547 - Kurdish Globe

From the Heart of Kurdistan Region
The only English paper in Iraq - No: 547 Mon. August 29, 2016
PRESS PHOTO
Barzani: Big changes
on the way
No. 547, Monday, August 29, 2016
The Kurdish Globe
Will We Save
the Children
of War?
2
US asks for full coordination
between KRG and
Baghdad in Mosul
By | Gazi Hassan
According to the Universal Declaration of
Children’s Rights, children may not be invv
volved in armed conflicts, or be targeted, killed
or hurt by them. Contrary to these universal
principles and agreements from the United
Nations, many nations around the world, especv
cially in the Middle East, children are used as
child soldiers and subject to severe mistreatmv
ment. ISIS is the climax of this as they have
recently shown in their training of children for
violent actions and suicide attacks.
In the Middle East, hundreds of thousands of
children have been targeted, losing their lives
or the lives of family members. The latest incv
cident from Aleppo where children were the
target of Russian aircraft bombings. The Ezidi
Kurds were mass killed by the brutal ISIS terrv
rorists and their children were trained for commv
mitting violence. Further, their girls are contv
tinually sold as sex slaves in the market and
then raped. This is happening in broad daylight
before the world.
Last week, a 15-year-old boy wearing a suicv
cide vest was arrested in Tis’een neighborhood
of Kirkuk. If you had watched his arrest and
the defusing of the suicide vest he was weariv
ing, you would see how desperate the children
of war are. This is certainly a crime that terror
groups are committing against the world’s childv
dren. It makes one sick to see children exploitev
ed for suicidal attack under the effect of drugs
in particular. ISIS continues to train hundreds
more children for terrorist activities in Mosul.
International Criminal Courts must move on
these actions and the international community
must stop these terrorists who, like the the case
of Yemen, kill and torture children.
Last week at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantv
tep, a suicide bomber managed to kill over 90
civilians, including 29 children aged 12-14
years.
Have UN officials or foreign leaders stopped
to think about the bleak future of those childv
dren who are forced into violent action or those
who’ve been victims of war in Syria, Yemen,
Iraq or elsewhere? Hasn’t the time come for
the international community to act on behalf of
the future of these children. If we want to build
a peaceful society, we should think of the next
generation in these conflicts.
Weekly paper printed in Erbil
First published in 2005
www.kurdishGlobe.net
Address: Erbil, Massif road
Erbil and Baghdad should
have full coordination with
each other and the international
coalition in the battle for Mosv
sul, urged an American senator
during a visit to the Kurdistan
Region.
The
Kurdistan
Regional
Government (KRG) Premier
Nechirvan Barzani received a
US delegation headed by Texas
Senator John Cornyn on Friday.
The upcoming battle of Mosul,
an anticipated wave of internv
nally displaced persons (IDPs),
and relations between Erbil and
Baghdad were the main topics
of the meeting.
“US Senator Cornyn has expv
pressed American appreciation
and thanked the Kurdish people
and the KRG for receiving and
hosting a high number of refugv
gees and IDPs that fled from
ISIS, and the KRG’s provision
of necessary services for them,”
reads a statement issued by the
KRG after the meeting.
Cornyn asked the KRG to have
full coordination with Baghdad
and the coalition in the Mosul
battle. He stated that all parties
should consider the concerns
of the people of Mosul and the
Sunnis after the defeat of ISIS
in the city.
“It is necessary to have full
coordination between Baghdad,
the KRG and the coalition and
to take into account the concv
cerns of the Mosul people and
Sunnis; the rights of all should
be protected,” Cornyn said in
the meeting.
He repeated US support for the
KRG in hosting new IDPs from
Mosul. “He has expressed his
support for the KRG as a high
number of IDPs are expected
to flee to the Kurdistan Region
during the liberation of Mosul.
The international community
will provide more support for
the Kurdistan Region,” accordiv
ing to the statement.
Prime Minister Barzani welcv
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Gazi Hassan +964 750 7747784
Senior U.K. Editor
Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel
[email protected]
[email protected]
ARTS EDITOR
Rozhgar Jafar Rasul
[email protected]
Reviser
J. Watt
comed the senator’s visit and
comments, and said, “The
Kurdistan Region always tried
to receive and help IDPs. But
the Kurdistan Region’s capacity
is limited. Therefore the internv
national community, especially
the US, should provide needed
support.”
Barzani also extended his
thanks to the United States and
all coalition members who from
the beginning of the war on ISIS
have provided military support
to the Kurdistan Region.
Addressing the KRG’s relatv
tions with Iraq, Barzani said,
“The KRG is ready via dialogue
to solve all the problems with
Baghdad. And, militarily, soon
we will have a meeting between
both sides to have more collabov
oration.”
“But there should be full clariv
ity on the political, security, socv
cial, construction, and humanitv
tarian situations in Mosul,” he
added.
