Letter from Kurdistan
I have been asked by a couple of people to comment on the murder of Sardasht Osman, the young journalist who, earlier this month was murdered and whose body was found in the Iraqi city of Musil. So here is a long-overdue letter from Kurdistan.
The murder of Sardasht Osman is a crime that must be utterly and unconditionally condemned by anyone who cares for this region. It is sad, however, that this crime was so rapidly and so disgustingly politicized by the members of the opposition group. It saddens me that this cruel crime whose first and foremost target was the stability of this region, was so quickly prejudged by some lunatic figures whose zeal for authority and money allows them to cross all lines of ethics, including outright lying on TV stations.
There are those who believe in the freedom of expression and then are those who abuse that freedom in the name of “independent media,” unfortunately many so called “independent” media outlets here in Kurdistan have opted to become part of the latter category. The “independent” newspapers in question are Hawlati and Awena newspapers, both of which refuse to reveal their sources of revenue, both of which mislead their readers by claiming that being independent of the establishment actually means independent journalism. A quick glance at either of these two papers reveals that there is no balanced reporting and that they both lack the most basic journalistic ethics.
Alas the Western press here in Iraq often relies on these papers for their news, for example, AFP has hired the chief editor of Awena to serve as their Kurdistan stringer/correspondent. By doing so, AFP is in violation of EU regulations of balanced reporting.
Following Sardast’s murder, Hawlati newspaper wrote on its first page, in a tabloid-style headline that the US has warned the KDP regarding the incident! The US office here in Erbil categorically denied the story and demanded a correction from Hawlati, who, shamelessly published a correction in their next issue, as if it was an innocent mistake.
These newspapers and some magazines, like Lvin, collectively turned Sardasht into a hero and found through the media channels of the opposition, a brief moment of fame through which to vent against the establishment. Well let me be the first one to say that Sardasht was not a hero. He was a victim of terror, terror that has crippled every Iraqi region since 2003 except Kurdistan The real heroes are those men who stand at checkpoints in 100 degree temperatures and ensure that this region is safe. the real heroes are those men and women who have turned Kurdistan into “the other Iraq,” and who have helped bring in billions of dollars in investments, which in turn have raised the living standards for the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. It is because of those men and women that Sardasht’s murder became such a big deal. If Sardasht was from Baghdad or Musil, who would speak of him? Who would protest for him? It is only because such incidents are so rare in Kurdistan that Sardasht became such a celebrity.
Unfortunately some people have forgotten the days when Kurds were being killed on identity, the days when they were being gassed with chemical weapons and were being buried in mass graves. Worse than that is that they forget the fact that there are still those who would want to do the same things to the Kurds.
May Sardasht Osman rest in peace and may God give his family and friends patience as they come to terms with this tragedy and may Kurdistan remain, as it has been since 2003, free of terrorism and fear.
Vahal A.
May 29, 2003
Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Join the Conversation
This article is a sham and very shameful. This writer is clearly on the payroll of the KDP and KRG, and is probably from the ruling party who are responsible for the killing of Sardasht.
Sardasht Osman was very very critical of Massoud Barzani, and if you search for the terms “Kamal Sayd Qadir”, Nabaz Goran, Soran Mama Hama, Dr. Abdulstar Sharif, you will find a common theme here, all these names have either been killed or tortured for criticising Massoud Barzani, the leader of the KDP.
Shame on you Vahal, you are a disgrace to Kurdish journalism. Brave journalists like Sardasht pay with their blood for freedom of press in Kurdistan and people like you are left to misrepresent the Kurdish nation.
I agree with Samal. It looks like the writer of that letter is totally on the hand of the murderers of the journalist, therefore on the payroll of the KRG.
Of course, whenever a journalist writes something against the politicians, then it will be categorised as terror, which is often just an excuse to shut someone up.
and then the paragraph of the real heros….. for sure, the checkpoint people can be seen as such, but those that bring in the billions. Don’t make me laugh, they don’t do anything for the kurdish people, they only get rich themselves, and while becoming more rich, they make life more difficult for the normal citizen, as they are pushing prices up and up…. Isn’t it absurd that many prices of goods here are higher then in the West?
For sure, KDP/ PUK politician are behind this, as they are saying that they are making Kurdistan into the “other Iraq”… for sure, they should be able to control prices?????? but they will not, as they want to be the millionaires of the region.
The other real heros are all those that are making ends meet with only $400 monthly income, and having to pay stupidly high prices for rents… $500 for a room with shared bathroom…. isn’t that criminal???????? where are the politicians to stop this abuse??? or are they the ones that benefit from this….????
For a better and FREE Kurdistan, founded on real democracy, not on some kind of facade…
Samir
Samal Kurdi – your statement basically sums up the vacuity of your arguments:
“is probably from the ruling party who are responsible for the killing of Sardasht.”
