In his numerous books Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) labels the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) as jashes, arguing they both waged a war against the PKK on orders from Turkey.
The KDP, for its part, hasn’t hesitated to throw back the same label at the PKK and call it jashes of Iran and other foreign powers.
Kurdistan Region’s other parties such as the PUK, Change Movement (Gorran) and other new arrivals are deep in this game and throw around the word jash against those who do not walk the same line as they do.
This toxin has spread to party supporters who have taken the rhetoric to a whole new level on social media.
The word automatically drowns out all critics. Political parties get away with simply branding someone a jash instead of taking into account their criticism which could often be constructive.
The relationship between the KDP and Turkey has been instrumental for Kurdistan Region’s economy and its oil sector, but this has people across the board painting the KDP as a jash of Turkey.
The users of the word jash do in this case ignore the fact that the Kurdistan Region is landlocked and has very few options. It cannot afford to antagonize neither Turkey nor Iran. It needs good ties with its neighbors and it is only pragmatic and realpolitik to do that.
For instance, PUK’s anti-Turkey rhetoric and its public endorsement of the PKK has prompted Turkey to close its airspace to international flights bound to Sulaimani airport, hurting the local economy and severing the city’s connection with the outside world.
Kurds don’t have to admire Turkey, Iraq, Iran, or Syria. But they are a reality and you have to work your way through the system to be able to sustain itself.
Thus, the word jash often unfairly discredits someone who may have a different approach to politics and it kills any chance for healthy dialogue. All Kurdish parties are equally guilty of this.
In all times and circumstances there are some to whom the word jash could be justly applied and people and parties must identify and focus on those instead of painting everyone with the same brush.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
