Mala Bakhtiyar: Kurdish political parties must continue demanding constitutional rights to avoid Iraq’s slide towards centralization

News 07:49 AM - 2021-07-04

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Mala Bakhtiyar, member of the Supreme Political and the interest Council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, in an exclusive interview with PUKmedia confirmed that there has been no progress towards the implementation of federalism in Iraq, pointing out that historical events and a similar personality and charismatic figure like late President Mam Jalal will not be repeated, while also stressing that the administrative decentralization system is important to address the challenges of the governorates, stressing the importance of reconsidering the file of those convicted in Badinan.

 

“|The historical events for parties, peoples or historical figures will not be repeated, nor will a charismatic figure like the late President Mam Jalal, who laid the foundations of federalism and pluralism, explaining that Iraq has not persisted in strengthening the federal system for 18 years to be applied in Southern and Central areas of Iraq and the simplest example is the federal applications of the Emirates, and its development.” Mala Bakhtiyar said During the interview

 

The strategy of federalism is not present within Iraqi parties, but rather seeks as an approach to a central strategy, noting that Article 140 of the Constitution and the stages of its application, which were set to be applied in 4 years, will not be achieved at this stage, Bakhtiyar said.

 

He pointed out that the challenges and dangers for the Kurds increased before and after the referendum because the orientations of some Iraqi parties are towards strengthening centralization, and in contrast to the generalization of federalism to the regions of central and southern Iraq, stressing that the failure to apply the article is not a coincidence, but a strategy.

 

Mala Bakhtiyar indicated that the Kurdish parties have missed many opportunities and must continue to demand constitutional rights and legislation in all meetings and visits to avoid Iraq's slide towards centralization. 

 

Regarding the message of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jeanine Plasschaert, to the political parties in the Kurdistan Region during “Iraq and Kurdistan Region: Unity and Constitution” conference that took place last May in Erbil, Malla Bakhtiyar said: I sounded the same alarm and have addressed the problems of the Kurdish house and asked for a national congress for opposition parties and experts with a small participation from both PUK and PDK, and I have reaffirmed more than once in 2021 before Plasschaert say it in her speech in May during a conference in Erbil on “Iraq and Kurdistan Region: Unity and Constitution”, She is Dutch a Dutch friend of the Kurds and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, hence she meets with the representatives of all the countries inside the UN security council, it is clear that world’s top political powers meet with the UN Security Council and what she said during her speech “do not take today’s autonomy for granted. In order to sustain it, unity will prove essential,” was not to threaten us, Poland and that woman are both very friendly allies of the Kurds, in many of her reports in United Nations and Security Council she has talked about Kurds with love and stood with solving the outstanding problems (budget and constitution) between Baghdad and KRG, so it was not to threaten us, rather it was the truth, and as Mustafa al-Kadhimi recently touched on this, but indirectly.

 

There is a tendency in Baghdad towards centralizing the state, and attempts to deepen the problems between Erbil and Baghdad, pointing out that the Kurdish parties did not respond to Plasschaert’s speech, and that the responsibility lies before Baghdad on the government and parliament of the Kurdistan Region, and not anticipation, calling on the Kurdish political parties to put aside its problems and address the challenges of the Kurdish house, as the relations during the establishment of the Kurdistan Front were, in the darkest conditions, in the midst of anarchy and genocide, the Kurdish political parties must unite, work together and prepare for any emergency.

 

Mala Bakhtiyar stated that Turkey is one of the most dangerous countries against the rights of the Kurds and is hostile to any developments in the Kurdish file, whether in eastern, southern or western Kurdistan, and it has a  continuous quest for not letting the Kurds achieve anything, explaining that the dream of the ‘Mosul Vilayet’ is still alive within the Turks and any alteration that happens to the international policies is for turkey to reach an agreement with major countries, sadly have been progress towards this for past 20 years. Turkey now needs reconciliation, stability and agreement with regional countries due to the effect of the COVID pandemic, the deterioration of the economy and its need for rapprochement.

 

He stressed that it is not easy for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to work to open its office in Turkey in light of the Turkish army's occupation of areas within the Kurdistan Region, but it also has the right to open its closed office again.

 

Regarding the administrative decentralization system and efforts to its implementation in the Kurdistan Region, Mala Bakhtiyar said that the application of the administrative decentralization system is appropriate for the provinces to be able to solve their problems and strengthen their administrations, but not at the expense of weakening the framework of the Kurdistan Region, indicating that the decentralization system provides the governorates with greater powers in managing and addressing their challenges.

 

On the decision of the Court of Cassation in the Kurdistan Region approving the imprisonment of five journalists and activists in Dohuk Governorate for 6 years, Malla Bakhtiyar stressed that the problem is a legal issue, especially after the Court of Cassation approved their imprisonment, and it must be resolved in light of the principles of democracy. Pointing out that the issue has become a public opinion issue and must be reconsidered, from the standpoint of democracy.

 

 

 

PUKmedia \ Exclusive