Iraq's unity 'voluntary and not compulsory': Kurdish leader

WASHINGTON | Wed May 6, 2015 12:47pm EDT

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The unity of Iraq "is voluntary and not compulsory," the head of the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said on Wednesday, while stressing the Kurds had no immediate plans to break away from the central government in Baghdad.

Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani was speaking in Washington after holding talks earlier with U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on issues that included the campaign to battle Islamic State.

The White House said that in those talks, Obama and Biden stressed that Washington supports "a united, federal and democratic Iraq."

There have been fears that the country could fracture further along ethnic and religious lines following rapid advances by Islamic State, a radical militant group.

Barzani said the Kurds were coordinating with Baghdad in the fight against Islamic state, where their Peshmerga military forces have played a major role. But he voiced the Kurds' long-held dream of their own independent state.

"Certainly the independent Kurdistan is coming," he said, speaking through a translator at an event sponsored by the Atlantic Council and U.S. Institute of Peace think tanks. "It's a continued process. It will not stop, it will not step back.

Iraq's unity "is voluntary and not compulsory, so therefore the important thing is for attempts to be made for everyone in Iraq to have that conviction that it would be a voluntary union and not a forced union," he said. He added that any changes in Iraq's make-up should be made peacefully.

Barzani said the Kurdistan Regional Government, based in Irbil, has not received 17 percent of Iraq's federal budget due to it under an agreement in which the Kurds are supposed to export an average of 550,000 barrels of oil per day.

Irbil has not always been able to meet its export target, and the cash-strapped Baghdad government has missed payments in the past.

"We hope that Baghdad honors that agreement," Barzani said.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati and Warren Strobel; editing by Andrew Hay)

George Galloway 2004 letter insisted that no Mariam Appeal money came from Iraq

Newly released documents show that Galloway, founder and trustee of the charity, made the claim to the Attorney General; the Charity Commission later said that trustees had not properly scrutinised the provenance of the funds

George Galloway

George Galloway, leader of the Respect Party, insisted in a 2004 letter to the Attorney General that no money paid to the Mariam Appeal came from Iraq, even though the Charity Commission and a parliamentary committee later said the charity’s trustees had not properly scrutinised funds received by the charity, newly released documents show.

The Mariam Appeal was set up in 1998 by Galloway, then the Labour Party MP for Glasgow Kelvin, to provide medical assistance and treatment to Iraqis. Galloway was one of its trustees. It had received just less than £1.5m by the time it ceased operating in early 2003, and also campaigned to end UN sanctions on Iraq, deeming these to be the cause of ill health in the country.

It was never registered with the Charity Commission, although a report by the regulator, published in June 2007, said that it should have been.

The report said that Fawaz Zureikat, a Jordanian businessman and trustee of the charity, donated more than £448,000 to the charity, with at least £190,700 coming from contracts under the UN Oil for Food programme.

The report said it was not the regulator’s responsibility to say whether such payments were illegal, but said: "As Mr Zureikat made his donations to the appeal from commissions and other payments derived from the programme, the commission has concluded that these donations came from improper sources." It said that the trustees of the charities had failed to make sufficient inquiries about the source of the funding to establish whether it was proper and in the interests of the appeal to accept them.

The following month, a report by the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee said: "We believe Galloway was complicit in the concealment of the true source of the funds for the Mariam Appeal." It also described his refusal to investigate the source of substantial donations as "clearly irresponsible" and recommended he be suspended from parliament for 18 days over the matter.

In a letter newly released by the Attorney General's office, dated 24 April 2003 from Galloway to the Attorney General, the MP said the charity "received no money from Iraq". It said that alongside Zureikat, the other two major funders of the charity were the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The letter has recently been released under the Freedom of Information Act to Dominic Kennedy, a journalist at The Times. Kennedy previously had an application to force the commission to release documents relating to three inquiries the regulator had carried out into the Mariam Appeal rejected by the Supreme Court.

A spokesman for Galloway said the MP had been given assurances by Zureikat about the provenance of donations and that there was "not a shred of evidence" that they came from Iraq.

The spokesman said: "Dominic Kennedy is on a crusade against George Galloway. There’s nothing new here. It’s a politically motivated attack with the intention of influencing the outcome of the election."

Galloway is currently a parliamentary candidate in Bradford West, a seat he has held since 2012.

The Times today carries a piece from Kennedy about the 2003 letter and a separate editorial on the matter called "The voters of Bradford West should seize the chance to punish George Galloway".

