen, what is the real number?

- Some try to show that we are several thousands. But by the official figures of 1957, the community which’s number is 1 mln, must be doubled up to now, thus, it must be 2 mln. How we can be several thousands, the real figure is more than 3 mln.

Orta Fırat aşiretleri Türkmen Milletinin işareti emrindedir

2011-10-31T00:39:00.000+01:00

ITC MEDIA

KERKÜK

30 EKİM 2011

Salihi: cephe açılım siyasetini tüm Iraklı siyasi taraflarla devam ettirmektedir

Kerkük meselesi Iraklı bir meseledir,geleceği ve servetleride tüm Iraklıları ilgilendirmektedir,şeyh Adnan Raşid Elhamad,Irak’ta Muamire aşiretlerinin baş şeyhi ,vurguladı.

Bu vurgu,Hilla ilinde aşiretin yaptığı geniş toplantısı sırasında aşiret büyüğü olarak seçilen Şey Hamad tarafından söylendi, toplantıda hazır bulunan millet vekili veIrak Türkmen Cephesi başkanı Erşet Salihi toplantıda kürsüye çıkarak önemli bir demeç vermiştir, Salihi demecinde şunları söyledi :

Irak Türkmen Cephesi , mücadele sürdürdüğü tüm meselelerde , kerkük meselesi dahil,

manevi destek kazanmak için başlatığı açılım siyasetini tüm Irakl taraflarla devam ettirecektir.

Salihi ve şeyh Hamad , kardeşlik ve af etmek ruhunu genel olarak Iraklılar ve özellikle Kerkük milletleri arasında yayması her türlü sıkışmış meselelerin çözümüne kefil olacağına anlaştılar,Salihi toplantı sırasında verdiği demecte Türkmenlerin selamlarını orta Fırat aşiretlerinin tümüne iletti, ve Türkmenlerin çoğunluk oluşturdukları ve yaşadıkları çok şehir ve kasabalarda,özellikle Kerkük ve Tuzhurmatu’da Türkmenleri hedef alan terör olaylarına değindi, ve bu konuşmayı destekleyerek , Muamire aşiret şeyhleri ve önde gelen adamları , kerkük’e bağlı olduklarını vurguladılar,ve yeni şeyhleri ile Kerkük meselesinin bir Irak meselesi olduğu üzerine anlaşmışlar, kendilerini ve aşiretlerini Türkmenlerin işareti emrinde olduklarını ve Türkmenlerin savunmasına katılacaklarını vurguladılar,ve Türkmenlerin hedef alınmasını red ettiler,Kerkük meselesinin Irak’ın arazı ve millet bütünlüğünü etkileyen bir mesele olduğunu tekrar ederek vurguladılar, toplantıda bulunanlar bölgesel şarkılar söyleyerek orta Fırat’ta bulunan arap aşiretlerin Türkmenlerin maruz kaldıkları zulm’ı ve sürekli hedef olmalarını kınadılar ,ve adil meselelerinde Türkmenlerin yanında duracaklarını anlattılar.

Salihi, Dileym kabilesinin misafirhanesini ziyaret ettiğinde,şey Raad Elduleymi tarafından karşılandı,Duleym kabilesinin Türkmenler yanında durduklarını ve tüm büyük küçük meselelerinde destek verdiklerini vurguladı, Kerkük’ün tüm Iraklıların boyunlarında bir emanet olduğunu sözüne ekledi.

Sonradan, Salihi Irak Türkmen Cephesi Hilla kolunu ziyaret etti, kolun sorumlusu Hazım Aydın ve Hille sivil toplum sorumluları ,ve aydınları ile’de görüştü, görüşmede Kerkük meselesi veTürkmen milletinin hakları konuşuldu ve tam desteklerini bu meseleye verdiklerini ve bu meselenin bir Irak meselesi olduğunu ve çözümü sadece Iraklıların elinde olduğunu vurguladılar.

Ve bundan Sonra, Salihi çalışmak veya eski rejim tarafından uzaklaştırılan,ve bazı çök eskiden ve Türkmen kökenliği ile gurur duyan Hille’de yaşayan bazı Türkmen vatandaşların evlerini ziyaret etti.

Salihi’nin Hille ziyaretine ,millet vekili Hasan Özmen, Türkmen Kardeşlik ocağı’nın idare heyeti başkanı Dr.Mehmet Ömer Kazancı, Irak Türkmen Cephesi Bağdat kolu idare sorumlusu Sabit Abdulgaffur ve aktif Türkmen vatandaşı Hasan Asker eşlik etmişler.

Wikileaks Cables And The Iraq War

2011-10-31T00:36:00.000+01:00

10/30/2011

By Glenn Greenwald.

From a CNN report on why the Iraqi Government rejected the Obama administration’s conditions for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline:

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top brass have repeatedly said any deal to keep U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the withdrawal deadline would require a guarantee of legal protection for American soldiers.

But the Iraqis refused to agree to that, opening up the prospect of Americans being tried in Iraqi courts and subjected to Iraqi punishment.

The negotiations were strained following WikiLeaks’ release of a diplomatic cable that alleged Iraqi civilians, including children, were killed in a 2006 raid by American troopsrather than in an airstrike as the U.S. military initially reported.

That description from CNN of the cable’s contents is, unsurprisingly, diluted to the point of obfuscation. That cable was released by WikiLeaks in May, 2011, and, as McClatchy put it at the time, “provides evidence that U.S. troops executed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5-month-old infant, then called in an airstrike to destroy the evidence, during a controversial 2006 incident in the central Iraqi town of Ishaqi.” The U.S. then lied and claimed the civilians were killed by the airstrike. Although this incident had been previously documented by the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the high-profile release of the cable by WikiLeaks generated substantial attention (and disgust) in Iraq, which made it politically unpalatable for the Iraqi government to grant the legal immunity the Obama adminstration was seeking. Indeed, it was widely reported at the time the cable was released that it made it much more difficult for Iraq to allow U.S. troops to remain beyond the deadline under any conditions.

