SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) politburo member Mahmud Sangawi has called for an end to party infighting, but accuses Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, the widow of party founder Jalal Talabani, of provoking the row.
He also says Kurds did not fully understand the politics of the world, its elites and regional powers when they went ahead with last year’s independence referendum.
“We will lose if we fight against Iraq instead of having dialogue. We might be able to recapture Kirkuk in 10 hours. But can we protect it?” Sangawi said.
He predicts a regional war will break out in the near future.
“Then we will return to Kirkuk with the least loss,” he said.
A resurgence of ISIS and the embroiling of the region in rivalries between Israel, Iran, the US and the Gulf States will further fuel the situation, he said.
Kurds who have remained in the disputed areas taken by Iraqi forces last October are not optimistic, Sangawi said.
“Nowadays, Kurdish people are threatening us [Kurdish parties], saying they will not vote. And this is very bad. I think they should vote for the parties they like so that Kurdish votes are not lost,” he said.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has decided to boycott elections in Kirkuk. The PUK official rejected the strategy, arguing it will be bad for Kurdish representation. He said the Kurds should not repeat the mistake of the Sunnis when they boycotted past elections, leaving them excluded from power.
“The Kurds should have some representatives in the parliament no matter how many. The Arabs and Turkmen want us to boycott them,” he said.
Internal problems within the PUK are ongoing. The Talabani family recently made an unsuccessful bid to convince the party’s former deputy secretary general, Barham Salih, who left the PUK last year to form the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), to rejoin their ranks.
Sangawi said he was sad to see Salih leave the party. He said the PUK had tried hard to make Salih stay, “but a group from Mam Jalal’s family pressured him to leave. They wanted him out and then deal with him when he is weak.”
“All the parties want to reach an agreement with him whether he wins 10 or 2 seats. We couldn’t convince him to stay with the PUK. Barham Salih is a prominent man and the period of his cabinet was golden,” Sangawi added.
Sangawi is known for his support for Salih. He denied he had left the PUK.
“I regret some of the political choices I made in the past. I regard them as wrong. Previously, I was against the Change Movement (Gorran) and we were violent with them. From the day Barham Salih left the PUK, I have not and will not speak about him. He has now left. May God protect him. I don’t oppose him. I love him,” Sangawi said.
Sangawi thinks the PUK’s infighting has entered a dangerous phase following the release of letters by Hero Ibrahim Ahmed and Kosrat Rasul.
“I support Mr Kosrat [Rasul Ali] because I think he is right, but Mrs Hero [Ibrahim Ahmed] is not. Hero is Mam Jalal [Talabani]’s wife, and I have respect for her. I treat her like my mother, but she practiced a wrong policy and it’s because of her that the PUK is in this situation. Barham Saleh, the Change Movement and Nawshirwan Mustafa left the party. They all left because of this injustice and pain. They took on Barham Saleh, and will take on someone else tomorrow. It is Mrs Hero who is primarily responsible for this situation,” Sangawi said.
“The letter issued by Mrs Hero contained orders for Mr Kosrat. It is clear what kind of congress Mr Kosrat wants. He wants a congress that is not controlled by his own son or Mam Jalal’s family,” he added.
Ahmed and Rasul accuse each other of straying from the path set out by former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani.
Sangawi said Talabani’s real philosophy was that “the PUK is the party of toilers [and] of ideas.”
“Currently, Mrs Hero’s family alone has as much power as the entire politburo. They control PUK financial assets. They control the government and everything else. On my front, 180 [Peshmerga] were martyred. Mrs Hero has power over PUK finances. Couldn’t she give some bread to these Peshmerga?” he said.
Sangawi said he was at Rasul’s home the evening Ahmed’s letter was published.
He said Rasul reached into his pocket and showed him the letter. “I saw Mrs Hero’s letter. It wasn’t a good letter. I wanted to take a photo of it. But I didn’t do it because I thought people would say Mahmud Sangawi had published it if it were to be circulated. Mr Kosrat didn’t let anyone copy the letter sent out by Mr Hero. Mr Kosrat decided to publish his response after Mrs Hero’s letter was published.”
“Her policy is wrong. The PUK will become very weak if this policy continues. I hope we give up this sending of letters,” he said.
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