Dying Education In The “Blossoming” Iraqi Democracy

Dying Education In The “Blossoming” Iraqi Democracy
By Dirk Adriaensens

17 February, 2011
Countercurrents.org

While Anglo Saxon universities are boasting of their so-called “glorious role” in the reconstruction of Iraqi academia (See f.i. U of A helping create an education revolution in Iraq)[1], Iraq’s education is dying. From August 1990 onwards, UN sanctions excluded Iraqi education from international scientific developments and banned import of essential educational material such as books and even….. pencils. Many Iraqi professors and scientists left the country during that period.

Then came the 2003 invasion….

First the US/UK invaders and their Iraqi stooges transported mobs of looters in 2003 to the educational institutions to destroy scientific education research centers, confiscate all papers and documents to stop any Iraqi scientific renaissance before it had a chance to begin[2].

Second they burnt, looted or destroyed 84% of Iraq's higher education institutions.[3]

John Agresto, in charge of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2003-2004, initially believed that the looting of Iraq’s universities was a positive act in that it would allow such institutions to begin again with a clean slate, with the newest equipment as well as a brand new curriculum.[4] John Agresto knew next to nothing about Iraq's educational system. Even after he was proposed and selected by Donald Rumsfeldt, he did not pore through a reading list. "I wanted to come here with as open a mind as I could have," he said. "I'd much rather learn firsthand than have it filtered to me by an author." He did a Google search on the Internet. The result? "Not much," he said. This ignorant man, neocon republican, was assigned as the CPA's senior adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education.[5]
Currently he works full-time with the (private) American University of Iraq – Sulaimani as its Interim Provost and Chancellor. He is also a member of the University's Board of Trustees and Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, in the company of Kanan Makiya, a "close friend" of Ahmed Chalabi, and an influential proponent of the 2003 Iraq War6.


Third they sacked, threatened, kidnapped, drove into exile and assassinated Iraq’s best and brightest educators. This destructive process is ongoing. On 26 January 2011, Iraqi security forces arrested more than 100 intellectuals from the Province of Diyala of which Baaquba is the capital. Among those arrested are four top medical professors teaching at the Diyala University’s Medical College, professors Mazen Razzouqi, Adel al-Hussaini, Ali al-Husaini and Bahaa Abed. It is not clear why Iraqi security forces arrested the intellectuals at a time the Diyala University suffers from severe faculty shortages.[7]


Fourth they attacked educational institutions to intimidate, frighten, kidnap, arrest and kill students. As a consequence school attendance decreased dramatically. And apparently school attendance is still considered too high by the Iraqi government as the army now prevents students from going to school. On 3 February a source in the Directorate of Education in Abu Ghraib told news agencies that the Muthanna Brigade of the Iraqi army prevented students of the Isra school for boys and from the Ascension High School for Girls in Haswa area of the district of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, from going to school to perform their mid-term exams. He also noted that “the army used force to prevent teachers and also the observers from the exams to reach their schools and ordered them to return to their homes." The source added that "the army struck terror into the hearts of students and citizens alike, amid the apparent absence of human rights and law."


Fifth they changed the history books. Contemporary Iraq history is taught in sixth, ninth and 12th grades. Now, in all three text books history suddenly comes to an end after the 1958 revolution. Fifty years are being erased from Iraq’s memory. "History is always affected by politics – and the winner gets his version into the text books”, said Ms Nadia, an Iraqi history teacher. What’s more, even the old glorious past of Iraq is being erased from the collective memory. “Seventh graders studied ancient civilizations, focusing on Mesopotamia. It was a rich study that caught the imagination of the pupils and inspired them. Now the focus on Mesopotamia is very little – Hamurabi is just another king who wrote the law on an obelisk – and greater focus is given to neighbouring civilizations".[8] The Iraqi history books no longer mention the occupation of Palestine.


Sixth they appointed academics, loyal to the US occupation authorities and the Iraqi Quisling government. These appointments were made on a sectarian basis. Some even with falsified curricula and purchased fake diplomas. Corruption in higher education is rampant.
Seventh the Iraqi government shows no desire to rebuild Iraqi education, neither the destroyed infrastructure, nor the quality of education. Instead, the Iraqi government has committed to fully fund $1 billion a year to a program that will send over 50.000 students abroad over the next 5 years, selected on sectarian grounds.[9] The students are studying in the U.S. and London[10] and pay for tuition and fees, as well as room and board, meaning that Iraq is sponsoring US and UK universities. All this while only few funds are allocated to reconstruct the educational sector inside Iraq: schools, universities and research.

Some “revolution” in education! Quite an achievement!

Nouri al-Maliki has asked the diaspora elite and academics in exile to return to Iraq to help rebuild the country. But the BRussells Tribunal warned on 26 April 2009 already that “those academics who return are finding jobs few and the welcome far from warm”[11]. The statement further alarmed the academics who are invited or forced to return, to be aware of criminal acts like kidnappings or assassinations.[12]

Iraq’s Universities now the worst in the Arab World.

The results of these policies are disastrous. Iraq’s universities, once the showcase of the Arab region, are now probably the worst in the Arab region, Asia and the world. The Ranking Web of World Universities is published twice a year (January and July), covering more than 20,000 Higher Education Institutions worldwide.[13]

On the Arab level only 3 Iraqi universities are in the top 100 of Arab universities in the latest ranking of January 2011:

The University of Kufa ranks 77th, the University of Technology ranks 86th and the University of Sulaymaniyah ranks 91th.[14]
On the global level only 8 Iraqi universities figure in the top 12.000:

Kufa University 6097
University of Technology Iraq * 6503
University of Sulaimani 6664
University of Dohuk 8781
University of Mustansiriyah 10264
Foundation of Technical Education 10327
University of Mosul 10738
Kurdistan University 11240
College of Medicine Basrah University 11338
University of Basrah 11406
American University of Iraq Sulaimani 11591


The show-piece of Iraq: Baghdad University, doesn’t even figure in the top 12.000.

That’s the fantastic revolution in education, predicted by some unworldly Western academics and mala fide US politicians.

The facts on the ground in Iraq show that there is no “revolution” whatsoever in Iraq’s education system, no reconstruction worthy of the name. There is only destruction, corruption and decline.

How can there possible be progress when sectarian militia’s still roam the campuses, when there’s no serious investigation into the assassinations of Iraqi academics, when attacks on educational institutions are assigned to “insurgents” while it is well known that the destruction of the Iraqi education system is part of the plan to culturally and ethnically cleanse Iraq, to “end the state” as Paul Wolfowitz declared in 2003.

25th of February: Iraqi youth declare “Day of Rage for Change and Freedom in Iraq”

Following the example of their Tunesian and Egyptian fellow Arabs, Iraqi youth declare the 25th Feb a day of rage and they call for demonstrations in Baghdad. Their slogans:
* Enough with our silence, our patience has ran out.
* We are like camels, we eat weeds and transport gold
* Our annual income from oil is $100 billion, yet we cannot find bread to eat.
* Death to democracy that takes us from bad to worse
* Death to democracy that does not recognise impeccable qualifications
* Death to democracy that has made people strangers in their own homeland
* Death to democracy that looks the other way while the ministers steal and embezzle billions and facilitate their escaping justice (reference to the minister for electricity, commerce..etc.)
* Death to democracy that robs the bank in daylight (reference to the robbing of the bank of Rafidain in Zuwiya)
* Death to democracy that has promised transparency but created foggy atmosphere.
* Death to democracy that has turned into a religion of worshiping positions of power
* Death to the democracy of assassinations with silenced guns
* Death to the democracy that assassinated our best academics and scientists and is replacing them with ignorant people who can hardly read and write.
* Death to the democracy of death and beheading
* Death to the democracy of poverty, backwardness and murder
* Death to the democracy that arrests the murderers, then set them free and claims they escaped!
* Death to the democracy that assassinated the opposition writers and those who stand by the truth
* Death to the democracy of the ethnic and sectarian quotas
* Death to the democracy that brought us a cancer of separation walls in our beloved Baghdad.

