Will CDJ survive without Barham Salih?
Mohammed Rauf, one of the founders of the CDJ, spoke with Rudaw’s Zana Kayani about Salih’s defection to the PUK and where the party goes from here.
What have you done to reorganize your party after the changes and the congress late last year?
Mohammed Rauf: We wouldn’t have needed the congress if Barham [Salih] had stayed with us and believed in the continuation of the CDJ to achieve its objectives. But we had to hold the congress after he and some other founding members of the party left.
We elected a new leader in the congress. We reorganized the party’s institutions, too, shortly after the congress. We have implemented nearly 90 percent of party by-laws. Moreover, we held a conference in which we elected members of the political council in early February. More than 230 party members took part in the conference and the council was elected transparently.
Have the majority of your party’s founding members left or stayed with the party?
They have mostly left. Some didn’t go with Barham, nor did they stay with the party. They are in between these two and we haven’t
There are many people in the CDJ who have never been involved in politics
pressured them much to ask them to return to the party. The majority of those who are not with us practically believe in the party’s agenda.Following the departure of party members who had deserted the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to join the CDJ, questions have now been raised as to whether the CDJ will turn into an Islamic party. What do you think is or will be the political identity of the CDJ?
Not all of them have left the party. Many PUK members have stayed with us. We have PUK members whose father was killed while serving the PUK. There are previous PUK members in the CDJ, and also former members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Gorran, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), and Komal. There are many people in the CDJ who have never been involved in politics, yet they now believe in CDJ’s agenda.
Are your offices still based at Barham Salih’s headquarters?
No, we are not based in those buildings. They reclaimed all their buildings after Barham returned to the PUK, except the Erbil headquarters. They even took back the chairs and tables.
Did Barham inform you before he reunited with the PUK?
Barham came under immense pressure from the PUK soon after we founded the CDJ. I myself saw high-level PUK politburo officials and representatives of Jalal Talabani’s family coming to him, pressuring him not to go ahead with his project. They were telling him they would meet whatever demands he had in return.
Barham came under immense pressure from the PUK soon after we founded the CDJ
Barham wrote a proposal consisting of eight points. It was a very good proposal for the PUK and the situation of Kurdistan. Barham showed it to me. He said I was the first person to see it and asked for my opinion. I said every pact with the PUK was normal providing the PUK was going to commit to it. I finally said it was impossible for the PUK to implement the proposal.
He sent them the proposal, but nothing happened. As far as I am concerned, the efforts were futile. PUK officials contacted him again before the Iraqi elections. He said that himself, that they again contacted him 24 hours prior to the election. They told him they would make him Iraqi president if he was to dissolve the CDJ. In turn, Barham told them he cannot make such a decision alone as he has other people working with him in the party. And by that he had meant Mr. Aram [Qadir] and me. He told them he cannot make such a decision in 24 hours without a prior strategic agenda.
Barham Salih was disappointed after the election. The PUK wanted him and he was inclined to return to the party. They held another round of discussions, negotiated by some officials. Finally, he became convinced that the best way for him was to return to the PUK so that he becomes the president of the republic.
Did he ask you to join the PUK too?
He said he wanted us to join the PUK too, adding that although he was sure we were not going to join the PUK, but if we did, we would be given good positions. He especially meant Mr. Aram and me. He also said we can strike a political deal with the PUK, but we said it was too early for such a deal.
Why don’t you have any activities or hold meetings after the congress?
It is because of two reasons: first, the CDJ was being reorganized according to the instructions of the Kurdistan Regional Government
CDJ doesn’t need to introduce itself
(KRG) and this took some time. Second, we don’t believe in making too many visits and holding too many meetings without an agenda or strategy. Visiting other parties is a traditional thing. In the past, new parties were making too many visits to introduce themselves, but the CDJ doesn’t need to introduce itself.Two of your parliamentarians in Baghdad speak in favour of Barham Salih. Does the CDJ allow this?
After Barham left, I saw one of the parliamentarians who said they would be neutral until the issue was settled. He said they would be free to do what they wanted if the CDJ was dissolved. There was an allegation that the KDP was going to reestablish the CDJ. There was such a lie, if I may say. And they believed it.
There was a fuss in Sulaimani about the CDJ being either dissolved or splintering into two parties. The MP said they would side with no one if the CDJ were to splinter into two parties. They as MPs cannot leave the CDJ because they were elected as MPs by CDJ voters. If they don’t rejoin the CDJ, they will join the PUK as MPs.
Barham has left, but other people remain
Have the parties you guys left to join the CDJ asked you to return to them?
Not officially, but they want us to return to them. But the way we think about how KIU and Komal work has not changed. Barham has left, but other people remain. And our agenda has not yet gotten off the ground, so why should we leave the party?
Can the CDJ led by Aram Qadir be an effective party in Kurdistan?
I think Mr Aram has organizational charisma and is loved by the youth. Many Islamic youth like him, especially youth associated with Komal and others familiar with him. Kurdistan leaders also trust him because of his involvement in political work with them. He is a competent and articulate person. He is not afraid of politics. Most importantly, he is not alone in this and will not be. He is surrounded by very good people. I have hope in him and will do my best to help him.
