Remembering the Kurdish part of Iraq

January 23rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington

We hear all the time about terrible things continuing to take place in Iraq and the frustrations of governing this difficult country. But one part of the nation – the Kurds in the north – is making real progress, as explained by my friend Gary Kent.

Imagine a place where shopkeepers leave their stock on the street unguarded overnight without a second thought. Such small details speak volumes. This isn’t 1950s Britain but part of the reality of a peaceful, progressive and vibrant part of Iraq – its Kurdistan Region.

After six hectic days criss-crossing the vast, fertile and panoramic plains amid majestic mountains between its three cities I have ever higher hopes they can overcome their history, live with their geography and exploit their geology – oil, gas, agriculture and water.

It was my fifth trip in as many years and each time I see evidence of a booming economy, fast growing living standards and political progress.

The skyline parades new hotels for Arab Iraqis who enjoy its cooler climate and safety. Fewer people in that time have been victims of terrorism than many places – about 100 in the last seven years and most of those on one tragic day in 2004.

Al Qaeda have recently slaughtered Christians elsewhere in Iraq but thousands have fled to Kurdistan where the President has offered them safe haven and universities have embraced them. Religious figures praised the Kurdish record in our discussions.

The Kurds understand about being a persecuted minority. Saddam Hussein tried to liquidate them, demolished 4,500 villages and murdered nearly 200,000 people. We visited Halabja, near Iran, where Saddam’s chemical weapons killed 5,000 people in 1988 and which is a haunting international symbol of this genocide.

Next stop was the Red House, a torture centre where women were systematically raped and babies tossed into incinerators. Thousands were executed. It is now a museum but blood spatters the floors along with childish drawings on the cell walls of 15 year olds waiting for the noose once they turned 16.

The Kurds rose up twenty years ago and Saddam retreated. They started rebuilding a dirt-poor and traumatised society from scratch with an elected Parliament and new universities but only felt safe with Saddam’s demise in 2003 – they all call it liberation.

The Kurds seek a modern, connected and just society with their natural resources. Oil and gas dominate but they could make a mint from their massive agricultural resources. Stunning scenery and ancient history could also attract tourists. Top Gear visited last year. Richard Hammond described it as movingly and stunningly beautiful whilst Jeremy Clarkson said it was safer than Cheltenham.

The Kurds admire the UK’s expertise, services and goods. They don’t understand why we lag behind countries that opposed liberation in these stakes. We are losing vital business and cultural connections and UK ministers should trumpet Iraqi Kurdistan’s business-friendly environment.

Kurdistan is a rare secular Muslim democracy with a formal opposition. Women play a bigger role in public life and provide half its students. The Women’s Union, however, told us about alarming levels of female genital mutilation and “honour” killings. These practices are strongly opposed by political leaders but ending them requires concerted pressure.

Relations with Turkey were awful but hundreds of its companies now trade there. The Turkish Consul said relations had reached a turning point whilst Prime Minister Barham Salih said that “when people make money barriers come down.”

Relations with Baghdad have been strained but the Kurdistan Region’s President Barzani outlined how he brokered the deal to form the new government in Baghdad. This provides momentum to make the federal settlement agreed in a referendum work for all of Iraq.

Iraqi Kurdistan is not perfect but it is plucky. It could be a magnet for investment and a gateway to the rest of Iraq as its security improves. Success could galvanise the whole of Iraq which is itself central to modernising the troubled Middle East. The geopolitical stakes are huge and Kurdistan is the hinge. Then the survivors of the Halabja atrocity could make the good life for themselves and their children. And their success would be in all our interests.

Gary Kent, who works for three North East MPs, is the Administrator of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Kurdistan Region and writes in a personal capacity.

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Say hello to my first grandchild (4)

January 22nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington

It’s Day Six in the life of Catrin Darlington, my beautiful new grandadaugther, and proud parents – mum Emily and dad Richard – are being really good in keeping us up-to-date with developments.

This morning they got the baby gym out and she is captivated by it – as you can see.

“I really like it here – I think I’ll stay.”

