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London (KurdishMedia.com) 16 April 2005: Clashes
have erupted between the supporters of the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by the elected
Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, and the supporters
of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), headed by
Massoud Barzani in several areas in south Kurdistan,
according to the Kurdish weekly Hawlati.
As television channels worldwide covered the
election of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani to the
position of President of Iraq, widespread
celebrations were organised by the PUK across
southern Kurdistan. The PUK’s satellite television
station, KurdSat, ran a 4-day campaign promoting
Talabani, and parties and celebrations at the PUK
headquarters were broadcast live.
Clashes in Hewler
In Hewler (Erbil), the seat of the Kurdistan
parliament, supporters of the PUK and KDP have
started to provoke each other by parading the photos
of Talabani and Barzani and the PUK and KDP flags.
Hawlati reports that in the clashes many photos of
Talabani were torn. Quoting a Hewler security
officer, Hawlati says that no one has been arrested
in Hewler but some elements acting as Asayish
(security) officers have torn photos of Talabani and
beaten up random individuals.
The Kurdish weekly reported the events that in the
village of Asihi, which belongs to the town of Smel,
near Zaxo, the PUK headquarters organised a party on
8 April. KDP supporters carrying yellow KDP flags
entered the party and PUK supporters attacked them.
The KDP supporters then withdrew and set up a
checkpoint near a road leading to Smel. KDP security
forces then arrived at the checkpoint and stopped
them.
The next day, 500 peshmergas of the KDP’s Zaweta
forces surrounded and attacked Smell and arrested a
number of PUK members at the PUK’s headquarters. The
arrested PUK members were then publicly beaten and
detained at the Asayish security headquarters in
Smel.
Stoning in Soran
Supporters of the KDP and PUK started to rally
around the city on 9 April, carrying photos of
Talabani and Barzani. Accordnig to Hawlati, at some
stage the supporters of the two parties threw stones
at each other.
Jalal Talabani was nominated by the Kurdistani
Alliance List, which won approximately 26% of the
votes in Iraq’s recent general elections, the
highest post given to Kurds in the Iraqi government.
www.kurdishmedia.com
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