Gary Kent has seen for himself that there can be a hopeful future for Iraq in Kurdistan
Iraq could work if the steady success of its Kurdistan region is supported and spreads throughout the country.
This other Iraq enjoyed a head start over the rest of the country after its 1991 uprising ousted Saddam Hussein’s genocidal forces which murdered nearly 200,000 Kurds at Halabja and elsewhere. Its leaders proceeded to build universities and lay down democratic foundations, but also endured a bloody civil war whose divisions are now healing.
Security is tight with about 120 terrorist killings since 2003, 100 in early 2004. Now overseas business people and diplomats often take no special measures. Crime rates are very low.
There has been a development boom, with more homes and big infrastructure developments in recent years. Workers don’t pay tax and work six hours a day. Unions are social partners and back full union rights in the rest of Iraq, where they are currently restricted.
Iraq has the world’s third largest oil reserves, but is only the 11th biggest producer. Kurdistan has plentiful supplies. Oil and gas provide virtually all Iraq’s revenues and diversification is vital.
Agriculture was born in Kurdistan, but liquidated by Saddam who razed thousands of villages and herded people into cities. Kurds have lost farming skills and its young people are not accustomed to rural life. Most food is imported, although Kurdistan could become self-sufficient by modernising its methods through foreign investment. Tourism is another growth area.
Kurdish leaders would like to see British investment and trade and are mystified that there has been no official ministerial trade mission, while other European countries are making a beeline to the region. Britain is losing business opportunities. Direct flights to the United Kingdom and a wider visa scheme would boost commerce.
Kurdistan is overlooked – and wrongly – in case British engagement upsets Arab Iraq. This is not, however, a zero sum game. Kurdistan is open to business that is currently less feasible elsewhere. Kurdistan could become the gateway to the whole country and companies could expand as security permits.
Kurdistan’s leaders are open to international best practice. They have contracted British institutions to tackle corruption and administrative inexperience.
On our visit, their parliamentary speaker asked us to outline the workings of the British political system and more than half of their 111 MPs participated enthusiastically in two lively discussion sessions.
They were keen to understand our system of having an official opposition. And they now have one – Gorran (the Change). This breakaway from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) took 25 per cent of the seats in last year’s elections. While the split remains very bitter and Gorran has yet to find its feet, the emergence of a secular opposition party is an important development and example for others in the Middle East to follow.
Women’s rights are another key issue. Women make up 30 per cent of Kurdistan’s MPs, but the country is still male-dominated. Unions and ministers are determined to increase women’s involvement.
We met the women’s committee of the provincial council in Suleimaniah, the region’s second city. Their practical radicalism is inspiring in a part of the world where women are generally treated as second-class citizens. The committee has won official funding, highlighted sexual harassment, founded a women’s refuge, established a crèche and raised money for a recreational hall in a women’s prison.
The incidence of so-called honour killings and forced female circumcision is still high, although the region is largely secular. However, cultural attitudes are deeply embedded and are not easily shifted by legislation, alone though some Kurdish politicians do display admirable leadership qualities.
Iraq has become a dangerous place for Christians, but many have fled to Kurdistan and senior Christian leaders have praised the government for building churches and protecting Christian villages.
Discussion in landlocked Kurdistan always turns to its neighbours. The good news is that frosty relations with Turkey have thawed considerably in the past year, partly driven by extensive trading. However, Turkey and Iran are manipulating water supplies and one leading politician told us that Iran is not regarded as a neighbour but the controller of Shia Iraq.
The bad news is that relations between Iraqi Kurds and some Arabs have worsened significantly. This dangerous gap between them involves cultural and ethnic differences. Resentment and fear have come close to violent hostilities.
The Kurds suffered genocide directed from Baghdad, but now embrace a federal and democratic Iraq. An independent Kurdistan, including parts of Turkey, Iran and Syria, is a popular dream. However, anything more than a dream would almost certainly cause conflagration and is not on the agenda.
Kurds fear that Baghdad is building a centralised rather than federal state and is constantly delaying agreed constitutional provisions to solve problems. These include whether Kirkuk and other disputed territories should be part of the region and establishing a reliable regime for oil production and sharing revenues.
Statistics underpin political representation and planning, but are not available because the last census was in 1957. Barham Salih, the Prime Minister of Iraq’s Kurdish region, told us they need the sort of technical assistance that Britain could provide.
Improving Kurdish-Arab relations depends on the outcome of Iraq’s parliamentary elections in March. These could mean a new Prime Minister of Iraq with Kurdish support and a reshaping of cross-community alliances.
Iraqi Kurdistan has come a long way in a short time, but governance and human rights need improving. Its leaders and people most desire deeper and wider political and commercial engagement on the part of Britain and other countries. It is in everyone’s interests that Kurdistan achieves its full potential within and for Iraq. The whole country would then stand a much better chance of working for its long-suffering people.
Gary Kent is director of Labour Friends of Iraq. His recent sixth fact-finding visit to Iraq and his fourth to Kurdistan since 2006 was with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdistan
