Congratulations, Martti Ahtisaari!

Martti Ahtisaari, the former President of Finland, has got the Nobel Peace Price 2008. Congratulations!

Martti Ahtisaari has done good work for example in Aceh in Indonesia, and in Kosova. I wrote last March in Sahmaran about Ahtisaari and Kosova peace process.

Mr. Ahtisaari, also Kurdish people need your skills and experience in peace negotiations!

American concert in Hewlêr

I have now Arianet so it is easy to use internet here in Hewlêr. But for example tomorrow I travel out from here and now I have time to put only this picture to my blog.

It is from a concert today evening by American soldiers in the auditory of Kurdistan's Ministry of Culture in Hewlêr.

I have heard Kurdistan's national hymn "Yah Rahqeeb" many times, but this was the first time I heard it played by American soldiers.

After Kurdish and Iraqi national hymns the rest of the concert consisted of American folk music.

I have still ban to enter Turkey

When I was deported from Turkey December 2006, I received from Turkish police only oral information that I have a ban to enter Turkey. They did not give me any paper about it. Neither I was told the reason for the ban and how long time it is valid.

My advocate Murat Timur has tried to get this information since that from the Foreign Ministry of Turkey and from a court. Until now the only response what he has got is a paper that the application has been received. Turkey neither gave any answer to the note Finnish Consulate left to Turkish Foreign Ministry in January 2007.

Another advocate advised me to travel to Turkey to find out whether I still have a ban to enter there. So I travelled from Iraq to Habur on Friday the 4th October 2008. My plan was to go to Batman Festival which was arranged that week-end. I participated Batman Festival also three years ago. The journey from Iraqi boarder to Batman takes about three hours.

I was in Habur police station three hours (I was also permitted to visit a cafeteria and tax free shop). Policemen told me that I have a ban to enter Turkey. At last I got this information also on a paper. Policemen did not tell me reason for the ban, they said there is an office in Ankara where I can get this information. Their English was not good enough to explain what is this place. I made phone call to advocate Murat Timur so that the policemen could have explained this for him in Turkish but they refused to speak with Timur.

This little episode is one example about the present political situation in Turkey. It has not developed towards a positive direction. Turkish citizens (which the Kurds residing in Turkey are) and associations which are run according the Turkish law must have the right to receive visitors freely according their wish. This is impossible when the state gives bans to enter the country. My ban to enter Turkey violates the rights of Turkish citizens.

I have spoken here in Hewlêr which several people who have a ban to enter Turkey, both Iraqi citizens and foreigners. They all say that they have not lost anything when they are denied the possibility to travel Turkey. In a way I feel also like this. Three hours was enough to remember the atmosphere of fear which dominates life in Turkey. Of course I was disappointed that I could not participate Batman Festival and that I did not get information about the reasons for my ban to enter Turkey. But any way it was a relief to return to Iraq. I crossed walking the boarder river, escorted by a Turkish soldier until about middle of the bridge, and then received by a Kurdish peshmerga.

There was still one surprising thing. I had in my mobile phone SIM card of an Finnish telephone company (Eliisa). With it I could easily make phone calls and send SMS to Finland. But not to Iraq, the network was out of order. Despite the distance is only a few hundred meters.