Iraqi Kurdistan’s armed forces will refuse to listen to VP from Gorran: PUK commander

2019-04-09 00:00:00 - Source: Iraq News

PUK party Peshmerga commander Sheikh Jaafar 2018. Photo: FB

SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— PUK party commander of the Peshmerga’s Brigade 70 Sheikh Jaafar has said that he would refuse to listen to a Vice President of Iraqi Kurdistan Region from the Change Movement (Gorran) which is a civilian political party.

Jaafar said during an interview with Voice of America VOA published on Tuesday that only the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) had armed forces in the Kurdish Region.

“So the positions that are related to the armed forces should be under the power of KDP or PUK,” he added.

“They [Gorran] do not have armed forces … the KDP and the PUK should decide on the steps to reorganize and unite the Peshmerga forces … If the vice president [from Gorran] is in charge of armed forces, I will never listen to him because he is not relevant and cannot make decisions. I can decide on steps to reorganize the forces: how can he [do that]?”

The Kurdish armed forces so-called Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan are not unified forces, and considered as militias loyal and taking orders directly from the ruling parties of KDP which is led by Massoud Barzani and PUK led by Talabani family.

There are only a few units that are under the control of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. Even then, there are issues related to command and control depending on the geographic area where they are deployed.

Iraqi Kurdistan is not unified region, it is divided politically and geographically between the KDP and the PUK.

Brigade 70 is a prominent part of the PUK’s security apparatus.

Reforming and depoliticizing that Peshmerga has been a long-stated goal of the Region’s political leadership, but little progress has been made despite intense support for the reform project from the international community.

Jafar also said during the interview that the PUK would get the positions of vice president, deputy prime minister, and parliament speaker, as well as six ministries and several boards.

Under current law, there is only one vice president. Until November 2017, PUK First Deputy Secretary-General Kosrat Rasul held the post.

Member of Gorran Assembly Kwestan Muhammad said during NRT TV on Monday that her party would object if a second vice president position was established.

She added that the appointment of the second vice president of the Kurdistan Region would pose a problem for the governance system and constitute a further burden on the people.

“It is not possible to add a new position to the Region’s governance system just for the sake of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,” Muhammad said.

The Kurdistan Parliament is scheduled to convene on Wednesday to vote on whether to approve legislation that would reactivate the Kurdistan Region’s presidency law.

KDP and PUK were set to sign their political agreement on Monday, but PUK spokesman Latif Sheikh Omar said the ceremony had been delayed due to a proposal reason, without giving further details.

Iraq News Now