mardi 30 mars 2010

George Galloway MP interviewed by Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly

North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly interviews George Galloway MP, leader of the RESPECT party in Britain on his views and opinions across a wide range of issues. The interview was part of a North Belfast Sinn Fein organised event 'The Gerry Kelly Show'

lundi 29 mars 2010

Turkmens not concerned with Allawi’s talks with Kurds

Ershad Salihi, the provincial head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) in Kirkuk, was elected as a deputy in the country’s recent general elections and said Turkmens were not concerned with election winner Ayad Allawi’s talks with Kurds over a possible coalition government.

Elected from a list of the pro-American former Prime Minister Allawi’s Iraqiya coalition, Salihi said the ITF believes they will retain all their rights no matter what kind of government is formed. “We will not allow any negotiation to take place over the Turkmen presence,” he told the Cihan news agency in Kirkuk, adding that every group in the country should believe in democracy and respect the election results.

Allawi, who led the Iraqiya coalition, won 91 seats to 89 for incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bloc. But both groups fell far short of the 163-seat majority needed to form a government alone, leaving a Shiite coalition including anti-American Muqtada al-Sadr known as the Iraqi National Alliance and US-allied Kurds as likely kingmakers. Allawi is now in search of partners to form a coalition where he will be the head of the executive branch again after almost five years. He had been the prime minister of the country during the term of an interim government, which was in power for less than a year until April 2005.

Al-Maliki’s bloc, on the other hand, has demanded a recount, claiming fraud. His supporters have also vowed to fight the results. The ITF has managed to win two seats in Kirkuk and three seats in Mosul, two of the cities with the largest Turkmen population in Iraq.

“We are not concerned in any way with Allawi’s talks with Kurdish officials because we have a main strategy which has its own dignity and borders. We want to sit with everyone. We can talk with every group, but there will be no negotiation over the Kirkuk issue and the Turkmen presence there. We believe we have chosen the right path,” he said. There has been a dispute over Kirkuk between the Turkmens and the Kurds focusing on which community has the majority in the oil-rich province.

Turkmens previously claimed that Kurds had been bringing Kurds from other cities to tilt the balance in their favor, planning for a possible referendum on the fate of the city.
29.03.2010

News

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-205713-100-turkmens-not-concerned-with-allawis-talks-with-kurds.html

ALIHAN HASANOĞLU

dimanche 28 mars 2010

In memoriam of Turkmen Martyrs of Altun Köprü


Kerkuk: Arabs, Baathists, Insurgents and Turkmens united against the Kurds

Kirkuk: Arabs, Baathists, Insurgents and Turkmens United Against the Kurds
By SAM DAGHER
NYT
March 28, 2010



KIRKUK, Iraq — “Amazing” and “surprising” were some of the words exchanged Saturday by many jubilant Arab and Turkmen residents of this hotly disputed northern Iraqi city.

It was a sentiment echoed by members of Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Baath Party operating clandestinely in the city.

All celebrated the stronger than expected showing in the national elections by the Iraqiya slate headed by former prime minister Ayad Allawi. Mr. Allawi’s slate swept 6 of the 12 seats that were up for grabs in Tamim, a province that includes Kirkuk, according to results announced by Iraq’s electoral commission on Friday.

A coalition of the two ruling Kurdish parties, which is determined to annex the oil-rich province to the semiautonomous Kurdistan region, took the remainder of the seats.

Sunni Arabs, including Baathists and former insurgents who boycotted the previous elections in 2005, came out this time to vote for Mr. Allawi’s slate.

They were joined by Sunni Turkmens and more significantly Shiite Turkmens, who voted according to sectarian considerations last time.

Most saw in Mr. Allawi the appeal of a nonsectarian leader who could perhaps achieve a so-far elusive reconciliation with the brutal and bloody past. Many Sunni Arabs in Kirkuk have yet to come to terms with Iraq’s new realities.

