Iraq and the Kurds: In the Wake of Liberation - The Future of Iraqi Kurdistan
Many were euphoric at the liberation of Kirkuk by Kurdish peshmerga forces, but developments since then have brought ethnic and political divisions starkly to the fore. Law and order have broken down and it is reported that coalition forces and the Kurdish administration have been slow to respond to a spate of lootings and other forcible appropriations of property.
Iraq's Kurds suffered more than any other group at the hands of Saddam Hussein. In one year alone, 120,000 men, women and children were murdered and another 100,000 "ethnically cleansed" as they lost their homes and farms to Saddam's "Arabisation" campaign of replacing Kurds with Arabs from the South of Iraq.
The triumphant return of Kurds displaced from the Kirkuk region has led to widespread concerns of a violent reversal of Saddam's "Arabisation" policy. There are extensive reports describing the ousting of Arab families and the flight of refugees, as Kurdish families claim back property confiscated from them over the past three decades. Kurdish political parties and NGOs have upheld the right of Kurds to return to homes from which they have been forcibly expelled; a right enshrined in international law. There is, however, currently no method by which property disputes can be methodically settled. The process is complicated by the absence of documentation. Kurds forced to leave the region have been routinely deprived of title deeds before their property was sold or passed onto Arabs, relocated from other areas of Iraq.
On 26 May 2003, the citizens of the Northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk held elections to establish a 30- strong council, broadly representative of the city's ethnographic makeup. The positions were elected by 300 delegates, chosen by the US administration. The city's four ethnic communities (Arabs, Assyrians, Turkomen and Kurds) were each given six seats. In addition, the US authorities appointed five Kurdish and one Assyrian "independent". On 28 May 2003, the council elected Rahman Abdul Mustafa, a 59-year-old Kurdish lawyer, to be mayor of Kirkuk. His deputy is Arab oil expert Ismail Ahmed Rajab.
Variously described as the "Kurds' Jerusalem", the source of Iraq's oil wealth, and a multi-ethnic tinderbox, Kirkuk's role in the new Iraq will be a critical factor in any post-war constitution and/or administration. Kirkuk holds both the promise of model inter-ethnic relations, and the threat of catastrophic civil disorder.
The Turkish government has stated that it would intervene militarily if the Kurds seize control of Kirkuk and nearby Mosul. Ankara fears Kurdish control of Iraqi oil resources would accelerate the formation of a Kurdish state within northern Iraq, and fuel so-called secessionist aspirations within the Kurdish community of Southeast Turkey.
Large-scale incursions by Turkish forces have not as yet transpired. But there are signs that Ankara is determined to ensure its influence is felt. US troops from the 173rd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade recently intercepted a Turkish Special Forces team dressed in civilian clothing attempting to pass into the northern city of Arbil.
Since 1991 alone, 120,000 Kurds were expelled from the Kirkuk region. There is widespread consensus, shared by KHRP, that a legal mechanism to settle property claims must be established as soon as possible, and that the forced expulsion of Iraqis of Arab origin must be prevented.
