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This is the reason why you should never trust Turks, Iraqi lawyer ‘tortured’ in Istanbul

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Iraqi lawyer ‘tortured’ in Istanbul

Iraqi lawyer ‘tortured’ in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency

An Iraqi lawyer has filed a criminal complaint, claiming that two men tortured him in Istanbul, forcing him to wear women underwear as they took his photos and videos to extort money.

According to the lawyer, identified as J.A., his former co-worker Erhan Ç. was the main culprit behind the scheme.

Erhan Ç., a Turkish driver, was reportedly convicted in Iraq for stealing 238,000 U.S. dollars from the car of the owner of the company he worked for in Iraq.

He was released after staying in an Iraqi prison for one year, thanks to the amnesty declared in the country

After entering Turkey illegally, Erhan Ç. allegedly called the company’s lawyer, J.A., and promised to return the money he stole from their boss, if the lawyer can come to Istanbul.

Believing that the former employee regretted his past actions, the Iraqi lawyer agreed and arrived in Istanbul on April 19.

The Turkish man picked J.A from the airport with four of his friends and brought him to his apartment where the Iraqi would be tortured for days by the five men.

The gang allegedly forced the lawyer to wear women underwear, taking videos and photos depicting him as if he was sexually abused.

“They took $2,700 and my cellphones. They threatened to post the photos to my family if I don’t give them $200,000,” the lawyer told the police.

J.A. returned to Iraq to find the money and put his car and apartment on sale, but the gang waited only a few days before sending the photos to the Iraqi’s son, wife and boss through WhatsApp.

The Iraqi lawyer returned Turkey and filed a criminal complaint on May 4, but all suspects remain at large.

According to the initial findings of the investigation launched by Büyükçekmece Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Erhan Ç. was given refugee status by the United Nations in Iraq, where he “escaped” following the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

“We have included in the file all the evidence, including security camera footage at the Istanbul airport, pro-Gülen social media posts of the suspect and his WhatsApp messages,” attorney Pirozhan Karali said.

 

 

Iraqi musicians fight to revive ancient art of maqam

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Iraqi ancient art of maqam

Adnan Abu Zeed

Rooted in classical and colloquial Arab poetry and embracing a wide repertoire of melodies, the Iraqi maqam is considered a symbol of the musical history of Iraq and the Middle East. Inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, the Iraqi maqam is still alive, whereas many Arab musical styles in the region have either disappeared or become Westernized over time.

Yet the future does not look too bright for maqam either, particularly if the Iraqi government does not adopt policies to revive and strengthen this musical style played with traditional Iraqi instruments and strong vocals.

“The government authorities have neglected this ancient art, and all the activities that are being held today are based on individual efforts,” Ismael Fadel, an Iraqi maqam singer residing in Australia, told Al-Monitor. Fadel established a musical band to perform maqam in Australia, and it has performed in Britain and Israel as well.

Fadel said there are still many maqam experts — singers, musicians and researchers — in Iraq and abroad who try to maintain this traditional music, as well as an audience who wants to attend maqam concerts. The younger generation in Iraq is not exposed to maqam music, as few maqam concerts are broadcast on Iraqi TV. “The younger generation is unaware and does not listen to maqam music … because satellite channels have neglected it, [choosing instead] to broadcast mediocre songs associated with commercial rather than cultural projects.”

Event, Glendale Commemoration of Iraqi Armenian Relief” on Saturday, January 13, 2018,