As you can read, some of these slogans are related to the dreadful state of Iraq’s Higher Education and the killings of academics. Others are directed against the poor quality of public services. Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, home to more than six million people, hardly gets one hour of non-interrupted electricity supplies every 24 hours.[15] Iraq has run out of money to pay for widows' benefits, farm crops and other programs for the poor, the parliament leader told lawmakers who have collected nearly $180,000 in 9 months in one of the world's most oil-rich nations.[16]

Every day there are demonstrations and protests in many Iraqi towns, not covered by the mainstream press. Police shot randomly at hundreds of protesters in al-Hamza district in Iraq’s southern province of al-Diwaniya on the 4th of February, killing one person and injuring four. The incident came after a statement released on 3 February by the Iraqi parliament condemning the use of violence against demonstrators in Egypt and urged for the respect of human rights. The protesters who followed up with their demands from a previous demonstration on Thursday called for the removal of al-Hamza head official and for the Iraqi government to provide basic services. In addition to demanding employment, the protesters carried lamps and small sacks of sugar to symbolize their demands for food and electricity.[17]
Richard Falk’s comments on the International Seminar: “Defending Education in Times of War and Occupation”.

“The shocking portrait of what occupation has meant for academicians and students is depicted by the Ghent Charter that has been endorsed by prominent educators in Europe and elsewhere, including the Rector of the University of Ghent. The BRussells Tribunal has played a leading part in exposing these realities afflicting Iraqi universities, and has organized a seminar to take place in Ghent, Belgium, March 9-11, 2011, with the title “Defending education in times of war and occupation.”

“It is important that all of us, especially those paying taxes in the United States to pay for this occupation, understand that our silence is complicity. Especially those of us associated with teaching and research in American universities bear an additional responsibility to exhibit even now our solidarity with those who have suffered and are suffering in Iraqi academic communities. We know that many faculty members have been murdered since 2003 (over 500 confirmed cases), particularly those who spoke out and acted against the occupation, and many more have fled the country permanently. The departure of university personnel is part of a wider exodus of middle class Iraqis, estimates are over two million, leaving the country deprived of the sort of national social fabric essential to avoid predatory forms of foreign economic exploitation of the country.”

“We who devote our lives to higher education realize the importance of educated and dedicated young people for the wellbeing of a country. If Iraq’s future is to be restored to some semblance of decency, its institutions of higher learning will need to become safe and hospitable for students and faculty.”[18]

In the meantime, read the Ghent Charter in Defense of Iraqi Academia and weep![19]

Objectives of the Ghent international seminar on Iraqi academics

While the mainstream media continues to ignore or conceal information vital to any reasoned understanding of why the United States and its allies attacked Iraq, occupied it, and continue to occupy it, the urgent task of the proposed seminar is not only to give reasons for the destruction of Iraqi academia, but also to propose ways of saving it, highlighting the duty of international organisations to respond, and the moral responsibility of non-Iraqi educators to stand in solidarity with their Iraqi counterparts.

Thus in Ghent, in cooperation with other Belgian universities and international organisations, the aim is to alert the international academic community to the ongoing nature of the crimes against Iraqi academics and to propose and explore practical remedies.

The introductory content of the seminar would cover a number of elements:
• Introduction to the results of “state-ending”: the killing of academics and destruction of Iraqi academia as exemplary of a strategy of cultural and political destruction;
• Testimony on the killing of Iraqi academics and the destruction of the educational system in Iraq and its current status under occupation and a client government;
• Special attention to the situation of the forcibly displaced: the challenges faced by Iraqi refugees in securing their rights to education, financing their education, and the right to work for displaced Iraqi academics;
• An assessment of the practical challenges to education in Iraq today, spanning facilities and the loss of persons, as well as the general deterioration of social culture and public safety amid the collapse of the state and the reign of violent militias and associated leaders.
• An analysis of the extent of discrimination, corruption and oppression in Iraqi universities and the educational system and how these might be stopped.
The objectives — and main content — of the seminar would be:
• To provide the international academic community, wider public and relevant institutions with an opportunity to hear the truth about the destruction of Iraq, and the plight of Iraqi academia and academics in particular;
• To provide, within the framework of an accurate, non-partisan understanding of the destruction of Iraqi academia and the killing of academics, an opportunity for those who stand in solidarity with Iraqi academics and promote education in general to propose and discuss practical means of helping Iraqis recover their rights to education, and defending Iraqi academics;
• To provide, in particular, a forum for educational leaders — whether deans, professors, department heads or administrators — to establish a practical network of opportunities for displaced Iraqi academics, thus helping to save what remains of Iraqi academia outside Iraq;
• To formulate, alongside the practical initiatives discussed or adopted, the insistence that politicians, governments, civil servants and associated institutions, at national and international levels, take immediate steps to uphold international law, the rights of education embraced by the United Nations, and to stop the ruthless repression and killing of Iraqi academics.
The main objective of the seminar should be to make a solid step towards relieving the suffering of the Iraqi people. They are the ultimate targets of the destruction of Iraqi academia.
One of the best means of bringing closer an end to their suffering is to participate in efforts to propose, map, plan and outline the steps necessary for rehabilitating Iraq’s educational system. Saving Iraqi academics is a keystone in stemming any further destruction of Iraq and its people, and to rebuilding what remains.

Only Iraqis can rebuild Iraq, and for Iraq to be sovereign these Iraqis should be skilled, capable and independent, so the destruction wrought can be repaired. Iraq’s educators are vital to Iraq’s future.

The time is long past for speeches and assurances from those in positions of power. Practical action must be demanded, of those in power and from ourselves.

More information and possibilities to register: http://www.brussellstribunal.org/Seminar
[1] http://www.education.ualberta.ca/en/FacultyOfEducationNews/
2010/11/UofAhelpingcreateaneducationrevolutioninIraq.aspx
[2] See “Cultural Cleansing in Iraq”, Dirk Adriaensens, page 119, Pluto Press, ISBN 9780745328126
[3] http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html
[4] Nabil al-Tikriti in “Cultural Cleansing in Iraq” p 98, http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&
[5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56414-2004Jun20_2.html
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanan_Makiya
[7] http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2011-01-26%5Ckurd.htm
[8] http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/2010/12/as-if-saddam-never-was.html
[9] http://www.brussellstribunal.org/AcademicsFraud140909.htm
[10] http://www.al-jamiat.com/admissions-and-applications/iraq-education-initiative-sending-50000-students-across-the-globe/
[11] http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Al-Tikriti.htm
[12] See the list of 451 assassinated academics: http://www.brussellstribunal.org/academicsList.htm
[13] http://www.webometrics.info/index.html
[14] http://www.webometrics.info/top100_continent.asp?cont=aw
[15] http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2011-01-15%5Ckurd.htm
[16] http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/11/21-0
[17] www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/04/136241.html
[18] http://richardfalk.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/244/
[19] http://www.brussellstribunal.org/pdf/ghent-charter-in-defense-of-iraqi-academia.pdf
(Dirk Adriaensens, member of the BRussells Tribunal Executive Committee, 16 February 2011)

http://www.countercurrents.org/adriaensens170211.htm

Yörük Türkmen Oğuz Boyları Kültür Dernekleri Federasyonu Sadun KÖPRÜYE Onur Ödül Plaketi verildi.