“We are counting on Ayad Allawi and other patriots to alleviate the harm that befell our party,” said a Sunni Arab man from Kirkuk who identified himself as an active member of the Baath Party, but wished to remain anonymous for his own safety.

One other crucial factor that played to Mr. Allawi’s advantage in places like Kirkuk was the perception that he and other staunch nationalists on his slate would dial back the influence of Kurds and make sure Kirkuk and other disputed areas remained under the control of the central government. The slate received almost 40 percent of the vote, according to the results announced Friday.

Arabs and Turkmens accuse Kurds of having significantly altered Kirkuk’s demography since 2003 by moving tens of thousands of Kurds into the area, controlling entire neighborhoods and the local government. Kurds insist they are only reversing the impact of Mr. Hussein’s “Arabization” drive in past decades.

The Kurdish coalition, which was confident that it had received more than 50 percent of the votes and secured at least seven to eight of the seats in Kirkuk, ended up with 5,000 fewer votes than Mr. Allawi’s slate. One of the parties in the coalition, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, blamed this on “clear deficiencies in the voting process” in Kirkuk and other disputed territories, and said it would retain the right to contest the results.

But a senior Kurdish leader acknowledged that the coalition was harmed in Kirkuk by the loss of Kurdish votes to the new movement known as Gorran, or “change,” and to Kurdish Islamist parties and others.
“If we were together we would have gotten at least one more seat in Kirkuk,” said Fuad Hussein, chief of staff of the president of the Kurdistan region – Massoud Barzani.
For reaction in Baghdad see Tim Arango’s tour of the capital’s varied neighborhoods: ‘Celebrations and Protests’. In the rest of the country, our Iraqi correspondents have sampled opinions from around the regions.
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/kirkuk-arabs-baathists-insurgents-and-turkmens-united-against-the-kurds/?pagemode=print

samedi 27 mars 2010

KURDS OVERSHADOWING THE ELECTIONS IN IRAQ

By : Savaş TAZELİ

Throughout the election, Kurds in Iraq have maintained their irregularities which they initiated before the elections. It is possible to say that this situation, which the world public opinion does not want to see or hear about, can darken more the future of Iraq.

Lots of Kurds in Kirkuk who did not possess election IDs stipulated by the Independent Higher Election Board of Iraq, have voted with their KDP or PUK party IDs. Whereas, voter logs had to be abided by. Moreover, there are reports that people of a child’s age have cast votes. Turkmens and Arabs who tried to record these irregularities were thwarted by the officials of the Higher Election Board by resorting to force. After casting votes in their own constituencies, Kurdish voters were transported to the other polling stations with the vehicles provided by the KDP and the PUK which made them vote again.

According to the available information, in the special poll held in Kirkuk on March 5, 2010, fifteen thousand fake and repeated votes were cast. These votes were mostly cast by peshmerga and Kurdish public security elements. After the end of the special poll, ballot boxes that were gathered at the National Relations Consultation Bureau under the PUK were broken and pre-marked ballot papers were put inside them. Moreover, many Kurdish public security officers, army members and peshmergas re-cast their votes in civilian clothes in the regions that are mostly populated by Kurds, primarily in Kirkuk on 7th March. In a workplace located in Rahimava, 30 thousand fake ballot papers that had been marked for Kurdish Alliance List were seized.

The irregularities identified in Kirkuk are innumerous. In Kirkuk High School, a Kurdish military officer of Major rank did not permit the migrants to cast their votes except for the ones who voted for the Kurdish Alliance; in Dabak School located in Hurriyet neighborhood, persons brought by the Kurdish Alliance voted for the uncast votes; in Sorta High School, three ballot boxes were removed around 15.30 pm and they were replaced by other sealed ballot boxes that were brought in. These incidences can be indicated as examples of the mentioned irregularities.

