|
Sardasht Othman and message of freedom to stand behind
the demonstrations and mass protest of 17th
of February
Dashty Jamal Speech in parliament
on the anniversary of the murder of Sardasht Osman
Kurdish journalist, 15th June 2011 hosted by
John McDonnell Member of UK Parliament
Ladies and gentlemen
On behalf of the International Federation of the Iraqi
Refugees I welcome everyone here to mark the first
anniversary of the assassination of Sardasht Othman.
I would like to thank John McDonnell for arranging this
important meeting. I am sure you all know John McDonnell
very well, but I would like to say that John is a
socialist parliamentarian who has always defended
freedom. He stood firmly against the war on Iraq and he
has strongly defended the refugees, the Iraqi and
Kurdish refugees in particular. We highly appreciate all
his stances and efforts. I also thank Jeremy Corbyn MP,
the speakers from the RMT Trade Union, the Green party
and the journalists who are with us in this meeting.
I do not want to repeat what the Freedom Umbrella has
said about Sardasht Othman, who he was, how and why was
he assassinated. I only want to say that Sardasht Othman
was a 23 year old man. He had a leftist working class
and communist roots. As mentioned before, he was
assassinated after writing an article critical of
President Barzani’s family’s wealth and power. As a
conscious critic of the social inequality and injustice
in the Iraqi Kurdistan, eventually Sardasht took a stand
against the rulers and conveyed the massage of freedom
and prosperity to the society in Kurdistan. He handed us
the banner of a humanist and progressive struggle
against class antagonism, unemployment and poverty.
However the story of Sardisht Othman is not only the
story of one discontented young man. His case shows the
reality of an authority that has chained 4 million
people under the name of Kurdish nationalism.
Therefore on the first anniversary of Sardasht’s death
we should look into the reality of this authority and
the living conditions of these 4 million people.
As you may be aware, in 1991, with the eruption of the
First Gulf war, the masses of people in Kurdistan rose
against the oppressive Baath regime and its national
oppression. We revolted for freedom, equality and social
justice.
In the hope of ending inequality and to improve their
lives, the majority of people in Kurdistan supported the
Kurdish nationalist parties – especially the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (the PUK) and the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (the KDP). Unfortunately, these
parties quickly showed their real essence, which is
hostile to the goals of people in Kurdistan. In the last
20 years they have imposed a system on the people of
Kurdistan that is not different from any of the other
tyrannical and parasitic regimes in the region.
These parties and their leaders represent the
capitalists and wealthy people in Kurdistan. They
achieved a lavish life for themselves but they brought
unemployment, poverty, and lack of basic rights for the
vast majority of the citizens through plundering the
wealth and revenues of the society and diverting it to
their followers and relatives. As a citizen once said,
these parties came down from the mountains into the
cities under the slogan of “ Either Kurdistan or death”,
but it soon became obvious that they took Kurdistan for
themselves and gave “death” to the people.
During the last 20 years, under the rule of the KDP and
the PUK, thousands of women were victims of so-called
“honour killing”. Around 10,000 young people of
Kurdistan were killed and maimed in the fighting between
these two parties and thousands were displaced and made
homeless. Political opponents, communist activists and
journalists have been murdered. Thousands of young
people have been forced to seek asylum or have been
killed by the police on the borders of Iran and Turkey
while trying to escape. The rulers of Kurdistan have
always resorted to oppression and arms against their
political opponents.
They have imposed
reactionary and backward laws on the education system.
Under their rule, many reactionary Islamic and tribal
tradition and norms have been revived, for example
female circumcision and polygamy. The youth are deprived
of basic rights like the right to choose their place of
residence and their partners. Unemployment keeps rising,
the young people study but after graduation they do not
get employment if they are not supporters of the KDP or
the PUK. Hundreds of the top officials of these parties
are millionaires who are engaged in corruption in all
kinds.
Sardasht Othman wrote an article about these injustices
and because of this he was killed. They also killed
other journalists Soran Mama Hamma and Abdulstar Sharif.
The people of Kurdistan, in the past, looked in anger at
this oppression and corruption. They organized various
forms of protests, especially after 2006. However after
the assassination of Sardasht, the authority which has
been plundering the wealth of the society in the last 20
years was faced by massive demonstrations and protests
in the cities of Kurdistan and around European
countries. These protests and demonstrations lasted a
long period of time and instead of meeting the demands
of the people, the authority was weaving plots against
them. By making promises, forming the “investigation
committee”, and through threatening and blatant
oppression they were able to keep the masses in a state
of waiting, and conceal the reality behind the
assassination of Sardasht. Later they brought a law
banning demonstrations. However, the people resorted to
massive public protests against this “demonstration law”
and took to the streets. The people organized massive
and widespread protests which involved Kurdish
communities abroad.
