The secret assassination of former KDP leader Fakhir Mergasuri

Interview with Mirriam Mergasuri, widow of Fakhir Mergasuri

Images of Mirriam and Fakhir Mergasuri in Lvin Magazine

By Lvinexpress.com* (Translated by The Kurdistan Tribune):

Fakhir Mergasuri, one of the leaders of the KDP, had a big role in the KDP leadership and was responsible for branch 4 of the KDP in Slemani (Sulaymani) as well as the branch of Kirkuk. Fakhir Mergasuri is well-known for his leadership in the Hindran Battle, the result of which was the Iraqi government asking for negotiations with the Kurds. He was the leader of the Sherwanian Tribe which, under the leadership of his father, Hamid Agha Mergasuri, had been one of the main participants in building the Republic of Mehabad with Mustafa Barzani. In 1975 Hamid Agha and his sons were killed and at that time the KDP were accused of being responsible. After this tragedy the rift between the family of Fakhir Mergasuri and Barzani widened and it continued until recent years when they made peace. Fakhir Mergasuri could still be alive but his belief was that death was nobler; he believed that one must leave no mark of betrayal and surrender in history, although this is common practice amongst tribal rulers in our country.

Lvin Magazine interviewed Mirriam, the widow of Fakhir Mergasuri. She was not only his wife but also his friend. Mirriam was also significantly involved in the same Party and her work involved keeping a lot of the party’s secrets.

The interview comprised the following questions from Lvin (L) to Mirriam (M):

Q.1 (L) – What prompted you to make peace with the Barzani family?

(M) – The efforts to make peace have been under way for a long time to resolve the conflict between us and we found that Nerchivan Barzani and Masoud Barzani were serious about their gesture. They felt they had done something wrong towards our family and at the same time we preferred to make peace with them for the sake of national and local interests. When I met Masoud Barzani he expressed his regret about what had happened and he praised the role of my husband in the Kurdish Nationalist Movement. That alleviated some of my pain. When Nerchirvan Barzani came to me he told me that this injustice had happened to my family and that this was human injustice and that he wanted to open a ‘new chapter’ and I told him I had chosen to make peace. This all made us agree about their gesture as it did not look right for the new generation of the two families to be standing against one another.

 Q.2 (L) –Are you related to the Barzani family?

(M) – Hamid Agha Mergusari and Mustafa Barzani are related. The mother of Mustafa Barzani and one of the wives of Mustafa Barzani come from the Sherwanian tribe. In that way they are related to Hamid Agha Mergasuri. Apart from this the Sherwanian tribe have always supported and backed Mustafa Barzani.

 Q.3 (L) – After the collapse of the 1975 revolution, was it true that not only Fakhir Mergasuri was killed but also his father and all his brothers?

(M) – This is true, Hamid Agha was killed along with the brothers of Fakhir (Saeed, Rashid, Assad, Magid and Jawhar), as well as Fakhir’s cousin Khalil. Also, Kahlil Bradossti who Hamid Agha considered as a son was also killed. In 1971, Jamil, the brother of Fakhir was assimilated with the Communists and was killed in Hawler (Erbil). We should not be surprised that all of these great people have been killed by Kurds.

 Q.4 (L) – When were Fakhir and his father and brothers arrested?

(M) – In 1971 Fakhir was arrested. I remember that day vividly; one of Mustafa Barzani’s security guards came to our house in Choman and told us that he had come to take Fakhir to Mustafa Barzani who wanted to see him. Fakhir got changed and went with him. He was then apprehended by Mustafa Barzani for a few days before being released.

After this time, Fakhir was arrested on another occasion. This time Hamid Agha was arrested as well. I was not able to see Fakhir for some time. After a while Fakhir’s brothers, most of whom were residents of Mergasur, were arrested by Sheikh Mohamed Khalid . Meanwhile, Hamid Agha was very ill in jail and at that time Dr  Mahmud Osman, who was a doctor inside the Kurdish movement, went to the jail and then to see Mustafa Barzani to ask him to release Hamid Agha on account of his ill health. For that reason they released him. I could see Fakhir up to the summer of 1972 and we went with the kids to see him and take food to him in jail , but later in 1972 the visiting conditions were stopped. Hamid Agha along with one of Fakhir’s brothers Jawhar and me and my children were living in Khalakan because we had to leave Mergusoor due to intense bombardment by the Iraqi government. From the day Fakhir was arrested to 1975 we had security guards designated to our house who could stop and search anyone who approached the house.

Before the collapse of the Kurdish movement on the 20^th March 1975 Hamid Agha was in bed ill. One of the messengers came to him and told him that Mustafa Barzani wanted to see him and say farewell because all of them were going to Iran. Hamid Agha went with the messenger in his car to the headquarters of Barzani at the office of the Riyad jail in Khalan where he met Karem Sinjari who had come to take Hamid Agha back to jail. Jawhar, the brother of Fakhir, had been travelling to Warter to see a doctor because one of his sons was ill. On Jawhar’s return he went to the office of the jail in Riyad to search for his father – Khalid Ajgai was the director  for Riyad jail of at that time – and again Karem Sinjari came and took Jawhar to Rihad jail. Jawhar could have run away at that time as there were no security guards on the front gate due to the collapse of the revolution but he chose to go on his own for the sake of his father.