Yörük Türkmen
Davasına hizmet edenler ile dallarında başarılı olanlara 6 Mart Pazar günü Ankara Yenimahalle belediyesi 1no’lu kongre salonunda
Türkiye bulunan Türkmen Yörük
Oğuz Boyları Kültür Dernekleri Federasyonunu

Tarafından onurluk şöleninde tanınmış Türkçü, Milliyetçi Türk şahsiyetlerine onur Ödül Plaketi verildi

Türkiye’nin her bir yerinde dernekleri buluna Türkmen Oğuz Boyları bir araya gelerek

Oğuz Boyları Kültür Dernekleri Federasyonunun düzenlemiş olduğu geleneksel Onurluk sonumu, ödül onurluk Töreni kalabalık bir Türkiye ve dünya Türkmen topluluğunun katılımıyla Ankara’da yapılmış olan

Törende Türkiye’nin her bir yöresinden, yerinden gelen dernek başkanları, üyeleri ve dernek yetkililerinin yanında aynı amaçla milli, Türkçülük duygusuna sahip olanları bir erek içinde etrafında toplayarak, ayrıca birçok kişiler ile siyasi parti temsilcileri, akademisyenler, yazarlar ve sanatçılar birleşmişlerdir.

Saygı duruşu ve İstiklal Marşı okunmasıyla başlayan törende.. Federasyon Genel Başkanı Durhasan Koca yaptığı açış konuşmasında

Yörükler ve Türkmenler Türk milletinin asli unsurudur.
Özüdür, Türk milleti birdir demiştir.

Türk milletinin bu topraklarda bin yıldır var olduğu, sonsuza kadar var olacağı ve Cumhuriyetimizin kurucusu önderi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’ün de bir Yörük Türkmen olduğunun törende vurgulanmıştır.

Uzun yıllardan Türk milletine ve Türk dünyasına verdikleri çeşitli amaçlardan, hizmetler dolayı Onurluk ödülü hak eden yaklaşık 150 kişiye sırasıyla ödüller, onurluk verildi.

Ödül törenine katılanlardan
MHP Gurup Başkan Vekili Mehmet Şandır, Mersin Milletvekili Behiç Çelik, Antalya Milletvekili Yusuf Ziya İrbeç, MYK üyesi M. Hidayet Vahapoğlu, Prof Dr. Yusuf Halaçoğlu. MHP eski milletvekillerinden Prof Dr. Abdurrahman Küçük ve Müjdat Kayayerli ile Kamu-Sen Genel Başkanı Bircan Akyıldız, ayrıca

Bayram Meral DSP’den Hasan Erçelebi, Hasan Macit ile D.P’nin Genel Başkanı N.Kemal Zeybek ve Türk Boyları Konfederasyonu Genel Başkanı Mustafa Özbek. Gürbüz Evren

Akademisyenlerden G.Ü. Rektörü Prof. Dr. Rıza Ayhan, Prof Dr. Mustafa Kafalı ve Prof Dr. Taciser Onuk ile Irak Türkmenlerinden Sadun Köprülü ve Mahmut Kasapoğlu katılmıştır.


Araştırmacı yazar Sadun Köprülüye Ödül plaket aldıktan sonra bir konuşma yaparak Köprülü Irak Türklerine göstermiş oldukları destek, ilgiden ve içli Milli davadan dolayı tüm Türk milletine ve Yörük Oğuz Boyları Federasyon Genel Başkanı Durhasan Koca beye sonsuz teşekkürlerini sunarak bugün Irak’ta Türkmenler Saddam döneminde olduğu gibi yene haksızlığa uğrayarak Araplaştırma politikası yanında Kürtleştirme politikası ve asimilasyon uygulanarak Kerkük Türk şehri zor durumunu yaşayarak elden gedmektedir, ayrıca Arap devletlerinde Diktatörlere karşı ayaklanmalar, sokağa her bir alana milletin, halkın inmesi bu emperyalistlere karşı büyük bir zarbadır, derstir, Tunus, Mısır, Lübnan, Suriye, Urdun, Filistin, Irak’ta dünyada yüz milyonlarca Türk yaşamaktadır özellikle İran’da 55 Milyon Türk olmasına rağmen hiçbir Türk’ün anayasal hakları bulunmamaktadır konuşmasında tüm dünya Türklerinin acılarınki, işkencelerini kısa bir konuşmayla Sadun Köprülü dile getirerek önemli vurgulamalarda bulunmuştur.

Ödül, plaket töreni sonunda çeşitli sanatçıların sahnede her yöreden türküler ve deyişlerini seslendirildiler. Tören, toplantı gecenin son saatlerine kadar sürdü.

Türk öğün çalış güven

Türk milleti tarihinle övün çünkü senin ecdadın medeniyetler kuran devletler imparatorluklar yaratan bir mevcudiyettir sen Anadolu denilen bu yurda sonradan gelme değil ilk yerleşip medeniyet kuranların çocuklarısın fakat geleceğine güvenebilmek için bugün çalışman lazımdır çünkü yalnız tarih övüncü bir meziyet sayılmaz
Deme bana kayı oğuz ilhanlı türküm bu ad her ünvandan üstündür yoktur Azeri Kırgız Özbek kazanlı türk milleti bir bölünmez bütündür.

Tensions Rise In Iraq’s Kirkuk Over Protests And The Peshmerga

Tensions Rise In Iraq’s Kirkuk Over Protests And The Peshmerga




SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2011
Tensions Rise In Iraq’s Kirkuk Over Protests And The Peshmerga
A new deployment of Kurdish peshmerga outside of Kirkuk has set off tensions between Iraq’s Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. During national protests peshmerga were sent to just outside of the city. While security against terrorists was the official reason for their presence, they were actually deployed to help quell demonstrations. Since then Arab and Turkmen politicians in Kirkuk have demanded that they leave, while Baghdad has sided with the Kurds.


On February 23, 2011, Kurdish politicians in Tamim claimed that they had evidence of plots against Kurds in the province. A Kurdish parliamentarian said that the Arab Council, a tribal group, planned on attacking the Kurdish Asayesh, government offices, and police stations run by Kurds. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was also worried about the upcoming Day of Rage protests planned across the country, and requested 1,000 peshmerga to be deployed to the west of Kirkuk on February 25 as a result. The matter was discussed with the governor of Tamim, and welcomed by the United States military. Provincial and national leaders were obviously nervous about what might happen during the demonstrations.




(Asia Times)
On the 25th there were three protests in the governorate, all of which turned violent. In Kirkuk, mostly Arabs with a few Turkmen turned out. They called for better services, the end of Article 140 that sets up a process for the Kurds to annex the disputed territories in northern Iraq, more jobs, and to fight corruption. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) warned Kurds not to participate. Protesters ended up storming a police station and the governor’s offices, which led the security forces to fire shots to disperse them. Three people ended up dying, and ten policemen were wounded. A curfew was imposed immediately afterward. Protests also occurred in Riyadh, where the city council and municipal offices were set on fire, and Hawija where the crowd held pictures of Saddam Hussein and waved the old Iraqi flag. Police opened fire in Hawija as the masses moved towards the town hall, leading to three deaths, and fifteen being wounded. Similar events happened across the country that day in nine other provinces and fifteen different cities.

In the following days the PUK and KDP condemned the Day of Rage in Tamim. They claimed that the Arab Council was trying to exploit the demonstrations for their own ends, condemned the attacks upon government buildings and the pictures of Saddam shown in Hawija, and went as far as to accuse the people of trying to stage a coup. The Kurdish Peshmerga Minister also noted that his forces were going to stay in the governorate until it was stable, meaning free of protests. The ruling Kurdish parties were already facing growing protests in Sulaymaniya, and were now confronted with angry Arabs and Turkmen in Tamim. If they grew in intensity, they could disrupt the fragile status quo between Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen in the governorate.

