First golf ⛳️ course in Iraq and Middle East was opened in Kirkuk in 1940 by the British.
My dad tells me the last time he visited there was in the late 1970s.
The lat picture was taken recently, sadly things have gone backwards!
Pictures of health workers in the Kurdistan Region, who haven’t been paid in more than 50 days.
The ministry of health of the KRG needs around 60 billion IQD to pay employees every 30 days, which is only 15% of the 400 B IQD Baghdad sent weeks ago!
I’ve followed the Kurdish migration to Europe through Belarus-Poland route for months now. Happy, with the support of
@KAS_SyriaIraq
, I’m conducting an extensive research on the root causes, going from cities to cities, town to town, holding FGD to find out the root causes.
"I studied political science in the University of Baghdad. I got my master in Austria & had been a PHD student for 2 years. I know Arabic, English,German and Persian but I dont see myself as a legitimate candidate 2 be the governor of a city like Slemani" Nawshirwan Mustafa 1992
My latest for
@MiddleEastInst
, I explore how US focus on stability policy, including channeling military aid to partisan militias, has entrenched duopoly rule of KDP & PUK while preventing meaningful democratic reforms that would bring long term stability
A disabled Kurdish woman was raped in Kirkuk & the whole Kurdish Twitter was accusing PMF, ISF of the rape,[while one of the person involved in the rape was a Kurd]
This is a raped child & his dad got threatened by partisan ppl & now he is arrested. But no Kurds saying sth! 1/6
Father of girl raped in Erbil last year arrested; family says it is pressure to drop the case against perpetrators
Rape occurred last year when victim was seven-years-old
#NRTnews
#TwitterKurds
#Erbil
In this report 4
@MiddleEastInst
, I analyze the main security forces in Iraqi Kurdistan are now internal forces,not Peshmerga, exploring their role in partisan politics,threats they pose 2 the region’s stability & how KDP-PUK power linked 2 internal forces
My report on Kurdistan Region’s migration crisis
@KAS_SyriaIraq
, I explain how the KDP-PUK’s clientelism drives migration. Patronage is no longer inclusive, but now exclusive to an elite, monopolizing economic power, and marginalizing the rest. 1/6
As long as the price of a Shihsa in a restaurant in Erbil is equal to a monthly stipend that thousands of Kurdish students are fighting for, the struggle for JUSTICE should and will continue!
#KurdistanProtests
Bryar,4 yrs, son of Aso, martyred last month by ISIS died.He couldn’t believe his dad died & he stopped eating regularly resulting in his sickness. He hospitalized & his heart stopped working 2 times but drs could bring him back 2 life.His brain stopped working. 2day he died💔☹️
The evolution of the 'intellectual elite' & their affiliation with the ruling elite in the KRI is worth observing. It is a pleasing culture for them to build ties with the ruling elite, never truly revealing the troubling foundation of the KDP-PUK duopoly system. 1/
Honored and excited to announce that I have rejoined IRIS as Research Assistant.
Cannot wait to contribute to ongoing IRIS research projects and write on my home town, Kirkuk.
Glad to have
@MeraJBakr
at IRIS again. He's now joined our staff as a Research Assistant (previously worked for us as an
@auisofficial
student intern). Looking forward to upcoming writings on Kirkuk!
Mind blowing decision by KRG on how much the private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients have to charge;
- Basic health care, even without the provision of oxygen, for a single night is 500K IQD ($415).
- A Single night in ICU is 1.5 million IQD ($1250)!!
From early Nov to early Dec, I conducted FGDs (with over 100 participants frm different background) across the Iraqi Kurdistan, exploring the reasons behind mass migration from the region to EU.
It’s time to sit down & analyze the data. This map shows areas of the FGDs.
Sulaimani Pharmacy owned by a Christian lady named Nawal in the 70s. Do you nowadays see any Shop in Bazzar owned by a Jew or a Christian ? Have we gone backward or forward?
