VersionsThe Kurds in Iraq [English, London, 2004]
Irak Kürtleri [Türkçe, Istanbul, 2004]
The Kurds in Iraq [English, London, 2003]
The Kurds in Iraq
Kerim Yildiz,
Tom Blass
KHRP
With the demise of the rule of the Baath party in Iraq, the country’s Kurdish population faces a new chapter in the political and regional development of its region. For over a century the Kurds have been subject to the grand schemes of other powers, denied autonomy, and have faced the onslaughts of military assaults, economic embargo, and the destruction of their native regions.
Some of the landmarks in the history of Iraqi Kurdistan - perhaps most notably the chemical and gas attacks at Halabja, the 1991 uprising and the subsequent flight of over two million refugees - have been so egregious as to have become imprinted on the consciousness, and sometimes conscience, of the outside ...
Table of Contents
Foreword / 11
Map of Kurdistan / 13
Map of Iraq Drawn Prior To 2003 Gulf War / 14
Map of Iraqi Kurdistan Drawn Prior To / 15
2003 Gulf War
Introduction / 17
Part I: The Past / 21
I. The Kurds / 21
'Kurds’ and ‘Kurdistan’
Language
Religion
Population
Topography of Kurdistan
II. The Treaty of Sèvres and the Creation of Iraq / 25
III. The Kurds Under Barzani / 31
Revolts
The emergence of a Kurdish leader
Aftermaths of 1958 Revolution
The Baath regimes
The March Manifesto of 1970
The 1974 Autonomy Law
US and Iranian involvement in Kurdish/Iraqi relations: 1970-1975
The Algiers Agreement 1975 and its aftermath
IV. The Anfal Campaigns / 43
Spoils of war
The logic of destruction
The spring offensives 1988
The attack on Halabja
The attack on Sayw Senan
The remaining Anfal campaigns
Amnesty
International responses to the Anfal campaigns
V. The First Gulf War: From Uprising to Democracy / 53
Background
The intifada (uprising)
The Baathists respond
Exodus from Iraqi Kurdistan
Turkey, Iran and the Iraqi Kurds
Resolution 688
'Operation Provide Comfort’
'Operation Safe Haven'
Negotiating autonomy with Saddam Hussein
VI. Democracy in Iraqi Kurdistan / 65
A rainbow alliance
International ambivalence
Autonomy from a Kurdish perspective
Electoral procedure
A new kind of political space?
Relations between the PUK and KDP
VII Human Rights in Iraqi Kurdistan / 73
Background
Crimes of the Ba'ath regime
Breaches of international law by the government of Iraq
Humanitarian law
Human rights structures and the Kurdish authorities
Women’s rights in Iraqi Kurdistan
VIII. The Internally Displaced Of Iraqi Kurdistan / 85
A displaced history
Displacement since the establishment of the safe haven
IX. Economic/Humanitarian Affairs in Iraqi Kurdistan / 91
Background
Oil in Iraq: A brief overview
Oil in Iraqi Kurdistan: A brief overview
Pipelines
Sanctions
Criticism of the Oil-For-Food Programme
Embargo
Currency
Employment
Non-Governmental Organisations
X. The Kurds Have No Friends but the Mountains / 103
Turkey: A difficult neighbour
Beyond Iraq: The Kurds of Turkey, Iran and Syria
XI. US Foreign Policy Towards Saddam: Pre-September 11 / 115
Reference / 119
Part II: The Present / 131
I. The Road to War / 131
Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists
The Kurds path to war
II. The Second Gulf War: Operation Iraqi Freedom / 149
They were received with bombs, shoes and bullets
The Kurdish Jerusalem
War over?
The current security situation
Security strategy
III. Current Executive Structure in Iraq / 159
Saddam's Iraqi Opposition
Political Reconstruction
IV. Current Legal and Human Rights Issues / 165
The Coalition Provisional Authority
Humanitarian international law obligations
International human rights law Applicable?
V. The Question of Autonomy / 173
VI. The Anfal Campaigns: The War Crimes Tribunal / 175
An enduring legacy
Iraqi Special Tribunal
The defendants
The death penalty
International judges/ prosecutors
The crimes
VII. The Internally Displaced: The Current Situation / 183
General situation
The Takiyeh camp
The Anfal camp at Suresh
The UN-HABITAT camp at Bazian
The problem of mines
Reversing the Arabisation programme
VIII. Current Economic/Humanitarian Issues in Iraqi Kurdistan / 189
Sanctions and embargo
Oil-for-food programme
Currency
Non-Governmental organisations and international organisations
Oil
Reference / 197
Part III: The Future / 207
I. Self-Determination and Autonomy / 207
What is self-determination?
The Kurdish claim to self-determination
Autonomy a UN mandate?
