ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Party leaders have used their Eid al-Fitr messages to call for calm after a week of fiery exchanges between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over the governorship of Kirkuk.
The first call came from the leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Salahaddin Bahadin, on Sunday. He urged the KDP and PUK to “make a speedy decision” to settle the issue.
Both parties’ had reached an agreement on March 4 to speed up the formation of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet.
However, the PUK boycotted the May 28 parliament session that saw the election of KDP candidate Nechirvan Barzani as KRG president. The PUK said the KDP had not adhered to the March 4 agreement.
“We haven’t seen the smallest step from our KDP brothers towards even a single section of our agreements from our KDP brothers,” a PUK spokesperson told reporters in Sulaimani ahead of the presidential vote.
Part of the March 4 agreement was aimed at speeding up of the appointment of a governor for Kirkuk, a province which has been missing a cohesive government since October 2017.
It had initially been agreed that a PUK official would be appointed, but the KDP had apparently pushed for the more neutral choice of Faraydun Abdulqadir – a former PUK member now standing as an independent.
The KDP said Abdulqadir’s appointment had long been agreed upon – a claim denied by the PUK’s acting leader Kosrat Rasul Ali.
“We did not talk about Faraydun Abdulqadir or any other [candidates],” Ali told reporters at a ceremony marking the party’s 44th anniversary on Saturday.
Since then, the two parties have traded barbs, blaming one another for the inaction on Kirkuk.
Responding to Bahadin’s call, Ali said his party is ready to make peace.
“The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is always ready to choose the path of brotherhood and mutual understanding for the sake of high interests of the people of Kurdistan,” he said.
According to KDP spokesman Mahmoud Mohammed, KDP leader Masoud Barzani directed all party-affiliated media outlets to stay away from “all provocative speech … to serve the political process and our region and remove the concerns of esteemed people.”
Just a few hours later, the PUK also informed its media to avoid “responding to attacks from parties which want to harm social peace,” spokesman Latif Sheikh Omar said in a statement
Qubad Talabani, the KRG deputy prime minister and a senior PUK official, struck a cautious note in a Facebook post published on Monday, calling Eid al-Fitr a “golden opportunity to bring about forgiveness and social peace.”
“But unfortunately PUK-KDP relations are heading in a direction which is about to sabotage our people’s joy of Eid.”
In another sign of reconciliation, Nechirvan Barzani, the KRG president-elect, called Iraqi President Barham Salih – a member of the PUK – inviting him to his inauguration ceremony on June 10.
The KDP has not had any formal contact with Salih since his election as president in October.
Salih’s victory stoked further division between the two parties. The KDP accused the PUK of betrayal for allegedly violating an agreement in which the PUK agreed to the KDP’s choice of Fuad Hussein for the Iraqi presidency in exchange for a PUK governor of Kirkuk.
The first call came from the leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Salahaddin Bahadin, on Sunday. He urged the KDP and PUK to “make a speedy decision” to settle the issue.
Both parties’ had reached an agreement on March 4 to speed up the formation of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet.
However, the PUK boycotted the May 28 parliament session that saw the election of KDP candidate Nechirvan Barzani as KRG president. The PUK said the KDP had not adhered to the March 4 agreement.
“We haven’t seen the smallest step from our KDP brothers towards even a single section of our agreements from our KDP brothers,” a PUK spokesperson told reporters in Sulaimani ahead of the presidential vote.
Part of the March 4 agreement was aimed at speeding up of the appointment of a governor for Kirkuk, a province which has been missing a cohesive government since October 2017.
It had initially been agreed that a PUK official would be appointed, but the KDP had apparently pushed for the more neutral choice of Faraydun Abdulqadir – a former PUK member now standing as an independent.
The KDP said Abdulqadir’s appointment had long been agreed upon – a claim denied by the PUK’s acting leader Kosrat Rasul Ali.
“We did not talk about Faraydun Abdulqadir or any other [candidates],” Ali told reporters at a ceremony marking the party’s 44th anniversary on Saturday.
Since then, the two parties have traded barbs, blaming one another for the inaction on Kirkuk.
Responding to Bahadin’s call, Ali said his party is ready to make peace.
“The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is always ready to choose the path of brotherhood and mutual understanding for the sake of high interests of the people of Kurdistan,” he said.
According to KDP spokesman Mahmoud Mohammed, KDP leader Masoud Barzani directed all party-affiliated media outlets to stay away from “all provocative speech … to serve the political process and our region and remove the concerns of esteemed people.”
Just a few hours later, the PUK also informed its media to avoid “responding to attacks from parties which want to harm social peace,” spokesman Latif Sheikh Omar said in a statement
Qubad Talabani, the KRG deputy prime minister and a senior PUK official, struck a cautious note in a Facebook post published on Monday, calling Eid al-Fitr a “golden opportunity to bring about forgiveness and social peace.”
“But unfortunately PUK-KDP relations are heading in a direction which is about to sabotage our people’s joy of Eid.”
In another sign of reconciliation, Nechirvan Barzani, the KRG president-elect, called Iraqi President Barham Salih – a member of the PUK – inviting him to his inauguration ceremony on June 10.
The KDP has not had any formal contact with Salih since his election as president in October.
Salih’s victory stoked further division between the two parties. The KDP accused the PUK of betrayal for allegedly violating an agreement in which the PUK agreed to the KDP’s choice of Fuad Hussein for the Iraqi presidency in exchange for a PUK governor of Kirkuk.
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