The Art of Lahib Jaddo

"My art is deeply rooted in my cultural heritage and family history."

I. Artist Statement
I relate to the universe around me visually so I paint to understand my inner worlds.
I have lived half my life in the old world, the Middle East, and half of it in this new world. My work is a reflection of that mix. I don’t define myself or my art as being one or the other. I am a mix of both worlds as is my work.

II. Biography

My ancestry is 3/4 Turkumani and 1/4 Armenian. Both are people native to the Middle East. My parents were raised in northern Iraq around the second World War when poverty and simplicity were matters of fact. My father had more ambition than to be a shepherd and tend the land so he left his home town of Tel-Afar to get an education and worked in the big city of Baghdad as an engineer. My mother refused to marry her cousin (which was the norm) and left her home town of Kirkuk to go to college in Baghdad and became a school teacher. Fortunately for me, their union was one where education ruled over tradition.

Please click on the link below to see more of the artist's works:
http://www.lahibjaddo.com/

Mübarek Kurban Bayramınız Kutlu Olsun

Painting by Iraqi Turkmen artist Lahib Jaddo "The Flying Lesson"

Mübarek Kurban Bayramınız Kutlu Olsun

أسمى التهاني بمناسبة عيد الاضحى المبارك

Wishing you Peace and Happiness for the Feast of Sacrifice

Meilleurs voeux à l'occasion de la Fête du Sacrifice

Violations of the Turkmens' Human Rights in Iraq by the U.S. Occupation Forces and the Kurdish Militias

COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE IRAQI TURKMENS’ RIGHTS

Tel: +32(0)495 44 06 29
E-mail: htwalli@skynet.be

COMMUNIQUE

Subject: Violations of the Turkmens’ Human Rights in Iraq by the U.S. occupation forces and the Kurdish militias (Peshmergas and Asayish).

Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the US-UK forces in March-April 2003 and especially since 10th April 2003, when the US forces authorized the Kurdish militias of Messrs. Barzani and Talabani:
- to advance far beyond their “Autonomous Region” established in the three governorates in the north-east of Iraq (Duhok, Erbil and Suleymaniya)
- to invade and occupy the other governorates of the north of Iraq (Kerkuk, Mosul, Salaheddin and Diyala) where the majority of Iraqi Turkmens live and where their region “Turkmeneli” is situated
the Turkmens have been systematically targeted by the Kurdish militias who are occupying and controlling their region.

Indeed, since then, the Turkmens are victims of human rights violation, they are marginalised in their own region, their community is discriminated, their cultural rights are denied and their language (Turkish) is not recognized as an official language in their region where the Arabic and Kurdish languages are imposed as the two official languages. They are denied their fair share of employment in the administration and they are markedly under-represented in the security forces, in the police and in the army which are almost all monopolised by the Kurds.

The Turkmens, not having armed militias of their own, are left defenceless and are living under constant threats. They are subjected to intimidations, kidnappings, ransoming, land and property grabbing, arbitrary detentions, torture, attacks and killings at the hands of armed militias. Ever since the Kurdish militias took control over ‘Turkmeneli’ on 10th April 2003 and occupied the Turkmens’ major cities and towns (Kerkuk, Telafer, Tuz Khurmatu, Altun Kopru, Dakuk, Kifri, Khanaqueen, Mendeli, etc.) they have behaved as an occupation force.

We have denounced and brought to your attention the systematic human rights abuses and atrocities committed by these militias against the Turkmens as well as against other non-Kurdish populations in the north of Iraq: Arabs, Chaldeo-Assyrians, Shabaks and Yezidis.

The Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK), in order to fulfil their hegemonic ambitions of creating a Kurdish state in the north of Iraq which would include the oil-rich governorate of Kerkuk, have used their armed militias to organize the settlement of over 600.000 Kurds from the Autonomous Kurdish Region as well as of non-Iraqi Kurds from neighbouring countries (Iran, Syria and Turkey) to change the demography and the ethnic composition of the Turkmen region in their favour. They have used their militias to rig the local and general elections to their advantage to show that they represent the majority of the population in the Turkmen region.

Thus, with the blessing of the US occupation authorities Kurds have managed to label the non-Kurdish regions of the north of Iraq inhabited mainly by Turkmens, Chaldeo-Assyrians, Yezidis and Shabaks as ‘contested territories’ , they are unjustly claiming that these territories are ‘Kurdish’ and they want to annex them to their autonomous region.

