1.  Kurdish Self-Determination Poses Challenge to Iraq Unity (Boston Globe)
11/14
2.  Young Kurds Not Learning Arabic Poses Challenge to Iraq Unity
(Financial Times) 11/16
3.  Insurgents Turn Attention to Mosul, Attack East Bank Kurds
(Independent) 11/14
4.  US Has No Control of Mosul: Peshmerga Reinforcements Rushed In
(Independent) 11/15
5.  Kirkuk Arabs, Turkmen Oppose Kurdish Political Leadership (IWPR) 11/10
6.  Kurds Displaced in S. Iraq Find Resettlement in Kurdistan Difficult
(IWPR) 11/15
7.  Security Fears to Deter Voters Outside KRG-Controlled Areas (IWPR) 11/15
8.  "Kill a Jew. Kill a Kurd:" Arab Insurgents Increasingly Target Secular
Kurds (Independent) 11/09
9.   Barzani Postpones Taiwan Trip When China Objects (Peyamner.com) 11/10
10. Kirkuk's Kurdish Governor Survives Car Bombing (Xinhua) 11/11
11. KRG Erbil Close to Deal on 24 Planes for Kurdistan Airlines
(Peyamner.com) 11/13
12. Kurds Extend Condolences on Arafat's Death (Peyamner.com) 11/13
13. Ayoub Barzani: Transparency, Reform of Kurdish Political System Needed
(KurdishMedia) 11/14
14. Security Fears Drive Kurdish Students from S. Iraqi Universities (IWPR)
11/15
15. Kurds in Iran Cheer Iraqi Kurd Neighbors' Efforts for Greater Voice
(New York Times) 11/14
16. South Korean Replacement Troops Arrive in Erbil (Korea Times) 11/08
17. South Korean Bank Inaugurated in Erbil (Peyamner.com) 11/09
18. Security Fears Prompt KRG to Block Roads to Korean Base in Erbil
(Chosun Ilbo) 11/15
19. Donkeys Obsolete in Kurdistan: Replaced by Cheap Looted Vehicles (IWPR)
11/15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1) Kurds' separatist ambitions pose challenge to Iraq unity
Boston Globe
By Thanassis Cambanis
November 14, 2004

SAID SADIQ, Iraq -- Brigadier Rahim Mohammed Shakur's allegiance to the
Iraqi Army is about as solid as the faxed sheet of paper he received two
weeks ago, announcing that his Kurdish peshmerga fighters were now regular
Iraqi soldiers, under Baghdad's command.

"I am a Kurd," Shakur, 42, said cheerfully last week, as his tank battalion
trained with 100 Soviet tanks and armored personnel carriers that his
fighters raided from Saddam Hussein's army in April 2003. "If we are ever
attacked, I will stop being a regular Iraqi soldier and become a peshmerga
again."

Iraqi Kurdistan's de facto independence from Baghdad -- and the popular
desire in the three northern provinces to secede from Iraq -- could pose
one of the thorniest problems over the coming year for the ethnic,
religious, and political factions trying to craft a new Iraqi federal
constitution.

The importance of the Kurds is not lost on US officials; on Monday, as
American forces launched the attack on Fallujah, US Ambassador John
Negroponte flew from Baghdad to Sulaymaniyah for a day to ask leaders from
the PUK to commit to a smooth national election process.

As the sole oasis of stability and unwavering support for US policy in
Iraq, the Kurds have made themselves an indispensable linchpin of
Washington's hope to fashion a democratic Iraq. But the Kurds are wary
allies, suspicious that the United States will barter Kurdish autonomy for
the support of Iraq's Arab majority. And public opinion in the Kurdish
provinces leans heavily toward declaring independence: about 1.7 million
people signed a petition in April demanding a popular referendum on
secession, and the independence movement has scheduled another conference
for this week.

"I have no connection to Iraq," said Kharman Khasrow, 21, a history student
at the University of Sulaymaniyah. She does not speak a word of Arabic.

"I've never been to Iraq. I wouldn't even want to go there," she said. When
reminded that the Kurdish provinces are part of Iraq, she smiled and said:
"I am in Kurdistan, not Iraq."

Separatist pushDepending on who is presenting the census figures, Kurds in
Iraq number from 4 million to 7 million. Iraq's total population is about
25 million.

Kurds say 25 million to 40 million of their people live in territory
divided between Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, with the lion's share, about
half, in Turkey. The separatist movement in Iraqi Kurdistan provokes great
anxiety in the neighboring countries, where well-armed Kurdish independence
movements have smoldered for decades.

Iraqi Kurdish leaders fear that separatists will provoke Turkey to send in
troops, as it did in the 1990s when Iraqi Kurdish political parties started
sheltering Kurdish guerrillas from Turkey.

Subjected to a genocidal campaign by Hussein's government, the three
northernmost Kurdish provinces won independence after the 1991 Persian Gulf
War, when the US created a no-fly zone that kept the Iraqi Army away.


Now, many Kurds think any relation with a federal Iraqi government is too
much, and are agitating for Kurdish leaders to annex, by politics or by
force, a belt of cities historically considered part of Kurdistan --
including the flash point of Kirkuk; a series of smaller, Arab-majority
cities running southward from Kirkuk to the Iranian border; and half of
Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and a burgeoning resistance stronghold.

Tensions have flared over the issue before. The Kurdish parties threatened
to withdraw from the new interim government in June because they felt Arab
leaders did not respect Kurdish rights.

Such a move could prove disastrous, fragmenting the government along ethnic
lines and provoking a fight over oil-rich Kirkuk, claimed by both Kurds and
Arabs.

Kurdish politicians are eager to quell such concerns. "We won't occupy any
place, and we won't oblige anyone to join Iraqi Kurdistan," said Nawshirwan
Mustafa, a top official in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, which
controls the eastern half of the Kurdish provinces.

But, he said, Kurds insist that towns and cities be given free choice to
join -- an expansion of the autonomous region that will exacerbate the
concerns of Arab nationalists.

"We want our fair share," Mustafa said. "We want to create a new political
tradition in Iraq, that Kurds are first class citizens."

North vs. south Sheik Sadoon Essa Yousif al-Qasimi, a Sunni Arab tribal
leader from Salahuddin Province, which contains many towns claimed by the
Kurds, thinks they are overrepresented in Baghdad. One of two vice
presidents, the deputy prime minister, and the foreign minister are all Kurds.

"Kurds already control too much of the national government," he said.

Qasimi said he fears that Kurdish autonomy will prompt secession movements
by Shi'ites in the south and Sunnis in central Iraq.

"We cannot allow such splits," he said. "We are one united Iraq."

But such debate in Baghdad ignores a reality obvious to anyone who travels
to Iraqi Kurdistan, the official name for the three northernmost Kurdish
provinces.

A de facto border, known as the Green Line, is guarded by peshmerga instead
of Iraqi police or military. The US military presence, obvious throughout
Iraq, vanishes northeast of the Green Line, where Kurdish forces have
provided security since 1991.

Arabs who cross into Kurdistan must have permission letters or register
with Kurdish security.

Most Kurds who went to school after 1991 never learned Arabic.

Instead of the Iraqi flag, most buildings fly a Kurdish flag, which
replaces the three green stars representing Arab unity with a bright-yellow
sun.

Until a few months ago, Kurdish phones shared England's international dial
code -- a fluke of an underground phone system developed when Kurdistan was
a rebel enclave in Hussein's Iraq.

US officials tiptoe around the issue, referring to the area as "the
northern provinces." Even Hussein freely described the area as Kurdistan.

"People outside Iraq should know there's a huge difference between the
north and south," said Omar Fattah, 52, prime minister of the
PUK-controlled part of Kurdistan.

If violence forces a long postponement of national elections, Fattah said,
the Kurdish provinces would consider holding their own vote for the
Kurdistan Parliament, which was created in 1992.

"I am a Kurd, living within the frame of Iraq," Fattah said. "I live in
Kurdistan. But the big Kurdistan was divided, and I'm in the part clinging
to Iraq."

When Western powers redrew the Middle East's borders after World War I,
territory inhabited by Kurds was split among Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.
Since then, Kurds have fought for autonomy and the idea of a united greater
Kurdistan.

Turkey's bloody war with its Kurds, now in a state of cease-fire, has
claimed about 40,000 lives over two decades. The Turkish government has
vehemently opposed independence for Iraqi Kurds, fearful that formal
secession would provoke more violence among Turkey's separatists.

Indeed, the fear of outside intervention by Turkey or even Iran puts the
biggest damper on the Kurdish secession movement.

"It's only the threat of invasion by the neighboring countries that makes
us willing to accept being part of a federal Iraq," said Karzan Karem, 21,
another student at the University of Sulaymaniyah who supports independence.

A risky futureBasit Hama Gharib, a leader of the Kurdistan Referendum
Movement, said the petition with its 1.7 million signatures would be
presented to American, British, and United Nations officials within the
next month at UN headquarters in New York.

"After the fall of Saddam, the people of Kurdistan became part of Iraq
without being asked," Gharib said.

He acknowledged that a referendum almost certainly would provoke a
political crisis and very likely a war.

"Without a doubt, it is risky," he said. "But you cannot tear the root of
independence from the heart of the people where it is anchored."

At the base of the new Iraqi Army's First Mechanized Infantry, Shakur
proudly presented his troops; they still consider themselves peshmerga, a
Kurdish word that means "he who faces death."

His division actually captured their Russian-made tanks and armored
personnel carriers from Hussein's retreating Army in April 2003.