Everything you are arguing is based on some sort of assumption rather than arguments based on supporting facts. In any other country, including those in Europe and in the US, a magazine or writer that openly places the entire blame for the murder of a civilian on the the president of a state without providing any proof would be forced to resign or would be fired. This is precisely what happened to some well-known journalists in the US who blamed the US president at the time for the terror attacks in New York without any proof.
You are simply repeating the empty statements of the so-called independent newspapers (which I might add are hardly independent since they openly support the opposition party in Kurdistan). And now, you are assuming this author is writing on behalf of the same parties that you claim (without proof) are responsible for the death of Sardasht Osman.
May Sardasht Osman rest in peace and may his murderers be brought to justice. There is no doubt that this was a horrible crime and that it is the absolute responsibility of the authorities to first, find the murderers and bring them to justice, and second, not allow such horrible acts to happen again.
However, your rage and disagreement about the article posted above is hardly helpful to the situation. While you accuse this writer and designate his piece as a shame to journalism, are you praising tabloids like Kurdistan Post in which lies are regularly produced to create animosity? And do not try to tell me these tabloids do not publish lies… The head of one newspaper in Kurdistan (Hawlati, I believe) even admitted to purposely publishing lies in order to generate chatter. This is the true disgrace to journalism and I think it deserves to be condemned by all concerned Kurdistanis.
Awaz or (more likely) Vahal :
And now, you are assuming this author is writing on behalf of the same parties that you claim (without proof) are responsible for the death of Sardasht Osman.
I am not assuming. The writer is working for the KRG in Erbil. A search for him on Google will tell you that.
While you accuse this writer and designate his piece as a shame to journalism, are you praising tabloids like Kurdistan Post in which lies are regularly produced to create animosity?
I have not praised anything or anyone, but why do you mention this here? Is this because Sardasht Osman was publishing his articles in KurdistanPost?
Are you saying, in other words, that Sardasht Osman was part of a negative circus called “Kurdistan Post” in which lies are regularly produced to create animosity”?
And who are we to define “animosity“? Is there a world standard that defines animosity? Besides, Kurdistan Post is
not a tabloid, an online blog. Blogs was used by Vahal (the writer here) to attack Obama and the Democratic Party prior to the US elections in 2008.The head of one newspaper in Kurdistan (Hawlati, I believe) even admitted to purposely publishing lies in order to generate chatter.
You beleive ? So you are not sure?
This is the proof that sums it up here. You are not sure of what you are saying yourself. You beleive that something has been said but you are not sure. So perhaps a rumour, that you have heard from the mega media machine of the KRG.
In fact, what the Free Press is doing in Kurdistan, is a tremendous job. The combination of 3 or 4 newspapers plus a part time TV station are withstanding the pressure of a multi media empire.
And when it comes to arguments, people like you are not sure, yet they beleive.
God rest Sardasht’s soul in peace, and bring the criminals who killed him over his article “I am in love with Barzani’s daughter” to justice.
There you go again, “Samal”, making your assumptions. No I am not Vahal and no I am not concerned with what he wrote in his previous “blog”. However, I also don’t think that where he works disqualifies him from writing an opinion-piece. I am identifying the fact that you are criticizing his article for being a “shame” while quoting someone like “Kamal Sayd Qadir” who has consistently published articles with far-reaching claims that have no supporting evidence. No, Kamal Sayd Qadir should have never been arrested. However to equate his writings with the works of a true journalist is laughable.
The report about the head of the newspaper that said they purposely publish lies was published by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting; a reputable organization that verifies claims before publishing them unlike the circus media that you are obviously so fond of.
Yes. May Mr. Sardasht Osman rest in peace and may his murderers be brought to justice, whatever their motives were. No matter what he wrote, he did not deserve what happened to him. However, let’s wait for the facts to surface rather than simply repeating the claims of papers like Rozhnama who place the blame on this or that party and that have been known to publish misinformation in the past. You accuse me for believing something but being unsure of it, but apparently you are doing the same thing yourself on the other end of the argument.
And may his death be a lesson to the Kurdistan Region that a media revolution is needed in which real independent media organizations are encouraged, and not ruling party or opposition medias, and in which professional journalistic practices are used.
However, I also don’t think that where he works disqualifies him from writing an opinion-piece.
Yes this is a very poor opinion peace and does not reflect what the Kurdish people think. As a reminder, there were protests in all the towns and cities of Kurdistan against the KDP, with the exception of Duhok of course, where Vahal is originally from.
Kamal Sayd Qadir” who has consistently published articles with far-reaching claims that have no supporting evidence.
Qadir published his articles on an online blog, and the blog is based in another country and not Kurdistan. Yet he was arrested (laughably) by Barzani and sentenced for 30 years. Laughable of course. And when someone like Sardasht Osman is killed for writing “I am in love with Massoud Barzani’s daughter” under such cloudy circumstances where he was abducted, killed, later found in Mosul, the first person that you suspect is the KDP and the Barzani tribe, because they are the only peole in Kurdistan capabale of carrying out such a brutal murder in broad daylight.
the Institute for War & Peace Reporting; a reputable organization
It may be reputable but it is headed by Hiwa Osman, the son of Dr. Mahmoud Osman, Massoud Barzani’s KDP candidate for the Iraqi election. What other assumptions do you have based on what the KRG politicians say?
