PM Barzani visits Gorran’s headquarters in Sulaimani, first since Kurdistan referendum
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with the leader of the Gorran or Change Movement in Sulaimani, the first such meeting between the two leaders since the Kurdistan Region voted for independence on September 25.
PM Barzani, who is also the deputy head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was received by Gorran leader Omar Sayyid Ali at the party’s headquarters in Sulaimani.
Speaking to Rudaw after the meeting, PM Barzani said they had “frank discussions” and was hopeful it was a first step to further talks and ultimately resolving problems between the two parties.
Gorran, Kurdistan’s second largest party, has had uneasy relations with the KDP since October 2015 when their disagreements reached its highest point, followed by the closure of the parliament whose speaker, Yousif Mohammed, is a Gorran member.
Chief of staff of the Kurdish president, and also Saladin Bahadin, the head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), are also present at the meeting.
PM Barzani, who is also the deputy head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was received by Gorran leader Omar Sayyid Ali at the party’s headquarters in Sulaimani.
Speaking to Rudaw after the meeting, PM Barzani said they had “frank discussions” and was hopeful it was a first step to further talks and ultimately resolving problems between the two parties.
Gorran, Kurdistan’s second largest party, has had uneasy relations with the KDP since October 2015 when their disagreements reached its highest point, followed by the closure of the parliament whose speaker, Yousif Mohammed, is a Gorran member.
Chief of staff of the Kurdish president, and also Saladin Bahadin, the head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), are also present at the meeting.
Omar Sayyid Ali [L], Gorran leader, chats with Saladin Bahadin, head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union in Sulaimani on October 7, 2017 while attending the funeral of the iconic Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani. Photo: Rudaw/Sartip Othman.
Gorran did not support nor oppose the Kurdish vote on independence held about two weeks ago that saw 92 percent of the people voting to leave Iraq. Its leader, Ali, however took part and told the media that he voted yes for independence.
The issue of the Kurdish parliament, though reactivated since mid-September, is among the issues that are expected to feature at the trilateral meeting. Gorran has not yet attended any of the sessions held ever since as it insists that it needs guarantees from the KDP that the parliament will not be closed ever again.
PM Barzani has been in Sulaimani since Friday to attend the funeral of the late former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani who died on Tuesday in Germany at the age of 83.
Last updated at 5:46 pm