In other words, whoever leaked that cable cast light on a heinous American war crime and, by doing so, likely played some significant role in thwarting an agreement between the Obama and Maliki governments to keep U.S. troops in Iraq and thus helped end this stage of the Iraq war (h/t Trevor Timm). Moreover, whoever leaked these cables — as even virulent WikiLeaks critic Bill Keller repeatedly acknowledged — likely played some significant in helping spark the Arab Spring protests by documenting just how deeply corrupt those U.S.-supported kleptocrats were. And in general, whoever leaked those cables has done more to publicize the corrupt, illegal and deceitful acts of the world’s most powerful factions — and to educate the world about how they behave — than all “watchdog” media outlets combined (indeed, the amount of news reports on a wide array of topics featuring WikiLeaks cables as the primary source is staggering). In sum, whoever leaked those cables is responsible for one of the most consequential, beneficial and noble acts of this generation.

And yet (or more accurately: therefore) the person accused of accomplishing all of this, Bradley Manning, has been imprisoned for more than a year without trial, and, if convicted, is almost certain to remain in prison for many more years (with the possibility, albeit unlikely, of death, and as the Obama administration continues to block an unmonitored visit by the U.N. official investigating what had been the inhumane conditions of his detention). If one believes the authenticity of the chat logs produced byWired, Manning’s goal in leaking those cables — “hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms . . . i want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public” – have been fulfilled beyond what must have been his wildest dreams. Assuming the truth of those chat logs, he was motivated precisely by seeing cables of the sort that detailed this civilian slaughter and subsequent cover-up in Iraq, and the extreme levels of theft and oppression by Arab dictators, and the desire to have the world know about it. Meanwhile, those responsible for the Iraq War, and who suppressed freedom and democracy in the Middle East by propping up those tyrants, and who committed a slew of other illegal and deeply corrupt acts, continue to prosper and wield substantial power.

History is filled with examples of those who most bravely challenged and subverted corrupted power and who sought reforms being rewarded with prison or worse, at the hands of those whose bad actions they exposed. If Bradley Manning did leak these cables, his imprisonment is a prime example of that inverted justice.

Posted by TONY on 30.10.11

http://neoclassics.blogspot.com/2011/10/wikileaks-cables-and-iraq-war.html

Shiite Turkmen demonstrate to regain their lands

2011-10-31T00:25:00.000+01:00

Tens of Shiite Turkmen demonstrated before Kirkuk province premises to demand regaining their original lands in their villages.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Tens of Shiite Turkmen demonstrated before Kirkuk province premises to demand regaining their original lands in their villages.

A demonstrator told that the Iraqi government approved the return of the lands from Arab beneficiaries during the ex-Saddam Hussein regime, "but there are officials at the central government hinder the implementation of these decisions, so we demand the President and Kirkuk governor to solve these problems".

Kirkuk, center of the province, lies 255 km north east the capital, Baghdad, which is one of the disputed areas between the federal and Kurdistan governments.

ABNA.ir

IRAQ'S MISSING MONEY CNBC VIDEO

2011-10-26T20:20:00.000+02:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

'US seeks to keep presence in Iraq'

2011-10-25T11:47:00.000+02:00

'US seeks to keep presence in Iraq'

Mon Oct 24, 2011
Moqtada Al Sadr has accused the Americans of a clumsy strategy for holding onto their military stanglehold in Iraq.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/206347.html

Influential Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr

Influential Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says the United States is seeking to maintain its occupation of Iraq through keeping trainers and private contractors in the Middle Eastern country.

Sadr said on Sunday that Washington will continue hatching plots against Iraq through its remaining forces in the US embassy and security firms in the country, Fars News Agency reported.

The Iraqi cleric went on to say that the US plan to keep some of its troops in Iraq is pointless, adding that Washington would not be able to deceive Iraqis under the guise of training soldiers.

The US State Department has been tasked with training Iraqi police since October 1, when it took over the responsibility from the US Defense Department.

Washington has been pressing Baghdad to agree to keep the remaining US troops in Iraq beyond December 31, a deadline which was set in a security agreement between Baghdad and Washington in 2008, known as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
The Sadr movement is awaiting the full withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq, the influential cleric stated.

On Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi forces are ready to take over security after the pullout of US troops from the country.

Maliki has also rejected the US proposal that 3,400 of the troops remain in the country, saying “we do not need such a large number.”

HSN/HJL

TURKMEN IN IRAQ AND THEIR FLIGHT A DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTION by Ibrahim SIRKECI

2011-10-25T11:22:00.001+02:00

REPORT N° 21
JANUARY 2011

Please see:

http://regents.academia.edu/sirkeci/Books/383971/Turkmen_in_Iraq_and_Their_Flight_A_
Demographic_Question

Assyrian Appointed As UN Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq

2011-10-25T11:14:00.000+02:00

GMT 10-25-2011 2:24:38

Assyrian International News Agency

(AINA) -- The United Nations Embassy in New York has appointed Dr. William Ishaya Odisho to be the new Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq. Dr. Odisho has been an Assyrian activist with Iraqi oppositions since 1991. In July of 2002, he was elected as one of the High Committee members of the Iraqi Military Council for Liberation.

No end to the targeting of Turkmens in Iraq

2011-10-23T12:17:00.000+02:00

The Iraq War Ain’t Over, No Matter What Obama Says

2011-10-23T12:08:00.000+02:00

By Spencer Ackerman

October 21, 2011 |

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/obama-iraq-eternal/

President Obama announced on Friday that all 41,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq will return home by December 31. “That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end,” he said. Don’t believe him.

Now: it’s a big deal that all U.S. troops are coming home. For much of the year, the military, fearful of Iranian influence, has sought a residual presence in Iraq of several thousand troops. But arduous negotiations with the Iraqi government about keeping a residual force stalled over the Iraqis’ reluctance to provide them with legal immunity.

But the fact is America’s military efforts in Iraq aren’t coming to an end. They are instead entering a new phase. On January 1, 2012, the State Department will command a hired army of about 5,500 security contractors, all to protect the largest U.S. diplomatic presence anywhere overseas.

The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security does not have a promising record when it comes to managing its mercenaries. The 2007 Nisour Square shootings by State’s security contractors, in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed, marked one of the low points of the war. Now, State will be commanding a much larger security presence, the equivalent of a heavy combat brigade. In July, Danger Room exclusively reported that the Department blocked the Congressionally-appointed watchdog for Iraq from acquiring basic information about contractor security operations, such as the contractors’ rules of engagement.

