CPTnet

12 December 2011

IRAQ: CPT Iraq releases survey results on Kurdish civilian opinions toward cross-border attacks

On December 5, 2011 CPT Iraq released the results of a survey that expressed the views of almost 500 Kurdish civilians. The Iraq team along with several partners conducted the survey entitled, “The Opinions and attitudes of the Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG’s) civilian population concerning the Turkish and Iranian cross-border military operations” throughout the autumn.  The goal of the survey had several facets:  1) to raise awareness in the Suleymania governate civilian population of the bombing and shelling in the mountain regions, 2) to discover the opinions of the mostly urban population regarding the situation in the rural areas of their semi-autonomous regions and 3) to assist in bringing the opinions of the civilian population about the bombings to the Kurdish Regional Government, the Iraqi Central government and other international organisations. Read the complete report here.  

The mountainous northern Iraqi regions that contain small traditional villages have experienced bombing and shelling from Turkey and Iran for the past six years. These countries claim that these actions are in self-defense against the mountain fighters – the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the PJAK (Party for Free Life in Kurdistan). However, the civilians living in these villages are caught in the cross-fire and have had to leave their homes to reside in tent camps. The cross-border attacks have occurred mostly during the warmer months when the farmers are tending their crops. While they are in the internally displaced person’s (IDP) camps, their homes, livestock and crops have been devastated.

The opinions expressed on the survey highlight that the Kurdish people not only know about the cross border attacks, but that they are dissatisfied with their government’s response to them. They feel that Turkey and Iran have broken moral and international law. They think that the KRG should condemn the attacks in the border regions and engage in peaceful negotiations with or without the help of the United Nations and the rest of the international community.

The survey was presented to the media on December 5. It was received warmly and reported on by media from various political persuasions in the KRG. One reporter commented, “Thank you so much for your work. There are not many organisations looking at what is happening to the villagers in the border regions”.

Recent news items in Kurdish northern Iraq illustrate that this survey is still timely, even though the winter months have moved in. On December 6 Turkish military forces began again to bomb the mountain villages in the Duhok government area. This means that Kurdish villagers will be displaced from their homes again, this time to spend winter months in temporary tent communities.