Barzani between two Augusts

Nawshirwan Muhamad

The history of the Barzani and the so called Democratic Party of Kurdistan can be summarized in a series of betrayals, failures and illegal and corrupt behaviours. Those can be portrayed as followes:

First: in 31/08/1996, the KDP and its leader resorted to the worse enemy of the Kurds (namely Saddam Hussein) to restore the balances of power in their favour. Prior to that date, the Barzani family were claiming that the current president of the party as well as its founder, Barzani the father, has been in a continuous fight with the Baath and its leader Saddam Hussein. However, they were willing on August 31, 1996 to lead the tanks of Baath and Saddam into the capital city of Erbil to remove their rival the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) from power. The Iraqi army, with KDP and Barzani’s help was able to commit atrocities that was not able to undertake for the previous five years in Kurdistan because of the popular uprising against their regime. The Iraqi army and Muxabarat, guided by the Barzanis and KDP, assassinated and kidnapped scores of Iraqi opposition leaders who were residing in Kurdistan at the time. They also did not distinguish between innocent civilians who chose to remain in Erbil and members and affiliates of the PUK killing hundreds of innocent civilians. The occupation of Erbil by the KDP and the Iraqi army of the time resulted in the dominance of the KDP and Barzanis in power since then. The KDP and the Barzanis were supported not only by the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein’s regime but also by the Turkish government and forces. The international community chose to be silent despite the fact that the Iraqi forces violated previous security council resolution regarding the no fly zone in northern Iraq. They also seemed to believe excuses put forward by the KDP that the PUK forces were supported by the Iranian government.

Second: the 31^st of August military attack rearranged the political and military dynamics on the ground in Kurdistan region of Iraq. It facilitated the dominance and influence of the KDP and the Turkish government for years to come in the region. The international community seemed to choose silence believing in the propaganda disseminated by the KDP and its proxies that Iran is attempting to dominate the region through its support for the PUK.

Third: if one believes the KDP and Barzanis that the 31^st of August military action was not treason but rather a tactical move to limit the influence of Iran, what would be Barzani’s response to those who demand answers for the betrayal of the Yazidiz by the KDP and the Barzani family. The KDP forces and the Barzani leadership chose to withdraw unexpectedly from Shangal leaving thousands of Yazidi families to be humiliated, terrorised and slaved by the barbaric forces of ISIS.

Those of us who have been influenced by and studied the policies of KDP over the years are completely certain of the bogusness of the calls by Barzani for an independent Kurdish state. It is clear now that Barzani and his party are using such a noble and important cause as Kurdish independence as an excuse to continue their corrupt and illegal rule in Kurdistan. The KDP and Barzani family are experts in treason and corruption not in gaining independence and freedom for our people. They could have done that much earlier in 2003 when the conditions were more favourable compared to the current situation.