20
January 2006
2. "'Keep Roj TV!' Turkish musicians protest", Turkish and Kurdish musicians have signed a petition against attempts to ban the Denmark-based Kurdish Roj TV. The Danish government has been under diplomatic pressure from the U.S. administration and the Turkish government to effect its closure
3. "Human Rights Watch gives Turkey a mixed assessment", Human rights development in Turkey mixed during 2005. Govt committed to reform, is clearly inhibited by anti-reform elements within judiciary, police, army, says New York-based human rights group Human Rights Watch 2006 report.
4. "Turkey on trial", in an absurd twist for the free-speech trial in Turkey of the author Orhan Pamuk, Turkish prosecutors are now investigating the Dutch co-chairman of the European Union's committee on Turkey, Joost Lagendijk, to see whether he violated the country's gag rules while in Istanbul last month to attend the Pamuk trial.
5. "Semdinli fog fails to clear despite judicial process", recent developments such as release of Sergeant Cavus and high-level police officers who talked to Parliament's investigation commission on Semdinli show ambiguity around Nov. 9 bomb attack on bookstore can't be cleared easily.
6. "Kurds' Nationalist Hopes Remain Strong", while Kurdish leaders gain power in Baghdad, many Kurds continue to demand independence.
1. - ANF - "Ocalan: They Want To Destroy Me":
19 January 2006
Kurdish National Leader Mr. Abdullah Ocalan said ''Turkish Government will be responsible if I will be destroyed in Imrali Prison''. The lawyer of Mr. Ocalan, Ibrahim Bilmez gave explanations to ANF, after the yesterdays 1 hour interview with Mr. Ocalan in prison. He said that; Mr. Ocalan is straining to a death like suicide in Imrali and he is under pressure.
Mr. Abdullah Ocalan commented to his lawyers. Mr. Ocalan explained that except 20 days cabin punishment also 7 days cabin punishment was applied de facto. Also he said that he is straining to a death like suicide. He said that he knows the bad results of this, and also he knows that Kurdish People don't want this and because of this he won't make an action like this. But Turkish Government will be responsible, not him, if there will be a death.
Bilmez said that this de facto 7 days cabin punishment is not legal. Because they didn't certify this to Execution Court. He noticed that Prison Management apply this punishment de facto.
Cabin punishment which was given on 21st November, was applied continuous 27 days. The punishment had been finished on 16th December. In the cabin punishment Mr. Ocalan can not read books, can not listen radio, they were hindered. Also the daily newspapers wasn't given to him.
Ocalan said that this punishment was given to him, because of he was stimulated people to rebellion and he gave instructions to organisation. But he didn't accept this crime. He said "I didn't provoke the people, I didn't give instructions to organisation, I only defend the education in mother-language".
THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME
Ocalan said like this; "I believe that education in mother-language is the basic right of the people. This right is in all international agreements. This won't be a crime. But despite my good will, they give this punishment to me. This application is a reflection of Semdinli. There is a strategical coo peration between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Deniz Baykal. They want to silence me. I don't understand this. Because the thing that want to do is clear, for 7 years. I tried to live in these cabin situations for 7 years just for peace. I was resisted to live. Despite this, they want to silence me, and they want to destroy me for these last punishments.
MY HEALTH SITUATIONS BECAME HEAVIER
Mr. Ocalan said that, it is possible for them to give another punishment because of this interview. Even he is expecting a punishment until 3 months. He explained that the situation of the cabin is very hard. He said "I strained to look same white wall in the cabin. They want to batter me in psychological way. Except this, during this time, all my communication with external world had been cut off. And my health situation became heavier.
THE WINDOW SYSTEM HAD BEEN CHANGED
On the other hand it was learned that the window system
in Mr. Ocalan's room had been changed. The window of Mr. Ocalan opens
completely or closes completely. Sometimes he said that the room becomes
airless, but while he opens the window he feels cold. The lawyers said
taht his helath became worst, and he strained during the interview.
