Gül met yesterday with Erşat Salihi, the leader of the Turkmen Front party, expressing Turkey’s desire to maintain close ties with all ethnic and religious groups in Iraq.

“I believe that while defending the rights of the Turkmens in the best possible way, [Salihi] will make contributions also to the fraternity and peaceful co-habitation in Iraq between Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs,” Gül said.

Salihi said all of Iraq’s neighbors should adopt the same policy of equal treatment of the country’s communities, but added that it “is our natural right to be a bit closer” to Turkey.

Alarmed over a wave of assassinations and abductions targeting their community, Iraqi Turkmen leaders have recently appealed to Turkey for support, saying Turkmens in the ethnically-mixed oil-rich city of Kirkuk were particularly demoralized.

Also yesterday, Gül received Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi after the visiting official held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Cemil Çiçek.

Çiçek said Iraq needed to stop the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from using its northern regions as a shelter and a base for attacks on Turkey.

Çiçek also lent support to a proposal from Nujaifi for a four-way meeting in Baghdad between the parliament speakers of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia to discuss regional tensions.

© 2011 Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkmens-should-work-for-unity-gul-2011-11-17

Speaking to reporters prior to his meeting with Salihi behind closed doors, President Gul said that Salihi was recently elected the chair of the Iraqi Turkmen Front and was a deputy from Kirkuk at the Iraqi Parliament.

All Iraqis are our brothers and sisters. We wish all Iraqis to have a prosperous and happy life. As Turkey, we are doing our utmost for Iraq’s unity and strength. Iraqi Turkmens play the role of a great bridge between Turkey and Iraq, Gul said.

Source: AA

URL: http://www.aa.com.tr/en/manset/103133-president-gul-receives-iraqi-turkmen-official

The Iraqi delegation was composed of: Mr Younadam Kenna, Mr Amin Farhan, MissAmeena Said, Miss Vian Dakhil, Mr Hussain Nermo, Mr Meham Khaleel, MissBasma Pitrus, Mr Luis Gaor, Mr Qasim Birgis, Mr Sharif Sulayman, Mr Khalid Roomi, Mr Kaliss Eisho, Mr Imad Yako, and Mr Mohammed Jamsheed.

The meeting in Brussels was chaired by the President of the EU Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Mr. Struan Stevenson. The meeting was also attended by Vice-President of the Delegation Esther De Lange, and MEP’s Ana Gomes, Tunne Kelam, Alexandra Thein and Jelko Kacin.

During the meeting, Iraqi Turkmen Front EU Representative, Dr. Hassan Aydinli, had the opportunity to individually meet with MEP’s Stevenson, Kelam and Thein.  Aydinli mentioned the upcoming Turkmen Hearing by the Subcommittee on Human Rights at the EU Parliament to be held on 5 December 2011.  He highlighted the ongoing targeting of Turkmen intellectuals, businessmen and political leaders in the north of Iraq and expressed the failure and unwillingness of Iraqi authorities to provide adequate protection for the Turkmen community in the north of Iraq.

During the meeting in Brussels, all the members of the Iraqi delegation asked for help and moral support from the European Union, expressing their hope that the EU Parliament would issue a statement on Iraq’s minorities.  They further expressed the hope that Members of the EU Parliament would frequently visit the Iraqi Parliament and that additional EU consulates would be opened in the main cities in the north of Iraq.

For more information see: http://merryabla64.wordpress.com/

Najat Hassan, representative of the Turkmen in Kirkuk, announced the new unit with 100-150 armed men Thursday.

“The decision to form the force was made after it became clear that the security forces in Kirkuk are unable to protect the Turkmen citizens in the city, especially after the assassination of the prominent Dr. Yıldırım Abbas and his brother,” Hassan said. “It was implemented at the request of the President of the Turkmen Front, Arshad Salhi.”

Jamal Taher, chief of the police in Kirkuk, criticized the move. “I do not support the formation of a committee like this, set up on the basis of nationalism in Kirkuk.”

