Iraqi Shi'ite MP Ayad Jamal Al-Din, of the secular Al-Iraqiya list, said that his proposal last week for a conference to support the Kurds in Turkey stemmed from ethical, political and strategic considerations.
In an interview, Jamal Al-Din told the Kurdish paper Asou, which is published in the Kurdish Suleymaniya region in northern Iraq, that when he presented his proposal for discussion to the parliament, no MP criticized it, and every MP was satisfied with it.
He added that all the lists in the Iraqi Parliament and the political parties could adopt the proposal by inviting Kurdish leaders in Turkey and other places to discuss the status of the Turkish Kurds, with the aim of reaching an agreement on recommendations for solving the issue. Jamal Al-Din said that the conference could be held in any stable Iraqi city, such as Basra, Samawa, Naseriya, Najaf, or even Suleymaniya. He added that there was no rush to hold the conference, since many other groups were trying to do so.
Jamal Al-Din said that dictatorship and tyranny can never deny a people's aspirations for their freedom and rights. He pointed out that the Kurdish people in Turkey are entitled to the same freedom and rights as the Kurdish people in Iraq. He added that because of the brotherly and religious connection between the Iraqi and Turkish Kurds, Iraq supported and endorsed this legitimate issue.
On the political considerations of the conference, Jamal Al-Din said that Turkey often interfered in Iraqi internal affairs, with the most recent incident being its sponsorship of the conference on sectarian strife, called The Conference to Support the Iraqi People. He added that his call for a conference sent a clear message to the Turkish government that Iraq was also capable of addressing this issue that the Turks consider sensitive and "a red line."
He concluded his interview by saying that his call for a conference was legitimate, and that it was his moral responsibility to support the oppressed in the region. He added that Iraq would not extend invitations to the conference on a sectarian basis, as Turkey did with its conference, but that it was calling for a conference to openly and transparently support an oppressed people.
Sources: Shabakat Al-Iraq Al-Thaqafiya, IraqCenter.net, SotalIraq.com (12/26/06)
For more on Iraqi Reformist MP Sayyed Ayad Jamal al-Din, see:
MEMRI Special Dispatch 1273, "Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din Advocates Secularism in Iraq," August 31, 2006: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP127306
MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1138, "Iraqi Reformist MP Sayyed Ayad Jamal Al-Din Discusses the Situation in Iraq at MEMRI's Reform Lecture Series in Washington, D.C.," April 12, 2006: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP113806
MEMRI TV Clip No. 979, "Iraqi Politician Iyad Jamal Al-Din: The Arabs Use Israel as a Pretext for Their Backwardness, But Don't Really Want Democracy," November 30, 2005: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=979
MEMRI TV Clip 793, "Iraqi Politician Iyad Jamal Al-Din: The Arabs Want Tyrannical Regimes, in Line with Their Backward Culture," July 31, 2005: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=793
MEMRI TV Clip No. 473, "Iraqi Shiite Leader 'Ayad Jamal Al-Din: Iran Pursues Own Interests, Not Shiite Interests; Iraqis Do Not Put Pictures of Khamenei in their Homes," January 3, 2005: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=473