2. - Kurdish Info - "'Keep Roj TV!' Turkish musicians protest":
19 January 2006
Turkish and Kurdish musicians have signed a petition against attempts to ban the Denmark-based Kurdish Roj TV. The Danish government has been under diplomatic pressure from the U.S. administration and the Turkish government to effect its closure.
The Turkish government claims that Roj TV is supporting
the Kurdish worker’s Party PKK – deemed a terrorist organization
by the EU, United States and Turkey. So far, The Danish Government has
refused to close down Roj TV but agreed to investigate whether the content
of the programmes is in line with the Danish legislation on freedom
of expression.
Broadcasting in nine languages, Roj TV is the only medium by which Kurds
all over the world – including Turkey – can enjoy Kurdish
music. A fifth of its broadcasting time consists of music programmes.
Petitions
In December 2005, 57 Kurdish and Turkish musicians together with 77 Kurdish and Turkish academics, artists, and cultural centres signed a petition against the attempt to ban Roj TV.
Also, 56 Turkish mayors from cities in South-Eastern Turkey (where Kurds are in majority) have sent a letter to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen calling for Roj TV not to be closed.
The Kurdish population, estimated at 14 million, is Turkey's largest ethnic minority, but in Turkey, Kurdish culture and the use of the Kurdish language is still subject to censorship, which is why most Kurds prefer to watch Roj TV.
The mayors in their letter to the Danish Prime Minister stated that "For a truly democratic life to flourish in Turkey, Roj TV should not be silenced."
Kurdish music programmes
Approximately 22 percent of Roj TVs broadcasting time consists of music programmes. There is a great interest shown in the music programmes “Lorin” and “Avaze Me” performed live from studios three days a week. The weekly broadcasts “Dilanar”, “Keskesor”, “Ruwange Verason”, “Rengin”, “Çar Newa” and “Sevçýra” programmes display Kurdish music, folklore and literature as well as the cultural richness of different nationalities.
The “Sevberk” programme offers traditional Kurdish folk music. This programme brings to light the traditional Kurdish songs which have been either nearly forgotten or are under the threat of being totally lost.
Solidarity appeal
“To ban Roj TV simply for broadcasting amounts to a violation of the basic rights of Kurds to express themselves and to share information and ideas that pertains to their culture and society. It represents a fundamental breach of Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights,” stated the solidarity appeal which was signed in December 2005 by 134 Kurdish and Turkish writers, academics, artists, musicians and cultural centers voiced the following concern:
“We had hoped that the obstacles imposed on the development of Kurdish music, cinema, theatre and literature [in Turkey] will be removed one by one. One of our hopes was to establish a TV channel broadcasting from Turkey to enable Kurdish musicians, actors, writers and film producers to express themselves. In reality, Roj TV, the only medium by which Kurds can express themselves, is under threat of closure. Nonetheless, we have scripts for television series, music videos, documentary films, theatre plays, cinema films, entertainment and children’s programmes. Under present circumstances [in Turkey], we do not think there are any communication mediums [in Turkey] which would be willing to broadcast work which reflects the Kurdish culture and art. Those who claim that one can develop his/her own culture and speak his/her language are also preventing and threatening the people who want to develop the Kurdish language and culture. The 12th September [1980 military coup linked] regime burned our music, books, films and plays and today’s system wants us to destroy our minds and cultural creations ourselves. This seems to be the only difference between ‘12th September’ and today. If the national channels will not open their broadcast to us, [as is currently the case], and if Roj TV is closed down, our work might as well be burned”.
(Translated and shortened from Turkish original)
Official Danish statement
In April 2005, the Danish Radio and TV Council made an official statement, responding on a complaint from the Embassy of Turkey in Copenhagen over Roj TV, that it did not find that Roj TV had broken Danish law, Roj TV's programming contained no incitement to hatred of Turkey, and as such it could see no reason whatsoever to stop Roj TV from broadcasting.
