Kursat
Resul Ali, an official from the PUK said that Iraqi Shiites and Kurds have
reached an agreement envisioning that the the peshmerga, will be included
in the Iraqi army but will stay under Kurdish control. "We have reached an
agreement on giving the peshmerga a legal status both enabling them to
remain as a part of the Iraqi army and as a special force to protect
Kurdistan under the Kurdish government's supervision." Resul told AFP in
Sulaimani.
-----------------
Najat
Hassan Karim, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said one of his
guards was injured when a roadside bomb targeting his convoy exploded in the
ethnically mixed city. "I suspect Islamist militants were behind the
attack," Karim said.
Political negotiations to form a coalition
government remained snagged in a disagreement between Shiite Arabs and
Kurds. Sistani, was expected to meet Wednesday with Jalal Talabani. The
Kurds want the Kurdish city of Kirkuk to be returned to the autonomous Kurd
region as soon as the government convenes, but an official from Sistani's
office said he wants the issue handled in the constitution to be drafted by
the National Assembly. Ahmad Chalabi, told Al-Arabiya television that the
Kurds also wanted the powerful ministry of oil position in the new Cabinet,
reported AP
-----------------
Speaking on the second
anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq,the
US Defence Secretary has blamed Turkey for the high level of the insurgency
in Iraq. "Given the level of the insurgency today, two years later, clearly
if we had been able to get the 4th Infantry Division in from the north, in
through Turkey, more of the Iraqi, Saddam Hussein, Baathist regime would
have been captured or killed," said Rumsfeld.
In the
oil-rich Kurdish city of Kirkuk, attackers killed a policeman, then bombed
his funeral procession, killing three other officers, including the cousin
of Jalal Talabani
-----------------
Some U.S.
administration officials say that Kurdish leaders, in pressing "maximalist"
demands for power, are engaging in theatrics intended to please their
constituencies, reported the New York Times
While Massoud
Barzani drew a line on Kirkuk and peshmerga in negotiations between Southern
Kurdistan and Arab Iraq, his aide Hoshiar Zebari in Baghdad told the AFP-Arabic
affiliate that great progress was being made in the negotiations and that in
the coming days talks will focus on the distribution of Iraqi ministerial
positions. Mr. Zebari is the current foreign minister of Arab Iraq.
Shia-Kurdish talks stall over sharing power.
The Kurds want the region's boundaries redrawn now to include parts of
Kirkuk province, but the Shia insist on leaving that decision to a
constitutional government. The Shia say they are resisting a demand that
would require the Iraqi army to get permission from Kurdish leaders before
entering their Southern Kurdistan, Los Angeles Times.
-----------------
A cameraman working for the KDP's KTV
station who was kidnapped by the terrorist two
weeks ago,
was gunned down in Mosul on Monday, reported AFP
Barzani Presents Tough Stance on Kirkuk, While his Lieutenants Surrender on
Issue to Arab Iraq Massoud Barzani warned in an
interview to be aired on Al-Arabiyah television on Friday that the fate of
the city of Kirkuk must be determined now. "We do not agree on postponing
this matter until after the constitution, we must agree on the issue of
Kirkuk now," Barzani said, the day after the election-winning Kurds and
Shiites said they were about to cement an agreement for governing the
country, reported AFP
Kurdish independent Mahmoud Othman, who is a confidante of Kurdish leaders
Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, insisted "the Kurds need a written
agreement. The other side might want to delay. They say the fundamental law
is a reference, but they (the Shiites) don't want to give us something
written," reported AFP
-----------------
Kurdish parties in Western Kurdistan called for a sit-in demonstration
Thursday against emergency laws which have been in force in Syria for the
past 42 years. The demonstration would coincide with the first anniversary
of clashes in Western Kurdistan against the security forces of Syrian
regime.
On a key benchmark for European
Union membership, the Turkish government has failed to honor pledges to help
378,000 displaced people, mainly Kurds, return home more than a decade after
the army forced them from their villages. More
•
News Snapshot
Kurdistan Democratic Party’s
Sulaimani TV building was entirely burned down as a fire broke out in the
station late last Saturday evening, reported media in Southern Kurdistan.
-----------------
The head of the
Iraqi Turkoman Front, Farouq Abdulrahman who paid a visit to the Iraqi Shia
cleric Ayatollah Sistani, said that Sistani was pleased that the Turkoman
Front with their 3 seats in the Iraqi parliament joined the Shiite Alliance.
Abdulrahman added that the Sistani made promises on extended support toward
the Turkoman Front.
