Gorran must redefine itself

By Mufid Abdulla:

After 17th February and the massacre in front of the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Sulaymani, Gorran faced a welter of accusations of stirring violence and so on. Gorran has defended itself and embarked on a political campaign to defeat the objectives and machinations of the two ruling parties over the past six months. At the beginning of the protests in Saray Square, the party displayed a lack of strategy and clarity of purpose and this has been acknowledged by both friend and foe alike. It is also true that Gorran went on to play a leading role in coordinating activities during and after the demonstrations. But now it faces the daunting task of redefining the whole organisation, especially following the concessions announced last week by President Barzani.

It was dignified for Nawshirwan Mustafa, the leader of Gorran, to attend the recent funeral of Masud Barzani’s mother. Following this he announced: “I have no grudge against you or your family. I have quarrelled with the way you are running this nation and people. I have a disagreement with your political idea of a family-based political party”. This is fine but it is no reason for Gorran to go quiet. And why make overtures to the KDP leadership but not to the PUK leadership?

As Dr Kamal Mirawdeli says, Gorran should not make any compromise just for the sake of securing a state budget. “The Opposition should try to change the system and obtain power by insisting on a democratic constitution in which the state is separate from the political parties”, he says. “At the same time the President of the state and government takes responsibility for any action and is responsible for providing the rights and freedom of the people”.

We have to ask, why have only four out of 25 Gorran MPs opposed the corrupting pension scheme for Kurdistan Region MPs which guarantees them a full salary for the rest of their lives?

The time has come for Gorran to redefine itself within the opposition movement which it has worked hard to develop over recent months. Redefine itself in terms of transparency and organisational efficiency. Redefine itself by having democratic internal  structures, with an engaged membership and an accountable leadership. Redefine itself through the clarity of its commitment to a democratic constitution and a democratic society so that everyone knows that– if Gorran comes to power in two year’s time – our lives will really change for the better. Finally, the Gorran party very much needs to redefine itself with the zeal of nationalism.