Remzi Kartal, a former DEP (People's Democracy) MP in Turkey, and currently vice-chair of KONGRA-GEL (Kurdistan People's Congress), was arrested at the request of Turkey on January 22 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Kartal has been active politically in Europe, working for a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question, since escaping from Turkey in 1994. His fellow DEP MPs Hatip Dicle, Leyla Zana, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak, were sentenced to 15 years in prison for the "offence" of speaking Kurdish in the Turkish Parliament, and have only recently been released.
Remi's arrest is probably a consequence of the midJanuary meeting in Ankara between the US, Turkey, and the Iraqi puppet government.
One well-publicised agenda item was Turkey's noisy demand that the US take firmer steps to destroy the 5000 Kurdish guerrillas of KONGRAGEL who are still holding out against the Turkish army in the mountains of South Kurdistan (Northern Iraq).
But less well-publicised is the ongoing programme of nonmilitary measures against KONGRA-GEL.
On May 1 2004 Turkish Daily News quoted Cofer Black, U.S. Counterterrorism Coordinator, as saying bluntly: "There's no place in Irag for KADEK" ( Congress for Freedom and Democracy in Kurdistan - a precursor of KONGRA-Gel Eds).
"It cannot be allowed to represent a threat to the good people of Iraq or to the people in neighbouring countries. ....We consider them a terrorist group, a threat. We're going to deal with them. And if we are unable to reach our objective using the spectrum of elements of statecraft, we will use military force when that is appropriate."
In the last nine months, the US and Britain have faced mounting resistance within Iraq. They know that a frontal assault against the guerrillas in the Kandil mountains would be hard to carry out successfully and would ignite an explosion of fury in all parts of Kurdistan.
So far the US has refrained from using direct military force against the KONGR-GEL guerrillas, but is still using "all elements of statecraft" and working with its allies to destroy KONGRA-GEL, marginalise and silence the Kurds, and crush their aspirations for freedom, language rights, independence and dignity.
They have tried to split KONGRA-GEL, with some modest success: a part of the guerrilla leadership did break away last year, and formed a new party which seems ready to fit in with US plans for the region.
But the rest of the guerrillas are still operating in Iraq, Iran and Turkey, defending themselves when attacked, and still putting forward their political platform.
Two major pro-Kurdish legal parties, DEHAP and a new one led by Leyla Zana and former leaders of previous banned parties, still operate in Turkey in very difficult conditions, as do numerous other pro-Kurdish trade union, women's, and environmental organisations.
The US continues to push European governments (should they need encouragement) to keep attacking KONGRA-GEL and its base in the Kurdish million-strong diaspora in Europe, criminalising it via the antiterror laws. Doubtless new measures were agreed in Ankara.
The Dutch Appeals Court's
page 11 of the scan
lets get out. There absolutely nil chance of any such thing happening.
Of course the US wants to get it soldiers out of having to patrol the streets - the toll of dead and injured is getting way uncomfortable from the point of view of civilian morale back home.
It wants the new Iraqi army and police force to take the rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, but it also plans twelve huge military bases housing thousands of troops and hundreds of planes in perpetuity.
Iraq will thus be 'independent, but will be directly be overseen by US politicians, the US military and US business people. The most powerful person in the country will be the US ambassador. Iraqi oil and its disposition will have a US veto, and the US will use its military assets in Iraq to oversee events in the Middle East and Western Asia region as a whole.
Whatever the immediate outcome of the election, however many people vote, and however much the election is distorted by the undoubtedly high turnout by middle class exiles in Europe and the US, the basic contradiction
US and British occupation will continue to be resisted by the big majority of Shia and Sunni populations; and this will continue to spontaneously recreate the conditions for national unity and solidarity, whatever the attempts by the US (aided by religious sectarians) to divide and rule. Andrew Burgin There have been many false dawns for George Bush and Tony Blair in Iraq, the elections create another. All news channels provided the obligatory talk of Sunday January 30 being a historic day for Iraq and its people.
We are reminded of previous "historic' days: the day war began; the day Saddam's statue fell in Baghdad; the capture of Saddam; the day [June 30 2004] when sovereignty was to be restored to the Iraqi people.
The had its humorous moments - the electoral commission claimed at one point that more people were voting than were registered, somewhat putting in the shade Saddam's 99.9 per cent vote.
News agencies claimed that as many as 14 million voted -and then reduced the figure to 8 million. It may fall further.
The fact is that the only reports from the WESLONI media came from the Kurdish and Shia areas where people did vote - there was an almost total boycott of the election from the Sunni minority who comprise 20 percent of the population.
In many cities, Ramadi, Falluja, Mosul and large parts of Baghdad polling stations were empty and often unmanned. Iraqi exiles in London were receiving reports that American soldiers were bribing people in Falluja to vote. CIA's man seems set to hold on to office
It is expected that the former CIA agent and current interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi will remain in his job -an astonishing result seeing as only months earlier he had been, in opinion polls, the choice of 0.03 percent of the people of Iraq.
His advantage is though that people do know his
Most of the candidates are anonymous. Not only that but the Allawi list spent countless millions on election advertising.
This contrasts sharply with the candidates supported by Moqtada Al-Sadr who were the only ones to campaign openly in the slums of Baghdad - on a programme of ending the occupation immediately and a redistribution to the poor of Iraq. Their campaign funds ran to several thousand dollars. oa pn Iraq No sign so far of softening attitudes towards the US occupation forces
Allawi will not be the only element of the current regime not to change. The Pentagon said in advance of the election that US and UK troops would stay in Iraq, at present levels, for at least two years - regardless of the wishes of the new government.
All the laws enacted under Paul Bremer dividing up the assets of Iraq amongst US multinationals will remain, as will the strictures of the
Monetary Fund. The IMF will control the Iraqi economy for the next ten years.
On the eve of the election, despite unprecedented security, the US embassy in the heart of heavily protected Green Zone, was mortared with two killed and more injured.
As the polls closed news was coming through of a C130 British Hercules Transport plane that had 'crashed' north of Baghdad. These crashes like the downing of the US helicopter, a few days previously, which killed 31 soldiers are becoming commonplace.
The reason that journalists could not report on the election from large swathes of Iraq and election observers did not dare to enter the country is that the resistance to the occupation grows stronger everyday.
The will not change this, in fact the election may well strengthen the armed opposition to the occupation by drawing into its ranks those who now are disenfranchised.
Of course the US in true democratic fashion say that they will appoint Sunnis to the transitional National Assembly: but it could be that both the resistance and the