JWing
02-09-2011, 08:42 AM
niqash | Zanko Ahmad | mon 07 feb 11
http://www.niqash.org/intern/php/getbild_crop.php?id=2178
On the morning of 29 January 2011, the Kurdish opposition Movement for Change published a statement demanding the dissolution of the Kurdish government and calling for elections within three months.
It also called for a ban preventing the security forces and the Kurdish intelligence from interfering in political affairs, and for a return of public property that was seized by the two political parties.
Since then, there has been a high state of alert in the Kurdistan region, in particular in the city of Sulaimaniyah, where military tanks can now be seen in the streets, near almost all civilian and military institutions.
Two military tanks of the Peshmerga forces are stationed on a hill, a dozen meters away from the office of the Prime Minister, Barham Saleh, in the city centre.
The Peshmerga minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Sheikh Jaffar Mustafa, says his forces are “in a full state of alert and ready to assist the police and security forces if needed, because of fears that the statement may lead to chaos."
Political observers say the government took these measures, following the unrest and demonstrations for democracy in the region, especially in Tunisia and Egypt.
Certainly, Change’s demands are unequivocal: “We are witnessing the fall of dictators and totalitarian states (...), but officials in the Kurdistan region have not taken any real steps towards the democratisation of the ruling regime."
The editor of the independent political Hawalati Newspaper, Kamal Rauf, says that the changes witnessed in the region will, sooner or later, have a significant impact on the political situation in Kurdistan.
The opposition's statement, he believes, “reflects the real aspirations and demands of the Kurdish people," and says that if the two ruling parties - the KDP and PUK - continue to adopt the same policies, “we will end up having a similar crisis as in Tunisia and Egypt."
But officials in the region believe there are few similarities between the Kurdistan Region and what is happening elsewhere - a view that has been echoed by the Kurdish regional president, Massoud Barzani, and Prime Minister Barham Salih, on more than one occasion during the past few days.
A few hours after the opposition statement was published, the two ruling parties issued a strongly worded statement, accusing Change of "anarchism and sabotage."
The Region’s presidency then issued another statement, which said "we will not allow any party to destabilise the situation and endanger the lives of Kurdistan citizens."
A third statement came from the Prime Minister’s office. It was slightly more “friendly”, according to observers, stating: "We accept that we have made some mistakes. We face problems and challenges in administering the daily lives of citizens (….) This is why we began a reform process, from the very first day we came to power.”
Many observers now anticipate growing tensions between Change and the Kurdish authorities. They consider the timing of the Change statement to be "inappropriate", given the political and social conditions in Kurdistan.
But Kamal Raouf, the chief editor of Hawalati, understands why they did it: "The opposition feels that it cannot change conditions in Kurdistan and that this kind of action is the only solution to the current political and administrative corruption in the region."
But he thinks the two main parties "are undemocratic and will not accept changes of such kind and magnitude. Citizens will be the first losers if chaos breaks out."
One of the more moderate voices of the the PUK, Imad Ahmad, who has been trying to bridge the existing gap between his party and the Change Movement, is very critical: “Their statement is irresponsible and against the interests of the people”, he says.
He thinks that the opposition should be encouraging reform through the political process in parliament.
"The ball is now in their court." he says. “If it is seen to be reducing tensions, we will take similar steps."
But Ismail Kalaly, an MP for the Change List, believes that his party’s statement serves the interests of its citizens, who, like the protestors elsewhere in the Arab world, are demanding that their rulers leave.
He is not worried by the state of alert among the security forces, the police and the Peshmerga because, he says, "the majority of their members suffer like ordinary people and will not use violence against those who demonstrate for change and reform."
In the past, the views of the Change Movement have been supported by other opposition forces in the Region, such as the Islamic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Islamic Group.
This time, though, only the Islamic Group supported Change, while other opposition forces sided with the ruling parties.
Less than 24 hours after the statement was published, Masoud al-Barazani, the President of the Region, invited all Kurdish political parties, except for Change, to an emergency meeting.
Nineteen participating parties signed a counter statement saying that they “did not accept any action taken by any party which would destabilise the Kurdistan region or threaten its security."
The statement however, did acknowledge that there were “some deficiencies" in the government’s performance.
Such a high-level emergency meeting, attended by the major political forces in Kurdistan, is a good indicator that the government is willing to implement reforms in the region.
