Kurdo Unbound!

In the Elite Pantheon of Kurdish Bloggers, Kurdo of Kurdo's World stands high above the courtside of the Kurdistan and Iraqi geopolitical milieu, always ready to offer a needed Kurdish Perspective on events in Kurdistan and Iraq, as he does here in: The In T View: Kurdo Unbound!

MG: How is life for you in Post-Election Northern Iraq, Southern Kurdistan these days?

Kurdo: Life in Kurdistan is usually better than the rest of the areas in Iraq. But people are anxious as no one knows what is going to happen in the coming months.

The Kurdish parties are now in harsh negotiations with the Iraqi parties and so far the Iraqi parties are not accepting the Kurdish demands. You can
sense that people are not really looking forward for post-elections Iraq after this 6 weeks of tough negoatiations with the Iraqi groups in
which until now the Iraqis are not ready to give us any guarantees on our demands.

The Kurdish demands are the return of the Kurdish refugees to Kirkuk. Giving a federal statue for Iraq and giving a fair share of the Iraqi natural resouces to the Kurdistan federal government, and keeping the Kurdish security forces (Peshmarga) as they are the reason for our success in "keeping the peace". As you know the Iraqis and the Allies Forces have failed to maintain peace in other parts of Iraq.

MG: Were you happy with the Iraqi Election results?

Kurdo: With the Iraqi elections I was quite pleased. We managed to get a fair share of seats in the Iraqi parliaments. If the people in Kurdistan didn't go out in masses to vote, we would have been sidelined now in the Iraqi government.

MG: As you see it Kurdo, what are the Hot Issues confronting Northern Iraq, Southern
Kurdistan these days?

Kurdo: The main issue which worries people is Kirkuk. If you go back in history to the last 30 or 40 years, you see that the issue of Kirkuk is one of
the reasons why there has never been an agreement with the Iraqi governments and Kurds.

But so far the current negotiations with the Iraqi groups show that there are no committment from the Iraqis towards finding a peaceful solution to
the issue of Kirkuk. Just a few days ago, there
were statements from high ranking members of both Allawi and Sistani's parties calling Kirkuk
an "Arabic" city.

MG: How did you get interested in Blogging and how did your Blog come about?

Kurdo: The first blog I read was Salam Pax's "Dear Raed". This was before the war.
So after the war I noticed that Iraqi bloggers
are on the increase. So I sensed that there was
a great need for a Kurdish view to balance out
the Iraqi bloggers. First I started blogging in "Kurdish", then I noticed changing to English would be much better because it is nearly the
official "internet language" and would be easier
to communicate with other bloggers and readers.

MG: Besides your own Blog, are there other Blogs that you like or would recommend?

Kurdo: The KBU blog is a good blog. Simply because a number of different bloggers write there and they all have different interests and tastes and opinions on the Kurdistan/Iraq related issues.

MG: Kurdo, you appear to be the A Number One, Top Of The Heap, the Most Read Kurdish Blogger in the World. Does this put any extra pressure on you, when you're blogging?

Kurdo: hahah you making it sound very huge...I think it does have some pressure as
people expect that "Kurdo's World" is the
reflection of the Kurdish view..So for that
reason most of the time I try to be as
accurate as possible in reflecting how I
feel about a certain issue and I make sure
that I mix it with the general feelings of
the Kurdistan people.

MG: Besides Blogging, do you have
any hobbies or sports that you're interested in?

Kurdo: I like football (soccer) and running and swimming..I used to like reading books but now they are just too boring..I also like listening to music, Kurdish, English, Arabic, Turkish anything just let it be music...and I am also a good chess player...

MG: Okay, Word Association, Kurdo:

Saddam

Kurdo: Sad-damned

al Sistani

Kurdo: Opportunistic

KDP

Kurdo: half-democratic

PUK

Kurdo: no choice

Turkey

Kurdo: Nazi

Paul Bremer

Kurdo: cowboy

MG: And speaking of Paul Bremer, you
seemed to have a lot of problems with his administration of Iraqi affairs. What was
it about the guy or his practices that
really tanked you off?

