SULAIMANI (ESTA) — President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Bafel Jalal Talabani said on Saturday the party has its own policy and will make “real changes” in Kurdistan’s governance.
The PUK held its forum for reform and renewal in Sulaimani city on Saturday, with the participation of hundreds of members. The forum is scheduled to last four days.
The party’s president said despite the PUK congress in December 2019 the party still needed to hold the forum to reform and reformulate PUK’s policies.
“I believe we need youths, women and others to renew the blood of PUK,” Talabani said during the forum. “I believe we can all together make more progress within the party.”
“As the PUK, we have our own policy … We are serious and really want to serve this country. We will not be an affix to any force, party or country,” he added.
“I make you sure that today’s PUK is a party that will fulfill its duties, first to the people then to the party,” he continued.
Regarding his meeting with students at the University of Sulaimani, the PUK president described them as “very clever and capable”.
“I felt shy when I sat down with the students as we are in a government that has neglected them,” he noted. “When I sat down with them, I understood that there were many things that we can learn from them … Youths can make progress in this party and this country.”
“What we have is not oil or gas, but it is these youths,” he said. “I make you sure that this generation is so unique.”
Concerning the political parties’ meeting with the U.N. envoy to Iraq, he said the meeting was about several issues including disputes between parties.
“The United Nations was concerned that the parties do not talk with each other. What I understood was that they gathered us on the pretext of elections. That is so bad [that] we need the U.N. to come and gather us,” he said.
The parties also discussed the issues related to Kurdistan parliamentary elections set for October 1, Talabani added, noting that the parties and the U.N. envoy would hold another meeting on June 9.
“God willing, we will soon hold an election in which we correct the balance of power,” Talabani noted.
Addressing the issues in Baghdad, Talabani said the PUK would not make any agreement which a Kurdish party made with Iraqi parties for the formation of a new government in the Iraqi capital.
“It is not about the president [position],” Talabani said. “We believe it is a strategic mistake if we become a part of issues of our Shia brothers or Sunnis.”
“If we want to talk about this, we should make a good speech. We should try to bring these parties closer,” he added.
“Despite that, that agreement didn’t have anything that was good for Kurdistan,” he continued, noting that the agreement didn’t mention Peshmerga forces, public servants’ payments, and disputed areas including Kirkuk.
Regarding Kurds in other parts of Kurdistan, Talabani said the PUK would continue to help Kurds in the other countries.
“We help all Kurds. We are ready to help our brothers in the four parts of Kurdistan,” he noted, referring to Greater Kurdistan.
“We need to change our policy … There are 45 million Kurds in the world and we have to consider ourselves as the owner of the 45 million [Kurds]. When we become the owner of 45 million Kurds, neither the U.S., neither Iran nor other countries can say no to Kurdistan and Kurds.”
“The PUK clearly tells its friends that it won’t leave them and we will offer help when they need our help.”
Talabani addressed the issue of oil and gas exports in the Region, saying he disagrees with the system used by the Kurdish government for oil.
“My question is that, do we extract Kurdistan oil from this beautiful land to enrich some companies? Or do we want to use it to serve our people?” Talabani asked as he said 60 percent of oil revenues go to the companies that extract, sell and transport oil.
Talabani also denied that the PUK was against exporting gas to Europe, noting that the Kurdistan Region needs a “clear and transparent policy that is good for Kurdistan, Iraq and the countries that benefit from the gas”.