That means no one outside the State Department knows how its contractors will behave as they ferry over 10,000 U.S. State Department employees throughout Iraq — which, in case anyone has forgotten, is still a war zone. Since Iraq wouldn’t grant legal immunity to U.S. troops, it is unlikely to grant it to U.S. contractors, particularly in the heat and anger of an accident resulting in the loss of Iraqi life.

It’s a situation with the potential for diplomatic disaster. And it’s being managed by an organization with no experience running the tight command structure that makes armies cohesive and effective.

You can also expect that there will be a shadow presence by the CIA, and possibly the Joint Special Operations Command, to hunt persons affiliated with al-Qaida. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has conspicuously stated that al-Qaida still has 1,000 Iraqi adherents, which would make it the largest al-Qaida affiliate in the world.

So far, there are three big security firms with lucrative contracts to protect U.S. diplomats. Triple Canopy, a longtime State guard company, has a contract worth up to $1.53 billion to keep diplos safe as they travel throughout Iraq. Global Strategies Group will guard the consulate at Basra for up to $401 million. SOC Incorporated will protect the mega-embassy in Baghdad for up to $974 million. State has yet to award contracts to guard consulates in multiethnic flashpoint cities Mosul and Kirkuk, as well as the outpost in placid Irbil.

“We can have the kind of protection our diplomats need,” Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough told reporters after Obama’s announcement. Whether the Iraqi people will have protection from the contractors that the State Department commands is a different question. And whatever you call their operations, the Obama administration hopes that you won’t be so rude as to call it “war.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

‘US did far more damage than good in Iraq’

2011-10-22T17:34:00.005+02:00

Followed by a comment from MALCOM LAGAUCHE

‘US did far more damage than good in Iraq’

The Iraqi government wanted more troops to stay and help provide security. This however does not represent the interests of the Iraqi people, says Bennis.

“The parliament of Iraq, which is far more representative, has made it clear they do not need any US troops left in Iraq. The government of PM Malaki, which is afraid they “may fall” without the backing of US troops, has warned the troops to stay, as did the Obama administration,” she maintained. “They both are stuck with anti-war populations that want the war to end. For Malaki the issue was he could not get away with providing immunity to the US troops in the case of war crimes. For Obama, he could not get the Iraqis to say ‘Yes. We will give you immunity in the case of war crimes.’ Without immunity they were not prepared to stay because the Pentagon knows that their troops commit too many war crimes in these situations,”

http://rt.com/news/usa-iraq-libya-troops-461/

Malcom Lagauche :

Bennis is a phony who takes credit for other peoples' work. Shortly after Maliki was appointed "president" of Iraq, her group, United for Peace and Justice, sent him a letter of congratulation. Then, it paid $1,500 for an ad in a Baghdad ne...wspaper calling for collaboration between UPJ and Maliki's stooges. When the Iraqi resistance was in full-swing, Bennis publicly stated that she did not support the resistance. UPJ and Bennis stated that their goal was to bring US soldiers home from Iraq. The only group that actively was purswuing this goal was rhe resistance. She is guru of the US milquetoast left that has absolutely no integrity. At times, they've made statements that are more pro-war and occupation than the administration. With enemies like her, the administration doesn't need friends. It can sit back and watch the "anti-war" people make fools of themselves. This woman has a long history of betrayal to the causes she supposedly represents and she is thrilled at her media presence.

Thursday-Saturday, August 2-4, 2007

by Malcom Lagauche:

THE GREAT PRETENDERS

This is a republishing of an article I wrote over four years ago depicting the insincerity of much of the US anti-war movement and one of its gurus, Phyllis Bennis.

The "peace movement" in the U.S. has no lack of leaders. Unfortunately, these self-appointed chiefs seem to be more interested in self-promotion and image than in actually getting to the bottom of issues and placing their energies into meaningful actions.

Recently, journalist Alexander Cockburn penned an article called "Support Their Troops?" in which he gave an sound argument that the peace community will not consider supporting the Iraqi resistance. He then said the peace movement is all but dead. In addition, he showed the close alliance between the Democratic Party and various peace groups.

Phyllis Bennis, a well-known peace activist, took offence at Cockburn’s analysis and wrote an article titled, "Why the Anti-War Movement Doesn’t Embrace the Iraqi Resistance." The piece is a mixture of unrelated subjects and that make it difficult to understand. At times, she contradicts herself.

In her recent article, she stated:

_ But I never supported Saddam Hussein, who was "resisting" the U.S. during the sanctions years, and I didn’t — and don’t — support what is called the "Iraqi resistance" today …

… There is no unified leadership that can speak for "the resistance," …

… There is no unified program, either of what the fight is against or for what it is for. We know virtually nothing of what most of the factions stand for beyond opposition to the U.S. occupation — and from my own personal vantage point, of the little beyond that that we do know, I don’t like so much.

If Bennis does not know the program of the resistance, she is either blind or is lazy for not trying to discover the agenda. Various resistance groups publish updated reports of their activities as well as their programs. In addition, YouTube has dozens, if not hundreds, of videos from resistance groups.

A curious aspect of her article is her use of quotation marks around the word "resistance." These symbols infer illegitimacy for the Iraqi resistance. And, she says she does not know what the factions stand for "beyond opposition to the U.S. occupation." Any resistance stands for the eviction of foreign occupiers. Her illogic is stifling.

Bennis then gives credit to the anti-war movements for turning the U.S. public opinion against the war. This again is illogical and outright untrue. Many people have changed their opinions by reading articles on astute websites that show the lies the Bush administration, along with its Democratic lackies, put forth to justify the illegal March 2003 invasion. Millions of people who never saw or heard of anti-war groups now oppose the occupation. Bennis takes false credit for the growing anti-occupation mood in the U.S.

To top it all off, about an Iraq after a U.S. withdrawal, Bennis states, "It’s not up to me to choose who governs Iraq. I’m not Iraqi. I don’t get to choose."

This statement comes after her attempt to dissuade people in the U.S. from supporting the Iraqi resistance. On the one hand, she tries to influence millions of people not to support the resistance, while, on the other hand, she pleads neutrality on Iraqi affairs.

