Iraqi Kurdistan
Encyclopedia : I : IR : IRA : Iraqi Kurdistan
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Flag of Kurdistan |  Coat of Arms |
| National Anthem: Ey Reqîb | |
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| Official languages | Kurdish, Assyrian |
| Capital | Erbil (in Kurdish: Hewlêr) |
| Government | Autonomous region, Parliamentary republic |
| President | Massoud Barzani |
| Prime Minister | Nechervan Idris Barzani |
| Establishment | 1970 |
| Area | about 80 000 km² |
| Population – Total (2005) – Density | 5,500,000 40/km² |
| Currency | Iraqi dinar |
| Time zone | UTC+3 |
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The Kurdistan Region (Kurdish: Herêmî Kurdistan, Arabic: اقلیم کردستان) is an autonomous, federally recognized, political entity located in Iraq, in the north. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north and Syria to the west. Its capital is the city of Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr.
Etymology
The name "Kurdistan" is a combination of the word "Kurd" derived from "Corduene" (Kardo) plus the suffix "istan", together meaning "Land of the Kurds".The full name of this region is "Kurdistan Regional Government". In the new Iraqi Constitution, it is referred to as the "Kurdistan region",[link] while the regional governments refer to it as "Iraqi Kurdistan".[link] Kurdish nationalists refer to it as "South Kurdistan" (Southeastern Turkey being "North Kurdistan").
During the Ba'ath regime in the 70's and 80's, the region was called "Kurdish Autonomous Region".
History
Following World War I and the defeat of Ottoman Empire, Kurds were promised an independent nation-state in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. Turkish nationalists, however, rejected the terms of the treaty, and following the defeat of the Greek forces in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923 in Turkey's favor. The larger area known as Turkish Kurdistan was given to Turkey and the rest was accepted as part of the British Empire (except for the Iranian Kurdistan, which at time was part of Persia). Since that time Kurdish nationalists have continued to seek independence in an area approximating that identified at Sèvres. However, the idea of an independent nation-state came to a halt when the surrounding countries joined to reject the independence of Kurdistan.
Under the former Iraqi Ba'athist regime, which ruled Iraq from 1968 until 2003, Kurds were initially granted limited autonomy (1970), and after the Barzani revolt in 1961, were given some high-level political representation in Baghdad. However, for various reasons, including the pro-Iranian sympathies of some Kurds during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the regime implemented anti-Kurdish policies and a de facto civil war broke out. Iraq was widely-condemned by the international community, but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures, including the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, which resulted in thousands of deaths. (See Halabja poison gas attack.)
Al-Anfal campaign constituted a systematic genocide of the Kurdish people in Iraq. From March 29, 1987 until April 23, 1989, Iraqi army under the command of Ali Hassan al-Majid carried out a genocidal campaign against Kurds, characterized by the following human rights violations: The widespread use of chemical weapons, the wholesale destruction of some 2,000 villages, and slaughter of around 50,000 rural Kurds, by the most conservative estimates. The large Kurdish town of Qala Dizeh (population 70,000) was completely destroyed by the Iraqi army. The campaign also included Arabization of Kirkuk, a program to drive Kurds out of the oil-rich city and replace them with Arab settlers from central and southern Iraq. Kurdish sources report the number of dead to be greater than 182,000 [link].
Autonomy
The Kurdistan Region was originally established in 1970 as the Kurdish Autonomous Region following the agreement of an Autonomy Accord between the government of Iraq and leaders of the Iraqi Kurdish community. A Legislative Assembly was established in the city of Arbil with theoretical authority over the Kurdish-populated governorates of Arbil, Dahuk and As Sulaymaniyah.-->In practice, however, the assembly created in 1970 was under the control of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein until the 1991 uprising against his rule following the end of the Persian Gulf War. In the ensuing fighting and refugee crisis, the United States and United Kingdom established a "safe haven" policed with a no-fly zone covering much of the Kurdish territory. Following this the Baghdad regime withdrew its officials from parts of Kurdistan. The region thus gained de facto independence, being ruled by the two principal Kurdish parties – the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan – outside the control of Baghdad. The region has its own flag and even its own currency and National Anthem.
