Kristiina Koivunen
Iran has bombed Iraqi Kurdistan every spring since 1991, also since the creation of Kurdistan autonomous area. Shelling starts when farmers and Rawand people arrive to the mountains for agricultural work. The Rawand people are half nomads who spend winters in the plain lands and summers in the mountains.
Now the shelling has started again. I copy here part of Arina Moradi's article from Peayanmar Newsagency, published Saturday the 18th June 2011:
On Friday night Iranian Revolutionary Guards were attacking Kurdistan shepherds on borders for two hours, shooting on numbers of sheep.
Yesterday night, Kurdistan sheep owners in border areas became the target of Iranian forces’ attacks for two hours, shooting on their sheep and caused no human casualties, but huge property looses.
“In this week, Iranian Revolutionary Guards had attacked villages on Kurdistan- Iran borders twice, caused huge property casualties for Kurdistan shepherds and sheep owners in border areas” Muhaidin Ahmad, one of these Kurdish shepherds told Peyamner News Agency.
... Those shepherds who have been attacked last night, have kept the distance from borders line, yet became the target of Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
... Kurdistan border areas with Iran shapes the major land for agriculture and grasslands for the region, however because of Iran’s frequent attacks remained useless even for life.
Last year I visited in mid June Wezê village (near Choman) where Iranian army had killed thirteen years old Basoz Jahbar Agha. I wrote about the situation in Wezê in Aso newspaper and in Sahmaran blog the 20th June 2010:
On Sunday the 12th June 2010 I travelled to Wezê village near Choman to get information about the shelling of this year.
In this village thirteen years old Basoz Jahbar Agha was killed by Iranian rocket the 30th May. I met her grand mother Aisha Abdullah.
“At that day a group of teenager girls planted tomatoes on a mountain field. She had made a fire to prepare tea at 9.30 AM”, told Aisha Abdullah.
I met in Choman Kaymakan Abdul Wahid Gowani. He told that he meets often representatives of the Iranian state. Iranians say always that they shell PJAK guerrillas and enemies of Iran.
"How ever, they have killed only Kurdish civilians”, said Abdul Wahid Gowani.
“When we meet Iranians we say to them that this is high technology war fare. They have equipment to see everything on our side, so they are surely aware that PJAK is not here”, he said.
“Iranians shell only agriculture areas, not forests”, said the villagers. Their target is unarmed civilians, PJAK fighters do not wait Iranian army in day light in tomato fields.
“Here are no armed men. We have not seen in years armed guerrillas”, said the villagers.
”The target of Iran is not PJAK but destabilization of Kurdish region”, explained Abdul Wahid Gowani.
“Iran wants Kurds to be refuges in big cities. Shelling makes people afraid to come here, so they stop practising agriculture here,” said Abdul Wahid Gowani. He gave statics of the shelling during spring 2010: one girl died, one woman was injured, 25 sheep died and 237 families left their homes or did not return to mountains from the plain lands as they have done earlier.
The villagers in Wezê told that many men are afraid to come there, it is mainly women and children who remain in these mountain villages.
“The amount of shepherds decreases every year”, told Abdul Wahid Gowani. About one hundred Rawand families leave the job every year because they are afraid to go to the mountains despite they like them very much.
“ Iran wants to destroy by shelling the culture of the Rawand people”, claimed Abdul Wahid Gowani and continued: “The Rawand culture is not only Kurdish heritage, it is international heritage. Their culture and way of living is ancient, only few people are able to live like this.”
Kurdistan has been for decades target for various types of genocides. Saddam destroyed in Iraqi Kurdistan almost all villages. Iran is now destroying those villages which survived the Ba'ath government period. The destruction of traditional Kurdish way of living by Iranian bombings is one method of cultural and economical genocide. The target is to destroy the Rawand culture which is original Kurdish way of living. And Iran wants to empty villages near its boarder and to create so called security zone as decided in Algiers Accord 1975.
Because of the Iranian shellings the ancient Rawand culture is in danger to disappear completely. We may not let this happen. For the survival of their culture there is need to make research about the effects of the shellings. Also the Rawand way of living must be surveyed. Rawand people need support which benefits their survival as a group. I think the best way is to let them to practise their original livelihood and provide market for their products.
But the first thing is that Iran must stop immediately the shelling the Rawand people and other civilians.
Unfortunately the situation seems to be still same as it was one year ago. The world is silent, the Kurds are silent, and the friends of Kurds are silent when the ancient Rawand culture disappeares little by little.
Photo: Kristiina Koivunen
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