Bennis is guilty of actions that many leaders in the peace movement employ: almost ordering her followers to adhere to a particular stance. I have had many experiences with various peace-oriented groups in southern California and can state that bullying tactics by some of the leaders are commonplace.

Journalist Gabriele Zamparini recently critiqued Bennis’ article and added:

You, the resistance movements around the world that are resisting this rapacious Empire whose fat belly we live so comfortably in, you must be approved to have our respect, sympathy and intellectual support.

Zamparini hit the nail right on the middle of its head. The peace movement suffers from an age-old U.S. adage: "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians."

Bennis is also involved with the group United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), an umbrella organization that supposedly represents more than 1400 groups. If you think her recent remarks about the Iraqi resistance do not represent those of people who oppose the Iraqi occupation, UFPJ makes her look like a front-line resistance fighter. In February of this year, I wrote an article exposing the horrendous agenda of UFPJ. Please read it again because it is even more relevant today than when I penned it. The U.S. government (Republicans and Democrats alike) do not need to counter anti-war groups if they have descended to such a low level. Why pay propaganda writers to produce material when your "enemies" can do as good a job? And, you don’t even have to pay them a salary. With enemies like this, who needs friends?

Tuesday/Wednesday, February 6-7, 2007

BEWARE OF AGENDAS

In the 1990s, I and several comrades organized demonstrations against the Iraqi embargo. We demonstrated at radio/TV stations, the U.S. Federal Building, offices of Congressmen, etc.

During this time, there was a glaring absence of peace or anti-war groups. I called all the local organizations and was outright told that they were not interested to "touch the Iraq thing." One activist in a pro-Cuba group told me she was not interested because of the way they treated women in Iraq. When I told her that Iraq was secular, she said, "The still all wear veils."

The ignorance of the "peace" community about the embargo and world politics was stifling.

In my writings, I have lambasted the peace movement in general for not opposing the Iraqi embargo and only coming out of their closets a few days before bombs were to drop.

This past weekend, we saw a massive anti-war demonstration in Washington D.C. that included hundreds of thousands of marchers. The group "United for Peace and Justice" was listed as the sponsor and it gained much publicity. The group claims to have more than 1,400 affiliated members.

What appears to be an umbrella group for the cause may not exactly have altruistic designs. After the march on Washington, various writers accounted how United for Peace and Justice really messed up. Chris Jenks of Traprock Peace Center said:

Unfortunately, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) - the primary sponsor - didn’t live up to the standards set by the marchers. Its continuing refusal to work with some other national coalitions, and its focus on celebrities and politicians, was reflected in its botching the start of the march and focusing of media coverage.

Other writers corroborated Jenks’ account. They maintain that United for Peace and Justice was more interested in camera position and the Hollywood celebrities than about the march itself. At one point, the marchers took matters into their own hands and began to act. If they had not, the entire day could have turned into a fiasco that would have embarrassed the participants in the event.

Normally, I don’t specify any single group in the peace movement. And, not all groups are as remiss in their commitment as those I have mentioned. But, United for Peace and Justice poses some quandaries.

If you go to their website, there is much talk about the devastating effect of the deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq. Slogans abound about bringing our troops home so more don’t get killed. However, there is little about the plight of the Iraqis. There was not one word about the illegal government put in power by the U.S. and the plight of the members of the pre-April 2003 government. United for Peace and Justice actually recognizes the Iraqi stooges meeting in the Green Zone as the legitimate government of Iraq.

In addition, there is a large portion devoted to "faith-based" groups and how they should join United for Peace and Justice, who has an entire section about "faith-based" activism. Many anti-war activists have no religious affiliation. In the U.S., atheists, by percentage, well outnumber the general public in their opposition to the war against Iraq. United for Peace and Justice appears to be tossing these people aside.

I am curious to know how many affiliate members of the organization have really looked into United for Peace and Justice actions and ideas. Many would be surprised.

To top everything off, in July 2006, the group wanted to meet Malaki to discuss peace in Iraq. They praised him and said what an honor it was for him to visit Washington D.C. And, they wanted to take out an ad in a Baghdad newspaper. Along with the announcement came the obligatory request for money.

To me, their actions are similar to those of the TV preachers who ask for money to promote their lamebrain ideas. The following is a plea from United for Peace and Justice to support the ridiculous idea of meeting with Malaki, the same Malaki who is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis because of his support for Shi’ite death squads. Following their plea is the letter I sent to them about this quandary. They never answered me when they had the chance to explain their actions, so I consider it fair game now to expose the group and its egotistical and outright stupid actions.

________________________________________________________

Help us place an open letter from the peace movement to Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki as an ad in one of Iraq's largest newspapers.

For only $1,500, we can reach tens of thousands of Iraqis with our message. Click here to donate online toward this effort or call 212-868-5545 to make a contribution by phone.

You can also mail a check or money order to:
United for Peace and Justice
P.O. Box 607
Times Square Station
New York, NY 10108

Dear Friends,

This week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki will make his first visit to the United States, visiting Washington DC and New York City. He will be meeting with George Bush and members of Congress, but don't you think he should also meet with representatives of the peace movement? Don't you think he -- and the Iraqi people -- should know that there is a strong movement in the United States to end the occupation of their country?

We have delivered letters to the Iraqi Embassy in Washington DC and to the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations in New York requesting that Prime Minister Al-Maliki meet with representatives of the peace movement. Now we need you to play a critical role in making this historic opportunity a reality.

Help us place an advertisement based on the following Open Letter to Prime Minister Al-Maliki in one of the largest newspapers in Iraq, Assabah Al-Jadid. This is not only a great way to pressure the Prime Minister for a meeting, but it is also a way to reach out to the Iraqi people to let them know that we stand with them in their call to end the occupation of their country. A poll earlier this year showed that 87% of Iraqis support a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops; another poll showed that only 1% of Iraqis trusted U.S. troops to protect their security.

For only $1,500, we can place a half-page ad that will reach tens of thousands of Iraqis. If, through your generosity, more than that comes in, we will use the money to continue spreading our call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq and to help with the ongoing antiwar work of UFPJ. Click here to make a donation toward this effort today.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
Prime Minister Al-Maliki's visit this week is also a great time to write letters to the editors of your local newspapers, mentioning the peace movement's request for a meeting with the prime minister and bringing attention to the growing calls for an end to the occupation and the reconciliation proposal put forth by numerous Iraqi leaders. You can use text from the open letter as talking points, but please use your own words to make your letter more effective and more likely to be printed. Click here to send a letter to your local media outlets.

