BAGHDAD -- The relationship between Shiites and Kurds extends back to the days when both groups were struggling against Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Both groups worked to bring the dictatorship to an end and established their rights in Iraq. Following the fall of Hussein’s regime in 2003, the Kurds in northern Iraq and the Shiites had a strong partnership and helped create the new Iraqi government.
But now a conflict over different interests seems to have affected Kurdish-Shiite relations.
Author and journalist Thaer al-Badri, from Baghdad, said, “Shiite-Kurdish relations began to wane because of the conflict over interests and the Shiite religious parties’ control over the government and its executive departments.”
“Many of the things that were agreed upon when they (Kurds and Shiites) were both in the opposition have now been neglected by the executive branch, particularly the Dawa Party," Al-Badi said.
Some Kurdish and Sunni leaders have recently accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of concentrating powers and imposing his party’s will on the rest of the country.
“The Kurds did not demand anything more than their rights,”
“The Kurds did not demand anything more than their rights,” Al-Badi said. “Moreover, they still have the right to establish their own state, starting from the rights stated in the Treaty of Sevres and those established when the modern Iraqi state was established, which stipulates the right of the Kurds to establish their own state. However, the Shiite parties began to deal with Article 140 as a double standard by implementing it in specific regions and hindering it in other areas.”
Talib Abbas Al-Shimmari, a former opposition figure who lived in Kurdistan in the 1990s, told Rudaw that it was a common enemy -- the Baath regime -- more than anything else that united the Kurds and Shiites.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Al-Shimmarai said. “We had the same enemy and that united us. Our relationship remained strong because we were oppressed by the same regime.”
Al-Shimmarai, who now lives in the city of Kut, recalled the support Kurds provided for the Iraqi Shiite opposition.
“We haven’t forgetten how the Kurds helped us during those days when we were both in the opposition against the previous regime,” he said. “They gave us shelter, especially the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).”
However, Al-Shimmary now believes that the Kurds’ are asking for too much.
“The Kurds have changed and have gone too far and their demands exceed their rights,” he said. “It is true they have suffered under the previous regime, but we suffered too and we still do not enjoy the same rights they do. They hold important posts in the Iraqi government and have a big share of natural resources and they still demand more and want their region to reach to the borders of Ammara province.”
Citing Mandali as an example, a disputed town in Diyala province, Al-Shimmari said the attitude of some Kurdish parties in areas outside the Kudistan Region has contributed to resentment and anger among Arab residents toward the Kurds.
“In the towns of Mandali, Qazaniya and Badra their violations have reached the level of pulling down the Iraqi national flag and raising the Kurdish flag instead,” he said. “People of those regions now hate them for this. I personally don’t like them like before because of their violations.”
Haidar Salman, 45, a resident of Mandali, told Rudaw that Kurdish parties disrespect the Arabs of the area.
“we are not ready to grant the Kurds even one span of land at the expense of Iraq’s unity.”
“We do not like the presence of the Peshmarga in our area because they insult us and hurt our feelings as Iraqis,” he said. “Our relationship with the Kurds as a people is good, but we have issues with the behavior of their government.”
Al-Shimmari believes that if Kurds have their own state, they will spare Iraq a lot of trouble.
“They (Kurds) act as a separate country and they do not obey the central government,” he said. “As you see, they did not hand over (Vice-President) Tariq al-Hashimi to the Iraqi authorities. In my opinion, they should have their own state so that this issues is resolved and the situation clams down.”
Majid Sabah, a government employee in Baghdad and former opposition figure, said certain Kurdish and Shiite leaders should be credited for building strong ties between both people.
“Shiite-Kurdish relations were very good during the era of Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, former leader of the Supreme Islamic Council,” he said. “What solidified this relationship was the individual efforts of the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani because he plays a pivotal role in solving problems that might arise between the two sides.”
Sabah believes the reason for strained relations between Shiites and Kurds is the Kurdish aspiration for independence.
“The issues that strains the relationship arises with Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, who does not hesitate to demand secession and form an independent Kurdish state in the future,” he said. “What matters most for us Iraqis is the integrity of Iraq as a country, and we are not ready to grant the Kurds even one span of land at the expense of Iraq’s unity.”
Sabah said that as long as Kurds remain within Iraq, their demands can be accommodated.
“If we feel that Kurds will not secede from Iraq, we then do not mind if they even add Kirkuk to the Kurdistan Region,” he said in reference to the disputed province. “We are not against federalism and we will support it if Iraq remains one.”
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:14 pm
, but true .