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Sarko Osman (Gorran public relations senior adviser and member of the Opposition Coordination Committee) spoke to The Kurdistan Tribune:
KRG Opposition press conference, Left to right - Abdulstar Majid (KIG), Bakir Ali (KIU) and Sarko Osman (Gorran)
All three opposition parties – Gorran (Change), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) – conducted a meeting on Monday 24 October – more than three months after they vowed to halt talks until state killers are brought to justice – in order to reassess Kurdistan political developments and discuss whether or not to resume talks with the ruling parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The Opposition decided to refuse to resume talks with the ruling parties, until the president’s four decrees are fully implemented. The four decrees were announced on 28 August, seven months after President Barzani’s KDP militia opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing a dozen people – including a 12 year old, a 15 year old and a 17 year old – while wounding hundreds: but the murderers are still roaming free.
Sarko Osman told The Kurdistan Tribune:
“I believe the following obstacles are the main reasons preventing these decrees from being implemented:
- A weak PUK-led government that lacks power and determination to bring senior KDP figures to justice.
- The existence of two administrations in the region governed separately by the ruling parties, the KDP and PUK, despite their strategic agreement.
- Lack of faith in political reform by the ruling parties, and they are trying to buy time”.
Sarko Osman is not optimistic that justice will be served anytime soon. The Opposition has not set a time limit for the implementation of these demands, but Osman stated that it cannot wait too long.
When asked whether he believed the ruling parties are using foreign threats as an excuse to avoid reform, he replied: “Yes, they are using the external threat as an excuse to avoid reform and trying to show that the external threat is greater than the internal crisis in order to remain in power”.