Kurdo: I sometimes think that this guy was being told by someone "Iraqis only understand the use of force" and "dictatorship"..He started to
act all-alone and sometimes ignore the 25 members
of the Iraqi Governing Council. Also if you follow up the news now there are reports that he has given
massive contacts to a lot of people without checking up on them. He did some good things in the beginning then he became self-centered. I think this was as a
result of his frustration in being unable to stop the terrorist attacks. I think he was under pressure from the White House as well. But I personally think that people are thinking of these "instability" in Iraq as something new because they are looking at the smaller picture. If you look at the bigger picture, the current borders of Iraq throughout
the last 5000 years, there has never been peace
in this land. So there was no reason to become
self-centered because he had a good start but unfortunately a bad finish.

MG: Kurdo, let's say you were out taking a stroll some night in beautiful Southern Kurdistan and a UFO stopped by and abducted you. The aliens
in the UFO came to inspect you, and telepathically
asked you: "Kurdo, tell us something unique about Kurdistan or being a Kurd?" What thing or things, that are unique about Kurdistan or being a Kurd, would you tell the UFOnauts?

Kurdo: Well about Kurdistan I will try to give them a few mountains for free so that they release me..We have a lot of these mountains I am sure we can give one or two in return for freedom. Something unique about "Kurds" is that they love dance and music and food. So as long as Kurds have music, dance and food there are no worries. I am sure the aliens would love to dance the Kurdish style.


MG: Kurdo, it seems like a Kurdish Diaspora has taken place with Kurds scattered to the far
ends of the planet. Do you have family members
and relatives elsewhere?

Kurdo: That is true yeah I think now every Kurdish family has one or 2 members living in diaspora and especially Europe. There are rarely
a family who is not related to someone living in diaspora. And thankfully this has made a great impact on changing the way people think and act. These diaspora Kurds are helping in importing democracy, capitalism, and modern life style
to Kurdistan.

MG: Will the powers that be in Mideast and the World ever allow a Nation of Kurdistan to come into existence?

Kurdo: I think if these nations and superpowers want a peaceful Middle East they
should allow that. Because if you look at
Europe, first all the nations got independence
and now they are working for unity. But you can't jump to unity if you don't taste independence.
But I think in the long term, say in the next
30 to 40 years there will be a nation of Kurdistan because all the indications are saying that.

Turkey was opposing a federal state for Kurds
in Iraq and just a few days ago it said
that they accept that. So you never know.

MG: How could US and Kurdish Relations
be improved in your opinion?

Kurdo: We have a bitter experience with
the US..If they don't sell us out again like in
1974 and 1991 then the relations are good..
Remember that Kurds were and are the main
allies of the US in the whole Middle East
after Israel. So I hope the Kurdish-US
relations become a 2 sided relations and not
just orders and advices. Don't be put off by
the Kurdish critics. Only good friends criticize, bad friends strike.

MG: So, do Kurds really love to dance?

Kurdo: Absolutely and sometimes to death.

MG: How vibrant is the Kurdish Art Scene?
Has there been an emergence or blossoming of
Kurdish Artists, Musicians, Painters, and Movie Makers?

Kurdo: Yes especially after 1998... There
has been a massive increase in Kurdish artists activities.. We now have some very professional dancing team...Kurdish music has also gone wild since 2000...The number of the Kurdish singers
can't be counted now...Everyone has turned into
a singer...And the thing to be proud of is movie making...And that is all thanks to a Kurd from
(Iranian aka Eastern Kurdistan) Bahman Qobadi
who is now producing an international film every year...And there is a massive production of local movies which are not as good to be screened on an international level.

MG: Thanks Very Much, and Final Question: Have you ever seen a Ghost?

Kurdo: Unfortunately not I am still
waiting to see one but no luck. And thanks for
you and Iraqi Bloggers Central for the interview.