The following article, written by retired Bosnian diplomat Hajrudin Somun, was originally published in Bosnian newspaper Oslobodenje on March 7.
I don't know if President Joe Biden has spoken with more empathy for a people’s suffering from its neighbours than the Kurds, with the exception of Bosnians. Regarding Bosnians, he told them: “You fought to save your dignity. This was not a civil war, it was genocide. Simply genocide. And it happened before the eyes of Europe.”
As senator visiting Erbil in 2002, he famously told Kurds: “The mountains are not your only friends.”
As in Sarajevo, Erbil celebrated in 2020. The Kurds are among the happiest at Trump’s defeat, and place faith in Biden’s support and help. Nobody in the Middle East - except Israelis, of course – trust Americans as the Kurds have done since Britain relinquished primacy to them after the Second World War. And no other regional power – except Israel again – has had America contribute to national strategy and destiny. And nobody has suffered more from American betrayal than the Kurds.
The attack on Halabja should had left a deep imprint in the conscience of anyone working on the Middle East, including Biden, who has been dealing with Iraq and the Kurds for more than three decades. America, as seen in Bosnia, was disheartened by the human suffering caused by Saddam Hussein, who didn’t hesitate to try and annihilate a whole people. Human rights, from the right to dignified life, to freedom of thought and expression, have been main guides in Biden’s life and political career. He has already stated that he will not abandon those principles in dealing with Russia and China, and also in dealing with much smaller and insignificant nations, countries and issues, such as Bosnia and Kurdistan.
However, there is something more important. It is very different being a senator or vice president to being president of the United States. Even if we suppose he will get rid of the coronavirus pandemic, there are many issues more important than Kurdistan that await his attention.
As vice president under Barack Obama, he was very supportive of Kurdish rights in Iraq, but now he also faces the Kurdish issue in Syria, Turkey and Iran, and also has to deal with Russia. Biden now finds himself in Obama’s shoes. He must keep in mind wider American strategic interests, not just human rights. For example, he wanted more American troops to stay in the region, presumably to help Kurds, but had to comply with Obama’s decision for their withdrawal. Besides, due to that wider Middle East strategy, it was, and still it is the US interest, to keep Iraq united, despite earlier efforts of some congressmen and diplomats, such as Richard Holbrooke, to divide the country into three smaller sectarian and ethnic states. I also consider Iraq an artificial state, but it has existed for more than a century. I suppose that President Biden might, when Kurds comes to the agenda in Washington or Erbil, ask Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani if the 2017 referendum was a wise step.
I sent a question on expectations from the Biden administration in regard to the Kurdish cause to Safeen Dizayee, my old good friend from Kurdistan. As the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Foreign Relations Department, he is best placed to answer me, and comes from old and noble Dizayee lineage.
In my last visit to Kurdistan in 2016, he reminded me that he could never forget an encounter at a diplomatic reception in Ankara in the 1990s, where I served as the Bosnian ambassador and he as a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). I was talking to him about my secret tour to Kurdistan as a foreign student at Baghdad University in 1964, and meeting with Mustafa Barzani and Jalal Talabani. When I told him I was hoping to write a book called ‘Kurdistan or death”, he put his finger to his lips, warning me to be quiet. I became louder, not caring about the many foreign and Turkish diplomats around us. Thus, when I arrived at Erbil’s airport in 2016, he arranged a VIP reception and meetings with President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, despite my being a retired ambassador. We had a long conversation on various subjects regarding the situation in Kurdistan. He also brought me to his father Muhsin Dizayee who talked me about his rich diplomatic and political career. Though now in old age, he was in good spirits.
Safeen says the KRG doesn’t expect Iraq to be a high priority for the new administration. “They have other priorities with internal divisions, economy, COVID-19, China.“ Of course, he continues, ''Iran is an important issue for the USA, but we are all waiting to see how they approach that problem and a possible return to the JCPOA agreement. Of course, Iraq is an important country in the region, but its clear that its a backyard of Iran and the USA has to adopt a much more comprehensive policy that involves Iran and perhaps even Syria.
In regard to the Kurdish cause, Mr. Dizayee concluded: ''As far as we in Kurdistan are concerned, many people in senior posts in the new USA administration , including President Biden himself, know the region and Kurdish leaders on a personal basis. I don't think there is much of a change in policy, but maybe in approach and personal attitude... they will continue to encourage the KRG to engage with Baghdad, reach a deal and maintain internal unity in Kurdistan.''
I think that will be the policy from now on, at least until the elections later this year, unless something dramatic unfolds, such as more rocket attacks.
Hajrudin Somun is a retired Bosnian diplomat and promoted Kurdish affairs among the public in the former Yugoslavia.
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