Related links:
http://www.freemuse.org/sw11614.asp
3. - The New Anatolian - "Human Rights Watch gives Turkey a mixed assessment":
ANKARA / 20 January 2006
Human rights development in Turkey mixed during 2005. Govt committed to reform, is clearly inhibited by anti-reform elements within judiciary, police, army, says New York-based human rights group Human Rights Watch 2006 report
Human rights development in Turkey was mixed during 2005. Although the government is committed to reform, it's clearly inhibited by anti-reform elements within the judiciary, police and army, claimed the 2006 report of the New York-based human rights group, Human Rights Watch.
The report said that Turkey's main achievement in 2005 was the sustained progress in combating torture; the number of reports of ill-treatment of prisoners in police stations continues to fall. "Little progress was made, however, toward guaranteeing language freedoms and freedom of expression," said the report.
"In an alarming development, there were episodes of police using unwarranted lethal violence during street disturbances. Political violence by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) flared during the year, increasing tension and provoking heavy-handed responses, including human rights violations by state forces," it added.
The report also drew attention to the start of Turkey's membership talks with the European Union -- a process expected to take a decade or more, during which time the EU will continue to monitor Turkey's protection of human rights and respect for minorities.
Here are the main headings with some excerpts from the report's chapter on Turkey:
Freedom of Expression and Religion
As of November 2005 no individuals were known by Human Rights Watch to be serving prison sentences for the non-violent expression of their opinions. However, scores of people were charged with speech-related offenses and threatened with imprisonment, most being indicted under provisions criminalizing insults to the president, the flag and state institutions. The government failed to eliminate these provisions from the revised criminal code, introduced in June.
In October 2005 writer Cemal Tokpinar was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for an article suggesting that Turkey's 1999 earthquake was a divine punishment inflicted upon the military. The newspaper article contained no advocacy of violence, but Tokpinar was convicted under criminal code Article 216 for "incitement to religious hatred … in a manner liable to threaten public order." Novelist Orhan Pamuk faced charges for "insulting Turkishness." His supposed crime was his statement in a magazine interview, that "thirty-thousand Kurds and one million Armenians were killed in these lands."
Women who wear the headscarf for religious reasons continue to be excluded from higher education, the civil service and political life. Female lawyers who wear the headscarf aren't permitted to enter courtrooms, and in July the Ankara Bar took disciplinary action against a lawyer who wore a headscarf while carrying out her duty to a client in a bailiff's office.
Respect for Minorities
Turkey's courts and state officials repeatedly obstruct language freedoms. As of November 2005 not a single private broadcaster had been given permission to broadcast in Kurdish. In March state television channel TRT stated that "regulations" didn't permit it to show musician Birol Topaloglu singing in the Laz language. In June the Ankara governor refused to authorize the Kurdish Democracy Culture and Solidarity Association (Kurt-Der), claiming that the organization's program "to secure the social and individual rights of Kurds" was unconstitutional. In July the Bingol governor imposed a $800 "administrative fine" on local Human Rights Association (HRA) President Ridvan Kizgin for printing the association's letterhead in Kurdish as well as Turkish, supposedly a breach of the Associations Law requirement that correspondence be exclusively in Turkish.
Extrajudicial Execution
In November 2005, grenades thrown into a bookshop in Semdinli, Hakkari province, killed one man and wounded eight. Local people captured two gendarmes and a "confessor" (a former PKK member now working for the security forces) in the vicinity, together with a grenade and a map showing the bookshop. Gendarmes in an armored vehicle fired on a crowd gathered at the scene of the crime, killing another man. The "confessor" and the armored vehicle commander were arrested but the other two gendarmes were released.
