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Divisions inside Talabani's PUK, party insiders warn: Iraqi
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Divisions inside Talabani's PUK, party
insiders warn: Iraqi Kurdistan
10.9.2012 |
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Mala Bakhtiyar, chairman of the executive committee
of the PUK political bureau, admits, "Unfortunately,
there is a struggle within the PUK,” he said. Photo:
Mala Bakhtiyar's Facebook.
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September 10, 2012
SULĘMANI,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— After the dramatic
split of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),
which led to the formation of the Change Movement (Gorran),
many people thought the PUK would adjust its lines
and become more unified to prevent further splits in
the party.
However, senior officials in the party are warning
about an ongoing "struggle and polarization within."
Mala Bakhtiyar, chairman of the executive committee
of the PUK political bureau, admits, "Unfortunately,
there is a struggle within the PUK,” he said.
PUK spokesperson Azad Jundiyan agrees that there are
signs that polarization exists within his party.
“This is a contest within the PUK over winning the
trust of Jalal Talabani. Talabani has intervened
twice now between the struggling groups. Only he can
deal with this problem."
On Aug. 28, Arsalan Bayiz, a PUK political bureau
member and current speaker of Kurdish Parliament,
made a statement to Kurdistani New—the mouthpiece
newspaper of his party—that read: "Polarization will
not be solved without having the will to do so.
Partisan meetings and gatherings cannot solve this
issue. There has always been struggle within the PUK
and this has been a part of its weakness."
Before the foundation of Gorran, there were three
camps within the PUK: one led by Talabani himself;
the second by Kosrat Rasul, chairman of the managing
committee of the PUK political bureau; and the camp
of Nawshirwan Mustafa, deputy to the PUK secretary
at the time.
These three camps were in conflict. The camps of
Talabani and Rasul united before the second party
congress was held. They overshadowed the camp of
Mustafa, known as the camp of reform back then.
When Mustafa’s group split from the PUK, many
thought that would end the internal struggle within
the party. But Arif Rushdi, leadership member of the
PUK, told Rudaw, "From the time the PUK was founded,
there were three different trends within the party,
and they still exist."
Rushdi referred to the different trends in more
specific terms, speaking of the socialist movement,
the toilors (Ranjdaran) and the mainstream, which
established the PUK in 1976.
Rushdi criticized the methods of decision making
within the party. "The PUK needs to seriously
reconsider its practice of decision making,
especially when it comes to fateful issues such as
making alliances with other political parties,
participation in the government and elections. These
issues need discussion and consultation with the
party's lower organs in order to find out what the
majority of party leaders think.”
“Decision-making within the PUK needs to come to
terms with the modern concept of democracy," Rushdi
added.
On the other hand, Hallo Penjweni, a PUK official,
doesn’t believe there is any polarization within the
party. “I am inside the coordination office of the
PUK and do not see such a thing," he said.
According to Penjweni, some of the issues inside the
PUK can be attributed to the failure to implement
recommendations from the third PUK congress.
"The decision-making problem largely exists in the
centers of the PUK,” he said. “For example, some of
our centers should have seven directors but they
have 50 instead. It is impossible to decide with 50
people. In Erbil, some of our centers merged and now
have 35 directors and 10 deputies. These issues need
to be solved."
Abdulhakeem Khasraw, a lecturer at Erbil’s
Salahaddin University, said that if PUK does not
resolve its internal struggles, it will face a big
crisis. "This could result in a big split among PUK
ranks. In the case of the disintegration of the PUK,
many problems would emerge in Kurdistan.”
“Other groups within the PUK could disturb the
situation in Kurdistan since they have military and
security powers," Khasraw added.
By Hevidar Ahmed - Rudaw
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
rudaw.net
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