Naturally, the Turkmens reject the Kurds’ claims on their region and they refuse to be part of the Kurdish Autonomous Region. For this reason the Kurds are targeting Turkmens on a daily basis.

The most recent examples of attacks on Turkmens are today’s (3rd December 2008) deadly attacks in the Turkmen city of Telafer where a car bomb hit a local market killing seven Turkmens and injuring twenty-seven others, and this morning’s raid on a Turkmen house in Kerkuk’s neighbourhood of Hay Adden:

Today (3rd December 2008) at the crack of dawn (3:30 am), a joint American-Kurdish patrol, supposedly in search of a terrorist called Emad Abu Uday, raided the family house of late Turkmen Colonel Nadhim Suleiman.

The raiding force, composed of fifteen US soldiers accompanied by one translator (in four Humvees) and ten Kurdish security force members ‘Asayish’ wearing uniforms with the Kurdish flag on their chest and sleeves (in two four-wheel drive JMCs), broke the door and penetrated into the house, terrorizing all its occupants by firing shots outside and inside the house. They completely searched and ransacked the house and did not find a single bullet. Then they checked the IDs of all the persons living in the house: the widow and the two sons of late Colonel Nadhim Suleiman (Zakeriya Nadhim Sulaiman, aged twenty-nine and Nabil Nadhim Suleiman, aged thirty-four) and their wives and young children.

Despite the fact that they did not find the individual they were supposedly looking for they arrested both brothers, they put sacks over their heads, handcuffed them and took them away.

The Kurdish Asayish then took photos of the whole family and although there were no female members with them they forced the women to take off their hijabs and they searched them. They even took off the clothes of the two small children (a four year-old boy and a three-year old girl). They stole the family’s savings (around 20 million Iraqi Dinars), the women’s gold jewellery and all the personal documents belonging to the family.

The above are just two examples among the innumerable violations of human rights which are committed against the Turkmens in Iraq by the Kurds.

Several hundreds of innocent Turkmens who were arbitrarily arrested by the Kurdish Asayish are imprisoned somewhere in the Kurdish autonomous region. Most of these unfortunate detainees have been locked up for years, they are ill-treated and in most cases their families do not even know where they are imprisoned. The unjustified arrests and imprisonment of these innocent civilians who are often the sole breadwinners of their families have very serious consequences for their wives and children who are struggling to survive.

We, Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmens’ Rights, are appalled by the continued violations of human rights by the Kurdish militias and by the U.S. military in Iraq and we strongly denounce their exactions against the unarmed and innocent Turkmens.

The international community can no longer remain indifferent to the fact that Turkmens, Chaldeo-Assyrians, Yezidis and Shabaks are the victims of Kurdish militia’s terror in the north of Iraq.

We ask the European Union, the Human Rights Organizations and all members of international organizations not to remain silent about the human rights abuses by the Kurds against the non-Kurdish communities in the north of Iraq.

We call upon them to intervene without delay and urge them to put pressure on Messrs. Talabani and Barzani and demand that they stop these abuses and release all the innocent Turkmens who are detained in the Kurdish controlled jails in the north of Iraq.



Dr. Hassan AYDINLI
President,
Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmens’ Rights.

Brussels, 3rd December 2008.

Discussion about Iraq with EU MP Mr. Paulo Casaca

On 2nd December 2008, Mr. Paulo Casaca, a ¨Portuguese Socialist member of the European Parliament who has travelled extensively in Iraq over the last few years, launched his new book titled ‘The Hidden Invasion of Iraq’.

In his new book Mr. Casaca exposes an unnoticed angle of the conflict:

“Unnoticed by the West, thousands of operatives of the Badr Brigade – the Iraqi section of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) – have occupied most of the country and steadily taken over its political command”.

In his book Mr. Casaca argues that this invasion took place with the full knowledge and blessing of people who ought to have known better, including key members of the US and UK governmental organisations and think tanks.

The book exposes systematic and ongoing ties between western authorities including some of the very same figures involved in the infamous “Iran-contra affair” in 1985 and calls for a full and thorough public inquiry.

The event took place at the European Parliament in Brussels, where Mr. Casaca had invited a number of guests to a lunch discussion around his book.

