Hastyar Burhan Mohammed – Activist February 17, 2011 was a historic day. People in Kurdistan took to the streets demanding change, an end to corruption, and better public services. However, the authorities responded with gunfire. Sadly, on the very first day, two young patriotic youths were killed. Over the course of several weeks, 10 martyrs were killed and hundreds of people were injured at the hands of the armed mafia forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The authorities of the PUK and the KDP not only ignored the people’s demands, but also violently killed, wounded, and imprisoned their own people. The killers and perpetrators have still not been brought to trial to this day—15 years later. Although the cases of the martyrs were closed, corruption has grown deeper and the authorities have become stronger, but the people’s trust in the authorities has been lost. The events of that time revealed that the security forces, instead of protecting citizens, were used as tools to protect party interests. These events became the clearest evidence of the absence of the rule of law and the lack of freedom of expression under the authoritarian rule of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Kurdistan Region. Even after 15 years, the voices and freedoms of the people are still ignored. Without a doubt, February 17 is a great disgrace and will remain so in the history of the rulers of the Kurdistan Region, especially the PUK and the KDP, who instead of engaging in dialogue with protesters and listening to their demands, chose to open fire on their own people. Post navigation The Kurdish Authorities Aren’t “Lucky”—They Are Sustained by Our Silence!