Thank you for helping us to make this critical, direct link with the Iraqi people, and to make the call for peace heard loud and clear throughout the United States. Let's make sure that Prime Minister Al-Maliki, the people of Iraq, and people here in the U.S. don't just hear the voice of George Bush. Let's make sure they hear the voices of the majority in this country, who want to see an end to the bloodshed and the beginning of a true effort to rebuild Iraq and our neglected communities at home.

OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER AL-MALIKI

Dear Prime Minister Al-Maliki,

On behalf of United for Peace and Justice, the largest coalition of peace and justice organizations in the U.S., which includes more than 1,400 national and local groups united in opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq, it is our pleasure to welcome you in the United States.

We are writing to request a meeting with you during your visit in New York City on Thursday, July 27, 2006, in order to brief you about the U.S. peace movement's efforts to end the military occupation of Iraq and to discuss how to work together to bring about a troop withdrawal, promote reconciliation, and begin the process of reconstruction and development.

We have been heartened by the Iraqi reconciliation plan put forth by numerous Iraqi leaders to end both the occupation and sectarian tension within Iraq. We are dismayed, however, that due in part to U.S. pressure, the plan does not include a demand for a timetable for withdrawing the troops -- a point that is essential for any true reconciliation plan.

A poll earlier this year showed that 87% of Iraqis support a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. A solid majority of people in the United States agree: a June poll by CNN showed that 53% supported a timetable for withdrawal, and other major polls have found similar results.

We oppose the interference of the Bush administration in your country's domestic policies. We support your recent independent and courageous stand criticizing the aggressive Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and we hope you will continue to take independent stands that prioritize the desires of the Iraqi people over foreign interests.

There is a strong movement in the United States to end the continuing military occupation of your country, and we hope that you will have time to meet us during your visit to the United States. We would, of course, be prepared to meet at whatever time or location is best for you.

Sincerely,

Leslie Cagan
National Coordinator
United for Peace and Justice

Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today.
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=157880636&url_num=9&url=http://www.unitedforpeace.org/www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545

____________________________________

Here was my response:

Dear People,

It is with great incredulity that I write to you. I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw your appeal for solicitations to place an ad in an Iraqi newspaper addressed to Al-Maliki.

And, your coddling up to him ("It is our pleasure to welcome you in the United States") is ludicrous and disgusting. Al-Maliki is not Iraq's prime minister. He is the appointed head of an illegal government in Iraq and currently the U.S.' "Stooge of the Month." To lend him any credibility is outrageous.

Al-Maliki and his cohorts spent decades in Iran and/or Syria, plotting for the overthrow of the legitimate Iraqi government. If the same situation occurred in the U.S., one would call the person the correct name: traitor.

I notice that you call yourself the "largest coalition of peace and justice organizations in the U.S." Do all your affiliated members know of this letter to Al-Maliki? I don't think so. His actions in the past decades show that he wanted Iraq to be invaded. In other words, he cheered on the illegal March 2003 invasion. You pretend to have opposed intervention in Iraq and now you invite one of the invasion's biggest supporters to meet you. I am at a loss for words.

I have sent your appeal to a few colleagues in the past hour. Their responses are identical to mine. Al-Maliki is visiting the U.S. to get his trip to the woodshed with Bush. When he comes out, he will say "Yasuh." In Iraq, his movements are limited to a few square miles. He is meeting with the architect of the invasion that ruined 5,000 years of proud history of Iraq as well as about 700,000 Iraqis, and you want to meet with him. The mind boggles.

I am a known anti-war writer and have many readers because more than 100 websites pick up my articles. I would like to interview someone on your staff and try to discover what kind of logic you are using. Maybe something is going over my head. Please let me know if you are interested in a dialogue. I will take a no-response to mean you are not. Either way, I will write about this quandary.

Sincerely,

Malcom Lagauche

(P.S. I never received a reply)

http://malcomlagauche.com/id1.html

CCTV VIDEO: Turkey, Iraq To Discuss PKK Issues

2011-10-18T12:00:00.000+02:00

Tensions Rise In Iraq’s Kirkuk Between Arabs, Kurds, And Turkmen

2011-10-18T11:21:00.000+02:00

12/10/2011
by Joel Wing*

In the last two months, tensions within Kirkuk city and the province of Tamim have steadily increased. All three major groups, the Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen have been complaining about the governorate’s security forces and representation on the provincial council. The Turkmen Front want their own security forces, which led to the Arabs calling for theirs, and then boycotting the council, while the Kurds have complained about the Arab presence in Tamim. All of the recent rhetoric shows that the governorate is as divided as ever.

The latest spat started in mid-August 2011 with the Turkmen. On August 16, it was reported that the Turkmen Front wanted its own security force in the province. They said it was to counter the Kurdish presence already in Kirkuk, as well as to stop attacks upon their community. The Front claimed that the governor and U.S. forces had agreed to a 100-150 man force that would not be armed. At the end of the month, a Front politician expanded upon the idea, saying that two police regiments should be formed in the province made up of Turkmen. Alternatively, he said that two Federal Police regiments could be deployed to the governorate. He claimed this was necessary because the existing security forces were either infiltrated by insurgents or run by political parties, plus the Kurds had their own forces already in Tamim. It appeared that the Turkmen were divided however, when in early October, the head of the Democratic Party of Turkmen said that a Turkmen security forces would only create more divisions, and that security should be the responsibility of the Iraqi army. When speaking of Kirkuk and Tamim, the conversation usually focuses upon the Kurds and Arabs. This ignores the sizeable Turkmen presence in the governorate who consider themselves the equal of those other two. The Turkmen were victims of Saddam’s Arabization program, and felt victimized by the Kurds after the 2003 invasion when peshmerga forces swept into the province. They have laid claim to Tamim just as the other groups have, and their demand for their own security forces is just the latest manifestation of this.

