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By Mufid Abdulla:
Talabani and Barzani – but now the strategic agreement is being questioned by PUK members
It wasn’t surprising when Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leaders Masud Barzani and Nechirvan Brazani – the president and premier of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) – recently made a number of trips to Suli to meet with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) politburo and Hero Ahmed, wife of the gravely ill PUK leader, and Iraq president, Jalal Talabani.
However, someone like Masud Barzani doesn’t come down from his hill in Sari Rash unless it is for an urgent and vital reason.
Everyone thinks the PUK is on the brink of a post-Talabani era. Masud Barzani and the KDP are fearful of the consequences. The KDP has never been a democratic party in the south of Kurdistan. In fact, it is the most politically brutal party in the region, always doing whatever it takes to preserve its domination and meet its leader’s aspirations. Perhaps the most shocking example of this was its cooperation with Saddam Hussein in 1996 when, rather than concede defeat to the PUK, the KDP helped Iraqi troops to capture Erbil.
Ever since Nawshirwan Mustafa resigned from the PUK, that organisation has looked weak and fragile. To compensate for this, Talabani strengthened the ‘strategic relationship’ with the KDP, but at a cost of concessions and sometimes humiliation for the PUK’s members and followers.
Masud Barzani now needs to keep the PUK in the marriage of convenience so that the KDP can continue reaping most of the benefits. He cannot hide the real reason for his visits to Suli. It was very unusual for him to come twice within a few weeks. This was all about wooing the PUK politburo and trying to preserve the strategic partnership.
Alarm bells are ringing for President Barzani. Several PUK MPs have backed an opposition proposal for constitutional change in the south of Kurdistan, giving more power to parliament at the expense of the presidency. In all, a substantial 53 out of 110 MPs have backed these proposals. Yesterday’s summit of opposition party leaders underlined their frustration at the KRG’s slow pace of change. Even basic changes promised to promote a civil society have not been made. It is obvious that there is no hope of reform by a government of the KDP and PUK.
But the KDP is desperate to keep the PUK inside the strategic relationship. The PUK grassroots are uncertain of their prospects in a post-Talabani era and Barzani hopes to exploit this lack of confidence. The PUK lacks good leadership at a critical time. Many people were taken aback by Barham Salih’s recent article, published on his website: Instead of a statement, from the PUK’s deputy leader, providing strategy and vision this was more like a child crying at his father’s absence.
No one with the requisite vision and goals has stepped forward to take the fragmented organisation forward. However, there are indications that a majority of the membership wants to break with the KDP. This has complicated the situation for Barzani. If the PUK decided to rapidly develop its own organisation and no longer bow to the strategic relationship, that would be the end of the KDP’s domination and their despotic power in the south of Kurdistan would start to crumble.
The PUK must prepare for a new era – with strong and consistent leadership and with real convictions as well as nous.
Thank you for this refreshing article. The PUK must return to its intellectual base and distance itself from the corruption of the Barzani clan.
Agreed, your article is notable and I suppose our worldview about that events are happened in our community are close to each other…
Iraq and South Kurdistan particularly now are live in an crisis and a new era, on one hand, Iraqi present government itself through Maliki’s despotic governance and the policies of Sunnite Arabic chauvinism nearly to desolation and it reaches its end, in other hand, the relations of KRG with Baghdad came into a worst position due to Barzani’s wisdom policies! therefore,I think from now on, Kurdish political leadership under all parties in south with opposition as well,must be reconstructed and they should open a new space dialogue with Baghdad specially with Shiite parties so that Kurdish demands close to practice if they want remain their obligation with Iraq! Because, I do think, in future the enemies of Shiite and us are one …
The Internal situation of PUK it would be a pity and PUK that now lives without Talabani it is not a good and remarkable circumstance…So, all leaders of PUK they have ambition to take their president’s chair of secretary general of PUK,but in fact, there are only Kosrat Raul and Barham Saleh to replacement to Taliban’s place and they take responsibility of PUK secretary general after their present president passed – away, but the first he is not a good health and unfortunately he is not a learned – man and the latter he (with several other leaders)is closer to Barzani and his policies than he capable does think as patriotic union party in general, because,I think,he is not proper to be PUK secretary general until Barzani lives, that is, he is fit to be PUK secretary general after barzani’s phase. Another PUK leaders are not fit given them any posts in PUK instead PUK’s secretary general place, regrettably Talabani in his political career brought up all PUK leaders to obey of him rather than allow them to think independently…however, in the following level of PUK there are good members and they have intellectual background, but do not let them have the chance to make decisions of PUK…because,now in PUK it has only Kosrat to do leadership of it by two reasons:firstly,Rasul is the hard rival of Barzani and interests his family and he is the best to take Taliban’s place in PUK and preservation it despite of those internal and external difficulties that will face to him, in that case,KDP it cannot make difficulties to PUK likeTlabani’s secretary general term and I guess,he is not compromise with Barzani policies,but on the contrary, KDP must be adaptation with him…seconly,change movement and Naushirwan Mustapha do not allow himself do problems to PUK until Rasul is its secretary.If it happens and PUK did not lose its power and remain be stable, so, if change movement continue as a political party and it did not Reunion with PUK,I think, in the next parliamentary Election of KRG, KDP it will be opposition and it is a big step to freedom and development of democracy…but I think, KDP it is not step down and its militia it can does so troubles to other opposite parties and it may be the beginning to a new civil war…
Hence, after Talabani’s phase it is not easy to KDP, because if KDP in the past it wanted (it did) expose its domination over PUK and controlled the property of south Kurdistan by Barzani’s representative of Suli, that is Talabani, in the future, it cannot does that and Barzani’s two suddenly visits to Suli told us same thing; fear of him to lose benefits of strategic agreement and he wants preservation this pact and its plenty benefits to KDP itself…but as you know dear Mufid if benefits of this pact divided between two parties equally, still this benefits to Talabani’s family and several PUK leaders were being useful and did not be to poor Kurds and this remind us Hazhar Mukerianis’s poem in which he has said: a rider took a lamb from a wolf and killed it,then roasted its meat and a piece meat was being cried it is not different for me if you eat me either of you…
Eventually, I think dear, this agreement it prevented civil war to be repeated that only its victims are poor men…because me too, as Michel Foucault I say we are the generation of civil war and the war destroyed our lives and we are suffering from its bad consequences … and My suggestion is that if someone wants to be lucky he must not be born under authorities of from Talabani and Barzani to Naushirwan Mustapha and Ali Bapir and Bahadin Faraje and so on…