RFE/RL IRAQ REPORT
Vol. 3, No. 42, 15 December 2000
A Review of Developments in Iraq Prepared by the Regional
Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
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HEADLINES
* SADDAM SAID TO BE CLOSE TO NUCLEAR ARSENAL
* IRAQI ASSAULT ON YEZIDI TOWN FAILS
* IRAQI INTELLIGENCE STEPS UP TRACKING OF DISSIDENTS
ABROAD
* INC CONDEMNS INTRA-KURDISH FIGHTING
* IRAN URGES REACTIVATION OF ALGIERS ACCORD WITH IRAQ
* SADDAM DONATES 1 BILLION EUROS TO PALESTINIANS
* SYRIA-IRAQ PIPELINE INCREASES SYRIAN OIL EXPORTS
* ARABIZATION IN KIRKUK INTENSIFIES
* TURKMEN FRONT BACKS IRAQ'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
* ASSYRIAN LEADER MEETS BRITISH DIPLOMAT
* PKK CENTERS IN CIS HIGHLIGHTED
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SADDAM SAID TO BE CLOSE TO NUCLEAR ARSENAL.
A recent Iraqi defector who was trained as a nuclear
physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told
an MIT audience that Baghdad has solved most of the
engineering problems of constructing a nuclear weapon, the
"Boston Globe" reported on 9 December. But Khidir Hamza said
that it still needs to develop the capacity to enrich uranium
or otherwise acquire enriched uranium to build one.
Hamza, who served as Saddam Husseyn's top nuclear
advisor from the mid-1980s to 1994, added that "if
international sanctions are lifted, it will give Saddam a
free hand to rebuild the program and he will have, probably
within two to three years, a nuclear program in production
mode."
In other comments, Hamza said that Iraq's nuclear
program had been aided by old reports from the World War II-
era Manhattan Project and a Carter administration report on
detecting nuclear problems. That report said that inspectors
should look for large power lines feeding into a particular
point. In response, Hamza said, Iraq buried the power lines
leading to its projects. (David Nissman)
IRAQI ARMY ASSAULT ON YEZIDI TOWN FAILS.
An Iraqi army unit laid siege to the town of Ba'adre and
surrounding territory in the Shaykhan Administrative District
of the Dohuk Governorate but later was forced to withdraw,
Kurdish Satellite TV from Salah Al-Din reported on 10
December. The station reported that the inhabitants of that
area, most of whom are Yezidis, held "demonstrations and
marches and reaffirmed their loyalty to the Barzani path and
renewed their support to the Kurdistan regional government."
At that point, the Iraqis withdrew.
This is the first time the Iraqis have surrounded a town
in this region with the clear intention of capturing it.
Ba'adre is only 40 Kilometers south of Dohuk. Meanwhile,
according to diplomatic sources in Ankara, the United States,
Britain, and the Turkish government were aware of the
explosive situation and there has been a flurry of activity
to prevent a major incident.
Following the Iraqi departure, the demonstrators also
reaffirmed that they "are the deep-rooted sons of the Kurdish
nation." Kameran Xeyribeg, a Yezidi elder, said that "Let the
whole world know that the Yezidis are Kurds. They are one of
the most deep-rooted Kurds. Today, we, with our Muslim
Kurdish brothers who are fasting today, are defending
ourselves and the district of Ba'adre. We will defend the
land of Kurdistan to the death."
The Iraqi National Congress (INC) response to Baghdad's
assault was sharp. Sharif Ali bin Al-Husseyn said that the
repeated attacks against Iraqi anti-aircraft facilities
threatening the planes patrolling the two no-fly zones were
"ineffective in changing the regime," according to London's
"Daily Telegraph" of 13 December. He further asserted that
"we believe the only way to save the Iraqi people is to
change the rules of engagement." A spokesman for the British
Ministry of Defense, however, said that the rules of
engagement were intended to protect pilots and not "not for
attacking Iraqi troops on the ground." He added that "it is
not our policy to work for he overthrow of Saddam Husseyn."
