Saman Rasoulpour
srasoulpour@gmail.com

Falakaddin Kakeyi, culture minister of Kurdistan regional government in Iraq, discussed cultural ‎exchanges between Iran and the Kurdish autonomous government in an exclusive interview with ‎Rooz, declaring that "we do not have cultural exchanges with the Islamic Republic," exposing ‎hidden and apparent pressures imposed by the Islamic Republic on the Kurdistan regional ‎government to "prevent publication of news critical of Iran" in their press. ‎

Kurdistan regional government's culture minister has protested the arrest of human rights ‎activists in Iran and called for the release of political prisoners many times in recent years. ‎

At 9 a.m. we entered the office [located in Erbil] of Falakaddin Kakeyi, Iraqi Kurdistan regional ‎government's culture minister. It's a new building. I sat on the couch and next to the big plasma ‎screen television. The reflection of Mr. Kakeyi's face, sitting in front of me, displayed on the ‎television screen. ‎

I did not ask the first question. Mr. Kakeyi did. "Did you hear that a women's rights activist was ‎arrested in Iran yesterday?" he asked. He was referring to Negin Sheikholeslami, who indeed ‎was arrested in Tehran. I explained to him. ‎

But my first question was about culture, not politics or human rights. Read on.‎

Rooz (R): What is the volume of cultural exchanges between the Iraqi Kurdistan regional ‎government and the Islamic Republic of Iran? ‎

The Kurdish minister responded, "We do not have any cultural relations with any official ‎institution in Iran. Cultural exchanges with the Islamic Republic are a bit difficult, but we are ‎culturally in contact with the Iranian people including the Kurds, Azeris, etc. Musical groups ‎from Iran such as the Kamkars, Shahram Nazeri and Shajarian have held concerts in Iraq. We ‎have invited Iranian artists and intellectuals here many times to participate in literary and arts ‎festivals. No one can stop cultural exchanges between nations. We have signed protocols with ‎many nations for cultural exchanges and are constantly in contact with them at the levels of ‎government and people." ‎

R: How welcome is the Islamic Republic in Kurdistan by officials and the people? ‎
Kakeyi: "The Islamic Republic's presence in Iraq is entirely clear. In Baghdad, Iraqi ministers ‎converse in Farsi. This shows the level of Islamic Republic's influence in Iraq. But in the Iraqi ‎Kurdistan autonomous region, the Islamic Republic does not attract the citizens much. Our ‎people are not interested in Islamic ideology. We are secular." ‎

R: Is it true that the Farsi section of P.U.K. Media website, which is the mouthpieces for the ‎Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was shut down in response to protests by Iran over the publication ‎of news concerning human rights violations in Iran? ‎
The culture minister's responded, "I know generally that they interfere, but am not aware of the ‎specific case of shutting down the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's mouthpiece." ‎

R: Why should the Islamic Republic take such offense to the publication of some news reports ‎in a neighboring country's media outlets and lodge an official protest?‎

Kakeyi believes, "This is natural. Countries that are closed and oppose freedom are naturally ‎concerned about the dissemination of news about them. They are not even able to tolerate ‎freedom in other areas." ‎

R: Have your remarks regarding human rights violations in Iran and your repeated requests to ‎free political prisoners not irritated Iranian officials? ‎

Kakeyi's: "Defending human rights is a free activity everywhere, and as a human being I reserve ‎my right to defend the rights of human beings anywhere in the world. At the same time, I do not ‎give myself the right to interfere in the political and internal affairs of another country. But the ‎issue of human rights is not an internal issue. Why should Kaboudvand or Kamangar or Iranian ‎political activists and journalists who have simply voiced their views in a peaceful manner be ‎imprisoned in the past year? I ask the Islamic Republic officials from here to free all political ‎prisoners in Iran. We started this with ourselves. No one is imprisoned in the Kurdish ‎autonomous region simply for voicing his or her views or writing articles. Recently the press ‎law which was presented to the parliament by us was passed and according to that law free ‎speech and the freedom to publish are fully recognized and no one would be pursued for ‎expressing them. Criminal punishments are confined to payment of monetary damages only. ‎Mr. Masoud Barezani, as Kurdistan's highest official, said jokingly in a meeting he had a few ‎days ago with a number of journalists, 'Curse and pay the fine!'"‎

In the end I asked Mr. Kakeyi about a beautifully-colored pin that he had on his coat. The ‎minister said, "This pin is a present from representatives from a federal region in Canada and it is ‎very pretty. I tell my friends jokingly that the figure on the pin, which is composed of three ‎parts, refers to the Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds. That is the interpretation I like to have ‎anyway." ‎