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No. 547, Monday, August 29, 2016
The Kurdish Globe
3
President Barzani in Ankara:
Big changes on the way
Barzani and Erdogan discussed
combating ISIS and improving
trade ties
Kurdistan Region Presidv
dent Massoud Barzani
along with a Kurdistan
Region delegation arrv
rived in Turkey Tuesday
afternoon. They were recv
ceived by Turkish Presidv
dent Recep Tayyip Erdogv
gan and Prime Minister
Binali Yildirim as part
of the President’s official
visit to Turkey.
During the meeting,
President Erdogan expv
pressed his appreciation
to the Kurdistan Region
for its support to the
Turkish government, espv
pecially during the failed
coup attempt last month.
The President stated
that all efforts against
democratically elected
institutions will lead to
failure and that the era of
forceful coups has now
passed.
President Barzani and
President Erdogan discv
cussed the military effv
forts against the terrorists
of the Islamic State in
both Iraq and Syria and
how Turkey will continuv
ue to support the forces
against the terrorists. The
President reiterated his
gratitude for Turkey’s
support and conveyed his
condolences to the familv
lies and loved ones of the
victims of the Gaziantep
terrorist attack earlier
this week.
The Mosul offensive,
resolution of Turkey’s
Kurdish question, and the
Kurds of Rojava (Syriv
ian Kurdistan) will be on
the agenda of Barzani’s
meetings with the Turkiv
ish leaders.
Speaking to the media
in the Turkish capital
Ankara, President Barzv
zani said that in his meetiv
ings with Turkey’s leadev
ers he had discussed the
war against the Islamic
State (ISIS), better coopev
eration to combating the
‘terrorist organization’
and deepening of ties betv
tween Erbil and Ankara.
“Definitely, the ISIS
war one of the key points
of our talk and we decv
cided on how to work
together on battling this
terrorist organization,”
said Barzani. “It is obviov
ous that huge changes are
coming to the region and
they need more cooperatv
tion.”
Barzani who said his
visit was on the invitation
of Turkish President Recv
cep Tayyip Erdogan, also
met with Turkey’s Prime
Minister Binali Yildirim
and the speaker of the
Turkish parliament.
Kurdistan national flag
seen for the second time
in less than a year when
President Barzani was recv
ceived by Turkish prime
minister.
Turkish sources said
that Erdogan and Barzv
zani also addressed necev
essary steps to shut down
schools and institutions
in Iraqi Kurdistan that
are affiliated with Fethullv
lah Gulen, a U.S.-based
Islamic cleric whom
Turkey blames for last
month's failed military
coup.
Sources said Barzani
expressed his support for
Turkey's elected leadersv
ship following a July 15
abortive putsch, in which
rogue soldiers commv
mandeered fighter jets,
helicopters and tanks to
overthrow Erdogan and
the government.
President Barzani visitev
ed the Turkish parliament
as well and received by
parliament speaker Ismail
Kahraman. He “thanked
the Turkish people who,
with their will, supported
Turkish legitimacy and
democracy, and foiled
the coup,” reads a statemv
ment issued by the Kurdiv
istan Region Presidency
(KRP).
During the meeting with
the Turkish parliament,
the deputy parliament
speaker and representatv
tives of the three largest
parties in the parliament,
the Peoples’ Democratic
Party (HDP), the Repv
publican People’s Party
(CHP), and the Justice
and Development Party
(AKP), were all present.
The speaker voiced his
pleasure at Barzani’s
visit and in the meeting
spoke of the failed coup
attempt and the attack on
the parliament building
during the failed coup.
After the two-day visit
to Ankara, President Barzv
zani headed to Europe on
Wednesday.
Slemani Governor Replaced
The Slemani Provincial
Council has elected Gorrv
ran movement candidate
and former head of the
Slemani Provincial Councv
cil, Haval Abubakir, as
new governor of the proviv
ince on Thursday. He was
elected with the majority
vote of council members
after weeks of negotiatv
tions between the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
and the Gorran movemv
ment.
Kurdish
Parliament
Speaker Yousif Mohammv
med welcomed council’s
decision and commended
the body in a statement
released after the vote.
“Today for the first time in
Slemani power has been
exchanged peacefully,”
reads the statement. “We
hope this will become a
common occurrence and
in the future will lead to
further exercise of democv
cratic principles in Kurdiv
istan.”
But some council membv
bers consider Abubakir’s
election as problematic,
saying he will not hold
any power as governor
until the presidency appv
proves his election. “Havv
val Abubakir is accepted
as Slemani provincial
council governor. But he
cannot act as governor
until he gets the Kurdistan
presidency’s official appv
proval, and an order from
the council of ministers
and related ministries to
confirm him as the new
governor,” Dana Jaza, a
Slemani council member
from the Kurdistan Democv
cratic Party (KDP) bloc,
told Rudaw.
Ismael Namiq, a membv
ber of Gorran’s legal commv
mittee, disagreed that the
presidency’s approval is
necessary. “The Slemani
governor’s
legitimacy
comes from the council
members not from the
presidency’s approval,” he
said. “The approval is only
to commission him to start
working as governor.”
Abubakir’s appointment,
however, may be disputev
ed as the day before the
vote former governor Aso
Faraidoon issued an order
designating a deputy govev
ernor as acting governor.
“According to our admv
ministrative authorities,”
reads Faraidoon’s order,
“I’ve decided to designate
Sardar Qadir Ali, deputy
governor for technical affv
fairs, to become acting
governor in addition to his
duties as deputy governor
of Slemani province.”
Under Kurdistan Region
law, the Kurdistan Presidv
dency must issue its officv
cial approval of the governv
nor within 15 days of the
election.
Abubakir previously won
the post of governor in the
2013 provincial elections
by 241,000 votes but was
denied the seat by the
more powerful PUK and
was instead made head
of the provincial council
after weeks of negotiatv
tions between Gorran and
the PUK. But they failed
to agree on a mechanism
for the election of a new
governor at the end of his
term.
Gorran and the PUK
have sought to mend relv
lations in recent months.
They signed an alliance on
May 17 that brought both
parties closer in national
and regional politics, leadiv
ing many to speculate that
the two might merge into
one party as they were befv
fore 2009.
No. 547, Monday, August 29, 2016
The Kurdish Globe
4
One million people are expected to be
displaced by Mosul war
Iraq’s
displacement
crisis - worse
is yet to come
With the number of Iraqis
displaced due to confv
flict continuing to rise,
the UN Refugee Agency,
UNHCR, is warning that
even worse is yet to come.
Since March, more than
200,000 Iraqis have fled
from their homes due to
ongoing military operatv
tions. The anticipated offv
fensive for Iraq’s secondbiggest city, Mosul, could
result, if prolonged, in
the displacement of more
than a million additional
Iraqis.
“Worse is yet to come”,
warned UNHCR’s Reprv
resentative in Iraq, Bruno
Geddo. “We predict that
it could result in massive
displacement on a scale
not seen globally in many
years.”
“We are building new
camps and pre-positioniv
ing emergency relief kits
to ensure people fleeing
get rapid assistance. But
even with the best-laid
plans, there will be insuffv
ficient camps for all familv
lies needing shelter and
we need to prepare other
options”, he said.
Altogether in Iraq, 3.38
million people have been
displaced since January
2014, with many uprooted
several times. An additv
tional one million Iraqis
were displaced as a result
of earlier sectarian confv
flicts in the mid-2000s.
Since March, some
48,000 individuals have
fled their homes in Mosul
and surrounding areas;
with 87,000 fleeing from
Falluja and nearby areas
since May, and 78,000
from Shirqat, Qayyarah
and surrounding areas
since June.
Wars and conflict in Iraq
over the past three decades
have left the country deeplv
ly traumatized.
UNHCR has been provv
viding humanitarian suppv
port, including shelter,
emergency relief kits and
protection services to dispv
placed families. It has
developed
contingency
plans that could provide
shelter assistance for up
to 120,000 people fleeing
conflict in Mosul and surrv
rounding areas.
Two new IDP camps in
Debaga, Erbil Governorav
ate, were completed in
July and August. UNHCR
is looking to build an addv
ditional site, awaiting
available land, as Debaga
has swollen nearly tenfold in size since March
- from one camp housing
3,500 displaced Iraqis to
now several sites, housing
more than 34,000.
North of Mosul, one
camp is being built at at
Zelekan in Sheikhan distv
trict, and Amalla, in Telafv
far district, which will
house more than 4,000
families.
In Kirkuk, UNHCR is
constructing a new camp
in Daquq district, with
capacity for 1,000 tents,
and expanding additional
camp capacity at Nazrawa
and Laylan.
Work is also underway
in Salah al-Din for a 1,000
tent camp site at Tal alSeebat.
UNHCR, with other
UN agencies and NGO
partners, is assessing and
identifying other sites
in northern Iraq in close
consultation with authoritv
ties. However, progress
depends on both availabiliv
ity of land and of funding.
UNHCR’s overall appeal
of $584 m for IDPS and
Iraqi refugees in the regv
gion is only 38% funded
as of 2 August.
Finding available land
for the new camps has
become a critical issue.
Many private landownev
ers are unwilling to lease
land; other land may be
unsuitable due to the topv
pography, its proximity
to the frontline or military
operations and the risk of
contamination of UXOs
or landmines, or because
sites are located in areas
which could inflame ethnv
nic, sectarian, religious or
tribal tensions.
The majority of people
displaced from Mosul may
require out of camp solutv
tions. UNHCR and shelter
partners are already procv
curing emergency shelter
kits and relief items, with
a target of distributing at
least 50,000 of each kit
when needs arise.