(David Nissman)
IRAQI INTELLIGENCE STEPS UP TRACKING OF DISSIDENTS ABROAD.
Qusay Saddam Husseyn has made important personnel
changes in the Iraqi security services, particularly in their
intelligence operations against dissidents outside Iraq,
according to London's "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" of 7 December. The
newspaper's source reportedly is the director-general of an
Iraqi ministry who for understandable reasons has insisted on
anonymity.
The source said that increasingly intelligence officers
in Iraqi embassies abroad will concentrate on following Iraqi
dissidents. He added that senior members of the Ba'th Party
had been informed of the changes but were not given precise
details. He also said that security measures had been
increased often at the cost of worker productivity.
And the source said that this campaign will involve the
recruitment of embassy personnel over the next year at the
first and second secretary levels. Such people often have
nominal responsibilities as commercial, cultural, or press
attaches, but their real work, he said, is intelligence.
(David Nissman)
INC CONDEMNS INTRA-KURDISH FIGHTING.
The Iraq National Congress on 12 December condemned
ongoing PKK attacks against PUK-controlled Iraqi Kurdistan,
apparently fearful that Baghdad may exploit them and invade.
Meanwhile, pro-PKK "MEDYA-TV" on 13 December carried a
statement by PKK Council of Leaders member Nizamettin Tas,
which said that "we are going to make the PUK's peshmerga
strength ineffective. We will not finish it off, but we will
render it ineffective. This does not mean taking cities or
seizing land. It means breaking their will for war," reported
the "Kurdish Observer" on 13 December.
The most worrying feature of the current situation is a
report that Iraqi forces have been deployed along the border
with Kurdistan, with some outlets, including London's "Al-
Hayat" speculating that these forces may exploit the intra-
Kurdish feuding to invade PUK-controlled territory. PUK
sources have pointed to the deployment of Iraqi forces in
areas controlled by the 1st Corps, on the Kirkuk border, and
the 2nd Corps, on the Diyala border. Additionally, there
reportedly are Republican Guard artillery units, infantry
divisions, and an armored division deployed in that region
"Al-Hayat" repoted that there is already an Iraqi
"operations room" in the Qadir Karim area, which "includes
representatives from the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK], the
Mujahedin-e Khalq...and Kurds loyal to Baghdad." And the
paper notes further that Saddam Husseyn met four times last
week with Defense Minister Staff General Sultan Hashim Ahmad
as well as the Iraqi leader's son, Qusay. (David Nissman)
IRAN URGES REACTIVATION OF ALGIERS ACCORD WITH IRAQ.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told visiting
Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs
Riyadh Al-Qaysi that Tehran would like to see the full
implementation of the 1975 security accord with Iraq in order
to pave the way for the normalization of relations, Xinhua
reported on 10 December. Kharrazi said that the two countries
should solve "minor issues" first before they could
effectively solve other issues related to relations.
The 1975 Algiers accord was signed by Saddam Husseyn,
then Iraqi vice president, and the Shah of Iran. It obliges
the two sides to halt actions undermining each other's
security, and provides for non-interference in each other's
internal affairs. Iran, which was then a strong supporter of
the Kurds, especially the movement of Mullah Mustafa Barzani,
cut off support vital for the Kurdish cause. And the United
States, which also had been on the Kurdish side, also cut off
aid.
Meanwhile, London's "Sunday Times" reported on 10
December that a recent defector from the Iraqi intelligence
services has claimed that Saddam Husseyn has stepped up
operation against Iran, despite these public diplomatic
overtures.
In addition to Saddam's increased support for the
Mujahedin-e Khalq - which on 3 December shelled Mehran, a
city in the south of Iran - Saddam reportedly has also begun
assisting other opposition groups among Iran's minorities.
Iraqi intelligence has been ordered to give weapons and other
support to Sunni Arabs in Baluchistan, Iranian Kurds, Turkmen
in the deserts north of Tehran, and Arab Shi'ites in Ahvaz.
