A place where I spend many summer holidays with my family, it was paradise on earth.
With all my appreciation to Mr.H.Al-Wandawi & family.
May god bless a united Iraq for ever .
A summary background:
Kurds represent by far the largest non-Arab
ethnic minority, accounting in 1987 for about 19 percent of the population, or around 3.1 million.
They are the overwhelming majority in As Sulaymaniyah, Irbil, and Dahuk governorates. Kurds are settled as
far south as Khanaqin.
Ranging across northern Iraq, the Kurds are part of the larger Kurdish population
(probably numbering close to 16 million) that inhabits the wide arc from eastern Turkey and the northwestern
part of Syria through Soviet Azarbaijan and Iraq to the northwest of the Zagros Mountains in Iran. Although
the largest numbers live in Turkey (variously estimated at between 3 and 10 million), it is in Iraq that
they are most active politically.
The Kurds inhabit the highlands and mountain valleys and have traditionally been organized on a tribal basis. In the past it was correct to distinguish the various communities of Kurds according to
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The area around Kirkuk and south to Khanaqin is the preserve of the Faili Kurds, who, unlike the majority of Kurds, are Shias. Many of the Faili Kurds belong to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).The far northwestern region of Iraq around Sinjar is spotted with enclaves claimed by the Iraqi Communist Party, the bulk of whose cadres are composed of Kurds.
Once mainly nomadic or seminomadic, Kurdish society was characterized by a combination of urban centers, villages, and pastoral tribes since at least the Ottoman period. Historical sources indicate that from the eighteenth century onward Kurds in Iraq were mainly peasants engaged in agriculture and arboriculture. By the nineteenth century, about 20 percent of Iraqi Kurds lived in historic Kurdish cities such as Kirkuk, As Sulaymaniyah, and Irbil. The migration to the cities, particularly of the young intelligentsia, helped develop Kurdish nationalism.
Since the early 1960s, the urban Kurdish areas have grown rapidly. Kurdish migration in addition
to being part of the general trend of urban migration was prompted by the escalating armed
conflict with the central authorities in Baghdad, the destruction of villages and land by widespread bombing, and such natural disasters as a severe drought in
the 1958-61 period.
In addition to destroying traditional resources, the severe fighting has hindered the
development of education, health, and other services. The historic enmity between the Kurds and the central Arab government has contributed to the
tenacious survival of Kurdish culture. The Kurds' most distinguishing characteristic and the one
that binds them to one another is their language.
There are several Kurdish dialects, of which Kirmanji tends to be the standard written form.
Kurdish is not a mere
dialect of Farsi or Persian, as many Iranian nationalists maintain. And it is certainly not a variant
of the Semitic or Turkic tongues. It is a separate language, part of the Indo-European family.
The Kurds have been locked in an unremittingly violent struggle with the central government in Baghdad almost since the founding of the Iraqi republic in 1958 (see The Kurdish Problem , ch.5). It appeared in the early 1970s that the dissident Kurds under the generalship of the legendary leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani--might actually carve out an independent Kurdish area in northern Iraq.
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In 1975, however, the shah of Iran the Kurds' principal patron withdrew his support of the Kurds as part
of the Algiers Accord between Tehran and Baghdad, leading to a sharp decline in the Kurdish movement.
The signing of the Algiers Accord caused a breakaway faction to emerge from the Kurdish Democratic
Party (KDP), led by Masud Barzani, the son of Mulla Mustafa Barzani.
The faction that left the KDP in opposition to the accord formed the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK) under Jalal Talabani. The PUK continued to engage in low-level guerrilla activity against
the central government in the period from 1975 to 1980.
The war between Iraq and Iran that broke out in 1980 afforded the PUK and other Iraqi Kurdish groups the opportunity to intensify their opposition to the
government.The future of the Kurds in Iraq is uncertain because of the war. In 1983 the KDP spearheaded an
Iranian thrust into northern Iraq and later its cadres fanned out across the border area adjacent to
Turkey where they established a string of bases.