The Turkmen’s call for their own militia inspired the Arabs to ask for one as well. In mid-September, the Arab Group on the Tamim provincial council said that they wanted their own security force if the Turkmen got one. This was one reason why the group announced a boycott of the council. The other cause was their demand for more political representation in the governorate. At the end of August for example, the Arab Council threatened demonstrations if they weren’t given more spots on the council and in the security forces. They have been calling for the implementation of a power sharing deal agreed upon back at the end of 2007 that would divide all of the positions within the province equally between the Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen, each receiving 32%, and the Christians 4%. The Arabs currently hold 15% of the council seats and the deputy governorship, because they largely boycotted the 2005 elections. The Kurds on the other hand, have 64% of the seats. By September, they were claiming that Iyad Allawi and the Iraqi National Movement, which they had supported in the March 2010 national elections, had sold them out to the Kurds in return for their support in Allawi’s dispute with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. They also accused the Turkmen and Kurds within the governorate of working out a political deal that excluded them when a Turkmen was named the new head of the provincial council back in March. The Arab Council seems to be especially threatened right now. They claim the Turkmen and Kurds are going to shut them out politically. Not only that, but every time one major group in the province demands something, they feel as if they have to do the same to maintain the ethnosectarian balance within Tamim. That is the reason for their recent comments about the security forces, and the provincial council.

The Kurds are playing right along with the other two groups. In mid-August, the Kurdish parties demanded that they get the same amount of members in the provincial security forces as the Arabs. A parliamentarian from the Kurdish Coalition claimed that the 12th Iraqi Army Division, which was stationed in Tamim, was upsetting the ethnosectarian balance because it was mostly made up of Arab soldiers. In October, the provincial police chief, General Jamal Tahir Bakr, who happens to be a Kurd, took it to another level when he claimed that 15,000 Arabs had moved into the governorate since 2003, and that they should all leave. He went on to say that they were “illegal settlers,” and a security threat because they collaborate with insurgents. He went as far as to threaten to arrest all of these “illegal” settlers. The Kurds have made similar claims in the past. They consider any Arab that moved to the province in the last several decades part of the Baath Party’s Arabization policy. They believe that this policy has been implicitly continued after the overthrow of Saddam. The Kurds ultimately want to annex Kirkuk and other regions of the province, and the Arabs are one of their main opponents. The Kurdish parties therefore, have been trying to change the demographics of the province since 2003, by moving Kurds back in, and trying to encourage the Arabs to leave. The demand for a larger share of the security forces, and threatening to arrest Arab settlers is all part of their plan to create facts on the ground that will ultimately strengthen their case to transfer Kirkuk to Kurdistan.

This recent set of demands and accusations are nothing new for Tamim. Every couple months, one major group complains that their opponents are snatching up power, and that they are losing out as a result. This latest rhetoric by the Turkmen, Arabs, and Kurds therefore is nothing new. It all shows that the new Iraq is still dealing with the old one. Saddam Hussein attempted to Arabize Kirkuk to strengthen the central government’s hold over the oil rich area. Since 2003, the Kurds have been trying to reverse this process, and annex it. This has severely threatened the Arabs and Turkmen who want to either make the governorate an autonomous area or keep it under central government control. All of this is the reason why the major groups in the province continue to verbally attack and accuse each other. None of this is likely to end any time soon as Baghdad is incapable of solving the major problems in the country right now, because the parties are more interested in maintaining their positions, and outmaneuvering their rivals. As a consequence, the status quo in Tamim will remain, and this back and forth will continue.

*With an MA in International Relations, Joel Wing has been researching and writing about Iraq since 2002. His acclaimed blog, Musings on Iraq, is currently listed by the New York Times and the World Politics Review. In addition, Mr. Wing’s work has been cited by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Guardian and the Washington Independent.

ITC BAŞKANI PATLAMA YERİNDE İNCELEME YAPTI

2011-10-18T11:01:00.000+02:00

ITC BAŞKANI PATLAMA YERİNDE İNCELEME YAPTI

Irak Türkmen Cephesinden üst düzey bir heyet bu sabah patlamanın meydana geldiği Korya bölgesindeki Çiniçiler yardımlaşma bürosunu ziyaret etti.

Irak Türkmen Cepehsi Başkanı ve Kerkük Milletvekili Erşet Salihi başkanlığındaki heyet bombalı saldırı sonucu yerle bir edilen büroda incelemelerde bulundu.

Irak Türkmen Cephesinden üst düzey bir heyet bu sabah patlamanın meydana geldiği Korya bölgesindeki Çiniçiler yardımlaşma bürosunu ziyaret etti.

Irak Türkmen Cepehsi Başkanı ve Kerkük Milletvekili Erşet Salihi başkanlığındaki heyet bombalı saldırı sonucu yerle bir edilen büroda incelemelerde bulundu.

Heyette Türkmen Milletvekili Milletvekili Hasan Özmen, Irak Türkmen Cephesi Genel başkan yardımcısı Ali Haşim Muhtaroğlu ile Irak Türkmen Cephesi Yürütme Kurulu üyeleri Hasan Turan ile Ali Mehdi ve Irak Türkmen Cephesi Kerkük il başkanı Kasım Kazancı da yer aldı.

Irak Türkmen Cephesi Genel Başkanı ve Kerkük Milletvekili Erşet Salihi beraberindeki heyetle birlikte büroya yakın evlerde meydana gelen hasarı yerinde inceledi.

Türkmenlere yönelik saldırıların planlı bir şekilde yapıldığını bildiren Irak Türkmen Cephesi yetkilileri, hükümetin bu saldırıların durdurulması ve Türkmenlerin korunması konusunda gerekli çalışmalarda bulunmadığını belirttiler.

Irak Türkmen Cephesi Genel başkanı Erşet Salihi olay yerinde Türkmeneli Televizyonuna açıklamalarda bulundu.

Irak Türkmen Cephesi Yürütme kurulu üyesi ve Kerkük il meclisi başkanı Hasan Turan yaptığı konuşmada Türkmenlerin açık bir şekilde hedef allındıklarına işaret ederek bunu gözardı edenlerin artık gerçekleri görmeleri gerektiğini açıkladı.

Irak Türkmen Cephesi Kerkük il başkanı Kasım Kazancı da bugün olay yerini iki kez ziyaret etti.