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How David Cameron is behaving like Henry VIII

January 22nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington

A cull of quangos might superficially sound attractive but, as someone who sits on two of those to be abolished, I know that many of them do excellent work, fulfilling vital roles in a cost-effective manner that is independent of political prejudice and whims.

The Public Bodies Bill, the chosen instrument of the Coalition Government for the cull, has been savaged by Parliamentary Committees for being ill-thought out and unlikely to save money or increase accountability. Most seriously of all, it is intended to give Ministers powers the like of which have not been seen for many centuries.

Read this critique and then note that it is published by the Conservative-supporting “Daily Telegraph”.

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My web site hits 6,000 visits a day

January 22nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington

The average number of visits to my web site for the five working days of this week was 6,000 a day, the first time that such traffic levels have been sustained – previously the 6,000 mark was only passed for a day or two at a time. This blog is by far the most popular location on the site but all 160 sections receive a share of visitors.

So I want to thank you very much for your interest and support and encourage you to recommend the site to your friends.

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Tony Blair’s “A Journey” (2)

January 21st, 2011 by Roger Darlington

On the day on which former Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a second appearance before the Chilcot inquiry into the invasion of Iraq, let me offer you a few more, brief quotes from “A Journey” by Tony Blair which I am currently reading.

“She ran the diary with a grip of iron and was quite prepared to squeeze the balls very hard indeed of anyone who interfered, but with a winning smile, of course.”

Comment on Kate Garvey, page 20

“During the course of the conversation I also discovered something I hadn’t been a hundred per cent sure of previously: he had clanking great balls.”

Comment on Alistair Campbell, page 80

“.. there were two points of connection: he was an outsider, and he had balls.”

Comment on Rupert Murdoch, page 98

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Forgotten World (235): West Papua

January 21st, 2011 by Roger Darlington

The western half of the island of New Guinea, north of Australia, has been called Netherlands New Guinea (1895–1962), West New Guinea (1962–63), West Irian (1963–73), Irian Jaya (1973–2001), and Papua (2002–2003), but West Papua is the name preferred by the 3 million indigenous Papuans.

The region was incorporated into the Indonesian republic in the 1960s, which remains controversial with much of the territory’s indigenous population, West Papuan nationalist organisations, and some international NGOs and advocates of West Papua self-determination.

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Say hello to my first grandchild (3)

January 21st, 2011 by Roger Darlington

My darling granddaughter now has a name; in fact she has rather a lot of them: Catrin Dorothy Ceri Darlington. I was able to see Catrin (Welsh for Catherine) for an hour and a half this afternoon and give her another cuddle. She’s doing really well and Rich & Emily are great parents.

“I wanna hold your hand”

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Forgotten World (234): Tokelau

January 20th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

Three far-flung coral atolls – Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo – make up Tokelau, a Polynesian territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific. Lying between New Zealand and Hawaii, Tokelau has few physical links with the wider world. There is no airport and it takes more than a day at sea to reach its southern neighbour, Samoa.

Tokelau’s electorate, numbering around 600, have rejected self-rule in two separate referendums held in 2006 and 2007. Most of the 1,500 islanders live by subsistence farming. Thousands have chosen to leave, usually for New Zealand or Samoa. The latter has a similar culture and language.

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Forgotten World (233): French Guiana

January 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

Only around 200,000 live in French Guiana, but the ethnically-diverse population enjoys one of the higher standards of living on the South American continent. The French social security system is in force and subsidies from Paris prop up the economy. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that in January 2010 voters rejected the option of increased autonomy in a referendum with 69.8% voting against on a turnout of 48%.

A former penal settlement, Kourou, is home to a European Space Agency rocket launch site. The facility has been a boon to the local economy, accounting for a significant slice of GDP, and has given the territory a strategic value.

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Say hello to my first grandchild (2)

January 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

I’ve been away for a couple of days attending the Oxford Media Convention, but I can now up-date you on my darling granddaughter.

She was born at 8.30 am on Monday morning in St Thomas’s Hospital opposite the Houses of Parliament. That evening, Vee and I spent three hours in central London helping Emily and Richard take the baby back home.

It was a real thrill to see the baby so soon and here are another couple of photographs.