Following the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) event for the assassinated leaders, both killed in a US drone strike in January 2020, the US Consulate in Erbil requested the centre be closed down, a top PUK official told Rudaw on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
An employee of the centre, who also wished not to be named, confirmed the site’s closure.
A representative from the US Consulate in Erbil declined to comment when contacted by Rudaw English on Tuesday.
The leader of #Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Falih al-Fayyadh, who was recently sanctioned by the #US for rights violations, arrives on Sunday at a Kirkuk ceremony in commemoration of slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and PMF deputy leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. pic.twitter.com/aqDCBmkX0B
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) January 10, 2021
The ceremony, during which American and Israeli flags were placed at the entrance of the hall for attendants to walk over, drew the presence of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) leader Falih al-Fayyadh.
The top official is the latest Iraqi target of US sanctions. Other senior members of the PMF, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali, have been subject to similar US sanctions.
“Falih al-Fayyadh, who was recently sanctioned by America, comes and does this in Kirkuk. This in itself is a message,” Shorsh Khalid, the managing editor of Kirkuk Now, told Rudaw’s Rozhan Abubakir on Tuesday.
The United States Department of Treasury said it sanctioned Fayyadh "for his connection to serious human rights abuse," according to a statement published on Friday.
“The question here is who really manages this center, if it is the PUK, then how would they let such events be held there?” Khalid asked. “We are not opposing the idea of a PMF holding an event there, but rather the fact that this center was established for artists.”
The hall was built upon the orders of late Jalal Talabani, who at the time was the President of Iraq and Secretary General of the PUK. The project was finished at the expense of the PUK’s general administration, after the costly war against the Islamic State (ISIS) group.
“Closing a center like that in Kirkuk cannot be done without the orders of PUK’s co-leaders, though we are not sure whether one of the co-leaders ordered it or both” he added.
Updated at 15:26 on Tuesday
