June the 3rd, at press conference Talabani and Barazani announced their rejection of new political front formed in Cairo by prominent Kurdish figures, calling them traitors of the Kurdish people from Saddam’s orphans, accusing intelligence services of foreign countries behind this “plot”.
For Iraqis there was no puzzle here, because we directly knew who they meant.
Unknown to the outside world and he always kept a low profile, his name is Arshad Al-Zaibari, a Kurd, life time friend of Saddam and chief of his security team.
The party is not directed against any person or another party, except to save the Kurds from the current situation because we are Iraqis and we will not abandon our Iraqi identity.
The party was directly supported by three major Kurdish tribes in Iraqi Kurdistan [Souraji, Barazan, and Hariki].
Talabani and Barazani knew they have no chance against the new party for these reasons:
1– Supported by three very powerful tribes.
2– Arshad Al-Zaibari is a very popular person in Kurdistan.
3– Supported by Turkey.
Iraqirabita revealed how Talabani and Barazani tried to bribe Arshad Al-Zaibari:
1– Barzani send an envoy to Arshad resident in Jordan negotiating the halt of announcing the new party, Arshad told the envoy : If Masoud Barazani wants to say something, then he must come here and say it by himself.
2-Talabani’s representative called Arashad in Jordan offering the following [I will not count all the point, just few]:
- Zaibari tribe to return to their [original] region in Sulaymaniyah.
- Zaibari tribe will receive everything they request, property and agricultural land.
Arshad Al-Zaibari refused this offer because he knew this is another dirty trick by Talabani, to use Zaibari tribe on his side in his endless conflict with Barazani which caused the death of many Kurds.
I will repeat the question asked by Iraqirabita:
If Arshad Al-Zaibari is “one of Saddam’s orphans” as they called him in the press conference, then why bribe him?
I was really interested to read this piece of news about Arshad Zebari.
However I was really disappointed to read that the author has gotten his information all wrong. Sorry to say that but any Kurdish person read this piece will not believe a thing about it.
Whey because of the following:
Arshad Zebari is a very famous person. He is as you know from the Kurdish tribe of Zebari. Zebar is located in Akre district (As Arabs call it Aqra). It is adjacent to Barzan.
Also, I my self am from Zebar. Almost all Zebari people were fighting Kurdish Pershmerg from1961 unit 1970. Arshad is the son of Ahmed Agha Zebari who was assassinated in 1959 in Mosul by the Shekh Ahmed Barzani, the brother of the late Mustafa Barzani. For that reason all Zebari tribel joint Iraqi government to fight Kurdish uprising under Mala Mustafa Barzani the father of Massoud Barzani. Ahmed agha Zebari had a few brothers one of them was Mahmod agha who was the father of Hosyar Zebari, Iraqi foreign affair, and Mahmod agha is the father of the mother of Massoud Barzani.
Therefore, Hoshyar Zebari and Arshad Zebari are 100% first cousins. Arshad is second cousin of Massoud Barzani. So now you know how far this person who wrote the article is out of lines.
The other fact is that 90% of all Zebaris support Massoud Barzani. Actually all his best loyalists are from Zebar. The chief of Iraqi join of staff is Zebari and relative of Massoud Barzani. Also, Arshad Zebari was Saddam best soldier. The Kurds know, especially in Bahdinan about the crimes Arshad committed against Kurdish people from 19961 to 1970.
Also, how could Harky trible be loyal to Arshad Zebari when Zebaris and Harkey tribes are enemies and have killed hundreds from each others for the last 50 year.
Dilovan
Arshad from Akra, that is true, but Zebaris from originally from Akra, to my information [I could be wrong, if you are Zaibari then for sure you know better], I thought they were forced to move to Akra about more than 100 years ago.
As for the alliance between the Zebari and Harkey I was quoting the the Iraqirabita website and you can read it there.
More, as you know and I know, there are many Kurds tribes worked for Saddam, Al-baraznji for example they are really feed up with barazani and talabani and they are waiting for the day to see them gone.
I would like to add that I am not writing the history of Kurdish tribes.
Arshad Zebari is not the same Arshad in the photo who was the bodyguard of Saddam. Arshad Al-Yassin is not Kurdish, he was a cousin of Saddam and his brother-in-law (he married one of Saddam’s half sisters). He is now in Qatar.
Zeyad
Arshad Yassin, is not Arshad Yassin Al-Zebari??
Maybe I am getting old, confusing between the names.
But thank you and apologies I didn’t meant that.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=114877&bolum=101 (Today’s Zaman, 24 June 2007)