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Յիշատակութեան Երեկոյ

Իրաքի Հայ Կարօտելոց Խնամակալութեան

Արդէն սովորոյթ դարձած նախկին Իրաքահայերու մեր խմբակին համար ամէն տարի վերյիշելու ու պատուելու մեր գաղութի ազգային-կրօնական հաստատութիւններէն կամ միութիւններէն մէկուն երկարամեայ գործունէութիւնը ու անջնջելի ձգած իրողութիւնները գաղութի մէջ: Առ այդ ձեռնարկած ենք այս տարի յիշատակելու մեր գաղութի ամենէն ժիր կազմակերպութիւններէն մին՝ ՀԱՅ ԿԱՐՕՏԵԼՈՑ ԽՆԱՄԱԿԱԼՈՒԹԵԱՆ ծանօթացման ու պատուելու իր անձնազոհ անդամուհիները որպէսզի անոնցմէ այսօր այս շրջանի մէջ գտնուելով հանդերձ կրկին անգամ անխոնջ ու անդուլ գործով շարունակեն մասնակցութիւն բերել անդամակցելով շրջանիս ՀՕՄի մասնաճիւղերուն, նաեւ քաջալերել իրենց դուստրերուն այս ազգային հզօր ծառայութիւնը մեր ազգին յատկապէս կարիքաւոր զաւակներուն ամենուրէք:

Գեղարուեստական ճոխ յայտագրով մեր այս ձեռնարկը որ արժանացած է Արեւմտեան Ամերիկայի ՀՕՄի Շրջանային վարչութեան հովանաւորութեան մենք առիթը ունինք ներկայացնելու Իրաքահայ Կանանց Բարեսիրական Գործունէութիւնը նոյն ինքն վերոնշեալ միութեան նախկին անդամուհի եւ այժմ Հայաստանի Հանրապետութեան Գիտութիւններու Ազգային Ակադեմիոյ Գիտաաշխատողուհի Դոկտ. Սեդա Տաճատ Օհանեանի բանախօսութեամբ:

Այսու մեծ սիրով հրաւիրուած են շրջանի բոլոր զաւակները, յատկապէս մեր փափկասուն կանայք ներկայ ըլլալու այս բացառիկ միջոցառման որ տեղի պիտի ունենայ Կլէնտէլի Հայ Կետրոնի մէջ,

Under Sponsorship of ARS USA Western Region, Event Dedicated to:
Iraqi Armenian Women’s Benevolent Activities

Lecturer:
Dr. Seta Dajad Ohanian
Researcher at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences

Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 4:00 P.M.
Free Reception
Saturday, January 13, 2018, at 4:00PM, to be held at:

Glendale Armenian Youth Center: 211 W. Chestnut St., Glendale CA 91204
This event is Sponsored by ARS USA Western Region.

All Armenian community are invited to this event.

Breaking News: Iraqi army begins advance on Kurdish-held Kirkuk – state TV

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Forces start moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields and an air base amid rising tensions after Kurds vote for independence.

Iraqi forces were reported to be advancing on Kirkuk after the prime minister of Iraq, Haidar al-Abadi, ordered his army to “impose security” on the oil-rich Kurdish city.

Kurdish and Iraqi officials reported that forces began moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields and an important air base held by Kurdish forces near the city.

The governor of Kirkuk, Najmaldin Karim, urged the public to come out onto the streets and voiced his confidence that Peshmerga forces would be able to protect the city. “We saw some of the young people who expressed their readiness to help their Peshmerga brothers to defend the land,” he told Rudaw, a Kurdish media network.

There were unconfirmed reports from Peshmerga commanders of clashes south of Kirkuk, around Taza Khurmatu, Rudaw reported, with both sides exchanging fire involving heavy weaponry. One Kurdish official claimed to have twice pushed back Iraqi forces.

Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, has ordered his forces not to initiate a conflict but to respond if attacked, Hemin Hawrami, a senior assistant to the president, was quoted as saying.

Al-Iraqiya TV said Iraqi military, anti-terrorist units and federal police had taken control of some areas around the city, advancing without firing a shot. The objective was to take control of the K1 airbase, west of Kirkuk, Lieutenant Colonel Salah el-Kinani of the Iraqi army’s 9th armoured division said.

A photographer with Agence France-Presse reported seeing columns of Iraqi troops heading north from the town of Taza Khurmatu, which lies south of Kirkuk.

