Category Archives: PUK

PUK Internal Feud Weakens its Capacity to Lead

By Arian Mufid: Talabani had a heart attack in Baghdad in December 2012 and subsequently  passed away on 3rd October 2017. Since then the PUK, having lost its captain, has been like a ship without direction. The passing of the PUK leader has left behind a dangerous vacuum of leadership. Mr Jalal Talabani’s departure was…

Congress of Opposition Voices in the South of Kurdistan Issues New Statement

KT News: The Congress of Opposition Voices movement in the South of Kurdistan has issued a statement addressed to the President of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Parliament and the Iraqi Parliament and to all foreign embassies in Erbil, calling on them to intervene to stop the brutal repression by KDP and PUK forces of peaceful demonstrations…

PUK: Party of Division and Disunity

By Arian Mufid: The time is ticking for the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) to hold its fourth conference. This will be the fourth conference since the organisation was founded in 1975 and the first in the absence of its founder, Jalal Talabani. When Talabani passed away, it was like when a father dies without…

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…

Kurdistan Became a Paradise – for the KDP and PUK

By Ismael Aziz: After ISIS attacked the south of Kurdistan in August 2014, 1,700 Peshmergas were killed and 12,000 injured in the ensuing conflict. While the leaders of the two dominant Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) parties, the KDP and PUK, made visits to the battlefields to take selfies and show their presence for the sake…

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….

Has the Iraqi Presidency Become a PUK Slush Fund?

By Michael Rubin: BAGHDAD—Political jockeying is well underway in Baghdad, as Iraqi political leaders seek the magic political formula which will enable formation of the Iraqi government. While a Shi’ite will take the premiership, Iraq’s most powerful post, the jockeying is on for other plum positions. Beyond key ministries—Foreign Affairs, Oil, and Defense, for example—two…

As The New Year Opens, Politics is Dying: KRG Politicians Must Go

By Arian Mufid: A year ago Kurdish politics in the south of Kurdistan was awash with nice predictions. It is safe to say that 2017 — which brought the terrorist attacks of ISIS to an end, but also the referendum disaster, political shocks and economic uncertainty, the death of Nawshirwan Mustafa the leader of Goran,…

How The Gorran Movement Fell Out Of Love With Change

By Arian Mufid: In 2009 when the Gorran movement gained 25 seats, a fresh chapter in Kurdish politics began with the promise of an era driven by the aspirations of young people seeking to build a new type of party unprecedented in the south of Kurdistan. The man behind this movement was Nawshirwan Mustafa, the…

Do We Need Laws and Lawyers in Kurdistan?

By Jegr Nathim: “Congratulations on an outstanding result”, said the gracious lady from the assessment and awards unit at the University of South Wales in the UK. “You will be awarded the Clark’s legal prize for the best performing LLM student!” she continued as she handed me out my Masters in Law certificate. But contrary…

KDP is Sole Beneficiary of PUK Civil War

Mufid Abdulla

By Arian Mufid: The people of the south of Kurdistan are suffering an ever-increasing sense of insecurity. A PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) civil war is looming and there appears to be no solution to this broken unity. When Jalal Talabani fell ill in December 2012 the only fear coming from the PUK leadership was of…

The Crisis of Leadership: Qubad Talabani as an Example

By Kamal Chomani: In a recent interview televised by NRT, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani listed four items as main issues facing his government: Being at war with Daesh (IS), Financial Crisis, Internally Displaced People (IDP), and disunity among political parties. What he failed to acknowledge is, of course, the…

The KRG Economy: Booming or Dooming?

By Harem Karem and Kamal Chomani: ‘Kurdistan is booming’ was the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) oligarchy’s catchphrase – often echoed by short-sighted foreign businessmen – over the past decade. Undoubtedly, there has been development: hundreds of hotels and skyscrapers have mushroomed in the region, the standard of living has improved in comparison with the civil…

Kurdistan: Why International Support is Crucial – SOAS Debate, London, 27 Feb

By Kurdistan WISC at SOAS Kurdish Society: Following the success of our first event in November, we are holding a follow-up debate  entitled “Kurdistan: Why International Support is Crucial”. SOAS, University of London, Lecture Theatre G2 Friday 27th November, 5:30pm – 7:30pm The guest panellists are: Dr Alan Semo– UK Representative, Democratic Union Party (PYD) Farhad Marf–…

KDP and PUK leaders accused of oil and gas trading with the ISIS enemy

By Hasan Dawary: Just two weeks ago three brothers belonging to one family were killed by ISIS when Peshmarga forces liberated Zumar. Almost immediately the President of Kurdistan, Masud Barzani, issued a decree that no more than one brother in a family can be allowed onto the front line at the same time. Yesterday a…