The chairman of the Supreme Council for the Islamic
Revolution in Iraq has ruled out the possibility of an Iraqi-
Iranian normalization process resulting in a deal under which
each country will end its support for and hosting of the
Mujahedin-e Khalq and Iraqi opposition factions, according to
the Kuwait's "Al-Ra'y Al-Amm" of 12 December. He claims that
Iran believes that "there will be no normalization unless the
Algiers agreement of 1975 has been implemented." (David
Nissman)
SADDAM DONATES ONE BILLION EUROS TO PALESTINIANS.
A joint meeting of the Revolution Command Council and
the Iraq Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party on 9
December agreed to set aside one billion euros from Iraqi oil
export revenues for one year, Baghdad radio reported.
According to the station, 300 million euros will be provided
to the families of martyrs and those wounded in the
intifadah, and the other 700 million will be used to purchase
food, medicine, and other basic supplies. A Palestinian
Authority official told Radio Free Iraq that Iraqi aid is
already pouring into Palestine, and the Palestinian embassy
in Amman reports that about 30 trucks from Iraq had already
crossed into the area under the control of the Palestinian
Authority.
Baghdad's pointed use of the euro as the denomination of
this assistance reflects a policy discussed by Dr. Abd-Al-
Mun'im Rashid, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iraq,
in Baghdad's "Al-Qadisiyah" of 7 December. He explained that
the "euro marked the birth of a new monetary system" and that
it had "a wide range of specifications and more liquidity and
dependability than the U.S. dollar." (David Nissman)
SYRIA-IRAQ PIPELINE INCREASES SYRIAN OIL EXPORTS.
Iraqi exports to Syria, which do not fall under the UN
oil-for-food program, have allowed Damascus to increase its
exports internationally, according to the Dow Jones report of
11 December. And such exports in turn may be providing a new
source of income for Baghdad.
Crude oil exports from Syria have risen by 140,000
barrels per day (b/d) in December to a total of 430,000 b/d,
according to "Dow Jones" of 11 December. The "Middle East
Economic Survey" said the increase came after Syria started
receiving 150,000 b/d after 20 November of an agreed 200,000
b/d of Basrah light crude from Iraq.
MEES added that apart from the 140,000 b/d rise, "a
further 40,000 b/d is still available to Syria's state-owned
oil trading organization Sytrol. And it noted that "it is
further understood that the economic agreement between the
two countries provides for cash payment and barter trade for
the crude purchases, with the final price put at
approximately $20 a barrel - similar to favorable terms for
Jordan's cross-border oil." (David Nissman)
ARABIZATION IN KIRKUK INTENSIFIES.
Sulaymaniyah's "Kurdistani Nuwe" on 30 November reported
that Baghdad's Arabization program has intensified via the
distribution of land to 80 Iraqi Arabs who will thus displace
the local Turkmen and Kurdish population. The paper cited a
report in the 27 November "Sawt Al-Ta'mim," a newspaper which
is under the control of the Iraqi government.
Lieutenant-General Sabah Nuri Alwan, the governor of
Kirkuk (Al-Ta'mim), distributed the land deeds to "those
whose incomes are limited." At the celebration accompanying
the deed distribution, the recipients "expressed their love
and admiration to the leader, "the Mujahid, Saddam Husseyn."
Irbil's "Hawlati" of 3 December noted that Iraqi
security forces had conducted a campaign of attacks on houses
in the areas of Tazah and Tuzkhurmato and arrested numerous
Turkmen, including Muslim clerics and prominent preachers.
(David Nissman)
TURKMEN FRONT BACKS IRAQ'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY.
Irbil's "Turkoman Ale" on 3 December featured an
interview with the newly-elected chairman of the Turkmen
Front (TF), San'an Ahmad Agha, that the Turkmen leader had
given to the Turkish newspaper "Turkiye" on 27 November. The
Turkmen Front leader said that his group wants to secure the
legitimate rights of Iraqi Turkmen within the framework of
Iraq's territorial integrity. "These rights," he said,
"should be guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution and the
Turkmen should live side by side with their Iraqi brethren."
Agha added that that "we share the same destiny with the
Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan. (David Nissman)
ASSYRIAN LEADER MEETS BRITISH DIPLOMAT.