Turkmen, Assyrian and Kurdish representatives attended the event:

Dr. Hassan Aydinli, ITF Europe Representative
Mrs. Merry Fitzgerald, Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmens’ Rights

Mr. Afram Yakoub, Project Director of Assyria Council of Europe

Kurdish representatives and journalists


*****
During the discussion Mr. Paulo Casaca mentioned that he had received complaints from Turkmens, Assyrians, Yezidis and other non-Kurdish communities of the north of Iraq regarding their ill-treatment by the Kurds, and addressing the Kurdish representatives he asked them : “please stop treating others in the way you didn’t want to be treated, stop forcing the Kurdish identity on others. If the Yezidis want to be Yezidis, leave them alone”.



Note:
Mr. Paulo Casaca is a founding member and co-president of the “Friends of a Free Iran” and a founding member of “European Friends of Israel”.
Along with the late Mohammad Al-Ahwad, he founded the “Euro-Iraqi” parliamentary dialogue platform, “Iraq with A Future” (IF). He has also been a member of the International Lebanese Committee for the Implementation of UNSCR 1559.

Türkmen Sorunu Federal Alman Meclisine İntikal edecek

ITC. Almanya Temsilciliğinin aylardır lobi çalışmaları kendini göstermeye başladı. Federal Alman Dış İşleri bakanlığı, art arda Millet Vekilleri ve parti sorumlularla ciddi görüşmeler devam etmektedir.

01.12.2008 tarihinde Irak Türkmen Cephesi Berlin Temsilcisi Ganim Authman, Federal Alman parlamentosu (İktidar Hükümeti) Hıristiyan Sosyal Birliği ve Hıristiyan Demokrat Partisi (CDU,CSU) millet vekili, Avrupa parlamentosu İnsan hakları komisyon başkanı Sayın Eduard Lintner’in daveti üzere Federal Alman parlamentosunda bir arya geldiler. Toplantıya Alman parlamentosu sol parti (Die Linke) Millet vekili Sayın Prof. Dr. Hakki Keskin’de hazır bulundu.

Toplantıda Irak Türkmenlerin Irak’taki Siyasi durumu ele alındı . Uzun yıllardan beri Irak’ı yönetenler tarafından, özellikle 2003 yılından sonra Türkmenlere uygulanan haksızlıklar ve insan hakları ihlali günümüze kader halen devam ederek Dünya ve Avrupa ülkeleri bunu ne yazık ki görmezden gelmektedirler. Federal Almanya, Demokrasi ve İnsan haklarını savunan ülkelerin zirvesinde olduğuna inanarak, ITC Berlin Temsilcisi Sn. Ganim Authman tarafından Sayın Eduard Lintner’e konuyla ilgili çeşitli bilgi ve belgeler sunarak, Türkmen sorunu Federal Alman Meclisinin insan hakları komisyonunda gündeme getirilmesini sayın Eduard Lintner’den istemiştir. Sn. Lintner komisyona gelen son bilgiler dahilinde Irak’ın bazı etnik grupları demokrasi dışı eylemler içerisinde hareket etmeleri ve diğer azınlık gruplara örneğin yezidiler, şebekler ve Süryanilere tabi ki Türkmenlerde başta olmak üzere çok baskı yapıldığından ve bu gruplara agresif davranıldığından haberimiz vardır. Zengin petrol kaynaklarına sahip olan Kerkük’ün Demografisini değiştirtmek istendiğini biliyoruz. Sn. Lintner, Avrupa Birliği ülkeleri İçişleri Bakanları Brüksel’de yaptıkları toplantıda bu günlerde 10 bin Iraklı mülteciyi alma kararı aldı. Çoğu Hıristiyan, Yezidi ve Şebek Iraklılardan oluşan mültecilerden 2500’ünü ise Almanya alacak. Son Avrupa parlamentosu toplantısında Bizlere sunulan Birleşmiş milletler raporuna göre Suriye ve Ürdün’de iki Milyonun üstünde Iraklı mülteci bulunuyor. Yaklaşık 4 milyona yakın Irak’lı mülteci, baskı ve işkence sonucu Irak’ı terk ettiğini biliyoruz, muhakkak bunların içerisinde Türkmenlerinde var olduğunu tahmin ediyoruz. Sn. Ganim Authman, Birleşmiş Milletler Yüksek Mülteciler Komiseri Almanya Temsilciliğinin Irak Türkmenleri hakkında yazdığı Raporu ve Türkmenler hakkında bütün bilgileri yazılı olarak Sn. Lintner sunmuştur. Sayın Prof. Dr. Hakki Keskin göstermiş olduğu samimi yaklaşımı ve en kısa zaman içerisinde Alman parlamentosu Üç Milyonun üzerinde olan Irak Türkmenleri gündeme gelmesini elinden gelen imkanları kullanacaklarını açıklamıştır. Toplantı samimi bir ortamda yaklaşık bir saat devam etmiştir, iki taraf görüşmeden memnun kalmışlardır....

