Freedom in the World 1998 - Iraqi Kurdistan

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 6.0
Civil Liberties: 6
Political Rights: 6

Overview

Leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) signed an agreement in Washington, D.C. on September 17 in hopes of ending four years of intermittent military clashes. Part of a U.S.-sponsored effort to unite Kurdish leaders against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the agreement provides for the establishment of an elected government after a transitional period of power-sharing, arrangements for the equitable distribution of revenues from cross-border trade with Turkey, and guarantees of US military protection of the Kurdish provinces against Iraqi attack.

In April 1991, the United States, Britain, France, and Turkey established a secure region with a U.S.- enforced no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel in Iraq. The 105-member Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly was created following the collapse of an autonomy agreement with the Iraqi government in 1991. After a 1992 vote produced no clear winner, the KDP and the PUK agreed to fill 50 seats each. The remaining five seats were reserved for Christian Assyrians. Disputes between the two militias over power and revenue sharing erupted into full-scale civil war in 1994, precluding the operation of the government and any further elections. Frequent clashes have occurred since 1994, and the two sides have remained at odds despite occasional ceasefires.

Particular terminology in the September agreement referring to "Kurdistan" and "autonomy" aroused anxiety within neighboring Turkey. Turkey has been fighting its own Kurdish insurgency for the past 14 years, and opposes the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq on the grounds that it might further provoke secessionist-minded Kurds in southeastern Turkey. In November, KDP and PUK leaders held meetings with Turkish officials in Ankara to provide reassurances that they do not intend to establish an independent state.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Iraqi Kurds cannot change their government democratically. Though reasonably free and fair elections were held in 1992, the post of president was never filled, and factional violence has precluded parliamentary activity since 1995.

No independent judiciary exists in Kurdistan. Hearings are conducted, adjudicated, and enforced by local officials of the KDP and PUK. The two groups run separate prisons and detention centers where human rights violations occur. The Kurdish administration of northern Iraq has been accused of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture of detainees, summary trials, and extrajudicial executions of prisoners of war, political opponents, and demonstrators. Iraqi laws passed prior to 1991 remain in effect in Kurdistan, save for those judged to be "against Kurdish interests."

Political chaos has allowed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to continue using Iraqi Kurdistan as a base for its military insurgency against Turkey. Efforts by the PKK to maintain control of territorial bases have led to political killings, terrorist actions, and the deaths of local residents. In turn, Turkish operations against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan resulted in civilian deaths and destruction of residences.

Observers report a generally open climate for dialogue on political issues. Many independent newspapers as well as opposition radio and television broadcasts are widely available. The absence of a governing authority has allowed free expression to flourish, though many journalists have ties to political organizations. Numerous political parties, social organizations, and cultural associations operate freely, and their members may assemble without harassment.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups reported that 1,468 Kurdish families were scheduled to be expelled from the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk between April and June 1998 as part of a forcible campaign of "Arabization" of particular northern areas. Regional Kurdish authorities report that some 400 families were actually relocated, creating an influx of refugees into the Sulemaniyah province of Iraqi Kurdistan. Deportation procedures include punitive measures such as detention of at least one member of each deported family and confiscation of property and ration cards.