Obama receives Barzani, praises Peshmerga’s courage

US President Barack Obama meet at the White House the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – US President Barack Obama met at the White House the President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Barzani, praising the courage of the Kurdish Peshmerga force, the fundamental field ally of the US in the war against ISIS.

According to France Press Agency, “Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have renewed to Barzani the continued support of the United States to Iraqi Kurdistan and the Kurds of Iraq.”

“The two presidents also stressed their commitment to a unified, federal and democratic Iraq,” the agency added.

Media advisor in the Office of President of the Kurdistan region Mahmoud Falah confirmed on Tuesday (5 May 2015), that the president Massoud Barzani would meet with US President Barack Obama.

1500 ISIS fighters from 33 counties trying to enter Algeria

ISIS elements. Archival Photo.

(IraqiNews.com) An Algerian press report said that the international police (Interpol) had delivered a list of 1500 ISIS fighters of different nationalities trying to enter Algeria using fake passports.

Algerian newspaper ‘Al-Khabar’ quoted security source as saying that, “Algeria obtains accurate information on the identities of extremists and fighters from 33 countries; all of which are members of ISIS in Syria and Iraq.”

The source added that the extremists have fake passports and the cancellation process is very difficult.

Algeria got a graphic base of more than 40 million travel document owned by the Interpol to help it arrest suspected members of terrorist groups.

Hollande confirms death of 100 French nationals in Iraq and Syria

French President Francois Hollande

(IraqiNews.com) French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Tuesday, that about 100 French nationals have been killed in Iraq and Syria, and the security of the gulf represents the security of the entire world, while stressed that his country will not remain silent about the current events in the region.

Hollande said in a speech during the Gulf’s leaders summit held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, and followed up by IraqiNews.com, “The threats facing the Gulf region are facing France as well, and we want to be a strong and reliable ally of the Gulf states,” noting that, “100 French militants were killed in Iraq and Syria.”

Hollande added, “The Gulf’s security means the security of the whole world,” stressing at the same time that his country “will not remain a spectator on the ongoing events in the region.”

Meet The Kurdish Woman Imprisoned For Singing In Turkey (Video)

Meet The Kurdish Woman Imprisoned For Singing In Turkey

- Nûdem Durak sings and teaches Kurdish folk songs to kids in Northern-Kurdistan occupied by the Turkish government. Nûdem says her work honors her Kurdish heritage, but the Turkish government charged her for promoting ''Kurdish propaganda.'' 

- There are thousands of Kurds in Turkish prisons for simply speaking Kurdish language. The Kurdish language is banned in public places in Turkey. The Kurdish language, even when spoken in private, had been illegal for decades in Turkey, one of the historical fact was the imprisoned of ''Layla Zana''. --- Layla Zana is a Kurdish politician, who was imprisoned for 10 years for her political activism, Layla Zana and the others were sentenced to 15 years in prison for speaking Kurdish in the Turkish parliament.

- She was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In 1994 she was awarded the Rafto Prize, and in 1995, was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European parliament. She also won the Bruno Kreisky Award. In 1998 her sentence was extended because of a letter she had written that was published in a Kurdish newspaper.

- In December 2008, Zana was sentenced to another 10 years in prison by the Turkish court. The court ruled that she had violated the Turkish penal code and the Turkish anti-terror law in nine different speeches. - On 28 July 2009, at the 4th Diyarbakir High Criminal Court, Leyla Zana was sentenced to 15 months in prison because of a speech she had made at SOAS in the University of London. 
______________________________
My own comment: A friend of mine asked me once why we Kurds always talk about a kurdish country, why we wanted to split? My answer was that in all the four countries we are living, we are being treated as Animals. The Kurdish population is 40 million and we have our own land, culture and language. We have the right like other countries to decide on our own faith and not by others. You have two choices to make if you are a kurd, be slave for the Turks 
and Arabs or pick a weapon and fight. South Kurdistan (Kurds in Iraq) is free and will get independence soon. West Kurdistan (Kurds in Syria) have already taken 90% of their land back from ISIL and turkish backed al-nusra jihadist. Half of Kurdistan is already liberated. Now the other two parts is left to save for future. It will happen soon or later. Sorry for my bad english.
______________________________


Nûdem has been sentenced to 14 year imprisoned without a single evidence
charged against her. She now sits on prison in Hakari. There are many 
other Kurdish singers, dancers, actors and film makers in the Turkish prison.

