Iraqi Kurd politician warns of 'ethnic cleansing'

A top Kurdish politician warned on Monday of Baghdad's continued desire for "ethnic cleansing," the latest in a series of attacks by Kurdish leaders on premier Nuri al-Maliki's leadership.

The remarks from Kurdistan region prime minister Nechirvan Barzani, nephew of the autonomous region's president Massud Barzani, come amid increasingly fractured ties between the Baghdad central government and the Kurdish region...

"The daily killing of Kurdish citizens and expelling them from their houses in Jalawla, Sadiyah and Kirkuk is the same policy of the former regime, but with new clothes and colours," Barzani said, referring to three disputed areas claimed by the central government and Kurdistan.

The few Kurds I’ve met did not leave me with an even remotely positive impression.

Everywhere they are found they seem to be disliked, if not hated. If I were them I’d be asking, “What is it about me that everyone treats me this way?” rather than playing the perpetual victim card.

Of the three main demographic groupings in Iraq (Shia, Sunni and Kurd), the Kurds are by far the most solidly pro-American. When I was there in 2008, there had not been a single American killed in the Kurdish areas since the 2003 invasion, while the rest of the country was a bloodbath. The Kurdish Peshmerga and their Intel types looked out for the Americans like hawks.

Folks used to say that the Shia would say that they wanted the Americans there (because we got rid of their nemesis Sadaam) but they really didn’t (with the majority they could grab all the wealth for themselves), the Sunnis would say that they wanted the Americans out (because it was the politically correct Islamist position) but they really didn’t (they were already being preyed on by Shia militias), but the Kurds would say they wanted us there, and really did.

The Kurds have a long history of being shafted by their neighbors, but the Americans gave them help and a fair shake. There is an old Kurdish saying: Turks, Persians, Arabs - only the mountains are our fiends. If you ask them now, most consider America their best (although perhaps not reliable) friend.

I lived in Turkey for a year and I have great sympathy for the Kurdish desire for independence.

I have read that the Kurdish birthrate in Turkey far exceeds the norm and that by mid-century half the country’s population will be Kurdish. Erdogan’s nightmare. Demographics will produce a free and proper Kurdistan.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.