Arabs and Turkmen responded by attacking the new peshmerga presence outside Kirkuk. Arab members of the provincial council called for the Kurdish forces to withdraw on February 26. On March 1, the Iraqi Turkmen Front made the same demand, saying that the peshmerga were illegally in the area. They too were worried that an increased peshmerga presence in Tamim would be a step towards greater Kurdish control there.

Baghdad came down on the side of the Kurds, showing that the protests had scared all those in power. The Deputy Interior Minister condemned the Day of Rage as a coup attempt as well, parroting the KDP and PUK. He mentioned Tamim as one province where protesters were trying to undermine the political process, and criticized the Arab leaders in Kirkuk who called for the peshmerga to withdraw. In turn, he blamed the Day of Rage for the peshmerga being deployed to Tamim in the first place, and that they were only there to help with security. Maliki has increasingly attacked the motivations of the protesters, and tried to limit their scope by using the army and police. Like the PUK and KDP, the premier is worried about the consequences of growing demonstrations.

The 1,000 peshmerga in Tamim has upset the balance within the governorate. Previously, the Kurdish forces were only north of Kirkuk, while the Iraqi army was in the south. Now there are peshmerga to the west of Kirkuk as well. National leaders such as Prime Minister Maliki and Kurdish President Massoud Barzani support the new move out of fear that the protests might challenge their power. Local Arabs and Turkmen however, are afraid that the peshmerga may stay, providing greater Kurdish control over the province, and another step towards annexing Kirkuk and other disputed areas of Tamim to Kurdistan. The new Kurdish forces are probably only in the area as long as there are threats of demonstrations. The arguments they have caused however, show the tensions that exist in the province between the three main ethnic groups that result from the disputed territories. They also display how those in power have found common cause in putting down demonstrations. This intersection of local and national concerns has always been present in Tamim, and this is just the latest example.

SOURCES

Ahmed, Hevidar, “Minister rejects U.S. demand for Kurdish troops’ withdrawal from Kirkuk,” AK News, 3/4/11

AK News, “Peshmerga forces protect Kirkuk,” 3/3/11

Aswat al-Iraq, “Iraq’s Turkoman Front demands Kurdish Peshmerga forces withdrawal from Kirkuk:,” 3/1/11
- “Kurdish Peshmerga Minister denies his forces entered Kirkuk,” 2/28/11
- “Peshmerga forces stationed near Kirkuk,” 2/26/11
- “Two wounded demonstrators die in Tikrit, hundreds demonstrate in Balad city:,” 2/26/11

Davis, Aaron, “In Kirkuk, a test of U.S. peacekeepers’ lasting impact,” Washington Post, 2/8/11

Hamad, Qassim Khidhir, “ethnic division makes any protest suspicious,” Niqash, 3/2/11

Hameed, Leila, “Protesters control part of Kirkuk,” AK News, 2/26/11

Horami, Sirwa, “Kurdish ruling parties news statement on Kirkuk,” AK News, 2/27/11

Karim, Karzan, “Interior official: Recent demos were coups against Iraqi govt.,” AK News, 3/1/11

McCrummen, Stephanie, “13 killed in Iraq’s ‘Day of Rage’ protests,” Washington Post, 2/25/11
- “23 killed in Iraq’s ‘Day of Rage,’” Washington Post, 2/25/11

Rostam, Nabaz, “Second curfew imposed in Kirkuk,” AK News, 3/1/11

Salaheddin, Sinan, “6 killed in as Iraqis protest in ‘Day of Rage,’” Associated Press, 2/25/11
http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2011/03/tensions-rise-in-iraqs-kirkuk-over.html

Mortar shells wound 2 civilians in Baghdad Civilian gunned down in eastern Mosul Kurdistan parliament adjourns session until Tuesday U.S. embassy condemns attacks on media institutions U.S. forces arrest 2 cops south of Amara - security commission
Iraq’s Turkoman Front demands Kurdish Peshmerga forces withdrawal from Kirkuk: 3/1/2011 10:24 AM

KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi Turkoman Front has demanded on Tuesday the withdrawal of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces from the city, considering their presence in the city as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

“The spread of the Peshmerga elements in Kirkuk is illegal and stands counter to the constitution, which allows such spread of those elements in the three provinces of (north Iraq’s) Kurdistan Region only,” a Front’s statement said, adding that “the Kurdish side had informed the Front with this position, during the Kurdish Peshmerga Minister’s visit to the Front.”

The statement, copy of which was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointed out that the Front’s leadership “does not accept the presence of the Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, and we shall continue demanding their withdrawal from the city.”

“We have informed the Kurdish side that the presence of the Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk was causing a lot of problems and had become a source for the loss of trust towards them,” the statement
said.

Arab and Turkoman Members in Kirkuk’s Provincial Council, had informed Aswat al-Iraq few days ago that “the Peshmerga forces have entered in Kirkuk, in response to an Iraqi government’s demand, as part of its fear that armed groups might enter the Province,” thing that was denied by the Peshmerga Minister in Kurdistan Region’s government, Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustapha.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Nichervan Barzani, had stated that the Peshmerga forces, stationed outside Kirkuk, “were defending the components of the city,” pointing out that their presence had been decided in coordination with the Iraqi government.

In conclusion, the Iraqi Turkoman Front reiterated “necessity for the withdrawal of the (Peshmerga) elements from Kirkuk, and to lean to talks and consultations to settle all issues, based on laws and legal documents, being an initial step to achieve stability in Kirkuk and the whole country of Iraq."

FT / SKH
http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=141242&l=1

Turkmen in politics school

Turkmen in politics school



06 March 2011, Sunday

Incepting from the starting point that serving humanity is the most significant tool of politics, as an organization which has devoted itself to investing in people, the ITF realized an innovation.

As a result of the endeavors of Iraqi Turkmen Front Turkey Representation, as a first, the Turkmen in Turkmeneli and Turkey were invited to attend a week long course on politics in the AK Party school of politics.

In the full day week long training at the Political Academy, many subjects dealing with politics were presented to the attendees. The lessons which were avidly followed by the Turkmen participants were presented by relevant specialists in their particular disciplines. After the week of training, the course attendees were presented with certificates of participation. The course attendees expressed their satisfaction regarding the instruction they had received.

The certificates of the course attendees were handed out by AK Party Deputy General Chairman Ankara MP Reha Denemeç. At the certification ceremony Iraqi Turkmen Front Turkey Representative Dr. Hicran Kazancı thanked AK Party Deputy General Chairman Ankara MP Reha Denemeç for his contribution by presenting him with a plaque.

In addition, AK Party Deputy Foreign Affairs Chairman and Adana MP Ömer Çelik and AK Party Deputy Research Development Director Mahir Ünal were appreciated for their support and contributions.

Kerkuk.net

"Liberation" : Beware the Ides of March. (Part One.)

by Felicity Arbuthnot


March 3, 2011

The Unseen Gulf War

Felicity Arbuthnot



"To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness, they call it peace." (Publius Cornelius Tacitus - 55-117)

2nd March, marked the twentieth anniversary the mass murder thousands of Iraqis by the US 24th Mechanised Infantry Division, two days after the ceasefire, a final murderous act in the forty two day carpet bombing of Iraq. It also began the continuation of the silent decimation of a nation and people through a United Nations flagged siege of historic severity. Denied were food, medications, medical and dialysis equipment, scanners and X-ray machines and all supplies needed to rebuild a country now reduced to "a pre-indistrial age.".

It also denotes planning of the illegal bombings for the following thirteen years, then the destruction of Iraq, starting on 20th March 2003; the murder of a legitimate government - and final destruction of civil society, previously denied even life support. Indeed, even oxygen cylinders were embargoed.

