By Ismael Aziz: Journalists and human rights activists have been remembering Sardasht Osman, who was murdered nine years ago this month. On 5 May, the 23-year-old Kurdish freelance journalist and anti-corruption campaigner was commemorated across the Kurdistan Region and around the world. In Kurdistan’s Erbil region, there was a gathering at Sardasht Osman’s graveside in the village of…
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Category Archives: Corruption
KRG’s Failure to Form Government as the Two Parties Fight for Posts
By Ismael Aziz: A couple of years ago Kurdish politics in the south of Kurdistan was awash with nice predictions. However, since then, with an end to the terrorist attacks of ISIS, but also the referendum disaster, political shocks and economic crisis and uncertainty, Kurdish politics today is at its lowest ebb among the…
Barham Salih Was On The Wrong Side of Politics for Twenty Five Years
By Arian Mufid: It was in the late 1980s that I met Dr Barham Salih, in London, during the demonstrations and seminars held against the former regime of Iraq as part of our national liberation movement. He devoted all his energies to organise and promote the Kurdish nation’s struggle for freedom to the whole world….
A Fifty-Seven Year Kurdish Revolution in Futility
By Rauf Naqishbendi: The Kurdish revolution in Iraq commenced in June 1961. Fifty-seven years in the making, it is one of the most protracted revolutions in the history of humankind, with tragic outcomes. This revolution was initially led by the Kurdish Democratic Party under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani. Ironically, Barzani didn’t believe in a…
More Than 2000 People Have Arrest Warrants But Not Been Arrested Yet
By Stop Organization for Anti-Corruption: More than 2000 people have arrests warrant in the Kurdistan region but none of them have been arrested yet. An official from the Ministry of the Interior reveals that some of these people have immunity, and the addresses of some of them are not known and some other have left Kurdistan….
South of Kurdistan: The Only Way Forward
By Arian Mufid: On 25th September the referendum took place and 92% voted “yes” to a Kurdish state and separation from Iraq. As a result the Iraqi government started their attack on Kurdistan with the help of Iran and, within a few hours, Iraqi and Iranian Shia militia troops captured the most strategic city of…
Can Shaswar Abdulwahid Replace Nawshirwan Mustafa and Challenge Barzani?
By Aras Ahmed Mhamad: Since Nawshirwan Mustafa’s (1944-2017) death on May 19th, the political landscape in Sulaimani province is going through a haphazard situation. The passing away of Nawshirwan Mustafa has left Sulaimani with no charismatic leader to challenge Massoud Barzani’s policies and put the affairs of the city in order. Nawshirwan Mustafa’s death has…
Political Crisis in Kurdistan Will End if Lawless and Corrupt Officials are Removed from Power
By Abdul-Qahar Mustafa: Iraqi Kurdish politicians from different political parties have recently negotiated with one another to work out their differences over the inactive parliament and presidential issues, with the hope to put an end to the political crisis in Kurdistan. However, the results of their meetings were not made public in detail and all…
How Gorran’s Revolution Has Been Crippled
By Arian Mufid: n July 2009 Nawshirwan Mustafa decided to convert his Washa company into a political movement which he called Gorran, which means ‘Change’. The Party’s main slogans were against corruption and for an independent judicial system and more equality. During a short period of political rallies the movement managed to attract lots of…
Hujam and Hemin: All Peshmergas Deserve Dignity, Not Disgrace
By Aras Ahmed Mhamad: When Hujam Surchi was beheaded in January 2015 by an Islamic State member and the photos of the atrocity circulated in the media, the entire Kurdish population felt outraged. Kurds all over the world felt disgraced and degraded when it became known that the IS member was speaking Kurdish. Hujam Surchi’s head embodied…
To What Extent Can Demonstrations Change Anything in the Kurdistan Region?
By Aras Ahmed Mhamad: Ever since the 2011 17 Shubat (17 February) Demonstrations, which lasted for 62 days, ended, there has not been a month or even a week without rallies, protests and demonstrations in the Kurdistan region, especially in Slemani province. In September 2014, I wrote an article entitled “Does Demonstrating Have Any Value…
You Should Not Abuse Democracy in Kurdistan
By Abdul-Qahar Mustafa: In democracy, every individual has a single vote but in a country where decision-making is controlled by a group of rich men who came together in the form of a political party, people have very little say in the actions and decisions of government. The rich privileged families, who receive special education…
Democracy and Oil
By Hogar Hadi Hassan: Ever since the 1980s, most countries in the developing world have become more democratic, more peaceful and richer. However, this statement does not apply to countries with oil. Oil producing countries around Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia are suffering from political and economic maladies that did not exist…
KRG Pursues Fake Reform Project
By Mohammed Hussein: Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are clear examples of oil-dependent states and governments that recently got shaken by the current oil-price fall. Iraq is still struggling with the implications of the problem, but the KRG showed its dysfunctionality in the early months of the crisis. Driven by public sector employees’…
Iraq: What is the Next State of Euphoria?
By Muhamed Hassan – Immersed Thinking: Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, had raised people’s expectations for an end to the country’s political impasse when he presented to parliament (March 31) a new list of ministers that could form a new dawn. But there are already voices who are in disagreement with his choice, raising concerns…
