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| Attacks Against Turkmen Continue
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| Bilgay Duman, ORSAM Middle East Researcher, bilgayduman@orsam.org.tr |
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 The Turkmen who have been exposed to various violation and pressure actions after the invasion of Iraq continue to be the target of the new attacks. It is seen that attacks particularly against the Turkmen authorities have recently increased. The attacks which were carried out against Turkmen deputy candidates before and after the election period were seen as a sign of increase in this kind of actions.
Firstly on 22nd of November 2009 Iraqi Turkmen Front Mosul Representative Yavuz Efendioğlu lost his life following an assassination. Later, other attacks were organized against the convoy of Iraqi Turkmen Front Kirkuk deputy Erşat Salihi and against Iraqi Turkmen Front Salah ad-Din Provincial Head and Salah ad-Din provincial council member Ali Haşim Muhtaroğlu and also on 18 June 2010 an unsuccessful assassination against Salah ad-Din Provincial Council General Secretary Niyazi Mimaroğlu were realized.
These actions can be evaluated as a new wave of violation targeting principal Turkmen politicians and bureaucrats. The last attack was the assassination against Colonel Burhan Tayyib, the police chief of Kirkuk, which caused to wounding of Colonel Burhan Tayyip and killing of his son Lieutenant Visam Tayyib.
It is thought that all these actions serve to stoping the Turkmen starting to progress in the Iraqi policy and to terrorize these people by using pressure policy.
The month of July when Kirkuk Massacre was done in 1959 in Iraq started to be called as “Black July” by the Turkmen people because later a lot of attacks against Turkmen were also done in this month. The assassination which was done against Colonel Burhan Tayyib in July was the tenth attempt done against Mr. Tayyib. The followings are the attacks in which the target was Colonel Tayyib:
-July 6, 2005; in the Cornish region of Kirkuk some unidentified people opened fire,
-September 9, 2005; five people of whom 2 were guards were wounded following the explosion of a mine which fell down,
-December 13, 2006; he was assassinated by some armed people, however he was saved without getting hurt,
-March 13, 2007; at the end of Friday Prayer while his car was passing in Musalla 2 of his guards were wounded as a result of the explosion of a mine which fell down,
-October 14, 2007; as a consequence of the assassination in Tisin one of his guards died, two were wounded,
-November 8, 2007; as a consequence of another assassination 2 of his guard died,
-1st of April 2008; on the Atlas Street 2 of his guards were wounded following the explosion of a mine which fell down,
-January 4, 2010; as a result of the explosion of the mine planted in the 1st March Region one of his guards died, two were wounded,
-Finally in the Domiz Region of Kirkuk in the attack which was done with a bomb-laden vehicle at the end of Friday Prayer his son lost his life and 9 people were wounded.
Colonel Burhan Tayyib who is in a very critical mission like the chief police in Kirkuk had distinguished himself with his works in Kirkuk. Mr. Tayyib who was in mission during the Saddam era had been in mission before in Basra. Later he came to Kirkuk and has been working as the Provincial Chief Police since 2003. These frequent assassinations which were done against Tayyib show that his works are not in favor of some interest groups and also it is aimed to stop Turkmen’s progress. Besides, in May 378 Kurdish pollice officers were appointed as military officer depending on the signature of Prime Minister Nuri El-Maliki even if they were not certified. Even if this act was largely criticized, it has increased the unbalanced representation in the public institutions of Kirkuk and has raised the tension. The continuation of this kind of attacks which are considered as initiatives to eliminate the Turkmen from the administration might deteriorate the situation in the region.
To keep silent about the last attack is the same as to keep silent about the systematic elimination of a nation. However in Iraq, the Turkmen are one of the founder elements of this state like the Arabs and the Kurds. Damage at one of the founder elements forming the base may cause negative effect to the other elements, too and likewise this base may be likely to demolish. For this reason we have to protect the Turkmen’s rights, we shouldn’t keep silent about these acts and necessary works should be done to catch the criminals. Solving this murder should not be considered as the investigation of an ordinary murder but as the base of justice and stability in Iraq. When it is taken into consideration together with the other acts of violence in Iraq, it shows that the actual instability has started to affect even the untouchable values of the state. Because of this, this last painful event should not be considered as only related to Turkmen but also related closely to the future of the public institutions.
On the other hand the Turkmen are the earliest publics and governor element of Iraq. In the current Iraqi territories there was a Turkish sovereignty which lasted 900 years. The Turkmen living in Iraq have the enough history and capability to protect their own existence. The Turkmen’s efforts to protect their own rights by keeping their unity and solidarity must be considered as the requirement of their existence in Iraq.
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| July 28 2010 |
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