Mabast Salah – Activists
Masrour Barzani declares, “We do not seek salaries; we seek dignity.” Meanwhile, the people demand their salaries. I would respond to His Excellency the Prime Minister by saying: Anyone who demands what the people lack — namely, their rightful wages — clearly does not have dignity under your definition. So how can dignity be achieved under such conditions?
You possess everything — power, wealth, authority, and all the comforts and necessities of life. Everything is made available to you, your families, and your inner circle. Yet what you seem to lack is dignity and integrity.
We observe how the Government of Iraq has become increasingly disreputable and degraded in the eyes of the Kurdish nation. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its leader Bafel Talabani remain conspicuously silent. Furthermore, their continued cooperation with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) confirms their acceptance of the KDP’s dominance and their inability to act independently. It is evident that they provide political cover for the KDP, and in doing so, have significantly weakened the opposition.
At one time, there was a measure of freedom in Slemani. However, since Bafel Talabani assumed the presidency of the PUK, that freedom has all but disappeared. At present, even peaceful protests are not tolerated. Citizens are not allowed to demand their basic rights. If anyone attempts to organize a demonstration, they are silenced, prosecuted without due process, and arrested by the very security forces established by these ruling elites.