The emergency shelter
kits are designed to help
displaced families to prepv
pare rudimentary shelter.
They can also be adapted
to be used in unfinished
buildings or collective
centres.
In addition, UNHCR
and protection partners
will strongly advocate for
private and institutional
sponsorship arrangements
to try to find alternative
accommodation solutions.
This could be via family
and friends, or charitable
foundations, endowments
and religious or other insv
stitutions.
Children among Victims of Gaziantep Explosion
An explosion at a weddv
ding ceremony hall late
Saturday in Turkey's
southeastern city of Gazv
ziantep has left at least
50 people dead and 90
injured, government offv
ficials said.
Last week on Sunday,
President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan put the death
toll at 51 and blamed
an Islamic State suicv
cide bomber possibly as
young as 12.
The governor of Gazv
ziantep, Ali Yerlikaya,
called the explosion a
"terror attack," and other
officials said it could have
been the work of either
Islamic State or Kurdish
militants. One called it a
suicide bombing.
Gaziantep is about 76
miles from Aleppo, the
Syrian city devastated by
five years of civil war and
recent Russian and Syriv
ian-state airstrikes. The
war has risked destabiliziv
ing Turkey, a NATO ally
that's experienced a wave
of terror attacks this year
and whose government
resisted an attempted
military coup in July.
Turkey blamed Islv
lamic State terrorists,
also known as ISIL or
Daesh, for a June attack
that killed 45 at Istanbul's
Ataturk Airport. There
were at least five terror
attacks in Turkey in the
first half of the year.
The attacks have escalv
lated as the Turkish govev
ernment, which previov
ously viewed the Syrian
government of President
Bashar Assad as a bigger
threat, has cooperated
more with the United
States and the West to
fight Islamic State forcev
es.
The Turkish governmv
ment has also blamed
some attacks on a Kurdiv
ish separatist movement
that has waged a three decv
cade fight with the countv
try for autonomous terrv
ritory. Earlier this week,
at least 14 people were
killed and more than 220
wounded when two car
bombs went off at police
stations in eastern Turkv
key within 24 hours. The
Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) was responsible
for at least two of the
bombings, the Anadolu
news agency reported.
Kurdish forces are also
fighting the Assad regime
in Syria, another front in
the fractured civil war,
raising the possibility
that Saturday's bomb was
aimed at Kurds in Turkey
as a spillover of the Syriv
ian war.
Deputy Prime Minister
Mehmet Simsek said on
NTV Television: "This
was a barbaric attack. It
appears to be a suicide attv
tack. All terror groups, the
PKK, Daesh, the (Gulen
movement) are targeting
Turkey. But God willing,
we will overcome."
No. 547, Monday, August 29, 2016
The Kurdish Globe
5
Firsat Sofi: Half of reform decisions not implemented
Firsat Sofi, member of
the Kurdistan Parliament
on the Kurdistan Democv
cratic Party (KDP) bloc
and member of the parliamv
ment’s integrity committv
tee, states that more than
half of all the reform decisv
sions issued by the Kurdiv
istan Regional Governmv
ment (KRG) in February
2016 to cut expenditures
and increase revenues,
have not been implementev
ed and are still in process
or halted.
MP Sofi says majoriv
ity of the decisions that
have been actually implemv
mented are related to the
people, such as pay cuts,
salary savings, and have
increased the financial
burden on the people.
“Some other decisions
have also been implemv
mented but not at a satisfv
factory level,” argues Sofi
in an interview with a locv
cal Kurdish news agency.
Sofi says there has been
some changes in the local
administrations in Erbil
such as changing some
senior administrative posv
sitions. He also added that
there are more reforms
underway and the governmv
ment is preparing a compv
prehensive plan for that.
MP Sofi expressed his
hopefulness in the refv
form plans and argues
“although things don’t go
as fast as expected, but
reform is underway, and
results will come up in the
near future.”
“No reform plan will be
hassle-free especially in
our country where corrv
ruption and malevolence
are widespread and we
definitely have huge obsv
stacles. However, what I
can feel is the existence
of the will for reform and
fighting corruption.”
The KDP MP also added
that the Prime Minister
and the President work
in close coordination to
implement the reform
and anti-corruption plans,
and this guarantees higher
rates of success and impv
pact.
“A number of corruption
cases within President’s
Barzani’s anti-corruption
campaign are now in the
court and being addressed
and results are expected
very soon,” MP Sofi argv
gued. “We can’t talk about
all details and hurry about
the results, because giving
too much information and
details may ruin a case.”
“Barzani has personav
ally told the judges and
Integrity Committee that
they have the authoriv
ity to call anyone to go to
courts including his famiv
ily members,” Sofi said
in the interview. “There
are powerful people who
have been pulled to court
halls, and this gives a big
hope about the success of
the reform and anti-corrv
ruption plans.”
