Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, July 18, 1963, Image 17

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Medford mail tribune., July 18, 1963, Image 17

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Newspaper Page Text. MEDFOBD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON THURSDAY. JULY 18, 1963 g J Long Guerrilla War Seen Between Kurds and Iraqi Government Br DONALD MAY United Prate International In the northern plains and rugged mountains of Iraq, the Iraqi army is flighting a lit tle known war against tough Kurdish tribesmen demand ing autonomy. Each side has accused the other of broken promises and treachery. The Iraqi accuse the Kurds of attemping to set up an in dependent state banned to the Iraqi army and govern ment officials even as negotia tions toward setting up a Kurdish willaya or district within the framework of Iraq were proceeding in Baghdad. The Kurds on their side ac cuse the Iraqi government of jailing Kurdish negotiators and of refusing to carry out n agreement for an exchange of prisoners. Accuse Iraqi Army The Kurds also accuse the Iraqui army of using napalm against old people and wom en and children clustered in Kurdish villages. Giving at least lukewarm support to the Kurds is the Soviet Union which from time to time has demanded estab lishment of an independent Kurdistan and which for 13 years gave shelter to the pres ent Kurdish leader,. Mulls Mustafa Barzani. The present struggle goes back about 20 years, but for 3,000 years the Kurds have been fighting off assimilation by governments and empires, They are a rugged people, living in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the soviet Union, generally i n mountainous areas where borders meet. No one is quite sure how many there are. Most esti mates agree there are about 1.5 million in Iraq. U. S. sources put the grand total at from three to six million. A Tribal People They are a tribal people whose own fierce independ ence has prevented any great degree of unity among them. Barzani is the leader of the Barzani clan, which is among the largest, and Iraqi sources estimate he can call upon 3, 000 warriors. But these same Iraqi sources claim that Barzani's cruelties have alienated other Kurds in Iraq and as proof point to ' the fact that two Kurds remain in the central government cabinet and that the Iraqi army contains many Kurds. They also claim that the Soviet Union itself contains more Kurds than all the oth er nations together and that, if Russia is so interested in an independent Kurdistan she might take the first step by giving up some of her own territory. Report! Ara Conflicting Reports on the progress of the fighting are conflicting. Arab sources say the rebel lion should be put down in a matter of weeks. Kurdish couriers claim that the Iraqi army so far has been able to operate only in the plains and that attempts to drive li.to the mountains have been turned back with heavy Iraqi casualties Kurdish units are known to have attacked into the Kir- kuk region, site of the im portant installations of the British - controlled Iraq pet roleum company, Barzani has warned foreign embassies in Baghdad that he will not hesitate to attack the Installations in a move to cut off governmen oil revenues. Interest Is Hot. Cold Soviet interest in the Kurd ish fight for autonomy has blown hot and cold. In 1954 the Russians tried to annex northern Iran. A Kurdish area around the Iranian town of Mahabad be came a sort of no man's land between Russian and British troops. The Soviets, who pre viously had shown little Inter est in the Kurds, Infiltrated the Mahabad area and set up a local judge as head of a "Mahabad Republic," whose officials were taken, without knowing where they were going, to Baku on the Caspian sea for political indoctrina tion. Then they were return ed. At the same time the war like Barzani clan of Kurds in Iraq were driven out of their home by British - led Iraqi forces. One or two thou sand of them, headed by the Mulla Mustafa Barzani. turn ed up destitute in Mahabad, and the Russians ordered the Mchabad Kurds to feed them. Republic Collapses But the Mahabad Republic collapsed and the Mulla Bar rani fled with his men to the Soviet Union where he dis appeared from western eyes for 13 years. In 1958 leftist A rah nnrtnr Gen. Abdul Karim Kassim murdered Iraa s Kine Feiul and took over the govern ment. Kassim brought Bar zani and his men back from Russia, and they had a brief period of cooperation. Iraq's Communist Dartv camp out nf hiding. The Rusiaos gave Kassim substantial aid. But Barzani fell out with Kassim and to some extent with Russia. Communist and non - communist Kurds in Iraq began to join ranks to demand autonomy. Barzani appears to have tried to re duce Communist influence in his Democratic Party of Iraqi Kurdistan (DPIK) while ' the same time trying to keep use ful ties with Russia. MoTtment Ii Ditched The Kremlin, which pinned its hope in the Middle East o n Kassim, progressively ditched the Kurdish move ment. But then Kassim himself began to fall out with Mos cow. He dissolved Iraq's Com munist party and set up a new Communist party under his own control. In 1961 the Kurds began an armed rebel lion. Kassim's forces strafed Kurdish villages with Soviet built MIGs. The