Roj Bash !

In September 18th, Turkish columnist Ilnur Cevik wrote a funny paper in the New Anatolian. Well of course he didn’t want to make laughing by complaining about a sudden coldness from Iraqi Kurds towards the Turkish companies which did invest and work in the Kurdish Region. Ilnur Cevik launches a pathetic appeal to Kurdish PM Nêçirvan Barzanî : ““Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani is one of the few leaders who really appreciates the importance of Turkey and its business power and what it can do for the Kurdish region. So he has to intervene to stop this negative trend.”

What is funny is that Ilnur Cevik at any moment seems to think that the reason of this changing attitude is perhaps the recent Turkish threatenings against Kurdistan and the absence of any recognizing of the Federal Region in Kurdistan, adding to the courteous invectives against both Kurdish presidents, called “tribal chiefs” by Ankara, adding to the refuse to dialogue with any Kurdish government, adding to all Turkish attemps to prevent the referendum of Kirkuk, adding to many annoyances at Ibrahim Khalil Border gate, with huge queues, racist insults, confiscation of any thing daring to mention a non-existant Geographical name (beginning with a ‘K’) adding to the backward order, for Kurdish travelers going through Turkey, even in istanbul airport, just because a boy has for name the name of a non-existant country but yet threatening Turkish nationalism, adding to the hysterical reaction of Maritime Custom Office in Bosphorus, just because a Corean cargo mentionned to transport goods for a non-existant country with a name beginning by ‘K’, and last but not least the continuous shellings of Kurdish villages by Turkish artillery…

It is so “Turkish” to insult, threaten, shout to million of people that they DON’T exist… and then claiming with indignation when people seem a bit annoyed and don’t welcome them so warmly.

No one cannot suspect Ilnur Cevik of bellicist positions against Kurdistan. He is always an enthusiastic partisan of a Turkish-Kurdish Alliance. But the way in which he depicts the activities of the Turkish companies in Kurdistan make smile. If we read him, Turkish companies act with the humane devotion of NGO’s, without any preoccupation with a profit : a real missionnariat:“At a time when the relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Ankara are cool the Turkish companies have been the bridge of friendship between Iraqi Kurds and Turks. They have braved terrorist attacks (Which one’s ???), adverse regional conditions and even very sluggish bureaucracy (they largely contribute to slugging btw) to continue their efforts to help in the development of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”

Of course, all Turkish investments in KRG have been inspired by pure altruism and Turkish buisnessmen did make any profit.. But the journalist continues sadly :

“However, in recent times we see with sadness and alarm that Turkish companies have started to leave the Kurdish areas and Turkish goods that are traded in northern Iraq are being replaced by goods from Jordan, Iran and other local sources.”

Perhaps just because Turkish goods are quite expansive ? But in the other hand, in Jordania, Iran, and Gulf countries, a Kurdish citizen can travel the mention of his Kurdishness on his passport without trouble. And even if Turkish companies are not responsible of their own politicians’ stubborness, the obstination from Ankara to negociate with Baghdad and not Erbil, especially concerninf oil-trade and exploitation could be a serious handicap comparing with other foreign enterprises.

“The brotherly people of the region have to see that sooner or later they will realize that their only friend in the region who can always offer a friendly hand are the Turks.”

Too bad that for the moment, Turkish diplomacy does not seem aware of these familial bonds.

In the Alte Pinakothek of Munich (Germany), we can see, from tje painter Taddeo Gaddi (1300-1366) a student of Giottto, one of the first representations of a Kurdish prince in Western painting. It is not a Saladin’s portrait, -thought the former is the most famous Kurd in the Middle-Age- but his nephew,al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir al-Dîn Abû-l-Ma’alî Muhammad, the son of Sultan al-Malik al-Adil, who ruled Egypt in the name of his father when the event pictured there happened, in 1219.

Al-Malik al-Kamil faced in Egypt the Vth Crusade in Damietta. Franks could size the fortress al-Silsila (the Chain) and then took Damietta. But al-Kamil, who became the same year Sultan after his father’s death, surroundered and besieged Frank forces until his brothers al-Ashraf, al-Mu’azzam and then of other Ayyubids came to help him in 1221 (2 years later, let’s appreciate the celerity of the familial solidarity).