The Collapse of the Assad Regime is near

Here are all of the problems with the reeling Syrian army




The Syrian Army is facing its most serious challenges since the start of the Syrian Civil War. 


Fatigued, over-stretched, and losing the support of its base constituency, the Syrian Army is conceivably nearing the point of collapse. Major rebel offenses have taken control of the strategic cities of Idlib and Jisr al-Shegour in the north. Meanwhile, a second rebel offensive in the south has been steadily working its way towards Damascus, the capital. 


These steady rebel gains have demoralized the Syrian military, created fissures within the regime of president Bashar al-Assad, and force Damascus to accept greater foreign assistance in propping an ailing government, according to an April 30th New York Times report. 


Here's why the regime may be nearing its most serious crisis yet.


A plunge in Syrian Army manpower


The Syrian Army has suffered extreme causality and desertion rates during the civil war. During the 4 years of the conflict so far, the military has lost approximately half of its personnel. 


"Four years ago, Syria’s army had 250,000 soldiers; now, because of casualties and desertions, it has 125,000 regulars, alongside 125,000 pro-government militia members, including Iranian-trained Iraqis, Pakistanis and Afghan Hazaras," the Times reports. 


This increased reliance on foreign fighters has elevated the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi'ite militia group Hezbollah to a key position, often to the chagrin of the Syrian military. According to the Times, Hezbollah "now leads or even directs the fight in many places," at the expense of Syrian commanders. 


When irregular volunteers and foreign fighters are taken into account, the regime has not seen a collapse in overall firepower. But an increasing reliance on irregular forces and foreigners further limits the regime's actual reach and credibility.


Furthermore, clashes have erupted between the Syrian military and the Iranian-backed National Defense Forces in the crucial regime-held city of Homs. 


A multitude of smaller fighting forces also makes it more difficult for Assad to coordinate the military into a single overarching force, or mobilize specifically in the regime's defense.


Declining support for the government


Throughout the civil war, Assad has counted on the support of religious minorities for his rule. Much of the regime's top leadership is comprised of Alawites, a Shia offshoot. Generally Assad could also count on a de facto truce with Kurds, Christians, and Druze as well.


But after years of grinding warfare the minority communities are increasingly unwilling to send their sons off to military service within the Syrian Army. A growing number of communities that once supported the regime are keeping their children home in order to create local defense forces that are disconnected from regime command and control structures, the Times reports.  


Draft-dodging and desertions are also on the rise. In response, Assad has banned military-aged males from leaving the country and has pressed discharged soldiers into multiple rounds of duty. This has fueled discontent with the regime and further eroded support among Assad's base.  


Government infighting 


The stresses of the civil war have taken a toll on the inner workings of the Assad regime. Assad's political security chief was reportedly beaten to death after an argument with the head of Syria's Military Intelligence over the role of foreign fighters. After the incident, Assad was forced to replace both officials.


This infighting is escalating only weeks after Assad allegedly gave a direct order for the arrest of his cousin on charges of plotting against the regime. 


The regime is almost broke


The years of fighting and the collapse of the Syrian economy has almost bankrupted the government. According to the Times, Syria started the civil war with approximately $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves. After four years, the regime is down to approximately $1 billion. 


This erosion in foreign capital and the collapse of the war economy has collapsed the value of the Syrian pound. The Assad regime has carried out raids throughout Damascus in a desperate effort to find foreign currency. 


Meanwhile, the weakening of the pound has led to further discontent within the Syrian Army, according to the Times, as soldiers continued to be paid the same salaries but with a currency that's becoming more and more worthless.


Security is failing in Damascus


All of the previous factors taken together has led to a collapse of regime authority and law and order within the Syrian capital. The Times reports that checkpoints in the center of the city are understaffed, while the Syrian police are rarely seen on the streets to enforce even the most basic of laws. 


Meanwhile, entire neighborhoods have become de facto controlled by Hezbollah as the regime becomes increasingly stretched. 


The rebels have consolidated


The ongoing rebel campaign in the north of Syria focused around Idlib province marks a significant turning point in the war. A mixture of al Qaeda-affiliated groups, Islamists, and moderate rebels have come together to take Idlib and Jisr al-Shegour, the first major gains the rebels have experienced against the regime in 2 years.


This concentration of fighters has swung the momentum in the rebels' favor, threatening the heartland of Assad support along the Mediterranean coast. It's also created conditions for a wider offensive throughout the north of the country in a single consolidated campaign. 










The original articel with maps and pics and links:

http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-syrian-military-is-on-the-verge-of-collapse-2015-4