We are all aware of the victory of workers and the
toilers in Tunisia and Egypt in overthrowing dictatorial
regimes. The workers and toilers in the region gained
passion, energy, hope and power from these victories in
the region. Like a political tsunami, people in North
Africa, the Middle East and even the trade unions of the
UK and Spain, have been inspired by these gains and
victories. The masses in Kurdistan are inspired by these
gains as well.
Protests starting on 17th February 2011,
which are reflected in these photos, brought about a
huge change in Iraqi Kurdistan in the form of a
revolutionary movement that has seen thousands of youth
from different layers and classes of the society coming
to the forefront to stand against this oppression,
discrimination, and social injustice in Kurdistan which
has prevailed in the last 20 years. They took (Azadi) or
Freedom Square for themselves.
10 people were killed by the KDP and PUK milita and
hundreds were injured in these protests. After 62 days
the demonstrations were suppressed by military forces
and heavy weapons on 19th April 2011.
Since 19th April beatings, arrests,
harassment and prosecuting of activists and journalists
continues. According to a report by the Committee of
defending freedom of Journalist and Kurdistan Journalist
Union, between 3rd March 2011 and 29th
March 2011, 37 violations against journalists were
registered which included beating, insulting and
arresting journalists apart from issuing hefty fines for
non-governmental papers and their editors.
This year, they prevented workers in Kurdistan from
celebrating May day, the international Workers’ Day. In
Arbil, where the KDP rules, all public gatherings and
demonstrations are banned. Even opposition members of
parliament are abused and beaten up. The latest news is
that the International Federation of Iraq Refugees was
prevented from holding a gathering in front of the
office of the Iraqi parliament in Sulaimanyia to put
pressure on the Iraqi government to abolish its
agreement with European countries to deport Iraqi
refugees. This is the democracy which the nationalist
movement parties imposed on the people under their rule.
During these demonstrations in Kurdistan against
oppression, discrimination and social injustice, the USA
and West chose to stand by the authorities in
Kurdistan. This is while in public they try to appear
to the public that they stand by the revolting people in
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain against
the rulers. This exposes the extreme hypocrisy of the
West, while the people have shed blood against the
oppressors.
The western media too concealed the reality documented
by these photos and that is how the rulers in Kurdistan
answered the demonstration with guns (bullets) and the
murder of a 12 year old boy was killed. These facts are
hardly covered by the western media.
As you are aware thousands of refugees, the victims of
the authorities in Kurdistan, are arrested by the
European and conservative governments. They are going to
be deported back to that cruel and oppressive system.
Sardasht Othman held the banner of freedom and passed it
to the revolutionary movement of workers and toilers in
Kurdistan. Although this movement has been suppressed
for now under the force of the arms, it is certain the
protests will restart because the people in Kurdistan
want a profound change.
I call on you to support the demands of people in
Kurdistan for freedom, equality, and social justice and
for a secular and civil authority. Today more than ever
the people of Kurdistan need your support. You, who
stood against the war on Iraq and defended the children
of Iraq, stand by the people of Kurdistan.
Sardasht Othman , Soran Mamma Hamma and those 10 victims
who lost their lives during the latest protests have
taught us a lesson. They have become a symbol for
freedom and for a free and prosperous future for
Kurdistan.
On behalf of all the attendees in this meeting, I call
on you to:
1-Condemn the
assassination
of Sardasht Othman and demand the formation of an
independent committee with the involvement of
international bodies, as demanded by Sardasht’s family,
to investigate the assassination of Sardsht Othman and
bring the perpetrators to justice.
2-Demand the abolition of the law banning demonstrations
from the Kurdistan parliament.
3-Condemn the suppression of the latest demonstrations
in Kurdistan and demand that the killers of
demonstrators to be brought to justice.
4- Meet the demands of the demonstrators.
5- Recognize freedom of press and political activity
including freedom to demonstrate in Kurdistan.
Let’s keep the memories of Sardsht Othman and all those
who lost their lives on 17th February 2011
and the following days, to work together for freedom,
equality and a prosperous society high.
Thank you. |
