SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), whose leaders have received mounting criticism for the fall of Kirkuk, has opened an internal investigation into what went wrong on October 16 in the oil-rich province.
The PUK held its first publicized meeting of the party’s politburo, headed by its deputy head Kosrat Rasul, since the Kirkuk crisis that saw Iraqi forces make large gains against the Peshmerga.
Rasul, who is also Kurdistan Region’s vice president, and other senior PUK members including family members of the late former Iraqi president and party’s head Jalal Talabani, have traded accusations back and forth in the aftermath of October 16.
They decided to open an investigation into the “October 16 catastrophe,” carrying out a thorough scrutiny of events and decisions made by the PUK both before and after the referendum, according to a statement published Tuesday night by the party.
The results will be made public.
The PUK said a regional plot, supported by the silence of friendly nations, coupled with the rejection of the US-backed alternative to the Kurdistan referendum, resulted in a catastrophe for the Kurdish nation.
This “regional plot” was partly successful due to “exploitation of disagreements between Kurdistani parties and the struggle within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.”
US National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster, said last week that the commander of Iran’s Quds Force Qassem Soleimani exploited a “power struggle” among the PUK ranks, portraying itself as the “protector” of the party.
Talabani’s eldest son, Bafel, has been widely reported as negotiating a deal with Soleimani and Iraqi officials that permitted Iraqi forces to enter Kirkuk without strong resistance. Although he is a PUK member, Bafel does not hold any official role. He denies the accusations.
The politburo members on Tuesday decided that official organs of the party should make decisions according to their respective powers, instead of letting “minor divisive groups” of the party make decisions.
The PUK has experienced internal power struggles for several years.
On the issue of the Kurdistan Region parliament, the PUK politburo said the party should play its legislative and monitoring roles in a more active way, noting that it was a key factor in reactivating the legislature in September in order to back the independence referendum.
They called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to begin talks with Baghdad, setting the Iraqi constitution as the base for any future dialogue with the central government.
“Unconditional dialogue should be conducted with Baghdad in light of peace and the cessation of war and away from aggression toward Kurdistan,” the statement read.
“As all Kurdistani parties and the Kurdistan Regional Government accept negotiations and the [Iraqi] constitution, what other excuse does Baghdad have to continue its military aggression, its economic embargo?” the statement asked in criticism of continued Iraqi military operations on various Kurdistan Region frontiers.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said on Monday that such military operations will hinder talks.
The PUK also said the party should work with others to complete drafting a constitution for the Kurdistan Region, one that would establish a parliamentary system. It said it was time to end two years of political deadlock by resolving the presidency law.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of President Masoud Barzani has long advocated for a presidential system. The party however, appears to have backed off the stance. Barzani said on multiple occasions in the run-up to the referendum that a future Kurdistan state should have a parliamentary system.
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