He would prefer additional support for the police of Kirkuk, if the government agrees that additional security is necessary.

Taher claimed he has not officially been informed about the new force.

The oil-rich city of Kirkuk – 233 km northeast of Baghdad – is of multi-ethnic makeup. Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen all claim they are the rightful heirs to the rule of the city and the surrounding province. It has been hit hard by the violence that has engulfed Iraq since the 2003 U.S-led invasion. Unlike other regions, attacks in Kirkuk have not significantly decreased in recent years, with bombings and shootings an almost daily occurrence.

Observers believe that the file of the disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil will be a challenge for Iraq after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country at the end of this year.

Source: AKNews
URL:http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/261998/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Police said that Dr. Yalderin Abbas al-Damarchi, a 48-year-old Shiite Turkmen father of four, was killed by gunmen along with his brother, Zein al-Abdeen, while driving after he left his clinic in central Kirkuk.

Sadiq Omar Rasul, the general director of the Kirkuk health directorate, confirmed Damarchi’s death, saying the attack was an attempt to “create chaos in Iraq.”

Kurdistan wants to incorporate the restive, ethnically mixed and oil-rich Kirkuk province into its autonomous north Iraq region, a move strongly opposed by authorities in Baghdad.

Violence is down across Iraq from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 239 people were killed in violence in the country in August, according to official figures.

Source: The Province
URL: http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=5357025&sponsor

In an interview with Today’s Zaman, Beyetli said the Iraqi Bektashis are facing difficult challenges in Iraq. “We want the Iraqi government to officially recognize the Bektashis of Iraq, and we want to establish our own federation with a budget from the Iraqi government,” he stated.

The identity of the Iraqi Bektashis started to come to the forefront only recently — after the start of the Iraq war in 2003.

Beyetli said: “The identity of the Bektashi people was suppressed for more than 80 years. We suffered great injustices in terms of culture and religion, and many Bektashis assimilated with Shiites.

The Shiites represent 65 percent of the Iraqi population and the Sunnis 32 percent.

There has recently been an escalation in sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite groups. The violence reached its peak on Tuesday when the death toll hit 70 in Iraq, making it the deadliest day of the year.

“The Shiite groups are strong, and many Bektashis assimilate out of fear, becoming Shiite. There is great pressure. We don’t have a representative in the parliament. The one representative who was close to our community was an assimilated Bektashi,” he said.

Beyetli said it is difficult to determine the exact number of the Bektashi population in Iraq, adding: “There is a wide range in estimated population numbers, ranging from 250,000 to 750,000. We have to remember that the last official census in Iraq was in 1957, and in light of those years of assimilation, the numbers start to become fragmented.”

Iraqi Bektashis are in Turkey for the Haci Bektaş-i Veli festival and to raise public awareness of the plight of the Bektashi community in Iraq.

The Iraqi Bektashi population in Iraq is currently centered mostly in northern Iraq and in the cities of Mosul, Telafer, Kirkuk, Tuzhurmatu and Arbil. “You don’t get a sense of a large population of Bektashis in Iraq, but there is a sense of revival and increased openness that is clearly in the air,” Beyetli stated.

Source: Today’s Zaman
URL: http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_openPrintPage.action?newsId=254413

