Newroz 2010 in Sulaymania

Newroz is over. Unfortenately my pictures are late (but better late than never?)

Here in Sulaymania the main event during Newroz was big meeting in Sulaymania down town on 20th March evening where the main street had been turned to a walking street.

It was so different like the newroz days which I have spent in Turkey! It was more like the new year eve in Helsinki. Actually this is a good comparison. Newroz is Kurdish new year. It is not a political celebration any more as this country is liberated from Saddam's rule. New year is neither in Finland a political day, people celebrate the coming year, not demand their rights.

I hope also in Turkey Kurds can soon celebrate Newroz in this normal way!

This is Kurdistan: Khanaqeen in pictures - 1

Here are some pictures from Khanaqeen, which I could not add to my previous posting because of some technical problems. I took these pictures in Khanaqeen during a quik visit in autumn 2009. I will put later to Samaran some of my pictures from Khanaqeen taken one year earlier.

This is Kurdistan: Khanaqeen - 1

I have noticed that Kurds from different parts of Kurdistan do not know much about other parts of Kurdistan. It is no wonder, Kurdistan is huge country, as large as France, and it is lacking national communication and education system to distribute information about the home country.

As I have been privileged to visit many parts in South Kurdistan I will share my experience by putting some pictures and information about various places. For further information, please look for other sources in internet. Wikipedia is good source to start.

Khanaqeen is one of the disputed areas in Iraqi Kurdistan. It is inhabited mainly by Kurds, but it is still ruled by Baghdad government, also by the Arabs.

In disputed areas there should be referendum: the inhabitants should vote whether they want to be part of Kurdistan autonomous area or the part of Iraqi federation which is ruled by the central government in Baghdad. This referendum is accepted by United Nations and it is Article 140 in the Iraqi constitution.

The referendum has been postponed several times due to the poor security situation. Terrorists continue the forced Arabization of Kurds from where Ba’ath party finished their activities.

Kurdistan is famous for its mountains but in the most southern parts of Kurdistan there are deserts and palms trees!

Khanaqeen is located by Sirwe river 20 kilometres south from the area controlled by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). It is a boarder town to Iran. In addition of its date palms it is famous for various intelligence agencies acting there.

Khanaqeen is not the most southern town in Kurdistan. More south are for example Jalawla, Mandli and Badra (which is more southern than Baghdad).

I have visited Khanaqeen twice. I will put later pictures from Khanaqeen to Sahmaran. Unofortenately I can not do it today, there are some technical problems (which are common in the Iraqi internet).

Road from Kalar to Sulaymania

Here are pictures from the road from Kalar to Sulaymania. I took the pictures from the bus window the 21st January 2010.

Beautiful, isn’t it? It has been raining for some days, and when the sun shines, the mountains are green as the grass grows immediately. Like in March.

Yes, it is beautiful. But in January it should not look like in March. Some days after taking these pictures it became very cold.

The mountains are grand, I get never tired on looking at this landscape!
Derbandikhan
Derbandikhan
Rain started in New Halabja.
Sulaymania

Hrant Dink and 19th January 2007

I do not have access to internet every day. My silence on the anniversary of Hrant Dink’s murder does not mean that I would have forgotten him. Today is the first time during several days that I can post anything.

Silence about the Armenian genocide is a sign that Turkey is post-genocidal society. The wounds of the genocide can be healed only by discussing it openly.

Turkey should study how Germany handled the Holocaust. Germans are not paralysed by their past.

A genocide affects also the perpetrators and prevents the normal development of their society.

Turks should keep in mind that the Armenian genocide was not committed by the Republic of Turkey. It did not exist 1915. Armenian genocide happened in the Ottoman empire.

Television programme about Kurdish genocide

Kurdistan TV will send a programme about Anfal and Kurdish genocide this week. I am one of the persons interviewed in the program.

Program times:

Part 1:

Tuesday the 19th January 2010 at 7.15 PM
and second programming Wednesday the 20th January 2010 at 10 AM

Part 2:

Wednesday the 20th January 2010 at 7.15 PM
and second programming Thursday the 21st January 2010 at 10 AM

How elections will go in Khanaqeen?

Flag of Kurdistan in Khanaqeen. I took the photo from a moving car.

I visited Khanaqeen in November 2009 and met governor Mohamed Mala Hasan and the director of PUK office Salah Gokak.

They said that the security situation in Khanaqeen and Diyala province is now much better than one year ago (however, there was in Khanaqeen a bomb explosion in the beginning of January 2010, two people died and 25 people injured.)

The location of Khanaqeen is strategically important: it is the boarder between Erbil (Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG), Baghdad (the Arab Iraq) and Tehran.

The boarder of Iran is about ten kilometres east from Khanaqeen. If the situation in Iraq in general becomes more unstable, there is danger that Iran uses the situation and supports terrorist activities in Diyala to create chaos in whole Iraq.

The capital of Diyala province is Baquba. KRG wants to send peshmergas to Baquba but the Baghdad government does not accept it. Kurds living every where in disputed areas hope there would be peshmergas. Disputed areas are the Kurdish areas of Mosul, Kirkuk and Diyala provinces.

Iran is eager to gain power in Baquba because it is the gate to control Baghdad and whole Iraq. Baquba is located 50 kilometres northeast of Bahgdad.

Kurdish security service Asayish has some offices in Diyala in the areas which are controlled by Baghdad government. Iraqi police forces do not make any cooperation with Asayish in Diyala (opposite than in Kirkuk, where Iraqi and Kurdish security forces cooperate in fight against terrorism). When Asayish and peshmergas catch suspected terrorists they handle them immediately to Americans. Even when it is peshmergas who arrest terrorists in disputed areas, Kurdish courts can not arrange their trials.

Kurdish authorities are worried that there will be problems during the Iraqi parliament elections in March 2010.

There are 8 000 Kurdish families in Khanaqeen who have not been able to register themselves as voters. These people have returned to Khanaqeen after being deported during Saddam's time. They are neither permitted to vote in their previous home towns.

It is half an hour journey from Kalar to Khanaqeen. There are people who travel every day from Khanaqeen to work in Kalar, or from Kalar to work in Khanaqeen.