Kurds need real choice

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Kurds need real choice in coming elections

By Heval Hylan
Guest Commentary
Published: May 19, 2009

Auckland, New Zealand — Parliamentary elections will take place in Iraqi Kurdistan on July 25. Of course, Kurds inside the country do not have any choice but to comply and do as they are told in the upcoming elections. There is no independent opposition or national press which can represent the free voice and mood of the Kurds.
It is obvious that when democracy is absent, dictators are confused and irritated, in particular during the pre-election phases. The Kurds ought to be conscious that the current leaders – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party – may use any means to reach their goals. The people of Kurdistan should wake up and not misuse their precious voice when opportunity knocks on their doors.
In a recent TV interview in Kurdistan, Saro Qadir, a third-tier leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, stated that there was practically no opposition to the upcoming elections. The only opposition, he said, was a handful of people who have sold themselves to foreigners or have been paid by outsiders to damage the reputation of KDP-style democracy.
This type of statement is dangerous and damages whatever reputation remains of the KDP and its leaders. Personally, I have not been paid to write for the sake of democracy and human rights.
At a time when the world is moving inevitably toward the rise of democracy, Kurdistan stands out for its ever-increasing narrow-mindedness on democratic and human rights norms. Confident of his manipulative powers and control of the electoral process, Barzani has called for public support. He has openly reasoned that if the people strongly oppose his rule, they can always reject the government and replace it with another – which the people have never done. But who dares to do so?
Talabani and Barzani, who promised a safe haven and no more killing, are doing nothing more than cheating the Kurds. People who belong to the roots of the Kurdish cities have become foreigners in their own cities. Most valuable pieces of land now belong to the Barzani or Talabani families and nothing is left for the rest.
A pitched battle between the federal regime and the unofficially organized opposition is now underway in Kurdistan. With the support of other ethnic groups, the Kurds have to make a move.
Today Kurdistan is owned by a few family members of Talabani-Barzani Ltd. The people in Kurdistan must understand that a lawful democratic government will be able to deal with the real needs of the Kurds more effectively than any self-imposed dictator.
The Talabani-Barzani combination is taking advantage of the innocent people. If all political forces unite, they would certainly provide concrete hope to the people of Kurdistan.
Despite habitual multiparty elections, most of the minimal conditions necessary for the practice of democracy – particularly fair elections, adequate opportunities for independent political opinion-making and political organizations, and minimal protection for the individual from arbitrary state power – hardly exist in Kurdistan.
In other words, elections in Kurdistan are seen as so unfairly conducted and prejudiced against the opposition that they are a mere sham used to endorse the rule of the dictator, albeit an elected dictator. Such features of authoritarianism have become more pronounced since false unification took place and “famous” surname proprietors took over.
The free press has ceased to function. There is no freedom of the press, only freedom to lie on the government's behalf, coupled with a total news blackout of all unfavorable news.
The government-controlled print and electronic media play their roles in promoting and legitimizing the government’s mastery and in discrediting the opposition and dissent generally. For those who still refuse to bow and scrape, some kind of punishment awaits them.
Kurdistan and Iraq share many commonalities and similarities, especially in the prosecution and persecution of activists and in arbitrary detention without trial under precautionary laws.
There is no doubt that the Kurds have faith they can improve the nation for the better if they continue to struggle and try. “Election” is a good word for the Kurds and their worldwide friends – even though they are unconstitutional and undemocratic.
We have learned that Talabani and Barzani will do whatever it takes to win the elections. The results are crystal clear – 50/50 – and of course there is no room for opposition in the house, because prior to the coming elections in Kurdistan, historical precedent suggests that Presidents Barzani and Talabani will find a way to “win” the elections despite the inauspicious context of economic corruption.
The only way people in Kurdistan would see the election as legitimate and a step forward is if the following criteria are met:

1) A democratic Constitution is ratified and implemented.
2) Political organizations with different programs are legally allowed to function in an open and free environment;
3) A free press is legal and operational;
4) Competing political organizations and parties have unrestricted access to a free press and equal access to government media and other campaign outlets;
5) An independent commission is in charge of monitoring and ensuring free and fair elections;
6) An autonomous court is able to investigate and issue judgments on accusations and complaints with regard to the fairness of the competition and actual elections;
7) Kurdish civic society, international governmental and nongovernmental entities are allowed to monitor the elections as observers.

Democratic-minded Kurds in the diaspora should act according to what is good for the future generation of Kurdistan. They should stand against the announced elections, which are more or less an insult to the dignity of our people. It is time to call on the international community not to be fooled by the old KDP and PUK tactics.
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(Heval Hylan is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and an International Lawyer specialized in genocide cases. A human rights activist and General Secretary of the Refugee Council of New Zealand, he also writes legal and political papers. He is a founder and trustee of Reunity Trust Inc. ©Copyright Heval Hylan.)