Shiite leader Ibrahim Jaafari and Kurdish leader Jalal
Talabani reached a tentative agreement Wednesday to set aside their
differences and focus on forming a new government, opening the way for a
deal that will give Iraq its first Kurdish president and an Islamist prime
minister.
More
•
News Snapshot
The judge Barwez
Merwani and his son Aryan Merwani - a lawyer also were shot dead outside
their home in northern Baghdad’s Azamyiah district on Tuesday. Aryan was a
senior member in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK] office in Baghdad.
The two layers was working for the tribunal that will try Saddam Hussein and
members of his former regime.
Mar 2, 2005
•
News Snapshot
In
their negotiations with the Kurdish leadership, the Shiites indicated that:
(1) the Kirkuk issue is to be decided based an Iraqi referendum, ensuring
that Kirkuk stays part of Arab Iraq, (2) Taking the presidency from the
Sunnis is sensitive and that terrorists could distort this to their
advantage and thus inflame the sensitivities of neighboring countries, and
(3) that there is no room for private armies in Iraq.
Ghazi al-Yawar told an
Iraqi TV station that Talabani would play a better role as the
Parliament Speaker. He added that “only if this post (President)
is given to the Sunnis, they will feel that they are playing a role in Iraq,
since the post of the Speaker is of no good for the Sunnis, this is due to
the fact that Sunni MPs are small in numbers and that will end in the
Speaker having no real function.”
World’s oldest inhabited city to host world’s newest cinema conference in
Hawler (Erbil), Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, from April 28-30
By: Dan Wooding
April 9, 2005
HAWLER
(ERBIL), KURDISTAN, IRAQ (ANS) -- An historic
Kurdistan Cinema Conference with the theme of "Opening the Mind Through Cinema”
will be held April 28-30 in the country’s capital city of Hawler, also known as
Erbil, which is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world."
(Pictured: Aerial view of scenic Kurdistan).
Kalat, the castle that sits on a plateau in the center of the city, has been
occupied for 8,000 years.
The
conference will draw delegates from across Europe, Japan, and also from the
United States and will take place in the Sheraton Hotel – Erbil Palace --in
Hawler, Kurdistan which is 15 minutes (5 kilometers) by car from the
international airport. (Pictured: Map
showing capital city Erbil).
A spokesperson for the festival said, “All guests will be traveling under the
protection of the Kurdistan Regional Government who guarantees constant support
and assistance with all guests. In Kurdistan, ground transportation and security
will be guaranteed by the Ministry of Culture, Sami Shorish and the Prime
Minister, Nichervan Barzani.”
The spokesperson added, “English, Russian, and Kurdish Translators will be
provided at all meetings.”
ANWAR SINDI
Helping
to organize the conference is Anwar Sindi, a Kurdish director who born in a cave
in 1970 in Zakho, Kurdistan, where his family along with about 300,000 other
Kurds, were hiding from Saddam Hussein.
(Pictured: Anwar Sindi).
“After the attack of Saddam in 1974, I left to Iran with my family and other
struggling families to escape persecution and death. I was four years old when
we left.
“I continued with my studies and completed secondary school in 1988 Thereafter I
joined Peshmarga. I was a partisan from 1988 until 1991.
”Throughout my life I was always interested in a career in film, specifically
camera and directing.
”In 1992 I left Iran for Russia to study camera as well as directing and to
pursue my dream. I attended VGIK University in Moscow. I graduated from this
university with a Master's degree in Directing. In 1997 I presented the short
film Ice Cream as my final master's project and received the highest marks in my
class of study. During my study at the university, I completed 6 short films and
2 documentaries.”
He went on to say, “In just a few years, the Kurdish people have opened the eyes
of those in the Middle East. In the past couple of years, we have had journalism
conferences, and others, but this will be the first cinema conference. We had
one in ethics in journalism just two months before now. We also had one for
business, with investment people coming to look at opportunities. We have been
trying to encourage conferences to try and bring people to look for
opportunities in Kurdistan.
“This cinema conference will be different from the business and the other
conferences that have been held in Kurdistan because this one will be bringing
in international professionals from the outside who are volunteering their time
to come and build cinema in our country. But they will not just be giving
information, but actually work on building cinema in Kurdistan, which will
affect the whole Middle East.
“The Prime Minister and I have been working on Kurd film projects since 1998,
but then came the idea that was it was time to show the Kurdish people to the
outside world – their culture and language; that they are different than those
around them. My people have been practicing democracy and living in freedom
since 1991 and they want to be able to show that to the people of the world.
