Paul Bremer should be tried for Fallujah incidents that killed thousands, says MP

Baghdad, April 6 (AKnews) - A Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament says US civil governor in Iraq Paul Bremer is responsible for massacres in Fallujah city which was heavily bombarded by the US forces killing thousands of people. The Kurdish MP's statement comes as lawmakers called on the supreme criminal court for considering the 2005 Fallujah events as "genocide" after the court ruled a 1988 chemical attack on a Kurdish city, Halabja, genocide. In gas attack on Halabja, more than 5,000 civilians were killed and double injured. Some of the lawmaker said earlier this week that Ayad Allawi, a former interim Prime Minister should be put on trial for the mass killings in Fallaujah because he was the head of the Governing Council that ruled Iraq then. The U.S. forces launched in 2005 an attack on Fallujah after Blckwater security team was ambushed and killed by insurgents. The US forces launched a military operation which was described as the deadliest and heaviest battle in the Iraq war. Some 6,000 civilians are believed to be killed in the operation also extensive damage to the a quarter of the buildings of the city. "At that time, Ayad Allawi was not responsible for the security situation (in Iraq)," said Mahmoud Osman, a Kurdish MP in the Kurdish Blocs Coalition (KBC) Wednesday.  "But it was Paul Bremer who was the civil governor. And when Fallujah was attacked, he (Bremer) did not consult the Governing Council," said Osman, "So, Allawi was not responsible or the security" The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was the provisional government of Iraq from July 13, 2003 to June 1, 2004. It consisted of various Iraqi political, religious, and tribal leaders to provide advice and leadership of the country until the June 2004 transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government led by Ayad Allawi. Osman called for "trial of Bremer for the Fallujah and other incidents rather than sticking the issue to Allawi." An MP, Aliyah Nusaif of the White Iraqiya list - a splinter from Allawi Iraqiya list - said the calls for putting Allawi on trial for Fallujah was politically motivated. "The strange thing is that Allawi's allies raised the issue and not the National Coalition (Allawi rivals)," she said, "Allawi was unable to take decisions at that time and many massacres were committed by the occupation forces that need to be disclosed because they killed people and disseminated corruption," Reported by Kazem Atwan, edited by Raber Y. Aziz RN/AKnews Wednesday, April 6th 2011 4:02 PM

Protesters have learned collective prayers in squares from Khomeini: Iran's consul

Erbil, April 5 (AKnews) – Iran's consul in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, says the collective prayers in the squares in the Muslim countries where people are demonstrating for political reforms is Ayatullah Khomeini's tradition. Sayyid Azimi Husseini told Bas – a weekly newspaper in Kurdistan – in an interview that the wave of protests that has spanned through the middle east where people, in particular in Egypt, and Kuridstan's Sulaimaniyah city gather for the Friday sermons instead of going to the mosque, belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Protesters in Sulaimaniyah city have been demonstrating against corruption and calling for political reforms for more than 45 days. During the six weeks, they have had six Friday sermons in the main Sara Square of the city where they gather every day. Regarding the way of protests and Friday sermons in the squares as a way of strength and solidarity, Husseini says "this belongs to Imam Khomeini that's they have learned this from the Islamic Republic of Iran" he has told the weekly newspaper. "We are happy that Iran and the words of Imam Khomeini have become symbols for the whole peoples of the world and the (course of) changes in the Middle East." Raber Y. Aziz (AKnews)   Tuesday, April 5th 2011 1:29 PM

Iraq parliament recognizes chemical attack on Halabja as genocide

Erbil, March 17 (AKnews) - The Iraqi parliament has officially recognized the chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988 as genocide.Halabja . The decision came during a parliamentary session on Thursday where the proposal was put to vote and was approved by the majority of the parliament. Halabja, situated 81km south east of Sulaimaniyah and 364 km north east of  the Iraqi capital Baghdad, was subjected to an airborne chemical weapon attack in March 1988 by the former Iraqi regime. The death toll was widely estimated at 5,000, with more than 10,000 injuries. On Tuesday, on the 23rd anniversary of the attack on the Kurdish town, the Kurdish MPs in Baghdad commemorated the gassing of Halabja by opening a photo gallery of images depicting the attack and displaying video footage showing the victims. They also called on parliament to recognize it as genocide. On March 16, 1988 Iraqi jets swooped over Halabja and sprayed it with a cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX for five hours. The Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court sentenced Saddam Husein's cousin, Ali Hasan Majid notoriously known as "chemical Ali" to death for ordering the chemical attack. Mr Majid had been earlier sentenced to death four times for crimes against humanity, his last sentence was in January 2010 - the same month he was executed. The Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court was set up to try former members of Hussein's government. It was the same one that sentenced Saddam Hussein to death. Many people from Halabja still suffer the after-effects of the gas attack, and since 2007, 17 victims of the gas attack have died of resulting medical complications. Ry/Ka/AKnews Thursday, March 17th 2011 11:46 AM

Talabani criticized for designating Kirkuk “Jerusalem of Kurdistan”

Kirkuk, March 9 (AKnews) – The President of Iraq Jalal Talabani has been criticized for describing oil-rich Kirkuk as the "Jerusalem of Kurdistan" by the province's Arabs and Turkmen who have demanded explanations from the president for his remark.

Talabani was addressing a rally of supporters of his party – the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah on March 7 during the 20th anniversary of a poplar uprising in the city against the former Iraqi regime in 1991 when he likened Kirkuk to Jerusalem. The 1991 uprisings of the people of Kurdistan resulted in the current semi-autonomy of the region.

