The news of the sudden death of Professor Kamal Mohammad Saeed
Al-Khayatt on the 13th of march 2008, came as a shock to me, I met Professor Al-Khayatt
for the last time during my visit to Kurdistan in October 2007 and as usual his
main concern was the future of Kurds and Kurdistan. I looked in the kurdish
papers of the next day, I was quite disppointed that there was only one obituary
from Minister of higher education in Iraqi Kurdistan, but no other obituaries
from any official in Iraqi Kurdistan. Professor Al-Khayatt is stemming from a
very well known family in Sulaimani. He is a descendant of the first Kurdish
minister of education, General Mustafa Pasha Yamulki, during the rule of Sheikh
Mahmood Al-Hafeed in Sulaimani/ Iraqi Kurdistan, in the aftermath of WWI.
Professor Al-Khayatt was a genuine Kurdish patriot, he is a
relative of mine and he was one of the first people who talked to me about Kurds
and Kurdistan when my family was still living in Kirkuk, where I was born. Even
at those very early times for me I was fascinated by his passion and optimism
about the future of Kurds and Kurdistan. His Funeral was simple and Kurdish and
attended by his family, relatives, friends and students with out any official
participation.
Professor Kamal Mohammad Saeed Al-Khayatt was born in
Sulaimani on 24/3/1939. He finished his primary and secondary education in
Sulaimani. In 1962 he obtained his university degree in the college of trade and
economics of the university of Baghdad.He travelled to the Soviet Union( Now
Russia) and obtained a PH.D. degree in economics, he returned to Iraq and was
appointed as university teacher in Basrah university in 1967. He remained there
until he was transferred to Al-Musansiriyah university in Baghdad in 1970. After
the 11 March agreement between Iraqi government and Kurdish resistance movement
under Mulla Mustafa Al-Barzani, he was transferred to the university of
Sulaimani, initially as deputy president of the university of Sulaimani and
later as university president.
After the collapse of the 11 M arch agreement in 1975 and the
insistence of Baath government on military repression of Kurdish political
parties, he joined thousands of other Kurdish intellectuals and freedom fighters
who left there jobs and homes behind to join the Kurdish struggle movement in
the mountains of Kurdistan. The Kurdish revolt collapsed following an
international conspiracy which led to Algiers accord between shah of Iran and
Saddam Hussein of Iraq( the accord was brokered by Henry Kissinger, the American
secretary of state then!). Professor Al-Khayatt was forced to give himself up
like thousands other Kurds. He was transferred to Baghdad to the directorate of
quality control and pricing in Baghdad. After the Kurdish uprising in 1991,
following the 1st gulf war, and the establishment of no fly zone in Kurdistan,
he returned to university of Salahuddin( Erbil) and later was appointed as
Sulaimani's university president again and a later as a professor looking after
po st-graduate Master and PH.D students.
Professor Al-Khayatt had plenty of scientific publications and
books in economics. His last book was about economic profile and Kurdish society
which was done on behalf of FAO organisation.
The Kurdish nation has lost one of its brilliant and devoted sons.
