The only English paper in Iraq - No: 539 Mon. June 20, 2016

From the Heart of Kurdistan Region

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Russia reaffirms its support for Kurdistan Region

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his delegation met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the SPIEF'16 - St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The Kurdish Globe 2No. 539, Monday, June 20, 2016

EXECUTIVE EDITORGazi Hassan +964 750 7747784

gazihassan2013@gmail.com

www.kurdishGlobe.net

Address: Erbil, Massif road

Weekly paper printed in Erbil First published in 2005

Senior U.K. EditorBashdar Pusho Ismaeelbashdar@hotmail.com

Zakaria Muhammed zakaria.kurdishglobe@gmail.com +964 750 475 3897

Salih Waladbagi salihas2006@gmail.com +964 750 4912996

STAFF WRITERS

ARTS EDITORDiyaco Qayoumy +964 750 4036252

diyaco.kurdishGlobe@gmail.com

ReviserJ. Watt

Unlike the financial crisis and the brutal war that the Kurdistan Region is waging against Da’esh, some parties intend to move the political process towards further deterioration. The deterioration has started following the Gorran-PUK deal. We’re all aware that the announcement of the bilateral political deal evoked two provoc--ative messages, the first, the deal tends to be a claimed constitution for imposing certain political will, which intends to be a sort of alter--native for government, authority and general legitimate principles; and the second, imposing will of parliament seat numbers. The mentioned points cause KDP’s immediate, clear and strong reac--tions.

At the same instant, the two par--ties previously had unofficial pol-litical coalition with the other two Islamic parties practically against KDP. They used the parliament for shifting the balance of power and isolating the KDP, then at--tempting to change the governing system temperamentally accord--ing to their own political interest, claiming that they’ll turn Kurdis--tan into a “field of promoting del-mocracy, eliminating the hurdles before achieving the personal, historical and political wishes.” Meanwhile, rational voices were being heard inside the political parties, though they were mi--norities, and were often accused of being KDP’s supplement and were degraded, which more likely seems to be ideological terror and violence.

Once again, in a public official speech in front of members of his party with a reaction against his summon before Erbil’s courts, Nawshirwan Mustafa issued dire threats for dissolving the politi--cal community, not taking into account the real circumstances.

Whenever the KDP and PUK held a meeting, Nawshirwan and Gor--ran would set off a political bomb for negatively provoking the po--litical situation.

In his remarks, Nawshirwan mentions ending unilateralism and achieving the new balance of power. He’s repeating the same story over, a story that he’s been telling over against Barzani’s family and Kurdistan’s revolution for over half a century, a story that denies a joint and power leader--ship, but rather works towards po--litical dilemma, further deteriorat--ing internal issues. It seems that this is a hateful, deceitful, divisive and power diminutive mind. The political bomb that was set off last week under the pretext of “ending totalitarianism and the new bal--ance” might take the Kurdistan Region towards another round of troubles and political issues, aim--ing at creating a complex political arena and political compliment against the court, and delaying the trial of Nawshirwan Mustafa who’s been accused of exciting carrying out attacks on consul--ates, targeting pipelines in Kurd--istan Region. It aims at obsessing over the parties’ and Region’s leadership with the internal is--sues, preventing them from tak--ing advantage of the transforma--tions going on in the area. To say it honestly, in the “totalitarian--ism” talks, they want to exclude President Barzani and the KDP in the leadership of this historical age. The reality is telling us those negative minds and attitudes have never gained success at any time. So even though the political par--ties were forcibly obsessed with another round of internal issues, the political development will go on at this stage, because there’s strong political will for rationally dealing with the issues.

Ending Totalitarianism Means Ending Court Trivialities

ADVERTISEMENTrojgar84@gmail.com Cell: +964 750 4661315

By | Gazi Hassan

The Head of the Indepen--dent High Electoral Com--mission of Iraq (IHEC), pointed out that Kurdistan Region can conduct a ref--erendum on independence without IHEC, except for the political impediments Baghdad may constitute to the process. Sarbast Mustafa, the head of IHEC, told BasNews that the commission will not op--pose to the referendum for Kurdish independence and there isn't a law preventing the Kurdistan Region from holding the referendum. Er--bil and Baghdad however should reach an agreement over the issue, he said. Mustafa explained that

a referendum can be held without a decision from the parliament in Baghdad, but there needs to be a code on the regulations and guide--lines of the process, and the result of the process has to be defined by the law. Masoud Barzani, the Kurd--istan Region President, an--nounced in February 2016 that Kurdistan Region will hold a referendum on its independence from Iraq by the end of the current year.Handren Mohammed Salih, the head of the Kurdistan Independent High Electoral Commission and Referen--dum (KIHEC), told Bas--News that the commission is technically capable of

holding the referendum if it is officially asked to prol-ceed. Kurdistan Independent High Electoral Commission and Referendum (KIHEC) was established in 2015 and their first mission is expected to be conducting the referendum on Kurdish independence. To conduct the referendum, Salih said "we will cooper--ate with our partners from the international organiza--tions including an American organization for democracy and all the UN organiza--tions will be involved in the process as monitors and consultants."