At first, the new management of Iraqi Turkmen Front that gathered Ali Haşim Muhtaroğlu, Ali Mehdi and Hasan Turan who were prominent in the Turkmen politics and who put their signature under high affairs in their position, initiated politics in the whole ofIraq. The Iraqi Turkmen Front which was able to meet even with Kurdish group with whom it has conflicted for so long without giving up fundamental principles, took the first fruits of this by assigning Hasan Turan to the Presidency of provincial assembly which was the right legally obtained.  The Iraqi Turkmen Front, which has ceased its formal activities in Arbil that was in the control of the Kurdish Regional Government since 2003 when the United States intervened Iraq, made an application so as to open its office again in Arbil. This application seems to create a positive atmosphere among Arbil that is at the mercy of Kurdish Regional management and the Turkmens who lives in Sulaymaniyah and Duhok. It is known that the workshops held in Arbil and Sulaymaniyah by the Iraqi Turkmen Front during the second half of July attracted great attention. Besides, Aydın Maruf, the member of Executive Council of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, visited the Sulaymaniyah office of PUK. On the same day of this visit, Arshad al-Salihi, the head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, meet with the head of PUK, Jalal Talabani. On the other hand, The Kurdistan Conservative Party invited the Iraqi Turkmen Front to its second congress by sending an official invitation. In December 2010, KCP had invited the Iraqi Turkmen Front to its congress with an official invitation as well.

Besides, Erbil is one of the provinces that Turkmens is the most dense. The Turkmen population in Erbil is even said to be able to compete with the Turkmen population in Kerkuk. However it is known that, considering the political and social structure of the Kurdish Regional Government, the Turkmens living in this region have so far had troubles expressing their identities. But the Iraqi Turkmen Front focusing again on Erbil can be interpreted to be an important step which can change the balance for the Turkmen policy. This is important for the Turkmen people to raise their voices more in politics.

On the other hand, the Iraqi Turkmen Front is also opening new offices in the south of Iraq. As is known, there are Turkmens who live in Iraq belonging to Shia as well as Sunni sects of Islam. Much as there is no distinction of Sunni-Shiite amongst Turkmens, the sectarian tension in Iraq is known to affect the Turkmens as well. Although the situation has got better now, the Telafar events are still remembered. But the Turkmens have exhibited an attitude by reuniting which should be taken example by Iraq. The Iraqi Turkmen Front carried out a more inclusive policy and opened an office in Najaf too. It even built a dorm of 40 persons to shelter more than 100 Turkmen teens who are studying in the madrasahs in Najaf. Furthermore, they are trying to build relations with large Shiite political groups in Iraq. On 12 July, Hasan Turan, Iraqi Turkmen Front Executive Board Member and Head of Kirkuk Province Assembly visited Ammar Al-Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and demanded support regarding the constitutional rights of both Kerkuk and Turkmens. Taking account of the significance of the Shiite groups in Iraqi politics after 2003, Iraqi Turkmen Front building relations with Shiite groups could make the Turkmens an important milestone in Iraqi politics. Yet in view of the Shiites` effect in Iraq, one should not ignore Iran. Within this framework, Iraqi Turkmen Front President Arshad Al-Salihi and the committee`s visit to Iran is quite important. This visit is important not only for taking the support of Shiites in Iraq but also to enhance the vision of the Iraqi Turkmen Front. The Iraqi Turkmen Front`s announce to visit other neighbor countries to Iraq in the next period shows that the Turkmens have higher aims now.

These steps taken by Iraqi Turkmen Front are giving hope for the future of the Turkmen politics. Besides, the results in accordance with the gains acquired recently in the Iraqi politics and political moves also show that Turkmens could become more influential in Iraqi politics in the next period. In this point, it is best to talk about a few issues. Firstly, after it was learnt that the Turkmens weren`t included in the information given in the Iraq introduction part in the Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs website about the population living in the country, removal of these data as a result of enormous effort of Turkmen deputies and despite the removal of the data by following the situation, the demand for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apologize from the Turkmen people are also important. On the other hand, the first step about the abduction events in Kerkuk was taken by Iraqi Turkmen Front. On 27 July, the Iraqi Turkmen Front President and Kerkuk deputy Arshad Al-Salihi presented a memorandum to the parliament on behalf of the Turkmen deputies. In the memorandum, it was demanded from the parliament to exhibit an attitude due to its reputation, to debate these issues in the parliament and for a committee to visit Kerkuk and investigate the events in order to fully understand them. After the memorandum a committee of research was created in the parliament. Although these examples didn`t cause large effects politically in Iraq, they are important steps for the Turkmen policy. Maybe for the first time since the Article 23 of the Local Elections Regulations for Kerkuk was removed, Turkmens succeeded in being influential in Iraqi politics. Yet there is a point which needs to be underlined. All those developments shouldn`t show everything in the Turkmen policy through rose-coloured glasses. Big steps bring about big responsibilities. What is important for those steps is to reach a successful point. The Turkmen people have high expectations from the politicians, too. Especially recently, these expectations seem to get even higher. At this point, it must be said that the Turkmen politicians should take the priorities of the people into account as well and act in this way. Otherwise, the slippery slope in Iraq can turn the Turkmen policy, which is just getting back on the track, upside down.

