Orhan KURUL
Dersim
The demonstrations that started in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Federal Kurdistan Region of Iraq have spread to many places and still continue. While the people protest for their unpaid salaries and want their demands to be met, the KDP security forces intervene and respond harshly. Until today, 11 people, 3 of them children, have lost their lives, and there is information that there are around 60 injured, including some who are in severe condition. We talked to journalist Necmettin Salaz, who has been living in the region for 10 years, about the developments over Skype. Salaz said, any Kurd who says "I cannot buy milk for my child, I am hungry," is being killed. As such, people have had enough. I can say that this is the first time that such a serious uprising has been seen since Saddam.”
EVERYTHING SEEMED GOOD AT THE BEGINNING
Stating that everything was going well in the region at the beginning, Salaz said, “The people were happy because the barbarism of capitalism had not fully settled yet. For example, there seemed to be more sharing amongst people who had just come from their villages. Gradually, as capitalism and money began to show its face, people started to exploit these means. Unfortunately they began becoming more selfish.”
THE MONEY WAS NOT USED FOR THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE
Drawing attention to the fact that Kurdistan is a rich place in terms of underground and aboveground resources, Salaz said, “Take natural gas for example, Kurdistan has enough reserves that could keep Europe going for more than 100 years. The oil of this place is considered to be the best quality oil in the world. They make serious revenue from customs duty. The vehicles coming in and out pay customs tax and serious revenue is made this way. Although, none of this money is used for the welfare of their people. The people managing these areas have started taking advantage of their status. It was better at first, but now it has started getting very unpleasant.”
PEOPLE HAVE STARTED TO RESIST
“First of all, there were civil servants, doctors and health workers. For the last 4-5 years, the rest of the people have also started to resist. First the civil servants, then the health workers, then the rest of the people started to resist. The officers rebelled again, even within the peshmerga, there were those who said I will not be an action breaker."
THEY STAYED AWAY FROM TRANSPARENCY
Evaluating the events under two headings, Salaz divided these titles as economy and politics. Saying that economy is the prioritised topic which is then joined by politics, Salaz said “If your politics are no good, your economy is no good either. If your politics is based on sharing, if you are transparent, if you can say we have this much money, this much came from customs duty, this much of it came from oil, this is the amount I pay for wages, I’m going to have to give you 10/100 lira less. If this is all the money there is, the Kurdish people are abstinent, they will try to make it work with little money. But they avoided transparency. There is information that the assets outside have increased. Political relations with Turkey have shifted to an interesting point. At this point, people have had enough. I can say that this is the first time that such a serious uprising has been seen since Saddam”.
THEY TAKE AKP AS AN EXAMPLE
“Kurds who are saying I cannot buy milk for my child, I am hungry are being killed. Not by Saddam, but by other Kurds. Companies are being formed in Turkey. They are becoming partners with Turkish companies being established here. They live extremely comfortably. The KDP government here takes AKP as an example. Our government is doing what they do! I mean, there is money, but it is not going to the people."
JOURNALISTS; ARRESTED AND MISSING
The attitude towards the press is the same as it is in Turkey Salazar stressed, "There is pressure, for example, one TV channel keeps being shut down. Some journalists are unable to enter certain areas whatsoever. They get arrested and go missing. Can you believe, a journalist going missing in Kurdistan, it happened! There have been Journalists found dead or not found at all. Intellectuals are arrested and sent to prison. These are the acts of the country they are taking as an example!”.
COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS ARE VERY DEVELOPED
Salaz reminds us of a People's Bank document brought to the Parliament by CHP, “According to this document, the Kurdistan Regional Government's earnings are 197 million dollars and the withdrawals are 193 million dollars. 4 million dollars were given to AKP during the election period for election contributions. It's not me who is saying this, it is CHP. They submitted this document to the Parliament, it was covered up and disappeared. The business relationships are amazing. It is said that they have 400 partner companies in port cities. Kurds are partners in companies there, Turks are partners in the companies here. They have not only economic but also political relations. The Turkish state is an enemy of the PKK, and so is KDP. They shot some guerrillas 3-4 days ago.” He said to exemplify the KDP-AKP relationship.
PRODUCTION IS ALMOST NONEXISTENT
Salaz mentioned that the production of goods in Kurdistan is almost nonexistent and the people are dependent on KDP for any income, "Our tomatoes come from Turkey, and our eggs. The expiry dates are in Turkish! Kurdistan is essentially a villager’s community. We have thousands of villages. How could our eggs come to us from another country? I don’t understand. Only pomegranates do not come from outside! They broke people off from producing, and the reason is political dependence. This is the advice given by the imperialists. Foreign dependency in every way. Money will go out so that you will always be dependent on those sources. You will depend on them, and they will depend on you, ”he said.
THE SOLUTION IS A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
Seeing the solution in a democratic republic, Salaz continued as follows: “You need to create a transparent administration, ensure that the people are involved in production. You are going to have to get along well with the Arabs, the same way Kurds make getting along with Turks a priority in Turkey, you will make getting along with your country's people a priority too. You will not hide the income from the public, you’ve taken enough! Consider the shares you took for yourself enough, you have taken enough for you and the next seven generations of your family. Just be content with your salary. KDP is a right-wing party, it is in line with Demirel, the AKP line. Of course, a socialist government cannot be expected from them. This would be the choice of the people in the future, but at least it will be a democratic and transparent republic at first. This is the first step that needs to be taken to save this place. "
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