Kurdistan

The land of the Kurds referred to as Kurdistan was divided in the aftermath of World War I between Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. The Iraqi part enjoyed partial autonomy under the rule of Saddam Hussein whilst being reminded that absolute independence and "disloyalty" were not tolerated. About 5000 civilians of  Halabjah found this out first hand when they were killed by a cocktail of chemical weapons dumped by Iraqi fighter jets in 1988. Iraqi Kurdistan became a de-facto autonomous entity after the first Gulf War in 1991, when a Northern no-fly-zone was implemented by US and British fighter jets to protect the people from Saddam's forces. A Kurdish parliament was  elected in 1992 and the economy prospered under the no-fly zone.  In defiance of the Baghdad government, only older bills without Saddam's face were circulated in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) fractured in 1975, when Jalal Talabani split to form the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The PUK controlled mainly the Eastern part of Kurdistan bordering Iran, whilst the KDP controlled the border to South-Eastern Turkey.  Here,  thousands of Turkish trucks  carrying only a few sacks of fresh vegetables, fruits or household goods crawled towards Harbur bridge to cross into Iraqi Kurdistan to barter for diesel oil.  The KDP then traded the food with the Iraqi government for more diesel or petrol. It was a win-win-win situation - an "oil-for-food" program before the official program was implemented.