Students Kurds, Sunni, Shia back then used 2 study in different Iraqi provinces. It would have been prestigious 2 be admitted 2 the University Of Baghdad or Mosul, not only good education, but it helped different ethnic groups get exposed 2 other cultures, traditions,language 1/2
37 yrs ago today,my uncle,Nazima Rash,a member of Kirkuk’s 21 Peshmerga unit, gave his life fighting against Bathist Regime.
My fmly always mention I look like him,my face,skin color,height,personality
My his soul & the soul of those who fought 4 justice & freedom Rest In Peace
The situation in Kirkuk, at least for now, seems to have de-escalated. Dropping quick analysis/observations as I saw many misleading/missing points.
- After the withdrawal of the Kurdish forces [KDP and PUK] on October 16th, 2017 [post indep ref], KDP's return to the city has
A group of teachers in the city of Duhok have planned to organize a peaceful protest tomorrow.
But tonight KDP arrested one of the co-organizers.
Teachers in the Kurdistan Region haven’t received their salaries in more than two months.
📸 Draw
Happy to finally publish this extensive paper with
@KAS_SyriaIraq
on the Kurdish parties in the upcoming Iraqi elections,exploring how the parties(esp KDP &PUK) are adapting to the new electoral law & strategies pursued to protect their electoral base 1/10
PMF has reportedly deployed three more brigades to Sinjar as suspicion around a Turkish assault on the town surges. PKK wing, YBS, also claim they are ready to respond to any attack.
Sulaymaniyah governor Haval Abubakr tells KDP TV since February 22 they have asked KRG for Sulaymaniyah province’s shares of
🔹WHO funds
🔹Iraqi Council of Ministry budget
🔹Iraqi Central Bank budget
🔹Donors funds, almost $20 million given to KRG
But KRG sent nothing yet!
Here is the agreement between KRG and Baghdad on Sinjar:
-Electing a new commissioner.
-Iraqi gov will administer/secure the town.
-Ending PKK presence.
-Employing 2.5k ppl from the district to form a new security force.
Thrilled to announce that I will be working with
@GPPi
as a fellow intern this summer in Berlin. I will be working on GPPi’s projects on peace and security in Iraq and Syria. A big thank to
@vandentoorn
,
@mac_skelton
,
@tobiaschneider
, and
@PhilippRotmann
to make this happen!
So glad our numero uno
@IRISmideast
student research assistant
@MeraJBakr
made it to Berlin to intern w
@GPPi
this summer- result of a great research partnership btw IRIS & GPPi the last 3 years on post ISIS dynamics & his hard work
Kirkuk: Kurdish teachers’ peaceful protest
-After 29 years of rule, under the Kurdish nationalism, KRG wants to cut our source of income and make us witness the death of our beloved ones.
-Condemns attacks on teachers in Duhok
This is a city-level wage. On a district & sub-district level, graduates would be lucky if they get a service job for app $200. Any analysis on KRI must consider the crazy and increasing income inequality. Imagine you live in Ranya, the hub for migration, your daily wage, app $
Many young graduates working in restaurants, supermarkets, or petrol stations in Erbil earn less than $400 a month, often working over 12-13 hours a day without rights. Meanwhile, the cost of a cup of coffee in Erbil is comparable to or even higher than that in Dubai.
OK, finally here is what happened to the 400 billion Baghdad sent to KRG
KRG paid back 165 billion and 725 million dinars to local investors and 12 billion taken by Baghdad due to loans of the private banks in the KRG. So only 222 Billion dinars remains.
Two questions below 1/2
Erbil provides a perfect ground to study how under a brutal neoliberal state our life style is shaped. It shows how people are deprived of having a say in urban-development, how capital concentrates in certain areas, how uneven geographical development is.
A Kind Reminder to folks out there, since today marks the 36th Anniversary of Halabja's chemical attack by the blood thirsty tyrant, Saddam's Baath regime.
If I add one little more point: every time I hear an academic or anyone adopting the argument that toppling down the
36th Anniversary of Iraq’s Anfal Campaign and the Destruction of the Kurdish Opposition
Always be skeptical when someone imparts 'moral lessons' about the Middle East, whether they are from the West or the Middle East itself. Moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy emerge when one adopts
I think I have never seen this amount of garbage on Kirkuk streets. Unbelievable!