Economic issues
II. The Tribunal and the Victims / 221
Introduction
A UN tribunal
Hybrid court
International Criminal Court
Truth and reconciliation commission
The way forward
III. The Land Question / 227
The Iraqi Property Reconciliation Facility
The way forward
Recommendations / 231
Recommendations to the UN
Recommendations to the Kurdish Regional Authorities
Recommendations to the Occupying Powers
Addendum / 235
Appendices / 237
Appendix 1 / 237
Articles of the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres relating to Kurdistan
Appendix 2 / 239
The Kurdistan Regional Government Provisional Constitution
for the Federal Republic of Iraq
Appendix 3 / 259
UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
Appendix 4 / 273
CPIC email to KHRP
Reference / 275
FOREWORD
With the demise of the rule of the Ba’ath party in Iraq, the country’s Kurdish population faces a new chapter in the political and regional development of its region. For over a century the Kurds have been subject to the grand schemes of other powers, denied autonomy, and have faced the onslaughts of military assaults, economic embargo, and the destruction of their native regions.
This publication is intended ro provide an outline of some of the issues affecting the Kurds in Iraq. It provides a brief exploration of the past’s effect on the present, and of how both the Kurds and the international community may avoid repeating previous mistakes, laying the foundations for an internationally recognised autonomous region committed to pluralistic democracy and human rights. Such a region would require a commitment to the rule of law and internationally recognised human rights standards.
In the intervening years between the First Gulf War and the 2003 US-led war against Saddam, the Kurds established a democratic administration, which has persevered despite a lack of assistance from the international community to facilitate its establishment or indeed any international recognition. Iraqi Kurdistan serves as a role model not only for Iraq but also for the rest of the Middle East, particularly with regard to adherence to human rights principles, including women’s rights and freedom of expression. The study proposes that the Kurds should continue to have full and equal participation in the reconstruction of Iraq. The study also details a range of human rights policies to the Occupying Powers, the international community and the Kurds themselves. The publication highlights the international initiatives possible to ensure the economic and social development of Iraqi Kurdistan, including equitable distribution of the revenues of oil and the Oil-for-Food Programme.
This publication provides a scholarly analysis of the urgent and as of yet unanswered question: what is to be the future of the Iraqi Kurdistan bearing in mind what was achieved after the First Gulf War in 1992? In BHRC’s view, unless the rule of law is quickly established throughout post-war Iraq, the future of the whole region remains bleak.
The research and writing of this publication was undertaken by Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director of the Kurdish Human Rights Project, and Tom Blass, freelance lawyer and journalist. The advice and assistance of KHRP staff members and other experts is gratefully acknowledged including that of Clodaghmuire Callinan and Rochelle Harris. This publication was made possible by the financial support of the Sigrid Rausing Trust.
Mark Muller
Vice President, Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales
Introduction
With the demise of the rule of the Baath party in Iraq, the country’s Kurdish population faces a new chapter in the political and regional development of its region. For over a century the Kurds have been subject to the grand schemes of other powers, denied autonomy, and have faced the onslaughts of military assaults, economic embargo, and the destruction of their native regions.
Some of the landmarks in the history of Iraqi Kurdistan - perhaps most notably the chemical and gas attacks at Halabja, the 1991 uprising and the subsequent flight of over two million refugees - have been so egregious as to have become imprinted on the consciousness, and sometimes conscience, of the outside world. Other events are less well-known and less well understood: such as US and Iranian involvement in Iraqi Kurdistan in the 1970s, Turkish intervention, the nascent democracy of the autonomous area and the double embargo effect of Saddam Hussein’s economic siege and United Nations (UN) sanctions. This publication is intended to provide an outline of some of the issues affecting the Kurds in Iraq. It provides a brief exploration of past history’s effect on the present, and of how both the Kurds and the international community may avoid repeating previous mistakes, laying the foundations for an autonomous region committed to a pluralistic democracy and human rights.
There are no exact ethnological or linguistic criteria by which the Kurds can be defined. There are a number of Kurdish dialects. There is no single religion that binds them, and they are to be found in numerous countries. Paraphrasing Benedict Anderson one might say that Kurds are those that believe themselves to be so. 4 Kurdish identity, however, is not monolithic. While some Kurds believe passionately in the existence of a pan-Kurdish nation, others are bound more closely to other identities; tribal, national, or religious.
Standing at the crossroads of so many powerful nations, the Kurds have …
Kerim Yildiz
Tom Blass
The Kurds in Iraq.
The Past, Present and Future
KHRP
Kurdish Human Rights Project
The Kurds in Iraq
The Past, Present and Future
Kerim Yildiz
Tom Blass
December 2003
Kurdish Human Rights Project
2 New Burlington Place
London W1S 2HP
Tel:+44 20 7287 2772
Fax: +44 20 7734 4927
Email: khrp@khrp.demon.co.uk
The Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) is an independent,
non-political, non-governmental human rights organisation
founded and based in London, England.
KHRP is a registered charity and is committed to the promotion
and protection of the human rights
of all persons living with the Kurdish regions,
irrespective of race, religion, sex,
political persuasion or other belief or opinion.
Its supporters include both Kurdish
and non-Kurdish people.
KHRP is grateful for the financial support of the
Sigrid Rausing Trust
in preparing this publication
Printed in Great Britain
December 2003
Published by the Kurdish Human Rights Project
ISBN 1 900 1 75 6 7 3
All rights reserved
