A conversation with the US-based political writer Omar Sindi

A conversation with the US-based political writer and analyst Omar Sindi — Illustrative photo: Creative Commons/pxhere

Nemat Sharif | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Interviewed by Nemat Sharif

The main catalyst for the arts of all kinds, languages and otherwise, is the humanism of self-expression. In doing so, it gives what is deeply sensed as a visual, vocal or written form. Language expression comes in different forms, poetry, prose or articles, that are meant to express those creations and ideas to others.

An artist or a writer works through his personal, national and human realms, expressing his mental activities via his cultural means and environment. At the same time, s/he expresses his human dimensions as part of his people and of humanity as a whole.

The media landscape in Iraq in general and Kurdistan Region in particular is unstable and in a sense ‘mysterious’. Electronic media as well as the written press remain faithful to their ideals and the people they serve; no one is above criticism or outside the history. Many journalists have sacrificed their lives or freedom standing for people’s right to know and their own ideals.

The fifth Iraqi parliamentary elections ended its early vote with 59% of voters refused to vote. In the first elections, despite the violence, the majority rushed to the boxes in hopes of change. In contrast, with full security, this time around only 41% of voters actually voted. The reason is despair and reluctance to vote that affected the majority. 19 years of corruption, accompanied by the complexities of kidnapping, assassination, poverty and bad conditions have obviously turned voters away from ballot boxes.

With me today is the US based Kurdish political writer and analyst Mr. Omer Sindi. Welcome.

Question: I believe you just returned from a month long trip to Kurdistan. First tell us about your growing up in Kurdistan, schooling, and your beginnings with the press, and obstacles you may have faced?

Omar Sindi: As a Kurd, the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 has literally affected all aspects of the Kurdish people’s life; there have been many attempts to unyoke this virulence of repression imposing barbarian gates in our land. The main vile hindrance is the Kurdish political disunity (“If we were united, if we all obeyed one another, The Turks, Arabs, and Persians would all be in our servitude” (17th century Kurdish scholar, Poet – Ehmede Xani). This default divvy betrayed our spirit, betrayed our history, betrayed our language, betrayed our land, betrayed our water, etc.

Despite this perpetual occupation and conflict in our land, the regimes occupying Kurdistan are still not willing to discuss or propose any peaceful solution or begin a dialogue regarding the Kurdish issue. The British and French governments, after World I, divided the Middle East amongst themselves.

They set up many mini-state colonies to serve their interests, and if they wanted, they could have set up a Kurdish state as well, but they chose not to. After the capitulation of the Ottoman Empire, Perhaps they didn’t want to upset Mustafa Kamal of Turkey, the new embryonic state he just created in Anatolia from the ashes of the defeated Ottoman Empire.

As for me, I’m really not too interested to profile my life, however I and many Kurds of my generation growing up in the mid 1960’s are considered children of war in Southern Kurdistan (Iraq). In September of 1961, the Kurdish Armed struggle started under the Leadership of General Mustafa Barzani which quickly became the Kurdish national liberation movement. The people of my village “Kalook” like most Kurds, joined the national liberation movement to defend the Kurdish peoples’ rights.

Kurdish towns and villages became targets for the constant Iraqi aerial bombardment, and Kalook was viciously bombed, noticeably more than surrounding villages. There are two prongs of speculations to why my village was subjected to more aerial attacks: 1) there were many frontline soldiers, Peshmerga, from my village, two of my paternal uncles Salman Sindi and Hameed Sindi were effective frontline Peshmerga leaders; 2) my grandfather had a water-powered flourmill providing bread to local people and Peshmerga fighters. Besides instilling fear, it was meant to disrupt the economy. I vividly remember the vicious Iraqi military jets dropping bombs on defenseless villagers.

I am grateful to my father and uncles for their steadfast defense despite the hardship and overwhelming Iraqi firepower. When there was an opportunity for school they put me through. In the United States, I continued my education and graduated with a technical College degree in civil engineering.

What got me interested in the press? Of course, being a victim of wrong politics, escaping from Iraq with whole families in 1975, becoming a refugee in Iran during the Shah’s reign in Iran. Then coming to the United States as a refugee again, I was interested in the daily news, to know if my uncles, or my father had become Peshmerga again, interested to know what is going on in Kurdistan, particularly in Iraq.

On April 4th, 2012; President Massoud Barzani met with the US President Barack Obama in the White House, I didn’t know what the nature of discussions was, but I read in various newspapers, President Obama and his administration were not so enthusiastic about the Kurdish issues, in general, particularly in Iraq.

At that time also Nouri al-Maliki, then Iraqi Prime Minister, was threatening military action against the Kurds. Later, I wrote a letter to President Obama about the Kurdish issue and problems in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq. President Obama responded in diplomatic language.