Saint Francis of Assisi came also with the Crusaders but for a peaceful pilgrimage. He went even to meet the Sultan who welcomed him with respect and tried to challenge the Muslim to a test of true religion by fire; but they retreated. Then as his follower told, Francis proposed to enter in the fire first and, if he left the fire unharmed, the sultan would have to recognize Christ as the true God. Al-Malik al-Kamil did not allow him to preach Christianism in Egypt but let him comingback freely to the Frank camp, telling, according Jacques de Vitry, “Pray for me that God may deign to reveal to me that law and faith which is most pleasing to him.”

Muslims sources did not mention the meeting. In fact, a such embassy was not exceptionnal for Egyptians or Syrians. Bounds and debates between Christians, Jews and Muslims were not rare and a peaceful monk like Francis, who had the aspect and the tolerance of a “Christian sufi” could be respected by Kurdish Ayyubids, who were traditinnally more tolerant toward Christians than the Turkish Nur al-Dîn, the predecessor of Saladin.

The story had been widely reported and commented in Italia, and painted by Giotto in the frescoes he made for the Church of Assisi.

But the Muslim group painted by Giotto appears as less realistic, and with a strange clothing, a mix of Western and Eastern elements : short dress without sarwal and bare legs ! Only their turban gives them an “ismamic touch” :

Gaddi’s representation, even if the Sultan wears a European golden crown, includes a group of muslims with jellabah and turbans more authentic :

Petition to The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon,The United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, Louise Arbour, The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and The Head of the Judiciary of IRI Ayatollah Shahroudi.

Contact and campaig on Xor Helat News.

On 16th July 2007, the “Revolutionnary Tribunal” of Marivan condemned to death two Kurdish journalists, Adnan HASSANPOUR et Hiva BOTIMAR, for « espionage ».

They have been just transfered to the central prison of Sanandaj (Sine), the capital of the province of Kurdistan, for the execution of their judgment.

These collaborators of ASO magazine (Horizons), published in Kurdish and Persan in Sanandaj, were arrested at the end of December 2006, by the dreadful Iranian police ITILAAT. At the time of their detention in the prison of Marivan, they were severely tortured. To protest against these maltreatments, they had made several hunger strikes.

The arrest of these wo peaceful Kurdish journalists, of which one is engaged in an ecologist movement, is a part of a vast campaign of repression, launched by Iranian president Ahmedinejad’s regime against “the interior enemies”. During the last months, 150 intellectuals, journalists, and representatives of the Kurdish civil society were thus arrested. Most of them risk heavy judgments, facing the legal machinery of a regime founded by a leader, Ayyatollah Khomeini, who, since August 1979, called million of Kurds in Iran “enemies and children of Satan”, for the only motive that they are not shiite and support a laic and democratic regime.

Without an urgent intervention of the international community, both journalists will be executed and their martyrdom could open the way with a serie of execution of other political prisonners, Kurdish and Iranian.

There are around 10 million of Kurds in Iran, mostly in four Western provinces (ostan), contiguous in Kurdistan of Iraq and Turkey.

The swedish radio has a big archive, more than 1 million CDs and Tapes, and the archive buoliding is as big as 12 killometers place .
but there is not much Kurdish musics there, but Nasir Sîna (the man in Zayele Radio) found a music from 50 years ago which was recorded in Tehran by a Kermaşanî singer .

the song name is “Demkol” and the Singer is Elî Elborzî (Tutî)

this music is not found in any other archive, at that time there was no recording device in Iran, and and the singer Elî Tutî used to have a 15 minutes Live program on radio (without recording) even the singer himself doesnt have this song in his archive.

probably this is one of the oldest recorded kurdish songs in the history (it is as old as 50 years) .

listen to it here . the music starts from minute 6′:45″

Warning at the entrance of Halabja cemetery

Statue commemorating the 5000 victims of Halabja. Behind it, about 1000 stones, for eachone, a family.

Lalesh is the religious center of Yezidism and one of the finest place in Kurdistan

Hamd Allah ibn Abî Bakr ibn Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Mustaffi al-Qazvinî was a Persian geographer and historian, borned circa 12081 in Qazvin. He wrote about the history of Hewlêr-Erbil and for that reason his big statue was erected front of the gate of the Citadel, in Hewlêr. Each time I come and take a picture of him, 2 kids are playing at his feet (I wonder if they are the same children), and he seems to watch them with the half indulgence of a kind teacher…

Hewlêr : The Citadel.

To commemorate the second year of Shêx Meshuq’s death, assassinated by Syrian Services, an interesting video, here.

Flag on the Citadel