Freedom of Assembly
Police repeatedly used unwarranted force to break up peaceful demonstrations in 2005. In March, Istanbul police assaulted demonstrators who had gathered for International Women's Day. Male and female demonstrators were beaten and sprayed with pepper gas. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan briefly condemned the police violence, but upbraided the press for bringing the incident to public notice.
Still more alarming, the police frequently used lethal force when public gatherings gave way to disturbances. In various incidents, eight demonstrators were shot dead by police. For example, in November, police shot and killed five demonstrators in Hakkari province who were protesting the Semdinli attack.
Torture and Ill-treatment in Police Stations and Psychiatric Hospitals
Reports of ill-treatment continue to decline thanks to improved safeguards for detainees, including the right to see a lawyer from the first moments of detention. Police compliance with laws and regulations is generally good, even in remoter areas of the southeast. In some provinces, delegations from local human rights boards, including bar association and medical chamber representatives, made unannounced monitoring visits to police stations and gendarmeries. There were, however, still some reports of beating and torture in police stations. For example, in October 2005, four minors reported they had been tortured at police headquarters in Ordu, where no monitoring visits had been conducted. The boys said police officers had stripped and beaten them, squeezed their testicles, and threatened them with rape. The medical reports showed that the boys, released without charge, suffered extensive bruising.
In January 2005, the Turkish parliamentary human rights commission reported that, during a visit to Saray Rehabilitation Center, a psychiatric institution in Ankara, it had discovered children tied to their beds and imprisoned naked in cold rooms. Mental Disability Rights International reported in September that psychiatric hospitals in Istanbul and Izmir were inflicting electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) on patients without muscle relaxants and anesthesia. The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture had already condemned this painful and dangerous practice in a 1997 visit to Turkey. The report also described how children were subjected to ECT, and had their hands and feet bound to their beds for long periods.
Internal Displacement
Most of the 378,335 Kurdish villagers forcibly displaced by security forces during the conflict of the 1980s and 1990s are still unable to return to their homes in the southeast. The government's Return to Village and Rehabilitation Project has failed to provide even the most basic infrastructure, and villagers are unwilling to return to settlements that don't have electricity, telephone service or a school. Implementation of a 2004 law to compensate the displaced has been uneven, with some villagers receiving appropriate sums while others' claims were unfairly dismissed.
The threat of violence from village guards-paramilitaries armed and paid by the government to fight the PKK remains an important obstacle to return. Some returning villagers were attacked by village guards during the year. In March 2005, a village guard shot and killed 13-year-old Selahattin Gunbay, near Nusaybin in the Mardin province, because he was allegedly grazing animals on the guard's pasture.
Human Rights Defenders
The government took some steps to recognize the value
of human rights organizations, and invited them, together with other
Turkish civil society groups, to a consultation about reform and the
EU process in September 2005. Nevertheless, human rights defenders were
once again threatened with physical violence and subjected to numerous
criminal prosecutions as well as efforts to discredit them as unpatriotic
or treacherous. In May, speaking at the funeral of a soldier killed
by a mine, Gen. Hursit Tolon reproved human rights organizations for
their absence. The widely reported comment alarmed defenders, as similar
statements by the military preceded the near-fatal shooting of HRA President
Akin Birdal in 1998. In June 2005, Istanbul HRA President Eren Keskin
and two board members, who had narrowly survived an attack by a lone
gunman in 2001, received death threats from the Turkish Revenge Brigade,
the extreme right-wing group that had assumed responsibility for the
Birdal attack.
4. - The New York Times - "Turkey on trial":
19 January 2006
In an absurd twist for the free-speech trial in Turkey of the author
Orhan Pamuk, Turkish prosecutors are now investigating the Dutch co-chairman
of the European Union's committee on Turkey, Joost Lagendijk, to see
whether he violated the country's gag rules while in Istanbul last month
to attend the Pamuk trial. Pamuk is charged with insulting "Turkishness"
for talking publicly about Turkish massacres of Armenians and Kurds
in the last century. The law also makes it a crime to insult the government
and state institutions.