Question: How do you see press freedom at the moment in the Kurdistan Region and in Iraq in general, and what are its drawbacks and positives?

Omar Sindi: Almost all political parties have their own broadcasting companies. We are at the mercy of party views. It used to be that news only came from these broadcasting stations, but these days anyone with an internet connection can broadcast their thoughts to the world. Anyone who is interested in saying something, in publishing something, an idea, or criticizing a policy or a policy maker could do so.

The United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinion without interference, and seek, receive, and media regardless of frontier”. Free Press should be Sacrosanct.

Question: The recent Iraqi elections clearly divided political groups into winners and losers. In Iraq proper, the Sadrist group, and in Kurdistan Region the KDP were clear winners. PUK lost several seats and Gorran/Change group was pushed out completely with zero seats in the Parliament. What do you think is happening at the voter level?

Omar Sindi: I’m not an investigative reporter! People who voted were saying that the United Nations (UN) observers were monitoring the voting process closely. Monitors declared that there was no room for deviations from the standard procedure that had been set by the UN electioneering staff. Of course, in every election there will be losers and winners.

In the 2009 Kurdistan parliamentary elections, Gorran won 25 seats. In general, the dogmatism of political parties has faded away. During this recent election period, I was in Zakho, Kurdistan Region, people spoke of only 1500 votes at one polling station where 4,000 registered voters were expected to turn out.

For example, in the US, in the State of Virginia, in the 2020 presidential election Joe Biden, the Democrat, was 10 points ahead of President Donald J. Trump, the Republican. In 2021, in the recent gubernatorial election the Democrats lost and the Republicans won.

Question: do you think the low voter turnout helped the winners to gain more seats?

Omar Sindi: Probably yes! Usually, the Party activists and loyalists of every political party overwhelmingly voted for their party candidates; regardless of qualifications. In general, independent voters are the ones who decide the winners of elections in democratic societies like the USA. Independent/swing voters mostly decide the election winners.

Question: Do you think criticism helps? Are there any ears that listen to criticism?

Omar Sindi: Political polarization, free and fair competition without fear, have mostly helped people in liberal democracies to prosper politically and economically, while peoples of third world countries bogged in their political strife. As we are all observing these days, Thousands of people from Asia, Middle East and Africa, mostly from authoritarian states are risking their lives to reach European shores and borders in search of a better life.

For example, a German lawmaker Nikolas Lober resigned from his position for his role in a government deal “to procure face masks”, perhaps because the deal benefitted his own business interests.

Regarding criticism, I have no evidence to say that any one is taking heed, but rumors have it that the big brother is listening! If this metaphoric-bipolar is to continue, Iraq is heading into uncharted territory.

Question: What do you think of electronic journalism and its role in expanding the base of democracy and consolidating the pillars of globalization?

Omar Sindi: This is a very complex subject to explain! In short, certainly electronic journalism and globalization are not a political remedy for democratization. Although, it appears that some political pundits buoyant those ideas; especially between trade and democratization! It ought to be looked at again! However, is it incumbent upon liberal democracies to always promote and encourage democratic processes throughout the world, even though it will probably take a long time, if they get it right!

Question: What do you think makes a successful writer?

Omar Sindi: There is no magic work for a successful writer. It depends on his/her personal desire, objective and setting a goal: to i.e. write objectively or any other goal. Nothing is intractable, only to try! Let me just paraphrase an example; they say upon a time someone (let’s call him Mr. X) was trying to experiment with an object but he failed several times. So Mr. X was extremely upset. He gave up and walked away.

On the road he saw an ant holding a piece of grain, trying to carry it up on a big rock. He stood watching the ant‘s struggle to lift the grain to the top of the big rock. It failed again and again. After several attempts finally the ant was successful and took that piece of grain to the top of the rock. A lesson Learned, Mr. X returned to his laboratory and tried his experiment again and again until he succeeded in his project. There are many successful writers who were unsuccessful on the first attempt, but they succeeded later on. Another famous quote “Nothing to fear but fear itself”- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933.

In light of the elections, what is the wisdom/lessons learned that you can offer the readers?

Omar Sindi: I will slant your question differently! “History is not there to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from it. And if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it. It’s not yours to erase. It belongs to all of us” (Unknown.) But I will encourage the authoritarian regimes’ leaders to go ahead and read the legacy of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, India’s Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, and others like them; then go ahead and read the legacies of Joseph Stalin-former Soviet Union, Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran, Ali Abdullah Salih of Yemen, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and others like them and compare their legacies, deeds, accomplishments, and wealth! What did they take with them to their graves?

Nemat Sharif, a political analyst, a contributing writer and columnist for iKurd.net.