"We must not forget that there are areas reunited with the (Kurdistan) region such as Kirkuk, the Jerusalem of Kurdistan," Talabani said in his address, "we need a common struggle".

Talabani also said he defended democracy, freedom and the demands of the people, but also urged the people to express their demands peacefully.

Sulaimaniyah has been the scene of protests since February 17 where people have been calling for improved services, social justice, employment opportunities and the elimination of administrative corruption. Kirkuk also witnessed violent protests, mostly in the Arab populated areas, where government buildings and police stations were set on fire.

Three police officers were killed in the clashes between the "demonstrators" and the police. Some of the demonstrators in Hawija and Riyadh towns were carrying pictures of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

The oil-rich province of Kirkuk is one of the most disputed areas by the regional government and the Iraqi government in Baghdad. It is populated by a mixture of Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs and Christians.

The Kurds are seeking to integrate the province into the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region clamming it to be historically Kurdish. The May 2010 parliamentary elections showed that the majority of the province is still Kurdish after they won more than half of the votes there by a small margin.

Talabani's remarks drew attention of the Arab media and sparked criticism from the Arabs and Turkmen of Kirkuk who said Talabani, as president of Iraq, should not have said that and demanded an explanation.

"What we heard from Talabani about Kirkuk being the heart or Jerusalem of Kurdistan should be reconsidered," said an Arab member of the Kirkuk provincial council, Mohammed Khalil al-Jubouri "...as president of the country; he should be impartial."

"It is better for him to say Kirkuk is an Iraqi province for all Iraqis".

Turkman provincial council member Tahsin Kahiya was also critical of Talabani's statement.

"The statement carries the meaning that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan, this is not new to the political reality of Iraq, but Kirkuk … has a special status, and the issue has not been resolved yet" he said.

"I think we have constitutional institutions and democratic mechanisms we can turn to in deciding the future of the city" Kahiya continued, "these comments do not change anything of the reality of Kirkuk, but suggest that it is a Kurdish project."

Parizad Sha'ban, a member of the Kurdistan Alliance list in the Iraqi parliament said however that Talabani spoke to the crowd as the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – Talibani's party which enjoys popularity in Sulaimaniyah city.

"Talabani did not speak as the president of Iraq" said Sha'ban, "yet the Arab media criticize him and describe his comments as unconstitutional."

The solution to the issue of Kirkuk and other disputed areas is outlined in the Iraqi constitution's article 140; however, the article has not been implemented though it was scheduled to be implemented by the end of 2007.

Article 140 outlines a three-stage process to resolving the disputes over areas contested by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government in Baghdad.

The process involves a period of normalization – whereby the security environment is stabilized – followed by the restoration of the original demographic balance (which was altered by the former Iraqi regime, often at the expense of indigenous Kurds), and culminates in a referendum, which will enable local people to decide the constitutional status of these areas.

"The decades of struggle by the Kurdish people and its revolutions have all been for the sake of the restoration of the [isolated] areas including Kirkuk which is referred to as the heart and Jerusalem of Kurdistan", Sha'ban said.

"Since the September 1961 revolution led by Barzani (father of the current president of Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani) till now the Kurd shave struggled and sacrificed for this cause".

Raber Younis Aziz (AKnews)

AKnews reporters Bryar Mohammed and Anmar al-Ansari contributed to this story


Wednesday, March 9th 2011 3:14 PM

Deported Iraqi refugees expected to land in Baghdad

Erbil, March 9 (AKnews) – A plane carrying 25 refugees, predominantly Kurds, deported from Britain, is expected to land at Baghdad International Airport this afternoon.

The secretary of the Iraqi refugees Federation Amanj Abdullah said that the refugees, forcibly sent back to Iraq were put on a plane in Britain this morning.

Refugee groups in Kurdistan and Iraq have strongly opposed the forced deportations of Iraqi refugees. Abdullah said that a campaign will be launched in Switzerland on March 16 and 17 to press EU countries not to deport Iraqi refugees.

"We call on the Iraqi government to annual a protocol it signed with the European countries about the deportation of the refugees" said Abdullah referring to an alleged agreement between the Iraqi government and the EU countries whereby the EU countries drop Iraq's debts owing to them and in return they send back the Iraqi refugees.

The regional and Iraqi governments reject such allegations.

Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland started in 2005 the forced deportation of Kurdish refugees back to Kurdistan via Baghdad.

Thousands of Kurdish refugees in EU countries are expected to be deported because the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan is seen by many of those countries as a safe and prosperous region.

Abdullah warned of the "danger" of the deportations and called on the regional government to mount pressure on the Iraqi government to take action.

"If this deportation continues, some 50,000 to 60,000 refugees will be sent back to Iraq which represents an army of unemployed that can create problems for the regional as well as the Iraqi government."

Over the past five years, some 5,500 Iraqi refugees, most of them Kurds, have been deported to Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional government showed reluctance to receive the deported refugees through the region's airports, but the deportations continue as Baghdad receives the refugees via Baghdad airport.

Mr Abdullah said the rights of the deportees are violated, apart from being sent back forcibly, they are usually handcuffed and accompanied by guards who sometimes "beat them up" and "insult" them.

In January, some 28 Iraqi refugees, most of them Kurds, who were deported from Britain arrived in a plane at Baghdad airport. Some of the refugees claimed they had been forced onto the plane and beaten up by the security officers who accompanied them.


Raber Y. Aziz (AKnews)

Dawan Hadi contributed to this story

Wednesday, March 9th 2011 1:06 PM