By
Hamma Mirwaisi and Alison Buckley
IMG_9484 by Mustafa Khayat
The
major difference between Kurdish political parties in Iraq and other parts of
Kurdistan is that the South Kurdistan (Iraqi) parties depend on regional and international
powers, including Iran, Turkey, Sunni Arabs of Iraq, and more recently the Shi'a
Arabs of Iraq and Syria and secular states and entities such as Israel, the US, and the EU countries to keep them in power. This so-called autonomous
leadership, whilst reaping the benefits of its buddy countries' pay packets, is
busily dividing Kurds in South Kurdistan and other parts of the country. Only
the Kurdistan Democratic Solutions Party (PCDK) stands by itself for the
Kurdish people alone.
Contrasting
with their opponents and in support of far-reaching change, the PKK and affiliated
parties in the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) depend solely on the
Kurdish people's help to gain power, whilst offering authentic leadership to them
in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. Of an estimated 40 million Kurds in Kurdistan, only 5
million are living in South Kurdistan (Iraq); the rest reside in Turkey, Iran, and Syria.
Iraqi
Kurds have always fought the Iraqi Arab Governments' occupation of their
country. In 1921, when the UK established Iraqi Government for Arabs, the Kurdish
people revolted under the leadership of Sheikh Mahmud Barzani, based in the city
of Sulaymaniyah Kurdistan. Depending on Turkey to help him fight the UK forces,
he lost the war sponsored by Turkey against the British Empire. After him, the Barzani
tribe's revolt under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmed was defeated, forcing his
brother Mullah Mustafa to take refuge in the Soviet Union until the 1958 Iraqi
military takeover of Iraq. In 1961 the Kurdish people in Iraq revolted under
the leadership of Mullah Mustafa Barzani, who was supported by the Shah of
Iran, Israel, and the US.
In 1975 Iran abruptly stopped helping Mullah Mustafa Barzani. His revolution failed, and he became a refugee in Iran. Ever since the British government's blunder in 1921, the Iraqi Kurdish leadership has been learning to depend on regional and international powers to fight Iraqi Arabs. Furthermore, they are profiteering from these political arrangements; for over 20 years they have made billions of dollars from corrupt schemes by selling the Kurdish people's oil at a loss to them, in cooperation with Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, th e EU, and the US ex-officials in Iraq war.
Because
it is not cooperating with these powers like the Iraqi Kurdish leadership does,
the KCK, incorporating the PKK, PYD, PJAK, and PCDK, is not popular with Turkey,
Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, the EU, and the US. Originally Barzani, Talabani,
Nawshirwan Mustafa, and other members of the Kurdish leadership in Iraq fought the
Iraqi government like the KCK are now fighting Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The
impartial observer might ask why the KCK has been placed on terrorist lists
while the Iraqi Kurdish leadership now has so much respect with the above powers.
And their documentary Good Kurds Bad
Kurds must be confusing for viewers of any persuasion.
Following
the Iraqi Kurdish elections on September 21, 2013, all parties have accused the
others of cheating in the process. The result is that the Gorran Party of Nawshirwan
Mustafa replaced the PUK of Jalal Talabani; besides that nothing has changed.
Mustafa's party claims to be different from the classical parties of Barzani,
Talabani, Islamists, and others, but few differences have emerged; he too is
getting help from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and others. Well might the Kurdish people
ask whether Nawshirwan Mustafa is in business to sell their blood like Barzani
and Talabani have?
Gurus
from the city of Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, think they know how to pick leaders
who will fool people they regard and treat like stupid donkeys. After they
chose Jalal Talabani to be their leader, he used them very well and looked on
them as donkeys (in Kurdistan and Iran people think donkeys are not smart). But
in this case probably donkeys are smarter than humans.
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