IHEC: KRG’s Holing Independence Referendum Legal

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues expanding its military influence across Sulaymaniyah and Halabja districts of Kurdistan Region throughout military training bases and youth centers.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the presence of PKK checkpoints, military bases and unofficial customs offices, and revealed that in several areas, including Chamchamal and Chami Rezan, the PKK has estab--lished military bases through which they recruit and train youths under 16.

According to the source,

the PKK is charging unof--ficial trades between Kurdl-istan Region and Iranian Kurdistan, and it is running nearly 20 customs offices along the border.

Head of the Kurdistan Is--lamic Union (KIU) branch office in Halabja, Sheikh Hasan Abdullah, told Bas--News that PKK is active in the area and they have previ--ously seen teenagers waving PKK flag during demonstral-tions and public gatherings. “They [PKK] have recently imposed and collected taxes in the rural areas of Halabja, but they regularly moving from one are to another,”

Abdullah said.Fazil Basharati, a Kurdis--

tan Democratic Party (KDP) official in Halabja, said the PKK’s activities are obvious in the area, and they have unofficial offices in Halbjah working to recruit locals, in--cluding underage people.

However, a Kurdish MP from Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) insists that no official authority in Kurdistan Region has yet confirmed this widelrange presence of PKK; “but it is not an odd incident that PKK establishes [youth] centers and runs training courses wherever it is present.”

PKK Expand Activities in Sulaymaniyah Province

The Kurdish Globe No. 539, Monday, June 20, 2016 3

Barzani, US delegation discuss post-ISIS eraMasoud Barzani, the Pres--ident of Kurdistan Region, met with a US delega--tion consisting of Stewart Johns, the US ambassador to Iraq and Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the head of Operation Inherent Re--solve (OIR) and a number of diplomatic and military officials on Saturday, June 11th, in Erbil.

The fight against the Isl-lamic State (ISIS) in Fallu--jah and other areas in Iraq was discussed in the meet--ing, and the US delegation briefed president Barzani on the coalition's military plans for eliminating IS in Iraq and Syria.

They also exchanged views on the Mosul of--fensive and the post-ISIS phases in the city, insisting on the participation of all components of Mosul in recapturing the city.

The cooperation between Peshmerga and the inter--

national coalition as well as the US financial assisl-tance to Peshmerga forces were also on the agenda.

President Barzani's Statement on Media Attacks by Gorran

Barzani dismissed a per--sonal media campaign waged by the Gorran Movement, and urged the people of Kurdistan to re--frain from responding to this slanderous campaign and to instead support efforts towards indepen--dence and the brave pesh--merga forces on the fight against ISIS.

“The priority for all of us should now be realizing independence, supporting the peshmerga in the fight against ISIS, improving the welfare of the people, and confronting corrup--tion. Those who under--mine the unity of the peo--

ple, and undermine peace and security of Kurdistan, and try to bring on catas--trophes upon people, will face justice,” said the President.

Barzani Receives Former President

of the Syrian National Coalition

Masoud Barzani, presi--dent of Kurdistan Region received on Thursday the former president of the Syrian National Coalition Sheikh Ahmed al-Jarba.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the political and security situation in Syria, the developments and changes and the po--sition of the international community and regional countries positions on the

Syrian crisis.The meeting also high--

lighted the critical situ--ation in Syria and the re--lationship between armed factions and forces in the field inside Syria and the situation on the battlefield .

ISIS is committing geno--cide against the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq to destroy the religious community of 400,000 people through killings, sexual slavery and other crimes, United Nations investigators said on Thursday.

Such a designation, rare under international law, would mark the first recogl-nized genocide carried out by non-state actors, rather than a state or paramilitar--ies acting on its behalf.

The UN report, based on interviews with dozens of survivors, said the Islamist militants had been system--atically rounding up Yazi--dis in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, seeking to “erase their identity” in a campaign that met the definition of the crime as defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

“The genocide of the Ya--zidis is ongoing,” it said.

The 40-page report, en--titled “They Came to De--stroy: ISIS Crimes against the Yazidis“, sets out a legal analysis of Islamic State‘s intent to wipe out the Kurdish-speaking group, whom the Sunni Muslim Arab militants view as infidels.

The Yazidis are a reli--gious sect whose beliefs combine elements of sev--eral ancient Middle East--

ern religions.“The finding of genocide

must trigger much more assertive action at the po--litical level, including at the (UN) Security Coun--cil,” Paulo Pinheiro, chair--man of the commission of inquiry, told a news brief--ing.

“Almost two years since the attack on Mount Sin--jar, nothing has been done to save those people,” he said, referring to the heart of the Yazidi region in northern Iraq stormed by Islamic State in August 2014.

Commission member Vitit Muntarbhorn said it had “detailed informa--

tion on places, violations and names of the perpe--trators”, and had begun sharing confidential testil-mony with some national authorities aiming to pros--ecute militant citizens.

The independent com--missioners urged major powers to rescue at least 3,200 women and chil--dren still held by Islamic State (IS or ISIS), mainly in Syria, and to refer the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution.

Iraq and Syria also have a duty to prevent, punish, and prosecute genocide, having ratified the Conl-vention, they said.

Historical victims of genocide include Arme--nians in 1915, Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 and Bosnian Muslims in Sre--brenica in 1995.

“Road map for prosecution”

“ISIS made no secret of its intent to destroy the Ya--zidis of Sinjar, and that is one of the elements that al--lowed us to conclude their actions amount to geno--cide,” said another inves--tigator, Carla del Ponte.

“Of course, we regard that as a road map for prosecution, for future

prosecution. I hope that the Security Council will do it because it is time now to start to obtain jus--tice for the victims,” add--ed del Ponte, a former UN war crimes prosecutor.

The five permanent meml-bers of Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – have agreed on the need to fight ISIS, “so it should be no problem at all to have a decision that a prosecution can be done,” she said.

Islamic State, which has proclaimed a theocratic caliphate – based on a rad--ical interpretation of Sun--ni Islam – in areas of Iraq and Syria under its con--

trol, systematically killed, captured or enslaved thou--sands of Yazidis when it overran the town of Sinjar in northern Iraq in August 2014.

At least 30 mass graves have been uncovered, the report said, calling for fur--ther investigations.

Islamic State has tried to erase the Yazidis‘ identity by forcing men to choose between conversion to Is--lam and death, raping girls as young as nine, selling women at slave markets, and drafting boys to fight, the U.N. report said.

Yazidi women are treat--ed as “chattel” at slave markets and some are sold back to their families for $10,000 to $40,000 af--ter captivity and multiple rapes, according to the report.

Militants have begun holding “online slave auc--tions”, using the encrypted application Telegraph to circulate photos of cap--tured Yazidi women and girls, “with details of their age, marital status, cur--rent location and price”,” it said.

“No other religious group present in ISIS-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq has been subjected to the de--struction that the Yazidis have suffered,” the report added.

ISIS committing genocide against Yazidis, says UN in rare declaration

The Kurdish Globe No. 539, Monday, June 20, 2016 4

Kurdistan and Russia to boost trade relations Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Bar--zani and his delegation visited Russia to attend SPIEF'16 - St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Al--exander Novak, Russian Minister of Energy. The Kremlin has its own take on the Kurdistan Region's energy sector to resume the investment projects, as Erbil, capital of the Kurd--ish region, is encouraging the international compa--nies to start investing in the region.

Welcoming Prime Min--ister Barzani, Foreign Minister Lavrov high--lighted Russia's good re--lations with the Kurdistan Region including the ac--tive roles of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Erbil and Russian commercial en--terprises, particularly in the field of energy.

Talking about Russian support to the Kurdistan Region in its war against ISIS, Lavrov reaffirmed that his country will con--tinue its support.

Prime Minister Barzani thanked Minister Lavrov for the warm welcome and highlighted the old friendship between the people and government of the Kurdistan Region and the Russian Federa--tion. He also expressed his gratitude for the Rus--sian military support to the Kurdistan Region in its war against ISIS ter--

rorists. They also discussed the

situation of the Syrian refugees and Iraqi inter--nally displaced people who fled ISIS and took refuge in the Kurdistan Region. Lavrov praised the role of the people and government of the Kurd--istan Region for the assis--tance they have offered to this large number of vul--

nerable people.Russian Minister of En--

ergy Novka welcomed the participation of Prime Minister Barzani and his delegation at St. Peters--burg International Eco--nomic Forum, stressing the need to further de--velop the old relations be--tween the two sides.

He pointed out that the energy sector in Kurdistan

Region could be further developed and that Rus--sia wishes that its energy companies contribute to this development.

Prime Minister Barzani thanked Novka for the warm reception and high--lighted the historical ties between the two sides, which he said can be de--veloped in various fields.

He explained the situa--

tion in Kurdistan Region, its current financial crisis, the war against ISIS and the issue of accommo--dating a large number of refugees and displaced persons, who fled ISIS rel-pression and took refuge in Kurdistan Region.

He thanked the Russian government for its sup--port and assistance for the Kurdistan Region in its fight against terrorism.

Prime Minister Barzani offered his government’s support to Russian com--panies that invest in en--ergy and other sectors in the Kurdistan Region.

He said that despite the situation in the Kurdistan Region, Gazprom Naft continues its operations and that his government will provide the needed facilities in order to ex--pand its activities in the Region.

In an earlier meet--ing with Prime Minister Barzani, Gazprom Neft Board Chairman Alex--ander Dyukov expressed desire to expand their ac--tivities in the Kurdistan Region.

Russia reaffirms military assistance to Kurdistan in the fight against ISIS.

Two shipments of French military assistance for Peshmerga forces arrived in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday.

After a statement by the French General Consulate in Erbil about the delivery of military supplies, the packages arrived at the Erbil International Airport in two stages, one on June 11 and the second on June 15.

“Another shipment of weapons, ammunition and military equipment will

arrive on June 17,” the statement added.

According to the an--nouncement, the military aid included MM89 rock--ets, thousands of differ--ent types of ammunition, defense and attacking grenades, night-vision goggles, military uniform for dozens of Peshmerga battalions, and food.

On Monday, Jabar Yawar, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Gov--ernment (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga, told Kurd--

istan24, that “new French arms supplies will arrive in Erbil.”

In April, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Defense Minister, visited Erbil to reiterate his country’s sup--port for the Peshmerga forces in the fight against Islamic State (IS) extrem--ists.

In a statement to jour--nalists, Le Drian said, “I came here to thank the French military trainers and advisers as well as meet with the Kurdistan

Region President Masoud Barzani and Prime Min--ister Nechirvan Barzani to reiterate the support of France to Peshmerga forces in the fight against [IS].”

France is known for hav--ing historical relations with the Kurdistan Re--gion. In 1992, it played a significant role in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 for Operation Provide Comfort (OPC).

Additionally, French

President François Hol--lande was the first world president to visit the Kurd--

istan following IS attacks on the Region in August 2014.

France sends new military aid shipments to Kurdistan

Even as the humanitarian crisis unfolds during the fierce battle to recapture Fallujah, Iraq, another humanitarian disaster is developing in northern Iraq.

More than 14,000 Iraqis have now been forced to flee their homes followl-ing a renewed offensive by Iraqi forces against the Islamic State group southeast of Mosul, and more are leaving every day.

Mosul has been under IS control since June

2014.According to UNHCR,

the U.N. refugee agency, civilians living southeast of the city have been walking through mine--fields at night to escape the fighting as Iraqi secul-rity forces edge closer to the city.

Frederic Cussigh, head of the UNHCR’s field response unit in Irbil, said there were reports some refugees had been “trapped, severely in--jured or killed in mine--fields on their way to

safety.”Camps set up to receive

them are rapidly filling up.

An eventual assault on Mosul could result in a displacement of upward of 600,000 people, the UNCHR warned.

The current offensive in Fallujah, by comparison, has displaced 43,000, and humanitarian agencies there are already warning of being overwhelmed by refugees’ needs.

UNHCR warns of massive displacement in battle for Mosul

No. 539, Monday, June 20, 2016 5The Kurdish Globe

Masrour Barzani: Post-ISIS Iraq should be split in threeOnce ISIS is defeated, Iraq should be divided into three separate entities to prevent further sectar--ian bloodshed, with a state each given to Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds, a top Kurdish official said on Thursday.

Iraqi troops have ex--pelled ISIS from some key cities the militants seized in 2014, and are advanc--ing on Mosul, the largest city under IS control. Its fall would likely mean the end of the group's self-proclaimed caliphate.

But even if ISIS was eliminated, Iraq would still be deeply divided. Sectarian violence has continued for years and a power-sharing agreement in Baghdad has only led to discontent, deadlock and corruption.

Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Se--curity Council and son of KRG President Massoud Barzani, said the level of mistrust was such that they should not remain "under one roof".

"Federation hasn't worked, so it has to be ei--ther confederation or full separation," Barzani told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday in the Kurdish

capital Erbil. "If we have three confederated states, we will have equal three capitals, so one is not above the other."

The Kurds have already taken steps towards re--alizing their long-held dream of independence from Iraq, which has been led by the Shi'ite major--ity since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, following a US-led invasion.

They run their own af--

fairs in the north and have their own armed forces, the Peshmerga, which have been fighting ISIS militants with help from a US-led coalition. Sunnis should be given the option of doing the same in the provinces where they are in the majority in the north and the west of Iraq, said Barzani.

"What we are offering is a solution," he said. "This doesn't mean they live un--der one roof but they can

be good neighbors. Once they feel comfortable that they have a bright and se--cure future, they can start cooperating with each other."

His father has called for a referendum on Kurdish independence this year as the region is locked in territorial and financial disputes with the central government.

Baghdad has cut off pay--ments from the federal budget to the KRG to try

to force the Kurds to sell crude produced on their territory through the state oil marketing company and not independently. The Kurds also claim the oil region of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, as part of their territory.

Barzani said that the Sunnis' feeling of mar--ginalization by the Shi'ite leadership had facilitated the takeover of their re--gions by ISIS militants.

In addition, Iraq endured

months of wrangling and chaos over a government reshuffle that was to curb corruption. In May, frus--tration over the delays culminated in the unprec--edented breach by pro--testers of the Green Zone, which houses parliament, government offices and many foreign embassies.

Ahead of the battle for Mosul, Barzani said the city's different communi--ties should agree in ad--vance on how to handle the aftermath. Mosul's pre-war population of 2 million was mostly Sunni, but included religious and ethnic minorities includ--ing Christians, Shi'ites, Yazidis, Kurds and Turk--men.

"I think the most impor--tant part is how you man--age Mosul after Da’esh [ISIS] is defeated," he said, referring to an Ara--bic name of ISIS. "We don't want to see the gap of liberation and then a vacuum, which probably will turn into chaos."

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the end of last year expressed hope that 2016 would be the year of "final victory" over ISIS with the capture of Mosul.

The Iraqi ministry of oil takes 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kirkuk oil from the Khabaza oilfield but has failed to send to the province its por--tion of the budget. The Kirkuk administration has, therefore, threatened to cut Baghdad’s share of its oil and will sell crude oil to some companies to pay debts to these compa--nies.

“Daily 50k bpd of oil from Kirkuk is sent to Baghdad and the rest of the produced oil is saved underground in the oilfields,” said Ahmed Askari head of the oil and gas committee in the

Kirkuk provincial coun--cil. “Baghdad owes us about $1.3 billion from the petro dollar deal. Therefore the Kirkuk provincial council decid--ed to give some crude oil to those companies who we owe money to.”

Exportation of Kirkuk’s oil was temporarily sus--pended by Baghdad, though the province still produces about 150 to 180,000 bpd.

Chief engineer at the North Oil Company Far--had Hamza said, “The oil that has been produced from the Kirkuk fields, we separate the gas from the oil and then drop the oil

back into the wells. This is not a good process but we have to do so because Baghdad made a politi--cal decision and halted Kirkuk oil exports.”

Baghdad has also halt--ed building a refinery in Kirkuk, stalling develop--ment of Kirkuk’s energy sector.

Baghdad owes Kirkuk a lot of money and this has affected the Kirkuk economy and public ser--vices. About 430 service projects are suspended in Kirkuk and the region has a pile of electricity bills it has to pay.

Kirkuk threatens to halt oil exports to Baghdad

The Kurdistan Region--al Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Re--sources (MNR) released its monthly report for the Region’s May crude oil export earlier this month.

According to the MNR report, the KRG exported 15,904,271 barrels of crude oil in total, an av--erage of 513,041 barrels per day. The exports went through the Kurdistan pipeline network to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey and generated a $390 mil--lion profit.

About $59 million out of the $390 million was giv--en to oil companies in the Kurdistan Region in May.

Based on the report, “The total retained by the KRG was $315 million…and $75 million was al--located to six contractors and shippers according to their PSC entitlement and to pay down past receiv--ables.”

“The buyers of the KRG crude oil lifted 18 cargoes according to the volumes allocated to them under their contracts, of which [four] cargoes (3,797,461

barrels) were allocated against previous debts,” the report added.

In April, the KRG ex--ported 15,356,651 barrels of crude oil in total, gen--erating $376 million.

On June 1, the MNR re--leased a statement inviting “expressions of interest from qualified internal-tional mining companies for the Mineral Explora--tion & Investment in the Kurdistan Region-Iraq.”

The MNR report iden--tified seven prospective blocks for investment: two blocks in Duhok, two in Erbil and three in Sulei--maniya.

According to the state--ment, the Kurdistan Re--gion’s mineral profile is

characterized by the oc--currence of diverse metal--lic mineral deposits such as Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Copper and others.

In January 2014, the Iraqi government, led by then-Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, cut off the Kurdis--tan Region's proportion of the federal budget.

The budget cut indirectly encouraged the autono--mous region to sell crude oil in the world market in--dependently.

Low oil prices have ex--acerbated the financial crisis in the Kurdistan Re--gion, resulting in a three month delay of payment for civil servants in 2015 and one month in 2016.

KRG invests in minerals as oil revenue decreases

The Kurdish Globe No. 539, Monday, June 20, 2016 6

Sunni Arabs Unite in Kirkuk

Sunni Arabs in Kirkuk are, for the second time, forming a Sunni Arab council. The council will include Arab MPs, provincial council members, and personalities from fourteen Sunni Arab parties and factions in Kirkuk.

“The council will become the real face of the Arabs for any decision, meetings and negotiations amidst these hot developments in the region, especially about the future of Kirkuk and Iraq,” said Esmael Hadidi, Arab politician and spokesperson of the council.

Their main goal in forming the council at this stage is to be prepared for after the defeat of the Islamic State. The Sunni Arab leaders are concerned about the role of Shia militias in the Sunni areas during the fight against IS and afterwards.

Turkey Mad at PUK for Giving Weapons to PKK

An Iraqi Parliament member from the PUK bloc, Rebwar Taha, said that his party is un--happy with Turkey politics in the country and has expressed their unhappiness officially.

Taha thinks that the Turkish Government needs to review its works and actions to--wards the Kurds in Turkey.

"Our representative, Bahroz Galali, in Tur--key has been warning the Turkish Govern--ment form the attacks made against Turks," said Taha

Taha also revealed that Turkey is mad at PUK for giving weapons to a PKK affiliated side.

KIU Not Become Part of Gorran-PUK Agreement

Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) member, Hiwa Mirza, said that Gorran-PUK agree--ment is against a specific political party.

Mirza also said that the agreement is for the political interests and his party will not be--come a part of the agreement.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its breakaway Change Movement (Gor--ran) signed an important agreement Tuesday, ending seven years of separation, political stalemate and rivalry.

The official signing in the city of Sulaimani came after both the PUK and Gorran lead--erships separately approved the agreement Saturday to develop relations.

Hacker Hijacks ISIS Twitter Account, Posts Gay Pride Messages

A hacker affiliated with the loosely orgal-nized collective Anonymous is taking over the Twitter accounts of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) supporters and plastering them with rainbow images and other pro-LGBT messages.

The hacker, who goes by the handle Wau--chula Ghost, launched the campaign in sup--port of the victims of the Sunday mass shoot--ing at the gay club Pulse, in Orlando. The attack, which killed 49 and wounded dozens of others, has been celebrated by ISISlaffilil-ated supporters on Twitter.

Wauchula Ghost has hacked into more than 250 ISIS accounts over the past month, he told CNN Money, originally posting explicit pornographic images “to humiliate them.”

NEWS BAR KDP-I fighters killed 13 Iranian soldiersA military unit of the Kurd--istan Democratic Party-Iran fighters killed 13 Iranian soldiers and injured 30 in the Kurdish city of Sheno in Iran.

An Iranian official conl-firmed that they saw a team of the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters of the KDPlI who were doing organizational works among the people of the area. The team were

ambushed by the Iranian soldiers, exchanging fire among each other, fatalities from both sides were an--nounced.

According to a news pub--lished by the Iranian news agencies, the Kurdish fightl-ers infiltrated damage on the Iranian soldiers as sev--eral ambulances were seen in the scene transforming the injured and dead sol--

diers. After transforming the bodies to Sheno Hospi--tal, people's visit to the hos--pital were banned.

Following the armed con--flicts, Iranian government dispatched a lot of soldiers to the Kurdish cities, espe--cially the villages near bor--der with Kurdistan region and Turkey.

A source said that Iran has equipped the troops with

heavy and medium-sized weapons on the border.

According to news sourc--es, scores of Iranian soldiers with military uniforms and plain clothes patrol in the Kurdish cities of Bokan, Sardasht and Piranshahr.

The military atmosphere in the Kurdish cities has spread fear among the peo--ple.

The Attorney General in Kurdistan Region issued a warrant to arrest the Gen--eral Coordinator of Gorran (Change movement) after it called him a few times to appear in court on charges of alleged plots against the foreign representation and consulate offices in Kurdisl-tan Region.

Nawshirwan Mustafa, the leader of Gorran has lately

been repeatedly asked by the Attorney General in Kurdistan Region to appear in court in order to provide explanation on the record--ings previously leaked, in which he speaks about at--tacking consulates and for--eign representation offices existing in the Kurdistan Region.

According to Kurdistan24 and the Attorney General,

Mustafa has several times been called to appear in court, but he never respond--ed.

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) media outlets previously released video and audio recordings as evidences to claim that Gorran’s General-Coordi--nator Nawshirwan Mustafa speaks about a plot to at--tack consulates and foreign

representation offices in Kurdistan Region by mob attacks.

Officials from Gorran prel-viously told BasNews that Mustafa would personally decide on the case whether to attend the court or not, and they also said that "the audio recordings have been crafted with technology."

Attorney General Issues Arrest Warrant for Gorran Leader

People across the Kurdistan Region marked World En--vironment Day on Wednes--day with a street-cleaning campaign.

“The campaign goes on in all four provinces of the Kurdistan Region,” said Newroz Mawlood Amin, Minister of Municipalities and Tourism in the Kurdis--tan Regional Government (KRG).

In Erbil, hundreds came out to launch a campaign to clean areas around the capital city and warn about environmental issues.