In his office at the tank base, Shakur has hung two of the most popular
images, visible in virtually every home or office in this part of
Kurdistan. One shows PUK leader Jalal Talabani, standing before the Iraqi
Governing Council last spring, brandishing an Ottoman-era map that shows
the areas of Iraq that were historically part of Kurdistan, including Kirkuk.

The other is a modern-day map of greater Kurdistan, the nightmare of
Ankara, Damascus, and Tehran: It stretches to include vast swaths of
territory populated by Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq.

"We are 40 million, but we have no country," Shakur said. "Iraqi Kurdistan
is small. We want a big country. This is just the beginning, God willing."

Globe correspondent Sa'ad al-Izzi contributed to this report from Baghdad.

---------

2) Kurds should not let language deepen divisions
Financial Times
by Nikolas Gvosdev and Damjan de Krnjevic-Miskovic
16 November 2004

After more than a decade of de facto independence, Iraq's Kurds are
readjusting to living with their Arabic-speaking countrymen. After the Iraq
war, the international community made it clear that a common Iraqi destiny
is the only way forward. There will be no partition of Iraq. To their
credit, Iraq's two main ethnic-Kurdish leaders, Massoud Barzani and Jalal
Talabani, have accepted this reality.

But a disturbing trend has arisen: few young Kurds speak Arabic. Instead,
they learn English as their second language. English may be the lingua
globalica but Arabic remains the lingua regionala. In a generation's time,
most Iraqi Kurds will no longer be able to communicate with their compatriots.

Linguistic separation opens the door for the dissolution of a panoply of
other shared political, social and economic interests. Within a generation,
Iraq's Kurds may see no justification for continuing a political and
economic union with Iraq's Arabic-speaking populations, triggering a crisis
with profound implications for the stability of the greater Middle East.

An event in the mid-1970s in the Balkans illustrates the importance of
finding a way to correct the linguistic challenge facing Iraq. In 1974, the
university of Pristina was established as an independent institution of
higher learning. This meant Kosovo's young Albanian elite no longer had to
go to Belgrade for a college education. They no longer had to communicate
in Yugoslavia's predominant language, and they no longer mixed with future
political and business leaders from other parts of Yugoslavia.

Certainly, the tyrannical policies of Slobodan Milosevic helped advance the
Kosovo crisis and the Albanian dream of self-determination but one cannot
overlook the linguistic separation that helped lay the foundation for
conflict. Finding common solutions to the problems of Kosovo has been made
more difficult as people cannot directly communicate with one another.

And it is not accidental that the rise of the terrorist Kosovo Liberation
Army, which rejected efforts to find a negotiated solution for Kosovo
within the framework of Yugoslavia, coincided with the coming of age of
Kosovo Albanians unable to speak Serbo-Croatian.

Today's Iraq is different from contemporary Serbia and its southern
province of Kosovo but it is indisputable that the loss of a common frame
of reference in a volatile region makes forging a common future a more
difficult enterprise. Consider Cyprus, where 1974 was also a fateful year.
The island was divided as a result of civil war along ethno-linguistic
lines (a southern Greek zone and a northern Turkish one).

In spite of several valiant efforts at reunification, including one by the
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, the two sides remain unable to reconcile.
While the elderly leaders of both sides speak each other's languages, their
successors do not. The likelihood of the island unifying decreases even
further with the passing of this generation.

No one suggests Iraq's Kurds sacrifice their culture for the sake of the
unity of Iraq, as has been the failed Kurdish policy of Iraq's neighbour,
Turkey. But experience tells us forging a common future in states with no
democratic past and a history of conflict is difficult enough even when the
parties share a tongue - witness Bosnia.

Iraq's Kurds might take a lesson from America's Hispanic community, which
retains a thriving Spanish-language culture (the US has the world's fifth
largest Spanish-speaking population) but strongly supports fluency in
English for its members. In some surveys of Latino immigrants, nearly all
indicated they wanted their children to learn to read and write English
"perfectly".

This growing and diverse community of Americans understands that its future
in the US lies in forging a common enterprise with fellow citizens of
different backgrounds. The key to success in the US is the ability to speak
English, the national language.

Iraq's Kurds must understand that fluency in Arabic is not a betrayal of
their culture but a reality in a state where Arabic is the first tongue of
more than 80 per cent of the population. Assigning constitutional status to
the Kurdish language is to be encouraged to the degree that Iraq's Kurds
understand the absolute necessity for them to take part in national life
and the forging of a common destiny.

Not speaking Arabic may be a point of national pride for young Kurds. While
no one suggests that Arab Iraqis have not behaved in a ghastly way towards
Iraq's Kurds, choosing to embrace their resentments and not their interests
is to move forward into Iraq's past. If Iraq's Kurds reject geopolitical
reality, they will relegate themselves to second-class citizenship. They
will have no one to blame but themselves.

Damjan de Krnjevic-Miskovic is a former managing editor at The National
Interest and fellow in European studies at The Nixon Center. Nikolas
Gvosdev is the executive editor of The National Interest and a senior
fellow in security studies at The Nixon Center.

--------

3) Insurgents take fight north and spread fear among Kurds
Independent
By Charles Glass
November 13, 2004

Suleimani - With American forces claiming to have subdued most of Fallujah,
insurgents have moved their rebellion to Iraq's third-largest city, Mosul,
and other cities in the north. In Mosul, they attacked American and Kurdish
positions and Iraqi police.

Yesterday US troops and Iraqi National Guards recaptured some of the police
stations in Mosul that insurgents seized on Thursday. The death of one
American soldier was reported yesterday, and US helicopters mounted several
raids.

But witnesses in Mosul said insurgents were entering the city in truckloads
from Tel Afar and Fallujah. Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Barham Saleh,
said: "In Mosul, we were expecting the terrorists to leave Fallujah and
create a second front. They will open many other fronts."

Sadi Ahmed Piri, a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,
said by phone from Mosul: "They [the insurgents] control eight police
stations. I think you can say 60 per cent of the police are with them."

Insurgents burnt US military vehicles and seized weapons and bullet-proof
vests from police stations. Iraqi interim government sources said the
interior ministry had dismissed Mosul's police chief for not controlling
his men. Rebel tactics in Mosul differed from attacks on police posts in
other parts of Iraq, where they executed police after taking their weapons.
In Mosul, witnesses reported, they allowed police to join the rebellion or
to go home. Kurdish Peshmerga units of the Iraqi National Guard fought to
prevent the mainly Arab insurgents from crossing the river Tigris and
threaten the eastern, Kurdish quarter of the city. Mr Piri and other
Kurdish officials said some insurgents belonged to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's
Tawhid wal Jihad, whom the US said it drove out of Fallujah. He claimed the
rest were former Baath party members.

"The Peshmergas captured five and killed eight," Mr Piri said. "The five
captured did not carry identity cards, so we do not know yet whether they
are Iraqi." The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Saleh, said the rebels were
trying "to destabilise Mosul" and "to prevent elections" scheduled for January.

Insurgents have ignored the curfew imposed by Mosul's governor on
Wednesday, and they were holding many of the positions they captured on
Thursday. Sources in Mosul said the violence has increased tensions among
the city's diverse communities of Arabs, Kurds, Turcomans and Christians.
Many Kurds and Christians have fled the city for refuge in the relative
security of the northern zone of Iraq administered by the two main Kurdish
parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

"We have to be very careful," Mr Saleh said. "The terrorists are determined
to incite civil war through ethnic and sectarian sensitivities." The
Kurdish parties are the main allies - "collaborators", the insurgents say -
of US forces. Many Kurds fear that fighting in Mosul, 250 miles from
Baghdad on the border of the Kurdish autonomous region, could spread to the
Kurdish areas.

Most Kurdish students at Mosul university have left because of the fighting
and intimidation by Arab students and staff. The law student Aso Hashim
told the independent Kurdish daily Hawaliti (Citizen): "I went to Mosul to
study law, but I faced racist treatment from teachers, other students and
the police." He said the atmosphere had changed when he returned to the
university this autumn. "We didn't feel secure. I couldn't even speak with
my Kurdish colleagues in Kurdish."

Many Kurdish students have gone to Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital.
Some Christians are also leaving the city, some to the Kurdish region and
others to Syria. The influx of Iraqi Christians into Syria, diplomats said,
was a contributing factor in making Syria the only country in the region
with a growing Christian population.

The US military said its troops assaulted the southern parts of Mosul on
Friday, and small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades forced two
American Cobra helicopters to make an emergency landing. One soldier was
reported killed.

----------

4) US has lost control of much of Mosul, say officials
Independent
By Charles Glass in Erbil, northern Iraq
15 November 2004

American Marines from Falluja and Iraqi National Guard (ING) battalions
from Kurdish autonomous region have deployed to Mosul to reinforce American
and ING units based in the city, Kurdish and American military officials
said. They said the local security forces had lost control of much of
Mosul, Iraq's third largest city with an estimated population of 1.8
million Arabs, Kurds, Turcomen and Assyrian Christians.

US troops and Iraqi security forces were fighting to retake a police
station overrun by insurgents in the northern city of Mosul, a US military
spokeswoman said on Sunday. Two US soldiers were also wounded in sporadic
fighting in the nearby town of Tal Afar, where insurgents had attacked a
police academy with small arms, she said. Last week, insurgents stormed and
looted at least nine police stations in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city,
stealing weapons, flak jackets and police vehicles.