Tensions in the area began rising several weeks ago, when the country’s Kurds voted for independence from Baghdad. The referendum was bitterly opposed by Iran, Baghdad and Turkey and has since led to a blockade of the region by all three powers.

On Friday, Kurdish and Iraqi government rushed troops and armour to the city. Peshmerga forces massed about 20 miles from Kirkuk’s southern limits after units loyal to the central government took positions on the city’s approaches, prompting fears of fresh violence in one of the most bitterly contested corners of Iraq.

At the time, the likelihood of an imminent battle for the ethnically diverse city had dissipated, with political leaders on both sides trying to calm nerves. Al-Abadi, who is commander-in-chief of the country’s military, insisted he had no plans to launch an attack.

Following Sunday’s reported advance, the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) security council said: “Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilisation are now advancing from Taza, south of Kirkuk, in a major operation; their intention is to enter the city and take over K1 base and oil fields.”

A commander of the local Kurdish police force said Kurds remained in control of Kirkuk province’s oil wells.

Neither side reported any armed confrontation one hour after the initial report of the Iraqi advance.

Russia Supports Iraqi Territorial Integrity Amid Kurdish Vote – Foreign Ministry

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The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement commenting on a recent Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum vote.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia supports Iraq’s territorial integrity, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following a referendum on independence held in Iraqi Kurdistan. Moreover, Moscow calls for both Baghdad and Erbil to resolve all the disagreements strongly by peaceful means, the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

“In connection with the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Russian side considers it essential to avoid everything that could destabilize the situation in the Middle East. Our support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq and other states of the Middle East remains unchanged. We believe all the disputable issues that exist between the federal authorities of Iraq and the leadership of the Kurdish Autonomous Region can and should be resolved through constructive and respectful dialogue designed to work out a mutually acceptable formula for coexistence within a single Iraqi state” the statement said.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the independence vote took place in Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan as well as in the disputed areas de jure controlled by Baghdad but under de facto control of Kurdish authorities. After 9 percent of votes had been counted, more than 93 percent of voters backed the independence of the region. Iraqi authorities said that the referendum was not legitimate and stressed that they would not conduct talks with the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan on the issue of the vote.

Erdogan warns Iraqi Kurds will go hungry if sanctions imposed

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that Iraqi Kurds would go hungry if Turkey decides to halt the flow of trucks and oil across its border with northern Iraq, and said all military and economic measures were on the table.

The comments, some of the harshest yet from Erdogan about Monday’s referendum in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, came as Iraqi troops joined the Turkish army for joint military exercises near Turkey’s border with northern Iraq, Straitstimes.com reports.

Turkey has long been northern Iraq’s main link to the outside world, but sees the referendum as a threat to its own national security, fearing it will inflame separatism among its own Kurdish population.

“(They) will be left in the lurch when we start imposing our sanctions,” Erdogan said in a speech broadcast live on television. “It will be over when we close the oil taps, all (their) revenues will vanish, and they will not be able to find food when our trucks stop going to northern Iraq.”

Erdogan has repeatedly threatened economic sanctions, but has so far given few details.

Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day flow through a pipeline in Turkey from northern Iraq, connecting the region to global oil markets.

 

He said that all options – from economic to military measures that involved land and air space – were on the table.

Iraqi soldiers joined Turkish troops for military exercises in southeast Turkey near the border with Iraq on Tuesday, a Reuters witness near the border said, as the two countries coordinate steps in response to the referendum.

Erdogan also accused Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, of “treachery” over the vote. “Until the very last moment, we weren’t expecting Barzani to make such a mistake as holding the referendum, apparently we were wrong,” Erdogan said.

“This referendum decision, which has been taken without any consultation, is treachery.”

Iraqi Kurdistan referendum: High turnout in independence vote

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Large numbers of people have taken part in a landmark vote on independence for Iraq’s Kurdistan region, amid growing opposition both at home and abroad.

Votes are still being counted, with a big victory for “yes” expected.

Kurds say it will give them a mandate to negotiate secession, but Iraq’s PM denounced it as “unconstitutional”.

Neighbours Turkey and Iran, fearing separatist unrest in their own Kurdish minorities, threatened to close borders and impose sanctions on oil exports.

The US state department said it was “deeply disappointed” that the vote went ahead.

“We believe this step will increase instability and hardships for the Kurdistan region and its people,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

The referendum passed off peacefully across the three provinces that make up the region, and in areas controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad.

Turnout was estimated at about 72%, according to the electoral commission.

Partial unofficial results published by the Kurdish Rudaw website show that more than 90% have voted for independence.

There were scenes of celebration as the polls closed in the regional capital, Irbil, and in the disputed city of Kirkuk, where a curfew was imposed on Monday night amid fears of unrest.

There was some opposition to the vote among non-Kurdish populations in disputed areas between the Kurdish and Iraqi governments. In Kirkuk, the local ethnic Arab and Turkmen communities had called for a boycott

The vote is being closely watched not only in Iraq but elsewhere in the region because its implications could reshape the Middle East, the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Irbil reports.

Turkey and Iran fear the impact this could have on their own Kurdish communities, our correspondent adds.

In Istanbul, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the vote as “unacceptable” and threatened to close the Iraqi Kurds’ vital oil export pipeline.

“We have the tap. The moment we close the tap, then it’s done,” he was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

He also said his country could close completely the sole border crossing with the region. Traffic there, he said, was currently only being allowed to cross from the Turkish side.

Late on Monday, Iraqi and Turkish officials announced they would hold joint military drills in Turkey in an area bordering the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Iran called the vote “illegal”, having banned all flights to and from the Kurdish region a day earlier.

UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed concern about the “potentially destabilising effects” of the vote.

Kurds press historic independence vote despite regional fears

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ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi Kurds are expected to vote on Monday to back an independence drive that neighboring countries and Western powers fear could break up the country and stir broader regional ethnic and sectarian conflict.

Kurdish red-white-green tricolors set with a blazing golden sun adorn cars and buildings throughout the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region. Billboards exhort “the time is now – say ‘yes’ to a free Kurdistan!”

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region since 2005, has resisted efforts by the United Nations, the United States and Britain to delay the referendum. Neighboring Turkey is holding army border exercises to underline its concerns Iraqi Kurdish separatism could feed insurrection on its soil.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on live television on Friday the vote posed a threat to national security and Ankara “will do what is necessary” to protect itself. He did not elaborate.

But Hoshyar Zebari, a senior advisor to Barzani, told Reuters: “This is the last five meters of the final sprint and we will be standing our ground.”

Many Kurds see the vote, though non-binding, as a historic opportunity to achieve self-determination a century after Britain and France divided the Middle East under the Sykes-Picot agreement. That arrangement left 30 million Kurds scattered over Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Zebari said delaying the vote without guarantees it could be held on a binding basis after negotiations with Baghdad would be ”political suicide for the Kurdish leadership and the Kurdish dream of independence.

“An opportunity my generation won’t see again”.

The referendum raises most risk of ethnic conflict in the oil city of Kirkuk, which lies outside the recognized boundaries of the Kurdish region and is claimed by Baghdad. Its population includes Arabs and Turkmen but it is dominated by Kurds.

Turkey has long claimed a special responsibility in protecting ethnic Turkmen. Some of Iraq’s Turkmen are Shi‘ite and affiliated to political parties close to Iran.

‘‘We expect those who are against the referendum to cause trouble but we are determined not to engage in any kind of violence, we don’t want to  give them any excuse to intervene or to question the validity of the vote,’’ Zebari said.

United States strongly opposes the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s referendum

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Press Statement

Heather Nauert, Department Spokesperson Washington, DC
September 20, 2017

The United States strongly opposes the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s referendum on independence, planned for September 25. All of Iraq’s neighbors, and virtually the entire international community, also oppose this referendum. The United States urges Iraqi Kurdish leaders to accept the alternative, which is a serious and sustained dialogue with the central government, facilitated by the United States and United Nations, and other partners, on all matters of concern, including the future of the Baghdad-Erbil relationship.