On the other hand, many actions were staged in areas populated by Arabs, Shebeks and Yezidis in Mosul during the voting day, aiming at exerting pressure and intimidation. It was noteworthy that the US forces turned a blind eye to the endeavors of Kurdish peshmergas to prevent participation in the elections. Creating intense fear in Bartilla where Shebeks live, peshmergas injured a person who is a member of the Democratic Shebek Community. The acts of violence did not cease during the election day in Diyala/Baquba, Baladrus and Saidiyah that are mostly populated by Arabs. As is known, Diyala is a region that remains under a permanent intervention by Kurds and Iran. Therefore, it is a common view that the blasts were realized by Kurds.

When we look at the developments before and after the elections, it seems quite difficult for Iraq to found its future on a sound basis after a tainted election.

Irish president sparks history debate during Turkey visit

A plaque hanging on the wall of a hotel in Drogheda, which is said to have hosted Ottoman sailors who brought food to the town, honors the generosity of Turkey toward Ireland during the famine.




Ireland’s President Mary McAleese sparked a debate after she said during a visit to Turkey that the history of an Irish port town was linked with the Ottoman Empire.


Irish media have called her comments a “myth,” while Turkish archives partially confirm the Irish president’s statements.


Speaking in Ankara on Tuesday, McAleese said the Ottoman Empire had helped Ireland during a famine in the 19th century by sending ships carrying food to the eastern town of Drogheda, paving the way for a decision later by people of Drogheda to include the star and crescent in the town’s coat of arms. McAleese said: “During that famine, Turkey’s then-leader Sultan Abdulmecid sent three ships loaded with food to Ireland. The cargo was unloaded in a port called Drogheda and since then, at the insistence of the people, the star and crescent of your country forms part of the town’s coat of arms.”


But Irish media said there was no historical record confirming the president’s remarks. Instead, experts said the star and crescent could be traced back to 1210, when the British governor of Ireland, King John, granted the town its first charter. And McAleese’s spokeswoman, Sheila Clarke, said the reference was included in the speech in good faith. “While included in good faith on information supplied, it is now accepted that the reference ... would not appear to be based on sound historical fact,” she was quoted as saying by The Irish Times.



A plaque hanging on the wall of a hotel in Drogheda, which is said to have hosted Ottoman sailors who brought food to the town, honors the generosity of Turkey toward Ireland during the famine.


Turkish archives, on the other hand, show the Ottoman Empire did help the Irish people during the time of the Great Famine but it did so by sending money, not ships loaded with food. In 2004, then-Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said in response to a formal question in Parliament that copies of documents confirming the donation had been sent to the National Library of Ireland and the Drogheda Municipality. One of these documents contained expressions of gratitude and thanks for the financial aid offered by Sultan Abdulmecid and was signed by local Irish authorities, according to Gül’s statement in 2004.


Gül further said that there was no record of ships carrying wheat and other food items being sent to Ireland. But Taner Baytok, a former Turkish ambassador to Ireland, said in remarks published yesterday that the story of Ottoman ships carrying food aid to Drogheda was a fact passed from one generation to another in Ireland.


A plaque currently hangs on the walls of a hotel in Drogheda, next to the room where Ottoman sailors were said to have stayed after delivering food to the town, reading: “The Great Irish Famine of 1847 -- In remembrance and recognition of the generosity of the People of Turkey towards the People of Ireland.” It was unveiled by Ambassador Baytok and Alderman William Frank Godfrey, mayor of Drogheda, in 1995.


The Great Irish Famine lasted from 1845 to 1852, during which time the island’s population dropped by between 20 and 25 percent. Approximately 1 million people died, and a million more emigrated from Ireland.
27.03.2010


Irak Seçimlerinde ülke genelinde Parti ve Koalisyonların Aldıkları Toplam Oylar Ve Şehirlere göre dağılımı

Irak Seçimlerinde ülke genelinde Parti ve Koalisyonların Aldıkları Toplam Oylar Ve Şehirlere göre dağılımı



27 Mart 2010, Cumartesi.
http://www.kerkuk.net/haberler/haber.aspx?dil=1055&metin=2010032719

Irak seçimini Türkmenlerin de yer aldığı Irakiye Koalisyonunu kazandı

Irak seçimini Türkmenlerin de yer aldığı Irakiye Koalisyonunu kazandı

Irak'ta 7 Mart'ta yapılan genel seçimleri İyad Allavi'nin kazandığı açıklandı. Başbakan Nuri El Maliki ise seçim sonuçlarını kabul etmediğini açıkladı.

Seçim Komisyonundan yapılan resmi açıklamada, Başbakan Nuri El Maliki'nin rakibi olan ve oyların sayılması döneminde Maliki ile dirsek dirseğe yarışı götürdüğü görülen laik Allavi'nin, genel seçimin galibi olduğu kaydedildi.

Açıklamada, Allavi'nin, Parlamentoda 91 sandalye kazandığı, Maliki'nin ise 89 sandalyede kaldığı belirtildi.

Irak Bağımsız Yüksek Seçim Kurulu'nun açıkladığı nihai sonuçlara göre eski Başbakan İyad Allavi'nin lideri olduğu Irakiye Koalisyonunun, 91 sandalye elde ederek genel seçimlerin galibi olduğu bildirildi.

Irak Bağımsız Yüksek Seçim Kurulu, başkent Bağdat'taki yeşil bölgedeki El Reşid otelinde düzenlediği basın toplantısında, 325 sandalyeli parlamento için 7 mart 2010 tarihinde yapılan genel seçimlerin nihai sonuçlarını açıkladı.

Buna göre, eski başbakan İyad Allavi başkanlığındaki Irakiye Koalisyonu 91, Başbakan Nuri El Maliki başkanlığındaki Hukuk Devleti Koalisyonu 89, Şii olan Irak Milli İttifakı 70, Kürt Koalisyonu 42, Sünni olan Irak Uzlaşma Cephesi 6, İçişleri Bakanı Cevad Bolani'nin başkanı olduğu Irak Birliği Koalisyonu 4, Kürt Değişiklik Hareketi 8, Kürt İslam Birliği 4 ve Kürdistan İslami Cemaati 2 sandalye elde etti.

Allavi, Sünni çoğunluğa sahip olan Ninova (Musul), Kerkük, El Enbar (Ramadi), Diyale (Bakuba) ve Salahaddin illerinde birinci olurken Nuri El Maliki de, şii olan Basra, Babil, Kerbela, Vasıt, Necef ve Musenne de birinci çıktı.

Irak parlamentosundaki 325 sandalye

için 6 bin 200 aday, 167 partiden oluşan 12 koalisyon ve 74 parti yarıştı. Bu arada, Irak illerinin sandalye dağılımı parti ve koalisyonlara göre dağılımı şöyle:

Bağdat 70 (Hukuk Devleti 26, Irakiye 24, Şii olan Irak Milli İttifakı 17, Sünni olan Irak Uzlaşma Cephesi 1, 2 sandalye de kotayla Hristiyanlar ve Sabiiler'e tahsis edildi), Ninova 34 ( Irakiye 20, Kürt İttifakı 8, Irak Uzlaşma Cephesi 1, Irak Milli İttifakı 1, Irak Birliği 1 ve 3 sandalye de kotayla Hristiyanlar, Şebekeler ve Yezidilere tahsisi edildi), El Enbar 14 (Irakiye 11, Irak Uzlaşı Cephesi 2 ve Irak Birliği 1),

Salahaddin 12 (Irakiye 8, Irak Uzlaşı Cephesi 2, Irak Birliği 2), Diyale 13 (Irakiye 8, Hukuk Devleti 1, Irak Milli Birliği 3, Kürt İttifakı 1 ve Kanun Devleti 1), Kerbela 10 (Hukuk Devleti 6, Irak Milli İttifakı 3 ve Irakiye 1), Necef 12 sandalye (Hukuk Devleti 7, Irak Milli İttifakı 5), Babil 16 (Hukuk Devleti 8, Irak Milli İttifakı 5 ve Irakiye 3), Vasıt 11 (Hukuk Devleti 5, Irak Milli İttifakı 4 ve Irakiye 2),