Lagendijk spoke to reporters after the trial opened, saying among other
things that unless Turkey's Kurds engage in dialogue with the government,
they risk strengthening the army, which justifies its importance by
fighting.
That such a comment could touch off a criminal investigation - to determine
whether Lagendijk had insulted the army - is further evidence of the
strains that threaten democratic reform in Turkey and the country's
chances of joining the European Union. The same band of nationalist
lawyers who filed the initial complaint against Pamuk is behind the
legal actions against Lagendijk and is reported to be behind other recent
prosecutions of writers, journalists and intellectuals.
Turkish nationalist sentiments are grounded in a conviction that Kurdish
separatism and political Islam are mortal threats to Turkey's existence.
But in recent years, as Turks have pushed for entry into the European
Union, the government has passed many reforms, like minority rights
for Kurds and greater civilian control of the military. What's more,
those reforms have taken place under the government of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in political Islam and who
might well have been deposed by the military in Turkey's not-so-distant
past.
The law that criminalizes insults of Turkish identity and institutions
is a powerful vestige of those days, and defenders of the old status
quo are using it to push against the reformist tide. Turkish lawmakers
can and should change the law. Meanwhile, the European Union and the
United States should make it clear that reforms are more important than
the old guard's discomfort with change.
In an absurd twist for the free-speech trial in Turkey of the author
Orhan Pamuk, Turkish prosecutors are now investigating the Dutch co-chairman
of the European Union's committee on Turkey, Joost Lagendijk, to see
whether he violated the country's gag rules while in Istanbul last month
to attend the Pamuk trial. Pamuk is charged with insulting "Turkishness"
for talking publicly about Turkish massacres of Armenians and Kurds
in the last century. The law also makes it a crime to insult the government
and state institutions.
Lagendijk spoke to reporters after the trial opened, saying among other
things that unless Turkey's Kurds engage in dialogue with the government,
they risk strengthening the army, which justifies its importance by
fighting.
That such a comment could touch off a criminal investigation - to determine
whether Lagendijk had insulted the army - is further evidence of the
strains that threaten democratic reform in Turkey and the country's
chances of joining the European Union. The same band of nationalist
lawyers who filed the initial complaint against Pamuk is behind the
legal actions against Lagendijk and is reported to be behind other recent
prosecutions of writers, journalists and intellectuals.
Turkish nationalist sentiments are grounded in a conviction that Kurdish
separatism and political Islam are mortal threats to Turkey's existence.
But in recent years, as Turks have pushed for entry into the European
Union, the government has passed many reforms, like minority rights
for Kurds and greater civilian control of the military. What's more,
those reforms have taken place under the government of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in political Islam and who
might well have been deposed by the military in Turkey's not-so-distant
past.
The law that criminalizes insults of Turkish identity and institutions
is a powerful vestige of those days, and defenders of the old status
quo are using it to push against the reformist tide. Turkish lawmakers
can and should change the law. Meanwhile, the European Union and the
United States should make it clear that reforms are more important than
the old guard's discomfort with change.
In an absurd twist for the free-speech trial in Turkey of the author
Orhan Pamuk, Turkish prosecutors are now investigating the Dutch co-chairman
of the European Union's committee on Turkey, Joost Lagendijk, to see
whether he violated the country's gag rules while in Istanbul last month
to attend the Pamuk trial. Pamuk is charged with insulting "Turkishness"
for talking publicly about Turkish massacres of Armenians and Kurds
in the last century. The law also makes it a crime to insult the government
and state institutions.
Lagendijk spoke to reporters after the trial opened, saying among other
things that unless Turkey's Kurds engage in dialogue with the government,
they risk strengthening the army, which justifies its importance by
fighting.