Not. Ayrıca önümüzdeki hafta Federal Almanya’nın üçüncü sırada gelen FDP Partisinin Diş komisyon üyesi bir Millet Vekili ile bir Toplantı düzenlenecektir.

Info.ITC.Berlin

DEATH NOTICE

By Gabriele Zamparini

http://thecatsdream.com/blog/

After a long illness and a protracted vegetative state, the U.S. anti-war movement finally died today; the joy to see president-elect Barack Obama appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense was fatal. Its peace achievements have been impressive; its stature is best measured by its indefatigable support of the Democratic Party; its understanding of the peace business has been an invaluable asset to Mr. Obama. Funeral services will be held on 20 January, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

"Les GI's ne quitteront l'Irak que forcés, comme les Anglais en 1958" - Gilles Munier

Le Courrier d'Algérie - 30/11/08 - page 13
http://www.lecourrier-dalgerie.com/novembre/n1439.pdf

GILLES MUNIER, SECRÉTAIRE GÉNÉRAL
DES AMITIÉS FRANCO-IRAKIENNES AU COURRIER D’ALGÉRIE :
«Les GI's ne quitteront l'Irak que forcés, comme les Anglais en 1958»

Gilles Munier a découvert l'Irak en 1975-76, et il s'est rendu dans ce pays à 150 reprises environ avec des délégations politiques, culturelles ou économiques. Il a été reçu à 5 reprises par le Président Saddam Hussein. Le secrétaire général des Amitiés franco-irakiennes explique l'intérêt qu'il porte à l'Irak, au nationalisme arabe et à l'islam par son histoire personnelle. Il a vécu toute sa jeunesse en Algérie et au Maroc, au contact des nationalistes algériens du FLN, son père étant très engagé dans le combat pour l'indépendance de l'Algérie.

Pendant la crise du Golfe, en septembre 1990, il se rend à Bagdad en pleine affaire dite «des otages», pour demander au Président Saddam Hussein de laisser partir les Français qui sont retenus. La mission qu'il effectue se place juste après celle de Kurt Waldheim et d'Ahmed Ben Bella. Il revient en France avec 8 Français et la promesse que les autres les suivront. Il est accueilli en France par une violente campagne de presse qui l'accuse d'être un « traître par idéologie ».

Pour relancer les relations franco- irakiennes, mises à mal par la guerre et la rupture des relations diplomatiques, il organise en octobre 1991 la première mission économique française à Bagdad sous couvert d'un Comité Franco-Irakien pour l'Exportation créé pour l'occasion. Gilles Munier contribuera à l'ouverture d'une Mission d'intérêts français à Bagdad en transmettant un message secret de Tarek Aziz au Quai d'Orsay.

Gilles Munier qui a pu, en 25 ans de voyages visiter toutes les régions d'Irak, est l'auteur du « Guide de l'Irak» paru en 2000.

Le Courrier d'Algérie : Quelle appréciation faites-vous de cet accord de sécurité qui vient d'être ratifié par les députés irakiens ? Quels seraient ses buts ?

Gilles Munier : L'accord de sécurité est de la poudre aux yeux. Il permet à George Bush de quitter la présidence des Etats- Unis en disant une nouvelle fois «Mission accomplie » et au régime de Bagdad de se donner un vernis nationaliste. Le tapage médiatique fait autour de cet accord ne doit pas faire oublier que les députés se sont couchés lorsqu'il a été question de la mainmise américaine sur le pétrole irakien.

Il y a en Irak environ 160 000 soldats et autant de mercenaires. En ces temps de faillite économique du capitalisme, la présence des troupes américaines devient trop lourde pour le budget militaire US. Mais, ils ne partiront pas tous. La question du maintien de bases militaires n'est pas sérieusement abordée. Les Américains en veulent plusieurs et les maintiendront tant qu'ils le pourront sous différents prétextes.

