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Kurdish Supplement, 14-20/10/01



Kurdish Supplement, 14-20/10/01

*  While the World Is Not Watching, Iraq Escalates Ethnic Cleansing [New/old
measures in the Kurdish areas still under Iraqi government control]
*  Iraq Occupies 30 Villages in the Border Region with Kurdistan [Claims
that the Iraqis have actually moved into the Kurdish autonomous zone. If
true its a much better pretext for an attack on Iraq than the tenuous link
to the anthrax scare. The lack of publicity only goes to prove that no-one
really cares about the Kurds - at least not when its a matter of keeping the
Turks onside in a Œcoalition against terrorismı]
*  Kurdish parties rely on U.S. [Powell writes to Talabani and Barzani
saying US will respond if Saddam attacks them Œat a time and place of our
choosingı: ie certainly not of the Kurdsı choosing. The last time they
responded to Iraqi activity in the Kurd autonomous zone, readers will
remember, it was by dropping bombs in Southern Iraq!]
*  Turkey Concerned on US, Iraq and KDP [An interesting moment for
ill-feeling to develop between Iraqi Kurds and Turkey]
*  Disagreement escalates between Turkish military and KDP [More detail on
the above. The KDP is refusing to co-operate with Turkish raids into the
Kurdish autonomous zone.]
*  Turkey Rushes Troops To Iraqi Border [Includes a reference to two Turkish
soldiers killed in a rocket attack Œattributed to Kurdish insurgentsı. Are
they the same two who in the articles immediately above were - accidentally
- killed in a minefield? The indications are that the Turks are preparing
for an invasion of the Kurdish autonomous zone to prevent the Kurds taking
over in the event of a US attack on Iraq].


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/15-10-01-kn-irq-escalates-ethnic
cleansing.html

*  WHILE THE WORLD IS NOT WATCHING, IRAQ ESCALATES ETHNIC CLEANSING
Kurdistan Observer, 15th October [from Kurdistan Newsline, Kirkuk Oct.14]

With the international community concentrating on the campaign against
terrorism, the Iraqi regime is taking advantage of the situation by
aggressively stepping up  its racist campaign to forcibly changing the
demographic composition of the areas of Kurdistan still under its control.
The regime is doing this even after receiving a blunt warning from the
United States of America not to exploit the current situation by committing
aggression against neighboring states or the Kurdistan region. ( See New
York Times Oct.10) It seems the Iraqi regime is not only hurling abuse at
United States by calling Ambassador John Negroponte's warning as ³stupid²
and praising Usama bin Ladenıs Al Qaeda, but it is determined to undermine
the security of the Kurdistan region while the world is busy with combating
terrorism in Afghanistan.

Changing Identity

The new Iraqi measures of Arabization and ethnic cleansing consist of: 
banning photographing the residential and market areas inside the city of
Kirkuk; the regime has decreed that all historic Kurdish, Turkuman and
Assyrian names of places must changed to Arabic names e.g. Tapai Malla
Abdullah has been changed to Maysloon,  the Azadi into Al Nakhwa, Shorja
into Al Qudis, Shaterloo into Martyr Adnan Khairullh, Aaglarali into Al
Umara and Khanaqa into Al Faris.  A new ³Law² decreed by the Baathist
Revolutionary Council will allow the change of nationality registration into
Arab throughout Iraq. ( Law No. 199 September 6, 2001). This flagrantly
racist law is in breach of all human rights conventions Iraq has entered
into. It is the type of draconian racist law South Africaıs former apartheid
regime would have been proud of.

Arab Settlements in Kirkuk

The Iraqis are building 500 houses in Kurdistan areas (250 houses in the
village of Gurgayee and 250 units in the village of Sheikhan, Altun Kopri),
to be given free to the Arab settlers. The plan is to bring two thousand
Arab families from Mosul to be settled in Kirkuk as part of the continuing
Arabization plan. The Iraqi intelligence arrested Suhaila Hassan Taha  and
Rabiıa  Hama  Hassam, together with members of their families last week, as
a first step for deportation from their homes. They have confiscated two
residential dwellings from two families and turned them into offices of the
Baath Party. The Iraqi officials have begun distributing parcels of land on
the outskirts of Kirkuk to Arab settlers. They are constructing a new
housing complex in Tozkhurmatu to accommodate 200 new Arab settler families.
They have also distributed 250 parcels of land to Arab families in the Zab
district of Haweeja. The Iraqis have armed the new settlers in the Salayee
area in order to turn them to an auxiliary mercenary force for the Iraqi
Army. The Arabs were given a 15-day military training at the Siqizlee
military camp.   Kurdish  Banned in Makhmoor

