A Red Light Must Be Raised Against the KDP and PUK..!

Khalid Omar Mustafa – Activist 

After the historic Kurdish uprising of 1991 in Southern Kurdistan, and following the establishment of both the Kurdistan Parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government – a moment that brought all Kurdish political parties together, but it didn’t take long for two forces to tighten their grip on power: the PUK and the KDP. From that point on, there was little they wouldn’t do to each other and obviously to ordinary citizens, and to gains that Kurdish people had fought for.

Their rivalry, and the reckless policies that came with it, dragged the Kurdistan Region into a cycle of tension and instability. What should have been a proud milestone, the birth of a parliament and a democratic process that quickly became a battleground. Neither party could accept the results, nor could they bring themselves to treat the other as an equal.They chose confrontation Instead of building something together. That first great democratic step ended tragically, in civil war!

The destruction was devastating. Thousands of Kurdish men and women lost their lives and also Kurdish society was left fractured;wounded; deeply damaged; and divided. Rather than strengthening Kurdish unity and protecting the Kurdish home, they drew internal borders and divisions that became a major cause of political decline and the loss of many national achievements that have been gained by the very loyal Kurdish people in the Kurdistan Region.

That destructive never really went away. The crisis deepened, the instability lingered, and ordinary people were left to bear the weight of it all. And now, daily life in Kurdistan still carries the same shadow of uncertainty and hardship. Public frustration has now reached a point where many citizens no longer believe that real change is coming, because the KDP and PUK have spent years reaching into nearly every corner of people’s lives and have committed every possible abuse against the people of Kurdistan. This reflects the model of governance and rule that both parties have followed in the past, continue to follow in the present, and appear determined to maintain in the future.