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Excellent article, I have always felt that the US interferes way too much in the internal affairs of other countries in this misguided belief that our way of doing things is the right way and that everyone should be overjoyed to be like us. We're that obnoxious teenager in every family.
Very insightful, you should be a foreign policy advisor to either Iram or the US, preferably both. But what can the average American do to influence those in power, those men with their own agendas? Perhaps that is the problem, too many old men running things? Maybe it is time for the under 40 group to bring forth some fresh ideas not including violence of any kind?

Excellent article, I have always felt that the US interferes way too much in the internal affairs of other countries in this misguided belief that our way of doing things is the right way and that everyone should be overjoyed to be like us. We're that obnoxious teenager in every family.
Very insightful, you should be a foreign policy advisor to either Iram or the US, preferably both. But what can the average American do to influence those in power, those men with their own agendas? Perhaps that is the problem, too many old men running things? Maybe it is time for the under 40 group to bring forth some fresh ideas not including violence of any kind?

Wow, you guys have a talent for finding some of THE stinkiest and most questionable Iranians to write for you. This clown is laughed at by Iranians but because you want to force YOUR cultural imperialist agenda and this dork sings your tune, you promote his lies as if it were gospel. SHAME on your filthy rag...you're charlatan and I hope you go the way of the other prostitutes known as the gray lady.

After reading the comments by socalled peace loving Americans, I am convinced that the only way that Iran can be safe from these people is if they develop a nuclear bomb. The idea that the west is so peaceloving and that little Iran is such a threat to our pure and loving society is a joke wrapped up in utter stupidity. THAT IS WHY MOST OF THE WORLD FEARS NAKED AMERICAN AGGRESSION MORE THAN THEY FEAR MYTHICAL NON-EXISTANT NUKES AND NON-EXISTANT BALLISTIC MISSILES FALLING ON EUROPE? GEORGE BUSH KEEPS CRYING WOLF AND THE SUPPOSEDLY LIBERAL MEDIA IN THIS COUNTRY KEEPS BUYING HIS NONSENSE.

The United States has fought a war or bombed the following countries since 1980:
1. Grenada
2. Shelling of Beirut, Lebanon
3. Shooting a civilian air liner and killing scores of innocent people and babies
4. Somalia
5. Haiti
6. Kosovo
7. iraq twice
8. Afghanistan
9. Libya
10. panama

And now Iran and Syria are in the crosshairs. DOESN'T THE BIBLE SAY SOMETHING ABOUT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SPECK IN YOUR NEIGHBORS EYE AND IGNORING THE LOG IN YOUR OWN EYE. The violent rhetoric and warmongering on this website and the desire to dismantle a 3,000 year old nation that all these peace-loving Americans want is evidence that Iran should have a nuke. How else could they ensure that they won't be shocked or awed on false premises?

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Clearly, Mr. Bahari, has forged a roadmap for "Peace in Our Time". Mr. Chamberlain would be proud.
Sure, let's make overtures to the very evil that daily sends money, weapons, and even physical support into Iraq for the purpose of killing our soldiers. Let's forget the fact that Iran was behind the bombing of the Marine Corps Barracks and the US Embassy in Lebanon. Oh, and while we're at it, let's forget all about Iran's foreign policy of terror carried out by the Iranian Hezbollah which started last summer's conflagration between Lebanon and Israel. By the way, did you ever take the time to notice, sir, that every time the world focuses on Iran's nuclear ambitions, Hezbollah draws Israel into conflict and, to top it off, Iranian leaders are the first to condemn Israel's acts of self-defense?
Let's not stop there, though; let's forget how Iran's proxy leaders in Iraq, Sistani, supported by the Badr Corps, and Muqtada al-Sadr with his Mehdi Army, are daily killing innocent civilians and coalition forces. Sure, let's make a deal with pure evil and give the mullahs a gift well beyond their wildest dreams. After all, Iraq is practically a satellite state of Iran now, anyway.
Yes, and while we're at it, let's condemn the mostly innocent members of the PMOI to death as we kow-tow to the Iranian regime. And, please, don't try to link each member of the PMOI with the acts of terror committed in the '80s or with the war crimes committed against the Kurds. And your assertion that implies that the PMOI practically invented suicide bombing is absolutely laughable. The fact is that the majority of the PMOI are just well-intentioned people who wanted to free their country from an evil regime that tortures and kills its own citizens. What have you done to bring freedom to what you still call "your country"?
As for your reference to the Vietnam War, again, you conveniently ignore the facts in order to make a point. The fact is that, after losing more than fifty-thousand Americans, the leftist political agenda prevailed in the United States which led to the devastation of Vietnam and Cambodia and millions of lives lost.
Iran's leaders have the same goal in mind for the region. When they're done fomenting sectarian violence in Iraq, Iran's proxy leaders will bring "peace" to Iraq just as Iran brought "peace to Lebanon. Only time will tell what that will cost in human lives but, if the Iran-Iraq War is any indicator, we can reasonably guess that this regime that has little regard for human life could stand to kill tens of thousands more in Iraq.
Let SCIRI ring! Really, Mr. Bahari, you're either ignorant regarding your purported area of expertise, or you lack the intellectual integrity to be taken seriously. Either way, the editors of The Washington Post should be ashamed to print such drivel.

Clearly, Mr. Bahari, has forged a roadmap for "Peace in Our Time". Mr. Chamberlain would be proud.
Sure, let's make overtures to the very evil that daily sends money, weapons, and even physical support into Iraq for the purpose of killing our soldiers. Let's forget the fact that Iran was behind the bombing of the Marine Corps Barracks and the US Embassy in Lebanon. Oh, and while we're at it, let's forget all about Iran's foreign policy of terror carried out by the Iranian Hezbollah which started last summer's conflagration between Lebanon and Israel. By the way, did you ever take the time to notice, sir, that every time the world focuses on Iran's nuclear ambitions, Hezbollah draws Israel into conflict and, to top it off, Iranian leaders are the first to condemn Israel's acts of self-defense?
Let's not stop there, though; let's forget how Iran's proxy leaders in Iraq, Sistani, supported by the Badr Corps, and Muqtada al-Sadr with his Mehdi Army, are daily killing innocent civilians and coalition forces. Sure, let's make a deal with pure evil and give the mullahs a gift well beyond their wildest dreams. After all, Iraq is practically a satellite state of Iran now, anyway.
Yes, and while we're at it, let's condemn the mostly innocent members of the PMOI to death as we kow-tow to the Iranian regime. And, please, don't try to link each member of the PMOI with the acts of terror committed in the '80s or with the war crimes committed against the Kurds. And your assertion that implies that the PMOI practically invented suicide bombing is absolutely laughable. The fact is that the majority of the PMOI are just well-intentioned people who wanted to free their country from an evil regime that tortures and kills its own citizens. What have you done to bring freedom to what you still call "your country"?
As for your reference to the Vietnam War, again, you conveniently ignore the facts in order to make a point. The fact is that, after losin more than fifty-thousand Americans, the leftist political agenda prevailed in the United States which led to the devestation of Vietnam and Cambodia and millions of lives lost.
Iran's leaders have the same goal in mind for the region. When they're done fomenting sectarian violence in Iraq, Iran's proxy leaders will bring "peace" to Iraq just as Iran brought "peace to Lebanon. Only time will tell what that will cost in human lives but, if the Iran-Iraq War is any indicator, we can reasonably guess that this regime that has little regard for human life could stand to kill tens of thousands more in Iraq.
Let SCIRI ring! Really, Mr. Bahari, you're either ignorant regarding your purported area of expertise or you lack the intellectual integrity to be taken seriously. Either way, the editors of The Washington Post should be ashamed to print such drivel.

Baran Salar

You are a member of Persian community. You live in Los Angeles. Your real name id is Morteza Saadati.

Why you blame Kurds for expressing their views freely. This is supposed to be for all. You can blame Washington Post/post global for not giving a voice to a Kurdish journalist among its panelists for the current situation. I really don't understand why there is no Kurdish panelist present among the panelists? Kurds need to raise this issue in their posts on postglobal so that we get to the bottom of it.

I read that Iran has put Washington Post under pressure by not giving visa to its journalists in Iran. Are Mr Ettefagh and no Kurdish debator in post global panel carots offered by WP to Iran to give visa to WP or maybe I'm mistaken and "Mr Ettefagh" presence and propoganda for Iranian regime is just "accidental" and has nothing to do with Iranian visa for WP? Iran-US regimes dialogue? HMM?

Just curious.

To all repescted readers:

There are people who are trying to take advantage of this opportunity. They speak, write and post articles on behalf of the Kurdish people. They copy and paste these articles from other resources. They are anti-Kurdish, want to blackmail the Kurds and create discrepancies among Kurds, Turks, Persian and Arabs. Most of what is being told, said or written about the Kurds is not true. I request every participant to disregard and avoid such expressions.

To Josh,

I am not an idealist, but I try to mix my realism with a bit of idealism. I think it is shallow to think that one can jump the 300 years of ladder of western democracy in the middle east in just one night or just one decade, it doesn't work in a region where Shiites mourn the killing of their Saints and family by the Sunnis every year for the past 1300 years. Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Persians have been fighting each other for Shiites vs Sunni divisions inside their own communities in addition to fighting across community lines.

For democracy to work in that region there must be a clear separation of religion and government in place. Turkey was on that path, but its future is bleak with its present Islamic gov.

I have selected Jordan, Kurdistan and Afghanistan because in Jordan and Kurdistan that secularist principle exists not because they are western democracies and those two stable centers of gravity in the region can be strengthened to reduce the chaos of the Baghdad center of gravity. I do not agree with Kissinger's repeatition of failed past policies and US policymakers need to think out of the box and come up with a new way out and a new order which maximisizes the harmony with a minimal cost.

Order is always better than Chaos. I do beleive that if 5-Mil (people in) Jordan and 5-Mil Kurdistan secularism projects are not strengthened, the Baghdad/Iraq 15 Mil chaos center will suck them into Chaos and then we will have 25 Mil Chaos religious fantisism that bring many times more terror to the west than Sept 11. Religious fanatics do exist in Jordan and Kurdistan, but they are kept in check by the two seculraist governments and their model can be extended to keep the
"middle-out" propogating Iraq Chaos in check too. A united 15 Mil Joran-Iraq stability pole and 15 Mil united Kurdistan (Iraq+Iran) stability pole in the region will put an end to Iraqi Chaos. Once established, the Kurdistan and Afghanistan poles can take care of the Iranian "middle-out" propogating chaos.

The Chaos in Iraq is strengthened by regimes like Iran which are pouring feul into the fire and its 70 Mil population are suffering. Afghanistan system is not a democratic panacea but it is neutral to shiite /Sunni division and it is a temporal solution because it cannot stand on its feet economically and US/NATO cannot stay there for good.

The region simply needs a new order and there are many in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan who desire to form a united Persian speaking country (even the current regimes) despite the fact that some are Sunni and some are Shiite. Such a union will also cool off Shiite fanatism in Iran for good if Afghan model is used to "bootstrap democracy" in Persian speaking region.

The same desire exists among Kurds and Azeris for joining their Kurdish and Turkish countrymen. Just give this "democratic bootstrapping" proposal a chance instead of full blown transformation of failed states and
let those people form their own states.

At present changing borders between Jordan and Iraq (I should say Kurdistan) is less costly that implementing long term social engineering democracy projects in Iraq.

The other alternative is to play Shiite vs Sunni communities to keep the danger of Islam in that region which in the long term will cause Chaos and disruption of oil and collapse of world economy. This article is getting long, but I am advocate of "democracy bootstrapping" and the notion of "democratic poles" in the
region.

people should respect freedom of speech by they also have to respect the principle of relevance. I can't understand what does the history of human rights abuses in Turkey have to do with US-Iran relations. Doesn't this page have an editor?

Are the Kurds really desperate for a space on the internet to post their booklets!?

Please respect teh freedom of speech and journalism.

Some much for the Kurds displaying some etiquette and courtesy.

Human Rights are not protected by Turkey's Constitution



It is important to remember that although Turkey is considered a democratic nation, its government is still controlled by the military regime. The Turkish Constitution, while an attempt to show democracy, allows for the violation of Human Rights towards the minorities that live in Turkey. This is proven everyday, when the Turkish government still attempts to deny the Armenian Genocide, and allows its military to continue to harass and murder innocent Kurds. Turkey claims that if Kurds, Armenians, or other minorities are allowed to have their identity it will destroy the republic. Well the United States, as you can read from its name, is the unity of 50 states, territories, and home to thousands of immigrants that are still arriving every year. Other Western nations also have immigrants who are recognized for their individuality, ethnic traditions, cultures, and languages, yet these nations are not destroyed.

So, how can allowing the minorities in Turkey to be seen as distinct ethnic groups weaken Turkey? One has only to look at history to see that trying to change or assimilate a group of people, only leads to civil wars, deep hatred, and horrible atrocities to life. In addition, the laws that are made using the Turkish Constitution should apply to every citizen residing within Turkey's boarders, not just certain groups of people.

Even though little changes have been made to the Constitution, these changes have not occurred in real life. Human Rights abuses are still occurring everyday, in direct violation, of the two greatest democratic organizations in the world, the United Nations and the European Union.
Hitler was forcibly removed from power for his atrocities towards the Jews. The Khmer Rouge was tried over the ethnic cleansing in Cambodia.

Saddam Hussein and his Ba'th regime were removed from power by democratic forces for his government's policy of genocide towards Kurds. When will Turkey be punished for its attempts to annihilate its own minority populations by hiding behind a Constitution that is legally and morally wrong?

Who are the Kurds?

Today, approximately 40 million Kurds make up the largest ethnic group of people without a recognized country. The Kurds live in the mountainous areas in southeast and east of Turkey, northwest of Iran, north of Iraq, and northeast of Syria. The Kurdish people can claim their heritage back to Ancient Mesopotamia. The mountainous regions they live in are harsh areas, which few people could live in and prosper; however the Kurds made it their home and have lived there for thousands of years. The major mountain regions they live in are the Taurus, Zagros, and Elburz Mountains. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the major source of water, not only for the mountains, but also for much of the Middle East. The Kurds are agricultural: raising sheep, goats, and cereals, such as wheat, barley, and oats. Another major crop of the Kurds is tobacco. Some of the finest "Turkish tobacco" is grown in the land of the Kurds. Kurds belong to clans, which are part of a tribe. The clans make up the immediate family groups, while the tribe makes up the extended family. Kurdish people are fiercely loyal to their family, clan, and tribe. (About the Kurds, History & Hemin Shekhani).

Another important aspect of Kurdish life is the language that they speak.

Kurdish language is in the Indo-European family of languages. Kurdish is broken up into four main dialects, Kurmanci (60%), Sorani (25%), Zazaki (10%), and Gorani (5%), with many smaller sub-dialects. According to Kemal Burkay, "Kurdish is a lively and rich language that has managed to survive despite all the oppression and bans to which is has been exposed." (Kurdistan's Homepage, Para 3). Kurdish is considered one of the few surviving original languages of the Mesopotamian people. Because the Kurdish language is so rich and vibrant, it has created beautiful traditions using songs and poetry. Before 1991, Kurds were not even allowed to speak their language in the privacy of their homes without fear of being arrested, or worse, killed. Since 1991, Kurds are now allowed to speak the Kurdish language inside their homes, but it is still illegal to write, read or teach the language. Today more than half of all Kurds living in Turkey cannot read or write Kurdish because of Turkey's brutal Constitutional laws concerning the language. In Turkey if minorities speak their "mother language" they are branded as traitors, terrorist, and enemies of the state.

The country known as Kurdistan by the Kurds includes land from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and small parts of Russia. According to census reports, approximately 50% of all Kurds live in Turkey, with smaller percentages living in the other areas of Kurdistan. After World War I, Kurds were promised a separate and independent country-state, in the Treaty of Servres, but then England and France, decide to divvy up the land and not give the Kurds their independence. "The Treaty of Lausanne formalized this division." (About the Kurds, History, Para 15). Since this time, Kurds all over the world have clamored for their rights of culture, language, traditions, and autonomy. But most importantly, the Kurds have asked to be recognized as a distinct people.

Quoting directly from Hemin Shekhani's website, "the Turkish government also passed various laws forbidding the use of the Kurdish language and imposing other restrictions on manifestations of Kurdish nationalism.

Although all Turkish Kurds possess full Turkish citizenship and millions of Kurds have assimilated into Turkish society, relations between Kurds and the Turkish government continue to be strained." (Hemin Shekhani, History of Kurdistan). Kurds in Turkey, for the last 80 years, were forced to be assimilated into Turks. By this, the Republic of Turkey has denied the existence of Kurds, their language, culture, ethnicity, and traditions. Since the 1980's Kurds "have waged a war of national liberation" against Turkeys governmental and military attempts to suppress all signs of Kurdish identity. (The Kurds & the Future of Turkey, Page 21). The Turkish government has been exceptionally harsh and repressive to its Kurdish population. The Washington Post stated in an article, "Turkish government, which tried to deprive them [the Kurds] of Kurdish identity by designating them "Mountain Turks, outlawing their language and forbidding them to wear traditional Kurdish costumes in the cities. The government also encouraged the migration of Kurds to the cities to dilute the population in the uplands. Turkey continues its policy of not recognizing the Kurds as a minority group." (Washington Post. Para 4).

"The Kurds have been subjugated by neighboring peoples for most of their history. In modern times, Kurds have tried to set up independent states in Iran, Iraq and Turkey, but their efforts have been crushed every time." (Washington Post, Background: The Kurds Inset). While many Kurds want a separate and recognized state called Kurdistan, much could be settle peaceable if Kurds were allowed their identity. Forcing a people to abandon their culture, traditions, language, music, and other ideals that make them unique, is cultural genocide. Basic Human rights are what each of us, as individuals require, so why deny the Kurds these same rights?

Why should the Kurds be treated separately from any other ethnic group in the world? Kurds deserve to be recognized, allowed the freedom of identity, and the right to be the unique people that they are. Turkey's Constitution grants the right that all individuals should be allowed their identity so why are they killing Kurds for saying "I am a Kurd!" This is not freedom this is murder, this is genocide!

The physical, linguistic, and cultural genocide committed by Turkey against the Kurds is treated with silence and/or considered controversial.
The status of the Turkish government in denying their actions has created pressure on the United States and other Western Nations governments, universities, and media organizations to treat this holocaust as delusions of the Kurdish people. The Turkish government is in full control of media, and many attempts to let the outside world know what is really happening in Southeastern Turkey [Northern Kurdistan] are met with beatings, destroyed camera equipment, and imprisonment for reporters from all western nations. It is even worse for the Kurds who have tried to document the atrocities occurring, as they usually just disappear, never to be seen again. The denial of the Turks and their government in regards to this horrible time in their recent history suggests that any government that commits crimes against humanity will go unpunished and suffering of the people involved will continue.

Turkish Constitutions Articles and Human Rights:

The Turkish Constitution states that it is the law of the Republic of Turkey. The Constitution is a large document with many articles, polices, and rules. Only the articles, policies, and laws pertaining to Human Rights will be discussed in this paper. In this section of the paper you will see how the Constitution seems to allows for human rights, but examples will show how those same rights are being violated were Kurds are concerned.

To begin, here is a quote from the Preamble of the Turkish Constitution, "they [the people of the Turkish Republic] have the right to demand a peaceful life based on absolute respect for one another's rights and freedoms, mutual love and fellowship, and the desire for, and belief in, 'Peace at home, peace in the world.'" (Constitution of the Republic of Turkey Page 2, Para 1). This sentence signifies that every citizen in Turkey has the right to live a peaceful and just life. If this is the case, then why has the Turkish government forcibly removed Kurds from the homes they have lived in for centuries? Do you think that having your house, business, and/or village destroyed and burned to the ground, allows for a peaceful life? Turkey's own human rights minister admitted that the military has been destroying Kurdish villages for years. He stated, "Some two million Kurds have been displaced, a dozen towns depopulated and five to six million Kurds forced into western Turkey by state terror and economic collapse." (A Test for Turkey, Page 1, Para 3). Yet when questioned by the United Nations, Turkey's government denies they are burning villages or forcibly removing minorities from their ancestral lands.

Article 10, Section 10 of the Turkish Constitution states, "All individuals are equal without and discrimination before the law, irrespective of language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any such considerations." (Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, Page 3, Para. 3). This statement is a true democratic statement shared by all the democratic nations of the world. However, while this article gives equal rights to all citizens, it is not enforced where Kurds are concerned. The language of the Kurds is forcibly denied to the Kurdish people. The beginning of the Constitution says that Turkish is the national language, but Turkey has several languages that are unique to the individual groups that live within Turkey's boarders. What threat is it to the nation as a whole to allow these native languages to be used, taught, and spoken? How come military personal are allowed to shoot you in the street for speaking Kurdish or whistling a Kurdish tune. Outlawing a language because it belongs to a minority group is ludicrous. Forcing Kurds to give up their mother tongue is cultural genocide and Turkey's government has been doing this for over 80 years. Kurds are till not allowed to speak Kurdish in their own homes.

In addition, the Turkish Constitution says everyone born in Turkey is Turkish, not a Turkish citizen, but Turkish. Well if both your parents are Kurdish and you are born in Turkey that makes you a Turkish citizen of Kurdish heritage, not a Turk. For the Turkish government there is no such thing and they prove this by making elementary children stand up and recite that they are Turks everyday. Kurds are not allowed to call themselves Kurds. Kurds are not allowed to recognize their identity without fear of dreadful repercussions. Why is it against the law, punishable by torture and death, to call oneself a Kurd? Does this sound like equality? Kurds are distinct race, with culture and traditions, which have a right to be recognized, respected, and treated without discrimination. While Turkey's constitution says all people are born equal, clearly, equal only applies to those who are willing to forget who they are and become Turks.

Secondly, no one is allowed to speak out or mention the atrocities that are occurring everyday to the Kurds. While the Turkish Constitution guarantees the right to speak freely, that only applies as long as you talk about what the government wants you to speak about. To speak out against the government or the military actions taken against Kurds is tantamount to suicide and murder for your family. Leyla Zana, a member of the Turkish Parliament and a Kurd, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for "bearing witness to the Kurdish people's immense tragedy in Turkey." (A Test for Turkey, Page 1, Para 1). Nor is Leyla Zana the only one, even today many journalists, newspaper printers/writers, radio stations producers, and academics are being arrested, imprisoned, or disappearing because they have talked about the Kurdish Problem, even citizens of other countries. Turkey's government refuses to admit there is a problem, one created by their own hatreds, so instead of trying to compromise and peacefully fix these issues, the government allows the Turkish military and state police to commit genocide. This is Turkey's idea of democracy; make a constitution then let the military interpret the way they want, even if it means killings thousands of innocent Kurds.

Freedom of Religion and conscience is defined in Section IV, Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution as: "Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, religious beliefs and conviction. Acts of worship, religious services, and ceremonies may be conducted freely -No one may be compelled to worship, or be blamed or accused because of his religious beliefs and convictions. Education and instruction in religion and ethics shall be conducted under State supervision and control." (Turkish Constitution, Page 5, Para. 4). This article shows, without a doubt, how double standard the government is when it comes to human rights. In one sentence it defines freedom of religion, and in another sentence it states the government has control over what you can believe. In Turkey, the religion is Islamic; the state runs strict educational programs that only cover the Islamic religion. The government therefore does not allow for the freedom of religion for those who follow the Yezidi religion, Christian religion, or any other religion. Those citizens who chose to follow a different religion will soon find themselves criminals of the Republic or Turkey and branded a terrorist.

Article 28, Section 10 of the Turkish Constitution allows for the Freedom of Press and Publication. It states, "The Press is free, and may not be censored. The State shall take the necessary measures to ensure the freedom of the Press and freedom of information." (Turkish Constitution, Page 6, Para 4&5). Well, this sounds like a great Constitutional amendment, it has never been allowed when the newspapers or magazines are written in Kurdish. It is against the military law to publish any newspapers, magazines, radio programs, or other such informative materials in any language other than Turkish. All types of Press that have opened up and tried to publish in Kurdish have been forcibly put out of business, and the owners/writers imprisoned or killed. What kind of Freedom of Press is this? This is state censorship, and attempt by the government with military backing to ruin a minorities chance to read and be educated in their own language. Again, this stresses how Turkey is committing cultural genocide towards the Kurds while hiding behind a Constitution that is not worth the paper it is written on. Another thing to remember is that even the Turkish newspapers can only print what the government wishes it to print; all articles must coincide with what the government wants the public to know.

United Nations

Before there was a United Nations, there was the League of Nations. The League of Nations was founded during World War I under the Treaty of Versailles. Its mission was "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security" (History of the United Nations, Par 4).

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States President came up with the name United Nations during World War II. This name was officially used in 1942 when the Declaration by the United Nations was convened by 26 nations committed to continue fighting the hostile Axis Powers of the Second World War. The United Nations was not officially organized until 1945 when 50 countries met in San Francisco to work out the details on how this organization would function. The charter of the United Nations was signed on June 26, 1945 and the United Nations was officially open for business on October 24 1945. According to the United Nations website, the following words are the reason for it's [the United Nation] existence.

"The only true basis of enduring peace is the willing cooperation of free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security. It is our intention to work together, and with other free peoples, both in war and peace, to this end." (History of the UN Charter, Par 4).

The United Nations was the first organization to introduce human rights laws for all membership countries to follow. It is believed that the United Nations greatest achievement was the creation of Human Rights Laws and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter. This Charter defines human rights and what is included within those rights. The United Nations expects all its members to commit to this charter and not violate its decrees; the charter is "one to which all nations can subscribe and to which all people can aspire." (United Nations, Human Rights, Par 1). The United Nations has defined a wide range of rights that include, but are not limited to, economic, social, cultural, political, and civil rights.

According to the UN the most important individual fundamental rights are as follows:

1) Dignity
2) Freedoms
3) Equality
4) Solidarity
5) Citizens' Rights
6) Justice

Guidelines have been drawn to help all the membership nations to protect and assist their governments in being responsible towards its citizen's human rights.

Human Rights law receives its foundation from the United Nations Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These laws are important internationally, as they are used to determine if a country is in violation of human rights. Individuals and nations can be tried and punished according to the human rights laws enacted by the United Nations.
Over the years the United Nations has made amendments and adjustments to the Charter and Universal Declaration to allow more+

Specific standards for women, children, disabled persons, minorities, migrant workers and other vulnerable groups, who now possess rights that protect them from discriminatory practices that had long been common in many societies. Rights have been extended through groundbreaking General Assembly decisions that have gradually established their universality, indivisibility and interrelatedness with development and democracy (United Nations, Human Rights, Par 3).

The United Nations has spent many man-hours and dollars on educational campaigns to make sure that every citizen or every country knows what their inalienable rights are. Also, the educational campaigns are designed to inform the general populations that a national judicial and penal system is available for grievances to be discussed. This branch of the United Nations has gained considered power among member and non-member countries as a champion of human rights issues. In addition, "the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights works to strengthen and coordinate United Nations work for the protection and promotion of all human rights of all persons around the world" (United Nations, Human Rights, Par 5). According to the Secretary-General of the United Nations the ideals surrounding peace and security, humanitarian assistance, and social affairs is the most important duty of the Organization's work.
(United Nations, Human Rights, Par 5).

These fundamental rights can be found and describe in detail on the United Nations website. Every individual should know what these rights are, there definitions, and every country should apply them to their populations. Basic Human Rights are guaranteed by the United Nations.
Furthermore, any country that is a member of this great organization must also guarantee its citizens these fundamental rights. As a member of the United Nations, Turkey must demonstrate adherence to the laws provided by this multi-national group. However, Turkey still engages in cultural and physical genocide towards its minorities while the United Nations basically turns its head in the other direction.

How can a country, like Turkey, who has proven it-self to be unreliable in allowing its minority citizens to have basic Human Rights, be allowed into the United Nations? Since Turkey is a member of the United Nations why does its Constitution allow for violations of Basic Human Rights?

According to the United Nations own Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Turkey is not a country of democracy, but a military dictatorship that abuses its own citizens. Yet, the United Nations still allow the atrocities of human rights abuses to continue, without any kind of repercussions to Turkey. While the rest of the western world continues to look away from Turkey's excesses of military use against its own citizens, the horrors continue. Will we, the democratic nations, silently look the other way, while innocent people are abused, murdered, and annihilated?

Will Turkey be allowed to continue its ideals of democracy, using its constitution as a weapon, and legal document to commit genocide to the Kurds? How can we live with ourselves, as a nation, as individuals, if we do not fight against this type of false democracy that Turkey is projecting to the world with its Constitution and violations of Basic Human Rights?

Democratic nations cannot condemn Hitler and his Nazis, Saddam Hussein and his regime and give other governments like Turkey the right to continue committing genocide towards its minorities. We can't undo the past or raise the dead, but we can remember and learn from history, and stop the abuses that are occurring today. It is our [The United States] responsibility to show true democratic leadership and recognize genocide for what it is the annihilation of a people: their identity, cultures, language; and talk about it truthfully. In addition, we must hold each nation equally accountable for their sins and crimes against Human Rights.

Turkey's constitution on paper sounds democratic, but its government and military follow a different set of rules and laws, bending the Constitution to support its atrocities towards the Kurds. When minorities, like the Kurds, are not allowed Basic Human Rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution, how can Turkey be considered a democratic country, which is a member of the United Nations. The physical, cultural, and linguistic genocide of the Kurds in Turkey must be stopped!

Turkey's strategic blunder

At the end of the First World War, Kamal Attaturk was able to save the rump of the Ottoman Empire from British and French occupation. His springboard point was Anatolia where he was able to persuade the Kurds in north Kurdistan to join forces with him and reject British intrigues among them aimed at chipping away further land from what had remained of the great sick empire.

The British duped the Kurds by first encouraging them to seek independence and supporting the idea and pouring much money into Slêmanî and the Kurdish parts of Iraq. For nearly 4 years they carried on establishing a Kurdish administration andarmy and trained them to protect their areas simply because they were unable to send an army to do so as a result of their economic troubles and losses in the occupation of southern and middle Iraq. Kurdistan's mountains reminded them of their disadters in Afghanistan and India; in Particular the difficulties of fighting locals in places like the Khyber Pass.

Therefore they wanted to achieve the same result and prevent the Turks form reclaiming land which had belonged to the Ottoman Empire administratively but not subjugated by Turkish army forces. Most of Kurdistan was ruled by Kurdish proxies with local armed men until the British arrived in Kifri. Once the local chief Sheikh Mahmud heard of this he invited the British to come to Slêmanî in what he considered was a card to play against the Ottomans so that he might have bargained with it.

The British who were aware of this insisted that he should work for his upkeep and support but his natural instinct was anti-British and pro-Turkish. Yet Attaturk ignored his approaches and tried instead to use him in his struggle to save as much of what he considered to be his national homeland as possible. Sheikh Mahmud and the rest of the Mosul Wilayet ended up as a juicy bite for the British colonial stomach.

The British who were really only interested in the oil-rich areas of the Mosul Wilayet easily sacrificed the Kurds of Anatolia and signed agreements with Turkey exchanging the Mosul Wilayet which they had sneakily occupied during the armistice just after the war had stopped. And with that Turkey was cocooned into a hard nationalistic shell which it was to remain in for nearly a hundred years.

Britain was a tired and economically warn out power who had suffered along with its French ally greatly at the hands of the Germans. It was probably as weak and tired as the Turks if not more. Yet, today Turkey is a third world country while Britain is a super power with a thriving economy and English is the standard language throughout the world. Britain and now the United States have fingers in every pie all around the world while Turkey remained isolated and lacking all forms of influence in even the closest nations right on its borders. People five thousand miles away from Britain speak English as a second language who once spoke Turkish instead.

The Ottoman Empire lasted some six centuries reaching the height of civilization and scientific progress and many nations such as Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, Arabs, Albanians and others from the Middle and Far East, Asia and African nations served to advance its culture and power throughout a huge chunk of the world and enrich the central power house at Istanbul. The Turkish people were truly a minority who started as fighting tribes, adopted Islam and Middle Eastern Culture as a result of which Anatolia became the home of a huge thriving empire.

All that disappeared because of Attaturk's Xenophobic attitude towards all the nations that had helped his race reach the positions they had. Proof of this lies in the fact that once the Kurds, Armenians, Greeks and Arabs were alienated Turkey became and remained a poor mediocre and backward state unable to sustain itself without iys subservient position within NATO.

Yet, Turkey had a great opportunity throughout the twentieth century to occupy a better position among these nations than does Britain and the west. We must remember that the nations surrounding Turkey practice the same religion, are of a mixture of local races, share the geography as well as six centuries of togetherness as parts of the Ottoman Empire. But despite the fact that they shared none of those characteristics with Britain and the latter's great physical distance, it was the west who captured the hearts and minds of the Middle East nations, not by having their interests at heart but via many sly and devious methods including tying them up with economic contracts the greatest benefits of which return to the west.

Western culture has also begun to despise eastern and oriental cultures to such an extent that they are now treating Islam (the main culture of some 1.5 billion people) as their grand enemy. This is not just a feeling or a suspicion but a fact which nobody can deny today. Unfortunately all that Turkey is offering is more subservience to the will of its sponsors and denial of its geopolitical position and more and more copycat culture from the west.

There are those who have been brainwashed into thinking that civilization and technical progress can only come from the west. If the Americans or the western nations do not invent it then it is not possible. Some would even link Japanese and Chinese technology to what they must have copied from the west easily and conveniently forgetting that China and the Middle East were the main source of all scientific, logical and technological advancement in the world.

Science and Technology do not have a nationality or a race while oil, gas and other natural resources do. Turkey gave up its position as the most modern capital of eastern culture and became a follower of the west rather than the leader of the east. It has been struggling to enter the European and Christian world believing that it is now destined to exist on the periphery not realizing that it would have to be and remain a fringe nation deprived of major progress.

In the beginning of the twentieth century my father, uncle and many other Kurds and Iraqis were educated in Istanbul. I know that their education was superb and my father also a scientist had a magnificent command of mathematics and physics. In true ancient Greek style, they were taught not just science but philosophy, history the arts and everything worth learning. I was educated in the UK and although the British education system is superior to many I had to learn all those other subjects by my self.

Attaturk's Turkey became isolated from its natural and geopolitical environment while all around it the British and French were forming alliances with what should have been Turkey's historic allies until all that was left was a small part of Cyprus only because they were Turks. This deprived Turkey of mutual exchange of wealth, knowledge, know-how and all other forms of economic ties with the erstwhile members of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey's policies towards the Kurds were Britain's best protection against the rejuvenation of the nation and the wall which kept it from Iraq, Syria and the previously united nations of the Ottoman Empire. Instead of behaving like a sour grape and sulking with hatred Turkey should have done the exact opposite by revising its old policies and trying to mend fences - it should have been doing all it could to keep the borders soft and temporary. It should have extended its hands to all its Muslim and Middle-Eastern brothers to form a new alliance (a commonwealth of ex-Ottoman nations) - not alienate them and isolate itself.

Kurdistan should have been a great ally and a strategic depth for Turkey and not a sore wound in its side. Yet the Kurd's struggle has not stopped for one day simply to gain equality as citizens of the country. For some reason it seems the Turkish mind does not work as efficiently on its own and needs the inspiration of the other nations around them. I believe that the Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians and optionally Greeks can reclaim the ground by making a complete change of policy starting from Turkey.

Below I will state a suggestion which I hope the Turkish leadership will read.

1. Turkey should pass a law completely banning racism in the country
2. Offer the Kurds all rights in the Turkish state and concentrate on the region which is wealthy as well as lacking of investment and development.
3. Keep foreign investments in Turkey and in Kurdistan to the minimum
4. Be humane enough to admit mistakes of the Ottomans towards the Armenians and stop discrimination and persecution against all the citizens of Turkey
5. Offer a friendly apology for maltreating the Ottoman nations and promise a new era of brotherhood and equality. It would be a great gesture of good will if the name of the nation was changed to a more representative name covering its multinational nature.
6. Establish the best possible ties with its neighbours, Iran, a yet-to-be-liberated Iraq and in particular the Kurdish part.
7. Abandon the application to become an unloved and unwanted little step-brother if Europe. Thus firmly, proudly and unapologetically placing its foot in Asia
8. Establish the best possible ties with the Arabs
9. Abandon NATO because its ties with that imperial organisation preclude it from re-establishing itself as a major Asiatic power.
10. Seek economic contracts with all former members of the Ottoman Empire
11. Establish universities for the education of African, Asian, Arab and other citizens of the world who do not have the opportunity to get western or even local education.
12. Form close ties with Iran which is surviving very well without any NATOI and EU links.
13. Form the best possible links with the rich and progressive South American Nations.
14. Completely wrench itself away from supporting the aggressive and war-like actions of Israel and the Americans
15. Reposition the political attitude of the country towards the greater good of the nations of the region and in this way offer Turkey's own vision of the Middle East.

It is by far better for Turkey and the Middle East to be masters of their own decisions than lackeys and sycophantic extras on the backside of someone else.

The present Government of Turkey seems to have a mindset close to the above analysis but seems too timid in going all the way. I have written about Turkish society today in the past on KurdishMedia.com, in particular about the lack of scientific and technological advancement evident from the lack of world-renounced inventions, scientific breakthroughs, music or cultural products. However I am now offering the above ideas which I believe will return Turkey and the surrounding nations to their rightful and influential old glory.

All the relevant and necessary requirements and active factors are available. All we need are the will of a great statesman and the courage of the nations to follow and endure the painful but sure and rewarding path.

Turkish-Iranian-Syrian relations: Limits of regional politics in the Middle East

The geography of the Middle East is subject to direct international interference through the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq and through political attempts to transform the region socially, politically, and economically. Calls for reform and renovation have reached a heightened level, and Western states are pushing for the development of good governance, democracy, and human rights in Middle Eastern societies.

Turkey, Syria and Iran are influential actors in Middle Eastern politics. The relations and the cooperation between these states occur at a time when Syria and Iran have been accused by the Bush administration of being antagonists to a peaceful and democratic international system. The ongoing relations between these states, and how these states interact with the international community, is revealing since they are important components of the regional power balance.

Regional Interactions

The U.S. administration adopted a high profile policy against Syria and Iran and poses a threat to these countries. Washington accuses the two states of supporting terrorism in the region, pursuing clandestine activities in Iraq and building weapons of mass destruction. Among these two, the Bush administration primarily points out Iran for its alleged nuclear weapons program. The Bush administration argues that Iran is very close to acquiring nuclear weapons considering the progress of its nuclear-enrichment facilities. The administration is pursuing a number of measures to slow Iran's development of nuclear material, from tightening the economic sanctions policy on the country to attacking its nuclear facilities.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has pursued a more pragmatic line in relations with the West, particularly after the 9/11 attacks. His pursuing a constructive policy line helped his relations with the international community but could not rid the suspicions directed at his country. Syria is accused of supporting international terrorism, in addition to the old and continuous allegations of Damascus' support for terrorist and militant activities in Israel. In addition, there are new accusations that terrorist networks -- mainly al-Qaeda -- have connections in Syria and that Syrian Ba'athists support old Ba'athist cadres in Iraq, who are believed to constitute the backbone of the resistance in the country. Although evidence has not been provided for many of these accusations, the Bush administration has used them to heighten its pressure on Syria.

Turkey has long borders with both Iran and Syria and is in the same region. However, it displays a different regional and international profile. Turkey has undergone a reform process in the legal, political and economic realms in an effort to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria of the European Union; it also worked with an I.M.F.-led economic program. Turkey's transformation put an end to the Cold War style of a security state apparatus and changed the framework of its domestic and foreign policy. The practical result has been adopting an active diplomacy to minimize problems with neighboring countries.
The March 2003 motion that forbade U.S. troops from using Turkish territory in the war against Iraq was a historical turning point for Turkey. The Turkish parliament prevented the United States from opening a northern front against Iraq on the given justification that the international community considered the war illegitimate. Turkey's decision prolonged the process of the Iraqi invasion, forced the U.S. to search for greater legitimacy, and drew more attention to the Palestinian question as a reason for much of the region's instability. Whilst Turkey is accustomed to balancing between the chaotic Middle Eastern system and the peace and stability of Europe, it now appears to be moving closer to the E.U. In this respect, Syria and Iran approved of Turkey's E.U. membership process and consider a European Turkey as a chance to develop their relations with the E.U.
Turkish-Syrian-Iranian Relations

For a long time, both Turkey and Syria were locked in a relationship shaped by historical enmity, the prevalence of hostile establishment ideologies, and the attempts of policymakers to "externalize" some major domestic problems. After Syria's expulsion of the leader of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1997, the relations returned to a good track. Syria also has been the first test case of Turkey's good neighborhood policy. In late December 2004, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a two-day visit to Syria, which brought optimistic prospects for future bilateral relations.

More specifically, close relations between Turkey and Syria seem meaningful from the commercial and security standpoints. During the Turkish delegation's visit to Damascus, both sides signed a free trade agreement with the idea of expanding it to the regional level. Policymakers in both countries share the view that they have legitimate concerns about the future of Iraq and should cooperate in every possible way, as they already have started doing through the meeting of the countries bordering Iraq, to enhance stability.

Turkish-Iranian relations were shaped under the effect of the nature of the changing regime in Iran, conflicting interests in Central Asia and the Caucasus, relations with the United States and Israel, and the anxiety about the future of Iraq in general and northern Iraq in particular. Investments of Turkish companies in Iran and agreements concerning the purchase of natural gas have added a new dimension to the relations in recent years. Domestic politics in both countries has come to play an important role towards each other. Turkey follows a similar accommodating policy line as the E.U. when it comes to Iran.

Ankara is anxious over the context of international relations emerging in the triangle of the U.S., Israel and nuclear weapons. Turkey had a sense of security based on its superiority of conventional weapons and promotes the idea of an active international diplomacy to bring Iran to internationally acceptable terms in this regard. Ankara's one major concern is that both countries strive for the territorial integrity of Iraq and for the establishment of a stable neighbor state.

Syrian-Iranian relations follow a different path. Damascus keeps its troops in Lebanon and supports, along with Iran, militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. After the U.S. administration's recall of its ambassador in Damascus and the heightening of tension between the U.S. and Iran, these two countries declared that they will act together and form a common front against perceived external threats.

Is an Enduring Cooperation Possible?

Although most of the structural and historical problems for improving relations between these three countries have been part of history, there are a number of impediments that are likely to prevent this relationship from emerging as long-term cooperation. The major impediment is Washington's hard-line policy against Syria and Iran. It has been a catchword in the influential circles of the U.S. administration that these two countries are serious problems for American interests in the greater Middle East.

Although the U.S. administration is mostly alone in its allegations of organized Syrian meddling in Iraq, it has the E.U. on board, especially France, in its opposition to Syrian interference in Lebanon. The U.S.-Iran tensions are more serious and likely to yield more destructive results in a shorter period of time. The U.S. attitude differs from the general approach of the international community, but if Iranian uranium enrichment activities continue, this situation may change against Iran.

The recent period also witnessed oscillating relations between Turkey and the U.S. due to the conflict in Iraq. Turkey's parliamentary motion that disallowed U.S. soldiers to enter Iraq through Turkish territory was a surprising development for U.S. policymakers. Although relations have improved in due course, there is an implicit mistrust on both sides.

Ankara is not satisfied with the U.S. administration's declaration that they are in favor of Iraq's territorial integrity and do not support the idea of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq. The U.S. administration is not happy with the rising anti-Americanism in Turkish society and anti-American discourse in the media and academic circles. There have been problematic periods between Turkey and the U.S. in the past, but the Turkish administration did not permit the escalation of the tension to a level that would undermine relations. Considering the current state of relations, Turkey gained more room to maneuver vis-à-vis U.S. policies in the Middle East. However, Turkey's domestic political balances, regional preferences and international orientations set a limit for its alienation from the U.S. Turkey's main strength in the region derives from its close relations with both the U.S. and E.U.

Turkey's new policy line aims to promote a regional peacemaker role and gives priority to democratic legitimacy in international relations. If Syria and Iran do not act according to the demands of the international community, then it may be difficult for Turkey to pursue relations at the current level. Turkey's new neighborhood policy has a vision of minimizing the problems in its neighboring regions, but to avoid being pulled into international confrontations. Otherwise, Turkey will contradict with its projected aims and targets in the region.

Conclusion

The escalation of tension between the U.S. and Syria and Iran will dominate the fate of the region in the near future. The regional countries face the reality that regional politics is no longer independent from the realities of world politics of the 9/11 era. The relations between Turkey, Syria and Iran are exemplary in this sense. An enduring cooperation among countries needs to be built on a delicate balance between shared interests of the parties and the perceptions of international society, especially those in the top echelons of the power hierarchy in international relations.

The second half of this decade will be difficult for both the allies and the enemies of the U.S. in the Middle East. On the enemy side, the U.S. administration poses serious threats to Iran and Syria. On the ally side, as Turkey recognized in the recent period, they may come to face with making a choice between their regional interests and U.S. regional designs. U.S. pressure on its allies and enemies is likely to yield changes on the domestic and foreign policies of these countries and to change the patterns of cooperation and conflict in the region.

Report Drafted By: Dr. Bulent Aras

Published under partnership agreement with The Power and Interest News Report (PINR). Normal copyrights applied. Visit the PINR website at:

The Power and Interest News Report

Please read more about Kurdish Terrorism and how it is funded:

The Kurdish Terrorism-and-Drugs Connection

Again and again, theday's headlines bear out the psalmist's observation that "there is nothing new under the sun." Reports from the Middle East have for some time revealed that Kurdish Marxist separatists in Turkey have taken a leaf out of the book of their ideological brethen around the world. Like the Sendero Luminoso in Peru and the Dev-Sol in Turkey, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) is embracing the lucrative narcotics traffic to finance its terrorist activities.

Back in late 2002, Turkish Interior Minister Nahit Mentese reported that security forces had scored major successes against Kurdish rebel drug-smuggling operations. Over the year, he said, police had seized 1,054 kilograms of heroin, 2,884 kg of morphine base, and 23,679 kg of hashish from PKK traffickers.

"This terrorist organization," he said, "gets financial revenues from smuggling drugs abroad, as it does in Turkey."

More than 15,000 people have been killed in Turkey since the PKK began its armed struggle for an independent Kurdish state in 1984.

Sources in Ankara said that since the 1980s the clandestine terrorist organization has spread around the world and has seized a growing part of the European drug traffic. The PKK appears to be involved in drug processing, protection in transit, and end sales to consumers. Some Turkish sources say that as much as 40 percent of the Middle East drug traffic is handled by the PKK.

These sources estimate that the PKK's annual profit from the drug traffic is between $300 million and $400 million. They say that this money, intended eventually for the purchase of arms, is deposited in the Swiss bank accounts of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's chief.

Drug enforcement authorities say that the PKK has two principal sources of narcotics. The first is the labratories established by the PKK in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which is controlled by Syria. The opium processed in the Bekaa Valley is shipped to Europe through three major transportation routes. Narcotics either travel through Greek Cyprus to Italy and on to Spain and Germany or enter Turkey from the southeast and are transported to Istanbul, the experts say. From there, Kurdish, Turkish and Iranian activists smuggle the drugs through Bulgaria to Greece and Italy, or to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. A third route is believed to have been opened in the north of the former Yugoslavia since fighting began in that country.

All routes, except for those through Cyprus or from southern Turkey to Italy, the experts say, pass through Istanbul, where there is a well-organized and powerful network of smugglers working closely with the Iranian mafia and intelligence service and with the Turkish Dev-Sol (Revolutionar Left).

The second major supply of PKK narcotics passes through Iran. Narcotics originating in Afghanistan are processed in the no-man's-land near the Iranian, Iraqi and Turkish borders, with the assistance of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. From there the drugs are transported west through southeastern Turkish cities where the PKK has strong backing and safe houses. Turkish trucks with hidden compartments are loaded with narcotics and driven to Istanbul, from where they make their way to Europe.

The bulk of the drug supplies is destined for Western Europe, with an increase in the volume ending up in Great Britain. Turkish sources say that the PKK has increased its share of the European drug market to the point where it competes with established older Western European networks.

Reportedly, the PKK gets important assistance from the Syrian government. Istanbul sources say the operation is headed by Riffat al-Assad, a brother of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Many Kurds living in Syria reportedly joined the PKK after it opened offices in the Kurdish region of that country.

The Turkist media have carried voluminous reports on the drug operations of PKK militants. Among the more spectactular cases was the arrest in Milan of four Kurds on a TIR truck carrying 100 kg of hidden heroin in 1989. The driver, Nazim Kelo, told Italian investigators that the heroin had come from the PKK, for whom he had worked for years.

In another incident, Vahiddin Karakeci, who joined the PKK in 1987 and who trained until 1989 abroad, was arrested in in 1991 in Cologne with 2.5 kg of heroin. Karakeci was involved in the bombing of the bus terminal in Diyarbekir in eastern Turkey in August 1990, in which two people were injured.

Along with the PKK's terrorism and drug trafficking, it has also come under attack in Europe for extortion and murder. In Novemeber 1994, Swiss authorities arrested several members of the PKK and charged them with extortion, intimidation and causing bodily harm. At least two murders have been associated to the PKK. Twenty Kurds, thought to have been members of the PKK, were deported from Switzerland during 1994 for their suspected illegal political activities.

Is there a Persian edition of this article? I think Iranian officials need to read this more than the American ones. It's just such a shame that they still feel too insecure about their own positions to think about the long-term interests of the country. Iran needs to have relations with the US much more than with Venezuela, Zimbabwe and North Korea. And the US needs to have better relations with Iran than run of the mill regional dictatorships such as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

Maziar Bahari was in Ted Koppel Iran film last week. He doesn't look like an agent and was quite outspoken in his criticism of the Iranian government. His films look very interesting. Where can we see them?

Mr. or Mrs. Iran, I found the Britney Spears joke quite funny actually. And I'm sure many Iranian men wouldn't mind marrying her with or without conversion. Also where do you get this "known" Iranian agents from. Known to whom? To you? If so you must have inside information about agents that most people don't have....

What is it with Washington Post and giving blog columns to known IRI agents like Hossein Derakhshan and Maziar Bahari??

I also find it very offensive when Maziar Bahari tries to degrade Iranian population by saying they wish Britney Spears would convert to Islam and marry them.

I thought in US you went out of your way to be Politically Correct, or does that not apply with Iranians?

Bahari, points out 4 thing US must do in negotiations with Iran. It is interesting he never mentions what Iran must do or what US must demand from Iran.

IRI agents have fooled you all, posing as intellectuals!

For the sake of argument, can one of the advocates of "US/Iran talk" clarify what US should ask Iran and what Iran could do for US in Iraq? Also, what should US offer in return for Iran help in Iraq?

Attention Avi from Tel Aviv, I googled Maziar Bahari and he has made a film called The Voyage of the Saint Louis. Guess Avi what is it about: Plight of Jewish refugees just before the Holocaust. I hope next time before you open your mouth or put your fingers on the keyboard you bear in mind that there are Muslims who care about others. Shalom!

Can the editors of this blog put all this Kurdish comments on a different page? There's no point in having them here. Mr. Bahari doesn't even talk about ethnic tensions so why do they put their comments here? You may love Persian cuisine or want to discuss Persian soccer team, should you express your interests here?

Turks, Arabs, Kurds, Persians

What is the difference? Sunni-Shiite.

If you are Muslim it means; You are all terrorists.

Enjoy

Avi

"If the rumors are true that the U.S. will offer Iran a grand deal in exchange for help securing Iraq, then it provides Tehran with a golden opportunity to start making demands that would secure its long term interests as well as the Islamic regime's survival.

But these demands should not include Iran's nuclear program. There are so many outstanding issues between the two countries that nuclear negotiations can happen in later phases of the talks. For now, the onus is on the Americans to provide incentives for Iran to talk. The U.S. government must "eat the crow" and talk to people they call the "Mullahs in Iran." There's no one else to talk to there."
- Maziar Bahari

November 26, 2006 12:31 AM Comment:

"Fact is, there's no shortage of communication.

The soverign Iraqi gov. is fully capable of determining its relations with its neigbors, and does not need the US to broker some "Grand bargain" with Iran on their behalf.
Nor should we, as a nation, expect anything less from Iran than full acceptance of , and adhearance to:

International norms of behavior, UN resolutions, and IAEA protocols.

Nor should we, as a nation, realisticly expect the leadership of Iran to change their behavior and policy of destabilization in the region, its sponsorship of terrorism, their abysmal human rights practices nor their WMD ambitions and programs, simply as a result of diplomatic chit-chat with the US, as has been suggested by many desperate pundits without a clue as to a solution."
-EJ

November 27, 2006

Press Gaggle by Tony Snow and National Security Advisor Steve Hadley

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061127-2.html

(Excerpt from briefing)

Q Is President Bush going to bring up the idea of embracing talks with Iran and Syria, with Maliki?

MR. HADLEY: I think you're g