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Abdul
Rahman Siddeeq
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By
Ahmed el-Zawayti, IOL Correspondent
ARBIL,
Iraq, December 28 (IslamOnline) - Despite their fury at the practices of
the central government in Baghdad, most Iraqi Kurds - living a
continuous state of tension and anticipation - emphasized Saturday,
December 28, that they would rather live under a national 'unjust'
regime, than be under foreign occupation.
Kurdish
Political analyst and writer Abdul Rahman Siddeeq, speaking to
IslamOnline, said "Every Iraqi Kurd refuses the possible U.S.
strike [against Iraq], because, in the end, this is our own homeland. No
sane citizen supports the destruction of their country. So, it is simple
and logic, we are against any military interference in our affairs, let
alone the destruction of our country's infra-structure".
Siddeeq
added that Iraqi Kurds "do want a regime change in Baghdad.
However, what the U.S. is preparing for now is completely another
story".
Commenting
on the idea of a separate Kurdish state, the Kurdish analyst dismissed
the idea on the basis that "in spite of our opposition to many
Iraqi regimes, we [Kurds] still and will always believe that Iraq is as
much our country as it is to any other Iraqi. It is not acceptable for
us to adopt separatist ideas."
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Abdul
Salam Madeny
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For
his part, member of Iraqi Institute for Democratic Studies, Abdul Salam
Madeny, also a Kurd, said; "In Iraqi Kurdistan, we have suffered,
just like the rest of the Iraqi people, from the bitter long wars, so,
it is hard to find support among Iraqis for a new war on their land,
especially when their own country is the target of such a war.
"The
situation in Iraq is far from being similar to that in Afghanistan;
politically, militarily, economically and socially, as well as from the
strategic point of view. Therefore, it is impossible for the Afghani
scenario to bear fruit in Iraq," Madeny added.
As
regards the thorny issue of regime change in Baghdad, Madeny said;
"It is almost a unanimous matter amongst the various Iraqi groups
and currents that yearn for a more shining and stable future. However,
the issues of military invasion, a separate Kurdish state and all that
talk serve no one but colonialist powers and agendas.
"Iraqi
Kurds want nothing more than to live freely, under the umbrella of a
federal, central government in Iraq.
On
the level of ordinary citizens of Iraqi Kurdish area, the same message
was echoed, but more bluntly.
"I
am against any strike [against Iraq], even if that means changing
[President] Saddam Hussein who ordered my young brother hanged, as well
as the killing of a number of my cousins and relatives," a Kurdish
housewife, Om el-Nidd, told IslamOnline.
"America
is no better than Saddam. We see what they are doing to our brothers and
sisters in Palestine and Afghanistan," she added.
Emphasizing
the same meaning, Salah Doski, a student of Saladin University in Arbil,
voiced strong opposition to any U.S. strike against "my homeland,
Iraq".
"We
know for sure that the U.S. occupation is coming, however, we have to
positively reject that. We should not give the Americans the chance to
marginalize us".