Qui peut croire un seul instant que la guerre est finie, ou presque ? La résistance irakienne lance des attaques tous les jours et elle le fera jusqu'au départ réel des forces d'occupation. En vérité, les GI's ne quitteront l'Irak que contraints et forcés, comme les Anglais après le renversement de la monarchie en 1958.

Que gagnent les politiques irakiens en le ratifiant et en prolongeant la présence américaine dans leur pays ?

Les dirigeants irakiens jouent, à court ou moyen terme, leur survie politique. Ils savent que la majorité des Irakiens réclame le départ des Américains et que sans le soutien de ces derniers ils perdraient le pouvoir.

Paradoxalement ce sont les chiites du mouvement de Moqtada Sadr qui ont rejeté l'accord. Seraient-ils plus nationalistes que les autres ou expriment- ils les craintes de Téhéran ?

La résistance irakienne, dans son ensemble, rejette cet accord. Quant au chiisme arabe irakien, il faut savoir qu'il est différent du chiisme persan, déformé à l'époque safawide. Moqtada Sadr est un patriote qui, dans la conjoncture actuelle, n'a pas d'autre choix que de faire un bout de chemin avec Téhéran. Les services secrets iraniens jouent plusieurs jeux en Irak, y compris en manipulant des groupuscules proches d'Al Qaïda. Ils aident l'Armée du Mahdi jusqu'à un certain point - celui de leurs intérêts immédiats - mais leur préférence va vers la Brigade Al Badr d'Abdulaziz al-Hakim. Un jour sonnera l'heure de vérité et les masques tomberont.

L'ONU a accordé aux Etats-Unis un délai de présence qui aurait dû expirer à la fin de l'année. Cette organisation a-t-elle été encore une fois ignorée et bafouée ?

L'ONU aurait dû être réformée depuis la fin du colonialisme. Elle a été ignorée et bafouée dès qu'il a été question d'agresser l'Irak. Le Conseil de sécurité est une machine de guerre occidentale. Lorsque le délai fixé par l'ONU a été voté, les Américains pensaient qu'ils allaient éliminer facilement la résistance irakienne. Ils doivent revoir leur copie en catastrophe.

Les députés ont été élus par le peuple irakien, cette ratification peut-elle être considérée comme la volonté du peuple irakien ?

Les élections de janvier 2004 étaient une mascarade. Les députés élus n'ont aucune légitimité.

Certains d'entre-eux ont réclamé un referendum, tant mieux. Mais, s'ils avaient été courageux ils auraient plutôt réclamé le départ immédiat des occupants.

Entretien réalisé par Meriem Abdou

Tous les articles de Gilles Munier

A bloody day in the district of the Turkmen city of TUZ KHURMATU

On Thursday 27th November 2008, at about 4.30 pm. Mr. Abdulamir Huseyin Bektaş, member of the Turkmen Municipal Council of Tuz Khurmatu and Mr. Talib Ali, member of the Supreme Islamic Council Representative in the village of Yengejeh which lies 4 km west of Tuz Khurmatu were assassinated by unknown gunmen.

They died after their car was sprayed with bullets while they were leaving the Yengejeh village and heading towards the Turkmen district of Tuz Khurmatu.

Their bodies were taken immediately to Tuz Khurmatu hospital for identification and were transferred to Kerkuk in order to carry out a post-mortem examination.

In the meantime another group of unidentified gunmen cut off the road and seized a bus carrying workers travelling home from the poultry field which is located about 10 kilometres north of Tuz Khurmatu. These gunmen shot the bus driver and a worker. Both victims were Arabs from the district of Suleyman Bag.

The gunmen were chased by the police and they were surrounded in a rural area near the village of Albu Sabah which is located about 5 km north of the district of Tuz Khurmatu.

The following statement was released by the chief police of Tuz Khurmatu, Colonel Hussein Ali Rashid: “After an exchange of fire between the two parties, one of the gunmen blew himself up and the other terrorist was shot by the police. The rest of the terrorists managed to escape and 3 policemen were injured as a result”.

http://www.turkishforum.com/content/2008/11/29/a-bloody-day-in-the-district-of-the-turkmen-city-of-tuz-khormatu/