MILLIYET- Columnist Derya Sazak comments on the northern Iraq issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
What sort of a role will Kurdish groups assume in Iraq’s reconstruction?
One of my readers recently e-mailed me to express his views on the future of northern Iraq, one of the most heated issues on Turkey’s political agenda. I believe that his note throws fresh light on this subject. Not surprisingly, this reader doesn’t predict any positive developments for Iraqi Kurds in the future, citing the following reasons:
1) Turkey, Syria and Iran are all opposed to the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq.
2) Today’s Kurdish leaders (Barzani and Talabani) have failed to truly comprehend what a democratic regime is. Thanks to their anachronistic policies, tribal law still dominates the region.
3) The Kurdish Diaspora criticizes Turkey at every turn without taking into consideration the true interests of Iraqi Kurds and distorts the facts for its anti-Turkish disinformation campaign.
4) The United States first wants to put the region in order in the postwar period so as to be able to control the entire Middle East. If Turkey, Syria and Iran are not satisfied with the results of the Iraq war, the US will never manage to establish a calm atmosphere in the region, which is essential for sustaining stability. The Bush administration wouldn’t take the risk of stirring up these countries.
Under such circumstances, the Bush administration will probably turn a blind eye to the wishes of Kurdish groups in the future. I believe that instead a federation will be established in the region, one including the Kurds.
How about the revenue from the oil in Kirkuk?
1) Most of the oil revenues will be allocated for Iraq’s reconstruction.
2) Let’s assume that the US allows the Kurds to operate all oil exports activities in Kirkuk, which would mean annual revenues totalling $16-17 billion. This figure is less than one-tenth of Turkey’s gross national product.
3) The region on which Kurdistan would be located is bereft of basic advantages such as access to the sea and rich agricultural soil. The region’s capabilities are very limited.
That’s why Kurdistan would never be the center of an Iraqi federation.
Finally let’s take a glance at Iraq’s domestic scene:
1) The Kurds bear a grudge against Iraqis for the past painful experiences they endured under Saddam’s oppressive regime.
2) On the other hand, the Iraqi people see the Kurds as Judases who stabbed them in the back with their willful collaboration with the US army. History won’t easily forget such incidents.
As a matter of fact, the Kurds have risked their future by trusting a war collaboration with a 7,500-km distant temporary ally. The only solution that would satisfy these people would be the establishment of an independent Kurdistan. I hope Turkey realizes this fact. Moreover, Kurdish groups should immediately declare that they would never demand territories from any other country and will treat every citizen born within the border of ‘Kurdistan’ equally.
The views of this reader are of course open to discussion. But, first and foremost, the war should end. Then we’ll see what will take place in an Iraq occupied by the US.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION