Referendum process in Northern Iraq

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First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for Geopolitic Compass, which has been established recently, to succeed in creating the opportunity for everyone to understand the essence of geopolitics which most of us fail to see. I am also grateful to my beloved friend Ibrahim Akin, who has been working hard to establish this site and has given me the opportunity to write here.

I wish my articles in Geopolitic Compass will give people the opportunity to pick up what they are not aware yet, to give them a chance to understand what they have not been experienced and to make sure that they can accurately convey what they see and learn. This will the first of many articles I am writing. Here we go.

As a person who has spent the last eight months in Arbil in this regard, I think that I have more to tell than many Turkish citizens can. We have formed our own perspective through the news or articles we have acquired. In fact how much do we know about the referandum region? As a matter of fact, it is has the most critical uncertainty. In order to reach the right conclusion, I believe that we have to put the right diagnosis first. For this reason, in order to understand the situation related to the referendum, we have to understand the what means “what and “why”.

I have to admit. I had a serious of fears when I first arrived to Arbil. It is not the fear of my safety but rather the bad attitude and behavior I might experience with. I was informed by my acquittances who have visited Arbil that it is a safe city but my main concern was the attitude that people might show against me against me since I am Turk. You may regard this as prejudice but later I understand that it arises since I do not know the region.

When I arrived to Arbil, I was trying to hide that I am a Turk and I was constantly speaking English. Anyway, I will write what I've been through and what I feel about the region in coming articles in details. Now I will deep in to the recent status of the region.

Let's start with the economy ...

Arbil Airport is a very modern and clean airport. There are intensive security checks at every point of the airport. The incoming and outgoing passengers are checked in various security points. The airport is newly constructed and the company that performs construction is a Turkish construction company.

When you leave the airport and head towards the city from the western part of the city, you will go through the city's new constructed districts. In this part of the city, you can easily see the buildings with the traces of the modern world architecture such as compounds, business centers, entertainment areas. This area is where most of elites of Arbil live and spend their time. And again these are constructed by Turkish companies.

When you head towards the center and west of the city, you are encountering a more traditional landscape. However, the modernization movements of these traditional regions attract attention with the shopping centers built in almost every neighborhood. it is important to emphasize that almost all of the companies operating in these shopping centers are widely Turkish firms.

The castle and plaza, which can also be called the heart of tourism in the center of the city, should not be ignored in the city economy life. The general situation for the castle is quite neglected and in need of attention. Small businesses that are traded for the sake of craftsmanship. In these shops, local and ethnic goods are both exhibited and sold.

Although the public income is very low in Arbil, as elsewhere, elites continue their lives with a very serious income source. Of course, the main source of income is oil. However, investments are being made in industrial branches other than oil. Cement industry holds priority in new investments. Although there is no incentive provided by the state, reconstruction of the city life and economy makes cement industry developing very quickly. It is especially worth mentioning that local manufacturing and foreign manufacturing terms used during the planning of all these investments. The definition of local manufacturing covers for the equipment and materials coming from Turkey.

Almost all of the products sold in the regional markets are imported from either Turkey or Iran. The regulations and protocols applied during the passage of goods from the customs are totally processed according to the laws and regulations established by the regional administration. A visa requirement for entry into a territory under regional management control is a sequence of operations entirely governed by local laws and regulations.