KDP sees reform as a political game

By Mufid Abdulla:

Since the birth of the Gorran movement, with its purpose of political reform and campaigning against corruption, the two ruling parties have been unable to rest, particularly the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Gorran’s victory in July 2009 marked a new chapter in Kurdish history with the movement winning 25 seats in a very short period and we are all aware that, if it wasn’t for the vote rigging, they could have won the election entirely and been able to set up their own cabinet. These facts have become a source of pride and joy for adherents of the Gorran movement.

Nawshirwan Mustafa, a man who is genuinely intellectually curious and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader’s former second-in-command, has translated the anger and hopes of the mass of the people into something more imaginative. He is leading this trend under his new movement and constructing a parliamentary struggle against the corruption and nepotism inside the Kurdish ruling parties which in turn has spread corruption into Kurdish society. But the root of the problem lies mainly inside the KDP, which has led Kurdish society and been a major influence on its every aspect since the early 1960s. That is the reason why Gorran’s main objective is to change the political management which for so long has been dominated by Barzani’s KDP.

The President of Kurdistan demonstrated some initiative in March 2011 when he returned from Italy. At this time he accused the opposition of mischief and extraordinary acts. One of the KDP’s senior members, outside the inner circle of the party, spoke to me last week and confirmed that: “Reform means the death of this family, reform should start with yourself at the top, not from the bottom.” To Barzani, there are so many questions we have to raise, for example: how was it that Said Barzani became involved in setting up the Giant telecom company, ripping off millions of dollars, and that Sirwan Barzani became the main shareholder for Korek Telecom? How can Barzani strip them of these privileges? These are examples of profound injustice.

The key question is: how can Gorran win the next election, replace the current cabinet and revise and implement the constitution? That is what was aimed for in the Gorran movement’s statement on 29/01/2011 which called for the dissolution of the Parliament and cabinet.

The main issue I wish to raise with Gorran is this: the primitiveness and petty bourgeois character and mindset of the Kurdish leader has created a huge barrier both to the implementation of reforms and to Gorran winning the next election.  The conclusion is that Gorran’s struggle now needs the right strategy, not a bad one. It was a good strategy when Gorran managed to win 25 seats in 2009, which was a big slap in the face for the two ruling parties. The KDP knows that Gorran’s campaign is legitimate and it is winning the hearts and minds of the people of Kurdistan. It is common on the lips of ordinary Kurds that the people in Sarirush and Salahadin (the two headquarters of the KDP) voted for the Gorran movement.

The visits by the two Barzani figures to the Gorran leadership headquarters over the last several months is proof that the KDP wants to halt the wave of the Gorran movement and appease it, not that it wants to implement the reform project. It is nearly one year since the crisis of 17 February 2011 broke out, following the uprising in Azadi Square in Sulaymani. The KDP leaders have had plenty of time to rescue their reform project, but they have not done so. There is a clear consensus that the KDP and its followers are no closer to a politically workable long-term solution. Measured by public outrage, more than half the population of Kurdistan are now less happy with their rulers than they were this time last year. Plans to soak the poor and ignore the demands of the opposition are in effect making this country even more unstable.

Five parts of a crucial package of reform have been proposed to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) by the forces of opposition. This is a defining issue for the opposition. The reform will be good for the country as a whole. A stagnated political system combined with rising KDP authoritarianism, as was seen in Parliament last week, is a recipe for tension. To avoid it the KDP leader is continually using his traditional family medicine in Kurdish politics, relying on its lucky charm. Ostensibly, the KDP’s calamity  is Gorran’s chance to leap ahead to make unfairness the central charge against this KRG.  Unfairness, under the KRG’s management, is something the public will well understand.

The Barzanis’ (senior and junior) visits to Sulaymani have been nothing more than an attempt to crack the opposition backbone, otherwise they would have taken the chance to implement the people’s demands for reform. The KDP is playing a political game and nothing else; they know well that even a small move by the opposition to call the people onto the streets will be a big blow to the confidence of the KDP and the KRG. The KDP has realized that, in the end, they have too big a mountain to climb. In the meantime, there is no adjustment to the mute parliament. There is no hint to Kurdistan’s direction in Iraq.

Finally, Barzani promised last year in March to carry out reforms and fire corrupt politicians. Of course it would be a challenge to do this and undoubtedly he has an involvement in all of it. But it is not obvious, even to the most intensely interested observer, why he is not doing it, other than that he is using the promise of reform in a political game.