events put Moscow in a quandary. But the Kremlin did not take the step of with drawing support from Kassim and backing the Kurds. It con tinued military aid to Kassim. Eventually Barzani's forces bea' off Kassim's. Last February Kassim was overthrown by the Baath Arab group. The new Iraqi government, now in power, clamped down on local Com' munists. Moscow suddenly be came friendly with the Kurds. Moscow still appears in a dilemma. As the leader of Marxism its loyalties should be with the Kurds, because Lenin decreed support of such independence move menu. , But as the Russian state, in a world of power politics, the Kremlin has broader interests in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole, and in this the Kurds are small potatoes. The public Soviet press still tempers its support for the Kurds, speaking not of "inde pendence" for them but of a rather vague "equal rights." A recent article in Pravda supported Barzani against the "reactionary sheiks" but ad ded that this movement was not a "separatist one." Beneath the counter, how ever, a clandestine commu nist radio In East Germany broadcasts almost daily to the Kurds of Iran urging them to revolt. Last June 8 the Kurds and the Iraq government seemed on the verge of negotiating agreement on a scries of Kurdish demands, including the right to use their own language in schools and to have part of oil revenues spent in their area. Delegation Heads North A Kurdish delegation head ed north from Baghdad to convey the terms to Barzani for his approval. No one seems to know whether the delegation got there. On June 9 Baghdad ra dio announced martial law in the Kurdish areas. The result has been renewed fighting, only sketchy details of which have been reaching Washing ton. All U. S. diplomatic mis sions In northern Iraq and one U. S. information agency mis sion there were ousted in 1958 when the Iraqi government accused them of stirring up the Kurds. The Iraqis have been charging that the Kurds are secretly receiving military supplies from the Russians. The Kurds undeniably have Soviet weapons. But U. S. of ficials think they probably got them from the Iraqi army through defections and guer rilla raids. They doubt that Russia could be supplying the Kurds over the mountain bor ders through Iran or Turkey. They do not belive Iraq can beat the Kurds, for no one ever has. Nor do they believe the Kurds, at the moment, can cause the Iraqi government to fall. They therefore see the prospect of a long guerrilla war, unless the two sides coo) off enough for another round of negotiations. Subscribers Ta reoort Improper r wn Medlord. phone ''W"1: Uni call it 41S Bridie el . er phone 4S3-300J; YrekJ. phone Victory J-M9S before t:4S dailr end 10 JO am. Sunday. tf rtfulir delivery lrnv shortly afler you en notify office. thu tlimmaUfH pectel mMMnf er eerwe. Ntw Crop Frozen Sliced Strawberries Hem Jam or Freexer Pick 30-LB. CAN $6" Peter Piper Whole Sweet Pickles 48-OZ. JAR 99c Voit Poly Foam Ski Belt Sizes Small, Large Regular $3.00 $99 Voit Slalom Water Ski Wish Bone Rudder Regular $19.95 $1 I88 IMPROVED FAB DETERGENT Heavy Duty Formula Giant Pkg BANQUET FROZEN F a i i f ICO lmon' Banana, Strawberry uttencotch, Choc., Cecenut M-Ox. WELCH'S GRAPE ESKIMO PORTABLE AIR COOLER Filters the Air i-Speed Water Laval WELCIIADE 59 399 4 99c 1 SEA ISLAND P'APPLE GHUrmS Heavy Syrup BANQUET FROZEN WHOLE FRIED CHICKEN No. 2 Can Fully Cooked Defrost and Serve Mb. 10-oz. Package 99? . 32 ei. Can SNIDERS Reg. $39.95 3-DRAWER JIFFY CABINET e for Horn ar Travel e Holds Jawelry, Supplies, ate . ROYAL GELATIN DESSERT EST X' 2 33c ORE IDA FROZEN POTATOES ZERO S-INCH TABLE FAN e Tip-Proof Baaa Rag. $6.91 $-399 Barbecue 1 . .... niBlll pn Liter I LAvili sriHiiM-EK GOLDEN FRIES 2 ... 44c SWEEPSTAKES ilACKERAL -.,..c..6."99c ALL PURE CANNED HILKSrc.' 8- 99c JIFFY ALL PURPOSE '' BISCUIT MIX .. . 29c IETTY CROCKER'S BISQUICK 39c .' , 57c WELLMAN'S CHOICE COFFEES 2L89c 2 89c DELRICH SALAD OIL S3S 33c DUCKY POWDERED DETERGENT . 59c STARK'S INSTANT POWDERED MILK . 99c EVERAIN 3-ARM 14-oz. bottle m t TOMATO CATSUP SHASTA calorie DRINKS 3Sr " Jl ICELANDIC FROZEN FISH CAKES i.. -4L8B VEL-O-MATIC DISHWASHER DETERGENT I 29 INSTANT POTATOES BOOK MATCHES REG. 65c TEXACO OR TRITON MOTOR OIL SAE 20-30 IVt. 3h. pkg. 9 50-counl plug. 3 1 5a REG. $3.98 50-FT. '2-IN. VINYL GARDEN HOSE 10-Vear Guarantee fffflUUM e Revolving Type e Covers Up to 35 Ft. 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At their H EaVTjd Green Peppers rk,iru' - 1 Fresh Orange Juice Ktu. fti.av uinu . K . A aav m am. TV TUBES Less 40 Bermuda Shorts V,:,. 99c T-ShirtsorBriets SZ.49 REG. S2.9B 2-FIECE REG. SI. 79 ROLL. UP SLEEVE ALUMINUM Dish Drainer S1.88 Ladies' Blouse 99c Hamburger Mold 49c DELUXE PLASTIC WOVEN REG. S2.9B MEN'S SHORT SLEEVE REG. St. 39 20 FT. HEAVY DUTY Bread Basket 19c Sport Shirt H.' S1.99 Extension Cord 97c 100 TABLETS Bufferin Reg. $1.29 Reg. 1.3S Noxema TjJ For Skin Beauty ii U Mist A Gold Quart Bottle ...... 49',:; CASHIER WINDOW SERVICES FILM DEVELOPING e YEAR AROUND LAY-AWAY PLAN e Fft Gilt Wrttslnt 1 Grottini Cardi for ill cessions e Hunting tni Fishine LiCfniti e Chocks Csskul e Money Oretort e PostsfO Jtsmpi e lottlo Rotwrn e Philc TV I Rsoio Tubti t 40. 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