Source: Anatolia Daily

URL: http://www.anatoliadaily.com/irst/index.php/main-subjects/middle-east/230-turkmen-policy-on-the-rise-in-iraq

Jubouri made a statement today, a copy of which was received by Aswat al-Iraq, stating that “granting this post to the Turkmen is important because they are the third ethnic entity in the country.
Their popular participation and history should enable them a real representation.”
“Granting them this post will substitute their deprivation of the vice-presidency post and a matter of equality and national partnership principles,” he added.

Source: Aswat Al Iraq
URL: http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=143180&l=1

Sitting inside the Genç Kardeşler Café behind the bus station in Istanbul’s Kurtuluş area, it is easy to see why the “Son Durak” (Last Stop) neighborhood is also called “Little Baghdad.”

The men playing cards and chatting at the cafe, smoking at the door or enjoying the sun outside predominantly speak Arabic, and like many of those who have made the journey from Iraq, their lives are characterized by waiting.

Kurtuluş has been a way station for some time for thousands of Iraqi refugees who fled violence and war at home, leaving behind their families, loved ones, jobs, houses and even their pasts. Here in this cosmopolitan Istanbul neighborhood, the men bide their time in this cafe, the women at home, while children and the young play or linger in the streets or attend courses organized for refugees by immigration organizations. What they all have in common is waiting.

Some have been waiting four or five years to receive an acceptance from a host country where they applied to immigrate. Others sail away to a new life after only a year.

Iraqis choose to settle in Kurtuluş while they wait for a variety of reasons. The area is full of churches and home to the Catholic charity organization Caritas and the Chaldean Church, making it attractive to the many Christian migrants. It is close to immigrant organizations in Beyoğlu and populated by Greeks, Armenians and members of other migrant groups. The rents are also relatively low. But more than anything, the desire for “being together” leads many refugees to make this area their temporary home.

In Kurtuluş, they have peace and security – what they yearn for most for their country – but a sense that this feeling is temporary. Many yearn to leave behind both the violence in Iraq and their days of poverty in Istanbul and start over in a Western country.

Refugees’ stories

“I tried to live in many different neighborhoods, but I like Kurtuluş the most. Greeks and Armenians have their churches here,” said a man who asked to be identified only by the initials M.D., 50, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1991. Still, he said, he wants to move to the United States, where his sister lives.

“I was a merchant [in Iraq] but I am a translator here,” said M.D., who is fluent in English, Turkish, Syriac and Arabic.

“I don’t have the words to describe how much I miss my country. If someone said, ‘Everything is back to normal in Iraq, and a plane to the U.S. is waiting for you,’ I would prefer to go back to Iraq,” he said. “We didn’t have any trouble in Iraq. It was better than Saudi Arabia or Iran. But then Saddam Hussein was ousted and everywhere was on fire.”

Another Iraqi refugee, 25-year-old C.A., was a shoe mender in Baghdad but came to Turkey with her sister in 2004 after being threatened.

“If all of Iraq was given to me, I would not go back,” she said. “There is no life, no law. Before the Americans came it was very beautiful but now no one remains in our neighborhood.”

