Iraqi Kurds: Leadership´s Disconnect With People
Rauf Naqishbendi
July 02, 2008
During the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the Kurdish people are free from the grasp of Arab atrocities. This is a temporary situation, however, and Kurds remain in danger of national annihilation unless they become an independent nation with their own sovereign state. Thence, national exigency demands an earnest mobilization of the people to march toward statehood. Anything short of this will sanction the ill-fated attention of Kurdish leaders who will administer the fatal dose to the Kurds' cause for freedom and liberty.
Kurdish history is one of the most disheartening stories because of the suppression and repression that has continued for centuries. Repeated rebellions to hinder the grip of occupation have failed to fulfill dreams of Kurdish statehood. Each rebellion left a good part of Kurdistan in ruin, and thousands sacrificed their lives for the just cause of freedom yet to materialize. Each movement not only brought misery upon its immediate failure, but also made life more difficult for the survivors afterward. Thus, the living condition of Kurds deteriorated with the lapse of time. Of course, Kurdish enemies have been brutal in obtruding their unsolicited and despised occupation of Kurdistan, but what about Kurds themselves who are angry at the world but are ignoring their own vices? The leadership is delinquent in complying with moral obligations and responsibilities toward their people.
Current cries for national liberation are the continuation of an elongated attempt for freedom, itself more than four continuous, harsh decades long. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have perished. Tens of thousands of peshmarga generously and proudly paid with their lives on battlefields across the valleys and mountains of Kurdistan . No habitat small or large was exempt from ruin and destruction. Tens of thousands departed this unjust world in prison cells under painful tortures. Thousands were crippled and deformed by chemical and biological bombing. Hundreds of thousands were beleaguered, compelled to leave their properties and relocate elsewhere under the harshest circumstances. All of these atrocities happened under the name of revolution, but the people persevered, acknowledging that freedom isn´t without its price. They gave everything they possessed, sure that embedded in the dawn of a new day on the horizon would be the reality of their dream and inspiration.
The dreamed-of day arrived and the celebratory days of the ousting of the Butcher of Baghdad, Saddam, have passed. What remains is the urgent work by leaders to remedy past atrocities upon people and commence healing through declaration as to how national ambition will be framed and long-stolen revenues from natural resources will be utilized to ease impoverishment. Unfortunately, the leaders and their cronies are enjoying prosperities, while the people are dumfounded, realizing that past sacrifices have been diverted to benefit so few, with the national agenda blended eclipsed by leadership´s extravagant lifestyle.
Occupying forces were blamed for controlling and stealing our natural resources, yet our leaders are giving them away to the same people at whose hands the people suffered during their brutal occupation. Although peace is now prevalent in most of Kurdistan, the continuation of peace mandates visionary leaders who can realize tomorrow´s dangers and move proactively to secure the future security of the nation. Unfortunately, current Kurdish leaders are shortsighted and care nothing of impending rainy days ahead. This is the most dangerous proposition before the nation, because it invites a catastrophic future with devastation exceeding any in the past.
This writer´s aim is not to raise unsubstantiated fears. The fear is real. Saddam´s genocide was committed against the living generation not long ago. Corruptions mentioned aren´t imagined, but rather, they are ubiquitous throughout Kurdistan as Barzani and the Talabany have turned the Kurdish cause to their own family´s money machine.
Perpetuated peace and security can be accomplished only through an independent Kurdish state. This goal propels the nation toward much-needed statehood, and that need should find direction to satisfy itself. Contrarily, Kurdish leaders have left their people without direction, and no one knows the destination from here or what leadership´s plans for the future of the nation might be. The people of Kurdistan have been downtrodden and have withstood many tragic turbulences. They have every right to demand assurance and reassurance of freedom from the repetition of past tribulations. This is not a niggling demand to be undermined. This is a life and death matter. Leaders must leave no doubt for speculation but clarify their position and offer the answers owed to the people.
Furnishing future security requires restoring the integrity of the land. Properties lost must be reclaimed, dislocated people should return to their rightful homeland, foreign elements illicitly coerced into Kurdistan against the people´s will must be expelled gracefully. Borders and boundaries must be defined and recognized. These are prerequisites for the public´s well-being, the stability of the region, and preparation for statehood. These essential steps should have been taken earnestly by Kurdish leadership. They had means at their disposal to purchase back confiscated properties and provide for the return of dislocated people. Instead, areas like Kirkuk and Mosel, among many others, have been neglected and leadership has been silent about it. Silence and aloofness in this matter is an utter endorsement of the status quo established by Saddam´s regime.
And now this: Last month Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani congratulated himself for signing an agreement for the development of 170 million square feet of land outside the capital of Erbil, designated for a new luxury tourist and commercial complex in the Kurdistan Region with golf courses and luxury hotels valued at $4.5 billion US.
After all, most Kurds, and Iraqis for that matter, have never heard of golf, and most Kurds are struggling just to get by in their daily lives. So what will with these expensive golf courses do for them?