Sabah erken saatlerde patlamadan kısa bir süre sonra oley yerine giden Irak Türkmen Cephesi Kerkük il başkanı Kasım Kazancı durum değerlendirmesinde bulundu

kerkuk.net

The correct address for the Kurds: Ankara

2011-10-15T20:08:00.001+02:00

Photo: Dr. Hicran Kazanci

Nasuhi GÜNGÖR

The correct address for the Kurds: Ankara
Star Newspaper 14.10.2011

Probably one of the most important problems in combatting terror is being able to portray the relationship between combatting and results correctly to the public. If the public is not told that it will take time until results are achieved then expectations will rise. Naturally this will be followed by disappointment.

Yet if we are to look at the messages given to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoşyer Zebari who has been making contacts in Ankara for the past two days it can even be considered that combatting terror has reached a phase which is extremely positive.

The two major actors in Kurdish politics, Mesut Barzani and Celal Talabani have a history of being far removed from understanding the power, stance and decisiveness of Turkey. However, it is not only regional actors who are calculating benefits over the Kurds, in fact it is obvious that the international system is taking a great interest in the issue. These relationships lie behind the up and down attitudes of the Kurdish leaders with Ankara.

On the other hand Barzani who is found sympathetic in a wide area among Kurds often gives grandstanding message to the populace to uphold these expectations.

Why is it the correct address

However, these issues are gradually remaining in the past. This is caused by a few reasons. First of all Ankara is much more powerful, respected and decisive than previously. It is now acting with a new smart policy leaving behind inter-agency rivalry out of scope. It is very difficult for the Kurdish leaders to confront such a Republic of Turkey.

Secondly, the new policy applied by Ankara in its fight against the PKK is forming into an action to free itself from an impediment in the area which is a threat rather than an endeavor to resolve an internal issue. This is an important difference. Instead of an introverted battle against problems and being squeezed into a corner, Turkey is a power with the courage to face its problems on a regional and global scale.

Thirdly it is sufficient to look at a map to see why the Kurdish leaders are obliged to act with Turkey. While Hoşyer Zebari was in Turkey an interesting move came from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri El Maliki: ‘If necessary we can send Iraqi troops to Northern Iraq to combat terror.’ It needs to be underlined that while this message supports Turkey it is also a meaningful ‘dispatch’ to the Kurds.

The Turkmen and the future

Since we are on the subject of Iraq let’s open another subject. As it is known, there is a large Turkmen population still in Iraq and as a result of mistakes made in the past, this community which is closest to Turkey is practically struggling to survive.

It is definite that the Turkmen will have an important role in future politics. I sincerely believe this. However, in order for this to happen the community must first resolve its internal rivalries. I often have discussions with Iraqi Turkmen Front Turkey Representative Hicran Kazancı. I find his approach not only regarding the front but his views on the future of the region to be very significant. The reason for this is that unlike in the past, he argues on behalf of establishing strong alliances rather than an aggressive or separatist approach.

Unfortunately this wide vision of the Ankara front representative has deeply disturbed some circles who are drowing in the reckoning of the past. In fact the issue is very clear. The Turkmen need to wipe the slate clean and renew themselves to become strong politically. Indeed, the political mind directing Ankara is looking favorably on the renewal process of the Turkmen. Perhaps a more active support and cooperation is necessary.

Otherwise it may be more difficult that expected to break the impact of some of the power groups which have settled into these structures in the past.

Iraqi Parliamentarians representing ‘Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities’ at the European Parliament in Brussels

2011-10-06T21:23:00.000+02:00

Iraqi Parliamentarians with Mr. Struan Stevenson, President of the Iraq Delegation at the EU Parliament and other MEPs.

ITF EU representative, Dr. Hassan Aydinli with Members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives

Mr. Amin Farhan, Member Iraqi Council of Representatives, President of the Eyzidin Movement for Reform and Progress and its parliamentary faction, speaking at the meeting

Iraqi Turkmen Front EU Representative Dr Hassan Aydinli with MEP Tunne Kelam

ITF EU Representative Dr Hassan Aydinli with MEP Alexandra Thein

Iraqi Parliamentarians representing ‘Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities’ at the European Parliament in Brussels

Brussels – 5^TH October 2011

Fourteen Iraqi Parliamentarians representing the Chaldeo-Assyrian, Shabak, Yezidi and Mandaean-Sabean communities met with the EU Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq on 5^th October 2011.

The Iraqi delegation was composed of:

§ Mr Younadam KENNA

§ Mr Amin FARHAN

§ Miss Ameena SAID

§ Miss Vian DAKHIL

§ Mr Hussain NERMO

§ Mr Meham KHALEEL

§ Miss Basma PITRUS

§ Mr Luis GARO

§ Mr Qasim BIRGIS

§ Mr Sharif SULAYMAN

§ Mr Khalid ROOMI

§ Mr Kaliss EISHO

§ Mr Imad YAKO

§ Mr Mohammed JAMSHEED

The meeting was chaired by MEP Struan Stevenson, President of the Iraq Delegation.

MEP Esther De Lange, Vice-President of the Iraq Delegation, and MEPs Ana Gomes, Tunne Kelam, Alexandra Thein and Jelko Kacin attended the meeting.

MEP Struan Stevenson informed the assembly that the Minorities Caucus in the Iraqi Council of Representatives was formed in July 2010 and that its aim is to develop a concrete plan of potential legislative action that stands to include reform of Iraq’s personal status law, local administration legislation, an anti-discrimination law and reform of Iraq’s educational curriculum.

The meeting has been organized with the help of :

- the Iraqi Council of Representatives,

- the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Iraq,

- the Institute for International Law and Human Rights,

- the U.S. Institute of Peace

With the support of :

- UNPO (the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization)

- No Peace Without Justice.

The Chairman Mr. Struan Stevenson started the meeting by saying that in the European Union we are all minorities, even Germany with its 82 million people is a ‘minority’, and that we Europeans have learned to work together. He added that over 23% of the population of Iraq is non-Arab and that these non-Arab communities are victims of discrimination and assimilation and that their survival in Iraq is threatened.

Mr. Struan Stevenson informed the delegation that in November a big conference on Christian minorities would be held in the Lebanon.

Ms. Esther De Lange MEP, welcomed the 14-member delegation, saying that it is the first minority delegation from Iraq to be invited at the European Parliament. She added that the delegation would also meet with the EU Commission. Ms. De Lange said that the EU Parliament would like to have concrete examples of the delegation’s demands.