US Brigadier General Carter Ham, in charge of security in the north, said
on Saturday that all the city's 33 police stations had been secured and the
city of two million was returning to calm, although he expected further
attacks.

Mosul tipped into chaos on Wednesday and Thursday when groups of up to 50
militants took over some neighbourhoods, paraded through the city centre
brandishing their weapons and chased away local police.

"Mosul was about to be lost," Brigadier Anwar Dolan, commander of the ING
brigade in Suleimania in the Kurdish-controlled north, said. "So, the Iraqi
Defence Minister asked for forces from Suleimania, Dihouk and Erbil."
Reports from inside Mosul indicated that insurgents, joined by local
policemen, were patrolling the streets to demonstrate their power in
neighbourhoods of the city's Arab majority. Meanwhile, outside the city,
the American-ING forces were mobilising for what some military officials
promise would be another Falluja-type assault.

"We will be moving in the next day or so in Mosul to restore the rule of
law," announced Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad Allawi. An Iraqi
journalist in Mosul reported that ING troops have retaken two of the six
police stations controlled by the insurgents. Insurgents and American-ING
battalions were each demonstrating their control of different parts of
Mosul in advance of what most observers believe will be a major battle for
the city.

Brigadier Dolan, a veteran Kurdish fighter, blamed Iraqi government forces
based in Mosul for yielding to the insurgents. "I am sure the [Mosul ING]
brigade is not professional. Suleimania and Erbil [Kurdish ING battle
groups sent to Mosul] are veteran Peshmergas." Peshmergas are Kurdish
fighters, some of whom were recently absorbed into the ING. Technically
under the Iraqi defence ministry in Baghdad, they are based in Peshmerga
encampments and answer to Kurdistan's two political leaders - Massoud
Barzani and Jalal Talabani. Iraq's deputy prime minister, the Kurdish
politician Barham Saleh, said he feared that deploying Kurd-only units
against Arab forces in Mosul could lead to an all-out Arab-Kurdish war in Iraq.

Most of Mosul's 400,000 Kurds - nearly a quarter of the population - live
on the east bank of the River Tigris. Insurgents attempted, and failed, to
gain a foothold on the Kurdish side of the river on Thursday. So far, the
Kurds have kept them out of their areas. However, some Kurds have left
Mosul - fearing further attacks by the mainly Arab insurgents. The
insurgents seized large numbers of police weapons on Thursday and Friday,
and the US forces responded with aerial bombardment.

"I personally gave clear instructions to my soldiers to be careful,"
Brigadier Dolan said, "not to send the message that this is a fight between
Kurds and Arabs. There is a danger that the terrorists are trying to create
a war between us and the Arabs."

With more than 30,000 men under arms, the Kurdish autonomous region has the
strongest indigenous force in Iraq. However, deploying them in Arab areas
could increase Arab suspicions of the Kurds and lead to attacks on the
estimated two million Kurds living in non-Kurdish cities like Baghdad and
Mosul. Kurds have already suffered at the hands of insurgents this year,
with many murdered in Baghdad and elsewhere.

The US military said that thirty of its soldiers had died in Fallujah since
the battle began there on 8 November, while another twenty were killed
elsewhere in Iraq during the same period - bringing the total to fifty
American dead in one week. Because Mosul is a much larger city than Falluja
and its Arab populace is showing sympathy for the insurgents, the fighting
there could be more bloody than in Fallujah. Mosul has a history of ethnic
conflict dating back to 1925, when Britain included Mosul province in the
new state of Iraq in 1925 - over Turkish and Kurdish objections. About
24,000 officers in Saddam Hussein's army came from Mosul.

The surge in violence coincided with the US military's full-scale offensive
against an estimated 2,000-3,000 insurgents - foreign fighters, Sunni
Muslim nationalists and loyalists to the former regime - holed up in
Falluja, west of Baghdad.

Military officials say many of the militants there fled before the attack,
and that there has been an increase in violence across towns and cities
throughout the Sunni Muslim belt of the country since.

Bowman said Mosul remained "relatively calm" on Sunday despite the attack
on the police station, and said its governor remained confident the city
was under his control.

Following the attacks last week, the Iraqi government fired Mosul's police
chief and sent national guard reinforcements to boost the security force
presence on the streets.

A battalion sent to help out in Falluja, was deployed back to Mosul last
week to help reestablish control in the city.

"We hated the Baath, not the Arabs," said Brigadier Dolan. "If we deploy,
it is to fight terrorists - not Arabs." Whether the Arabs see their old
Kurdish enemies in those terms is one question the battle for Mosul will
answer.

---------

5) Political Parties Stir Unrest In Kirkuk
Kirkuk's politically-charged graffiti highlights the rising tide of
inter-ethnic tension.
IWPR
By Dana Asaad Muhammed in Kirkuk
November 10, 2004

In a corner of Kirkuk's Turkoman Domeez Quarter, a piece of graffiti in
bold black paint backs an Arab Shiite militia group against the leaders of
the two main Kurdish political parties: No to Jalal, no to Massoud, the
Mahdi Army will Return.

Hisham Hazim lounges near the town's main market, playing with his prayer
beads. He may not have painted on the graffiti, but he agrees with every
word, "As Iraqi Arabs, we used to be the dominant force in Kirkuk and we
could do what we wanted. But since Jalal [Talabani] and Massoud [Barzani]
came, we've been marginalised and now the Kurds are dominant and want to
drive us out. But as long as the Mahdi Army exists, no one can touch us."

The slogans painted on walls in the Kurd and Arab parts of the city may
have different names and factions but the messages of intolerance are the same.

In the Kurdish quarter, the walls are a mix of pro-US slogans and claims
that Kirkuk belongs to Kurdistan. Graffiti in the Arab areas, meanwhile,
curses the Americans and the Kurds.

In the predominantly Turkoman neighbourhood of Tis'een, there are
occasional slogans proclaiming, "Long live Arabs and Turkomens"- mention of
the Kurds is noticeably absent.

Kurdish, Turkoman and Arab inhabitants of Kirkuk had managed to live
together in some degree of harmony for years, but, according to residents,
April marked a turning point in the city's inter-ethnic relations.

"The Kurdish peshmerga forces arrived and basically occupied the city,"
said Muhammed Ara Oghli, a member of the executive council of the Turkoman
National Movement. "Then the situation began to deteriorate. The two main
Kurdish parties, the KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party] and the PUK
[Patriotic Union of Kurdistan] encouraged the pershmurga to loot our
institutions and take their resources to the Kurdish towns of Erbil and
Suleimaniyah."

The Kurds deny these allegations. "The US wouldn't allow Peshmurga into
Kirkuk at the end of the war, so any looting that took place then has
nothing to do with them. Let's face it, there are always instances of
looting and unrest wherever there is instability or a political vacuum,"
said Kamil Salayee, the PUK's representative at the Kikuk Information
Centre. "When the peshmerga arrived, they were actually protecting buildings."

Whatever the truth, the rumour has taken hold in Arab areas of the city.
Abdur-Rahman Street runs through a neighbourhood inhabitated mainly by
Iraqi Arabs settled in Kirkuk by Saddam's regime. Graffiti on a school wall
there reads, Jalal + Massoud = Looters. No one at the school was willing to
talk to IWPR about the slogan.

As well as claims of looting by pershmerga, Kurds are also being accused of
taking over positions of power in the city. An official from the Turkoman
Front, who wanted to remain anonymous, said only Kurdish employees were
being hired by government and financial institutions. "The needs of
Turkoman citizens are being neglected as a result," he claimed.

For Salayee, these allegations at least are easy to concretely disprove.
"All you have to do is look at the figures. There are seven electricity
directorates, five of the directors are Turkomans, one is Arab and the
other is a Kurd who isn't even affiliated to any political party. There are
13 banks in the city, only one is managed by a Kurd. Of the 11,000 staff
members at the oil ministry in Kirkuk, only around 200 are Kurds. Now tell
me where the imbalance is."

For the majority of local residents, it is the political parties themselves
that are to blame for the rise in ethnic tensions. Sirwan Abbas lives in
Tis'een but is an ethnic Kurd. He knows that many of his neighbours claim
the Kurds are trying to oppress them. "I feel that the Turkoman political
parties are behind this. They're looking to gain the support and loyalty of
the Arabs who were settled here," he said.

Ardal Khalid who owns an electricity-spares shop in Tis'een, is an ethnic
Turkomen. He agrees that political agitation has played a large part in the
recent unrest. "All the difficulties have been created by Kurds who aren't
from here. As soon as they leave, things will go back to normal. But mostly
I blame all the different political parties for widening the ethnic
divisions rather than working for the good of the city as a whole," he said.

The political parties, naturally, blame each other for the tensions.
"Before the liberation of Kirkuk there was a good balance here. The problem
lies with the politics of the Kurdish parties - they just have a negative
attitude towards us," said Ali Mahdi, a member of the governorate council
and deputy head of the Turkoman Elley Party.

PUK's Salayee counters, "Of course all ethnic groups have the right to live
in this city. But certain parties are not being very friendly towards the
Kurds. Some of the Turkoman parties are actively trying to destabilise the
situation."

Ya'qoob Al-Amir, an ethnic Arab and head of a pro-peace organisation, wants
to see political leaders taking a more active role in solving the current
problems. But he admits the low-level incitement may already have gone too
far, "The politicians may have started it, but now it's the citizens
themselves who are creating problems when they cross each other on the
streets."

Dana Asaad Muhammed is an IWPR trainee.

