|
Kurdistan opposition Gorran MP calls for
new leadership amid fissures in party 9.6.2012 |
|
|
|
Adnan Osman, an MP from the
Change Movement (Gorran), believes his bloc in
Parliament needs to elect a new leader. Photo:
Ekurd.net/Agencies.
June
9, 2012
ERBIL-Hewlęr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Adnan Osman, an MP from
the Change Movement (Gorran), believes his bloc in
Parliament needs to elect a new leader.
"Any member from the Gorran bloc could run for
leadership and get a good number of votes. I would
like to have a new leader for our bloc. I think it
would be better for us," says Osman.
He adds, "By the end of this parliamentary session,
at least two or three of our members should have
served as leader in order to gain experience and
become leaders in the future."
Gorran had decided to rotate the leadership of their
bloc amongst its members, but this ceased after
Kardo Muhammad became leader.
Regarding the rotation of leadership, Muhammad says,
"Performance is the main factor in work. My
remaining in or leaving the bloc leadership will not
be decided by the moods of others because I became
leader by obtaining the majority of member votes."
Muhammad says he does not oppose the idea of giving
his seat to one of his fellow MPs.
"Whenever the majority decides to give the
leadership to another colleague, I will give it to
him with utmost respect," he says.
Kwestan Muhammad, the first leader of the Gorran
bloc, supports Muhammad. "I do not support changing
the leader because he has been doing his job well."
She thinks that changing the leadership will cause
destabilization within the bloc.
Gorran previously had 25 seats in Kurdish
Parliament, but recently lost two seats after the
resignation of Karwan Salih and Abdulrahman Zakhoyi.
Osman criticized the attitude of the Gorran Movement
towards the bloc in parliament, saying, "We are not
satisfied with the existing relationship between the
Gorran bloc and the Gorran Movement. We hoped for
stronger relations and the continuation of talks."
Osman believes Gorran MPs do not treat their
movement well. “There is a double standard," he
says.
Osman, who led the Gorran bloc for briefly after
Kwestan Muhammad, says, "Gorran and other Kurdish
parties have not fully comprehended the importance
of parliament yet."
The problems within the Gorran bloc surfaced when a
number of members, along with MPs from other
parties, requested the right to purchase the houses
they currently live in at the same price they were
originally bought by the government.
Nawshirwan Mustafa, the leader of Gorran, strongly
criticized those Gorran MPs in an open letter and
demanded their dismissal from the party unless they
apologized. This statement caused problems within
the bloc and two of its members are now acting as an
independent group within parliament.
Osman disagrees with how Mustafa dealt with the
issue, believing it could have been resolved without
the publicity.
"I am against the publication of Nawshirwan
Mustafa's statements. I have many notes about the
content of Mustafa’s letter and do not approve of
what has been says so far about this issue.” says
Osman.
Osman says the punishment of Karwan Salih and his
colleagues was based on something they had only
intended but not done.
"It could have been a misunderstanding or a weakness
towards some material gains, and they could have
been dissuaded through pressure and criticism. They
were punished harshly and this is a double standard.
It should not have been done this way." Osman says.
In Osman’s view the Gorran leadership has not
treated its MPs equally in certain situations.“I do
not know what Gorran might have done to Shaho Saeed
and three other MPs when they decided to retire, as
they were previously against retirement yet later
accepted it,” he says. “I believe Gorran has
something to do with these four MPs. It has raised
many questions for us."
Kwestan Muhammad has different views. "The
retirement of those four MPs was the right decision
because they had previously been asked to return to
their jobs and they had refused. I do not believe
Gorran is negligent or has problems with us. On the
contrary, they help us a lot," she says.
A meeting between Kardo Muhammad, leader of the
Gorran bloc,www.ekurd.net
and the president of the Kurdistan Region on May 27
was met with resentment by some Gorran MPs.
"Kardo Muhammad talked with us about the meeting on
the phone and we told him our opposition to his
participation in that meeting, but at the same time
we do not see it as a betrayal that he took part in
the meeting," says Osman.
The meetings between the Gorran bloc and President
Massoud Barzani came after Gorran leader Mustafa had
met with Barzani in Sulaimani and Erbil.
"It is a positive step for Mustafa to meet with
Barzani, but we the MPs do not necessarily need to
abide by the decisions of Gorran. Our movement can
assign me as their representative to meet or visit a
certain place. This is one thing and being an MP is
another," says Osman.
By Hevidar Ahmed
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
rudaw.net
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page
|
®