The Kurdish leaders´ priorities has been misplaced, and there is a disconnect between the people´s need and leadership´s ambitions. For a nation such as the Kurds with an uncertain and fearful destiny, one would expect their leaders to exert their utmost efforts to secure the future and improve the current substandard living condition of the people. But indeed they are not.
Kurdish history is one of the most disheartening stories because of the suppression and repression that has continued for centuries. Repeated rebellions to hinder the grip of occupation have failed to fulfill dreams of Kurdish statehood. Each rebellion left a good part of Kurdistan in ruin, and thousands sacrificed their lives for the just cause of freedom yet to materialize. Each movement not only brought misery upon its immediate failure, but also made life more difficult for the survivors afterward. Thus, the living condition of Kurds deteriorated with the lapse of time. Of course, Kurdish enemies have been brutal in obtruding their unsolicited and despised occupation of Kurdistan, but what about Kurds themselves who are angry at the world but are ignoring their own vices? The leadership is delinquent in complying with moral obligations and responsibilities toward their people.
Current cries for national liberation are the continuation of an elongated attempt for freedom, itself more than four continuous, harsh decades long. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have perished. Tens of thousands of peshmarga generously and proudly paid with their lives on battlefields across the valleys and mountains of Kurdistan . No habitat small or large was exempt from ruin and destruction. Tens of thousands departed this unjust world in prison cells under painful tortures. Thousands were crippled and deformed by chemical and biological bombing. Hundreds of thousands were beleaguered, compelled to leave their properties and relocate elsewhere under the harshest circumstances. All of these atrocities happened under the name of revolution, but the people persevered, acknowledging that freedom isn´t without its price. They gave everything they possessed, sure that embedded in the dawn of a new day on the horizon would be the reality of their dream and inspiration.
The dreamed-of day arrived and the celebratory days of the ousting of the Butcher of Baghdad, Saddam, have passed. What remains is the urgent work by leaders to remedy past atrocities upon people and commence healing through declaration as to how national ambition will be framed and long-stolen revenues from natural resources will be utilized to ease impoverishment. Unfortunately, the leaders and their cronies are enjoying prosperities, while the people are dumfounded, realizing that past sacrifices have been diverted to benefit so few, with the national agenda blended eclipsed by leadership´s extravagant lifestyle.
Occupying forces were blamed for controlling and stealing our natural resources, yet our leaders are giving them away to the same people at whose hands the people suffered during their brutal occupation. Although peace is now prevalent in most of Kurdistan, the continuation of peace mandates visionary leaders who can realize tomorrow´s dangers and move proactively to secure the future security of the nation. Unfortunately, current Kurdish leaders are shortsighted and care nothing of impending rainy days ahead. This is the most dangerous proposition before the nation, because it invites a catastrophic future with devastation exceeding any in the past.
This writer´s aim is not to raise unsubstantiated fears. The fear is real. Saddam´s genocide was committed against the living generation not long ago. Corruptions mentioned aren´t imagined, but rather, they are ubiquitous throughout Kurdistan as Barzani and the Talabany have turned the Kurdish cause to their own family´s money machine.
Perpetuated peace and security can be accomplished only through an independent Kurdish state. This goal propels the nation toward much-needed statehood, and that need should find direction to satisfy itself. Contrarily, Kurdish leaders have left their people without direction, and no one knows the destination from here or what leadership´s plans for the future of the nation might be. The people of Kurdistan have been downtrodden and have withstood many tragic turbulences. They have every right to demand assurance and reassurance of freedom from the repetition of past tribulations. This is not a niggling demand to be undermined. This is a life and death matter. Leaders must leave no doubt for speculation but clarify their position and offer the answers owed to the people.
Furnishing future security requires restoring the integrity of the land. Properties lost must be reclaimed, dislocated people should return to their rightful homeland, foreign elements illicitly coerced into Kurdistan against the people´s will must be expelled gracefully. Borders and boundaries must be defined and recognized. These are prerequisites for the public´s well-being, the stability of the region, and preparation for statehood. These essential steps should have been taken earnestly by Kurdish leadership. They had means at their disposal to purchase back confiscated properties and provide for the return of dislocated people. Instead, areas like Kirkuk and Mosel, among many others, have been neglected and leadership has been silent about it. Silence and aloofness in this matter is an utter endorsement of the status quo established by Saddam´s regime.
And now this: Last month Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani congratulated himself for signing an agreement for the development of 170 million square feet of land outside the capital of Erbil, designated for a new luxury tourist and commercial complex in the Kurdistan Region with golf courses and luxury hotels valued at $4.5 billion US.
After all, most Kurds, and Iraqis for that matter, have never heard of golf, and most Kurds are struggling just to get by in their daily lives. So what will with these expensive golf courses do for them?
The Kurdish leaders´ priorities has been misplaced, and there is a disconnect between the people´s need and leadership´s ambitions. For a nation such as the Kurds with an uncertain and fearful destiny, one would expect their leaders to exert their utmost efforts to secure the future and improve the current substandard living condition of the people. But indeed they are not.