Responding to a letter, in which Ahmed urged Kosrat Rasul, the acting leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to call a party congress for Sunday, Rasul said: “I received the letter yesterday. With the first reading, I sensed it was written for publication, to accumulate accusations and fabricated propaganda and inappropriate rivalries within the PUK, rather than solving the painful situation of the PUK and our fan base.”
In her letter, Ahmed urged Rasul to convene the leadership council to allay concerns within the party about internal problems.
“I, as a sister, urge you for the last time to hold this meeting as soon as possible to ease the concerns of PUK supporters and end the waiting. This is not only my demand, it is of all organs, offices, cadres, members and supporters of the PUK,” the letter read.
Ahmed, the widow of former PUK leader Jalal Talabani, warned Rasul to act, writing: “I hope you will execute the responsibility you shoulder so that your name will not enter the pages of history as the dissolver of Mam Jalal’s bouquet of flowers and the PUK.”
In his reply, Rasul said: “When the PUK’s fate is tied to holding the congress and given our political and party position in which the historical responsibility lies with us, I find it suitable to hereby frankly say; yes, I am for the congress in the nearest future.”
Rasul then attacked the letter. “It was not written to resolve the situation of Kurdistan in general,” he said.
The letter is dated February 22.
Responding to Ahmed’s call on him to execute his responsibilities, Rasul said: “After Mam Jalal fell ill, I was criticized many times for not executing my authorities. It was clear this was to prevent the issues from being escalated and further rifts among us.”
Rasul added that Ahmed should be more aware than anyone else that “I always held my own opinions and have always expressed my stance frankly even in the presence of Mam Jalal.”
The PUK has tentatively set March 5 as the date for its congress. On February 15, the leadership council was given 10 days to make a final decision on the date.
Rasul has been acting head of the PUK since the death of the party’s leader and founder Jalal Talabani in October. The party has been weakened by internal power struggles since his death and accusations that elements within the party gave up Kirkuk to Iraqi forces.
Rasul accused Ahmed and her family of leading the PUK towards uncertainty and causing it to make political and national mistakes.
“Unfortunately, you and your family members, irrespective of the history of the PUK and without taking into account the position of Mam Jalal and the struggle of his friends by colluding with other sides, you made the PUK face some political and national mistakes and you have caused a big embarrassment in front of the people and its fans.”
Rasul and other senior PUK members, including the family of the late former Iraqi president Talabani, have traded a series of accusations in the aftermath of October 16.
Talabani’s eldest son, Bafel, was widely reported as having negotiated a deal with the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi officials that permitted Iraqi forces to enter Kirkuk without strong resistance on October 16. Although he is a PUK member, Bafel does not hold any official role. He denies the accusations.
Rasul described himself as “genuine protector of the bouquets of flowers of Mam Jalal.”
“I would like to also say that I well understand the historical responsibility on my shoulders which is the responsibility of tens of thousands of the strivers of our nation,” he said, adding when it comes to the subject of the congress, Ahmed has oscillated on several occasions. “Unfortunately, as usual, your position and points of views are flip-flopping and in official meetings you are saying something, and in others you are standing against your opinions.”
He went on to criticize Ahmed, accusing her of forcing Barham Salih, the former second deputy secretary general of the PUK, to break away from the party and form the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ).
At the end of the letter, the acting PUK leader explained he wants a congress that will guarantee the preservation of PUK unity that would not allow it to be dominated by a tribal dynasty, which would apply even for “my family members.” He said he wants a congress that would make sure the PUK is for all, without any particular group monopolizing it, which would reconcile angry members of the party, and allow the PUK to set out a transparent roadmap for the future of the nation.
The PUK plans to hold its congress ahead of Iraq’s parliamentary elections scheduled for May 12, and as-yet unscheduled general elections in the Kurdistan Region.
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