Q.5 (L) – Did you make any attempts to rescue them from jail?

(M) – In fact, we did not know that Hamid Agha and Jawhar had been jailed. We had been told that Barzani wanted to talk to them and that he wanted to take them to Iran with him. We didn’t believe it. The mother of Fakhir who was a very brave and courageous woman asked us to go in front of the Riyad jail in order to find out about our men. In front of the jail the guard didn’t lead us to them and told us that there was nobody there. But nearby we met Karem Sinjari and asked him ‘Where are our men. Why haven’t you released them? The revolution is over, you have released everybody such as Azadin Kochaur, Jamil Mahore and others so why not ours?’ In reply he said that we must bring a letter from Mustafa Barzani. We told him to take us to the office of Mustafa Barzani but he refused and therefore we had no other choice and were desperate. For that reason we all, women and children, went on foot to Haji Omaran to see Barzani . On our way there we met one of Fakhir’s friends whose name was Halggurt and who was a driver for Franso Heriri, one of the KDP’s politburo member. When he saw us he stopped and gave us a lift.  Once at Barzani’s headquarters, security guards did not let us pass beyond the office of Ahmed Haji. In the office of Ahmed Haji we were kept in that one room without any food and water, even though we had a lot of children with us. They locked the door on us. In the end, one of the assistant officers, Mohamed Tahir Said Ali, brought us some tea and biscuits for the kids. That day was the 22^nd March 1975. On the second day they unlocked the door but we told them we were not going anywhere unless we saw Barzani. It was early morning at 9.00. The son of Lokman Barzani whose name was Farhad and who was the cousin of Masoud Barzani came and told Fakhir’s mother, ‘Auntie be ready to come with us, we are going to Iran and all of your sons are safe.’ But in fact, the night before they had killed all of our men, on the day we had left Riyad jail and came to the office of Barzani. On that day we noticed there were a lot of Peshmargers (freedom fighters) in front of the jail. At that time, Mustafa Barzani had left Kurdistan. We saw Azad Sulaiman, who was a close friend of Fakhir and Hamid Agha. When he saw us he came to us and we told him we wanted to see Barzani. So Azad Sulaiman went to see Barzani and returned in tears and told us from Barzani, ‘Go away, we don’t want to see you here’, and that Barzani had surrendered our men to the Red Cross and that we had to go there to get them back. Fakhir’s mother was extremely angry but Azad Sulaiman tried to calm her down and asked us to leave the place in order to not get into any more trouble. They got us in the car and sent us to Khalan. Instead of finding our men with the Red Cross, instead we found that our men were dead near the coast of the lake close to Riyad jail.

Q.6 (L) – This means that on the same day the revolution collapsed they had killed them all?

(M) – Yes, it looks like they had apprehended us in that office whilst they killed all our men; this would have been the 22^nd or 23^rd March 1975. When we found the body of Jawhar we found a diary in his pocket which recorded all that happened in the jail. But up to now, we have not found the bodies of Fakhir, his brother Saeed, together with Khalil Bradossti. When we met Nechirvan Barzani we told him it was our right to know where the body of Fakhir was so that we could have a grave for him that we could visit and light candles for him.

Q.7 (L) – What was the reason for killing Fakhir and his brothers? Was it political?

(M) – Of course it was political otherwise they wouldn’t have killed all of them. Fakhir was a lovely personality and had big popularity amongst the people, especially in Kirkuk, Slemani and Garmian. Fakhir’s father was a tribal elder and they had a lot of local support. We all believe the case should not have come to that extent of killing. We believe that some other people had bad mouthed them.

Q.8 (L) – In the interview a few months ago with Mohamed Melakhadir, former member of KDP politburo, he told us that Fakhir had a connection with the former Iraqi dictator. What do you say about this?

(M) – That statement has no basis of truth. In fact, it looks like a complaint. If you have an independent judicial system you can sort this out. Otherwise it is very unjust that, after 40 years from the killing of our man Fakhir, that they should come and issue this statement without any basis of truth. He should read the facts of history, if Fakhir did have any connection with the former Iraqi government, why do the KDP now consider him as the leader and martyr? So when the KDP had made that decision Mohammed Mulakhdir was in the politburo? He cannot be very brave and courageous, otherwise why had he not made the comment at that time? If Fakhir had any connection with the former Iraqi dictator, how about his father Hamid Agha who was 80 years old and ill, why did they kill him? I’m now asking Mohamed Mulakhadir: is his father connected with the former Iraqi dictator? If Fakhir was working with the former Iraqi dictator, then how about his brothers, why did they kill all of them?

Jawhar, the brother of Fakhir, up to the end of the last minute of his life said ‘Viva Kurdistan!’ and ‘Viva Barzani!’, so was he a traitor as well? If any of our men had any contact with the former Iraqi dictator at that time, why didn’t they run away from Riyad jail when the jail had been broken and people could escape openly? At that time the revolution had collapsed! So, if Fakhir did have any contact with the former Iraqi dictator why did the Iraqi army burgle all of our houses on the eve of our grief and funeral?

