March 21, 2011

Honourable Minister Lawrence Cannon

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1A 0G2

Memorandum Concerning the Safety of Canadian Activists in Kurdistan Region in Iraq

Honourable Minister Cannon:

First of all, please allow us to whole heartedly appreciate the precious sacrifices of our
Canadian people and the firm dedication of our federal government to continue with our
country’s leading role in the United Nations’ peacekeeping and peacemaking missions around
the world. With the advent of the new era of globalization, our Canadian political norms inspired
many Canadian activists to participate in resolving conflicts around the world, especially in the
fields of defending human rights, establishing rule of law, and promoting federalism as a viable
political system for heterogeneous societies.

The reconstruction of the political system in Iraq, based on the values of the democratic peace,
has encouraged some of Canada’s finest activists of Kurdish background to go back to
Kurdistan Region of Iraq in order to promote and participate in the institutional development of
the region. However, the traditional political authorities in the region namely the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have been actively resisting
any democratic change. Widespread administrative and political corruption and nepotism have
been identified, among other things, to be the main causes for the grievances of the majority of
Kurds in Iraq.

Educated and immersed in Canadian democratic values by which promises of opportunity,

equality, and freedom could be materialised, Dr. Faruq Rafiq, a Canadian citizen holding a
Doctorate in Philosophy degree from a reputable Canadian university, with his wife and a child
had left his permanent residence in Ottawa, Ontario to return to the Suleimania Province in
Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Dr. Rafiq’s civil liberties development mission transpired many young
Kurds to participate in demanding reforms and changes to the semi-authoritarian and nepotistic
regime which refuses to embrace accountability and transparency. In fact, since the month long
ongoing daily demonstrations in Iraqi Kurdistan, gunmen belonging to the KDP and the PUK
have been opening fire with live ammunition on civilians during peaceful demonstrations killing
at least ten, half of which are children, wounding over two hundred, and brutally beating and
detaining more than one thousand others, among them are independent writers, journalists, and
highly skilled professionals.

In addition, it has been widely circulated in the media, especially in the Kurdish independent
media, that there is an imminent danger coming from high ranking KDP authorities to
assassinate Dr. Rafiq simply because he has assumed a membership within the Provisional
Committee of the Peaceful Demonstrations in Kurdistan. Therefore, we call upon you to
intervene in this serious matter to safeguard the lives and civil liberties of Dr. Rafiq and his
immediate family members through engagements with the highest Iraqi diplomatic channels. As
concerned Canadian citizens with in-depth awareness of the ongoing political turmoil in
Kurdistan region, we believe that the threats facing Dr. Rafiq and his family members are highly
credible and without your intervention they could result in yet another setback for our Canadian
foreign policies.
It is critical that our Canadian government be on the right side of history regarding the human,
civil, and political rights of the Kurdish people in Iraq. There is no doubt that Kurds in Iraq have
been struggling for greater freedom and democracy and they have proven themselves to fight
for it. As Canadian Kurds, we plea for your commitment to safeguard the lives of Canadians
abroad and encourage political reforms through peaceful diplomatic methods which reward
national and regional governments that take active and measurable steps towards genuine
democratic reforms in Iraq in general and the Kurdistan region in particular. Moreover, our
government should not hesitate to speak out in condemning the unjustly killing, wounding, and
imprisoning opposition activists in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

In conclusion, we are writing this letter to raise our profound voice and belief that supporting
democrats and democracy in Iraq is not only in the interests of Iraq and the Middle East proper,
but also it is in the interest of Canada as a leading developed nation of the democratic peace.
Perhaps more importantly, let us not lose the life of another Canadian abroad.

Sincerely yours,

Saed Kakei,
Independent Canadian Kurdish Diplomat
Email: ikdiplomat@gmail.com

Esmail Yousifi,
PhD in Physiology

Dara Farag,
Lawyer & Executive Member of the Kurdish House in the GTA

Shamal Mustafa,
Immigration Counsellor

Faruq Homer,
Novelist

Shikar Siwaily,
Graduate Student

Sheyda Bilbas,
Writer and Poet

Saman Saed,
Political Activist

Goran Abdullah,
Freelance Journalist

Hadi Elis,
Researcher