ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The PUK’s critical stance against Turkey’s recent acts against Kurds in northern Syria and Kurdish cities of Turkey caused Ankara to close its airspace over Sulaimani, said a party official, adding through private channels attempts continue for the ban to be lifted.
Speaking of a variety of topics including the flight ban imposed by Turkey on the Sulaimani airport and the upcoming Iraqi May election and some other topics, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Politburo met on Sunday in Sulaimani.
“If this punishment is as a result of the…PUK’s sympathy to the Kurdistan political parties on a national and patriotic level, then this is something we are proud of,” Saadi Pira, the PUK spokesman told reporters following the meeting of his party’s critical stance, mainly against Turkey’s takeover of Afrin.
“On the issue of flights between Sulaimani and Turkey, through private channels, an explanation has been asked for and there have been efforts for solving it,” Pira added.
He said Turkey will remain, however, a neighbor of the Kurdistan Region “and we carry out our neighborly responsibilities according to international laws.”
He also added that the PUK, does not support severing ties with Iraq, Turkey and Syria “as we will always remain neighbors.”
The Sulaimani airport, along with the Erbil International Airport, was banned from international flights following last year’s September independence referendum of the Kurdistan Region. The Iraqi government decided to reopen the airports in mid-March.
However, Turkey refused to allow international flights from other cities around the world to use its airspace for landing in Sulaimani, claiming that the PUK was complicit with “terrorists”, in reference its alleged coordination with the PKK.
Opening the airspace "is only for Erbil. It does not include Sulaimani because there are terrorist activities taking place against our country from there," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirm said on March 23.
He said they were proud of their standpoint.
He added, however, that Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s territories should not be violated.
"It is necessary that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have a strong stance on respecting the sovereignty of these countries [Turkey] and the sovereignty of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region's territories not be trespassed,” the PUK spokesperson said. “We will advise Turkey of this through official channels.”
The Turkish military in the last couple of weeks has started a ground operation against the PKK on bordering areas of the Kurdistan Region, occupying at least 28 villages and establishing multiple military bases in the process.
Concerning continued protests across the Kurdistan Region, particularly in Sulaimani and Halabja Provinces, Pira hailed the government’s recent decree to make changes to ease the unpopular salary saving system.
“The changes the government has made to the salary systems is better than before… It is a good step on the path of abolishing the saving system entirely,” he said.
"Our position on protests for the legitimate rights of teachers and civil employees, who serve on daily basis is necessary and they need to be supported for protestors to be protected,” Pira announced.
This past week saw a wave of mass protests across the Kurdistan Region, as civil servants led by teachers and health workers demanded the abolition of the government’s unpopular austerity measures causing wages in the public sector slashed.
The highly unpopular salary saving system was introduced in 2016 as part of austerity measures designed to address the crippling economic crisis.
The protests in Erbil and Duhok have ended, but they are ongoing in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.
In parts of his speech, Pira hinted at the Iraqi parliamentary elections that are scheduled to take place on May 12.
The spokesperson revealed that the upcoming Iraqi election contains numerous surprises both in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
"Election campaigning has its own language. We in the PUK believe that slanderous and hurtful words should not be used,” Pira said.
Pira urged Kurdish parties to have a united voice in Baghdad.
There have been growing concerns that Kurds may lose 10 to 14 seats in the next round of Iraqi parliamentary elections, largely due to the loss of Kirkuk and other disputed territories to the Iraqi government and Iranian backed Shiite militias.
The PUK official is, however, optimistic they could launch their election campaigns in Kirkuk and other disputed areas.
“I think efforts have to be made to pave the way for candidates to play their role during election campaigns. I do not foresee lack of opportunities for people to conduct their campaigns,” he said.
“As the PUK, we will be able to do our own campaigning in Kirkuk,” he said.