It is the first time in the history of the region that a statement issued by a political movement has had such an impact. And it is also the first time ever that the ruling authorities have responded quickly and seriously.
http://www.niqash.org/content.php?contentTypeID=75&id=2777&lang=0
http://www.niqash.org/intern/php/getbild_crop.php?id=2178
On the morning of 29 January 2011, the Kurdish opposition Movement for Change published a statement demanding the dissolution of the Kurdish government and calling for elections within three months.
It also called for a ban preventing the security forces and the Kurdish intelligence from interfering in political affairs, and for a return of public property that was seized by the two political parties.
Since then, there has been a high state of alert in the Kurdistan region, in particular in the city of Sulaimaniyah, where military tanks can now be seen in the streets, near almost all civilian and military institutions.
Two military tanks of the Peshmerga forces are stationed on a hill, a dozen meters away from the office of the Prime Minister, Barham Saleh, in the city centre.
The Peshmerga minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Sheikh Jaffar Mustafa, says his forces are “in a full state of alert and ready to assist the police and security forces if needed, because of fears that the statement may lead to chaos."
Political observers say the government took these measures, following the unrest and demonstrations for democracy in the region, especially in Tunisia and Egypt.
Certainly, Change’s demands are unequivocal: “We are witnessing the fall of dictators and totalitarian states (...), but officials in the Kurdistan region have not taken any real steps towards the democratisation of the ruling regime."
The editor of the independent political Hawalati Newspaper, Kamal Rauf, says that the changes witnessed in the region will, sooner or later, have a significant impact on the political situation in Kurdistan.
The opposition's statement, he believes, “reflects the real aspirations and demands of the Kurdish people," and says that if the two ruling parties - the KDP and PUK - continue to adopt the same policies, “we will end up having a similar crisis as in Tunisia and Egypt."
But officials in the region believe there are few similarities between the Kurdistan Region and what is happening elsewhere - a view that has been echoed by the Kurdish regional president, Massoud Barzani, and Prime Minister Barham Salih, on more than one occasion during the past few days.
A few hours after the opposition statement was published, the two ruling parties issued a strongly worded statement, accusing Change of "anarchism and sabotage."
The Region’s presidency then issued another statement, which said "we will not allow any party to destabilise the situation and endanger the lives of Kurdistan citizens."
A third statement came from the Prime Minister’s office. It was slightly more “friendly”, according to observers, stating: "We accept that we have made some mistakes. We face problems and challenges in administering the daily lives of citizens (….) This is why we began a reform process, from the very first day we came to power.”
Many observers now anticipate growing tensions between Change and the Kurdish authorities. They consider the timing of the Change statement to be "inappropriate", given the political and social conditions in Kurdistan.
But Kamal Raouf, the chief editor of Hawalati, understands why they did it: "The opposition feels that it cannot change conditions in Kurdistan and that this kind of action is the only solution to the current political and administrative corruption in the region."
But he thinks the two main parties "are undemocratic and will not accept changes of such kind and magnitude. Citizens will be the first losers if chaos breaks out."
One of the more moderate voices of the the PUK, Imad Ahmad, who has been trying to bridge the existing gap between his party and the Change Movement, is very critical: “Their statement is irresponsible and against the interests of the people”, he says.
He thinks that the opposition should be encouraging reform through the political process in parliament.
"The ball is now in their court." he says. “If it is seen to be reducing tensions, we will take similar steps."
But Ismail Kalaly, an MP for the Change List, believes that his party’s statement serves the interests of its citizens, who, like the protestors elsewhere in the Arab world, are demanding that their rulers leave.
He is not worried by the state of alert among the security forces, the police and the Peshmerga because, he says, "the majority of their members suffer like ordinary people and will not use violence against those who demonstrate for change and reform."
In the past, the views of the Change Movement have been supported by other opposition forces in the Region, such as the Islamic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Islamic Group.
This time, though, only the Islamic Group supported Change, while other opposition forces sided with the ruling parties.
Less than 24 hours after the statement was published, Masoud al-Barazani, the President of the Region, invited all Kurdish political parties, except for Change, to an emergency meeting.
Nineteen participating parties signed a counter statement saying that they “did not accept any action taken by any party which would destabilise the Kurdistan region or threaten its security."
The statement however, did acknowledge that there were “some deficiencies" in the government’s performance.
Such a high-level emergency meeting, attended by the major political forces in Kurdistan, is a good indicator that the government is willing to implement reforms in the region.
It is the first time in the history of the region that a statement issued by a political movement has had such an impact. And it is also the first time ever that the ruling authorities have responded quickly and seriously.
http://www.niqash.org/content.php?contentTypeID=75&id=2777&lang=0