Elections held in June of 1992 produced an inconclusive outcome, with the assembly divided almost equally between the two main parties and their allies. This led to tensions which ultimately sparked violence and the collapse of the autonomous government. Heavy fighting broke out on several occasions, in May 1994, September 1996, and November 1997, killing thousands. The region was effectively partitioned between the two parties. Saddam Hussein reasserted some power through assisting the KDP to capture Arbil in 1996, but was generally kept at arms' length by a combination of PUK strength and US-UK air patrols.
The provisional capital of the PUK-controlled area was in As Sulaymaniyah in the southeast fo the autonomous area.
The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan won a commanding majority in the Kurdistan National Assembly election on 30 January 2005, as well as 75 seats in the federal National Assembly of the Iraqi Transitional Government. In 7 January 2006 the controlled regions of the two parties merged
KDP and PUK have united to form an alliance with several smaller parties, and the Kurdish alliance has 53 deputies in the new Baghdad parliament, while the Kurdish islamic Union has 5. PUK-leader Jalal Talibani has been elected President of the new Iraqi administration, while KDP leader Massoud Barzani is President of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Timeline of the Kurdish uprising
- 1992 March 5th the city of Rania
- 1992 March 5th the city of Sulaymania
- 1992 March 21st-22nd the most symbolic city of Kirkuk
Politics
Since 1992, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been based in Erbil. The KRG has a parliament, elected by popular vote, called the Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly, and a cabinet composed of the KDP, the PUK and their allies (Iraqi Communist Party, the Socialist Party of Kurdistan etc.). Nechervan Idris Barzani has been prime minister of the KRG since 1999.
The main Kurdish parties and peshmerga cooperated with the US-led coalition during the 2003 invasion of Iraq that led to Hussein's overthrow. Kurdish politicians were represented in the Iraqi governing council. The Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period recognized the autonomy of the Kurdistan Regional Government during the interim between "full sovereignty" and the adoption of a permanent constitution.
The Kurdistan Regional Government currently has constitutionally recognised authority over the provinces of Erbil, Dohuk, and Suleimaniya, as well as de facto authority over parts of Diyala and Ninawa and Kirkuk (at-Ta'mim) provinces.
One particularly difficult issue yet to be resolved is the future boundaries of the region. Many Kurds wish it to be expanded to include the largely Kurdish cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, but this is complicated by the Assyrian, Turkmen and Arab populations of both cities and the opposition of Turkey, which is concerned about the region's potential to break away from Iraq (with possible consequences for its own Kurdish minority). The final boundaries of the autonomous region are set to be decided through a number of referendums before the end of 2007; the referendum on Kirkuk will be held on 15 November 2007.
In the wake of the ratification of the Iraqi constitution in October 2005, Iraqi Kurdistan reconstitutes itself as a Region under the new constitutional framework. Kirkuk's status with respect to the Region should, under that framework, be decided by a simple majority vote in the province.
Economy
The Kurdistan region's economy is dominated by the oil sector, agriculture and tourism. Due to relative peace in the region it has a more developed economy in comparison to other parts of Iraq.
Prior to the removal of Saddam Hussein, the Kurdistan Regional Government received approximately 13% of the revenues from Iraq's Oil-for-Food Program. By the time of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the program had disbursed $8.35 billion to the KRG. Iraqi Kurdistan's food security allowed for substantially more of the funds to be spent on development projects than in the rest of Iraq. By the program's end in 2003 $4 billion of the KRG's oil-for-food funds remained unspent.
Following the removal of the regime of Saddam Hussein and the subsequent violence, the three provinces fully under the Kurdistan Regional Government's control were the only three in Iraq to be ranked "secure" by the US military. The relative security and stability of the region has allowed the KRG to sign a number of investment contracts with foreign companies. In 2006 the first new oil well since the invasion of Iraq was drilled in the Kurdistan region by the Norwegian energy company DNO. Initial indications are that the oil field contains at least 100 million barrels of oil and will be pumping 5,000 bpd by early 2007. The KRG has signed exploration agreements with two other oil companies, Canada's Western Oil Sands and the UK's Sterling Energy.
