Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa al-Kadhimi made a landmark tour of the Kurdistan Region this week, from Zakho in the northwest to Halabja in the southeast, taking the time to greet people and hear their concerns. Statements from Kadhimi’s office about his meetings and encounters during his two-day trip repeatedly said the premier “listened” to the people. His extended visit and personal touch are a first for an Iraqi leader in Kurdistan; even Kurdish leaders are rarely so accessible in their own backyard. “This is unprecedented. Kadhimi has done something different than his predecessors,” said Bilal Wahab, Wagner Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. While the premier made the usual round of meetings with Kurdish leaders, he didn’t come to Kurdistan suited and booted to just shake hands with other politicians; “he also took off the jacket, untucked his shirt and went out to the cities and towns, border crossings, and met with citizens, met with ordinary people,” said Wahab. For some, Kadhimi’s tour was political posturing ahead of elections next June. But others saw heartfelt outreach that could be a turning point for historically hostile Kurdish-Arab relations. Kadhimi paid tribute to Kurdish suffering under the rule of Saddam Hussein, offering prayers and consolation to victims of the former dictator’s genocidal campaigns. Thousands were killed over years of chemical attacks and mass disappearances, and wounds of body and mind have still not healed. In Halabja on Friday, he visited the Martyrs Monument, a memorial to the 5,000 men, women, and children killed on March 16, 1988 when Saddam’s forces dropped chemical weapons on the city. He laid a wreath in front of a statue produced from a famous photograph of a father clutching his baby in an embrace to the death. “Today, we are here in Halabja to listen to the demands of this area which was exposed to mass killing during the era of dictator Saddam Hussein. Halabja is a pain in the conscience of Iraqis and humanity. How can we turn this pain into an opportunity for hope?” Kadhimi told reporters. Halabja has long sought greater control over its own affairs by breaking away from Sulaimani and becoming its own province. Baghdad approved the change in 2013, but practical devolution of powers has been slow in coming. Kadhimi said he had heard Halabja’s demand and promised to form a committee to look into it “so that service is provided to the city and people supported.” The day before, Kadhimi visited Fort Nizarke in Duhok. An estimated 13,500 people were killed at the site as part of the systematic killings of Kurds during Saddam’s Anfal campaign in the 1980s. More than 182,000 people were killed over the course of the genocide. At the fort, Kadhimi met with survivors and families of victims. He “listened to them and heard of the sacrifices of their relatives that paved the way towards building a free and democratic Iraq, just as it paved the way for the demise of dictatorship.” A photograph shows Kadhimi, with his face mask pulled down over his chin, embracing a woman dressed in black. Traveling through Sulaimani on Friday, Kadhimi stopped his convoy to talk to farmers protesting years of suspended financial support from Baghdad. He again “listened,” learned about the farmers’ problems, and “promised to conduct a comprehensive review of all administration procedures in order to meet the demands of the demonstrators and ensure their rights, in accordance with justice and equality for all the sons of Iraq.” Kadhimi said he was listening, and many he met were ready to be heard. Kurds coming to the Iraqi prime minister with their problems was remarkable, said Wahab, noting that Kadhimi came to power on the back of a protest movement that unseated his predecessor. He owes his political life “to the public, more than he does to a certain political party, or some political calculations or alliances,” said Wahab. And in the Kurdistan Region, a lack of leadership out of Erbil has spurred interest in Kadhimi. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “is going through a perfect storm: COVID, a financial crisis, and another round of political disarray in the Kurdish house. And yet no one seems to be having answers,” Wahab explained. “Basically the KRG will be acting like an ATM machine, rather than an economic manager and governor.” Though of benefit for Kadhimi, the visit appeared to do little to boost the KRG’s image. “Mustafa al-Kadhimi will return to Baghdad with a number of achievements for his government. What did the Kurdistan government gain from the visit?” Drivan Abdulqadr, a PUK member, asked on Twitter. The last Iraqi politician to campaign in the Kurdistan Region was Haider al-Abadi, who was not well-received when he visited in 2018, just a few months after ordering troops to seize Kirkuk. He spoke to nearly empty halls and his posters were torn down. With precedents like that, some Kurds took offence at Kadhimi appearing so comfortably in the Kurdistan Region. “I am sure Kadhimi considers all 19 provinces as his and Iraqi property therefore he recklessly visits all places. This is happening due to the wrong policy of our leaders,” Abubaker M Wasman commented on a Rudaw Facebook post. Blessa Farman, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw on Friday that Kadhimi was campaigning for the June elections. Kurds are angry with the regional government, so Kadhimi is here because he “wants to get the support of Kurdish streets,” she claimed. "Kadhimi's first message for the Kurdistan Region's prime minister was 'I will unite Iraq.' This means that the Kurdistan Region is part of Iraq, and he wants to control it. Certainly, Kurdish people like this. They are very fed up and bored of our own government, so they like Kadhimi's government,” she said. Many Twitter users disagreed with Farman, reminding her that more than 90 percent of Kurds voted for independence just three years ago. Even so, Kadhimi did make an impression on some. Twitter user Ray was surprised to hear love for the prime minister among Kurds, many of whom expressed a willingness to vote for the former journalist and intelligence chief. And though predicting the future in Iraq is a losing game, Twitter user Mohammed Hawar said Kadhimi is at least making “some right steps.” With contributions by Karwan Faidhi Dri
