A delegation from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) visited the city of Sulaimani on Sunday and met with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The meeting was led by the PUK’s co-chair Bafel Talabani.
The parties emphasized the importance of holding a united front when negotiating with Baghdad on the dispute over the allocation of the Region’s budget, according to a joint-statement released after the meeting.
“The two parties also expressed their support for the efforts of the KRG in negotiating after the passing of the Fiscal Deficit bill by Iraqi parliament,” the statement reads. They also discussed the KRG asking for loans in order to pay the salaries of its civil sector employees, and further negotiations for the 2021 Iraqi Budget law.
Large protests by civil servants and their supporters erupted in the city of Sulaimani on Wednesday over months-long unpaid salaries. The demonstrations have ended in the city after the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons by security forces, who were deployed in large numbers to the area, but protests have spread to other parts of the province as of Saturday.
Several activists and journalists have been arrested at the protests, according to a Rudaw reporter in Sulaimani.
The ruling parties agreed to a three-sided meeting with leadership from the Gorran Movement on Tuesday to further discuss the economic problems facing the region, and decide on a united stance for Kurdistan Region representatives to take in Baghdad.
“We are worried about the people’s situation – and we (the ruling parties) are responsible for dealing with it – that is why we will meet, to know the reasons behind the bad situation people are in,” Dler Abdulkhaliq, the head of Gorran’s communications office told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Sunday.
“We believe that we can make reforms with the KDP and PUK [in government], and step-by-step fix the problems that the people of Kurdistan face,” he added.
The KRG has failed to pay its civil servants on time or in full for months. Kurdish officials have openly said they cannot pay civil servants without money from the federal government.
A consensus has reportedly been reached between Baghdad and Erbil regarding the Region’s allocation of the 2021, according to a statement from the premier’s office. No information has been released regarding progress in securing the withheld parts of the 2020 budget.
“Negotiations are ongoing within the framework of the principles we have already agreed upon, leading up to a final agreement,” reads the statement, stressing the KRG “will not waive its financial and constitutional rights and dues.”