-------

6) Displaced Kurds find resettlement in Kurdistan tough
People who moved north to their original homeland to escape intimidation in
the Sunni Arab heartland meet suspicion and indifference.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
By Wirya Hama-Tahir and Amanj Khalil
November 15, 2004

Hundreds of Kurdish families who fled from Iraq's Sunni triangle earlier
this year say they have had a hard time resettling in the northern Kurdish
areas  but they have no plans to go back to towns like Fallujah where they
faced threats from extremists.

Karim Abdul-Rahma is one of many Kurds displaced in the first round of
fighting in the Sunni Arab city of Fallujah in spring 2004.

"When our house in Fallujah was half-destroyed by an insurgent mortar
attack, we packed up and moved to Kurdistan," he told IWPR.

After the family moved north, their eldest son was killed in a car crash as
he followed them north.

Now Abdul-Rahma has no plans to return to his old home in the south.

"We only planned to leave for three months so as to let things settle
down," he explained. "But we won't go back now, no matter what happens.
Even though I can't find a job here, at least we are safe."

Most of the families who have fled Fallujah in the past few months see no
way back because they felt so intimidated there, and plan to stay on in the
Kurdish region.

Said Majid Majeed told IWPR, "We felt completely alienated. After living in
fear of Saddam for 25 years, suddenly we were being threatened by Islamic
militants instead."

Majeed sold his house in Fallujah for less than its market value and bought
a property in the town of Kalar, south of Sulaimaniyah, where he and his
family now intend to stay.

Families like these were originally forced out of their Kurdish homeland by
the Baathists in the Seventies, following the collapse of a long-running
Kurdish revolt. Their homes were confiscated and they were sent to live in
camps around Ramadi and Fallujah.

While most still speak Kurdish and consider themselves true Kurds, they
have received a less than warm welcome since returning to their region of
origin. Instead of greeting them as fellow-Kurds, local people have treated
them with suspicion, addressing them in Arabic rather than Kurdish.

Majeed's wife says the famility have received no help from the local
authorities since they arrived. As it is too dangerous for them to go back
to Fallujah to collect the food rations due to them, they are struggling to
make ends meet.

"My husband can't get a job. Things aren't great here either," she concluded.

Nevertheless, since the Abdul-Rahma and Majeed families have been able to
buy homes, they are in a better position than many other Kurdish refugees
from the Sunni triangle.

Some 26 families who fled Ramadi several months ago are still living in a
makeshift camp on the Banabora plain close to the Iranian border. Living
conditions are poor, and the lack of adequate sanitation leads to frequent
outbreaks of typhoid and diarrhea.

Twelve-year-old Pshtiwan Salih was in sixth grade at a Ramadi primary
school when his family left the town. He has not attended school since he
was displaced to the Kurdish region. "I hate it here," he said. "We live in
tents, we've got no school to go to and we've all been sick. My kidneys
hurt all the time."

One of the adult refugees in the camp, Azim Muhammed, says that while
things may be bad there, the families had no choice but to leave Ramadi,
"We were receiving death threats from Arab extremists there. They said that
we were cooperating with the United States, and that killing a Kurd was the
same as killing an American."

Hamza Muhammed is just 15 and by rights he should be at school, but instead
he travels to the nearby town of Darbandikhan every day to work in the
municipal administration.

"We thought that if we went to Kurdistan our lives would be better. We were
driven out of our homes because we were Kurds, but nobody here wants to
know us," he said.

With no school to go to, many other children spend their days making the
long walk to the Sirwan river to collect water for their families. Two
children from the camp have already drowned in the river while trying to
fill jerry-cans.

Abdulla Garmian, a representative from the Kurdish regional government's
human right ministry in Sulaimaniyah, made it was clear that the priority
was to help survivors of the Anfal  the Baathist regime's genocidal attacks
against the Kurds - and only then would his office turn to the other task
with which it is charged: helping displaced people.

Garmian said the authorities were working with United Nations agencies and
the International Committee of the Red Cross to help some of the refugee
families, but warned, "Our priority is still to deal with people affected
by the Anfal. Once they are taken care of, we will be able to help the
families from Fallujah and Ramadi."

But for Ramadi refugee Muhammed Salih and others in the Banabora camp, that
assistance might come too late.

"If they don't help us soon, the cold and rain are going to make conditions
here even worse. We can't spend the winter living in tents with children
who are already sick," said Salih.

Wirya Hama-Tahir and Amanj Khalil are IWPR trainees.

-----------

7) Fear Grips Potential Voters
As violence increases, more Iraqis unwilling to risk their lives to take
part in the forthcoming election.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
By Sirwan Gharib in Kirkuk
November 15, 2004

A group of men playing dominoes in a café in the troubled northern Iraqi
city of Kirkuk are listening to the news when the presenter interrupts to
announce that a car-bomb has driven into the city governor's motorcade,
injuring five of his bodyguards and 13 bystanders.

The newsflash is followed by an public information announcement from the
Iraqi Election Commission, instructing people to go to registration centers
and add their names to the list of voters taking part in the January ballot
for a national assembly.

Arab restaurant owner Abdullah Taha Khuthayyir snorted in disgust. "If the
government can't protect itself, why should I venture out to a polling
station?" he asked. "I won't sacrifice myself to democracy. If someone
drives a car-bomb into a crowd of waiting voters, this democracy will be no
replacement father for my kids."

For Khuthayyir, news of the attack on the governor's convoy underlines the
impossibility of holding fair elections within the next few months.

"People are afraid of queuing in front of government institutions. Look at
what happened to the guys who were waiting to sign up for the National
Guard here - someone drove a car-bomb into the crowd," he said.

Khuthayyir went on to question the government's inability to protect its
citizens, "If Iyad Alawi could not protect his relatives, who can protect
someone like me?".

With the fighting in Fallujah still ongoing, and violent attacks spiralling
in Mosul and other cities, trying to hold free and fair elections
nationwide looks fraught with difficulties.

While the Allawi government continues to stress the importance of carrying
out elections as close to the January deadline as possible, many ordinary
Iraqis say they don't want to go and register, let alone vote, for fear of
violent attacks by insurgents opposed to the process.

Others believe that even if elections can be held, in the current climate
of instability they will fail to win legitimacy among the public, and will
thus be doomed to failure.

A secondary school student in the northern city of Mosul, who asked to
remain anonymous, says she is taken to school every day by her father, who
fears she will be kidnapped if she goes out alone.

"I'm not going to take part in the election," she adds. "Look what's going
on here in Mosul, look at the chaos.

The only people still talking about elections and democracy are the
officials whose houses are surrounded by concrete blocks and who have
full-time guards to protect their kids."

Many Iraqis, after watching the fighting in Fallujah and explosions in
Baghdad on television and hearing reports of increased tensions in the city
of Mosul, say they have lost faith in the idea of elections.

Asad Hussein Ali left his job as director of the agriculture ministry's
department in the central town of Baquba to stand for election and campaign
full time for the Iraq Communist Party, but he says threats have already
been made against people who intend to run in the municipality ballot, is
due to be held at the same time as the national assembly election.

"After the recent car-bombs in Baquba, people have forgotten about
elections. They are more concerned with their security situation," he said.
"I don't think ordinary people are going to take much part in the vote.
They're too afraid."

While people in the cities of central Iraq look unlikely to vote unless
there is a significant change in the security situation over the next two
months, it's a different picture in the northern region of Kurdistan which
has so far remained largely untouched by insurgent violence.

In the areas which have been under Kurdish control since the region elected
its own parliament in 1992, preparations for elections are more advanced
and the mood more optimistic. The two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdish
Democratic Party, KDP, led by Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani's
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, have already started holding
pre-election meetings and forming alliances.

Dr Noori Talabani, head of Kurdistan's Election High Commission, recently
held a conference in the Kurdish city of Erbil where he talked about the
importance the forthcoming elections have for people in this area.

"The significance of this election lies in the fact that it will determine
how the Iraqi state will be organised and what the relationship between the
region of Kurdistan and the rest of the country will be," he explained.

"The situation in Kurdistan is secure," said Ranj Shukri Tofiq, a student.
"I'm sure there won't be any terror attacks here, and I'll willingly go and
vote."

The Kurdish media is already gearing up for elections, with the region's
largest selling weekly, Hawlati, about to publish the results of an opinion
poll indicating that up to three-quarters of Kurds are prepared to take
part in the election. Given the choice, most say they would vote for
independent candidates.

But in the rest of the country, many feel that holding elections right now
is not in the best interests of the Iraqi people, and fear that competition
among parties in the run-up to the election could lead to further violence,
even civil war.

Salah Saeed, an ethnic Kurd living in Kirkuk, believes elections might only
be feasible only in the Kurdish parts of the city because they are calmer
than the Arab and Turkoman quarters.

He noted widespread apathy among the Arabs about the elections, but added
that this was understandable, "Who can blame them? There have been a lot of
car-bombs in the Arab areas, and they have the right to be afraid and not
risk their lives to vote."

Sirwan Gharib is an IWPR trainee in Sulaimaniyah.

---------

8) Religious Appeals Have Turned Against The Kurds
America failing test of history as offensive compared to terror tactics of
pariah states
By Charles Glass in Suleimania
Indpendent
November 9, 2004

Muslim fundamentalist insurgents seeking to topple the government are holed
up in a conservative city with little sympathy for secularism or pluralism.
They raise the banner of Islam, and they call on the rest of the country to
rise up and expel the oppressors. The government reacts by massing forces
around the city. It demanded that the militants surrender or the city give
them up. If not, the city would be destroyed. Fallujah this week? Yes, but
it was also the Syrian city of Hama in the spring of 1982.

The fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood seized Hama as the first step towards
its goal of a national uprising against the secular Baathist regime. The
Syrian President demanded their surrender. His army shelled the city, and
special forces went in to kill or capture the militants. The Syrians
employed the same strategy that the US is using now. Its tanks and
artillery waited outside the city; they fired on militants and civilians
alike. Its elite units, like the American Marines surrounding Falljuah
today, braced themselves for a bloody battle.

The US condemned Syria for the assault that is believed to have cost 10,000
civilian lives. The Syrian army destroyed the historic centre of Hama, and
it rounded up Muslim rebels for imprisonment or execution. Syria's actions
against Hama came to form part of the American case that Syria was a
terrorist state. Partly because of Hama, Syria is on a list of countries in
the Middle East whose regimes the US wants to change.

Iraq's American-appointed Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, declared a state of
emergency on Sunday to assume powers reminiscent of those wielded by Saddam
Hussein: to break up public gatherings, enter private houses without
warrants and detain people without trial. Perhaps in waging war against the
Iraqis who want to expel the Americans and topple America's chosen Iraqi
leaders, the insurgents have compelled the US and its Iraqi allied regime
to behave like the two Baathist regimes that they believed were so
totalitarian they had to go.

Other Iraqi cities must now fear the use of what The New York Times
correspondent Tom Friedman called "Hama rules" against them. Unrest in the
northern city of Mosul, where relations between its Kurdish and Arab
residents have deteriorated to the point where Arabs on the west bank of
the Tigris and Kurds to the west rarely cross the bridges to each other's
neighbourhoods. Already, because the autonomous Kurds of northern Iraq are
the only ethnic group allied to the US in Iraq, Arabs have begun killing
Kurds. And Kurds are seeking refuge in the Kurdish-controlled northern region.

Mosul was the social base [of the Baath], said the deputy leader of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Noshirwan Ali Moustafa, in Suleimania. "There
were 24,000 military officers from Mosul. The city is very poor. People
went into the army and government service."

With the army disbanded and most of the civil service unemployed, thousands
of young men in Mosul have no work. The insurgents have made strong appeals
to them to change their conditions by expelling the Americans. Religious
appeals have turned against the Kurds.

Residents report that graffiti in Mosul has appeared saying: "Kill a Jew.
Kill a Kurd."

Insurgent forces in Falluja are connected to those already in Mosul, the
interior minister of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's government in the
Kurdish region, Karim Sinjari. Sinjari, said. Abu Musab Zarqawi's
representative in Mosul, a man he called Abu Talha, was actively promoting
attacks on US forces there, he said.

"They [Islamic militants] exist in Fallujah, Baghdad and especially Mosul.
Right now, a majority of the Kurdish Ansar al-Islam people are in Mosul.
 From Mosul, they want to carry out operations in Dohuk and Arbil. They
have carried out two operations against this ministry." Mr Sinjari referred
to two suicide bombings aimed at himself in the past year.

The Iraqi forces with the Americans outside Falluja include Kurds, but the
Kurdish leadership has been careful to avoid sending Kurdish units into
battle against Arabs. They fear a backlash against the estimated two
million Kurds who live in Arab areas such as Baghdad, Mosul and Samarra.

William Polk, who served President John Kennedy in the state department,
wrote recently: "Most Iraqis regard the government as an American puppet.
The idea that America can fashion a local militia to accomplish what its
powerful army cannot do is not policy but fantasy."

--------

9) Barzani trip to Taiwan postponed: Media
Peyamner
November 10, 2004

The Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani postpones his planned trip to
Taipei, Taiwan, due to China's restlessness over the bilateral relations
between the semi-independent Republic of Taiwan and the Kurdistan Regional
Government.

Chawder Weekly reports that the Chinese embassy in Baghdad has expressed
its "unhappiness" over the Prime Minister's trip, urging the Kurdish
leaders to consider the sensitiveness of Taiwan issue for China. According
to the weekly, Mr Barzani has indefinitely postponed his visit out of
regard for the Chinese request.

The One-China policy is the principle that there is one China and both
Mainland China and Taiwan are part of that China. What this exactly means
is somewhat ambiguous, but in practice it means that Taiwan is independent
only internally and can not conduct foregin relations without the approval
of Beijing.

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, visited Taiwan last August, conducting
talks with Taiwanese officials as part of a program to promote friendly
relations and economic assistance. China immediately protested against the
first visit in a letter to the Iraqi Interim Government in Baghdad saying
that "such relations negatively affect the relations between us and both
the Iraqis and the Kurdish people."

-------

10) Iraq's Kirkuk governor survived car bombing
Xinhua
November 11, 2004

BAGHDAD -- The Kurdish governor of Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk
survived assassination when a car bomb exploded Thursday as his convoy
passed by, police said.

The attack took place at about 8:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) in the center of the
oil rich city of Kirkuk, close to the headquarters of the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan (PUK), a leading Kurdish party, the police said.

Kirkuk Governor Abdel-Rahman Mostafa was not hurt in the attack, while one
pedestrian was killed and four others wounded at the Al-Tabaqchali
overpass, some 100 meters from the PUK building, according to witnesses and
hospital officials.

Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, is inhabited with different ethnic
and sectarian groups.

The city has been repeatedly hit by assassinations and attacks on senior
police and political leaders.

------

11) Iraqi Kurdistan to purchase passenger airliners
Peyamner
November 13, 2004

As the promised date for the inauguration of Irbil Airport is approaching,
the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan is close to a completed deal on
purchasing or leasing 24 airliners, the Irbil based weekly Media reports.

According to Media, the airliners, that are set to connect Iraqi Kurdistan
to the outside world, will be purchased in cooperation with "a number" of
Kurdish entrepreneurs.

Mean while the construction of the temporary Irbil Airport has been
completed and the Airport, according to Kurdish officials, is fully
equipped to receive flights from abroad. Reports say that Turkey has giving
green light for a starting of flights from its airports to Iraqi Kurdistan
for 'humanitarian purposes.'

In his last visit to Ankara the Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
indicated that the Kurdish airport would likely be in full swing by the end
of November this year. Sources say that the starting of the airport will be
giving rise to more than 5000 occupations and will have a notable affect on
the financial market in the region. The construction of the permanent
airport in Irbil is set to be completed in three years time, Kurdish
sources say.

--------

12) Kurds extend condolences on Arafat's death
Peyamner
November 13, 2004

Kurdish leaders yesterday sent condolences on the death of the Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat to the acting head of the Palestinian Authority.

"The death of President Arafat in these sensitive times is a great loss,
and at the same time glorious challenges are now ahead of the Palestinian
people towards a just and peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict,"
the Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani writes in his note to his
Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qurai.

The Iraqi Vice President Nouri Shawes (KDP) attended the Arafat funeral
ceremony in Cairo conveying the condolences of both the Iraqis and the
Kurdish people. PUK leader Jalal Talabani writes that the struggles of the
two nations (Kurds and Palestinians) have much in common in terms of
striving towards self-determination and freedom, expressing his "profound
condolences."

Palestinians and the Kurds have not been able to maintain a close relation
despite the notorious fact that both are stateless nations situated in the
Middle East. Palestinians have watched the Kurdish resistance with
scepticism accusing it of being manipulated by colonial powers such as the
US and its regional assistant Israel.

Kurds on the other hand were not happy to see the Palestinian leader become
an ally of their arch-foe Saddam Hussein in mid 80's and helping the Iraqi
troops in crushing the Kurdish intifada, subsequent to the first Gulf War
in 1990.

--------

13) Winds of change in Kurdistan - End of the Law of Silence
KurdishMedia.com
By Ayoub Barzani
14 November 2004

Recently news was leaked by Kurdish media outlets[1] regarding the plenary
session of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) politburo. The leaked
information acknowledged and highlighted that a serious debate took place,
relating to the introduction of a wide range of socio-political and
economic reforms culminating in a reshuffle of the posts in the PUK
politburo. This was reported to include the limitation of the
party-leaders' seemingly unlimited power and unrestricted financial
control. The discussions focused on the abnormality of the PUK management
and the faced challenges, with the focus on turning the PUK into a more
democratic organization that is collective in the decision-making process
and has a greater respect in the principle of accountability.

The doors of debate relating to the Kurdish fate and affairs are closed and
as such the Kurdish public does not know the exact details of this unusual
event. In the current climate, no transparency is allowed by the political
parties and vital events are often leaked rather than told. The enigmatic
manner by which these events are made public, provide clues about the dark
and secretive nature of closed-party workings. Perhaps, opening these doors
should be in the frontier of these aforementioned reforms, which admittedly
are rare in Kurdish political life as well as in the entire region of the
Middle East. The reported event is very significant, and may have positive
consequences on Kurdish political life that is commonly characterized with
stagnation and hypocrisy. [2]

Kurdish political parties, especially the two ruling parties, the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK, do not take into consideration the
right of their people to information. These parties have many fundamental
shortcomings, which hitherto is mainly spared from being exposed to
criticism and accountability. These shortcomings are a great threat to the
normal functioning and development of the Kurdish civil society towards
democracy. More alarming is the long silence observed by the intellectuals,
the political elites, writers and the Kurdish masses, leading to an era
where the dominant law is the "Law of Silence".

