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KDP-PUK abuse of democracy
8.7.2009
By Simko Azad
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July
8, 2009
The campaigning for the Kurdish parliament and
regional presidency has now been underway for two
weeks and the campaigning methods of the different
lists highlight their underlining ideologies. The
behaviour of List 54, a list formed by Kurdistan’s
two traditional political parties, Barzani’s KDP and
Talabani’s PUK, is a disgrace to the democratic
process and highlights the totalitarian nature of
these organisations and the power lust of there out
of touch and corrupt leadership.
The ‘Kurdistani’ List is headed by Dr Barham Saleh.
At one time it could be said that Dr Barham Saleh
was seen as a hopeful future candidate by Kurds in
Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Not a well known party
apparatchik at the time of the civil war Saleh
managed to dissociate his name with the bloodshed.
His purported academic credentials and his fluent
use of the English language helped to set him apart
from other Kurdish leaders, especially for Kurds in
the Diaspora.
Barham Saleh was a long term PUK representative in
the US and it was hoped that his selection as
Kurdistani list president signalled the PUK and
KDP’s democratic intentions however it appears that
while Saleh returned to his homeland with the worst
aspects of American democracy, a love for the
limelight nearing shameless self promotion and sound
bite politics he did not imbibe any of its best.
Dr Saleh and his list have shamelessly used public
funds to finance their own election campaign.
Spending millions of dollars which belong to the
Kurdish people to buy cart loads of posters baring
Saleh sticking his thumb up and literally
wallpapering Kurdistan’s cities. They have spent
countless dollars on buying singers to perform for
them, one notable example being the Iranian Kurd,www.ekurd.net
Azzizi Waisi whose name is now
synonymous with mercenariasm amongst the people of
the region. Another singer reported that he had been
offered 200,000 dollars to sing saddamesque ballads
for Barzani and Talabani. They have also used
Kurdsat, KurdistanTv, ZagrosTv, GalikurdistanTV and
all other TV stations which are funded by the KRG to
broadcast their propaganda.
They have furthermore used there influence on the
governing bodies to side step rules on the location
of election material and draped governmental offices
and even mosques with there banners and posters. Not
content on having a free hand on posting there
election material, members of the Kurdistani List
have also been found destroying the banners and
posters of their competitors.
While Jalal Talabani’s visits to towns and villages
have become notorious with governmental agencies
being closed for days at a time to make sure that
there workers can be forcibly sent to parade in the
hope of faking popularity for the deeply unpopular
ruling parties.
Saleh’s list has also resorted to campaigning in the
most base way, the buying of votes. There own
political party controlled media regularly boasts of
this money for votes campaign. This started with
Saleh’s own bribe of 800,000 US dollars to
Sulaimaniyah's artistic association and includes
bribes paid by Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s President to
divergent groups ranging from 5,000 dollars to the
leaders of the regions Kakai religious minority to
50,000 Iraqi dinars to the regions so called
‘religious teachers’ the irony of a priest being
bribed being lost on the regions old school
politicians.
Saleh’s lists litany of electoral infringements
however goes beyond the mere buying of votes into
territory which is usually the domain of despots
such as Mugabe. In a co-ordinated campaign of
intimidation and coercion thousands of members of
the PUK and KDP have been brought up in front of
adhoc committees and questioned regarding there
allegiance any party member suspected of favouring
the ‘change movement’ is then stripped of there
salary. This is a difficult situation to find
oneself in,www.ekurd.net
as the KDP and PUK have so
monopolised the regions economy that finding work in
a non-political party sponsored post is near
impossible.
Not content with firing members of there own parties
the KDP/PUK have extended their coercion into the
regions officially non partisan security and defence
apparatus with countless reports of the regions
officers being sacked or demoted for expressing the
wrong political opinion or for simply tuning into
the wrong TV station. With viewing KNN (a station
affiliated with the change movement being banned
from many barracks across the region) being equated
with treachery. This has delegitimised the peshmerga
in the eyes of many of the regions residents and
indeed shows the regions defence forces are a
militia force rather than a modern military entity.
As the campaigning continues and nears the election
date it can only be expected that Dr Barham Saleh’s
lists struggle to continue its despotic and failed
tenure will continue and increase in intensity but
it is clear that they are losing the struggle and
that change has truly come to the Kurdish political
arena.
The contents of this article reflect the author's
personal opinions
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
Simko Azad
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