Barzani: Iraq is not an exclusively Arab state

The KDP leader in a special joint interview given to the Turkish Daily News and daily Tercuman’s Cengiz Candar said Iraq is a country of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians and thus it is not an exclusively Arab country. However, he said it is up to its Arabs to decide if they want to be represented in the Arab league with a special status.

Barzani said originally when the Iraqi state was established after World War I the country was supposed to be based on voluntary union "between the two main nationalities, the Kurds and the Arabs." He said, however, the Arab-led Iraqi regime did not abide by that rule and stresses today the Kurds of Iraq want the new system in the country to be based on "voluntary union."

He said the city of Kirkuk should be a part of the country that he called Iraqi Kurdistan but accepted that it was not Kurdish. He said the city could have a special status provided it was named as a part of "Iraqi Kurdistan."

Barzani said the "Kurdish Regional Assembly" has voted to accept a federal solution for Iraq and added, "We are not ready to make any concessions on this."

Asked how many regions this federal state should have, Barzani said, "Kurdistan is one region and it is up to our Arab brothers decide if they want one or two other regions. The issue of Kirkuk is very significant. It is a matter of principle and comes up on top of our priorities. Kirkuk has a Kurdistani identity. It is part of Kurdistan soil. The September revolution led by Molla Mustafa Barzani came to an end in 1974 because of our position on Kirkuk and we were not ready to make concessions on this city. In the meantime, we are ready to accept the realities of having to live together and co-exist with other nationalities like the Turkmens and other Muslim sects being run by an administration with special status. For this we have no sensitivities but for the Kurdistani identity of Kirkuk it is something that we consider as a matter of principle."

Barzani said that Turkey "should not be nervous on certain issues" regarding Iraq. "When the situation is good in Iraq and in the north of the country this would be beneficial for Turkey."

"Interference in Iraq would create problems. We should walk together (Turkey and the Kurds) and take joint steps to help each other to solve problems. That would be helpful. But if there would be attempts to create problems for each other and interference in the internal affairs of the country that would be counterproductive. The Iraqi people and the Kurdish people should be left alone to put their house in order. No regional country should seek the right to be counterproductive and create problems."

Recalling his deep suspicions that the Americans were not serious in the past to topple the Saddam Hussein regime and asked what had changed his mind to extend help to the U.S. war effort in Iraq, Barzani said his secret contacts in Washington had shown in 2002 that this time Washington realty meant business and he had decided to cooperate with them.

"In 1975, the U.S. betrayed the Kurds and it was a great betrayal. It was a terrible tragedy for our people. If it were not for the betrayal of the U.S. the Shah of Iran and Saddam would not have been able to bring this tragedy on our people. Therefore we were obliged to be cautious. From 1991 up to September 2001 we did not see a clear U.S. policy on Iraq. During this period they told us not to attack the Saddam regime or do anything to provoke a reaction. They told us that if Saddam attacked us they would respond to it at a time, place and manner of their own choosing. We were told not to fight the regime or reach any agreement with it. We were in the range of Iraqi artillery in Erbil so the most important priority was to make sure that our people were safe and would not be refugees again. So our priority in the past 12 years was to provide security and stability for our people and reconstruct our region. The moment we came to the conclusion that the U.S. was serious in changing the regime in Iraq we also expressed our readiness to help them and make sacrifices. But if turned out to be like 1975 and 1991 when the U.S. let us down in the middle of the campaign then the most fortunate outcome for us would be to be pardoned by Saddam. We were not ready to make sacrifices in an uncertain environment. In April 2001 we traveled to Washington with Jalal Talabani secretly and after our contacts we were convinced that the Americans were serious. So we agreed with them to work to change the regime and replace it with an alternative system for Iraq that was democratic, pluralistic and federal. The U.S. was not against federalism. They came to the Iraqi opposition conferences in London and Salahaddin. We were convinced that the U.S. was serious so we were also seriously involved. I am a friend of everyone who respects the Kurdish people and supports them. I was never ready to sacrifice the interests of our people in the past, I am not ready to do so now or in the future."

The Iraqi Kurdish leader said he had no doubts that the U.S. would overcome the Saddam forces in less than a month. "In our last meeting before the war I had told you (Ilnur Cevik) that the war would not last a month. Now we are happy that we have got rid of the Baath regime and Saddam Hussein. However, we are now in the critical post-war stage."

Barzani stressed that the basic problem now is the security vacuum. "We are lucky that we don’t suffer such a problem in the north. There is no problem in the south either. The real problem is in the center. The security situation in central Iraq is unsatisfactory. Once our governing council begins to function effectively the situation will improve."

Barzani warned that only if Iraqis start running the security establishment they can overcome the worsening security problems.

The Iraqi Kurdish leader said the U.S. should stay in Iraq until the country can stand on its two feet. "Once we set up a federal, democratic and pluralistic system and Iraq returns to the international community then the Americans can leave."

Asked if he approves of U.S. bases in Iraq, he said, "We will cross that bridge when the time comes. This is something for the new Iraqi Parliament to decide."

About the possibility of the establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq by the Shiites, Barzani said he is not concerned that there is such a danger. "The Shiites know the situation in Iraq and they know that such a state would not be practical. They are ready to accept a federal and democratic system."

Asked about the rights of the Turkmens in Iraq, Barzani said, "They are our brothers. We will struggle to help them to obtain their rights. There is no doubt Iraq denied their ethnic identity. Saddam always threatened us because we helped the Turkmens. We opened Turkmen schools where lessons were in Turkish and the Iraqis were unhappy. There was always a crisis. Actually former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz said if this continues then Iraq will encourage teaching Arabic in the areas where Arabs live in Turkey.

Barzani said his administration refuses to deal with the Iraqi Turkmen Front because it feels they are not the true representatives of the Turkmen people. "We will not deal with the Turkmen community through the Turkmen Front. When Turkmens elect their representatives then we will deal with them."

Barzani said a census is needed in Iraq to put the record straight before the elections. He said Saddam had destroyed past population records but the Kurdistan Democracy party had bribed the former Saddam officials and had purchased the old 1957 census results that he said were healthy. "Iraq distorted the facts of this census but we managed to find the originals and purchased them. Now they are safe. After 1970, Iraq distorted the 1957 census. It destroyed the real documents. But we managed to find the originals at a statistics office which had escaped the attention of the Baathists."

Barzani said he extends his greetings to the Turkish people who are the friends, neighbors and relatives of the Kurds. "Today we have a golden opportunity to cooperate in an atmosphere of true friendship," he said.