Kirkuk to prevent Baghdad-Iran oil tankers transfer
The Governor of Kirkuk
Province pointed out on
Thursday that he will not
allow the federal govev
ernment of Iraq to ship
Kirkuk’s oil to Iran via
tankers because they have
to pay extra fees for pollv
luting the environment.
In a statement submittv
ted to media, Najmaddin
Karim, the Governor of
Kirkuk Province stated
that Baghdad government
owes Kirkuk large sums of
petrodollar. He hoped that
Baghdad would honor its
commitments to Kirkuk.
“They [Iraqi federal govev
Iran arrests more
than 450 social media
users for ‘immoral’
online activities
Iran has “arrested or
summoned” around 450
social media users over
their online activities,
a website linked to the
powerful Revolutionary
Guards said.
Gherdab, the cyber arm
of the Guards, said the
people targeted adminiv
istered pages on social
networks including smartpv
phone applications such as
Instagram, Telegram and
WhatsApp.
“These people were
carrying out immoral actv
tivities, insulted religious
beliefs or had illegal actv
tivities in the field of fashiv
ion,” said Gherdab.
It said the suspects
would be put on trial withov
out specifying how many
exactly have been placed
under arrest.
Isna news agency carried
a similar report.
Iranian authorities have
for years tried to impose
curbs on its citizens using
social media.
Facebook and Twitter are
officially banned in Iran,
although users can gain
access with easily availav
able and cheap software.
But applications such as
Instagram, Telegram and
WhatsApp are available to
Iranians and very popular.
More than half of Iran’s
population of 80 million
is online, with Telegram,
an instant messaging app
alone having more than 20
million users.
President Hassan Rouhv
hani, a moderate, has repv
peatedly pointed to the inev
effectiveness of measures
to limit access to social
media.
ernment] want to send
Kirkuk oil to Iran through
tankers, not pipelines,”
Karim continued. “We
won’t let tankers take
Kirkuk oil to Iran.”
He mentioned that if
oil companies that want
to send oil via tankers to
Iran, they should be giviv
ing extra fees for polluting
Kirkuk air and negatively
affecting roads.
Karim stated that they
will not allow a single oil
tanker to transfer Kirkuk
oil to Iran without heeding
conditions determined by
Kirkuk Province.
The federal governmv
ment and the Kurdistan
Regional
Government
(KRG) have been locked
in dispute since the begv
ginning of 2014 after the
KRG started to sell its oil
independently. In March,
North Oil Co. in Kirkuk
ran by the federal govev
ernment stopped using
its only export oil route
through the Kurdistan Regv
gion to Turkey.
On August 22, the Oil
Ministry of Iraq ordered
the restoration of the expv
port through North Oil
Co.
“We’re still waiting for
an agreement on the detv
tails regarding who should
receive the oil revenues,”
Deputy Oil Minister Fayyav
ad Al-Nima told Bloombv
berg on Wednesday.
Kirkuk is an oil-rich
province located in the
south of the Kurdistan Regv
gion and north of Iraq. It
is a diverse province with
different ethnic and religv
gious background, includiv
ing Kurds, Turkmen, Arav
abs and Christians. Kurds
make up the majority of
the population.
Five PUK Officials Resign after
Slemani Governor Change
The Slemani provincial
council gathered today,
August 25th, to vote on
the candidates for the posv
sitions of governor and
head of the council, but
the first meeting ended
with five members from
the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) resigniv
ing from their membersv
ship in the party.
The first meeting today
morning was supposed to
be discussing about a new
figure for the position of
Head of the Slemani Provv
vincial Council, a positv
tion that PUK and Gorrv
ran (Change Movement)
previously decided to fill
with Akram Sharif from
PUK.
However, the meeting
ended with the resignatv
tion of five PUK membv
bers from the party after
they felt a political consv
spiracy was made against
Akram Sharif; saying the
candidate was approved
by Gorran General Coov
ordinator
Nawshirwan
Mustafa and leading PUK
member Hero Ibrahim
until Wednesday evenv
ning, but Sharif was later
replaced without a prior
notification.
Later on, Sharif and
four other PUK members
of the Slemani provincial
council held a press confv
ference to criticize the
“strange decision”, expv
plaining that the new candv
didate is not even holding
an academic certificate.
Sharif believes that the
tension between the diffv
ferent political wings
within PUK has led the
party to the decision,
and he insists that todays
meeting in which a new
figure was elected for
the head of the Slemani
provincial council “was
against the bylaw.”
BasNews has learned
that the council will procv
ceed with the second
meeting today evening to
replace the current governv
nor — from PUK — with
a new figure from Gorrv
ran.
The resigned officials
revealed in the press confv
ference that they will be
forming an independent
faction in the council, and
they are no longer acting
on behalf of PUK.