The Peshmerga also at--

tended the event saying that, due to the war with the Islamic State, they could not protect Kurdistan’s en--vironment as much as it was needed.

“As Environment Pesh--merga we are now at the front lines, therefore we have not been able to protect the places and the nature as before,” said Goran Omer, a member of the Kurdistan Region force assigned to protect the environment, including policing garbage disposal.

The event was funded by the European Union’s

special budget for World Environment Day, which is monitored by the United Nations Development Pro--gram (UNDP) and orga--nized by the Local Area Development Program (LADP).

“Fortunately the munici--pality ministry of KRG and Erbil governorate cooperat--ed with us very well for this campaign,” said Dr. Anwar Younis, head of the civil society organization, one of the organizers of the event.

Taking down campaign banners and putting them into a pickup truck filled

with brochures after a suc--cessful day, Fares Murad, one of the organizers of the event, said that their goal was just to tell people how important our environment is.

“No matter how much area we cleaned and how much trash we gathered, our aim was to raise awareness,” said Murad.

World Environment Day is usually celebrated on June 5 every year, but since the Kurdistan Region requested to take part as an indepen--dent entity, the program was postponed to Wednesday.

Cleaning Campaign Started in Kurdistan

The Kurdish Globe No. 539, Monday, June 20, 2016 7

Sports NewsKurdistan Best

Footballers Selected

Kurdistan Football Association selected the best player and goalkeeper in Kurdistan Re--gion after all the local leagues and tourna--ments ended officially.

Several professional sportspeople along with coaches participated in the selection process.

After collecting 20 votes, Shalaw Abbas at Sirwani New was recognized as the best player in Kurdistan. Ismail Ahmad at Gazi Bakur club was identified as the best goall-keeper.

Messi Ties Batistuta’s RecordLionel Messi has delivered what many of the 59,183 fans in attendance wanted from his firstlever visit to Gillette Stadium: the chances to celebrate a goal scored by one of soccer’s best-ever players. Messi scored in the 60th minute of Ar--gentina’s Copa America 2016 quarterfinal win over Venezuela on Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The goal was Messi’s fourth of Copa America, a tournament high at this stage. Messi also tied Gabriel Batistuta as Ar--gentina’s all-time leading goal scorer, with 54.

Ronaldo Misses Penalty

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a second-half penalty on the night he became his coun--try's record appearance holder as a hugely frustrating match for Portugal and their captain in Paris ended goalless to leave Group F wide open.Ronaldo struck the base of the post with his spot kick after Austria defender Martin Hinteregger had wrestled him to the ground and later headed home only to be denied by the offside flag.But huge credit for Austria's point must go to keeper Robert Almer, who made a string of sensational saves.

Federer Loses in Semi-final of Wimbledon

Roger Federer suffered a shock defeat by German teenager Alexander Zverev in the semilfinal of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.Federer, who was bidding for a ninth Hal--le singles title and his fourth in a row, lost 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3.Zverev, 19, claimed the biggest win of his career, becoming the first teenager to beat Federer since 2006.The Swiss will begin his bid for an eighth Wimbledon singles title later this month.Federer, 34, had previously won 15 straight sets at Halle but Zverev, standing 6ft 6in and ranked 38th in the world, dropped just four points on serve in the opener and won it 7-4 in a tie-break.

Horror film captures Mesopotamia’s history in a dramatic form

It was going to be a film about a brutal tyrant but was disrupted when perhaps the most brutal modern day group got comfortably too close to Iraqi Kurdistan's capital city, Erbil, where it was being shot. As the extremist Islamic State's militants approached Erbil's gates in August 2014, Lau--and Omar rushed his inter--national cast and crew out of the country quickly.

"We had to stop filming in Erbil after only 2 weeks of production, mid august, due to the advance of Daesh," said Omar, referring to the Islamic State by its Arabic acronym. "We lost a lot of money due to that unexpect--ed halt, it took me 7 month to raise money to complete filming in Jordan."

Omar's Curse of Meso--potamia tells the story of how the Kurdish new year, Newroz, came into being when a Kurdish blacksmith, named Kawa, rebelled against a bloodthirsty king, known as Azdahak. The film's theme is one too fal-miliar for Kurds throughout history: ruthless oppression and the costly struggle for freedom. Struck by devil and having two snakes grow on his shoulders, Azdahak murdered countless young men and fed their brains to the snakes so they won't be--come hungry and devour his

own brain. But set in a mod--ern setting, Curse of Meso--potamia has lots of twists to make the story a proper hor--ror one. Modern day young men and women play the role of historical figures that were involved in Newroz legend. It's got all elements of an appealing horror film: blood, murder, fear, sex and even a witch who for most of the film appears as a psyl-chiatrist.

