[Kargool]

There is another prospective to view theese matters from. South Kurdistan is developing quickly and the growth has stunned most people in the neighbouring countries.

The funny thing about the entire situation is that the parts of Iraq under control by the Kurds is having an "easier" time dealing with the problems that came after the American invasion. The main reason for this is: That the american precense there is at most minimal.

There is a growing optimism in South Kurdistan, after the Baathregime got removed (Saddams forces) they feel that they can now entrust a better future. The violence that has riddled the country is gone. When Saddam fell Iraqi Kurdistan has more or less avoided the violence that has been bothering the rest of Iraq.

Why is this?
Kurds: When Saddam fell the kurds had allready established a civil administration with the support by an army and a policecore who had the trust of the PEOPLE. Because of this the Kurdic population has avoided the violence. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) had agreed to merge the administration in Suleimaniyah and Arbil, this leading to the kurds to work more together.

There has been an growing industrial activity in South Kurdistan. Demolished villages has been rebuilt and connected with good roads. In Arbil there is an international Airport with travels both to europe and other big arabic cities. Also the airiport in Suleimaniyah accepts international travels. This is important for the Kurds so that they dont have to travel through Bagdad or the neighbouring hostile countries.

Culture is growing in a pace that the people around can only dream about. A 30ish number of tvchannels is being broadcast in kurdish and some of these by satelites so kurds living outside South Kurdistan can follow theese. There is hundreds of newspapers being published with very different political views.

Sadly there are some negative sides aswell ofc. The lack of an economical democracy is sad. In both zones (Around Arbil and Suleimaniyah) you need to have good connections to the party in power to get anything done or to start or run financial buisnesses its important to bribe bureocrats or party leaders.

There is also big disagreements in regards to the reconstructionwork. Alot of people claim that the partyleaders is more concerned about building airports and luxurious hotels than to secure the population nessecary means like water and electricity.

The economical intrests shows clearly in the regards towards the two mobile companies that operates in South-Kurdistan. The network Korek where the nephew of KDP strong leader Massound Barzani is the director has their mainbase in Arbil, while a company connected to the leading PUK-kadre runs the company Asiancell from their headquarters in Suleimaniyah. The relationships between thoose two companies are so poor that it is not possible to call subscribers from the other operator. The Kurds have some irony in it all when they point out that they can call New York or Peking, but cant call the neighbouring town.

Nobody however willing to say a bad word about the American invasion, which has led not only to formal self-rule, but also to a Kurdish nationalist, Jalal Talabani (LOOK AT HIS NAME), being installed as president of Iraq in Baghdad. Many kurds feel that the clauses on autonomy in the new Iraqi constitution are too weak. What they really want is an independent state.