Misan 10 (Hukuk Devleti 4, Irak Milli İttifakı 6), Zikar 18 (Hukuk Devleti 8, Irak Milli İttifakı 9 ve Irakiye 1), El Kadisiye 11 (Hukuk Devleti 4, Irak Milli İttifakı 5 ve Irakiye 2), El Musenne 7 (Hukuk Devleti 4 ve Irak Milli İttifakı 3), Basra 24 (Hukuk Devleti 14, Irak Milli İttifakı 7 ve Irakiye 3), Kerkük 13 (Irakiye 6, Kürt İttifakı 6), Dohuk 11 (Kürt İttifakı 9, Kürt İslam Birliği 1 ve 1 sandalye kotayla Hristiyanlara tahsis edildi),

Erbil 15 (Kürt İttifakı 10, Reform Hareketi 2, Kürt İslam Birliği 1, Kürdistan İslami Cemaati 1 ve 1 sandalye kotayla Hıristiyanlara tahsis edildi) ve Süleymaniye 17 (Kürt İttifakı 8, Değişiklik 6, Kürt İslam Birliği 2 ve Kürdistan İslami Cemaati 1).

Öte yandan, nihai sonuçlar açıklanmadan önce Irak güvenlik güçleri yoğun güvenlik önlemleri aldı.

Başkent Bağdat ve diğer şehirlerin cadde ve sokaklarında kontrol noktalarının arttırıldığı, polis ve askerlerden oluşan güvenlik güçlerinin yoğun bir şekilde yayıldığı gözlemlendi.

Allavi: "Bütün taraflarla çalışacağız"

Seçimlerin galibi İyad Allavi, hükümeti kurmak için bütün taraflarla çalışacağını bildirdi.
Seçim Komisyonunun sonuçları açıklamasından kısa süre sonra Irak televizyonu El Şarkıya'ya açıklamalarda bulunan Allavi, "Kazansın kazanmasın, bütün partilerle, gelecek hükümeti kurmak için çalışacağım. Bu, Irak halkının güvenliği ve istikrarına doğru ilerlemek adına bir isteğin, bir kardeşliğin kanıtıdır" ifadesini kullandı.

Allavi, ayrıca, "Irak bütün komşularıyla, Kuveyt, Suudi Arabistan, Türkiye, Ürdün, Suriye ve İran ile içişlerine karışmadan, olumlu ilişkilerin devamı temelinde, kardeşlikle el sıkışmaya da hazırdır" diye konuştu.

Maliki kabul etmedi

Irak Başbakanı Nuri El Maliki, rakibi İyad Allavi karşısında yenilgiye uğradığının açıklanmasının ardından, bu sonuçların nihai olmadığını belirtti.
Yenilgisini kabul etmeyen Maliki, Seçim Komisyonun sonuçları açıklamasının ardından düzenlediği basın toplantısında, sonuçların nihai olmadığını savundu ve "tabii ki bu sonuçları kabul etmiyoruz" ifadesini kullandı.
BM'nin Irak özel temsilcisi Ad Melkert ise 7 Mart'ta yapılan genel seçimleri inanılır bulduğunu ve ülke için bir başarı anlamına geldiğini kaydetti.

TEPKİLER

ABD, Irak'taki seçim sürecinin önemli demokratik bir aşama olduğunu bildirdi.
Irak Seçim Komisyonunun, 7 Mart'ta düzenlenen seçimlerin sonuçlarını açıklamasından kısa bir süre sonra ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığından yapılan açıklamada, "Irak'taki seçim süreci, ülkenin demokratik gelişimi bakımından önemli bir aşamadır" denildi.

Bakanlık sözcüsü Philip Crowley, "Irak halkını ve hükümetini kutluyoruz. Bu, Irak'ın demokratik gelişimi bakımından önemli bir aşamadır" ifadesini kullandı.

