Peshmerga reforms need ‘crucial’ political decision to continue: Dutch advisor

Peshmerga reforms are at a “crucial moment,” waiting for a political decision that will define the structure and size of the unified Kurdish force, Col. Jan ten Hove, outgoing military advisor for the Dutch consulate in Erbil, said in an interview with Rudaw on September 9. 

The Netherlands is part of a “coalition of the willing,” four nations - with the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany - assisting the Peshmerga with an ambitious reform program that aims to end political control over the armed forces and create “one effective, modern, and respected Peshmerga force” by 2025.

The bulk of the Kurdish forces, the 70 and 80 brigades, are controlled by the two ruling political parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). In 2017, during the war against the Islamic State (ISIS), the international allies partnered with the Peshmerga ministry to unite the KDP and PUK forces under the ministry, forming a modern army. 

Progress has been slow, said ten Hove, pointing to the need to build up trust between KDP and PUK forces that fought each other in a civil war in the 1990s.

“I think everybody will agree that it’s difficult with your history, it’s still recent history, so building trust takes a lot of meetings,” said ten Hove. 

He urged the political leaders to sit down and make the decisions within the next month or two that are needed in order to allow the reforms to progress. 

“Time is running out. What’s happening around us - everybody can follow the news. Please, I ask, make that step. Sit together so we can continue with the reform process,” he said.

Reform projects also include measures like electronic payment, which should help weed out corruption, and passing a retirement law to create a smaller, younger force.