It seems that the scale of corruption now is immeasurable in the city, despite significant ethno-sectarian tensions.
Radical administrative changes are really needed!
The
#Iranballisticmissiles
seems now it is a real threat to the US allies in the region.Iran used its ballistic missiles against the Kurdish opposition Parties base in Koya,KRI. It’s time 2
@realDonaldTrump
2 confront Iran’s ballistic missile program before it’s out of control
Nominating Masrour Barzani was totally expectable as Nechervan Barzani has been PM since forever. KRG is becoming more and more monarchical as we see power going down to the Barzanis and Talabanis' sons. This is a total threat to the democratic transition of power in the region.
KDP Boycott of the Already Two Years Delayed KRI Elections: Will the Elections Take Place on June 10th?
Private Thoughts:
1) Either I am dumb or I always find it fascinating how much missing and misleading analysis and trivial information there are on Twitter in relation to
Media mogul and radical populist leader, Shaswar Abdulwahid, claims that the surge in the coronavirus cases in the Kurdistan Region is fake, adding KRG is afraid of mass protests.
I wonder if he dares to go to a hospital and shakes hands with a coronavirus patients.
Today, the Tahrir square ساحة التحرير
All the tents there tell the new government that the protesters haven’t given up but rather wait to too see strong and decisive actions to be taken.
#العراق_ينتفض
Stockholm, Sweden: Kurdish demonstrations in 1968. The guy in black suit is Omer Shekh Mus, one of the oldest Kurdish rights activists and a cofounder of the PUK.
Mus is still alive and is “involved in Rojava affairs”
The picture on the right is me and him last year, 2019.
A child recovered from coronavirus in Kirkuk, according to the health directorate of the city.
His blood test at the central laboratory in Baghdad showed he no longer carries the virus.
Approximately 700,000 students in the Kurdistan Region's PUK-held areas have not been able to go to school due to teachers' strike over their unpaid salaries while midterm of the academic year of 2023-2024 is at the door. It is the hight level of moral bankruptcy of the political
Simple calculation;
- A simple Peshmerga soldier receives 500K a month, so his annual salary, without spending a coin from it, would cover 12 nights at a private hospital and he would not even be given oxygen. Wow what a leadership!
The amount of money KRG took from Trade Bank of Iraq and International Bank of Kurdistan is unbelievable! Almost 4 billion dollars.
And the withheld salaries are almost another 9 billion.
Today, KRG PM Masrour Barzani told the Kurdistan Parliament that the gov't has debts and commitments of $28bn & no savings. The KRG released this table to reporters outlining what he meant, including debts from loans, salaries & benefits, & previously withheld salaries.
"I studied political science in the University of Baghdad. I got my master in Austria & had been a PHD student for 2 years. I know Arabic, English,German and Persian but I dont see myself as a legitimate candidate 2 be the governor of a city like Slemani" Nawshirwan Mustafa 1992
Teachers & employees of Kurdish education directorate in Kirkuk have consistently called for the transfer of their salaries from the KRG to federal gov, asking now for a meeting with PM Kadhimi to discuss their issues.
Video
@Kirkuknow_DT
What a day to witness KDP & PUK protests against one another in Baghdad.
KDP-PUK post 2003 power sharing structure, incl a united Kurdish front in Baghdad, has vanished.
A new, perhaps consequential, Kurdish political order is seen.
Beyond the Pale: The Turkish and Iranian War in Kurdistan
"It seems as if the mere existence of Kurdish people is considered a potential threat to the sovereignty of these countries."
@DastanJasim
Some quick Thoughts and Questions on Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court Ruling: Dissolution of KRI’s 11 Minority Seats and Division into Four Electoral Districts – Inconsistency and Arbitrariness?
Firstly, neither the Iraqi 2005 constitution nor the KRI’s initial 1992 electoral law
The detention of a hundred protesters out of a couple of hundreds by the KDP today reveals how oppresive and intimidating KDP is.
Imagine if a large scale demonstrations spark in the KDP controlled zone.
Unbelievable how people cannot even protest for their very basic rights!