Öte yandan, ABD'nin Bağdat Büyükelçisi Christopher Hill ve Amerikan birliklerinin Komutanı Orgeneral Ray Odierno, seçimlerde yoğun usulsüzlük yapıldığına dair bir kanıt bulunmadığını söyledi.

Allavi'nin seçimin galibi ilan edilmesinin hemen ardından gelen bu yazılı açıklamada da, "Seçimlerin geneline güven duyduğunu bildiren bağımsız uluslararası ve Iraklı gözlemcilerin sonuçlarını destekliyoruz" denildi.

Açıklamada, bütün siyasi partiler, Iraklı yetkili merciler tarafından doğrulanan sonuçları kabul etmeye de davet edildi.

BM'nin Irak özel temsilcisi Ad Melkert ise 7 Mart'ta yapılan genel seçimleri inanılır bulduğunu ve ülke için bir başarı anlamına geldiğini kaydetti.

Irak'ın başkenti Bağdat'ta açıklamalarda bulunan Melkert, farklı adayları, seçim sonuçlarını kabul etmeye de çağırdı ve "BM'nin fikri seçimlerin inanılır olduğu yönünde, Irak halkını bu başarısından dolayı kutluyoruz" ifadesini kullandı.

BM, Irak seçimlerini geçerli saydı

Üst düzey Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) yetkilisi Ad Melkert, BM'nin 7 Mart'ta yapılan Irak seçimlerini güvenilir olarak kabul ettiğini bildirdi.

Başkent Bağdat'ta bugün akşam saatlerinden bir basın toplantısında seçimlerin geçerli olduğunu söyleyen Melker, bütün taraflara sonuçları kabul etmesi çağrısında bulundu.

Bu arada seçim sonuçlarının açıklanmasına saatler kala Bağdat kuzeyindeki bir kentte meydana gelen iki ayrı bombalı saldırıda 40 kişinin öldüğü bildirildi.

Irak polis sözcüsü Galipb al-Karkhi, başkentin 80 kilometre kuzeyindeki Khalis kentinde meydana gelen patlamalarda 40 kişinin öldüğünü ifade etti. Ayrıca onlarca yaralının olduğu kaydediliyor.

Başkan bir polis yetkilisi Salah Mohammed ise patlamalardan birinin bomba yüklü araçla, diğerinin ise intihar bombacısı tarafında yapıldığını belirtti.

Ülkede seçim sonuçlarının açıklanmasında sonra başlayacak süreçte şiddetin artmasından endişe ediliyor.

Seçimlerde Kerkük sürprizi; İrakiye koalisyonu birincilik koltuğuna otururkan,Kürtler geri düştü

Irak’ta Mart ayı başında yapılan genel seçimlerin resmi olmayan sonuçlarına göre, Kerkük'te en fazla oyu Arap ve Türkmen ittifakı aldı.

Sonucun Kerkük'ü bölgesel Kürt yönetimine katmaya çalışan Kürtlere ağır bir darbe olduğu yorumları yapılıyor.

7 Mart'ta yapılan seçimlerin resmi olmayan sonuçlarına göre, Kerkük'te eski Başbakan Allavi'nin başkanlığındaki Irak Ulusal Hareketi, Kürt ittifakından 3 bin kadar fazla oy aldı.

Ülke genelindeyse başbakan El Maliki ile Allavi bloğu arasında kıyasıya mücadele yaşanıyor. Sonuçların netleşmesinin ardından ülkede sıkı bir koalisyon pazarlığının başlaması bekleniyor.Bu arada sonuçlar açıklanır açıklanmaz Kerkük te Türkmen ve Araplar sokaklara dökülüp sevinç gösterisinde bulunurkan ,araçlarda konvuy eşliğinde korna çalarak caddeleri gezdi ve evlerdense yoğun bir şekilde mermi atışı sesleri yükseldi .