The anti-war movement should not automatically accept and echo the need, constantly repeated in US/British propaganda, to preserve Iraq as a single country, argues SARAH PARKER. We should remember that the Iraqi state was an artificial creation of the British, and understand that the attempt to occupy and hold it together by force against the will of much of the population may only lead to further tragedy. After last month's analysis of the position in Syria, this second article examines the situation of the divided Kurdish people in the South (Iraq) and the Turkish state. Referendum Campaign in South Kurdistan
n a recent reflection of Kurdish national consciousness in Iraqi Kurdistan,
grassroots campaign collected 1.7 mil lion signatures (out of a population of some 2.7 million) very swiftly in February, demanding a referendum on the future of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Paul Bremer brushed the signatures aside, saying he had a different agenda from the Kurds'. Probably most Southern Kurds would choose independence given the chance, as they feel that the period since the creation of Iraq after the First World War has been a disaster, culminating in the Anfal campaign of 1988 in which over 180,000 Kurds were killed, and that they cannot trust any regime which the US / Britain may leave behind.
The options are not simple, further complicated by the determination of Iran, Syria and Turkey to intervene covertly in Iraqi affairs to prevent any independence for the Kurds.
But instead of concentrating on consolidating the Kurdish entity in the north, refusing excessive concessions, and pushing for a genuine "federation" where partners would control decision making on an equal basis, or even for independence, the leaders of the biggest Iraqi Kurdish parties, the KDP and PUK, have supported a weak version of a "federal" Iraq, in which the decisive powers of military affairs, finance and the economy will be centrally controlled.
This collaboration by the Kurdish leadership with the occupying powers in their struggle to assert control over the whole country, thereby implicating the Kurdish parties in whatever is done to defeat the Iraqi resistance and subdue the whole population economically (including in the Kurdish areas, could prove disastrous in terms of deepening the antagonisms between the various ethnic and religious groups.
The question of Kirkuk, the oil-rich city in the north which is historically Kurdish but was forcibly Arabised under Saddam Hussein and also has a substantial Turkmen minority which the Turkish state constantly tries to provoke, will remain contentious unless a settlement can be found.
So far negotiations between the communities have cooled the situation down during crises, but this may not last. Recently there have been RPG attacks on Kurds in Kirkuk, and a rising number of incidents in the mixed city of Mosul. Both places could become the scene of bitter conflict.
In fact there are issues in Iraq around Kurdish fighters helped US invaders defeat Saddam: but since then there has been little progress in consolidating Kurdish power in the North, while the Turkish government remains even more implacably opposed to Kurdish self-determination. which consensus would partially cut across the antagonisms - issues like forcing the occupiers to clear up their uranium debris and treat its victims, or refusing to pay the Iraqi national debt.
In a recent survey Jubilee Iraq found broad agreement amongst citizens of Iraq of many opinions and backgrounds that they should not have to pay off the debt accumulated under Saddam Hussein.
As one interviewee said: "When Saddam executed people, he used to charge their families for the bullets used - this is precisely what the creditor countries who financed Saddam are asking of Iraqis today".
There is a widespread belief that people should get reparations for the suffering and losses caused by war damage and sanctions. But a UN committee meets quarterly to set debt repayments, and Iraq has been paying millions of dollars on the debt ever since Saddam Hussein was overthrown. Kurdish struggle in Turkey at Impasse
The Kurdish guerrilla forces are still I maty hold up in the mountains of
South Kurdistan, and the Turkish state continues to urge the US to destroy them, as well as itself using all methods short of open warfare to suppress the Kurdish and far left movements within Turkey. Meanwhile it lobbies for EU entry and for harsher European measures against exiled activists. The most recent fruit of this policy was the EU's inclusion of KONGRA-GEL on its list of terrorist organisaThe state and the ruling AKP now tolerate some Newroz (Kurdish New Year) demonstrations on 21 March and a few other cultural festivals, but it is still common to refuse permission for assemblies and to set the police on street protesters.
The fact that torture including rape is still absolutely standard in Turkish police stations is one of the main obstacles that EU officials cite in connexion with Turkey's accession Islamists increase their vote in 41.80% (34.28% last time), and retaining control of Istanbul and Ankara. The farimproved its vote slightly to 10%. The CHP (People's Republican Party), an Ataturkist party, and theoretically the onh viable social democratic opposition to the AKP, also lost ground, achieving 17.8% (19.39%) and losing its strongholds o Antalya and the south-eastern industria city of Antep. Discredited former govern. ing parties polled very low votes.
The Democratic Alliance, a coalition of the social-democratic SHP, the pro-Kurdish party DEHAP, and the left parties EMEK, PDS and ODP, did badly. The vote for the SHP list, in which the coalition partners participated was 5.07% (2002 DEHAP vote was 6.22%)
The ODP vote fell from 0.34% to 0.04% DEHAP lost control of several important cities such as Van, Mardin and Bingol, though they did keep control of Diyarbakir, Dersim. Hakkari, Batman, and Sirnak, and also Dogubeyazit where the first HADEP woman mayor elected in 1999 was re-elected. See http://www.info-turk.be for detailed election results.
There are several reasons for this. The Turkish far left continues to suffer from a severe credibility gap. As for DEHAP, the biggest force, their vote suffered because in some cities the right wing parties ran only one candidate between them, consolidating their vote. rights, whether measured in change of atti. tude by the Turkish state or implementation of the legal "reforms". And as usua there was evidence of interference with the voting in Kurdish areas - intimidation
Lastly, if left-wing forces cannot offer a convincing alternative in a crisis, society car turn sharply to the right. Many people in Turkey will still "give a chance" to AKP, who have played their hand well since entering
They have avoided major corruption scandals, provocation of the army with extensive pro-Islamic measures, and kept the IMF dripfeed going, so that inflation has fallen and they can claim credit for economic stability.
They followed popular sentiment in early 2003 by blocking US plans for a northern front in the Iraq war.
They have pushed strongly for EU mem. bership, which the vast majority of the population of Turkey wants; and have carried out extensive legal changes for this purpose Most of these so-called reforms exist only or paper but obviously the hope is that a largely cosmetic exercise will satisfy the EU require18 socia International Resistance st resistance May 2004 A hero's welcome
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