The Kurds Come Out Empty-Handed      

The Kurds have lost in the Iraq deal. They came out empty-handed.

What have the Kurds gained from the deal on Iraq? Nothing. Their only gain was embracing the occupying forces, planting kisses on the cheeks of the new rulers appointed by the occupiers. They also gained the charges of high treason and of being the quislings of the occupation leveled at them. The status of the Kurds remained unchanged. Rather, it has worsened morally and substantively. We had expected that the Kurds would seize the opportunity that presented itself during that moment of dramatic moment of history. They should have followed the example of the Jews who seized the opportunity created by the fall of Berlin, the defeat of the Axis and the victory of the Allies in World War II. They should have declared the Kurdish state which has the hope of the oppressed and dismembered Kurdish nation for centuries. But nothing happened. What’s new? What are the gains? Nothing. The Kurds remain second and third class citizens in all the countries of the Middle East.

You must not be deceived by the appointment of Brother Hushiar Zibari as foreign minister of Iraq in its current state. General Nur-el-Din Mahmoud and Ahmed Baban, both Kurds, used to be prime ministers of Iraq. Kurds once held the portfolios of Public Works, Transportation, the interior, Justice and Finance. General Bakr Sidqi used to be the chief of staff of the Iraqi Army. General Hussein Fawzi and General Amin Zaki also held that post. The percentage of Kurds in the Iraqi civil service reached 25%. In Kurdish regions, that percentage was as high as 97%. The Kurds established village and town councils in their region. They also had municipal and governorate councils.

Both Arabic and Kurdish were official languages in some governorates such as Sulimaneya. Kurdish was the language of instruction in primary and middle schools in the Kurdish regions, while Arabic was a second language. This was the case in Iraq in the 1960’s.  

With the momentous event that shook the region, it was expected that the Kurdish state would be born from its smoke and ashes. That state would be the savior and the shield of the Kurds from the persecution, torment and murder they have suffered throughout their tragic history. Instead, we find ourselves repeating the familiar painful phrase; that the fate of the Kurds is one of disappointment and lost historic opportunities despite their revolutions, sacrifices and uprisings.

As the case was in the past, the Kurds remain Iraqi citizens. Then, what have they gained from participating in the orgy of violence that destroyed the whole of Iraq? There is another important question. Are the all Kurds only in Iraq? As a matter of fact, the majority of Kurds live outside Iraq. The minority live in it. Why is the fate of the majority of Kurds living outside Iraq being ignored while that of the minority living in Iraq receives all the attention?

One wonders, who is manipulating the sacred cause of the Kurds? Who is drinking the blood of thousands of martyrs? What kind of payment are the buyers and the sellers receiving?

This is the dismal result after all the innocent Kurdish blood that was shed in the uprisings of Ubaid Allah al-Nahri, Badr Khan, Annaqshabandi, Shehab El-Din, Sheikh Said, Shakkak, Ihsan Nuri, Ahmed Barazani and Mostafa Barazani.

Some say that we are at a moment of historical transformation. Some claim that their purpose is to liberate peoples from their oppressors and persecutors. No people have been more persecuted than the Kurds. No nation has known more oppressed than the Kurdish nation. Why then are there double standards in such vital questions? Why does not anybody take the side of the Kurdish nation as it declares its independence and unity? Why do not the swords aimed at it return to their sheaths so that it can take its place as a sisterly neighbor of the Arab, Persian and Turkish Nations?

Who has fooled the Kurds? Who manipulated their holy cause? Who sold them off?