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Iraq
Kurds demand Kirkuk
2003-12-23
Thousands of Iraqi Kurds gathered in Kirkuk on Monday to demand inclusion of the northern oil centre in a future autonomous Kurdish region. "Kirkuk, Kirkuk, heart of Kurdistan," they chanted in the city centre. "We demand federalism for Kurdistan".
Bet that tightens the Turkmen turbans. Not to mention the local Sunnis...
It was the biggest demonstration in Kirkuk since the Baath regime fell on 9 April. Kirkuk lies south of the three provinces ruled by Kurdish rebel factions in defiance of Saddam Hussein and is populated with Arabs and Turkmen as well as Kurds. Protesters waved the red white and green Kurdish flag, which bears a yellow sun in the middle, but no Iraqi flags were on show. A giant US flag was also unfurled. The demonstration was split along party lines between the two main former rebel factions - the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Masud Barzani, a prominent Kurdish member of Iraq's interim Governing Council, has said the Kurds are claiming the Kirkuk region as a historical right and not for its oil riches. "The Kurds are not claiming Kirkuk because the region is rich in oil... but because its towns and villages are important in Kurdish history and are situated within the geographical borders and administrations of Kurdistan," Barzani told Al-Takhi newspaper, mouthpiece of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which he heads.
"The fact that it's rich in oil doesn't hurt, of course..."
"The Kurdish people consider a federal system as the best solution to our problem, and any future government should not repeat the mistakes committed by former Iraqi governments and should not ignore the will of the Kurdish people," he said. "After 12 years of autonomy, the Kurds will never accept less than the areas they already control and hope for other regions of Kurdistan, which before the liberation of Iraq was subjected to demographic changes," added Barzani.
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#14  I wonder if they could get around to stuffing Murat into a hole so someone could find him if anyone would want to.
Posted by: buzzard   2003-12-23 1:19:50 PM  

#13  Murat:

I merely wished to point out that the Kurds have as much to say about the future of Kirkuk as anyone else that lives there. I read your comment as implying that the Kurds had no place in the conversation. If that was a misreading, my bad.
Posted by: Mike   2003-12-23 11:10:25 AM  

#12  C'mon, Murat, stop being a coward. Where's the evidence you said you had?
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-12-23 11:01:22 AM  

#11  Mike, true, so are the Arabs, Turkmen and the rest of the minorities too, so what would happen if all of them just claimed parts of Iraq without consulting the others? right, civil war, smart as you are buddy.
Posted by: Murat   2003-12-23 10:45:20 AM  

#10  Supposedly, according to some nutjobs, the Kurds captured Saddam, drugged him, stuffed him into that spider hole, then notified the Merkins of the bastard's location. Yeah, Suuuuure. I also happen to have some beachfront property in Nevada in which, I think, you'd be interested.

Of course, if that WERE the case, I'd GIVE them Kirkuk.
Posted by: Ptah   2003-12-23 10:42:37 AM  

#9  I think it is up to the Iraqis to decide about the fate of their cities, not the Kurds . . .

Uh, Murat, little buddy, um, I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, but I need to point something out to you, so s'cuse me for being blunt, but:

THE KURDS IN IRAQ ARE IRAQIS!
Posted by: Mike   2003-12-23 8:27:47 AM  

#8  Berxwedan Jiyan? Is that you?
Posted by: Shipman   2003-12-23 8:04:35 AM  

#7  Murat, I still haven't seen the "proof" of my identity you promised to post. I'm expecting to see it soon.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-12-23 7:30:50 AM  

#6  If you don't see it as losing part of Turkey ( Which your right, it isn't part of Turkey ), then what do you see it as? I think what's going to happen is the forming of 3-4 States, all being a part of Iraq. Most likely the borders will be similar to the "fly-zones" that were in place after the Persian Gulf 1.
Posted by: Charles   2003-12-23 6:33:08 AM  

#5  Ed, FYI I do not see it as losing a part of Turkey, cos Kirkuk is part of Iraq, I think it is up to the Iraqis to decide about the fate of their cities, not the Kurds or the temporary council or anyone who yells the most load.
Posted by: Murat   2003-12-23 5:10:28 AM  

#4  Murat, don't look at it as "losing part of Turkey." Try, instead, to think of it as "putting the Kurds on a reservation." Giving the Jewish people a homeland tended to shut up the majority of THEIR crazier nutjobs. Giving the Kurds a homeland of their own might do the same.

And who knows? If they can make a go of it in a Kurdish North Iraq, you might want to consider taking any Kurds who refuse to assimilate into Turkey, walking them to the border, and telling them "Hey, here you go. Free Kurdistan. Come back THIS way again, and we open fire..."

It's what worked for America. Native Americans who wanted to assimilate (and could stand the culture shock) did so, joining the melting pot and leaving their old culture behind. Those who couldn't or wouldn't leave it behind stayed on the reservations and understood that the old "loot, rape and pillage" lifestyle wasn't going to be tolerated anymore.

And before anyone yells at me for being racist, I'm part Pawnee myself. My great-great-grandfather was one of the looting, raping, et cetera sort, and bragged about it. Heh. Then he got old, tired, and noticed that this white woman standing over there had GREAT breasts... Hey, peace has broken out over sillier things.

Ed Becerra
Posted by: Ed Becerra   2003-12-23 3:46:55 AM  

#3  LOL!
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-12-23 3:36:48 AM  

#2  Vlad Tepes Drakula, we burried your head in Istanbul before, well burry it again :)

Murat the vampire killer
Posted by: Murat   2003-12-23 3:03:47 AM  

#1  You want Kirkuk? Okay, you got it.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler   2003-12-23 2:44:02 AM  

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