Millions of words have been written of the war crimes committed in Operation Desert Storm. The burying alive by US troops of young Iraqi conscripts in the desert, the Basra Road massacre, the deliberate destruction of t water purification plants, electricity, schools, hospitals, food stores, factories, farms and broadly fifty to seventy five percent percent of all livestock, from chickens to buffalo. Not enough, however has been written about the crime which makes even these, with the genocidal, possibly over three million dead, from 1991 to now, pale. The destruction of the gene pool in generation after generation, the mutilation of future generations until a time unknown.

Professor Malcolm Hooper, Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Sunderland, wrote a detailed Report on this destruction which may never end : "The most Toxic War in Western Military History." This poisonous, near eternal, environmental and body burden (Depleted Uranium residue from weapons, 4.5 billion years) has now been added to, in orders of magnitude, from the March 2003 invasion.

Ironically, anniversary of the start of the 1991 bombardment (17th January) this year, fell on Martin Luther King Day. Marking it, the President stated on the White House website, that progress is: " .. underway at the memorial being constructed ... in Dr King's honor." President Obama: " ... visited the site with the Environmental Protection Agency's Administrator, Lisa Jackson ... When completed later this year, the memorial will serve to remind us of Dr. King's hope, sense of justice and quest for equality." The cynic might think the President and the EPA Administrator might be better placed marking Dr King's aspirations by visiting the poisoned lands of Iraq, Afghanistan and Balkans in which all Dr King's "dream" have become arguably, his worst nightmare, courtesy US-initiated actions.

Iraq's infrastructure, education and progress is "liberated" backwards a hundred years, with America's imported fundamentalists dominating. Electricity is often just an hour a day even in Baghdad, social security and government rations have been cut to Iraq's up to seventy percent unemployed (figures differ) and foreign workers are imported by foreign companies, whilst skilled, willing and graduate Iraqis sit desperate and idle. US puppet "Prime Minister" Maliki, allegedly still clutching his foreign passport, has done nothing to put a quota on overseas workers, thus giving Iraqis a chance of a living, in their own land. But then, his orders are from his Master's voice.

Perhaps the most chilling of all, in a country pre-embargo and invasion, considered an example of the advanced and secular in the Middle East, there are now so many widows created by the invasion and subsequent violence, unsupported by government welfare, and with children to bring up, that "temporary marriages" are spreading across the country. A woman is married for two days, two weeks, whatever, and paid an agreed amount for sharing her bed and body. Legalised prostitution, with a religious fig leaf over it, to which the desperate resort. Welcome to the "New Iraq", courtesy Uncle Sam and the now "Middle East Peace Envoy",Tony Blair.

Just eight months after the invasion I met a group of Iraqi professionals, anti the former regime to a man and woman. How was everything going? I asked. There was a moment's silence as they caught each others eyes, then: "We wish Saddam was back."

Wholesale killings, of pilgrims, people going about daily business, sitting socialising in the evenings on their flat roofs, in the balmy air; in schools, hospitals, cars, on foot,. Mosque and Church attacks and bombings, unheard historically, the wholesale destruction in cities and towns, from Basra to Baquba, Samarra to Falluja, Tel Afar to the holy cities of Najav and Kerbala, continued year after gruelling year.

Hilary Clinton paid her first visit as Secretary of State to Iraq. The woman who wrote : "It Takes a Village .." (to raise a child) stood in the country where countless villages had been destroyed and declared that " ... Iraq is going in the right direction ... I really believe that, on the whole, Iraq is on the right track (there was) overwhelming evidence of really impressive progress." She spoke the day after suicide bombers killed seventy one people outside Baghdad's most revered Shia shrine and a further seventeen in Muqdadiyah, north of the capital. (Guardian, 25th April 2009.) Suicide bombers, also unknown in Iraq, too, came in with the invasion

Currently those exercising their "audacity of hope", demonstrating for jobs, electricity, clean water, normality, are being killed, disappeared, tortured, in a country where Donald Rumsfeld told Iraqis they were : " ... free to live their lives and do wonderful things ... that's what's going to happen here." (Department of Defence, news briefing, 11th April 2003.)

Meanwhile, Britain, whose formerly declared "ethical foreign policy" has become somewhat tarnished, marked this twentieth anniversary of decimation by phasing out aid to Iraq, declaring that it was concentrating on countries with the highest infant mortality. Iraq's infant mortality (CIA Factbook) is 48.5 per thousand live births. Libya's, in context, is 18.5 (Iceland, Sweden under 4.) Other agencies have Iraq's infant mortality at up to 128. Either way, it is an appalling, shaming figure in a country still occupied (however renamed) thus welfare the responsibility of the US occupier - for which fellow invader, Britain, bears an equal responsibility.

In, Kunar Province, Afghanistan, 1st., March heralded the shooting dead, from the air, by their US liberators, nine children, collecting firewood for warmth, in the freezing mountain winter. Noorullah Noori, of the local development council, is quoted as saying that four of the boys were seven, three eight, one nine and one twelve. A thirteen year old was wounded. (McClatchy.) The previous week, the Afghan government and local residents claim sixty five civilians were killed in the same province. General Petraeus called the first a "tragic mistake" for which he would: "... apologise", to families and government - and the second: "insurgents."

But the eyes of the world are not focussed on invasion's atrocitites, they are fixed on the latest bogey man, the one Tony Blair, in 2004, brought in out of the cold, and said the West could now do business with. They certainly did. But this March, "Operation Intervention Libya" (I made that up, liked the acronym) is in the air. Two US Navy warships and four hundred marine are already off shore readying for "humanitarian efforts." The Iraq hand book has been dusted down, assets have been frozen, sanctions have been slapped on at breath taking speed and a "no fly zone", mooted, to protect the population.

As with Iraq, Libya will be isolated, prohibited from using its own air space but the US and its allies will bomb with impunity. It's leader has already been likened to Hitler and Pol Pot. We have had the "Butcher of Baghdad", the Butcher of Belgrade", the "Butcher of Benghazi", is only a matter of time. As I finish this, it is announced that the International Criminal Court is to investigate crimes committed by Libya's regime, during the uprising. Not those of Bush, Blair, Obama, Cameron's continued support for the deaths of certainly approaching two million since Afghanistan's invasion in 2001.

Martin Luther King said:
"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

"I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.

"I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.

"I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land.

" 'And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.' I still believe that We Shall overcome!'

We can only, fervently, hope.

Post Script. Al Jazeera asked, randomly, people in Libya, whatever happened, what did they think about US led "humanitarian intervention." All replied with one word: "Iraq."

Posted on Uruknet

MIDDLE EAST: Violence hits education

MIDDLE EAST: Violence hits education


NAIROBI, 3 March 2011 (IRIN) - Several Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Yemen are unlikely to achieve the education-for-all Millennium Development Goals by 2015 because of insecurity and conflict, according to a new report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The education-for-all goals were endorsed by more than 160 countries in 2000. But according to Kevin Watkins, director of UNESCO’s 2011 Global Monitoring Report, children and education are not just getting caught in the cross-fire, they are increasingly the targets of violent conflict.

"The failure of governments to protect human rights is causing children deep harm - and taking away their only chance of an education," he said.

The UNESCO report, entitled The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education, says 35 countries were affected by armed conflict between 1999 and 2008, several in the Middle East. “Children and schools are on the front line of these conflicts, with classrooms, teachers and pupils seen as legitimate targets,” it noted.

Iraq

Decades of war in Iraq, UN sanctions, poor security and the economic situation have adversely affected education and increased illiteracy levels. According to data produced by the government and UNESCO in September, at least five million of Iraq's almost 30 million people are illiterate. Of these, 14 percent are school-age children who left school to feed their families, are displaced or have no access to suitable schooling.

Ahmed Khalid Jaafar, 14, told IRIN in Baghdad that he left school after his father died in an explosion three years ago, and sought work on the streets to feed his mother and two younger daughters.

