After a month's hiatus, Kurdistance is back up and running…and attempting to pick up the pieces of Kurdish opinion floating out there in the blogosphere. The big issues this month have been the Saddam Hussein verdict, the US in Iraq, and the flooding in Northern Kurdistan/Southeast Turkey.
The Saddam Verdict: covered around the world [1] and here on Global Voices [2], the Kurdish reaction to the Saddam Verdict has been muted at best. The primary question posed by Kurds is not whether Saddam Hussein should die, but rather if his death will really give the Kurdish people the closure that they need. Iraqi Kurdistan [3] refers to the judgment as “fair and just” [4]. Rasti [5] is disappointed that the death sentence might be carried out before the end of the second trial: the Anfal genocide campaign against the Kurds. Mizgin believes that all of the evidence of Saddam's atrocities need to be brought to light and she suspects that the United States will push for a quick execution [6] before US involvement in the Anfal campaign comes to the forefront of media attention.
So the Americans, for the sake of their own interests, are planning on dropping Saddam from the gallows before he drops a dime on them. In other words, it's much safer for the US and the rest of the international community that Saddam be dispatched before evidence of wholehearted support for him sees the light of day in an Iraqi courtroom.
Hiwa's [7] viewpoint strikes me as the most poignant, he states that the verdict ‘doesn't really mean that much’ [8]because the trial really reflects on the new Iraqi government and the future that it is trying to create.
I have always been against the way the trial was conducted, the way it was published, the way Saddam was faced with the allegations! I must say I cannot suddenly say I liked the decision etc etc just because I hate the guy and I believe he deserves death!
Are we talking about a Trial, or what he deserves? Are we talking about proving to be guilty while he is innocent or not? If it is the latter then Saddam is still innocent because he still have the chance of an appeal! …..
I think the tribunal needs to do much more, while the new but wobbling Iraqi government has to prove that they can deal with present fugitives as well as past ones! We have a saying in Kurdish that stresses the importance of the current stuff not the past stuff, so its easy now that almost all 6 Billion population of the globe is against Saddam to sentence him to death without much fact finding and delivering justice NOT only to the perpetrators but ALSO to the victims! It is equaly important for the supposedly elected Iraqi government to show that they are able to deal with the current situation and they will account for what happened in the past, otherwise what is the REAL benefit of dealign with the past while the present is unsafe and the future is not known!
Violence in Iraq is another hot topic in the Kurdish blogosphere. Bilal Wahab from Better Kurdistan and Iraq [9] places a transcript of a recent interview he did about the current violence in Iraq [10]. Roj Bash! [11] details a kidnapping attempt while in Southern Kurdistan/Northern Iraq [12].
However the news about Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan is not all bad, Pearls of Iraq [13] gives us an update on her book drive to benefit Kurdish schoolchildren. [14]
While the world talked about Saddam Southeast Turkey/Northern Kurdistan was hit with heavy rain and flooding. The devestation has been widespread due to lack of proper infrastructure in the area; and sadly, serves as the most under-reported event in the Kurdish blogosphere. Vladimir for From Holland to Kurdistan [15] gives us all of the details, including video. [16]