Why changes are slow?

The weakness of the intellectuals in Kurdish society is derived in great
part from their own incapacity to unite and form a third political force.
Their lack of kinetic energy has pushed them into a state of introversion,
working in isolation and fearful of the PUK, KDP or ex-PKK critics. To
domesticate intellectuals who disagree with the party line, Kurdish parties
pursue a policy of harassment and financial incentives. It can be argued to
a certain degree that this policy is successful and ironically explains why
Saddam Hussein was successful in applying this method. In addition, the
policies of the occupying governments pay special preference to dealing
with the classical and tribally oriented parties, rather than allowing the
emergence of modern and democratic organizations.

The intellectuals themselves are under threat. To prevent themselves from
becoming marginalized and defamed, their functions need to side with one of
the main political parties. Again reminding us of the strategy of the
Baathist regime against independent intellectuals. The doors of media
outlets are closed to them and only a political party identification is
sufficient to enter the world of intelligentia and mass media. In this
society, a political party owns the state, the media, the armed forces, the
educational systems, financial and economic sources, and just about every
important aspect of life. For those who lack the confidence to confront
conventions it would be difficult to stay as intellectual outside of the
main political parties.

Certain intellectuals have found the party system ideal in keeping a high
profile by utlising media outlets and other party organs. The fact prevails
that the Kurdish society, as it is stated by many political observers, is a
society that has no effective intellectuals and writers. Despite the
monopoly of power exercised by the political parties, an elite group of
intellectuals and writers could take a firm stand against corruption,
nepotism and despotism. However, this can only be achieved with a degree of
sacrifice and potentially also result in a life in exile as political refugees.

Where changes come from?

With this current scenario, the question is how to change and abolish the
"Law of Silence" imposed by authoritarian deeds and who would form the
entities that would work as catalysts for this change.
Changes may come from different sources: from within, from the top to the
base or vice-versa. The changes, which have been brought by the elites,
have different consequences than changes brought by the masses. When a
people revolt, they may destroy all the symbols of the authority and bring
about profound political, socio-economic changes and thus build a new
society. This is synonymous with the Kurdish uprising of spring 1991
against Saddam Hussein's government. Conversely, changes which are
introduced by the elite, can be gradual and spare wide destruction of the
deposed regime's apparatus. In a final scenario, changes may come by mutual
co-operation between the masses and the elite in society.

Presently, there are frequent cases of foreign intervention to accelerate
change. The U.S. and Europe have started imposing changes through military
means, most recently in Afghanistan. Another prime example is the forcible
regime change in Iraq by the U.S. and Great Britain. In other cases,
economic and diplomatic pressures are used for changing or influencing
regimes in the Middle East. Foreign intervention becomes necessary when the
concerned nations are crippled from within and lose the capacity, courage
and desire to fight back their national despots. However, it must not be
forgotten that in most cases change by foreign powers are also responsible
for creating corrupt powers around the world, particularly in the Middle East.

Why hints of change in the PUK?

The inevitable question one would ask is why the demand for change has
manifested itself within the PUK, which control Sulaimani? And subsequently
why these attempted changes have not started within the KDP, which controls
the Badinan province?

The answer may lay in the different historical developments of the
Sulaimani and Badinan provinces. Historically, Sulemani is the effective
cultural centre of South Kurdistan and was the capital of the Baban
principality. During the first half of the19 th century, Sulaimani was the
centre of the two main Sufi orders; Quaderi and Naqshibendi, before it
became the centre of Kurdish nationalism where the first "Independent
Kurdistan Kingdom" was proclaimed. The creation of an "Independent
Kurdistan" was the main demand of Sheikh Mahmoud Berzinji and not autonomy
or federalism. He lead several revolts, in his battle for liberation and
was later injured and taken prisoner by the British occupiers.

The intellectuals from the cities, including those from Kirkuk and Hewler,
were active in introducing new ideas and in the promotion Kurdish
nationalism. Mulla Mustafa himself, the first President of the KDP,
recieved most of his nationalist education from Sulaimani during the years
of exile in1933 -1943. The city's cultural elite, to a great degree, were
free from tribal culture and modern in their political outlook. The Arab
culture could not penetrate the same way it did elsewhere in other parts of
Kurdistan. Currently, the city has its Kurdish schools, colleges and
university, where Kurdish has been the dominant language of education for
many decades. All the inhabitants of the towns and agglomerations
surroundings Sulemani consider the city as their cultural and commercial
capital. This is enforced by the strong economic exchange between the city
and its rural population.

The upheaval of 1991 did start in Betwata but the population of Sulemani
joined it quickly and only then did the revolt spread northwest reaching
Badinan. In another example, the current "Referendum movement" for
self-determination via a plebiscite started two years ago from Sulemani,
and similarly it only spread afterwards to all parts of Southern Kurdistan.

Why changes are slower in the KDP?

Meanwhile, historical developments for the population of Badinan,
representing nearly30 % of the inhabitants of Southern Kurdistan, took a
different shape. Nearly a decade after World War I, the region of Badinan
was cut off from its normal northern cultural sources, namely Botan, Amed
(Diyarbekir) and Riha (Urfa). The dispute on the fate of Mosul Wilayet was
settled between Britain and Turkey in 1925 and as a result, a number of
local tribal chiefs made a decision on behalf of the whole population of
Badinan. In the ensuing period, the Arabic language was chosen as the
language of education and from the1930 s to 1991, the Arabic language was
used in schools in Badinan as in the rest of Iraq.

Moreover, the city of Mosul  which formed the backbone of the disposed
Baathist regime and still remains the fanatic centre for Arab nationalism,
became the centre for economic activities in Badinan. As a result, large
quantities of fruits, vegetables, cereals, tobacco, dairy product, honey
and great amounts of various animal meats found its way to the Mosul
merchants and a mutual economic interest between Mosel and the Aghas in
Badinan developed rapidly. As a result of this, Arab culture found its way
to Badinan. However, this does not mean that the whole intellectual
community in Badinan accepted this cultural concession. Some like the poet
Nalbend, Mela Taha Mayi, Mishekhti (Mela Khali) and Sadik Bahadin Amedi
wrote in Kurmanci and had a popular following.

It is only recently that the children of Badinan have access to education
in their mother tongue. During a visit to Kurdistan in the summer of 1993
by Dr. Ismet Sherif Vanly, a reunion in Duhok was arranged and attended by
an important number of intellectuals. In this meeting the question of
introducing Kurmanci as a language of education was strongly advocated.
This was affirmed by Dr Vanly in loud rhetoric: "How can you abandon the
language of Mele Cizire and of Ahmede Xani? It is time to press for this
fundamental right."

Tribal chiefs in Badinan have been protected, by the successive governments
in Baghdad and the KDP leadership. The latter considers Badinan as its
bastion. Currently the ancient mercenaries and those with such backgrounds
are integrated into the KDP leadership - rank and file. The hybridized KDP
makes changes towards democracy difficult and extremely slow. Indeed,
Saddam's regime encouraged family rule in Kurdistan from his defeat in
Kuwait to the collapse of his regime in 2003. The KDP leadership and
Saddam's regime were prominent for keeping the status quo. Fortunately,
George W. Bush put an end to this "entente cordiale" in2003 .

The strong mutual interest[3] developed between the KDP leadership and
Saddam's regime (1992-2003) needed maintenance and protection from both
sides. Hence, there was a necessity to "curb" Badinan and Hewler
populations from fashioning their national sentiments. The city of Hewler,
the capital of the Kurdistan Provisional Government, was occupied by
Saddam's army in 1996 after the overthrow of the PUK rule in the district,
and subsequently handed over to the KDP leadership.

This is in contrast to the PUK, where the promotion of family from within
is recent and timid, as the social milieu is detribalized and mostly
rejects hereditary process of power transfer. Meanwhile, the propaganda
machine of the KDP is openly enhancing family rule, putting it into the
centre of their strategy by seemingly altering history and memory by
erasing any trace of a dissenting historical parallel with the party as
one. In order to exert this absolute control on collective memory, it was
forbidden to remember and commemorate anything other than this official
memory[4] and thus resulting in the "Law of Silence". In Sulaimani, just
the leader is promoted, but in Badinan the leader and his kin are promoted.
In the PUK-area the leader is prominent, but in KDP-areas it is the
dynasty, which is portrayed in the pictures of the three of party leaders
that are hung in every single party and government office. It is
disappointing and alarming to see that oppressed Kurds depict their
oppressor's method - Saddam's former regime. The party leaders must have
the ability to see the tomorrow and not only today. They must ask
themselves, "Where are the billions of pictures of Saddam, which were on
walls just over a year ago?" In turn they should also ask themselves,
"Where is Saddam's dynasty?"

The KDP Politburo members have been mostly nominated to their posts through
kinship, nepotism and favouritism. Hence the total absence of courage since
no one dares questioning the family rule. Therefore, there is no
possibility of political change from within. One of the present politburo
members told me frankly, "the KDP is the party of Aghas, including
mercenaries, but if I oppose this policy, either I am dead or I have to
leave Kurdistan definitely."

Changes are inevitable

The 1991 upheaval was highly contagious; it spread soon to all parts of
South Kurdistan. In a similar vain to this, let us hope that the looming
and widely anticipated changes within the PUK will also precipitate change
within the KDP politburo. However, if changes do occur, we have to also be
careful that we are not be fooled by the application of cosmetic changes.

