“They should not have done this, and will pay price for this. The majority of the PUK are not with them,” Lahur Talabani told Rudaw.
He believes the reason they have made this decision is because they are against reform within the PUK and it is they who have caused the PUK’s internal problems.
“The reason that they have made this decision is because there was another reform project that has just been proposed. So some of them are unhappy about it and they do not support reforms,” Talabani said. “They have caused the PUK problems. Let me tell you, the deputies of the PUK secretary general named themselves as ‘deputy.’ They became deputy by applause. They have no legitimacy anymore as they were not elected.”
When asked how Herro Ibrahim Ahmed, member of the PUK politburo and Jalal Talabani’s wife, was reacting to the declaration, he said, “She is drinking coffee and smoking, and may have not seen the statement.”
Though incensed by the declaration, he is hopeful it will be resolved internally.
“They rushed into making this decision. This will make them smaller. But we will solve this between us quietly. This is not new within the PUK; there were many factions before in the past.”
Prominent PUK leadership members who have voiced their support of the faction of Kosrat Rasul and Barham Salih include: Hakim Qadir, Arsalan Bayz, Sheikh Jaafar Mustafa, Mahmoud Sangawi, Azad Jundyani, Adnan Mohammed Mina, Jamil Hawrami, Hamid Haji Ghali, Shalaw Ali Askari, and Mohammed Watman.
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