Mr. Younadam Kenna, Member Iraqi Council of Representatives , representing the Chaldeo-Assyrian community, was the first to take the floor, he spoke in the name of the delegation, informing the assembly of the main problems the minorities are facing in Iraq, namely regarding the unfair distribution of budget funds, the executive law system which is still the one which was used under Saddam Hussein, the pernicious law for women in the Kurdistan region where honour killings still take place, law of oil and gas repartition, religious prejudice, lack of education in the language of the minorities in the Mosul region, the problem of the return of refugees belonging to the minorities, etc. He asked the help and support of the European Union to help resolve all these problems.

Other members of the Iraqi delegation spoke about their communities’ continued suffering due to forced displacement, land confiscation, wars, lack of justice, lack of security, bureaucracy, unfair repartition of funds for the minority communities.

Miss Vian Dakhil, Member Iraqi Council of Representatives, representing the Yezidi community, spoke in the name of all women belonging to minorities in Iraq. She called for the support and help of the European Parliament for these women.

Mr. Mohammed Jamsheed, Member Iraqi Council of Representatives, representing the Shabak community, recommended that the EU pay special attention to the Province of Ninewah because this is where 90% of the problems of the minorities are concentrated.

Mr. Kaliss Eisho, Member Iraqi Council of Representatives, representing the Chaldeo-Assyrian community, asked for an autonomous region for the Chaldeo-Assyrians in the Ninewah Plains.

Mr. Amin Farhan, Member Iraqi Council of Representatives, President of the Eyzidin Movement for Reform and Progress and its parliamentary faction, spoke with force and conviction about the need for the Committee for the Revision of the Constitution in Iraq to include at least one member of each community. He said that there is no democracy in Iraq, that minorities are threatened and that they should have the means to protect themselves. Mr. Amin Farhan said that he had asked Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to reinstate the old Yezidi army and police officers and that Maliki had agreed for the return of 332 of them, but that the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi army in Baghdad, a Kurd, had refused to reinstate them. He said that although he is a Member of the Iraqi Parliament, the Kurdish Regional Authorities do not allow him to visit his family in his home town Shikhan in the north of Iraq. Mr. Farhan spoke of the lack of freedom of expression in the Kurdish Region for Yezidis, informing the assembly that the Kurds are refusing them to distribute a Yezidi newspaper in their region.

All the members of the Iraqi delegation asked for help and moral support from the European Union, saying that they hoped the EU Parliament would make a statement on Iraq’s minorities. They expressed the hope that Members of the EU Parliament would visit the Iraqi Parliament frequently and that additional EU consulates would be opened in Iraq’s main northern cities.

Iraqi Turkmen Front EU representative, Dr. Hassan Aydinli, attended the conference. He met individually with the members of the Iraqi Parliament, questioning them about the situation of their respective communities in Iraq and he encouraged them to express themselves freely and without fear.

Dr. Aydinli met with Mr. Struan Stevenson, Chairman of the Iraq Delegation and with MEPs Tunne Kelam and Alexandra Thein, he informed them about the upcoming Turkmen Hearing by the subcommittee on Human Rights at the EU Parliament on 5^th December 2011, he also updated them about the continued targeting of Turkmen intellectuals, businessmen and political leaders in the north of Iraq and about the failure and unwillingness of the Iraqi authorities and local authorities to provide adequate protection for the Turkmen community in the north of Iraq.

Maliki, the Fayli Kurds, and the Return to an Ethno-Sectarian Political Discourse in Iraq

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000+02:00

By Reidar Visser

Maliki, the Fayli Kurds, and the Return to an Ethno-Sectarian Political Discourse in Iraq

Posted by Reidar Visser on Sunday, 2 October 2011 19:34

Ever since he came to power in 2006, a key issue for Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki has been the tension between, on the one hand, a majoritarian, all-Iraqi politicial discourse, and, on the other, a discourse that instead emphasises the identity of separate ethnicities and sects.
In a speech to a gathering of Fayli Kurds yesterday, Maliki certainly emphasised ethno-sectarian identity. Firstly, Maliki stressed that the Faylis had suffered more than any other Iraqi community because they are “both Kurds and Shiites”. But not only that. Maliki advised the Faylis to seek “unity” within the component (mukawwin), meaning he demanded political conformity across the imagined “Fayli Kurd community”. He went on to suggest that the census to be carried out in Iraq in the future would make clear how many Fayli Kurds there are in Iraq! This would effectively transform the census to a questionnaire about more than mother tongue (Arabic, Kurdish or Turkish) and main religion (Muslim versus Christian): It is mainly their Shiite sectarian identity that sets the Faylis apart from other Kurds.

Seen in isolation, one could wonder whether Maliki perhaps was simply following a strategy of reinforcing sub-divisions among the Kurds, as seen before in Iraqi history and perhaps most prominently in the case of the Shabak around Mosul. But Maliki’s tendency to focus more on the components than the whole has been a consistent trend since the disappointing result for his State of Law coalition in the 7 March 2010 parliamentary elections. Back then, Maliki expressed disappointment that his hope of building a political-majority government had been crushed, and that the alternative of an ethno-sectarian power-sharing formula would likely lead to ineffective government. However, Maliki soon seemed to adapt to the new realities. Already in August 2010, people in his alliance (and the US ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill) expressed the view that the prime minister “had to be a Shiite”. This year, Maliki and his State of Law allies have increasingly expressed the view that certain posts should be given to sects, as seen especially in the call for the defence ministry to go to a Sunni. These are all important steps towards the permanent Lebanonisation of Iraq.

There are of course examples of brave resistance and cases where Iraqi national sentiment clearly does survive. When Turkmens in Kirkuk recently demanded an ethnic Turkmen militia to protect them, Sunni Arabs from the same area instead called for central government intervention, notwithstanding the fact that the Iraqi army is now Shiite-dominated. Similarly, those Sunni Arabs were among the first to reject the idea of a Sunni federal region when it hit the political agenda this summer.

Away from political elites, many ordinary Faylis continue to express unhappiness about being labelled as anything other than Iraqis. However, it seems Prime Minister Maliki is now giving them pretty little choice.