No doubt, the population of Hewler and Badinan are longing for democratic
changes, a civilized administration and a real parliament.[5] We hope that
the KDP leadership will have the wisdom and courage for real radical
changes, before it is too late. They must understand that aesthetic changes
are no substitute for letting the civil society breath normally and liberally.

The PUK and the KDP cannot isolate themselves from the advocated positive
changes in the region and around the world, which includes the promotion of
multinational democracies, local democracy, civil society, respect for
human rights, freedom of expression and the independence of the media,
transparency, political accountability and pluralism.

The concept of the "Vanguard party", which was promoted in Iraq by the Arab
Baath Socialist Party and was a depiction of the former socialist bloc, has
been embodied in both the PUK and KDP. One manifestation is that both
parties have governments and no one is prepared to take the challenge of an
election and accept defeat if it comes their way. Both sides would simply
have too much too lose and potentially not much to gain in such an
electoral maneuver.

The changes are inevitable, but it would be more productive if the party
members work within their organizations for long-due changes. The Kurdish
society is certainly weary of current political structure. The daily gossip
and talk are all about party corruptions, thefts and nepotism. Expecting a
rebellion within the public is not a far-fetched reality. However, such a
rebellion would harm the Kurdish cause, and may result in offering a golden
occasion for regional military interferences and re-imposing of rule from
Baghdad once again.

There are fundamental problems in the party and government structure that
the PUK and KDP leaderships must not trivialize. These proposals are the
prelude to the beginning of the end of an era. They must not be reduced
down to aesthetic amendments, as the changes in the PUK would influence the
KDP.

The historical test is for the people of Kurdistan. After much sacrifice
and enormous suffering, the people will no longer accept that party leaders
sign agreements with Baghdad without their consultation. The people shall
not tolerate a despotic rule fuelled by corruption and manipulation.

Footnotes:

1. Hawlati, Kurdish weekly, issue196 , 20 October2004 . See also issue197 ,
27 October2004 , and issue198 , 03 November2004 .

2. Saadulla Abdulla, Another meeting, another news conference, same
nonsense, KurdishMedia.com, 28 October2004 . See also Saadulla Abdulla,
Words alone will not rescue Kirkuk, KurdishMedia.com, 10 October2004 ,
Naser Hafid, "How do we think?", in Kurdish, 10 October2004 , Dr Rebwar
Fatah, Kurds cannot be a people in the Iraqi Interim Constitution, In
Kurdish, Peyamner.com, 22 October2004 , Dr Rebwar Fatah, The first session
of the Iraqi Transition Council breaches the Transitional Law of
Administration, KurdishMedia.com, 09 September 2004 and Dr Rebwar Fatah,
The spy affair: Kurds cannot move forward until Kurdish parties come clean,
KurdishMedia.com, 19 November2003 .

3. Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, Page141 , Simon& Schuster,2004

4. See Kurdish Resistance to Occupation (1914-1958) in Arabic: (This book
is banned from distribution in the parts of Kurdistan controlled by the KDP)

5. Dr Fereydun Hilmi, Parliamentary democracy and elections,20 June2004 ,
KurdishMedia.com. See also Dr Fereydun Hilmi, The Bullet Box,
KurdishMedia.com, 28 October 2004 and Rauf Naqishbendi, National election
in Iraq: A meaningless waste, 10 November2004 , KurdishMedia.com.

6. Presently, a group of Kurds are about finalizing a program for deep
changes, presenting it to the public opinion in Kurdistan, to the
intellectuals at home and in Diaspora, to political forces in Kurdistan and
to the attention of USA and British governments, who are presently the real
authority in Kurdistan and Iraq.

-------

14) Kurdish Students Fear for Safety
Studying at Iraq's universities no longer viewed as a good career move.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
By Ayob Kareem in Sulaimaniyah
November 15, 2004

The deteriorating security situation in central and southern areas of Iraq
has led to many Kurdish students transferring to universities inside Iraqi
Kurdistan following a series of threats.

As a result of these worries, the Kurdistan higher education ministry
recently issued a decree allowing students who had graduated from any of
the region's high schools to transfer back to local universities.

After the fall of the Baath regime in April 2003, the Kurdish and Iraqi
higher education ministries had passed a bill assigning five per cent of
places at central and southern universities to Kurdish students, with the
same percentage set aside for Arab students who wished to study in Iraqi
Kurdistan.

As a result, almost 4,000 Kurdish students applied for and were given
places at Iraqi universities for the academic year 2003/2004.

However, the deteriorating security situation has resulted in just 186
applicants this year. And while some students did return south to continue
their studies when classes restarted in October, a significant number chose
to take a year out instead.

Goran Hama Qadir is a Kurdish law student studying at Tikrit University in
the Salahadeen governorate north of Baghdad, an area known to be a
stronghold of Saddam Hussein's relatives and supporters.

"Tikrit is a hot spot, but fortunately I haven't been burned yet," he said.
"I'm always slightly afraid of the hatred the Arabs show towards the Kurds.
They keep saying [we] had a share in Saddam's downfall."

Qadir has been back at Tikrit University for two months but now wants to
postpone the rest of his studies this year, "Whenever I come back to
Kurdistan at weekends, my family asks me to hold off for a year, until
things settle down."

Safar Sayid Ali was studying Arabic at Baghdad University, but decided to
leave after a letter appeared on the college noticeboard describing Kurdish
students as American and Israeli agents who should be beheaded.

"We weren't safe anywhere," he said. "The place we were living in was a
target for the Americans while the Baathist groups were threatening us at
school and in the streets."

Tara Omer, director of the registrar's office at Sulaimaniyah University,
told IWPR, "We don't have final figures of how many students are taking up
this offer, because it's an ongoing process. But so far around 300 students
have transferred."

Students who have transferred their courses said they were delighted with
the decision. "I've finished with Baghdad," said Rako Abdulqadir, who had
been studying medicine there. "Our lives were in danger."

However, not all ethnic Kurds are able to take advantage of the offer. Dyar
Hasan, a medical student at Anbar University in the western Iraqi
governorate of Al-Anbar, grew up in Khanaqeen district which now lies
outside the Green Line and technically belongs to the eastern Iraqi
governorate of Dyala.

He hasn't been to classes since term began because of the security
situation in the governorate. "If Sulaimaniyah University doesn't accept
me, I will postpone this year," he told IWPR. "My father would rather I was
at home doing nothing than putting myself in danger."

Dyar has yet to hear if his application has been accepted, but says he
doesn't want to go back and study with the Arabs he grew up with. "I want
to stay near my compatriot Kurds in my homeland," he said.

Ayob Kareem is an IWPR trainee in Sulaimaniyah.

-------


15) Kurds in Iran Cheer Iraqi Neighbors' Efforts for Greater Voice
By NAZILA FATHI
New York Times
November 14, 2004

TEHRAN, Nov. 13 - Iran's six million Kurds are avidly following events
across the border in Iraq, hoping that the Kurds there will blaze a trail
to greater freedoms that can be duplicated in Iran.

But lately, the Iranian Kurds are discouraged.

Their hope was that in Iraq, Kurds would build on the autonomy they had
established for all practical purposes since 1991, when routine British and
American flights over Iraq kept Saddam Hussein from ruling, and
mistreating, the Kurdish region.

Iranian Kurds were jubilant when their brethren across the border won
rights in the interim Iraqi constitution recognizing the autonomy of the
Kurdish region and granting the Kurds extraordinary powers to protect it.

But now they fear that those powers will be ignored, as the interim Iraqi
leaders talk of that constitution applying only until national elections
are held. Further, the appointment of non-Kurdish Iraqis as prime minister
and president raised fears that Kurds would once again become marginalized.

"The population of Kurds is much smaller than the Sunnis and Shiites in
Iraq," said Tofiq Rafiee, the editor of Sirvan, a leading Kurdish journal.
"Without the right to veto, Kurds can never make any changes to improve the
situation for themselves," he said, referring to the Kurdish veto right
that is part of the current constitution.

Sirvan reported in September that the current arrangement, in which Kurds
serve as vice president and deputy prime minister, was similar to what Mr.
Hussein granted Kurds 20 years ago and was not what the Kurds were
expecting today.

Iran's Kurds, who reside mostly in the northwestern parts of the country,
near Iran's borders with Iraq and Turkey, were hoping for a spillover
effect if the Iraqi Kurds gained greater powers.

Although the Iranian Constitution recognizes the Kurds as a minority, the
government has long treated them as second-class citizens. Unlike the
majority of Iranians, who are Shiite Muslims, most of the Kurds are Sunnis.

They have been barred from teaching the Kurdish language at schools or
publishing their literature freely. They complain that they face
discrimination in employment and university admissions. Kurdish provinces
are among the least developed regions in the country, and the Kurds have
been discouraged from forming their own political parties.

After 1991, Iranian and Iraqi Kurds increased their contacts. They
exchanged political and cultural journals, and professors from Iran taught
at the four universities in Kurdish areas in Iraq.

"The situation in the two regions affects one another," said Jalal
Jalalizadeh, a Kurd who is a former member of Parliament. "Iranians compare
themselves with the Kurds of Iraq. When their situation improves they also
struggle for more rights."

Mr. Jalalizadeh said that when Iranian Kurds learned about the rights
granted to Iraqi Kurds in the interim constitution they demanded a more
active political role. "They want to be able to have their own independent
TV, teach the Kurdish language at schools and have representation in the
government," he said.