No. 547, Monday, August 29, 2016
The Kurdish Globe
NEWS BAR
Kurdish Shabaks Seek Their
Areas to Join Kurdistan Region
6
Turkey to Open Two Border
Crossings with KRG
The Kurdish Shabak community commendev
ed the role of Peshmerga in defending them
against Islamic State (IS), and demanded their
territories to be annexed to Kurdistan Region
during a press conference on Thursday.
On the 25th of August, a number of Kurdish
Shabak people, including prominent figures,
held a press conference in Bardarash district
near Erbil in which they highlighted the Peshmv
merga's effective role in defending and rescuiv
ing them.
The Shabak community expressed their
hope in driving out the IS militants from their
territories at the hands of the Peshmerga forcev
es and stressed out that their areas in Nineveh
Plains are part of the Kurdistan Region's soil,
seeking that the Nineveh Plains become a
province and join the Kurdistan Region after
its liberation.
They also called on the authorities to reconsv
struct and rehabilitate their areas after it is
cleared from the militants.
Iran Runs Military
Camps in Kirkuk
Iran runs six military camps near the city of
Kirkuk in northern Iraq, including around 1,500
officers and commanders from the Quds Force
of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Tehran is also planning to open new military
camps between the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul
reaching to the Syrian border, informed sources
told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
Head of the military wing at the Kurdistan
Freedom Party Hussein Yazdan said: “Mohammv
mad Shahlaei, a veteran commander of the
Quds Force, currently supervises the operations
and movements of this Revolutionary Guards
unit in northern Iraq.”
The Turkish PM Binali
Yıldırım said that they
have discussed the openiv
ing of two other border
crossings with the Kurdiv
istan Region President
Masoud Barzani, which
will bring the total numbv
ber of the official border
crossings between Turkv
key and Kurdistan Regv
gion to three.
Yıldırım said in a press
statement that in his
meeting with Barzani,
both sides reiterated the
strengthening of bilateral
trade ties, particularly in
the field of energy.
To strengthen the trade
ties between Turkey and
Kurdistan Regional Govev
ernment (KRG), Yıldırım
said that two other border
crossings will be opened
between them in the
province of Jolamerg in
Turkish Kurdistan near
the KRG border, which
brings the total number
of the official border
crossings between Turkv
key and Kurdistan Regv
gion to three.
Barzani visited Turkey
at the official invitation
of the Turkish President
Recep Tayip Erdogan
on August 23, and met
with both Erdogan and
Yıldırım.
Turkey is a key economiv
ic partner for Kurdistan
Region since its Ceyhan
port is the gate for eKRG
oil exports to reach the
international markets.
ICHR: 1759 Yezidi children lost parents
Kirkuk Struggles with High
Number of IDP
The Kirkuk administration is struggling with
the high number of IDPs; there are more than
740,000 internally displaced in the province
from Hawija, Tikrit and Anbar. There is no
budget or support for them from Baghdad.
This has pushed the Kirkuk provincial council
and administration to make the decision to retv
turn the IDPs to their liberated areas.
“We care about the people of Kirkuk. We
have decided that the IDPs have to return to
their places of origin because their areas have
been liberated and they cannot stay longer,”
Rebwar Talabani, head of the Kirkuk provincv
cial council, told Rudaw.
But the Iraqi government is not coordinating
with the Kirkuk administration for the returns.
Large Scope of Land cleared
from landmines in Dukok
Kurdistan Region Mine Action Agency (MAA)
reported that an area of thousands of square
meters have been cleared from landmines in
Duhok province of Kurdistan Region since July
2016.
MAA teams continue to clear the Kurdistan
Region areas from landmines and in their latest
effort they cleared 27,222 square meters from
landmines in Duhok province in July, 2016.
According to the report, the lands have been
handed over to their owners after they ensured
them of no more landmines in the area.
Thousands of landmines across Kurdistan
Region border areas usually leave civilians
wounded or dead, particularly in the rural areas
where they breed their livestock.
The Independent Commv
mission for Human Rights
(ICHR) in Iraq announced
its most recent report about
the Yezidi victims under
the rule of the Islamic State
(ISIS).
According to the report,
which was announced last
week in a press conference
in Erbil, a total of 1293 Yezv
zidis were martyred and a
total of 1759 Yezidi childv
dren have lost their parents
and became orphans.
Husam Abdulla, Head of
the Yezidi genocide Documv
mentation
Organization,
stated in the press conferev
ence on August 23, 2016 in
Erbil, that the survey was
conducted according to intv
ternational standards and
within a legal framework.
“The report shall be submv
mitted to all relevant local
and foreign parties and will
serve as a tool for the internv
national recognition of the
crime against the Yezidis as
genocide,” stated Abdulla.
Ziyaa Petrous, Head of
the ICHR, also added that it
is important that the report
was announced on the Intv
ternational Human Rights
Day.
“After publication, we
will submit a copy of the
report to all diplomatic
missions and international
organizations,” Petrous told
the media.
