Iraqi Kurds can manage themselves

Iraqi musician Naseer Shamma Baghdad - Jaafar Nassrawi Iraqi musician Naseer Shamma has told Arabstoday that Iraqi Kurds have proved that they can manage their own affairs. Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region of Iraq and officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Its current president is Masoud Barzani and has a population of around 4 million. “The Kurds of Iraq have demonstrated their ability to manage their country’s affairs,” said the star. Shamma on Thursday performed in a concert in the Kurdish capital Arbil, as part of the Arbil International Book Fair that is taking place this week. The acclaime musician told Arabstoday that he felt as if he was discovering Arbil for the first time after recent infrastructural changes in the city and Kurdistan in general, "which made the region's cities beautiful and organised".   He added that he will open a House of Oud, like he has done before in a number of Arab countries, to teach aspiring musicians how to play the stringed instrument. Shamma described Arbil as a city that "deserves all love". The concert was attended by Kurdish, Iraqi and Arab intellectuals and artists, such as the renowned poet Adonis, writer Gaber Asfour and others. Shamma played several pieces of music, dedicating one to Kurdistan, one to Baghdad, and another one to Shaqlawa, a small Kurdish town in northern Arbil. He said that the latter piece has something to do with his childhood. Shamma also played a piece called “On The Verge Of Pain,” which he dedicated to the Syrian rebels in their battle for freedom and to the steadfastness of the Palestinian people. At the end of the concert, Shamma talked about Halabja, a Kurdish city that was shelled with chemical weapons 24 years ago. He said: “The crime of Halabja still inspires many artists.”