In the period when we came back to Kurdistan, Musud Barzani and his cousin Nechirwan Barzani respected us a lot but I was expecting him to respond to this comment of Mohamed Muladkhadir.

 Q.9 (L) – Is there any news of finding the body of Fakhir Mergasuri in the Haji Omaran area? Have you managed to find any information so far?

(M) – After the collapse of the revolution, we found the body of Hamid Agha and some of Fakhir’s brothers but we could not find Fakhir and Saeed, his brother. After this for a few months some good friends helped us, along with Fakhir’s mother and other members of the family to try and find the bodies in the areas of Riyad, Khalan and Beradost. We could not find anything and our hopes were rapidly fading. There were a lot of rumours at that time that Barzani had taken Fakhir and his brother Saeed to Iran. Some people said they might have been killed on the border of Iran and Iraq. Some people said they had been jailed in Iran. For a few years we were living under very bad circumstances because every day there was a new rumour and these had a huge psychological impact on our lives. We then heard that they had found some bodies in the area of Haji Omaran and they suspected one of them could be Fakhir. That news upset us a lot. With the help of some good friends together with some international organisations we managed to take these bodies and followed them up to their centre in Bosnia and we found that the DNA did not match.

So many times I heard about such news and sometimes even from your newspaper.

Q.10 (L) – After so many years of this tragedy can you forget about his tragedy or do you want to find the people who committed this crime?

(M) – When we made peace, our goodwill was to find a solution for that case, not revenge. It was not in our nation’s interests and the circumstances of the Kurds today to go after punishment and revenge. Whoever committed that crime, their conscience is not clear.

Q.11 (L) – Some people are saying that Nerchirvan Barzani called you to tell you that Mustafa Barzani had not committed that crime, but that it was some other people inside the KDP. Are you holding Mustafa Barzani responsible for the crime committed?

(M) – When Nerchirvan Barzani came to our house he had not said anything like this. Several times he had met my kids and never mentioned anything like this. Mustafa Barzani, God forgive him, loved Fakhir very much and especially after the big victory in the Battle of Hundren mountain in which he liberated the mountain of Hundren. Mustafa Barzani came to our house when we were in Pashcoz and asked Fakhir to be with him and told him he was like one of his own sons like Massoud, Idris, Lokman, etc. He trusted Fakhir very much. In return, Fakhir loved Mustafa Barzani very much and was loyal to him and the revolution. On the first occasion when Fakhir was arrested by Mustafa Barzani he was released after a few days. When he came home I was very upset and asked him, ‘Fakhir are you not frightened that Mustafa Barzani will kill you?’ In reply he told me that Mustafa Barzani would never kill him because he had not done anything wrong and he had a clear conscience and believed in himself. He also said that Mustafa Barzani had told him that he would never beg for a tiny bit of blood. Fakhir said that he would rather be killed by Kurds than to live with an Iraqi dictator.

Over the last few years when I have met Masud Barzani he told me that he is holding all the people responsible for the crime committed against Fakhir and that they have separated (from the Barzanis) and he does not wish these people any good in their lives.

Q.12 (L) – There is the case of some people saying that the KDP, by offering you money, have made peace. In return have you closed this historical event?

(M) – There is no basis for that rumour whatever people are saying. The KDP have not made peace by offering us money. Our main condition when we made peace with them was to reflect the history of Fakhir and his family because they appreciate and respect the history of Fakhir Mergasuri and we have clearly told them we are not asking for anything from them.

Our family has been through a lot of trauma, tragedy and mayhem over the last so many years. We raised our 40 kids alone and there are now 15 widows in our family, the whole world’s money cannot compensate the blood we lost. After we came back to Kurdistan, Nerchivan Barzani offered us living accommodation. Fakhir Mergasuri had a long history of struggle for the Kurds and Kurdistan since 1950. That is the reason he deserved, like others, for his wife and kids to have some security so that they can have a good life. If you want the truth, we sacrificed for the KDP. We were with the KDP in good and bad times. Therefore it is our right today for them to help us.

Q.13 (L) – The KDP has named an independent school in your husband’s name. Was this act from the KDP just to make you happy?

(M)- No, when we made peace from day one we asked for it. We told them we needed a public place in my husband’s name, especially a school. We feel very proud, there are thousands of pupils in that school who will learn the sciences and graduate in my husband’s name.

Q.14 (L) – What do you think about the comment which says that the PUK paid too much attention to your case when it wasn’t on good terms with the KDP and that now they are turning their backs?

(M) – Fakhir Mergasuri had a big role in the reconciliation between Barzani and Talibani in 1970. For that reason Talibani and his friend came to Barzani and made peace with him. At that time Barzani had special respect for Fakhir and his family for that reason. The PUK considers Fakir a martyr. Talibani is always of the belief that we have to make peace with Barzani. Talibani has always respected us up to now.

*Lvin Magazine no. 198 May 2012

Translation: Copyright © 2012 Kurdistantribune.com