The stability of the Kurdistan region has allowed it to achieve a higher level of development than other regions in Iraq. In 2004 the per capita income was 25% higher than in the rest of Iraq. The two chief cities of the region, Arbil and Sulaymaniyah, both have international airports serving destinations through the Middle East and parts of Europe. The government continues to receive a portion of the revenue from Iraq's oil exports, and the government will soon implement a unified foreign investment law. The KRG also has plans to build a media city in Arbil and free trade zones near the borders of Turkey and Iran.
Geography
The Iraqi Kurdistan is largely mountainous, with the highest point being a 3,611 m (11,847 ft) point known locally as Cheekah Dar (black tent). There are many rivers flowing and running through mountains of the region making it distinguished by its fertile lands, plentiful water, picturesque nature.
The mountainous nature of Kurdistan, the difference of temperatures in its various parts, and its wealth of waters, make Kurdistan a land of agriculture and tourism. In addition to various minerals, oil in particular, which for a long time was being extracted via pipeline only in Kurdistan through Iraq.
The largest lake in the region is Lake Dukan.
It is worthy to note that the term "Northern Iraq" is a bit of a geographical ambiguity in usage. "North" typically refers to the Kurdistan Region. "Center" and "South" or "Center-South" when individually referring to the other areas of Iraq or the rest of the country that is not the Kurdistan Region. Media types continually refer to "North" and "Northern Iraq" as anywhere north of Baghdad.
Governorates
Iraqi Kurdistan is divided among 6 governorates of which currently three are under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government. These governorates are called in Kurdish parêzge. Particularly in Iraqi government documents the term governorate is preferred:
- The governorates wholly under the Kurdistan Regional Government are:
- The governorates claimed totally or in part by the Kurdistan Regional Government are:
- 4. Diyala
- 5. Kirkuk (Kerkûk)
- 6. Ninawa
Demographics
The population is about 5-6 million. Majority are muslims. There are also significant numbers of Yazidis and Christians. Kurds comprise the ethnic majority in the region while the Assyrian who particularly reside in the western part of the area make up the second largest.Military
Peshmerga or peshmerge (Kurdish: pêşmerge) is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters, they have been labelled by some as freedom fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" (pêş front + merg death e is) the peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been around since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman and Qajar empires which had jointly ruled over the area known today as Kurdistan.
Peshmerga forces also played a significant role with coalition troops in liberation of northern Iraq against Ba'ath regime.
Culture
Kurdish cultural heritage is rooted in one of the world's oldest cultures, the Mesopotamian. Through the ages, this heritage has been subject to injustices, neglect and repression, or has been eclipsed by other cultures. Important components of the original cultural heritage have disappeared or have been destroyed. There are numerous examples of how valuable or irreplaceable Kurdish physical heritage are endangered or destroyed, like the threat posed by the Illusi Dam in Kurdistan (Turkey), where the oldest Kurdish city, Hasankeyf, soon is to be covered by water. [link]
Kurds have always been among the more liberal Muslims and as a result Kurdish women have faced less restrictions in wearing hijab or holding jobs outside home than other muslim women. The Kurdish culture is close to Iranian culture among their neighbours. For example they celebrate Newroz as the new year day, which is celebrated on March 21. It is the first day of the month of Xakelêwe in Kurdish calendar and the first day of spring. [link]
Music
Views of Kurdistan
Historical and touristic attractions
- Geli Eli Beg waterfall, (Tavgey Geli Eli Beg)
- Arbil citadel, Hewler, (Qelay Hewlêr)
- Emne sureke, Slemani
- Bexal
- Delal Bridge, Zaxo, (Pirdi Delal)
- Serchinar, (in Slemani)
Colleges and universities
- Salahaddin University [(Zankoy Selahedîn)]
- [University of Sulaimani (Zankoy Slêmanî)]
- [University of Duhok (Zankoy Duhok)]
- [University of Koya]
See also
External links
- [Kurdistan Regional Government]
- [Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament]
- [Kurdistan - The Other Iraq]
- [Kurdistan Development Corporation]
- [Ministry of Human Rights]
- [Kurdistan TV (English Programme)]
- [Kurdish Media]
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| Arbil (Hewlêr) | Dahuk (Dihok) | As Sulaymaniyah (Slêmanî) | |
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