In a meeting in the city of Makhmoor last week, the Iraqi General Director
of Education of Nineveh (Mosul) informed the educational groups that
henceforth all teaching in Kurdish language shall be banned in the cityıs
schools. The Iraqis have already transferred 75 Kurdish teaches to other
areas and replaced them with Arabs. This step to ban Kurdish is not only
contrary to the basic cultural rights of the Kurdish people but is a breach
of international obligations of the Iraqi state under which it was
established as one independent state by the British Government as the
Mandatory power of the League Nations in 1932.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/15-10-01-ko-irq-takes-30villages
kurdistan.html

*  IRAQ OCCUPIES 30 VILLAGES IN THE BORDER REGION WITH KURDISTAN
 The Kurdistan Observer, 15th Oct ober

 Iraqi forces have moved into several areas inside  the areas under the
control of Kurds in Southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan, a Kurdistan Democratic
Party  (KDP) source told the Arabic newspaper Sharq Al Awsat last Friday.

The source said that Saddam's army occupied the village of Sadawa located 17
Km south  west of Arbil, the capital of KDP-administered Southern Kurdistan,
last week and relocated  30 families of Arab origin into the village.

The source added that the Iraqi government has forced the population of as
many as 30  villages to leave their homes as they faced repeated bombardment
by the Iraqi army.   Subsequently, Arab tribes were moved in by the Iraqi
forces as part of the ethnic cleansing  policy of Iraq.

The KDP has appealed to the world community to interfere and stop the
aggression of Iraqi  forces against Kurds inside the Safe Haven set up by
the Allies.


http://www.washtimes.com/world/20011017-6668442.htm

*  KURDISH PARTIES RELY ON U.S.
By Eli J. Lake
Washington Times (UPI), 17th October

As the Bush administration debates when and if Iraq should be targeted in
the new war against terrorism, both major Kurdish parties in northern Iraq
say they have a security guarantee from the United States should Saddam
Hussein attack. Top Stories

Events in October have placed new importance on earlier written U.S.
guarantees for the Middle East, especially one made over the summer.

"There were concerns about changing the rules of engagement and defense of
the no-fly zone, and this letter allayed these concerns. We were concerned
these things would change because everything was under consideration,"
Hoshyar Zebari, the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) top diplomat, said in
an interview.

In a July 30 letter, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell wrote: "As we have
said before, should Saddam's forces move against the Kurds, it is our policy
that the United States would respond in a strong and sure manner at a time
and place of our choosing."

The letter, addressed to Jalal Talabani, the leader of Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan, and Masud Barzani, the leader of the KDP, was the first formal
security guarantee made to the Kurds by the Bush administration, which is
reviewing all aspects of U.S.-Iraqi policy.

[.....]

Mr. Zebari said the Kurds have pushed for a formal security guarantee from
Mr. Bush for some time.

In June, Saddam massed between 8,000 and 12,000 troops inside the
Kurdish-controlled no fly zone.

"We came to Washington in the end of March as a joint delegation and we
brought a joint letter from Mr. Barzani and Mr. Talabani outlining our main
concerns and requests from the new administration," Mr. Zebari said.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/17-10-01-tdn-tky-concerned-us-kdp.
html

*  TURKEY CONCERNED ON US, IRAQ AND KDP
by Saadet Oruc
Kurdistan Observer, 17th October (from Turkish Daily News, 16th October)

[.....] 

It is noteworthy that the State Minister responsible for customs, Mehmet
Kececiler, has been  complaining about the steps taken by the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) along the  Habour border gate and for ten days the
diesel trade through the  KDP-controlled area was stopped, starting up a few
days ago. 

The additional tax imposed by the KDP was the reason, which made the Turkish
officials  angry, however business circles dealing with diesel trade in the
region claimed there was  Considerable political reason behind the Turkish
anger towards the KDP. 

