Iraq News Now

Dana Berzinjy | Exclusive to Ekurd.net

When the scary coronavirus was spread in the world, some countries stopped public work hours to prevent the virus from getting spread. That was a clever strategy in order to save tens of thousand lives from getting the deadly virus. The Kurdish Regional Government showed a list of protective measures, including closing down hairdresser’s, beauty stores, and bars that offer alcohol, started on 13th March and it has been extended up to 10th of May 2020.

The government commanded its citizens to obey the guidelines that were announced by the KRG’s health minister. Since the new political system was introduced after 2003, protests have targeted corruption undertaken by particular personalities who hold or held political power. These protests were a result of a failure to meet the people’s demands, which include a right level of wealth for all Iraqis without distinguish. The situation became so severe those basic services such as clean water, electricity, and other infrastructural projects failed to materialize.

While Iraq and Kurdistan are very rich in natural resources, such as crude oil, gas but unfortunately, the Iraqi people including, Kurds, Assyrians, Arabs, Armenians, and Turkmen never experienced the full benefits of the natural resources offer. Poverty, corruption and fraud have been spread like a skyrocket among the government officials due to lack of good authority and the penetration of selfishness. Generally speaking the Iraqi people from north that is the city of Sulaimani up to Basra in south of Iraq do not trust the governments. Trust has been rusted badly and has a disgusting smell. So, the lack of trust and corruption in Iraq as a whole country absorbed a huge fraction of Iraq’s budget, which otherwise could have been used to support the weak and poor Iraqi people.

So, let me just talk about Iraqi Kurdistan as an example of Iraq, which rules by Kurdish regional Government, (KRG). As we know the KRG has locked down all the shops without exception, even the Covid-19 according to the Kurdish TV Channels has killed four people and even the researchers were denied to be involved in any researches by some of the lecturers at university due to unknown reasons or national security excuse which has no any scientific bases. The KRG has closed all the shops including the pharmacies without having a plan or good preparation or leaving a space for poor people to move, or ask for help in case if someone is getting sick, they have not provided ambulances for people when they need it or to call an emergency numbers. I heard from one of the Kurdish citizens who asked for help due to having a sick person at home, but the hospital asked to get 50,000 Iraqi dinner for ambulance service, even the person was unemployed and did not have money to pay.

So, unfortunately, KRG as a corrupted government has no plans whatsoever to support the people that live in Kurdistan. Imagine 70% of people rely on themselves without getting any financial support from the government. Say the population in Iraqi Kurdistan is 6 million people from this number 1, 200,000 people getting salary from the government, but I could say more than 80% of this salary goes to peshmerga and their supporters. Around 4,800,000 people locked up in their houses without essential and necessity support such as foods, medicine, clean water, financial support, and even there is not 24 hours electricity service is available.

According to the NRT Kurdish TV channel one of the parents took her child to hospital, but the hospital did not have oxygen device in order to accept the child at the hospital. The mother started to give her child oxygen manually and the device is very similar to a balloon. I cannot believe a government has been running Kurdish Region for 29 years and was not able to buy a single oxygen device for the ministry of health.

So, we have 4,800,000 people locked up in their premises with no basic resources, the majority of this people have shops, such butchers, green grocers, bakeries, grocers and so on. These shop owners paying rents, electricity bills, city council fees, sign fees, telephone lines, Internet and paying other taxes to the government. But, during this lockdown period these people have not got any income support or getting any financial help from the government in order to buy foods for their families on the daily bases and pay their bills.

Even the KRG has asked people to support the government and the rich people gave the KRG over $20m, but still the government has not supported anyone financially even the public employees got paid their salaries after 5o days. In Iraqi Kurdistan we have so many farmers, they look after their farms, sheep, goats, hens, and cows in order to benefit from their products and sell them in the market. But, unfortunately, this corrupted KRG has not allowed the farmers to go back to their villages even to water their farms.

As I mentioned it before, some of the shop owners threw out their meat, greens and products because they went off in their shops. The KRG does not take any responsibilities, but it is easy for them to lock up people in their houses without having any necessary resources to live on it. So this lockdown does not cost them a cent, and still begging to get help from Iraq or from the rest of the world. At the same time, the KRG is laundering people’s money to other countries such as Lebanon as we heard the news from the Lebanese TV and Kurdish channels.