The report highlights
some figures about the Yezv
zidis, including the total
Yezidi population of Sinjar
an its surroundings, which
is 550,000. Out of this numbv
ber more than 360,000 have
been displaced on August
3, 2014 and are still living
away from their homes.
The report also states that
1759 Yezidi children lost
their fathers, 407 lost their
mothers and 359 have lost
both parents. Additionally,
there are still 220 children
who live under ISIS contv
trol.
The report further suggv
gests that 30 mass graves
of Yezidis have been identv
tified around Sinjar and 44
Yezidi temples have been
destroyed by ISIS terroriv
ists.
“6,413 people have been
kidnapped by ISIS, out of
which, 3,543 are girls and
women, and the remainiv
ing 2,870 are men and
children,” Abdulla told the
reporters during the press
conference.
No. 547, Monday, August 29, 2016
The Kurdish Globe
7
Christians Feel Safe in Kurdistan Region
Head of National BetNahrainUnion,
Sabah
Barxo stated that the
Christian want their territv
tories to be administrated
by Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG).
After Islamic State (ISIS)
Invaded Mosul, many
people were displaced and
many of them moved to
Kurdistan Region seeking
peace. National Bet-Nahrv
rain Unionis is one of the
Christian parties, which
used to be based in Mosul,
now have their office reov
opened in Erbil.
When asked how he
wants Nineveh to be admv
ministered after liberatv
tion process is completed,
Barkho said "We like to
live peacefully with all
sides. All sides need to run
the province in a peaceful
way,"
Concerning the possibiliv
ity of joining Kurdistan
Region, He said "if a fair
referendum is conducted
and our people voted to
live with Kurds, I would
like the referendum results
will be respected. We want
to live with our brethren
Kurds,"
Barkho hopes Kurds can
get united and work on estv
tablishing a state in which
all the different political
parties, religious groups,
and nations can live peacefv
fully.
"Now all people in Iraq
are seeking a secure and
safe place. I am sure if
Kurds can keep that securv
rity in Kurdistan Region,
all sides will demand their
territories would be run
under KRG administratv
tion." He concluded
Iraq’s budget deficit for 2017 expected to hit $26 billion
Iraq’s financial problems
could get worse as officv
cials expect the 2017 budgv
get deficit to reach more
than $26 billion, a membv
ber of the Council of Reprv
resentatives said Thursday
(August 25).
The Council of Ministers
approved a draft of the
federal budget for FY2017
this week, which included
a 17 percent appropriation
for the Kurdistan Region’s
budget.
Sarhan Ahmed, a membv
ber of the parliament’s
finance committee, said
budget figures were based
on projected oil revenues,
which are expected to
bring in 70 trillion Iraqi
dinars ($58 billion USD).
“The budget deficit is 32
trillion dinars ($26.6 billv
lion USD),” he said, addiv
ing. “[Iraq’s government]
will fill the deficit with
funds from the Internatv
tional Monetary Fund.”
Iraq pegs its yearly budgv
get to the estimated price
of oil at which it can sell
crude, which represents an
overwhelming source of
revenue for the country.
The 2017 budget estimv
mates oil prices will avev
erage $35 per day, down
significantly from the days
when a barrel of crude
fetched over $100 for the
government.
With the Kurdistan Regv
gion’s budget included in
the new budget draft, Iraqi
Minister of Migration and
Displacement, Darbaz Mohv
hammed, said on Tuesday
that Iraqi officials are urgiv
ing Kurdish counterparts
in Erbil accept provisions
in the bill for at least three
years in order to guarantee
receipt of the 17 percent
appropriation.
The draft law requires the
KRG to export 550,000
bpd through the Iraqi
State Organization for
Marketing of Oil (SOMO)
as agreed in a December
2014 oil-revenue-sharing
agreement.
Six Iranian military camps south of Kirkuk… others on the way
Iran runs six military
camps near the city of
Kirkuk in northern Iraq,
including around 1,500
officers and commanders
from the Quds Force of
the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard.
Tehran is also planning to
open new military camps
between the cities of
Kirkuk and Mosul reachiv
ing to the Syrian border.
Head of the military wing
at the Kurdistan Freedom
Party Hussein Yazdan said:
“Mohammad
Shahlaei,
a veteran commander of
the Quds Force, currently
supervises the operations
and movements of this
Revolutionary Guards unit
in northern Iraq.”
He said that another persv
son known by the name of
Ikbali Bour leads with anov
other committee of Iranian
commanders, the militias
of the Popular Crowd in
the field. Bour works undv
der the command of Shahlv
laei.
Yazdan added that the
committee also includes
religious figure Mohammv
med Ali Karmi, head of
the political doctrine at
the Quds Force, and Hassv
san Mahdavi, head of the
military training, Asghar
Turabi, the head of the
Intelligence, and media
sector chief Ali Zanjeer
Zarabi.
