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By Kamal Chomani: Twitter @KamalChomani On June 13, while Premier Nechirvan Barzani was visiting Amedi, the people of Shiladze blocked the way and didn’t let him pass unless he sent a delegate to listen to their demands. Why was this small demonstration extremely important? Because it was not people of Slemani, where demonstrations have become…
KT News and Comment: With presidential and parliamentary elections looming, the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) has recently sought to distance itself from south Kurdistan’s other ruling party, the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party), on two key issues. It has claimed to be opposed to Masud Barzani running for a third presidential term, because the law…
By Aziz Sheikhani: Southern Kurdistan is one part of Kurdistan, which has been ruled by the Iraqi state since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This part of Kurdistan, compared to the three other parts – North (part of Turkey), East (part of Iran) and West (part of Syria) – since the creation of an…
KT Comment: Known as the White House of Erbil, this is the headquarters of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and special residence of its leader, Jalal Talabani. It is also a symbol of corruption and despotism. The White House was built for Talabani by the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) to compensate him for the…
By Kamal Chomani: The Changes in the PKK’s Policies towards the KRG The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its legendary leader, Abdulla Ocalan, pose a strong challenge to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and its leader, Masoud Barzani. The PKK is no longer a party just for northern Kurdistan: Today it also impacts significantly on…
By Shwan Zulal: Kurdistan Region president, Massoud Barzani, has set the date for the next Kurdish general election at 21 September 2013. Both parliamentary and presidential elections will be held on that date. The candidates running for president have not put their names forward yet, apart from one independent. On the parliamentary front, it is…
A delegation from the two ruling parties, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democrstic Party (KDP), has visited the headquarters of the Gorran movement. The main purpose for this visit was to ask the opposition party to agree to a delay to the Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections (due to be held before the end…
KT News and Comment: Recently the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) announced that it would stand independently from the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) in the general elections to the Kurdistan Region’s parliament that are meant to be held before the end of July. Today, however, Azad Jundiany a PUK politburo member and press spokesman, issued…
By Kamal Chomani: Although the date for the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) elections has not been set, given that the last elections were held on July 25, 2009, the next ones should be held by July 25, 2013. These might be completely different to previous elections held by the KRG. For the first time,…
KT News: At the latest meeting between the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) politburos, these two ruling parties decided to abandon their electoral alliance and stand against each other in the general elections to the Kurdistan parliament. The decision followed recent speeches and criticisms, raised especially within the PUK, whose…
By Mufid Abdulla: Today it is 25 years since Halabja was attacked with chemical weapons, causing the sacrifice of 5,000 lives. The world has come to know of their plight but, a quarter-century on, the survivors are still struggling to find their identity and come to terms with this tragedy. In the wake of the…
KT News and Comment: The Opposition is asking for the Kurdistan Region’s two ruling parties to announce a date for parliamentary general elections. This should by 25 July because these elections are meant to be held every four years. However, due to the political uncertainties facing the two ruling parties, it seems highly possible they will…
By Kamal Chomani: There is near unanimous support for changing the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system. The proposal is backed by the three main opposition parties – the Gorran Movement, Islamic Union and Islamic Group – and by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as one of the two ruling…
