The President Undermining Kurdish Aspirations for Independence

By: Baqi Barzani

Virginia, USA.

November 12, 2005

Cyclically, the president in his retorts to the reporters of the Italian newspaper “  La Repubblica “  does not refuse to illegitimize and discredit the Kurdish national justification of self-rule by dubbing it as “A Dream “. He negates this globally- valued principle, isolates the Kurds by slamming PKK and implements the dictates of the gory masters. Unapprised of the detrimental effects, he has imposed an irreversible stroke to the Kurdish repute in the global media and undermined the aspiration of Kurdish people.

It is worthy of mention that due to the potent tenacity, resolution and inclusive Kurdish popular vote, he was empowered to preside over his elevated standing, not the bullying dictators. By doing so, the president is more accredited and approved by the foreign powers while mislaying his character among his own people who bolstered him gain victory in the campaign. Elected officials in Kurdistan are liable to the people, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. This means that officials in a democratic society must agree to the risk of being voted out of office.

It is digestible that under the present circumstances independence may or may not be unproblematic but positively on the cards, not even the president himself reserves the rights to let the Kurdish rights be abused or trampled upon and their devout principles insulted. Ataturk (Supreme obstinate opponent to Kurdish independence) during an address to the Turkish Youth says “Your first duty is to project and preserve the Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic forever. This is the very foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure. In the future, too, there may be malevolent people at home and abroad, who wish to deprive you of this treasure. If some day you are compelled to defend your independence and your republic, you must not tarry to weigh the possibilities and circumstances of the situation before taking up your duty. These possibilities and circumstances may turn out to be extremely unfavorable. The enemies conspiring against your independence and your Republic may have behind them a victory unprecedented in the annals of the world” The very Turks that strongly pursue his values contradict the equivalent rights for other nations.

Independence is not free of cost but rather needs indefatigable devotions along with infinite sacrifices. The people of Kurdistan should not undertake this accountability lightly; they should oppose the pressure to elect an unnationalist and anti-pro-independence president who has a disputed past and deficient in the most basic criterion to pilot the nation. As the age-old saying goes, "those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them".  The Presidency of a nation is a principled, exigent, and demanding job. In today’s very complex and elaborate world, evolution, and even survival, of nations rest on enlightened leadership that can articulate a vision and an agenda to achieve national goals. Only seasoned politicians with relevant merits could withstand the trials and tribulations of today’s ever-changing world.

Let us bear in mind the champions of Kurdish revolution that struggled to impose the adversaries acknowledge the dignity of our people while facing imprisonment, execution and summary arrests in their non-violent resistance and while facing all forms of injustice wherever they raised in the occupied territories. Kurdistan was against our will annexed to Iraq with no any value for the aspiration of the Kurdish people, (and) that for the last 80 years the Kurds have been tormented by the Iraqi Arab state to tyranny, dependence and mass murder.