"I sell gum and my mother works is a seamstress," said Jaafar. "We make 200,000-300,000 dinars (US$160-250) a month. We spend that money on the most important things, mainly food. School is not important now." Jaafar and his family squat in an abandoned government building.

The September data show that adult illiteracy in Iraq is now one of the highest in the Arab region. In rural areas, almost 30 percent of the population are unable to read or write. Significant gender disparities exist, with 40 percent of the illiterate being women.

Egypt

Recent demonstrations and clashes in Egypt led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, but also closed many schools. In mid-February, half-term was extended for two weeks. Schools in only seven of the country’s 29 governorates reopened after the recess, according to sources in Cairo.

The Interior Ministry deployed police outside schools to beef up security and encourage a return to school, but thousands of parents still preferred to keep their children at home.

“A deteriorating security situation hinders the opening of the schools and this affects the whole educational process,” Fathi al-Sharqawi, a professor of educational psychology at Cairo’s Ain Shams University, told IRIN. “Teachers will have to skip some parts of the curricula after the students go back to their classrooms, which will also affect these students’ learning badly.”

Hundreds of parents have complained that their children are attacked by thugs on their way to school, according to human rights groups. The Egyptian Centre for Human Rights, for example, said some parents complain that criminals use weapons to grab money from children.

Manal Abdul Aziz, an Egyptian journalist who opted for home-based tuition for her two children, told IRIN in Cairo: “There is total obscurity about the future of this academic year.” The cost of hiring five teachers for her two children (aged 12 and 15) is the equivalent of US$169 a month - a significant sum for most families.



Other countries

Bahrain is on track to achieve the goal of halving illiteracy levels by 2015, but countries like Iraq, Mauritania and Sudan are off track. "The recent experiences of Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait and Yemen show that literacy policy can be effective: all four countries have increased their adult literacy rates by at least 20 percentage points in the past 15-20 years," the UNESCO report said.

In Yemen, a reallocation of 10 percent of the military budget to education would put an additional 840,000 children in school. In the north, 220 schools were destroyed, damaged or looted during fighting in 2009 and 2010 between government and rebel forces, according to the report. "In Yemen, many internally displaced children complement family income by begging, smuggling or collecting refuse, and there are concerns that child labour is increasing."

In Syria, attendance rates in pre-school programmes varied from less than 4 percent for children in the poorest households, to just above 18 percent for wealthy households.

In harm’s way

According to the report, armed conflict places children directly in harm’s way. Some get killed while others are exploited as soldiers or forced to flee their homes and become refugees.

“Children subject to the trauma, insecurity and displacement that come with armed conflict are unlikely to achieve their potential for learning,” it said. All too often, armed groups see the destruction of schools and the targeting of schoolchildren and teachers as a legitimate military strategy.

In conflict situations, children fear to go to school, teachers to give classes and parents to send their children to school. According to UNESCO, in such situations, children suffer psychological trauma, as well as loss of parents, siblings and friends. One survey of Iraqi refugee children in Jordan found that 39 percent reported having lost someone close to them, and 43 percent witnessed violence.

“Armed conflict remains a major roadblock to human development in many parts of the world, yet its impact on education is widely neglected,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “This groundbreaking report documents the scale of this hidden crisis, identifies its root causes and offers solid proposals for change.”

eo/am/sm/cb
Http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92091

الوهم الكردي في كركوك

الوهم الكردي في كركوك

د.إسماعيل عيسى ألبياتي

المقدمة
إن إحدى معضلات الدولة العراقية الحالية، هي استمرار الأكراد بإثارة موضوع كركوك واعتبارها جزءً من المنطقة الكردية،أو منطقة كردستان .وبالرغم من إن قانون إدارة الدولة العراقية ، الذي أقره مجلس الحكم الانتقالي، قد أرجأ حل مشكلة كركوك باعتباره حالة خاصة،والى حين استكمال المصادقة على الدستور الدائم للدولة العراقية ،مع بقاء حدود المحافظات العراقية الثمانية عشرة من دون تغير،وكذلك عدم إمكانية دمج محافظة كركوك مع أي محافظة أخرى أو إقليم فيدرالي. الاّ ان القيادة الكردية المتمثلة بالسيدين مسعود البارزاني وجلال الطالباني، تؤكد دائما على ان كركوك هي جزء من المنطقة الكردية.فتارة هي أشبه بقلب كردستان النابض، وتارة اخرى، قدسها الذي لايمكن المساس به. علما ان كركوك لم تكن جغرافيا وتاريخيا واجتماعيا ضمن المنطقة الكردية،أو بأكثرية كردية في أي وقت من الأوقات
تاريخ كردستان المتداول
استخدم مصطلح كردستان (منطقة الأكراد) ولأول مرة في زمن السلاجقة الأتراك عام 1157م، عندما اقيمت مقاطعة بأسم كردستان مركزها "بهار" في شمال غربي همذان، محاذية لأذربيجان في ايران. فهي تمثل الجزء الشمالي من جبال زغاروس، أي منطقة شهرزور التي تشمل مقاطعة كردستان الإيرانية الحالية وكذلك محافظة السليمانية الحالية في العراق
إن مساحة كردستان أخذت تتوسع بمرور الزمن والى يومنا هذا على حساب مناطق جديدة تقطنها شعوب أخرى: نحو الجنوب إلى مناطق بختيار واللور ونحو الشمال إلى بلاد الأرمن واذربيجان ونحو الغرب إلى منطقة الجزيرة "شمال وادي الرافدين" لتشمل ديار بكر والعمادية والموصل واربيل وكركوك وأطلقوا حديثا تسمية "كردستان الجنوبية" على سهل نينوى الكلدواشوري الأصيل، حتى وصلت حدود خريطتهم أخيرا إلى مشارف مدينة الكوت .وفي كل توسع كانوا يعتبرون المناطق الجديدة جزأ من كردستان،رغم وجود أقوام أصليين قاطنيين في تلك المناطق
في عام 1349م أي بعد مرور قرنين من تسمية مقاطعة كردستان نرى مساحةكردستان حسب ما ذكره المؤرخ حمد الله مصطفى قد توسعت لتشمل مناطق جديدة في الشمال والجنوب. وفي عام 1596م توسع المؤرخ شرف الدين في كتابه "شرف نامة" في تعريف منطقة كردستان جنوبا لتشمل مقاطعة لورستان كافة. وفي عام 1682 يأتي المؤرخ الشلبي ليتوسع في تعريف مساحة كردستان شمالا لتشمل الجزء الكبير من أرمينيا ثم يتوسع إلى الغرب نحو منطقة الجزيرة في شمال الرافدين لتشمل ديار بكر والعمادية والموصل واربيل وكركوك ثم نحو الشمال الغربي إلى أذربجان الغربية.وقد لعب التحالف الطائفي بين الترك السنة والكرد السنة دورا كبيرا في إنشاء بعض الأمارات الكردية،ومن أشهرها الإمارة البابانية في السليمانية عام 1515 م وامارة أخرى في ديار بكر ، لغرض مجابهة الشيعة المتمثلين في أيران و المسيحيين في شمال الرافدين. فليس غريبا أن نجد السليماتية منطقة كردية خالصة.لكن كركوك بقت بعيدة عن الوجود الكردي وظلت محافظة على طابعها التركماني. فالتشبث في توسيع منطقة كردستان بالشكل الحالي هو حق غير تاريخي أو جغرافي، وهو طموح غير مشروع لأنه يقوم على حساب أقوام أخرى، ويستلب حقوق جماعات كانت تستوطن المنطقة منذ قديم الزمان، ولها تاريخ عريق فيها، فالإدعاء أن كركوك التاريخية هي جزء من كردستان المتداولة هو دعوة باطلة لأن كركوك لم تقطنها يوما أكثرية كردية أبدا
لمحة قصيره عن تاريخ كركوك
كركوك من المدن العراقية القديمة التي جاء ذكرها في الألواح الكلدانية والآشورية قبل أكثر من أربعة آلاف سنة،تحت اسم أربخا، وفيها شيد القائد سلوةس الأغريقي قلعته ،على انقاض قلعة الآشوريين الشهيرة الماثلة الى الآن.وقد جاءت تسمية كركوك ، منحوتة عن كلمة كرخ سلوق ، أي مدينة سلوق. ولما انتشرت الديانة المسيحية في وادي الرافدين، أصبحت كركوك مركزا ثقافيا مسيحيا للسريان،وسميت بيت كرماي، أي بيت العظام ، نسبة إلى المجزرة التي كان ضحيتها بضعة الاف من المسيحيين في القرن الرابع الميلادي في عهد الفرس الساسانيين ، وظلت مركزا إشعاعيا للثقافة المسيحية على طوال فترة الفتوحات الإسلامية