That such a comment could touch off a criminal investigation - to determine
whether Lagendijk had insulted the army - is further evidence of the
strains that threaten democratic reform in Turkey and the country's
chances of joining the European Union. The same band of nationalist
lawyers who filed the initial complaint against Pamuk is behind the
legal actions against Lagendijk and is reported to be behind other recent
prosecutions of writers, journalists and intellectuals.
Turkish nationalist sentiments are grounded in a conviction that Kurdish
separatism and political Islam are mortal threats to Turkey's existence.
But in recent years, as Turks have pushed for entry into the European
Union, the government has passed many reforms, like minority rights
for Kurds and greater civilian control of the military. What's more,
those reforms have taken place under the government of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in political Islam and who
might well have been deposed by the military in Turkey's not-so-distant
past.
The law that criminalizes insults of Turkish identity and institutions
is a powerful vestige of those days, and defenders of the old status
quo are using it to push against the reformist tide. Turkish lawmakers
can and should change the law. Meanwhile, the European Union and the
United States should make it clear that reforms are more important than
the old guard's discomfort with change.
In an absurd twist for the free-speech trial in Turkey of the author
Orhan Pamuk, Turkish prosecutors are now investigating the Dutch co-chairman
of the European Union's committee on Turkey, Joost Lagendijk, to see
whether he violated the country's gag rules while in Istanbul last month
to attend the Pamuk trial. Pamuk is charged with insulting "Turkishness"
for talking publicly about Turkish massacres of Armenians and Kurds
in the last century. The law also makes it a crime to insult the government
and state institutions.
Lagendijk spoke to reporters after the trial opened, saying among other
things that unless Turkey's Kurds engage in dialogue with the government,
they risk strengthening the army, which justifies its importance by
fighting.
That such a comment could touch off a criminal investigation - to determine
whether Lagendijk had insulted the army - is further evidence of the
strains that threaten democratic reform in Turkey and the country's
chances of joining the European Union. The same band of nationalist
lawyers who filed the initial complaint against Pamuk is behind the
legal actions against Lagendijk and is reported to be behind other recent
prosecutions of writers, journalists and intellectuals.
Turkish nationalist sentiments are grounded in a conviction that Kurdish
separatism and political Islam are mortal threats to Turkey's existence.
But in recent years, as Turks have pushed for entry into the European
Union, the government has passed many reforms, like minority rights
for Kurds and greater civilian control of the military. What's more,
those reforms have taken place under the government of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in political Islam and who
might well have been deposed by the military in Turkey's not-so-distant
past.
The law that criminalizes insults of Turkish identity and institutions
is a powerful vestige of those days, and defenders of the old status
quo are using it to push against the reformist tide. Turkish lawmakers
can and should change the law. Meanwhile, the European Union and the
United States should make it clear that reforms are more important than
the old guard's discomfort with change.
5. - The New Anatolian - "Semdinli fog fails to clear despite judicial process":
ANKARA / 20 January 2006 / by Ayla Ganioglu
Recent developments such as release of Sergeant Cavus and high-level police officers who talked to Parliament's investigation commission on Semdinli show ambiguity around Nov. 9 bomb attack on bookstore can't be cleared easily.
Police's Anti-Terror Department head unable to explain to commission why he left Semdinli after a few hours or, indeed, why he was there
CHP's Izmir deputy Ersin asks Akyildiz whether there was discrepancy or lack of cooperation between police and gendarmerie. 'I don't want to comment on that,' says Akyildiz, 'These are state institutions with role determined by law. This is true for us, the police, and it's true for them'
The fog around the Semdinli affair, which started with a bomb exploding in a bookstore in the southeastern town early November, persists despite an investigation by a special Parliament commission and an ongoing trial.
Sergeant Tanju Cavus, who was on trial for the bombing, was released after the first court hearing late Wednesday. Cavus, who was accused of having a role in the bombing and the clashes that occurred after, denied that he went beyond the right to self defense when he fired his gun in an attempt to keep people away from the bomb scene while the prosecutor was investigating the area.