Rozhnama who place the blame on this or that party and that have been known to publish misinformation in the past
Rozhnama has not placed the blame on anyone. Where is the source? The entire Kurdish nation, unlike Vahal and obviously (you, let’s say you are not Vahal), have blamed Massoud Barzani and the KDP. Where have you been in the past 30 days?
As I mentioned, if you study the names of Kamal Sayd Qadr, Abdlstar Sharif, Soran Mama Hama, Sardasht Osman, they all have the same thing in common, they have either been tortured or killed, and they all have been fierce critics of the Barzani clan.
ruling party or opposition medias
The only opposition media out there is Rozhnama and KNN.
Awene, Hawlati and Lvin, the only 3 independent Kurdish newspapers, have been out there way before the creation of opposition in Kurdistan.
You contradict yourself very clearly. You try to sound like a duck, but you are a chicken (Kurdish proverb).
Samal, I have little to say to most of your comments but that you continue to point fingers without having any proof. Stop telling me to provide you sources when you don’t provide any yourself. You imply that you are Kurdish and so you probably know Kurdish and so you can go and read the publications for yourself.
Awene and Hawlati admitted to publishing in favor of the opposition because the opposition lacks a voice according to their writers. That’s hardly independent. Rozhnama has developed a reputation for publishing claims without proof.
When you have all these papers making claims without any proof, it becomes unsurprising that the “entire Kurdish nation” (wherever you get your statistics from) would march the streets to accuse KDP. It’s also funny you say that about Duhok. Are you trying to say that Duhok is filled with people like the writer above Vahal and have no credibility?
You also wrote “it may be reputable but”. Make up your mind man. Sounds like you are contradicting yourself very clearly, not me.
Funny thing is that I am not trying to defend any position. Not KDP, not opposition. I am only saying that journalism in Kurdistan needs a revolution and these tragedies should be a reason why. The solution is not to publish more lies in hopes of attaining the truth as the “independent” media tends to do. Lies don’t produce truth and if the KDP is as bad as it’s claimed to be then the truth is all that is needed.
Samal, I have little to say to most of your comments but that you continue to point fingers without having any proof. Stop telling me to provide you sources when you don’t provide any yourself. You imply that you are Kurdish and so you probably know Kurdish and so you can go and read the publications for yourself.
Being Kurdish or not, this is not the issue, and that is not a great way to start a post.
Awene and Hawlati admitted to publishing in favor of the opposition because the opposition lacks a voice according to their writers. That’s hardly independent. Rozhnama has developed a reputation for publishing claims without proof.
Where is the source? I have backed up all my arguments, the main one being about the 4 writers who have either been killed or tortured by Massoud Barzani. Where are your back ups?
When you have all these papers making claims without any proof, i
What claim? To claim that Sardasht Osman was killed in cloudy circumstances, in Erbil, in the morning rush hour, in front of KDP guards, and his body passed through numerous KDP checkpoints to be found with bullets in his mouth. This writer has written before about KDP threats after his article “I am in love with Massoud Barzani’s daughter”. And you have a Barzani newspaper publishing his dead photo 2 weeks later, are these all claims? These are facts.
Where is the claim in what I just mentioned? Point it out ?
journalism in Kurdistan needs a revolution and these tragedies should be a reason why.
This sounds to me like you are trying to blame Sardasht for what he wrote?
Sardasht wrote an article on a blog, not in a newspaper. What do you mean by the above statement ? Please clarify yourself…Are you blaming Sardasht for his own death ?
How about you come out and you say we need more freedom of press, we need the men in red turbans to take it easy and to be less backward.
the two of you are just as stupid as the government that was behind the killing of the journalist.
YOu don’t respect each other’s views, but demand that the other thinks exactly the same.
Democracy is respect of each other’s view, how different it may be.
KRG says they are democratic, but demand that everyone does exactly as they say… basically being a dictatorship….. and if people speak out loudly, they are being killed…..
The two of you should agree to differ…
This article is a disgrace to all kurds, journalists, and most of all the dead.
I agree with everything that samal has written thus far. Sardasht wrote satirical pieces on politics which in his opinion would shed light on the corruption within the government of kurdistan.
For Vahal to diminish him to nothing in an article seen by millions on the wide world web is disgraceful and above all disrespectful.
What he did for journalists in Kurdistan is ground breaking. He gave his life, knowing fully well that if wrote the article that he did he would be killed, so that journalists would have the freedom to report. Vahal your deep pockets could obviously care less about his achievements.
Wakhti mastaw bo sarmayadar basa. The Kurdish government look to be like the west in everything except for equality and freedom. Being wealthy is not the only thing to take from life. It is honesty that allows us to call ourselves human.
I pray that you read and inform yourself more on all subjects in the world and stopping looking to fill your pocket. And may God forgive you for talking about the dead with such little propriety.
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