بعد ازدياد النفوذ التركي في العراق، لاسيما عند وصول ( القا ئد طغرل بك) فاتحا بغداد على رأس السلاجقة الترك عام 1115م ، أصبحت مناطق شمال الرافدين كالموصل وأربيل وكركوك من مراكز النفوذ التركي، فأقام فيها التركمان الدول والإمارات ،مثل إمارة الموصل وأربيل وكركوك.ونشأت علاقة حميمة بين رؤساء دولتي (الخروف الأبيض والخروف الأسود التركمان) والمسيحيين في كركوك واربيل، فأعتنق قسم منهم الدين المسيحي.وظلت هذه المناطق تحت حكم التركمان زهاء قرنين من الزمان ولحين زحف العثمانيين الى بغداد وإقامة الإمبراطورية العثمانية عام 1515م،حيث خضعت جميع الزعامات التركمانية المحلية لحكم العثمانيين فأنخرط التركمان في الحياة المدنية وأصبحوا جزءا مهما من التركيبة السكانية. وطيلة قرون حكم العثمانيين الأتراك بقت كركوك مركزا ثقافيا تركمانيا يزود الإمبراطورية العثمانية بالعسكريين والموظفين المدنين والمثقفين ،كما ظلت على هذا المنوال خلال الحكم العراقي الوطني في مستهل حياته السياسي
التركيبة السكانية لكركوك
الوقائع التاريخية تؤكد إن كركوك كانت مركزا للتركمان ولقرون طويلة،بعد إن كانت مركزا للسريان في انتشار المسيحية،حيث عاش فيها التركمان،الكلدواشوريون،اليهود،بعض الأكراد والعرب. وأثار التركمان لا تزال شاخصة في كركوك الى يومنا هذا، فالمقابر العديدة ،الموزعة في المدينة ،أكثرها تركمانية، إلا مقبرة واحدة حديثة، بدأ الاكراد يدفنوا بها موتاهم بعد الثلاثينات من القرن الماضي. والأدباء والشعراء والفنانون ولحد عام 1980 كانوا كلهم من التركمان، واذا كان هناك شاعر كردي، فقد كتب بالتركمانية أكثر مما كتب بالكردية. إن أسماء الأحياء والأسواق القديمة جميعها بالتركمانية، والصحف والنشرات والمجلات وحتى جريدة الوقائع المحلية، كانت كلها تصدر بالتركمانية. كذلك المحاكم هي الأخرى كانت تجري مرافعاتها بالتركمانية، أما المتصرفون ( المحافظون) الذين اداروا كركوك خلال العهد الملكي ولعام 1959والذين جاؤا عن طريق الانتخابات، كانوا من التركمان عدا ثلاثة محافظين من الأكراد تم تعيينهم في ظروف سياسية خاصة
رغم صفحات التاريخ،وصدق الآثار والشواهد التي تؤكد إن غالبية سكان كركوك، كانوا من التركمان ولفترة قريبة ،يبقى وهم الأكراد في أن غالبية سكان كركوك كانوا من الأكراد في يوم ما. لكن ،لا نعرف متى ولماذا؟ والبعض يعزو ذلك إلى أن 90% من عمال شركة نفط كركوك كانوا من الأكراد في عام 1957 . (وهم يعرفون جبدا إن ذلك حدث لأسباب سياسية بحتة،لأن التركمان سببوا مشاكل كثيرة للشركة حال تأسيسها ،لمناهضتهم الكبيرة للإنكليز ،مما سبب في إبعادهم من العمل في الشركة).ولنفس السبب نجد إن 90% من العاملين في شركة نفط خانقين في عام 1957 كانوا من المسيحيين،ولكن لم يدع المسيحيون في ملكية نفط خانقين أبدا، وان نسبتهم في خانقين كانت قليلة وتكاد لا تذكر
ومن الأدلة الدامغة لبيان التركيبة السكانية لكركوك ،يكون العودة إلى بعض السجلات العثمانية المحايدة التي نظمت لأغراض إدارية صرفة،في وقت لم تكن فيه أي أهمية تجارية للنفط
سجلات التوثيق العثمانية الخاصة بلواء كركوك
إن مجرد العودة إلى سجلات التوثيق العائدة للدولة العثمانية والمحفوظة في المديرية العامة للوثائق الرسمية في الجمهورية التركية،تعطيك صورة واضحة دقيقة ونزيهة عن التركيبة السكانية في لواء كركوك، ففي الصفحة (83) من سجل التوثيق رقم 111 و 285 الذي نظم في عهد السلطان سليمان القانوني عام 1548 م لغرض جباية الضرائب ،وسوق الأفراد إلى الخدمة العسكرية ،نجد أسماء البالغين من الرجال الساكنين في كركوك وأقضيتها ونواحيها وقراها،وهي مصنفة على أساس الديانة وعددهم 7320 رجلا،منهم 6990 مسلما ،و 180 مسيحيا،و 150 يهوديا،وباستخدام الاستقراء العلمي للأسماء ومدلولاتها القومية،نجد بين المسلمين آنذاك 6558 تركمانيا, و 54 كرديا و 23 عربيا، فما بالها اليوم نتقلب إلى شاكلة أخرى ،والشواهد لا تزال فيها شاخصة بينة
إن نسبة الأكراد القاطنين في مدينة كركوك ولحد عام 1927 كانت قليلة جدا،لكن الصناعة النفطية التي بدأت ذلك العام فيها هي التي استقطبت الكثير من العرب والأكراد لغرض العمل في حقولها. ثم توالت الهجرات العربية والكردية بعد عام 1930 لتأخذ طابعا سياسيا، واصبحت كركوك مسرحا للصراعات القومية
طموح الأكراد في كركوك
إن طموح الأكراد في المناطق النفطية من كركوك، بدأ يزداد مع أزدياد أهمية النفط في الأسواق العالمية،بعد عام 1925 ، وأخذ الملا مصطفى البارزاني يدق على وتر "كركوك كردستانية" منذ ذلك الحين، على الرغم من ان نسبة الأكراد كما تشير الدلائل لم تكن حتى عام 1958 أكثر من 10-15% من نسبة السكان داخل مدينة كركوك .إلا أن تأثيرهم السياسي المسلح بدأ يزداد مع قيام ثورة 14تموز عام1958 م. فلأول مرة في تاريخ العراق ،يقر الدستور العراقي المؤقت، الذي صاغه عسكريون ومتعصبون قوميون ، بوجود القومية الكردية جنبا إلى جنب مع القومية العربية، في المشاركة في الوطن العراقي. وقد ساعد التحالف الذي قام بين القيادة الكردية والحزب الشيوعي العراقي، في مستهل الحكم الجمهوري ،في فرض السيطرة على مدينة كركوك ،وأحداث مجزرة كركوك عام 1959 خير دليل على ذلك