The illegal money was around $1b US dollars. I can not believe that KRG has been running the region since 1991, but the government has not kept a few billion dollars to spend it in a dark day like this and give it to vulnerable people such as handicapped people, retirees, farmers and shop owners. The entire world, including every state on this planet has got a great plan and provided a huge budget in order to get through this covid19 crisis, and to support their own citizens. I have mentioned Australia and Canada in this article in order to support my argument.

Australian Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan delivered a higher education relief package to Australian students. The minister decided to provide 20,000 places short courses to cover nursing, teaching, health, IT and science. Australian universities will keep the $18 billion as planned for this year irrespective of any fall in enrolments The package also will include backing for new short courses for the unemployed people, and $100 million in directing relief for education providers. This is a great opportunity plan for everyone, especially unemployed people to use their time to study the above courses. But unfortunately, the KRG, Education Minster and a Minister of Higher Education and Scientific research have not provided even a dollar for Education system in Iraqi Kurdistan. What the KRG has done just shut down the gates of schools and universities without any plans.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also decided to fund from $1bn to cover industries battling the negative consequences of coronavirus, such as tourism, agriculture and education. But the KRG’s Prime Minister is very quiet in that regard. The Federal government has more plans by including that the tax office will provide administrative relief for some tax duties for people influenced by the coronavirus epidemic. The Australian Federal government has broadcasted a 2nd major economic release package as well, it worth $66 bn; in addition of the initial package that was $17.6 bn. The government also provided more than $100 bn in emergency banking measures to stop against a credit restriction. In this great Australian support package applies to small business and also includes a major boost to welfare receivers and for people who lose work as a result of the Covid19 pandemic.

The entire economic support the government promised and obligated, it worth $189bn. The Prime Minister Scott Morrison will support Australian economy in case Covid19 crisis continues. In this package the government published that 6.5 million lower-income Australians will get a one-off $750 payment intended at domestic demand in the economy, costing the budget $4.76bn. So this $750 payment will be paid from 31 March to all social security, veteran and other income support receivers and eligible concession cardholders, and families receiving family tax benefits.

I believe half of those that will benefit from this package are pensioners. But in Iraqi Kurdistan none of the unemployed people got paid even a dollar and the pensioners get paid their salaries in 50- 60 days instead of 30 days. Then, I have to stop here and ask the KRG and say, where are all the funds that you get from selling gas, oil, and the fund you get from the Iraqi Federal Government and all the taxes that you collect locally and internationally from Iran, Turkey and other countries from commercial activities in all the borders.

Canada is also has passed a multi-billion-dollar relief package to respond to the coronavirus slowdown. So, the government permits to spend C$107bn ($75bn, £64bn) to support Canadian economy and incentive to help Canadian citizens that are struggling economically. This package provided to improve child benefit payments to families have children, wage grants for small business, and tax relief measures. The bill would give C$2,000 a month for the next four months for those people who lost their job due Covid-19. The support will be given to people who are isolated, and supporting ill family members.

At the end I want to say the KRG does not take any accountabilities as a government, but the government’s duty is just to make a life harder for it’s citizens. This recent KRG’s Cabinet Ministers has no plans for the country because they are just carrying out their duties as a spay or they have been employed to work for their neighborhood states for instance Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. According to what the UN Security Council saying that “Adopting Resolution 2417 (2018), Security Council Strongly Condemns Starving of Civilians, Unlawfully Denying Humanitarian Access as Warfare Tactics.” I believe KRG falls under the UN Security Council rules and it is going to be liable under International Laws by making it’s people to starve for food or basic essential necessities.

Bibliography

1. National education reporter Conor Duffy, Government announces coronavirus relief package for higher education with focus on domestic students, Australia
2. Katharine Murphy Political editor, 12 March 2020, Coronavirus: uncertainty over $1bn relief fund for Australian tourism, education and agriculture.
3. By Sarah Martin, 22nd March 2020, What Australia’s $189bn coronavirus economic rescue package means for you. Australia.
4. Canada backs $75bn coronavirus relief bill, 25th March 2020.

Dana Berzinjy, a freelance writer from Iraqi Kurdistan, living in Sydney/Australia, is an occasional contributing writer for Ekurd.net.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Ekurd.net or its editors.

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