ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday called on the Region’s top political parties to eliminate political influence on the Peshmerga forces, adding that inability to unify the forces directly affects people’s lives.
Barzani attended the graduation ceremony of 503 Peshmerga officers in Sulaimani’s Qalachwalan Military Academy, during which he delivered a speech, calling on political parties to resolve issues.
“Truth be told, we do not have very big differences that are unresolvable, but sometimes, we make mental barriers in front of meeting each other. This happens a lot of times between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP),” Barzani said in his speech.
Barzani’s attendance at the ceremony comes as part of his visit to Sulaimani province, where he is set to meet with a series of senior officials from different political parties in a bid to resolve differences in the Region.
The president highlighted the importance of unifying the Peshmerga forces as a starting step towards more cooperation.
“It is true that legally, the Kurdistan Region Presidency has the duty of commander-in -chief to the Peshmerga forces, but in order for reform and for the unification of Peshmerga forces to be implemented, the KDP and PUK need to make a decision with trust and without regrets to eliminate party influence on Peshmerga,” he said.
Later in the afternoon, Presidenr Barzani said it was great to be back in Sulaimani.
It’s great to be back to Silemani today. I attended graduation ceremony of Qalacholan Military College and met with political leaders.
— Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) May 22, 2022
We must stay united to address current challenges and keep securing the rights of the people of Kurdistan Region. pic.twitter.com/7eZBUGo9cA
Though the Peshmerga forces are all under the authority of the Peshmerga ministry de jure, the force’s two largest units are divided among the PUK and the KDP.
Unit 70 forces are affiliated with the PUK and Unit 80 forces are controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), they make up the majority of the Peshmerga forces, numbering over 100,000 troops.
President Barzani further stressed the importance of unifying the force, saying that the inability to unify Peshmerga forces has led to every political disagreement in the Kurdistan Region to “directly affect security, people's mentality, markets, and trade.”
Over the past few years, the Kurdistan Regional Government has had the unification of the Peshmerga forces as part of its agenda, and while reasonable steps have been taken toward unification and a number of brigades controlled by the PUK and the KDP have been added to the ministry, many remain to do so.
President Barzani’s visit was welcomed by PUK officials as well.
Commander of the Peshmerga’s Unit 70, Mustafa Chawrash told Rudaw that Barzani’s visit is a good step.
“The visit of Nechirvan Barzani is in itself a glorious step, we are all looking forward for this visit to become a source of peace and prosperity and bring solution to all issues between parties in the Kurdistan Region, especially the PUK and the KDP,” he said.
Kurdistan Region’s minister of Peshmerga affairs also commended the visit and called on the president to help in forming an independent and united force.
“I ask everyone, the President of the Kurdistan Region, and the premiership, to not allow in any way to allow the employment of any Peshmerga outside the Peshmerga ministry,” Shorsh Ismael said. “I ask both parties involved in forming the Peshmerga forces to further help us and cooperate with us in achieving the big goal, which is forming a united independent and modern force.”
