MESOPOTAMIA NEWS SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) CDJ members criticize Barham Salih for attempt to reunite with PUK, Iraqi Kurdistan

15 Sept 2018 – MESOP – SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Five founding members of the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ) wrote on Thursday an open letter to the coalition head, Barham Salih, strongly criticizing him for “diluting justice” by attempting to reconcile with the PUK.

The open letter was titled “Why did we support CDJ and why did we quit?” by the members of the coalition’s general council Razaw Mahmoud, Jawad Saed and Rezan Arif as well as the Kurdish MP Gasha Dara and former Kurdish MP Sarwar Abdullah.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said on Thursday that it received an “initiative” by CDJ for reconciliation. There has been no formal statement from CDJ confirming it so far.

The PUK leadership council issued a written statement after its meeting in Sulaimani saying that it welcomes “an initiative” by the CDJ to unite.The five letter-writers accused Barham Salih of using CDJ as a means to gain posts.

“Since the formation of the coalition we have had several notices about lack of transparency, democracy and justice,” the letter read.“He [Barham Salih] was exercising his power over the coalition and sidelining team and organized work and often didn’t want to consult.”

The head of the CDJ, Barham Salih, said on September 2 that the party would not participate in the Kurdistan parliamentary election, which is due to take place on September 30. CDJ was formed in 2018 because of the ongoing internal political turmoil within the PUK and rivalry between members of the leadership. The PUK is currently led by acting head Kosrat Rasul following the passing of longtime leader Jalal Talabani.

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