Meanwhile, Talabani's PUK has maintained a fighting presence in the Kirkuk region, despite ruthless
attempts by the central government to dislodge them. Thus, as of early 1988, most of the
northern areas of Iraq outside the major cities were under the control of the guerrillas. On the one hand,
if the present government in Iraq survives the war which in early 1988 seemed likely it is almost certain
to punish those Kurds who collaborated with the Iranians.
On the other hand, a number of large and powerful Kurdish tribes as well as many prominent Kurds from nontribal families, have continued to support the
central government throughout the war, fighting against their fellow Kurds. These loyal Kurds will
expect to be rewarded for their allegiance once the war ends.
Kurdish Autonomy :
Three governorates in the north--Dahuk, Irbil, and As Sulaymaniyah--constitute Iraqi Kurdistan, a
region that historically has had a majority population of Kurds. Ever since Iraq became
independent in 1932, the Kurds have demanded some form of self-rule in
the Kurdish areas. There were clashes between Kurdish antigovernment guerrillas and army
units throughout most of the 1960s.
When the Baath Party came to power in July 1968, the principal Kurdish leaders distrusted its intentions and soon launched a major
revolt.
In March 1970, the government and the Kurds reached an agreement, to be implemented within four years, for the creation of an Autonomous Region consisting of the three Kurdish governorates and other adjacent districts that had been determined by census to have a Kurdish majority. Although the Goverment in Baghdad issued decrees in 1974 and in 1975 that provided for the administration of the Autonomous Region, these were not acceptable to all Kurdish leaders and a major war ensued. The Kurds ribels were eventually crushed, but guerrilla activities continued in parts of Kurdistan. In early 1988, antigovernment Kurds controlled several hundred square kilometers of Irbil and As Sulaymaniyah governorates adjacent to the Iranian frontier.
In early 1988, the Autonomous Region was governed according to the stipulations of the 1970 Autonomy Agreement. It had a twelve-member Executive Council that wielded both legislative and executive powers and a Legislative Assembly that advised the council. The chairman of the Executive Council was appointed by former President Saddam Hussaien and held cabinet rank; the other members of the council were chosen from among the deputies to the popularly elected Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly consisted of fifty members elected for three-year terms from among candidates approved by the central government. The Legislative Assembly chose its own officers, including its cabinet-rank chairman, a deputy chairman, and a secretary. It had authority to ratify laws proposed by the Executive Council and limited powers to enact legislation relating to the development of "culture and nationalist customs of the Kurds" as well as other matters of strictly local scope. The Legislative Assembly could question the members of the Executive Council concerning the latter's administrative, economic, educational, social, and other varied responsibilities; it could also withhold a vote of confidence from one or more of the Executive Council members. Both the assembly and the council were located in the city of Irbil, the administrative center of Irbil Governorate. Officials of these two bodies were either Kurds or persons well-versed in the Kurdish language, and Kurdish was used for all official communications at the local level. The first Legislative Assembly elections were held in September 1980, and the second elections took place in August 1986.
Despite the Autonomous Region's governmental institutions, separate Kurdish leaders with a support
of foreign influence belived that a genuine self-rule did not exist in
Kurdistan then (1988). The central government in Baghdad continued (due to the delicate circumstancen then - The
Iraq/Iran border war) to exercise tight control by
reserving to itself the power to make all decisions in matters pertaining to justice, to police,
to internal security, and the administration of the frontier areas.
The Baath Party, through the minister of state for regional autonomy and other ministerial representatives
operating in the region, continued to supervise activities of all governing bodies in the region.
The minister of justice and a special oversight body set up by the Court of Cassation reviewed all
local enactments and administrative decisions, and they countermanded any local decrees that were
deemed contrary to the constitution, laws, or regulations of the central government. The central
government's superior authority has been most dramatically evident in the frontier areas, where government
security units have forcibly evacuated Kurdish villagers to distant lowlands.
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