But the event spurred controversy in the volatile southeast and the state's security policy in the region. Parliament established its own Semdinli Investigation Commission to probe into the events.
But despite the two months that have passed, there are still no clues to the identity of the person or people behind the bombing. The locals believe that some sectors of intelligence organizations were involved in the bombing of the bookstore whose owner is alleged to be a sympathizer of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Various AKP deputies, as well as members of the opposition who were in the region during or after the incidents, also share this view.
Those who believe that the state is responsible base their
belief on the seizure of a car near the bookstore and the presence of
two soldiers, a PKK informer and arms in the vehicle.
6. - IWPR - "Kurds' Nationalist Hopes Remain Strong":
While Kurdish leaders gain power in Baghdad, many Kurds continue to demand independence.
SULAIMANIYAH / 19 January 2006 / by Frman Abdulrahman*
Every morning when the school day begins in northern Iraq, students sing an anthem and raise green, red and white flags with bright suns in the centre. Both represent Kurdish heritage, and neither have any connection to Iraq.
"No one should say the Kurds are dead," students chant. "Kurds are alive. They are alive, and our flag will never fall."
It has been nearly 100 years since British and French colonial forces carved up the Middle East and split the Kurdish territories among several countries. Despite the fact that Iraqi Kurds struggled for decades and still do not have their own country, nationalism - and a sense of Kurdish pride - is stronger than ever in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The ministry of education has ordered schools to stop raising Kurdish flags and singing the anthem, but headmasters don't abide by the directives, and the government doesn't push the issue.
"The ritual of raising Kurdistan's flag is a way to expressing our love and respect to our nation and our own flag," said Ibrahim Maruf, a primary school headmaster in Sulaimaniyah.
As post-Baathist Iraq is formed, Kurds who were oppressed by the regime are fighting for as much autonomy as they can get from Baghdad. And Baghdad does not push Kurdish authorities on such technicalities as naming border points with Turkey "Iraqi Kurdistan" as long as the Kurds don't push for an independent nation.
But for many Kurds, that is the ultimate goal. Years of oppression by Saddam Hussein's regime have led to a perpetual mistrust of Arabs.
The younger generation, which grew up under a semi-autonomous Kurdish government following a successful rebellion against Saddam in 1991, has even less connection to the Iraqi state than older Kurdish Iraqis. Many comprehend but do not speak Arabic and have never travelled to Arab areas in Iraq.
The only way to fully liberate Kurdistan is by declaring independence, said Gizing Ahmed, a 24-year-old teacher.
"The current agendas of the Iraqi Arab political powers are not much different than the ideology of the Baath Party," he argued.
The leading Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Democratic Party, have endorsed a unified Iraq by working as key players in drafting the national constitution, which voters approved in October. The constitution was controversial, particularly among young Kurds, because it does not allow for Kurdish self-determination.
An unofficial vote held by an organisation called the Referendum Movement during the January 2005 parliamentary elections also found 98 per cent of those who cast ballots wanted an independent Kurdish state.
"It has become clear to the all parties what the Kurdish people want," said Fatah Zakhoyee, a former culture minister with the Kurdistan regional government's Sulaimaniyah administration and an advocate of an independent Kurdistan.
Strong nationalist sentiments remain even though Kurds are seen less as victims and more as key political players in Baghdad. Jalal Talabani, a popular Kurdish leader and head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is widely expected to be appointed to a second term as president of Iraq. But public confidence in Baghdad and local administrations is weak.
"People want to express their desire for an independent and separate Kurdistan," said Dyar Ibrahim, who has a stationary shop in Sulaimaniyah and reported that demand for Kurdish flags and maps are on the rise, particularly among young people. "They dream of this by raising the maps and flags of Kurdistan."
"People have little hope in political change," he maintained, "and they want to be independent from Iraq."
* Frman Abdulrahman is an IWPR trainee journalist in
Sulaimaniyah.