“We did not specially invite people from the Middle East to come this time
because we wanted to bring international standards that are not used in the
Middle East at this time. For instance, Panavision is not being used in the
Middle East at all. This time Panavision will be attending the conference.
“People in the region are already aware about what has been going on with
Kurdish culture for not just the last 35 years, but the last 8,000 years. They
have not been able to bring up the level of cinema to the level that they want
it to be and what the Kurds believe it can be now, which includes building
studios – a big studio is being built now.
“We are doing something brand new not only in Kurdistan, but also in the Middle
East. It is a very historical moment.”
CANDACE WHITESELL
Also
involved in helping to organize the conference is American-born Candace
Whitesell is Vice President/CIO of KurdFilm, which is a Kurdish film company.
(Pictured: Candace Whitesell).
“Our company is the first registered film company in Iraq, not just in
Kurdistan, and my job is facilitate between all the international people so that
they understand what I understand – that Kurdistan is a beautiful place, as well
as a very safe and secure place.
“The people there have incredible intellect and drive. If you put a task in
front of them, nothing is daunting to them. They take it and they will be on it.
If feel and want it, it is done. That is what my experience has been living
there for two years.
“What I hope this conference will achieve is the beautiful exchange of real
ideas and real commitment between the international cinema community and the
cinema community that is just growing and is just now being birthed in
Kurdistan. By doing this and by building the cinema in the Middle East, Sindi
and I believe, that it will not only open the minds of the Kurdish people, but
also it will open the minds of the people outside to what is happening with the
Kurdish people and also it is going to start that ripple and open thinking in
the region . Then we can only hope and pray what will happen after that! Our
Mantra is that we can make some great changes in that area of the world.”
USA DELEGATION FROM HOLLYWOOD
Among the 30 guests who will be traveling from Los Angeles, will be many leading
figures from Hollywood’s film community, including Dr. Ted Baehr, President and
Founder of Movieguide® and the Christian Film and Television Commission.
In an interview, Dr. Baehr told ANS, “This is the very first film festival they
have ever held. Almost every year, an important movie has come out of the
suffering Middle East such as A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES about the plight of the
Kurds under some very oppressive regimes, But this is the very first time these
people have had the freedom to pursue creating their own stories through the
mass media of entertainment. They are being forgiving, positive and gracious,
and they want the world to know the stories of their people.
“The people of Kurdistan have been historically devastated by the surrounding
countries for many years. Now they are looking to proclaim their identity and
reach out to the world through the mass media, such as film and television. They
are prosperous and gracious, and this is an opportunity to minister to them, so
the reason myself and others of strong faith are going there is to reach them
and minister to them."
Dr. Baehr, who will be one of the speakers at the conference, went on to say, “I
am going to talk to them about the worldwide audience and what that audience
wants. The reason they want me there was they saw my presentation at the recent
Movieguide® Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to Hollywood. So they
want to know about faith and values and what the people of the world want, which
is redemption, salvation and moral virtues.”
The Kurds are one of the few nations that have been subjected to Genocide. In
1988, Saddam Hussein’s army carried out one of the most horrendous attacks in
history called Anfal. During Anfal, 182,000 Kurdish men, women and children were
massacred. Chemical weapons were used. The whole world witnessed the chemical
attacks on Halabja. Over 4000 villages were razed to the ground. Millions of
livestock were destroyed. The environment and rural Kurdish existence were
eradicated.
HAWLER
(ERBIL), KURDISTAN, IRAQ (ANS) -- An historic
Kurdistan Cinema Conference with the theme of "Opening the Mind Through Cinema”
will be held April 28-30 in the country’s capital city of Hawler, also known as
Erbil, which is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world."
(Pictured: Aerial view of scenic Kurdistan).
The
conference will draw delegates from across Europe, Japan, and also from the
United States and will take place in the Sheraton Hotel – Erbil Palace --in
Hawler, Kurdistan which is 15 minutes (5 kilometers) by car from the
international airport. (Pictured: Map
showing capital city Erbil).
Helping
to organize the conference is Anwar Sindi, a Kurdish director who born in a cave
in 1970 in Zakho, Kurdistan, where his family along with about 300,000 other
Kurds, were hiding from Saddam Hussein.
(Pictured: Anwar Sindi).
Also
involved in helping to organize the conference is American-born Candace
Whitesell is Vice President/CIO of KurdFilm, which is a Kurdish film company.
(Pictured: Candace Whitesell).