SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) President Bafel Talabani on Friday visited Nawshirwan Mustafa’s tomb to pay respect to the Kurdish leader on his death anniversary.
Talabani later released a message on Mustafa’s death anniversary, paying tribute to the Kurdish leader who died on May 19, 2017, in Sulaimani City, after a long battle with illness.
“Kak Nawshirwan was a school of new thoughts and enlightenment, and the leader of the new revolution,” Talabani said.
He also hailed Mustafa for playing an important and leading role in the Kurdish armed struggles, noting “Kak Nawshirwan was a father for most of the Kurdish people.”
“The PUK is always ready to make steps towards reunion with the Change Movement. We can make Mam Jalal and Kak Nawshirwan’s dreams true together,” Talabani added.
73-year-old Mustafa was the founder of the Change Movement (Gorran), the first opposition party in the political landscape of the Kurdistan Region.
Mustafa was a founding member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in 1976 by former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
The Change Movement broke away from the PUK in 2009. By the same year, it won 25 seats following the Region’s parliamentary elections.
