KDP Ends Strategic Agreement with PUK

MESOP : PUK = TEHRAN BRANCH IN KURDISTAN / NOW PKK WILL COME CLOSER TO PUK

17.09.2014 – Hemin Salih – BasNews, Erbil –  The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has ended its strategic alliance with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), signed by both sides in 2005. The KDP is now busy considering its political options and affiliations internally and internationally.

A source close to the KDP leadership spoke to BasNews and said that from now on the KDP will not work with the PUK on the basis of their past strategic agreement as the PUK has violated critical elements of it. “Now, the KDP is trying to shuffle its political deck of cards, which has led them to marginalize PUK in some diplomatic activities. They will no longer engage with the PUK on the basis of the original agreement; in fact, they have decided to terminate that agreement,” said the source. The source talked about the visit of French President Francios Hollande to the Kurdistan Region and said, “This KDP decision was clearly visible when Hollande visited Erbil and no PUK officials were invited. It is obvious that the KDP wants to show its local and international political cards to the PUK as it re-organizes.”

The source talked about the reasons behind these actions, saying that one of them was when Islamic State (IS) militants threatened the Kurdistan Region, the PUK immediately moved its Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk province [dominated by the PUK] without the permission of the Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, who is the general commander of Kurdistan’s forces.  

Furthermore, when Sinjar was captured by IS militants at the beginning of August, through its official and unofficial media, the PUK attempted to link all the failures to the KDP and make the KDP fully culpable for the crisis. Regarding the rise in price of fuel, the PUK criticized the KDP, saying that the rise was intention. The PUK is seen as behaving like an opposition party, even though it participates in the Kurdistan Regional Government as a coalition partner.

After the arrival of foreign weapons in the Kurdistan Region, the PUK claimed that the KDP took total control of them, with none reaching PUK fighters. In actual fact, the weapons distribution has been controlled solely by the Peshmerga Ministry. The PUK also asked the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) to take delivery of weapons not only at Erbil International Airport (EIA) but also Sulaimaniyah Airport, claiming that all the weapons arriving in Erbil are in the hands of the KDP alone.

In regards to the disputed territory of Kirkuk, the PUK has tried to create a special case for the province via Kirkuk Governor Najmadin Karim. They want it to be autonomous unlike other provinces of the Kurdistan Region.

The source said that on the other hand, the KDP has realized that in almost all cases the Gorran (Change Movement) party has worked closely with the KDP, especially concerning IS threats, and local and external affairs. They maintain that Goran officials work in government with more commitment and accountability. “The KDP has tried to approach the Islamic parties of the Kurdistan Region in a similar way to Gorran, because their policies were in support of Kurdish unity and national interests,” the source said. The source revealed that from now on, the KDP will consider Gorran as their partner in international relations with western countries.

“The KDP’s diplomatic relations are much stronger with western countries than the PUK while the PUK is closer to other countries that are not allies of western countries,” added the source. The source said that the KDP’s decisions have been reflected inside Kurdistan by support in the latest elections. The KDP asked their supporters to tactically vote for Gorran’s candidates in Sulaimaniyah and they have also decided to give some posts to Gorran and the Islamic parties in Erbil and Duhok provinces. KDP Leadership Council Member Ali Awni told BasNews that the strategic agreement with the PUK has been totally weakened, “The PUK committed many violations of the agreement at the beginning of the last election when the PUK decided to participate in the election on a separate list [which had been planned to be a joint one with the KDP as part of the strategic agreement] and now they have different policies than the KDP regarding the threat of IS.”

“We as the KDP, count ourselves responsible and accountable for some failures and defeats because we believe the KDP should take responsibility as the largest party in the region. However, if a party wants to take advantage of those failures and target us, it is bound to affect our relationship with them,” said Awni.

“The PUK targeted the KDP and claimed that the KDP has taken control of all the weapons for ourselves, while the Peshmerga Ministry announced that they supervised the distribution of weapons,” explained Awni.

“In fact, in the absence of the Secretary-General of the PUK, Jalal Talabani, it’s clear that the party has lost its central decision maker. It is divided and it is very hard reach any agreement with them as their officials and leaders have different views and lack a unified direction,” added Awni.

Commenting on building a strategic agreement with Gorran, the KDP Leadership Council Member Ali Hussein pointed out that the situation has changed in the Kurdistan Region and strategic agreements have to be widened to include other parties and people.

PUK MP Goran Azad spoke to BasNews and said, “There are no longer any mutual agreements or principles between the PUK and the KDP.”

He pointed out that some points of the agreement have been implemented and some others have been violated by both sides. Other points are simply outdated. “The KDP’s call for supporters to vote for the Gorran candidates in Sulaimaniyah province was a clear violation of the agreement,” said Azad. “In spite of all this, the PUK still outnumbers Gorran because on international and historical levels, the PUK is stronger than Gorran and better for the KDP. However the KDP wants to weaken the party [Gorran] by flattering them,” added Azad.However, former Gorran MP and current official of the party, Adnan Osman told BasNews that the plans and actions of the government are inclusive, with positions of power fairly shared out. Osman continued, “What is going on now in Sulaimaniyah negatively affects the relationship between the PUK and Gorran. All this has led Gorran to have a better and more sustainable relationship with the KDP rather than the PUK.”