Kirkuk: A Town Divided - Iraq

May 2003
Kurds are now returning to claim back homes in Kirkuk they were forced to flee under Saddam. But the 'right of return' is inflaming ethnic divisions in the city.

Mayouf Sayid is now an old man, he was forced to flee his life in Kiruk 15 years ago "We're happy to be going back to our homes. Until now, it was like night for us. Now the day is dawning." He finds his house abandoned but still full of the memories of his murdered son. Mayouf finally breaks down in tears when his neighbour's daughters come to meet him for the first time -- as he realises all he has missed... Over 100,000 Kurds were expelled from Kirkuk in a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing. Now they are eagerly returning, trying to establish a new Kurdish led multi-ethnic administration in the city. However, Arabs claim Kurdish militia are terrorising their neighbourhood, looting homes and evicting people at will. The Turkmen population also claim they are being targeted by the new Kurdish led administration. "If the situation goes on, of course we'd like Turkey to enter Kirkuk," states Turkmen Community Leader Ali Jangezh. It's a situation Turkey is watching carefully. The Americans have brought in extra troops but they remain outmanned. As the Kurds deepen their control of the city, the Turkmens enlarge their own militia and the Arabs continue to hanker for Saddam's return. Will the oppressed now become the oppressor?

Produced by SBS/Dateline
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

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[peywend]

FUCK ALL TURK IN WORLD FUCK Monkey business HISTORY OF TURKMEN LONGLIVE KURDISTAN

[narrowcross]

@AryanMede Well you have a point in refrence to the reliabilty of the internet, anyway I'll ask many Turks about this situation.

[AryanMede]

@peirau I don't, I visit museums, I read books, I discuss and much more...

It's not all about the internet ;)

[AryanMede]

@peirau Alexander kept Iranians in administraiting positions and he wore Iranian clothes. And he hated kurds? No, he did this so he could connect the two nations. I seriously have no idea where you got that from.

The ones who really hated kurds were mongolians, not mongol turks, but mongolians.

[AryanMede]

@peirau Gee, let's be honest when we discuss kurdish history, kurds as an people weren't mentioned before Seljuk Turks, around 1200, although Kurdistan was mentioned in like 1090, lol. But still, this means, that Alexander didn't hate kurds, he couldn't of, because they (according to history) they didn't exist! But ofcourse, they existed as medes along with persians =Iranians.

[AryanMede]

@narrowcross Look it up, or ask any turk that has been raised in Turkey, it's as simple as that, I seriously don't have time to direct you to special sites. And we all know there are few sites that are 100% reliable on the internet ..

[narrowcross]

@AryanMede Never heard that one before! Any resources?

[AryanMede]

@peirau Are you a kurd?

If so, you should be ashamed of yourself, saying kurds are descendants of persians ...

[AryanMede]

@narrowcross Claimed that kurds are what? Explain.

Yes we all know that Narrow, but it's a fact that turks where taught that kurdish is an offspring of turkish, and that kurds were mountain turks.