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Kurdo's World
Kurdistan blogger. Blogging about life in Kurdistan.

6/29/2004
First Day Of NEW IRAQ..Iraqis warn Kurds..

On the first day of the establishment of NEW IRAQ, Iraqis proved it that they have nothing new apart from their old chauvenistic attitudes.
First gift, the Iraqi Police has captured the KurdSat TV News team, while they were preparing for the broadcast of the Iraqi power handover. Everyone in all Iraq knows the KurdSat team. The KurdSat correspondenance is well famous. They are still in Iraqi jails.
Perhaps this is a remainder from the Arabs that "We are back"

Second gift, the so called Iraqi Prime Minister (Ayad Allawi) read the names of those who have suffered on the hands of the Saddam. He didn't mention Kurds at all. This is also another remainder that "Not just Saddam had problems with Kurds, but IRAQ has problems with Kurds".

Another thing, the so called Iraqi president visited Kirkuk last week with Paul Bremer. Ghazi Yawar, and in his traditional Arab dress, said that "NO one can remove a single Arab from Kirkuk"... This is another remainder that Kurds haven't benefited nothing from this Iraq-war.
Kurds are well angry about these chauvensitic Arab attitudes in Iraq. We don't see no sharing in Iraq. Kurds are sidelined again and we are going through the same cycle of suffering.


6/28/2004
Finally...

From today and on the areas which were linked to Iraq by force by the Britons in 1920 will be known as Iraqi Kurdistan Federal State officially (excluding Kirkuk and Mosul for the time). So no more Northern Iraq bulls***s please..

congratulations everyone.... Bye bye Bremer...





6/26/2004
Thanks Iraq, your gift has arrived this morning..

Thanks Iraq ! Your gift has arrived this morning ! It was packed in a nice parcel in a Vokswagen car. It exploded as you promised and so far have killed 1 person and injured around 20, including the Kurdistan Cultural Minister.

Thanks again !

P.S. My condolences to all the victims who lost their lives in the recent days. USA's wild plan of (FD) fast-democracy (just like fast food) and its stress in listening to Ayatollahs and Iraq's neighbours more than to its people are going to cost more. Even after 30th of June.

Turkey was the source for the Seymour Hersh's Israeli-Kurdish links. Is Turkey jelous or what ?!! Or is so called Democratic Turkey trying to create ethnic tensions in Iraq ?!! <Link>


6/22/2004
New fashion of allies

"They knock you down because you are a friend." Aso Hardi, the editor of my favourite newspaper, Hawlati.


At last someone sums up what I have been talking about for the last 21 days.

Yeah and about Israeli agents working in Kurdistan, I wonder how much Seymour Hersh has been paid by Iran & Turkey to make that story up. Iran & Syria & Turkey's aims are to create anti-Kurdish sentiment in the region, especially from Arabs.

Why Mr. Hersh don't visit Kurdistan and show us a single Israeli agent ?!

Kirkuk Update

Arabs & Turkmens have been involved in fierce fighting in Terkalan, a small village on the outskirts of Kirkuk. The fighting has erputed because some Turkmen refugees have returned to their occupied lands. The Arabs refused to leave. At least 2 people have been killed in the fightings.The fighting continues according to some PUK sources.


6/21/2004
Ethnic tensions reach Samara'a

While the mayor of Kirkuk and the Kirkuk Police have both confirmed that no drivers from Samara'a have been kidnapped in Kirkuk. (Thanks God)..They have accused Al-Arabiya of trying to create ethnic tensions. [Source]

The PUK daily Kurdistani Newi, has published today that the Kurds in Samara'a are being expelled from their houses by Arabs.

Saddam Hussein expelled Kurds from Kirkuk and Khanaqeen to the southern Iraqi cities from 1963-2003. There are around 400 Kurdish houses in Samara'a.
According to Kurdistani Newi, the Arab nationalists in Samara'a have warned the Estate Agents in Samara'a not to sell any Kurdish houses because they want to expel the Kurds just like they were expelled from Kirkuk, with absolutely nothing on.

Many Kurdish families have fled the city towards Kurdistan.

Also the newspaper confirms that last week the Arab nationalists have bombed a Kurdish district of the city. A Kurd named "Waleed Rostam" is injured.
Also last week, 5 Kurds were killed, burnt and paraded in Samara'a by Arab nationalists.

Where are the New Iraqi Government & CPA ? Why are they silent ?!!

There is an Arabic saying "Silence is the sign of acceptance". !!

Where is the peaceful co-existence that the Iraqi government talks about ?!


6/20/2004
Ethnic tensions in Kirkuk

Thanks to Paul Bremer's unjust rule in Kirkuk, ethnic tensions are rising in that city.
Recently, 5 Kurds who chose to join the Iraqi army were captured near Samaraa, killed by our Arab brothers, and then their bodies were burnt and paraded in the city.

No one talked about this incident. When 4 American contractors were killed in April, we all know what happened back then.

This time even the American adminstrations not just didn't carry out an investigation, but they also didn't condenm the barbaric attack.

Yesterday, some furious Kurds, who have decided to take the law into their hands because Bremer continues to act like Saddam Hussein with Kurds, raided the Kirkuk garage and kidnapped 10 Arab drivers from Samaraa.

While I condenm this action, I also condenm the actions of the CPA and Paul Bremer.
When 5 Kurds decide to join the Iraqi army, the army who gassed and mass-murdered them, they are being killed and burnt and paraded while Arab men and women and children celeberate for their death.
I think that the Arab drivers must be let go and a quick investigation by the CPA must be carried out on why 5 Kurds were killed & burnt & paraded in Samaraa ! Otherwise the hate-cycle will go on and on.


6/19/2004
Students smash Arabised sign of Kirkuk University






Students at the Kirkuk University smashed the sign which was put by the American dictator in Iraq, Paul Bremer.
Last week, and by the order of Paul Bremer, American soldiers removed the Kurdish sign from Kirkuk University. They replaced the sign with an Arabic sign.

Paul Bremer has continued what Saddam Hussein was doing in Kirkuk. Bremer refuses the return of the Kurdish refugees to Kirkuk, he has ordered to remove all the Kurdistan flags in that city. He has taken his anti-Kurdish sense to the extreme that he has ordered to remove even the Kurdish writing...(sorry Bremer I keep forgetting what was the difference between you and Saddam ?) ?

Many now think that there is no difference between Saddam & Bremer because basically :

Saddam Hussein Paul Bremer


Used WMD to attack civilians what happened in Fallujah ??
Prison abuses what happened in Abu Ghreb ??
Arabisation campagin against Kurds Continuing Saddam's stance to Arabise Kirkuk
Dictate Dictate..yes that is right


Became a president by power Who chose him ?!


and many more...


6/17/2004
Another dictator will fall......

Ladies and Gentlemen, We will get him ! Another 12 days...



Brahimi: Bremer the `dictator of Iraq' in shaping Iraqi government


Mahmoud Othman (independent Kurdish politician) : "He (Bremer) Is A Dictator"


Describing Bremer as a "Dictator" is not just by the Iraqi people, it is also by the former IGC membes and the UN Envoy Lakhdhar Al-Ibrahimi !


6/16/2004
US soldiers remove Kurdish writings from Kirkuk University


In a non-democratic and uncivilised act, a group of US soldiers were ordered by the CPA to remove the title of Kirkuk University which was written in Kurdish, and replaced the writing with an Arabic one.

The reason ?! They said there was "Kurdistan" word on the board.

OK.. fair enough...But why replace it with an Arabic one ? Why not add both Arabic & Kurdish to it ?!

Isn't Kurdish now the official language of Iraq too ?! Are our American ex-allies are turning into current-enemies ?

It seems that Paul Bremer is defending the Arabisation process of Kirkuk. First, remove all the Kurdistan flags on the streets of Kirkuk, second oppose the return of the Kurdish refugees, third removing Kurdish writings ?
I am not describing Saddam Hussein in the above paragraph. I am describing Paul Bremer's adminstration in Iraq. No difference yeah ?!
Bremer's man in Kirkuk has said that this was because to prevent ethnic tensions. OK...fair enough.... But isn't Kurdish an official language of Iraq or no ?! So why not obeying Iraqi laws ?!

Another unjust in Kirkuk...Recently, a Kurdish member of the Kirkuk council was assasinated. Bremer's man said that the post is open for all ethinc groups because Bremer in resolution numbe 71 has said that posts should not be given on ethnic basis. OK again....fair enough....

But yesterday, when there was an election for the assasinated Turkmen member of Kirkuk council, Bremer's man said that only Turkmens can apply for that post..Excuse me you just said (oh shut up who you talking to)....
So the Kurdish members didn't participate in the so called-elections because it is unjust.

So BREMER if you hear me, you better don't act like Saddam Hussein or (we all know what happened to Saddam dont' we ?)






6/15/2004
A Sad Joke....

One of the leaders of PUK was talking the other day about the negotiations between the Iraqi government, and the Kurdistan Front in 1991 after the Kurdish uprising..

The Scenario
Newshirwan Mustafa = PUK leader
Tariq Aziz = Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister


Tariq Aziz : This time we want to solve the Kurdish question. We want high-ranking membes of Kurdistan Front (coalition of Kurdish and Assyrian political parties) to participate in the Iraqi government.

Newshirwan Mustafa: Wow cool..What are the posts that you give us ?
Tariq Aziz: Deputy Prime Minister, Vice President, Deputy head of Parliament...etc
Newshirwan Mustafa : Can't you for ONCE, give us a presidential post even if it was a president of a football team ??

Tariq Aziz: Nooo...Not even after 20 years..


I guess Tariq Aziz was telling the truth. Not even after 20 years. Probably he knew that even if they go, the new Iraqis who come to power will never give Kurds any decisive posts.

Welcome to old sorry New Iraq !


6/13/2004
The Kurdistan-Iraq conflict..From an American point of view...

Today I would like to post some American point of views regarding the Kurdistan-Iraq conflict..

An Exit Strategy for the Bush Administration in Iraq: Independent Kurdistan

It is in our best interest to reverse our policy and support an independent Kurdistan, for three reasons. First, we would receive Kurd support for basing all of our in-country troops in Kurdish territory. Since the Kurds like us and want us to be in their territory, the number of attacks on American troops should decline dramatically. Second, the Kurds will enthusiastically provide security for nation building activities, which is crucial because nation building cannot successfully occur when the security of the nation builders cannot be mainly guaranteed.

For the rest [Link]

Dr. Anthony Stahelski is director of the Organization Development Program at Central Washington University in Ellensbug, Washington.



Redrawing the Map: For long-lasting Mideast peace, Iraq should be broken into three nations

Until now, our premise has been to reshape Iraq as a single, democratic nation within the British-imposed boundaries of 1918. But that is, frankly, an impossible task. Anyone who has studied the region and who sees the predictable jockeying going on now for a seat in the U.S.-imposed government knows such a solution will never work. The real opportunity we have, having deposed Saddam, is to allow the three nations that comprise what we call modern Iraq—the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shiites—to shape their own futures in a manner which coincides with the more natural evolution of their cultures.
[Rest of the article Link]
Retired Air Force Col. Mike Turner was a personal assistant to Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and served as the air-operations briefing officer in the war room in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during Desert Storm. .






6/12/2004
Does the Kurdistan Parliament have any credibility ?

Yesterday, the Kurdistan Parliament accepted the recent UN Resolution on Iraq by saying "The resolution was positive in mentioning a federal Iraq" without mentioning any Kurdish rights.

People are still very angry and disappointed with first, the Kurdish political parties (PUK & KDP) , second with the Iraqi Arabs, and lastly with the US Bush Adminstration.

The Kurdistan Parliament was set up in 1992 elections. Since then no elections were held in Kurdistan. The MPs do not represent the Kurdistani generation. How can a parliament last for 12 years ? A question most Kurds ask.
People are disappointed because the Kurdish leaders used the "Kurdistan Parliament" as a mean to tell the world that we are very democratic.
When the Americans arrived, ordinary people thought that the Americans will pressure both PUK and KDP to reunite their adminstrations and hold a free general elections. But none of these have happened.
But as some commentators say here, why always blame the Americans ? Now most Kurds have come to the conclusion that blaming USA is not the case. People now blame the Kurdish leaders, who do their best for their own interest, and are disappointed in USA, but USA is not blamed, because simply if the Kurdish leaders had any sense they would have not given so much to someone like Al-Sistani.

One of the Kurdish leaders said yesterday "We sent a letter to Bush, Sistani also sent a letter to Bush...It is very clear who is favoured and who is accepted".
This is the man who BUSH loves and respects :

The man who is respected by Bush, the American president and the freedom and democracy fighter.

Hints : Check out the above link to see if chess, anal and oral sex, and friendship between males and females are forbidden or not.
P.S. I have to throw my CHESS BOARD because Sistani will soon be ruling us. Thanks President Bush ! Nice choice !
Now have a clue why Kurds are so angry ?
This conflict will now stop temporarly. It will arise in January 2005. Until then, good luck everyone !


6/11/2004
Kurdistan-Iraq conflict update !

I have added some updates below..check them out..

In 3 hours the Kurdistan Parliament will meet. If I couldn't update check out the news on www.KurdishMedia.com.

You can divide the situation into two sides. One from the Kurdish people, two from the Kurdish political parties.

The Kurdish people are waiting very anxiously for the political parties reaction. These political parties have failed the Kurdish people many times. So to be honest everyone is doubting that PUK and KDP will do anything that can upset USA. Almost everyone call for independence in case Kurdish autonomy was not given in a federal Iraq. KurdishMedia.com has a strong editorial.

On the other hand, the Kurdish political parties are in full-time negotiations. No one knows what the hell they are talking about..

The Kurdish televisions showed some press meeting with some high-level PUK and KDP officials outside the meetings-halls and they said that "walking out from the Iraqi government is not that easy and we are now taking every single negoiatable measure".

Both PUK and KDP are now saying that they are not in a position to decide on the Kurdish fate..So they are taking the case to the Kurdistan Parliament today.

The Kurdistan Parliament in Erbil (Hawler) will meet today with its full 105 members at 4.00 pm local Kurdistan time (around 12.00 GMT)

+ First Kurdish Minister to walk out :
Dr. Barham Saleh, the current Sulaimani Kurdistan Prime Minister, who was given a Deputy Prime Minister post in the new Iraqi government, has told Ayad Allwai, the Iraqi PM that was not going to take a meaningless role just to have a seat in the new government," "He told Allawi 'I cannot accept a post that does not have clear, defined legal powers, that represent the aspirations of the Kurdish people and demonstrate Kurds are the equal of all Iraqis,'Dr. Saleh is British educated and has lived both in Britain and USA for a about 20 years.

Update :
+ Ayad Allawi, the Iraqi Prime Minister has said yesterday that the Kurdish Peshmargas [Picture] are not militias. Calling (Peshmargas) as militia has angered many Kurds as Peshmargas have their own academic military colleges in Kurdistan.

+ Jack Straw called Talabani last night and has confirmed his support for the Kurdish people. Straw has told Talabani that UK & US both support Kurds.
Where is this support Mr. Straw ? I guess your phone call was more than a threat rather than support. We don't like words. We want to see internatioally recognised written papers !


P.S. Thanks for all the Kurds from Eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan for their support. You have truely shown that political maps have no effects on our love for each other. Please email me your blog to be added in my Link section.


6/09/2004
It is time to walk out...Iraq is the same old Iraq....

So United States of America has now sold us out to a cleric who believes that prostitution is legal.

According to the New YorkTimes :

A senior UN official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Times that US officials had rejected the Kurdish request because of concerns about offending Iraq's Shiite leaders.

The self-determination-rights of an entire nation is ignored because the Bush Administration fears to offend non-academic cleric such as Al-Sistini... I guess Kurds should find a man similar to Sistini to scare off the Americans !! A bearded man and an Ab'aa (the black gown) will definitely gives full Kurdish rights according to the Americans.


The situation in Kurdistan is very tense. Everyone is talking about walking out from the Iraqi government. Abandoning the New Iraq which has no difference from the Old Iraq.

The old-friend of Kurds, William Safire, has written today :


In his eagerness for the approval of the Shiite religious leader — and driven by desperation to get yesterday's unanimous U.N. resolution in time for the G-8 meeting — President Bush may be double-crossing the Kurds, our most loyal friends in Iraq. <Link>

Everyone awaits a statement by the Kurdish leaders, asking the Kurdish Ministers to abandon Baghdad, and return to Kurdistan. If the Kurdish leaders fail to do this, they will lose all their remaining credibility among the Kurdish people.
One of the Kurdish Ministers, a woman, Nesrin Berwari has said that she will resign if the Kurdish leaders called her to do the same.
She says :
"All the struggles we made last year have been lost...We've seen how democracy can be usurped," she said in reaction to the Security Council resolution, unanimously passed late on Tuesday.

and :

"I'm disappointed not only as a Kurd but as a woman... This is not what we fought for, what we committed to and what we sacrificed for -- we're very disappointed in the United States."

Every Kurd is disappointed in the United States. USA has favoured the beards of an Islamic cleric over the self-determination-rights of a long-oppressed nation.

The Shiites don't show good intentions from now. They want us to go back to pre-1974 with no Self-rule-autonomy, something that even Saddam Hussein has agreed on.

Bring on the Independence papers.



6/07/2004
New blogger from Kurdistan...plus New threats by Kurdish leaders..

Ladies and Gentlement, I would like to announce the arrival of a new blogger from Kurdistan to the World of Blogs. Karda has posted his first message today. His/her blog is called "Land of Karda", a term which was first used by the Sumerians approx 3000-4000 B.C to describe the lands where Kurds where used to live (today's Kurdistan).

Moving on to the current situation in Kurdistan, everyone is anxious about tomorrow (Tuesday). The US & UK want the UN Security Council to vote on their Iraq Resolution draft. The draft does not contain any "Kurd" word and does not refer to the Iraqi Transitional Law (TAL).
Al-Sistani has called that if UN mentions TAL he will not be happy.
TAL states that Kurds entitled to a federal state within Iraq. It seems that the Iraqis now want to abandon their promises which they used to make in Kurdistan while Saddam was in seat.

The Kurdish newspapers have conducted massive number of polls in Kurdistan. The most interesting one is by Khabat, in which %97 of its participants support independence. KurdishMedia website has also been gathering Kurdish opinions on the hot current issue.

The PM of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, has stated that "Iraq's unity is in danger if UN does not guarantee Kurdish self-rule in its resolution. Talabani and Barzani (Kurdish leaders) have also stated that they the Kurdish people will not participate in any Iraqi elections, Iraqi government, etc etc if the UN does not guarantee approving TAL.

It seems that USA & UK want to sell out the Kurds for Al-Sistani and Muqtada Sader. Let's wait for tomorrow, and the days after tomorrow....


6/06/2004
Turning Kurdistan into another Fallujah ?!!
Since 1st of June 2004 , the anti-US sentiment and the Kurdish frustration is on the rise in Kurdistan. We have now officially being sold out. Even our leaders, who were relying on US, have now admitted in an official letter to President Bush that "Kurds have been sold out".
This is what they have to say to President Bush :
If the The Transitional Administrative Law is abrogated, the Kurdistan Regional Government will have no choice but to refrain from participating in the central government and its institutions, not to take part in the national elections, and to bar representatives of the central Government from Kurdistan.

There are many reasons for the rise of anti-US sentiment in Kurdistan. First, the Kirkuk issue. Now people understand that USA doesn't want Kurds to get Kirkuk back. Simply because it has oil..Otherwise what is the explanation that Kirkuk was not included in the NO FLY ZONE that was set up to protect Kurds in 1991 ? Doesn't Kirkuk have a majority Kurdish population ? What is the explanation for not allowing the return of the Kurdish refugees and what is the explanations for keeping the Arabisation of Kirkuk as it is today ?

Many think that USA wants a central Iraq government with the oil simply because :

OIL = ENERGY = POWER = LIFE (those who say US has a great economy which can buy all Iraq fail to remember that OIL is something that dictates our life. If OIL finishes, life will stop. Simply because we use OIL for everything in life and once it is over, all the civilisations on Earth will stop because there are no alternatives for an energy source)

Back to the rise of anti-USA sentiment in Kurdistan. Just 2 months ago, about 95% of people in Iraqi Kurdistan were supporting the US-led occupation of Iraq. I don't know what is this figure at the moment. It is definitely much lower than this.

Other reasons, US & UK have presented a draft resolution for the United Nation Security Council in which they fail to recognise the Iraqi Transitional Administrative Law (which approves Kurdish self-rule autonomy in a federal Iraq) ..


So we now feel that we are empty handed..Paul Bremer and his US Admin tell us to go back to square one in 1921 !!!! Kurds have gained many minor political gains since then..We have sturggeld since 1921 against the Iraqi governments. Now the Americans tell us to shut up just like nothing has happened ?!!

I personally don't blame the Americans for what this rise in frustration in Kurdistan. People think that if the Kurdish leaders didn't rush to Baghdad, we would have been in a much better position today. If they have supported the Referendum for Kurdistan Movement, which gathered 1.7 Million signatures, they would have now gained international support.
I don't think the USA power in Iraq can do anything in order to prevent an independent Kurdistan. The power of people is very important. The USA couldn't do much in Fallujah..They couldn't do much in Najaf and Karbala (note these areas are open in the desert)...I don't think they can do much in the hard mountainous region of Kurdistan.

Moving on to Turkey, the Turkish government did not accept a US invitation for Turkish troops to enter Iraqi Kurdistan in return for a military passage for USA through Turkey simply because they feared a rise in Kurdish-nationalism among the 20 Million Kurds who live next door to Iraqi Kurdistan. They feared people ! This is what scares government ! The power of people !
We have now officially reached a deadlock. The USA does not have much for Kurds in the new Iraq (apart from telling us to ignore our identity which we have been fighting for , for almost 80 years) !! The Kurdish leaders should now only concentrate on one thing and that is the Referendum Movement !
Many think that we have given a great price for freedom.. We have given many martyrs.. A little more struggle towards total freedom and independence will worth every single drop of blood.

Otherwise when we gonna learn from the history ?!!

Read the commentary from this American website (Slate) on selling out Kurds by USA




6/04/2004
A video from Kurdistan..


This video that you see...Does not threaten coalition forces.. It does not show hostages..It does not show beheading of foreign civilians...It does not show masked men threatening civilians..

It shows the mothers of some Kurdish martyrs who have lost their lives in order to create a free Kurdistan...These mothers are giving some roses to some US soldiers...

Let's see what the Americans have for freedom-loving people..








Thanks to KurdistanNet.org for the video.



6/02/2004
Yesterday was generally sad for all Kurds...

Yesterday, 1st of June 2004, while some kids were celebrating Children's Day, most of the grown ups were sad and were speechless.. To some, this reminded them of the day in 1921 when the Kurdish problem was first created in the Middle East, when the Britons created the Iraqi state, without giving any rights to the Kurds, and without asking the Kurds if they wanted to be part of the new state or no.

This time, after 83 years, the Britons who had traveled to the New World, now called the Americans, again created the Iraqi state from scratch, without giving any political rights to the Kurds, and again, without asking the Kurds if they wanted to be part of the new state.
In both cases, self-determination-rights of the Kurds are ignored...


After 9th of April 2004, the Kurds hoped that Kurds this time really participate in ruling Iraq. They hoped that this time their self-determination-rights would be given, they hoped that their refugees would return to their homes, they hoped that were would be guarantees would be given that another genocide would not happen again.

These all did not happen. In fact, Kurds have lost some rights that Saddam Hussein himself had granted.
During Saddam Hussein's era, the vice president was a Kurd. So what is all this fuss today about the vice president being a Kurd ? There were also some other posts which were given to Kurds during Saddam...Now let's compare the posts which are given to Kurds in the new selected Iraqi government :

1) Ministry of Works (yeah right like there are any jobs in Iraq at the moment)
2) Ministry of women (yeah right like you can tell a tribal leader you can't marry 4 women)
3) Ministry of Human Rights (yeah like there are any rights of humans in Iraq)..

Other ministries included Minstry of Water Resources, and Minstry of foreign Affairs. You can say that Foreign Affairs is of a little important but it doesn't mean that much, since there are no Kurds in among the leading roles.

The Kurdish people feel betrayed... Cries of sighs are everywhere.. They feel betrayed first by their leaders, second by the Americans, who we are their only allies in the Middle East.
The Kurdish leaders were telling us all the time, don't ask for independence, they did their best to suppress the Referendum Movement. They were telling us we will not just rule Kurdistan..But Kurds will be also participating in ruling Iraq... All these promises have turned out to be lies.. The people are as angry as hell....

Tomorrow there will be a demonstration in the Kurdistan's capital of Hewler. I think it is time now to show our anger...If not it is too late.