The political position of the Massoud Barzani-led KDP, which was defined to
be  nationalistic, was the main topic, raising eye brows in Ankara. 

Turkey has never forgotten the potential of a possible transmission between
its  Kurdish origined citizens and the Iraqi Kurds.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/17-10-01-tdn-disagreement-kdp-tky.
html

*  DISAGREEMENT ESCALATES BETWEEN TURKISH MILITARY AND KDP
by Saadet Oruc 
Kurdustan Observer (from Turkish Daily News), 17th October

Military ties between Turkey and the Massoud Barzani-led Kurdistan
Democratic  Party (KDP) forces in northern Iraq, which was initially
established in 1992, is passing  through a period of mutual disagreement,
since the KDP refused to cooperate with the  Turkish military in new cross
border raids in northern Iraq. 

The lack of coordination between the Turkish military and the KDP resulted
with the  death of three members of Turkish Special Forces, two weeks ago,
when a group of  200 special forces members, who were trying to enter
northern Iraq, crossed an area  riddled with land mines close to the Berwari
region, regional sources told the Turkish  Daily News. 

Two soldiers were injured during the same incident. 

As a result of the above mentioned incident, Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)
pulled back  the 200 special forces units and only a liaison official was
left in the region. 

However, TSK deployed land forces on the Turkish side of the border,
replacing  gendarmerie units, sources say. 

Aksam Daily carried out a report on Monday stating that a unit from TSK with
expertise in fighting terrorism, was sent to Silopi and partial alert was
initiated by the  army. 

TSK has a colonel stationed in Northern Iraq. 

Reportedly, since the beginning of the year 2000, TSK have been planning a
cross-border operation in Northern Iraq, for which the KDP was seen to be
reluctant. 

Claiming that there was no need for a crossborder move in the area, the KDP
was  drawing attention to the PKK presence in Iran and the PUK region, which
was  reportedly much more than the PKK elements in the KDP controlled area. 

Between Sept. 20-22, the Turkish commander based in Silopi visited Massoud
Barzani in Salahattin and there has been broad contacts, where the Turkish
commander was informed about developments in the region. 

Back to the year 1992 

For the first time in 1992, which was recorded as the period with intensive
fighting  against the PKK, TSK established links with the KDP. 

In Aug. 1995, during PKK clashes with the KDP, TSK reportedly refrained from
supporting the Iraqi Kurds, according to regional sources. 

But, ties were refreshed in 1996, which have lasted for three years. 

The opposition by KDP to frequent demands from TSK to launch crossborder
raids in  the region opened the first crash in the strong cooperation
between the Turkish Army  and KDP.


http://members.home.net/kurdistanobserver/18-10-01-wt-tky-rushes-troops
kurdistan.html

*  TURKEY RUSHES TROOPS TO IRAQI BORDER 
Kurdistan Observer (from World Tribune) 18th October

ANKARA ‹ Turkey has rushed aircraft, helicopters and thousands of troops to
the Iraqi  border. 

Turkish defense sources as well as Arab diplomats said Ankara has beefed up
forces along  its southern border with Iraq as part of preparations for any
hostility in the region. The  sources said Ankara fears a U.S. attack on
Iraq or a drive by President Saddam Hussein  against the Kurdish autonomous
zone in northern Iraq. 

Turkey has also begun patrols by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters over
northern Iraq in an  effort to monitor the region. The Turkish military has
established camps to accommodate  thousands of additional troops who might
be needed along the front. 

The Turkish sources said air force and army units in the area have been
warned to stay at  their bases and be ready for any contingency. 

Ankara has warned against any U.S. attack on Baghdad. Turkey has tried to
improve  diplomatic and trade relations with the Saddam regime. 

At the same time, Turkish leaders are bracing for the prospect that Iraq
will be the next  target in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. But the
leaders have warned against any attempt  to establish a Kurdish state in
northern Iraq. 

One Turkish minister, Abdul Halouk Shai, has warned that a Kurdish state in
northern Iraq  would spark an immediate response from Ankara. Southeastern
Turkey has a large Kurdish  population. 

The Turkish sources said Ankara has discussed the volatile situation in
northern Iraq with  both Britain and the United States. 

On Tuesday, two Turkish soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in the
eastern portion of the  country. The attack was attributed to Kurdish
insurgents.


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