On Thursday evening, two deputies within the leadership of the PUK, Barham Salih and Kosrat Rasoul Ali, announced that they have formed a new decision-making body in order to bring an end to corruption within the party and return the party to its roots, working for the interests of the people of Kurdistan.
“We will no longer be silent,” reads the statement issued Thursday night, referring to harmful policies and corruption within the PUK. “We have decided that, until the PUK congress is held, we establish a decision-making body. No decision will be recognized or considered legitimate if made outside of this body.”
“This is a very strong [statement] by two powerful people,” said Abdulla.
Barham Salih is a widely known and respected Kurdish political leader. “A lot of people here in Washington know Barham Salih,” Abdulla explained. “He’s developed good relations with US officials and also Iranian officials as well. He’s a politician who can get along really with everybody.”
Kosrat Rasoul, while not known internationally, is a popular veteran Peshmerga, highly respected domestically, especially within the Peshmerga. “He is a veteran. He fought against Saddam Hussein in the mountains,” said Abdullah. “He is also basically the vice president of the Kurdistan Region.”
“They’re both really important figures.”
The PUK was established in 1975 by socialist, nationalist Kurds and rose to become the second most powerful party in the Kurdistan Region. It has been led by Jalal Talabani, former president of Iraq, who has been facing health problems since 2012.
The party was significantly weakened in 2006 when Gorran, now the third major party in the region, split.
The PUK was formed to be a counter-power to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of the Barzani family. At the time of the PUK’s formation, they accused the KDP of being controlled by a family group.
“But now Barham Salih and Kosrat Rasoul are basically doing the same thing. They say the party which was established against family rule is now controlled by a family,” noted Abdulla. “They want to take the party back to be a party of the people.”
Salih and Rasoul accuse an unspecified group within the party of using the PUK to their own interests. Though they do not name anyone, Abdulla says it is clear they are referring to the Talabani family, including Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, Jamal Talabani’s wife, and possibly her sons or close family members.
Lahur Jangi Talabani issued a statement Thursday responding to the declaration of Salih and Rasoul, saying they have no legitimacy within the party as they were not elected and they will pay the price for their actions.
He added, however, that he was hopeful the matter could be resolved internally.
Abdulla said there are many things still unknown, including what support each faction within the party will receive, how this may affect the war against the Islamic State, and where the allegiance of the PUK’s Peshmerga lies.
“It could definitely have a major impact on the morale or the role of the Peshmerga forces on the frontlines, for better or worse. The Peshmerga, they’re fighting, they’re defending Kurdistan, they expect the political parties to solve the political problems within their own. This is an attempt definitely to solve a crisis, but it also adds a new crisis,” explained Abdulla.
“It’s definitely adding more political instability to the region.”
A KDP official issued a statement Thursday evening saying that they have not yet decided which faction within the PUK they will recognize – that of Salih and Rasoul or that of the Talabani family.
“We are awaiting a meeting to be held by the KDP politburo to make clear which group from the PUK we are going to officially deal with and it is the politburo who will make such a decision,” Omed Khoshnaw, head of the KDP’s faction in the Kurdistan Parliament, told Rudaw.
Khoshnaw added that his party “wishes calm for the recent situation of Kurdistan.”
For now, KDP members are being told to stay out of the matter and not offer any analysis or opinion, an announcement from the KDP’s media centre instructed.