Stacey Thunes is an Amer--ican actress and Curse of Mesopotamia was her first movie in the Middle East. She plays the complicated yet fascinating character of a psychiatrist who tries to treat a number of young men and women seemingly pos--sessed by demons an events from the past. And the end, it turns out she herself is the personal witch of King Az--dahak reincarnated genera--tions later as a psychiatrist.

"I loved it. As an actor, playing evil is much more fun than portraying good," Thunes said. "And one could say that the Demon who possessed King Azdahak is comparable to the ‘demon’ who has possessed those people who felt they needed to join IS."

Curse of Mesopotamia is the first horror film in Engl-lish made by a Kurdish filml-maker. For the Syrian Kurd--ish director, the story of the

film is personal too. "Being Kurdish, I grew

up celebrating Newroz, I always found the legend in--triguing, a evil king tricked by a demon, feeding off children's' brains to calm the snakes growing out of his shoulders, a pretty creepy story," Omar told The Kurd--ish Globe. "I always loved horror movies, so I took the legend and played around with it, writing a modern day horror film which plays with re-incarnation, set in the past and in the present. Cinema should be diverse, why only making war movies about the middle east? There are so many more stories to be told."

Though the film's story may appear too distant and unreal for today, the core idea has been surreally re--curring throughout ages.

"The movie talks about a curse that seems to have been put on this region, for--mer Mesopotamia," says Omar. "With the current happenings in the region, the spotlight is back on the Kurds, who have fought and suffered forever, it seems."

Omar produced the inde--pendent film with a local investor with a budget of just $800,000 and brought in an international cast from the United States, Mexico, Morocco, France and Kurd--istan.

It was premiered in early November in Erbil and has since been commercially screened in theatres in a number of Iraqi cities in--cluding Erbil and Baghdad.

Omar aims for a worldwide VOD and DVD release and limited theatrical releases in some parts of the world.

The film has interesting twists often in the shape of unexpected and shocking characters appearing every now and then. A particu--larly interesting character in Omar's film is Zuleykha, a bloodthirsty mistress of King Azdahak brought for him from Babylon. Kaoutar Boudarraja, a well-known model and television per--sonality in Morocco plays the role of Zuleykha.

"Zuleykha is the crazy mis--tress of a demon, with a real dark and ice side," Boudar--raja told The Globe. "This movie breaks everything about Kaoutar Boudarraja modeling , hosting or pro--ducing TV Shows. It’s not about being sexy, beautiful or friendly girl, Zuleykha is not human and she hates hu--mans."

This is Omar's second film and he hopes to introduce more diversity to the types of films that are produced by Kurds or come out of Kurd--istan.

By Salih Waladbagi

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ERBIL FORECAST

The Kurdish artist and painter Adil Dawood was born in Hasakah, Syrian Kurdistan in 1980. He studied pri--mary and secondary schools in Hasakah, from which he had hobbies of drawing. He took part in several exhibitions in Hasakah as a young man in the

Arab Cultural Center of the city. He’s now living in Vienna, Aus--tria. He’s now occu--pied with works, exhi--bitions, daily cultural activities, and his own exhibitions. Dawood is known as a Kurd--ish artist in the country

and has his own char--acteristics in his works, that forms and colors of his work as distinc--tive. His professional level of art is high, es--pecially in adopting the arabesque school and using the colors in a mixed form.

Adil Dawood’s iden--tity is Kurdistani and

Hasakah was where he began his art. Now Vi--enna is the place where Dawood tells the sad story of that part of Kurdistan. He started working with oil, then acrylic and black and white, working with lengths of 2 and 3 me--

ters. He displays his artworks in special gal--leries of Vienna. He has a considerable partici--pation in the European countries and the well-known galleries of Ger--many, Switzerland and France. Adil Dawood’s long paintings attract a viewer’s attention, es--pecially in the galler--

ies and wide and grand halls when the viewer can confidently watch the drawings. Dawood depicts sufferings so great that they might seem surreal.

By Ashti Garmiyani

European Film On ISIS to Be Produced in Kurdistan

The local production of a new film “Before the Walay”, which will cover the story of what has happened in the years since ISIS arose in the region, was an--nounced at a press conference in Duhok.Salih Arif, Direc--

tor of Cinema Art in the Duhok Province,

said the German film has now finished filml-ing—with around half being shot in Germany and half in Kurdistan. The film, which fol-cuses on the Kurdistan region of Iraq as well as Syria, is produced by Mitos Film Com--pany and directed by Professor Peter Auf,

an instructor at Stutt--gart University in Ger--many. However, the one million euro bud--get needed for fund--ing the film came from the German Minisry of Culture.This will be the first

cinema level documen--tation of the story of those affected by ISIS

in the Middle East. The film is expected to be shown to audiences globally. Notably, the Kurdish Director, Hus--sein Hassan, acted in the film.

By H.G.Hassan

The Kurdish Painter, Adil Dawood