Kurds on the two sides of the border speak the same language and share the
same faith. Marriage between Iranian and Iraqi Kurds is common, and a
Kurdish satellite television channel has increased communication between them.

Iranian Kurds celebrated for several days in March after the Iraqi interim
constitution granted Kurds the right to form a government. However, the
Iranian government put down the celebrations and arrested nearly 100 people
when the events turned into riots. In a sign of solidarity, the Iranians
held mourning ceremonies when several Kurdish officials were killed in a
bombing in Erbil, Iraq, in February, Sirvan reported.

Iranian Kurds have not sought full independence since the 1979 Islamic
revolution, which was followed by a period of fighting with the government,
but they have demanded greater autonomy, democracy and freedom.

They refer to their historical and cultural ties with Persian Iranians and
say their Iranian identity is as important as their Kurdish identity. The
Kurdish language is close to Farsi, the main language spoken in Iran, and
Kurds say they were the founders of the civilization where Iran is today.

They took part in the political process along with other Iranians, and
voted overwhelmingly for President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist, in 1997
in the hope of achieving more democracy.

Reformist Kurdish members of Parliament, who were elected after the brief
period of political openness after Mr. Khatami's election, formed a Kurdish
bloc in Parliament and managed to win a fivefold increase in the budget for
their part of the country. One member spoke in the Kurdish language for the
first time in Parliament, and the language will be taught for the first
time at universities in Kurdish areas this year.

However, the Iranian Kurds feel marginalized again, after Kurdish
candidates, along with other reformists, were removed by a hard-line
watchdog council before the last parliamentary elections. With many
reformers prevented from running and voters angry that the pro-reform
Parliament was able to achieve so little, hard-liners recaptured Parliament
again this year.


--------

16) Zaytun's Replacements Arrive in Irbil
Korea Times
By Yoon Won-sup
November 8, 2004

A group of 480 personnel safely arrived in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil
to replace some of South Korea's contingent there, military officials said
Tuesday.

The newcomers will replace soldiers transferred from the Seohui and Jema
units, which had operated in the southern Iraqi region of Nasiriyah for
several months from April this year.

The replacements arrived in two batches in late October and early November,
according to the officials.

The Iraq-bound soldiers, trained at a special camp for adaptation to Iraq's
desert climate, was moved to the Middle Eastern country by C-130 military
aircraft.

The Defense Ministry said the Zaytun unit was continuing its mission under
unchanged circumstances despite the Iraqi interim government's declaration
of a state of emergency as it does not apply to the Kurdish region in
northern Iraq.

``However, we ordered the service members of the unit not to leave the base
due to security concerns,'' an official at the ministry said. ``To counter
any possible attack on the Zaytun unit, the local government of Irbil is
mobilizing all available means to collect intelligence regarding
insurgents' activities.''

About 310 army engineers and medics who had completed their six-month
mission in Nasiriyah and Irbil returned home last Friday.

Tomorrow marks the 100th day since the start of the South Korean
contingent's deployment in Iraq since it secretly began leaving for Irbil
in early August.

The 2,800-strong unit has so far concentrated on building base facilities
before directly helping reconstruction in the war-torn country.

The unit is generally considered to have performed well until now despite
mounting concerns over security.

However, the worsening security situation in Iraq is emerging as a
stumbling block to the unit's efforts in rehabilitation projects.

The current terrorist threats in Iraq have delayed the unit's mission of
reconstruction, including the repair of damaged houses, which was supposed
to have taken place early this month.

The ministry said the Zaytun unit exchanges all information relating to
possible terror attacks with the Kurdish Regional Government, adding there
is no evidence that any terrorists are targeting the contingent.

The Zaytun unit is currently only allowed to conduct its mission in Iraq
until the end of December, although the National Assembly is expected to
pass a bill extending the deadline into next year.

-------

17) South Korean bank inaugurated in Irbil
Peyamner
November 9, 2004


IRBIL, Kurdistan- Amidst escalating of violence and the declared Martial
Law throughout Iraq, except for the Kurdish region in the north, the Korean
Bank opened its first subdivision in Iraqi Kurdistan on Monday.

Officials here said that the opening of a foreign bank in the Kurdish
capital is "yet another step" towards stimulating the economy in the region
as well as in Iraq. There were no details as to how the bank would operate
or what its function would be.

"The Kurdish region by virtue of its stability and peacefulness could
become an invigorating gateway for exciting the economy in the whole of
Iraq," Serkis Agacan, the Kurdish deputy Prime Minister said in the
inauguration ceremony who was also attended by high South Korean military
commanders.

The decision of the inauguration followed the four-day visit of the South
Korean Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung to Iraq last week in which he held
meetings with both Kurdish as well as Iraqi top officials.

South Korea has 2,800 soldiers in the Kurdish-controlled autonomous town of
Irbil, making it the third-largest contributor to the U.S.-led coalition
after the U.S. and Britain.

Speaking to the reporters, back in Seoul, Mr Kwang-ung ruled out the
possibility of South Korean troops being involved in combat or public
security missions in Iraqi Kurdistan, in his words, "considering the safe
security conditions of the Kurdish-autonomous region."

"About 40,000 regional police and civilian militias have been maintaining
full security," said the Minister, who recently visited the South Korean
military camp. The Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the Kurdish
officials in Irbil on Friday called for an extension of South Korean troop
deployment in Iraqi Kurdistan. The South Korean contingent, dubbed the
Zaytun ("olive" ) Unit, is only authorized to stay in Iraqi Kurdistan until
the end of this year.

-----

18) Kurdish Government blocks roads to Korean base
Chosun Ilbo
by Yu Yong-won
November 15, 2004

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has begun operations to close down
routes from Mosul to Irbil, where the Korean Zaytun Division is based, out
of concern that resistance forces might try to infiltrate the area as U.S.
troops mop up insurgent forces in the region around Fallujah.

An official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, "The measure was
taken as it appears resistance forces have left Fallujah, which recently
fell to the U.S. military, and re-assembled in Mosul. If Mosul were to
receive a fresh U.S. assault, it could threaten Irbil, which is only 45
minutes by car from Mosul."

The official said the KRG had mobilized armed militia and police and set up
temporary road blocks along National Road 2 and other major roads between
Mosul and Irbil, strengthening security checks of vehicles and persons.

He said, "We're maintaining our force protection level at 'amber,' but we
are strengthening our surveillance and patrols like bolstering the division
command room, which operates 24 hours a day, in preparation for contingencies.

On Sunday, the day after the U.S. military declared it had completely
occupied Fallujah, the security situation in Mosul began to deteriorate,
with resistance forces attacking a police station, killing at least six
soldiers and wounding three others.

-----

19) Donkeys Put Out to Grass
Beasts of burden face uncertain future after owners replace them with cheap
stolen cars.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
By Hazim al-Sharaa in Baghdad
November 15, 2004

One unlikely side-effect of the downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime has
been the sad fate of Iraq's hard-working donkeys.

These beasts of burden once commanded the same price and prestige as a good
second-hand car, but their value has dropped dramatically after the
overthrow of Saddam led to an influx of used and stolen vehicles into Iraq.

For years strictly a luxury item, cars were suddenly affordable to the masses.

In northern Iraq, donkeys once commanded a price tag of around 300 US
dollars, but many have now been abandoned.

A good number can be found grazing at the side of the Kirkuk to Sulymania
highway. Some of these strays - who are affectionately known as "Abu Sabr"
or father of patience in Iraq - have been killed after wandering into the
heavily-mined hills and valleys of Kurdistan in search of food.

In Sulaimaniyah, horse- and donkey-drawn carts have become a thing of the
past. Instead, locals buy cheap vehicles  many former government cars
stolen in Baghdad and driven north  from the makeshift car auctions that
have sprung up on the outskirts of the city.

Ahmed Salih, from the village of Sarkent near Shoorbache on the Iranian
border, told IWPR that donkeys had been invaluable during the time of
Saddam's sanctions, which led to a fuel shortage. "Wood from the mountains
was our only means of cooking and heating. Because we relied on donkeys so
much, the price for each animal rose sharply," he explained.

The animals aren't entirely redundant, however. "There are still some
places that cars cannot get to and so we use donkeys and horses, especially
now that you can buy a donkey for only two dollars," he continued.

Many smugglers who live and work in the Kurdish mountains still prefer to
stick to the more traditional modes of transport.

"Horses are fine," said Bakr Hassan, sitting on his doorstep in the shade
of an immense satellite dish. "They're fast and carry heavy loads."

Hassan told IWPR that they can change hands for as much as 1,500 dollars.

Further north, in the hills of Qash Mach, smugglers were leading a convoy
of horses loaded with crates of beer towards the Iranian border.

Kareem Jamali, a 19-year-old Iranian Kurd, said he had bought his horse for
400 dollars. "He can follow the trails without me so I don't get arrested,"
he said proudly. "It's common practice."

But villagers and shepherds can hardly wait to abandon their animals in
favour of a new set of wheels.

On the Malka Awa pass in the Azmar mountains, shepherd Abdool Haj Ahmed was
making slow progress along the road with his sheep, in the company of a
donkey laden with his belongings.

He has tried to get rid of his donkey a number of times, he said, but the
loyal animal won't take the hint.
"If you want my donkey, I'll give you him for free," he said. "I've left
him more than once, but he always comes back to me."

Ahmed planned to buy a looted car when he reached the town of Shahrazoore,
leaving his former constant companion to an uncertain fate by the side of
the road.

Hazim al-Sharaa is an IWPR trainee.

#############################
Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI)

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