Ya'qub Yusuf, the leader of the Assyrian Democratic
Movement, received Liane Saunders, secretary of the British
embassy in Ankara, on 27 November, according to Irbil's
"Bahra" on 30 November. The two discussed the political
situation and peace in the region.
At a press conference following a meeting with Mas'ud
Barzani a few days earlier in Salah Al-Din, Saunders had said
that the British often visit Kurdistan to bring the stances
of the KDP and the PUK closer. She also pointed out that "the
future of this region is linked to Iraq and the extent of its
compliance with the UN Security Council resolutions" (see
"RFE/RL Iraq Report," 8 December 2000). (David Nissman)
PKK CENTERS IN CIS HIGHLIGHTED.
Kurdish activism is increasing across the post-Soviet
states and that is one of the reasons that the Commonwealth
of Independent States has decided to set up an anti-terrorism
center, Ibrahim Mammadov argued in Baku's "Azadlyg" of 8
December. He said that Russia intends to use the center to
coordinate moves against the Chechens. But one aspect of the
decree setting up the center suggests that Moscow may have a
broader agenda: The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in not
included in the decree, and it is expanding its activities
throughout the whole CIS.
PKK centers are called variously "Kurdish home,"
"Kurdish cultural center," and similar euphemisms. They carry
out propaganda work among the local populations, especially
Kurdish youths. The Kurdish cultural center in Saratov, for
example, is attracting recruits to fight for the PKK. Other
centers identified include Kurdish cultural centers in Almaty
and Chimkent in Kazakhstan, Yerevan in Armenia, Tbilisi in
Georgia, and Krasnodar in Russia.
Recruits for fighting with the PKK, Mammadov said, are
sent to the Moscow center and interviewed by leaders of the
"Kurdish home" there. Then, they are sent on to Yaroslavl
Raion, from whence they proceed to a military training and
rehabilitation camp, located within the Solnechnoye Pioneer
camp in Gavriloyamsky Raion. There, they are given a one-
month ideological course on "Kurdish culture, history, and
the PKK's struggle." After passing, they receive forged
documents, $50-$100, and are sent to military camps in Iran
and Turkey via the routes Moscow-Yerevan-Iran, Moscow-
Tbilisi-Yerevan-Iran, Moscow-Tehran-Urmia, or Yerevan-Tehran.
Each center has concrete areas of responsibility.
The PKK's Caucasus coordination center, Mammadov
reported, is located in Yerevan. A report on the August-
September activities forwarded to the coordination centers in
Iran and Iraq, says that local cells have been set up in
Armenia's Talin, Alagoz, and Oktembryam areas under the name
of Kurdish cultural centers. The PKK also has a special
training center in Yerevan, and a hospital in Masis, where
wounded from Iraq and Turkey are being treated.
Mammadov adds that official circles in Iran "are trying
to channel the settlement of the 'Kurdish problem' along a
path that suits them by creating certain conditions for Kurds
living on the Kurdish-Iranian border, and especially for PKK
activities...Assistance is being rendered to numerous PKK
secret bases and camps in Maku and Urmia." In addition, there
are some 10 military and supple bases along the Iran-Iraq
border. One of the bases concerned, in the village of
Dolkharp, was attacked by the Turkish Air Force. At that
time, the camp was moved to a location near the Iraq town of
Qala Diza.
Iran reportedly hopes to monitor PKK activities by
allowing them to hold congresses, conferences, and other
meetings on its territory and thus channel them into
directions that meet its own interests. After the arrest of
PKK leader Ocalan, for example, Iran created the conditions
for them to hold the 6th conference of the Kurdish national
movement in Tehran in the spring of 1999, and the 7th
congress of the PKK in early 2000 in Kalatukan, on the Iran-
Iraq border. There, the future action plan was discussed.
The peaceful gestures made by the political and
diplomatic wing of the PKK, including their "unilateral
ceasefires" may have a more ominous meaning given the size
and activities of the Kurds in CIS countries and Iran. (David
Nissman)
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