لقد عانى التركمان والأكراد الأمرين في عهد صدام حسين من تهجير وترحيل وإعدامات وسجون.ولكن الجريمة الكبرى التي ارتكبها نظام صدام في حق التركمان هي بدعتها للأستمارة الأحصائية التي تسأل المواطن (هل أنت عربي أم كردي) في إحصائياتها ، وبذلك ساهم صدام حسين بطمس الهوية التركمانية في كركوك وغيرها من المناطق التركمانية أكثر من سابقيه.ولدى سقوط حكم الطاغية،أستبشر الناس خيرا، وتاملوا أن تلك المهازل التي كانت تجري يومذاك ،قد زالت إلى غير رجعة.لكن للأسف الشديد،إن ما حدث في كركوك خلال الأنتخابات الأخيرة، لم يكن يختلف عما كان يحدث سابقا ،فقد اخترقت شروط الانتخابات في كركوك، بشتى الأشكال وتحت حماية وتوجيه البشمركة الكردية المسلحة،فكانت هذه البادرة دليلا شاخصا على سؤ نية الأكراد تجاه كركوك ، حيث أدلى الكثير من الأكراد لأصواتهم لمرات متكررة. وانتقل الآلاف من الأكراد من اربيل والسليمانية للتصويت في كركوك، كما تم يوم التصويت فتح مراكز انتخابية إضافية في المناطق الكردية لم تكن سابقا مدرجة في الخطة. ومن اجل فسح المجال أمام
الكرد للإدلاء بأصواتهم في تلك المراكز، تم سحب آلاف الاستمارات الانتخابية من مراكز التركمان ووضعت في خدمة المراكز الدخيلة. بينما نفذت في وسط النهار الاستمارات الانتخابية من مراكز التركمان، ولم يعد بامكان الحاضرين التصويت، فخسروا آلاف الأصوات نتيجة هذه الممارسة المتعمدة، ولم تجد الاعتراضات نفعا، والاحتجاجات التي رفعت الى المفوضية العليا المشرفة على الانتخابات والتي ثبتت رسميا آنذاك
فوهم الأكراد بكركوك قد دفعهم لتشجيع مئات الألاف من الأكراد للهجرة إليها، وهم لم يمتوا أي صلة بكركوك.،كما شاعت ظاهرة شراء البطاقات التموينية من الناس الفقراء لقاء مبالغ مغرية،لغرض إعطائها إلى أكراد قدموا من الخارج لا علاقة لهم في كركوك ،لاعتبارهم من أهل كركوك الأصليين.وفي الشتات تدفع المنظمات الكردية الأكراد المهاجرين،لتسجيل نفسهم وعوائلهم ضمن سجلات كركوك،وكذلك يتم تسجيل مواليد جدد من اطفال الأكراد من مناطق خارج كركوك ضمن سجلات كركوك.كل ذلك تمهيدا لزيادة نسبة عدد الأكراد في التعداد السكاني القادم لغرض تقرير مصير كركوك وكما تكرره وتريده القيادات الكردية. ذلك التعداد السكاني المرتقب ،والذي يريدون من الآن أن يبنوه على الزيف والتمويه.وفي الشتات دفعت المنظمات الكردية المهاجرين الأكراد إلى تسجيل أنفسهم وعوائلهم ضمن سجلات كركوك للغرض ذاته

إن مسألة تغير المناهج الدراسية في كركوك إلى كردية،وتعين مسوؤلي الدوائر من أكراد قادمين من السليمانية واربيل بكفاءات حزبية ومخابراتية وليس بمؤهلات أكاديمية وعلمية ، وتشكيل معظم المجالس البلدية من اعضاء الأحزاب الكردية أو من يواليهم ،وأغتيال كل من مدير تربية كركوك ومدير شرطتها التركمانين ،وقتل العديد من التركمان والعرب وأزاحتهم عن الطريق تحت مسميات قوى الأرهاب ، هي للأسف أساليب لا تختلف إطلاقا عن أساليب صدام حسين التي مارسها لصهر القوميات غير العربية والتي عانى منها الأكراد أكثر من أي قومية أخرى ولعهد قريب،ويبدو إن الأكراد لم يأخذوا دروسا وعبر من تلك الممارسات الخاطئة التي جلبت علينا وعليهم كثيرا من الويلات والمآسي . فيريدون اليوم ممارستها بأساليب وحيل لن تخدم أبدا مسيرة بناء المجتمع الذي يحلم به كل العراقيين
حل مسألة كركوك
إن حل مسالة كركوك يكمن في تركها لأهلها الأصلين، والعودة إلى حدودها وحالتها قبل عام 1970 ،والامتثال لبنود قانون إدارة الدولة العراقية وليس بالتجاوز والاستعلاء أو اللف على بنوده ،واستغلال ضعف الحكومة المركزية وإحراجها في ظرف اشد ما تكون إلى المساعدة ،وذلك بالمبالغة في عدد الأكراد المرحلين والمهجرين،وهم على أي حال معروفين من قبل أهل كركوك الأصلين،وقد عاد أكثرهم واستلموا املاكهم وأراضيهم حال سقوط الطاغية

فكركوك تمثل الموزائيك العراقي البديع بألوانه الجميلة، من عرب وأكراد وتركمان،وكلدوأشورين ,وأرمن، عاشوا لقرون طويلة في أخوة ومحبة لم تفرقهم فارقة إلا عند احتدام الصراع العربي الكردي بشأن تعريب وتكر يد كركوك طمعا في ذهبها الأسود وليس حبا في سواد عيونها،وما على الأحرار من العراقيين والقائمين على أمرهم إلا دعم مؤسسات المجتمع المدني في هذه المدينة وإبعاد الهيمنة الحزبية من إرهاب الناس وإفساح المجال للمواطنين لممارسة حقوقهم وواجبا تهم بحرية وأمان،ولن يتم هذا بإثارة النعرات القومية أو بطرد العرب من المدينة وإحلال أكراد مكانهم لا علاقة لهم بكركوك مطلقا،فإذا كان صدام قد أخطأ بحق العرب ،فان العرب في كركوك ما هم إلا ضحية هذا الخطأ.فلا نريد اليوم ضحايا جدد من الكرد يحلون على كركوك مثلما حل العرب سابقا. ولا بد لكركوك إن تعيد مجدها التليد ولكن بلباس مدني وحضاري جديد سداه المحبة ولحمته التعاون،فكركوك لها كل المقومات أن تكون محافظة فدرالية لوحدها ترتبط مباشرة بالمركز، تعود مواردها النفطية لجميع العراقيين ويستحق أن يعيش أبنائها بأطيافهم المتنوعة برخاء وهناء بعيدا عن التعصب والإرهاب الذي يسعى إلى تخريب العراق

الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Aysaalbayaty@yahoo.com

Big protest planned in Iraq on Anniversary of March 2010 Elections

Prof Juan Cole writes in Informed Comment on 3rd February 2011:
http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/libya-standoff-as-saudi-quivers-and-iran-iraq-under-pressure.html


The March 9, 2010 elections in Iraq produced no change from the previous government, and power inheres more in the oil-rich central executive than in parliament. There is a big protest planned next week on the anniversary of those elections, which is pretty scary– as Libyans and Egyptians demand parliamentary elections, Iraqi’s are protesting against theirs.

Many Kurds outside the Kurdistan Alliance establishment, many Sunnis, and many Sadrist and other Shiites feel as though high political deals brokered behind closed doors determine their fate more than elections. Otherwise, most of the major protest movements have been against authoritarian regimes that had ceased making sure the people shared in national resources.

Ironically, Iraq is dealing with its protests with a combination of violence and hand-outs, and so is behaving more like Saudi Arabia than like Tunisia and Egypt.

The Great Middle Eastern revolt of 2011 has not written its last line yet.