Iraqi Kurdistan:

rucible for Democracy and Model for a Post-Saddam Iraq

Prof. Carole O'Leary

Scholar in Residence at the AU Center for Global Peace

Presentation at the Kuwait Information Office, July 6, 2001

Good afternoon. I am delighted to be here and thank Dr. Shafeeq Al Ghabra and the Kuwait Information Office for hosting this gathering.

I have informally titled my presentation: "Iraqi Kurdistan: Crucible for Democracy and Model for a Post-Saddam Iraq."

In the short time I have, I would like to cover the following topics: a quick review geography and demographics, a discussion of the evidence for democratization, civil society building and human rights training, some first hand observations  about the Oil for Food Program and reflections on challenge of  accessing Iraqi Kurdistan.

Let me begin by stating that I have just returned from a three week visit to Iraqi Kurdistan. Most of my time was spent in Erbil, Dahuk, and Sulaimania. But I also took various extended road trips to towns and villages in the areas around these three cities.

First, a brief a review of geography and demographics.

According to FAO, the area of Iraqi Kurdistan under the administration of the KRG (or Kurdistan Regional Government) amounts to 9% of the total land area of Iraq, which is 437,400 square kilometers. This makes KRG-administered Iraqi Kurdistan approximately 40,000 square kilometers which is roughly the same area as Denmark (43,100) or Switzerland (39,800).   For those in the United States, KRG-administered Iraqi Kurdistan is double the area of Massachusetts (20,300 square kilometers) or New Jersey (19,215), larger than Maryland (25,317), New Hampshire (23,236), and Vermont.

According to WFP food registration figures, the population of KRG-administered Iraqi Kurdistan is approximately 3.6 million. This roughly compares with: Albania (3.3million), Armenia (3.8), Costa Rica (3.5), Eritrea (3.9), Ireland (3.7), Kuwait (1.9), Lebanon (4.2), New Zealand (3.8), Norway (4.4), and Singapore (3.2).

2. Let me turn to my second topic: Iraqi Kurdistan as a crucible for democracy in Iraq or Evidence for democratization, civil society building and human rights awareness in the region.

Despite the grim reports of human rights abuses and military buildup in Iraq, the Iraqi Kurdistan region, in only ten years, has become a training ground for democratization, human rights, civil society building and good governance. However, let me stress that this is a fragile experiment, dependent upon the continued enforcement of the Kurdish safe-haven and absence of the long arm of the Baghdad regime.

In Erbil, KRG officials in charge of the police and prison system have instituted a human rights component to the training programs for police officers and prison guards. The KRG invited me and AU professor Mary Gray, who also serves on the board of Amnesty International, to work with them to improve training in this area through the development of new curricula and training programs.

In Sulaimania, I witnessed the same commitment to human rights training. During my many meetings with KRG officials and university administrators, people stressed how desperate they were for contact with American universities and NGOs with expertise in human rights training, democratization and civil society building.  

The American wife of a Kurdish official in Sulaimaniah who teaches English at the university there informed me that she regularly visits the AU web page in this regard and even "borrowed" AU''s statement on plagiarism to use in her classes.

With regard to civil society building, I met with the wife of a Kurdish official in Erbil who took it upon herself to create an NGO, called the Runahee Foundation, which is staffed on a voluntary basis by herself and a few other Kurdish women. Among its many activities, this local NGO provides eye exams, eye glasses and, if needed, surgical procedures to school children and adults with visual impairments. Her NGO also ministers to children living in orphanages and to elderly people in nursing homes who have no family members to support them. Runahee has launched a public awareness campaign to address the critical need for blood donors throughout the region. The founder of Runahee has set the example by having herself appear on local TV while donating blood at the public hospital in Erbil . In addition, Runahee publishes a month magazine which highlights various social issues of concern to the community.

In Sulaimania, willing and eager university students have been enlisted as "volunteers" to implement a detailed census survey of all areas subjected to the 1987--88 Anfal Campaigns so that the local government can better serve needs of residents in these areas. Additionally, students will serve as ad hoc oral historians, recording the testimony of survivors and family members of victims of the Anfal.

During the three weeks I spent in Iraqi Kurdistan, I spent a great deal of my time with faculty, administrators and students at the three Universities (Salahaddin, Dahuk and Sulaimania). They are desperate for up-to-date curricula and teacher training in all fields, but expressed a particular interest in the areas of democratization, civil society building and human rights. The three universities look forward to establishing partnerships with universities in the US and Europe.

In this regard, I was rather shocked to learn that the universities, high schools and primary schools still rely on outdated curricula created in Baghdad by the agents of the Baathist regime.  

A major impediment to building relationships between American Universities and universities, high schools and primary schools in Iraqi Kurdistan is physical access to the region.

American educators, journalists and NGOs must rely on the good will of governments of Iran, Syria and Turkey to enter Iraqi Kurdistan. This is not easily accomplished and one must often wait for months to receive permission to enter. The obvious entry point for American is, of course, through Turkey.

However, to the best of my knowledge, American journalists and NGOs are not allowed to enter through the Turkish border crossing. In my view, the United States should encourage open access to this region, particularly for American journalists, university faculty and NGOs. While in Salahaddin, I met with David Hirst of the London Guardian who had been in Teheran to cover the presidential election. Iranian authorities granted him hassle-free, ready access to Iraqi Kurdistan through the border at Haj Umran. Such cooperation should be recognized and supported.