Meanwhile, commanders
of the Quds Force who supv
pervise the Shi’ite militia
leadership in Iraq are Brigav
adier Generals Mohammed
Shahlaei, Mojtaba Abtahi,
Iraj Masjedi and Ahmad
Forouzandeh, who are all
directly supervised by the
Quds Forces Commander
Qasem Soleimani.
Head of the Kurdish
Security in Tuz Khormatv
to, Farouq Ahmed said:
“There are three big militv
tary camps run by the militv
tias of the Popular Crowd,
located south of Tuz Khormv
mato, from where the Iranv
nian military officials are
currently operating.”
Kurdish Athlete to Compete in 2016 Rio Paralympics
Kovan Hassan, a Kurdish
javelin thrower and Olympv
pic champion will compete
in 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Hassan, a dwarf athlete
will be representing the
Kurdistan Region and
Iraq in Rio Paralympic. In
an interview with Kurdiv
istan24, he stated that he
has been training for nine
months.
“I have a good trainer.
Mazin Hussain,” he said.
“Not nine months, even
two months is enough to
get ready if you have a
good trainer.”
When he was young,
children would refuse to
play with him because he
was a dwarf. “Now, I am
heading to Brazil to partv
ticipate in Rio Paralympv
pics,” he told Kurdistan24
earlier this week.
Hassan has participated
in different national and
international Paralympics
and has won numerous
medals.
In the Paralympic Games
of London 2012, he won
silver medal.
In addition to Javelin,
Hassan is also a discus
throw and shot put athlv
lete.
“I will do my best to
win the gold medal in Rio
Paralympic and dedicate it
to our Peshmerga brothers
on the front lines fighting
Da’esh,” he said, using
Arabic pejorative term for
the Islamic State (IS).
The Paralympic Games
will begin September 7
and Hassan's javelin match
will be on September 11.
Hassan is from a villv
lage in the town of Akre,
Duhok Province. His fatv
ther told Kurdistan24 he
was proud to see his son
overcoming obstacles.
“I look at all the medals
my son has won and realiv
ize I should never have
been sad about his physicv
cal limitations,” the father
told Kurdistan24, wishing
that Hassan could participv
pate in the Paralympics
under the name of Kurdistv
tan, not Iraq.
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Najat Chimani, from Ceramics to Color
The Kurdish Painter from
Southern Kurdistan, Najv
jat Chimani was born in
1961. In 1977 he moved
to the Netherlands and is
now living in the town
of Zeist, Utrecht in the
Netherlands. He creav
ated ceramics during the
eighties and nineties, and
has much involvement in
exhibitions, especially in
Sulaimani and Hewler.
He’s now using colors
on paintings following
after Academy, which is
a primary research and
scientific school that
many of the world’s artiv
ists have based their
work on. Citilife is the
soulless body that has no
movement, displaying
light and darkness, then
used for vases, gardens,
tables, clothes and many
other subjects. The modev
els that Najar Chimani
follows is realism, using
prints with eye filters.
He also took interest in
the forms that talk about
Kurdish culture, because
Najat’s life has had a tradv
ditional Kurdish home,
that’s why even his drawiv
ings hold the traditional
Kurdish characteristics
and tells a realistic story.
The instruments he’s
used are mud, stove,
ceramic paint and now
acrylic and oil color. Najv
jat Chimani has found
himself between two
themes: the academic
work which is citilife
and models, and the
other is the tragedy that
Kurdish people have
seen throughout history,
such as the chemical gas
in 1988 in Halabja by
Baghdad Regime, and
the daily life of Kurds.
Many people withhold
Najat’s art, especially
in the cities of Utrecht,
Amsterdam and Den
Haag. During the recent
years, he participated in
Kurdish artists’ exhibitv
tion with Moerdijk Cultv
tural Assembly in Nethev
erlands, the assembly
which is chaired by the
Kurdish poet Lati Omar.
The nature and culture
of both subjects are very
close to the topics of
Chimani’s, an example
of his county’s culture
as an identity because of
the many artists that reprv
resent Kurdistan.
By Ashti Garmiyani
Azer Qubadi to take part in Bahman Films
Azer Qubadi, the femv
male Kurdish artist, is
producing a new album
and would like to take
part in her brother Bahmv
man’s films.
Azer Qubadi is the
sister of the prominent
Kurdish artist and directv
tor Bahman Qubadi and
said that she plans to
publish her song “You
and Me” in Kurdish and
in Farsi as well.
“I would love to take
part in my brother
Bahman’s films,” Azer
Qubadi said. “I have the
experience through my
work in the US in previov
ous years.”
“I love acting as much
as singing, but I’m more
interested in acting” she
added.
Azer is from Eastern
Kurdistan and lives in
the USA. She would
like to visit Kurdistan
Region to observe the
Peshmerga.
“I would love to visit
Kurdistan sing in Hewlv
ler,” she said.
By H.G.Hassan