SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has not yet given up hope that its former deputy leader Barham Salih may return to the party. Salih submitted his resignation letter to the party’s politburo over two months ago. He has been asked several times to come back after current PUK leader Kosrat Rasul fell ill last month. “This is not the first time efforts have been made to bring him back,” Farid Asasar, PUK leadership member, admitted. He said he is aware of visits made by PUK officials to Salih urging him to return to the party. “There are some developments that require him to reunite with the party. The internal conditions of the PUK and those of Kurdistan are not like those at the time he resigned. But these efforts have not born fruit yet,” he added. Salih’s resignation letter was discussed in the party’s politburo meeting held in Sulaimani on October 24. “The desertion of one person cannot lead to our collapse and no one is superfluous in the party, President Mam Jalal once said. It is the duty of every member to protect the unity of the PUK. Members and groups are nonetheless free to choose to pursue another philosophy outside the PUK,” read a statement issued after the meeting. Founder of the PUK Jalal Talabani, affectionately known as Mam Jalal, passed away on October 3. There are conflicting reports about whether the party has accepted Salih’s resignation. One politburo member told Rudaw at the time that it had been accepted, but another has denied it. “We can still call him the party’s second deputy leader because his resignation has not been accepted yet. Nonetheless, it is him who decides whether or not to return to the party,” said Jamil Hawrami, PUK leadership member. Another PUK leadership member with knowledge of the negotiations with Barham Salih said: “Ms. Hero’s faction and some other leaders who didn’t have good relations with him in the past are very soft with him now. They have told him he can return as PUK decision-maker under these circumstances and be part of preparations for the congress.” Hero Ibrahim, PUK leadership member and spouse of Jalal Talabani, and Salih have differed over the path the party was taking. Salih “has been told that, with Kosrat having fallen ill, he can now return as leader of the PUK. Some PUK officials met with him again last Wednesday, but this has had no result yet,” the PUK official added. Rasul is currently receiving medical treatment in Germany. According to the PUK official, Salih has conditions for his return to the party. Salih wants to make reforms, saying “big changes have to be made within the party” and he would have to have free rein to bring these changes about before the party holds its congress. The PUK is expected to holds its party congress early next year. PUK officials have told Salih they are prepared for reforms, if done in coordination with the party leadership. “But it is unclear whether Barham Salih will agree to this. The PUK will, nonetheless, continue in its efforts,” the official stated. Salih has been touted as the only person who can replace Jalal Talabani. “Mam Jalal said, ‘Dr Barham Salih can lead the PUK after me’. That is why you should follow him,” PUK politburo member Mahmud Sangawi said in a conference in November. Sangawi told Rudaw that he could accept Salih’s conditions to return, “But you should ask those for whom they are difficult to meet.” “We respect efforts made by the PUK, but Dr. Barham will not return to the PUK,” Dr. Rebwar Karim, an official close to Salih, told Rudaw.
