Suspicion. Threats. Violence. Pressure. These are some of the things faced by non-Arab or non-Muslim minorities in Iraq, as can be gleaned from two articles appearing recently in the Arab press.
An August 4th article in the Daily Star, a Lebanese English-language newspaper, opened thus:
"Wherever Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi went during his tour of the Middle East in the past 10 days, he was asked by Arab journalists to comment on reports regarding alleged Israeli infiltration into northern Iraq, the specific purpose of which is to conduct operations against Iran and Syria and, in exchange, help the Kurds achieve their dream of an independent state.
"A week ago a Palestinian newspaper, Al-Manar, quoted unidentified sources as saying that Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, had secretly visited Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other senior Israeli officials and discussed with them steps to declare an independent Kurdish state.
"Even some Arab officials seem to believe the allegations. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa proposed at the last meeting of foreign ministers of countries neighboring Iraq to include in the final communique a clause expressing concern about Israeli penetration into northern Iraq. Iraq's delegate at the meeting objected, saying that his government had no evidence of such penetration. However, despite the denials and the failure of the accusers to produce any evidence, many in the Arab press continue to treat the alleged Israeli presence in Iraqi Kurdistan as a foregone conclusion. "
The article, entitled "Iraq's Kurds Are Not Collaborating With Israel", by a London-based Iraqi political commentator, Kamran Karadaghi, was intended as a "defense" of the Kurds. In order to justify their objections to Kurdish independence, both Turks and Arabs are using the "collaboration-with-Israel" card.
In fact, Karadaghi interviewed Mahmoud Othman, chief negotiator with Iraq for the Kurdish Democratic Party, who "expressed belief that Turkish circles were the main source for [the story of Israeli intervention in Kurdistan] (an allegation that was also made in the Turkish press). Othman says he is not alone among Kurdish politicians in thinking that Ankara is trying to alienate the Kurds from Iran, Syria and the Arabs in general, in order to force them to be dependent solely on Turkey."
But Kurdish leaders "are used to such accusations and convinced that this is not the last time they will be accused of collaborating with Israel," the Iraqi analyst wrote.
Unlike the Kurds, who maintain semi-autonomy in Iraq's north, many Iraqi Christians are simply fleeing Muslim allegations and physical attack.
"Forty thousand Iraqi Christians have left Iraq since a wave of church bombings killed at least 10 people two weeks ago," Iraqi Minister for Displacement and Migration Pascale Isho Warda told the London-based Saudi-backed A-Sharq Al-Awsat earlier this month. The figure reported by Ms. Warda, the only Christian member of the Iraqi government, represents more than 5% of the total Christian population in Iraq.
According to a report in Asia News, many Iraqi Christians seek refuge, ironically, in the Kurdish areas of Iraq, as well as in Jordan and Syria. Many of them also eventually make their way to the expatriate Iraqi communities in Australia or Sweden.
An August 4th article in the Daily Star, a Lebanese English-language newspaper, opened thus:
"Wherever Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi went during his tour of the Middle East in the past 10 days, he was asked by Arab journalists to comment on reports regarding alleged Israeli infiltration into northern Iraq, the specific purpose of which is to conduct operations against Iran and Syria and, in exchange, help the Kurds achieve their dream of an independent state.
"A week ago a Palestinian newspaper, Al-Manar, quoted unidentified sources as saying that Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, had secretly visited Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other senior Israeli officials and discussed with them steps to declare an independent Kurdish state.
"Even some Arab officials seem to believe the allegations. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa proposed at the last meeting of foreign ministers of countries neighboring Iraq to include in the final communique a clause expressing concern about Israeli penetration into northern Iraq. Iraq's delegate at the meeting objected, saying that his government had no evidence of such penetration. However, despite the denials and the failure of the accusers to produce any evidence, many in the Arab press continue to treat the alleged Israeli presence in Iraqi Kurdistan as a foregone conclusion. "
The article, entitled "Iraq's Kurds Are Not Collaborating With Israel", by a London-based Iraqi political commentator, Kamran Karadaghi, was intended as a "defense" of the Kurds. In order to justify their objections to Kurdish independence, both Turks and Arabs are using the "collaboration-with-Israel" card.
In fact, Karadaghi interviewed Mahmoud Othman, chief negotiator with Iraq for the Kurdish Democratic Party, who "expressed belief that Turkish circles were the main source for [the story of Israeli intervention in Kurdistan] (an allegation that was also made in the Turkish press). Othman says he is not alone among Kurdish politicians in thinking that Ankara is trying to alienate the Kurds from Iran, Syria and the Arabs in general, in order to force them to be dependent solely on Turkey."
But Kurdish leaders "are used to such accusations and convinced that this is not the last time they will be accused of collaborating with Israel," the Iraqi analyst wrote.
Unlike the Kurds, who maintain semi-autonomy in Iraq's north, many Iraqi Christians are simply fleeing Muslim allegations and physical attack.
"Forty thousand Iraqi Christians have left Iraq since a wave of church bombings killed at least 10 people two weeks ago," Iraqi Minister for Displacement and Migration Pascale Isho Warda told the London-based Saudi-backed A-Sharq Al-Awsat earlier this month. The figure reported by Ms. Warda, the only Christian member of the Iraqi government, represents more than 5% of the total Christian population in Iraq.
According to a report in Asia News, many Iraqi Christians seek refuge, ironically, in the Kurdish areas of Iraq, as well as in Jordan and Syria. Many of them also eventually make their way to the expatriate Iraqi communities in Australia or Sweden.