Geneva (AINA) -- Kurdish historian Dr. Omar Miran, who was known for his objections to Kurdish separatist ideas, was killed in mysterious circumstances in the Kurdish controlled region northern Iraq. His family has accused the Kurdish regional government of the murder.
In a letter sent to Iraqi writers and journalists, Abdul Qadir Miran's grandson explained the circumstances of his death.
Abdul Qadir stated that he was in a car with his father on their way from Arbil to Shaqlawa. His grandfather Omar was in another car with a friend driving ahead of them. When they arrived to a mountainous and rugged area, two 4-wheel drive cars that are typically used by the Kurdish security forces approached them with sirens on. The two cars forced themselves between the two cars of the Miran family in order to separate them. Next, one of the two 4-wheeled cars began to drive slowly to slow down Abdul Qadir's car, meanwhile, the other 4-wheel car began to drive side by side with Omar's car and forced it to the edge of the road and plunged into the gorge where the Omar Miran and his friend were killed. The two 4-wheeled cars escaped.
Abdul Qadir stated that we are certain that the security forces in the Kurdish region were behind the repugnant murder of this man who never gave in to the dominant authorities that are ruling over the Kurds nor was he supportive of the calls for separation of Kurdish region or the U.S. occupation of Iraq. He continued to state that history repeats itself because Dr. Omar Miran's father, Haj Abdul Qadir Miran Agha, was assassinated in the 40s at the hands of Mulla Mustafa al-Barzani (the father of Masuad Barzani) personally, in front of many eye-witnesses because he as well rejected the Kurdish separatist movement. He added, today, the son repeats the crime of the father.
Dr. Omar Miran was born in 1924. He obtained his B.Sc. in Law from Baghdad University in 1946, then his Doctorate degree from the Sorbonne in 1952, where he specialized in the history of the people of the Middle East. He taught history in many universities around the world.
Translated from Arabic by Fred Aprim.
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