C.A. lived in Kurtuluş for a year and a half, and then returned to Iraq, where she stayed for two years. “I got married and set up my business, but was threatened again. I came back to Turkey in 2009 and applied to the United Nations [for refugee status]. They told me, ‘We are examining your paperwork,’” she said. “My second time around [in Turkey], I rented a house in Kurtuluş. My child is getting sick but I have no insurance. I have asked for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s help. I don’t want money. I want to go to Melbourne.”

Another area resident, H.A., is a Muslim. After her husband was kidnapped in Baghdad, she came to Kurtuluş with her two sons. They are living as roommates with an Iraqi couple. She wants to go to the United States and be with her friends.

“Baghdad was no longer a safe place for us. There are police here, there is life. Here is a stop for us. But we will have to pay a fine upon leaving – $25,000 to $30,000 for the three of us. I wish it would be abolished,” she said.

One of the biggest problems for Iraqis as well as other refugees is the annual “residence fee” of about 600 Turkish Liras per person they have to pay each year they remain in Turkey. If it is not paid, interest is added to the total owed. If they do not agree to move from Istanbul to smaller “satellite cities,” they have to pay a fine for that too. In total, many families owe some 30,000 to 60,000 liras by the time they leave Turkey – an amount that must be paid before leaving. The Interior Ministry has, however, announced that those who cannot afford to pay the fees will be pardoned. A proposed bill would abolish the residence fee altogether.

“I have a few female friends here. But the rest of the time I keep crying. I went to Taksim and Eminönü, and the seaside, too… I watch Al-Arabia and Al-Jazeera at home. I know very little Turkish. I can barely handle shopping,” H.A. said.

“My relatives in Basra will inform me if they hear anything. If he is alive, my husband can find me,” she added. “Do you know what the most important thing is? I can sleep here, but could not in Baghdad. I want to have inner peace. I want to have a rest for my heart and my children.”

Facts about refugees

* The number of Iraqi refugees in Turkey, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, is 6,590.

* Nearly 1,600 Iraqi Christian refugees live in Istanbul.

* Iraqis coming from the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Mousul, Baghdad and Diyala are considered “refugees” by the UNHCR.

* Iraqis designated as “refugees” by the UNHCR go to the Foreigners Desk for registration and then wait for their departure to the host countries where they want to live.

*Refugees in Turkey are assigned to a total of 52 satellite cities, but most prefer to live in Istanbul due to social, religious and financial issues.

* Turkey does not provide permanent residence permits for refugees coming from outside Europe. Therefore, Turkey is kind of a “way station” for Iraqi refugees.

* Countries providing residence permits to Iraqi refugees are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Canada. Other European countries do not fill the U.N. quota.

Source:  Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=little-baghdad-in-istanbul-2011-04-29

UN special representative Ad Melkert called for a conference to be held in Baghdad involving all of the religious and ethnic communities in Kirkuk, which is at the centre of a tract of disputed territory that is claimed by both the central government and Kurdish regional authorities.

US officials have persistently said the unresolved row is one of the biggest threats to Iraq’s future stability.

“I was pleased to see there is clear consensus among the parties for these elections,” Melkert said late Wednesday on a visit to Kirkuk, 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of the Iraqi capital.

“We believe it is time to move from dialogue to negotiations. We are ready to provide advice and help make progress.”

Kirkuk was one of only four provinces that did not hold provincial elections when they last took place nationwide in January 2009. The other three were all of the provinces that make up Iraqi Kurdistan.

Melkert added: “The goal is to bring together all the parties in Baghdad, including the representatives from Kurdistan, and all the communities in Kirkuk, the representatives of all the blocs, to discuss outstanding issues and narrow the gap to achieve political agreement.”

The oil-rich, multi-ethnic and multi-religious province of Kirkuk and its eponymous capital are home to Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.

Kurdish regional authorities in Arbil have demanded that the province and parts of three others be incorporated into its autonomous area, but that claim has been rejected by the central government in Baghdad.
Source: Cumhuriyet
URL: http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=238180