Welcome to this week's edition of Kurdistance, where we will roam the world over to see what the Kurds are discussing.
Diaspora News
Most of the Kurdish bloggers are Diaspora, but this week we are going to look at the areas in which they are talking about. Vladimir, who writes for From Holland to Kurdistan, talks about the latest Kurdish Hollywood news from the new film by Hiner Salem, the further success of the film “David and Layla” (described as the Kurdish version of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’), Kurdish director Zulli Aladag receiving the “Golden Camera” award, to the making of a new film called Peshmerga:
In other news, it’s confirmed that the movie about Mulla Mustafa Barzani will be named “Peshmerga”. The Kurdish director will be Ali Bedirxan, who resides in Egypt. And the Arabic and Kurdish media reported that it’s a joint venture between Hollywood and Egypt cinema.
Iraqi Kurdistan News
Iraqi Kurdistan writes about the involvement of the Turkish government in the affairs of Kirkuk:
The Turk does not hide their hatred and hostility to any thing concerning Kurds, even if those Kurds were not from Turkey but from Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turks are financially and logistically supporting the Turkmen Front, which is an organisation founded and funded by Turkish intelligence agencies among Iraqi Turkmen and encouraging them to make an unholy alliance with Sunni insurgents and remnants of Saddam in Kirkuk. There has been recently reports about even increasing involvement of Turkey in the internal affairs of Iraq by increasing financial support to its stooges in Kirkuk among overt threats of military intervention in Iraq if the people of Kirkuk decided to join Iraqi Kurdistan federal region.The Turks might be stupid enough to indulge in such a blunder which no doubtedly will draw Turkey into a conflict which could end up by destruction of Turkish economy and death of thousands of Turks in Iraq and which might cause disintegration of Turkey as one state, if the Kurds of Turkish part of Kurdistan decided to support their brethern in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes writes about the alarming increase of Iranian influence in Iraq:
Iranian influence is more than what I personally expected to be now, I thought the sandwich situation for them [US controlling both Afghanistan and Iraq] will be the worst scenario the Iranian Mollahs might have ever dreamt. But at a time when it is reported that the only world superpower is living its weakest level of superiority’ of course the situation is different for Tehran. Yes many of them are killed in the daily attacks in Baghdad and other places but the fact is that any nation who sheds blood will achieve more in a longer term. In deed shiism started with bloodshed!
Will the rise of Shiisim in Iraq be worse than the sectarian violence?
Hiwa also writes about the continued trials of Saddam supporters, trials which get little media attention, despite the horrors they reveal:
Did you hear, know, read or see anything about Saddam's aids’ trial on Anfal today? In which Chemical Ali made very very serious admissions?
I think the only channels which had headlines about it was the Kurdish TVs which mention it just like a repetative program from which the managers are bored to broadcast. However, today Ali said: “the 1975 which they [kurdish lawyer] call it a defeat, for us was a deal and Allah Bless the two countries who did it” and that he killed, beheaded and executed people without even questioning.
He also accepted that he ordered that Kurdish houses, orchards and even trees to be cut. When asked what was the policy you were implementing, he proudly said: “to end them, I volunteered to do it and I will do it again if I were to”
Iranian Kurdistan News
Kirmasan gives a wonderful explanation of the lack of public utilities that the Kurds of Eastern Kurdistan have and the problems that this situation creates:
Anyone familiar with Kurdistan will understand that the mountainous region is home to cold winters and heavy snow fall. As a result of these energy cuts, many people have suffered and sources inside Eastern Kurdistan have said that at least three children have died as a result of the cold. Sad but no surprise. Kurdish families suffered the same fate last year. However, the people of Kurdistan and Seqiz, in particular, were hopeful that this year they would have a more comfortable winter than last after Ahmadinejad visited the region and promised that shortages would not happen again.
There have been few large scale protests in Eastern Kurdistan against the IRI in the past six months. Recently however, the city of Seqiz rattled as protestors were met by hostile agents of the Islamic Republic. Protests began following the energy cuts, which resulted in no heat being provided to the people of Seqiz, as well as the neighboring towns and villages. After a series of unjust arrests, the city and region became more restless. The people began rioting and broke windows of any government-owned buildings and set the governor's house ablaze.
Kurdish Aspect writes about the increase of court cases being brought up against Kurdish authors in Iran, and the disappointment of the scarcity of support by Kurdish authorities for these authors:
Failure to act will only add to the suspicion that the Kurdish authorities may want to walk the same cheap and dirty line of the majority of Islamic governments who allow some free reign to Islamic terrorism to clear liberals, as long as these terrorist do not challenge the governmental authorities. This in effect will mean that our country will be doomed like all other benighted Islamic countries to decades of underdevelopment and human right abuses and extremism. It is not right that tens of our writers be killed or forced into silence or exile because of the primitive Islamic terrorism. Our liberals, because of the Islamic terrorism, are have no country of their own.
Turkish Kurdistan News
Mizgin from Rasti writes this week about recent Turkish government statements concerning Turkish involvement in Iraq, or rather Turkish involvement with the Kirkuk situation in Northern Iraq:
The Washington Times’ resident Kurdish “expert” has a column out today to let us know that Abdullah Gul is going to tell Condoleeza Rice just how bad the situation in Iraq has become . . . as if she didn't know. I mean, they all know; they just refuse to admit it publicly.
Poor Gul! He has to make the case that “Turkey is trying desperately not to be pulled into the war” in Iraq which, of course, is absurd. If Turkey doesn't want to be pulled into the war, don't be pulled into the war. That was Turkey's choice in 2003, when the US was desperately trying to pull Turkey into the war with billions of dollars in bribes, so Turkey can choose not to become involved in the war again.
It would probably help Turkey not to be involved if it would remove all of its MIT agents, JITEM agents, and mercenaries from South Kurdistan, but then it would not be able to easily manufacture an environment that could properly be used as an excuse to annex the Mosul Vilayet–and all of its lucrative oil–plus extend its magnificent human rights record to the Kurds of the South.
The Syrian ambassador to the US is quoted as agreeing that a break up of Iraq would be “catastrophic.” It should be noted that Syrians are keen Kurd-killers themselves, so getting the opinion of the Syrian ambassador is like getting another fox to help guard the hen house.
And also from Rasti, a comment on the “holey socks” of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on his recent trip to Turkey:
This is the guy who went ballistic when Turkey refused to join the Coalition of the Willing back in 2003. This is the guy who was throwing billions–yes, billions–of dollars down on the table as a bribe to the Turks so that they'd join the Coalition, but the guy is too cheap to buy new socks. Now the Turkish Sock Industrialists’ Association is going to send him twelve pairs of socks and–yes–that was the article from which TDN removed the picture of Wolfowitz and his socks.
Not only was this a Kodak moment, it was a bigtime point-and-giggle moment as well, and it just goes to show you that you can be a tightwad with no capability for foresight and be appointed to head the World Bank.
Geez . . . I don't even want to think about the condition of his underwear.
Syrian Kurdistan News
Alas, there is no news coming out of Syrian Kurdistan, this is partly due to the Kurds in that region have to fight for very different things. While other Kurdish groups talk of freedom and governance, the Syrian Kurds fight simply to live. If any of our readers know of some good sources for blogs or info/news on this subject, please leave me a comment.