What about democratization? In late May the governorates of Dahuk and Erbil held municipal elections in which 15 political parties participated, including Islamic parties (Sulaimania held its elections in February of last year). International NGOs provided technical advice to the observation process for the elections. Regrettably, these elections were not covered by the American media due to the inaccessibility of the region. Americans deserve to know what is going on in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Allow me a moment''s more reflection on why I was so emotionally moved by the dedication of KRG officials and everyday folks to implementing democratization, human rights and real civil society in Iraqi Kurdistan: In Sulaimania, I visited the burned out remnants of one of Saddam''s special prisons (for political prisoners) which also doubled as "office space" for the local muhabarat or intelligence force. As I walked through the remains of this house of horrors, I saw meat hooks hanging from walls and ceilings and the remains of electric torture equipment. I even noted what appeared to be a hastily drawn pencil sketch of the cartoon character Superman. My guide suggested that some young victim of Saddam had sketched the figure -- perhaps in the last moments of his  life.

Processing that information, my immediate thought was that Saddam really is an equal opportunity killer. Gender, ethnic origin, religion and even age, are no impediment for him.

The other visual image that stayed with me is the evidence of the Anfal campaign. Everywhere I went, I saw the remains of destroyed villages. Culminating with the infamous 1987-88 Anfal Campaign, Saddam''s forces systematically destroyed more than 4000 villages and hamlets, moving the population into collective towns, similar to the reservations created in the US for native Americans.

Let me move to my third topic, the Oil For Food Program. In my own view, really smart "Smart" sanctions should address the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan where the regional authorities must work with UN officials who are forced seek approval from Baghdad for all Oil for Food projects. Under the 1996 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which allowed the implementation of UN Resolution 986 (Oil for Food), it is Baghdad which approves visas for UN staff and NGO personnel, and Baghdad which must approve the proposals submitted by the Kurdistan Regional Government to the nine UN agencies operating in the region. Baghdad can and does stall for months -- or longer --on KRG proposals, including projects to increase the supply of clean drinking water and  provide adequate electricity.

Although most major sources of hydropower in Iraq are located in Kurdistan, expansion of generation is currently prohibited by the GOI. There are only two, inadequate hydropower plants in Kurdistan. The GOI would rather supply electricity from generation sources under their control outside the region that run on petroleum also under their control. Remember, it was the GOI that disconnected the governorates of Erbil and Sulaimania from the national grid in September 1992 and Duhok between August 1993 and August 1995. As I can testify, summers are unbearably hot -- reaching 46 degrees Celsius. There is no guarantee that the GOI will not do the same thing again. Families need electricity for basic survival.

Denied access to Iraqi Kurdistan, journalists are not able to investigate the situation with the Oil For Food program. The very regime that used chemical and biological weapons on its own people and Iran and invaded Kuwait seems to be in the driver''s seat when it comes to the implementation of UN Res. 986 or Oil for Food.

In the center-south, the GOI implements the oil for food program. In Iraqi Kurdistan it is the UN that implements the program in cooperation with the local authorities of the KRG. In the center-south it is the GOI that procures and distributes everything (of course each contract they sign must be approved by the UN sanctions committee). The GOI could order more food and medicines than they do, BUT THEY HAVE NOT. In effect, there is no shortage of funds to provide every person in the center-south with steak and eggs for breakfast!

Despite the challenges and difficulties, the Kurdistan Regional Government has put its 13% share of Oil For Food revenues to good use. There are no starving children in Iraqi Kurdistan. It is Saddam Hussein alone who bears the responsibility for the situation in the center-south. Under the Oil for Food program it is the GOI that procures the bulk food and medicines for the whole country, even for Iraqi Kurdistan. The GOI sends Kurdistan its fair share based on population. Thus, if every resident in the country has equal access to the same food and medicine, why is there no starvation in Kurdistan as there is in the center-south?

In my view, Arab journalists and media organizations, like Al-Jazeera, should be encouraged to visit Iraqi Kurdistan and see for themselves that Oil for Food is not the reason that children are starving in the center-south. Ask the people of Iraqi Kurdistan (Kurds, Arabs, Turkomens, Christians and Muslims) if Saddam really is a hero of the Arab world as some would have us believe.

The much written about so-called linkage between the starving children of Iraq and the suffering of the Palestinian people is false and dangerous. In addition to handing out checks to Palestinian widows, perhaps Saddam should also distribute funds to the Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi widows whom he created. In Iraqi Kurdistan it is abundantly clear that Oil For Food works because the region is "Saddam Free."   As one American who works with the KRG puts it: "the regime responsible for the problem is sitting in the cock-pit co-flying the plane delivering the solution."

In conclusion, I believe that It is in the vital and strategic interest of the United States to continue to enforce the no-fly zone. In fact, the no-fly zone should be enhanced by the creation of a no-drive zone in the immediate future. Close to four million people -- Kurds, Turkomen, Arabs, Christians and Muslims -- are now protected by the no-fly zone. Absent the presence of the Baghdad regime and secure in the knowledge that they will continue to be protected, the people of Iraqi Kurdistan will can move forward in their efforts to build a democratic society that respects cultural pluralism and human rights. Clearly, this fragile experiment in democracy and good governance can only survive if the United States publicly and unequivocally guarantees the protection of the safe-haven.

The people of Iraqi Kurdistan represent a the building blocks of a new future for Iraq that is grounded on the principles of democracy, civil society and human rights.