Nothing is more funnier than PUK calling for Kurdish unity. The party itself is divided over many wings. These photos are big big evidence of the division of the party. I wonder how
@brett_mcgurk
can deal with these many people!!
KDP & PUK relation slowly enters a dangerous level. Today, Erbil-based court sentenced PUK's head of Counter Terrorism Forces & head of CTF intel along another four members to execution over their involvement in the assassination of Hawkar Jaf, former PUK CTF colonel in Erbil 1/2
Barzani family are tribal and patriarchal to a degree that no one knows if they have daughters or not. Only their sons are out there. Welcome to Barzanistan!
Sth noteworthy is
@BarhamSalih
appears with his wife frequently and especially during election campaign. Almost none of the Iraqi and Kurdish politician do this. This is a great initiative to empower women in the country. Hope to see more politicians do what
@BarhamSalih
doing.
Visited Mutanabi Str first time after devastating terror attack in 2007. Today, Sarbagh & I were pleased to see it reconstructed, buzzing with intellectuals & books lovers. Baghdad has not yielded to terror—will be restored as preeminent city of cultural innovation, peace
Duhok teachers aren’t alone;
Tomorrow Kurdish teachers in Kirkuk have planned to protest against the delay of the salaries.
AND once more will call for the transfer of their paycheck from the KRG to the federal government.
KDP has imposed restrictions on movement of refugees of Makhmur Camp.Women are miscarrying due to lack of access to hospitals and people losing their jobs as well.What KDP has done for several months is a total human rights violation only to please Turkey!
“Tunisia has banned the niqab in public institutions after two suicide bombings rocked the capital last week, becoming the latest country to outlaw the orthodox religious garment in the aftermath of terrorist attacks.”
The right question that has to be asked before is that if a degree isn’t securing you a job, then why majority of youth finish school in KRI, for instance? Many families even take loans, reduce food on the table to fund their kids tuition/study expenses.
The motive is complex,
@MeraJBakr
There is this massive misconception in Kurdistan and Iraq that graduating from university will lead to a secure job.
This region needs new industries, massive potential for local production and develop a tech hub that could compete the regional companies. This will take years
Pleased to publish this paper with
@KAS_SyriaIraq
on Kirkuk, exploring the consequences of the new electoral law in the ethnically contested city.
The law has emboldened ethno-sectarian division and contributed to intra-ethnic fragmentation. 1/2
Distributing USB Flash Drives and Power Bank with the picture of
@qubadjt
. I don’t know how one can be convinced to vote for PUK by these things! But at least these things are much better than giving guns that PUK did in the last KRG election. Photo Credit goes to
@Rebaz_Majeed
Why there is no KDP mass media reporting on this?
The degree to which KDP mass media is spreading propaganda about Kurds in the disputed areas is unbelievable! and the amount of racism they’re fueling is mind blowing! 2/6
It seems PM’s request backfired;
The Kurdish hashtag below [
#where_is_the_400billion
? referring to the 400 B Baghdad transfered to KRG more than two weeks ago] is trending in Kurdish social media.
Many say this is our question and we want an answer for it
#کوا_ئەو_٤٠٠_ملیارە
PM Barzani calls upon ppl 2 submit questions online so that he would answer them, while he hasn’t even held a single press conference since he entered office last June to answer these questions journalists may have,not 2 mention he only addressed ppl through vids during covid 3/3
1) What is the legal basis for the loan? Can a gov just take loan from local investors?
2) Who are the investors who gave the loan? [It would be good to know just to see if they are the shadow companies of the ruling parties] 2/2
KDP nominated Fuad for Iraqi presidency but he failed to secure parliament confidence.
KDP instead made him finance minister in AAM gov.
KDP wanted to have him again as finance minister in new gov but failed.
KDP now wants to make him foreign minister.
Fuad fits every position!
Hadi Amiri, the guy whom KDP introduced as the real enemy of the Kurds as he is head of PMF, threatened someone who challenged the KDP candidate. You’re brainwashed if you think KDP is working for the interest of the Kurds. And KDP nationalism is just joke.