ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An important National Convention in Erbil, scheduled for this month and aimed at gathering Kurdish groups around the Middle East to try and set a common roadmap for the world’s 30 million Kurds, has been postponed for a second time, organizers said.
They said that one of the main reasons for the delay in the meeting – which is now being scheduled for November 25 -- is over the number of seats demanded by the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The Kurdish National Convention (KNC) was first scheduled for August 24 and then for September 15. The latest delay is mainly because of differences over the number of seats allocated to each of the four parts of Kurdistan, and over organization of the proceedings, said members of the preparation committee.
The decision to delay was taken by the committee, which comprises 21 members from all four parts of Kurdistan. A statement by the committee said that the delay would allow the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary and provincial elections to be over.
Khalil Ibrahim, a member of the preparation committee who represents the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), said there were severe disagreements on the distribution of seats.
“It is true that the main cause for the delay is the distribution of the seats. There have been a number of meetings, but no agreements have been reached,” he told Rudaw.
Other issues of disagreement, he said, were over how the convention is run, its agenda, how it is organized and how decisions will be followed up.
“These are all serious matters over which we have not been able to reach an agreement,” Ibrahim said.
The KNC held its first meeting on August 22 with Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, who initiated the long-awaited KNC, in attendance.
According to information obtained by Rudaw, the PKK is demanding that the largest number of seats must be allocated to the Kurds of Turkey and Syria, arguing that seats be assigned based on Kurdish populations in each country or region. The PKK wants more than 310 of the 600 seats.
In the last preparatory meeting on August 30, the PKK’s suggestion for seat distribution was rejected. The PKK had demanded that the Kurds of Turkey have 220 seats, Iraqi Kurds be given 150 places, 140 for Syrian Kurds and 90 for the Kurds of Iran.
The Kurdistan Region has suggested that all parts of Kurdistan must have equal representation, or 150 seats each.
“It is true that one part of Kurdistan might have a larger population than another part, but we have to take the Kurdistan Region’s political position into consideration,” said Ibrahim.
“Different political parties should not impose their numbers on the convention. This is not an election; this is a convention for the Kurdish nation,” he said.
“We also support south Kurdistan’s suggestion that each part should have an equal number of representatives.” said Reza Kaabi, a member of the preparation committee from Iran.
The committee has decided on 600 individuals as members of the convention and 300 as guests. Membership will be distributed among all four parts of Kurdistan, as well as the Kurdish diaspora. Twenty percent of the seats are equally divided between youth organizations and well-known personalities, 35 percent are for civil society organizations, and 45 percent will go to the political parties.
“Among political parties there are different views on the number and distribution of the seats,” admitted Kemal Kerkuki, a member of the preparation committee’s secretariat.
“These problems will be solved, but there are a number of other problems that need serious efforts to solve,” said Kerkuki, who represents the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Kaabi indirectly blamed the PKK’s demand for seat distribution as the main cause for the postponement.
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