If this referendum is conducted, it is highly unlikely that there will be negotiations with Baghdad, and the above international offer of support for negotiations will be foreclosed.

The costs of proceeding with the referendum are high for all Iraqis, including Kurds. Already the referendum has negatively affected Defeat-ISIS coordination to dislodge ISIS from its remaining areas of control in Iraq. The decision to hold the referendum in disputed areas is especially de-stabilizing, raising tensions which ISIS and other extremist groups are now seeking to exploit. The status of disputed areas and their boundaries must be resolved through dialogue, in accordance with Iraq’s constitution, not by unilateral action or force.

Finally, the referendum may jeopardize Iraqi Kurdistan’s regional trade relations, and international assistance of all kinds, even though none of Iraq’s partners wish this to be the case. This is simply the reality of this very serious situation. In contrast, genuine dialogue, the alternative, which we urge Kurdish leaders to embrace, holds the promise of resolving a great many of Iraqi Kurds’ legitimate grievances, and establishing a new and constructive course for Baghdad-Erbil relations that benefit all the people of Iraq.

The Kurds can be proud already of what the referendum process has produced, including more Kurdish unity, reviving the Kurdish parliament for the first time in nearly two years, and placing important issues on the international stage, with partners and friends prepared to build on the spirit of cooperation seen between Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga in the campaign against ISIS to help resolve outstanding issues. ‎Unfortunately, the referendum next week will jeopardize all of this momentum and more.

The referendum itself is now all the more unnecessary given the alternative path that has been prepared and endorsed by the United States and the international community.

Lawmakers of Iraq’s Kurdistan region approve independence referendum

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Iraqi Kurdish legislators of the country’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have approved a plan to hold a referendum on independence from Baghdad later this month, a contentious move spearheaded by regional President Masoud Barzani  that has faced bitter opposition from the central government and several other countries, including neighboring Iran, Turkey and Syria.

In open defiance of Baghdad’s strong disapproval of the referendum, 65 out of the 68 Kurdish lawmakers present in the regional parliament on Friday voted in favor of the September 25 polls as opposition legislators boycotted the parliament’s first session in two years.

The plan for the non-binding Kurdish referendum was approved in the Iraqi city of Erbil, the capital of a northern province with the same name, in the 111-seat parliament consisting of Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Iraq’s former president, Jalal Talabani, and the independent Goran and Jamaa Islamiya opposition parties.

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi slammed the planned vote as “unconstitutional,” calling on the Kurdish leadership to come to Baghdad and conclude a dialogue. The premier’s remarks came after the Iraqi House of Representatives voted to reject the poll on the Kurdish region’s independence.

The Iraqi parliamentarians urged the prime minister to take all necessary measures to maintain the unity of Iraq and start a serious dialogue with the Kurdistan region to resolve the pending issues.

Turkey has already censured efforts to establish an independent Kurdistan as “a grave mistake.” Ankara says the potential creation of an independent Kurdish state in its backyard would further embolden Turkey’s homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants toward an even stiffer confrontation with the government.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised interview that Ankara would hold a high-level security meeting on September 22 to decide on how to respond to the plebiscite, saying the Kurdish leadership was suffering from “serious political ineptitude.”

The Turkish president said Barzani’s decision not to postpone the independence referendum later this month is “very wrong.”

“Mr. Barzani is well aware of what we think about this matter. I think his statement is very very wrong, because he is well aware of our sensitivities about the territorial integrity of Iraq,” the Turkish president stated.

In June, Iran expressed its opposition to the “unilateral” scheme for independence of the Iraqi Kurdistan, underlining the importance of maintaining the integrity and stability of Iraq and insisting that the Kurdistan region was part of the majority Arab country.