PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and Goran (Change) Movement have made the agreement they have reached official in a ceremony held in Suleymaniye’s Şarê Ciwan Hotel.

The agreement signed between PUK and Goran Movement was announced to the public with the ceremony held in the Şarê Ciwan Hotel’s conference room at 18.00 local time yesterday. Goran Movement leader Newşîrwan Mustafa, PUK Deputy Secretary General Kusret Resul and high ranking officials from both parties, several state ambassadors and representatives from all political parties except the KDP attended the ceremony where the agreement was read.

The articles of the agreement were read by the PUK Politbureau Member Hekim Kadir and Goran Movement leader Neşirwan Mustafa and PUK First Deputy Secretary General Kosret Resul gave short speeches.

PUK Politbureau Member Sedi Ahmet Pîre and Goran Movement representative Şoreş Haci informed the press and answered questions.

PÎRE: ORGANISATION MUST BE DEVELOPED, THE CRISES MUST BE OVERCOME

Pîre said the day was a historic day and continued: “Today is a historic day. The foundations of this agreement were laid in 2012, but it was delayed because of Mam Celal’s health problems. This agreement is really historic. The political and economic crisis in the Kurdistan region still continues. This agreement aims to bring political groups together and develop the level of organisation among Kurds, and of course to prevent crises from developing in the Kurdistan region.

This agreement is not an agreement against any party. It should not be considered as such. These two parties that didn’t have extreme differences of opinion to begin with, that stemmed from the same tradition saw this agreement as a necessity in achieving stability in our region and building a strong democracy. In this light, with my belief that this alliance will lead to beautiful days in our region, I would like to congratulate everybody who had a part in forging this agreement.”

HACİ: IT IS STRATEGIC AND AIMS FOR UNITY

Goran Movement Spokesperson Haci said the agreement had a strategic Kurdistani program and that this was the “demand from the Kurdish people and focuses on the unity of Kurds among themselves”.

Haci mentioned that this agreement will play an important role in overcoming the political and legal crises in Southern Kurdistan and continued: “This project is a good start for the future of Kurdistan and in resolving the crises Kurdistan faces. It is an agreement that will defend the Kurdish people’s interests in Kurdistan, Iraq and the changes occurring in the region. In the following days we will explain all articles of the agreement to the public and show that this agreement is not made to acquire authority and positions, but to defend the interests of the Kurdish people.”

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE AGREEMENT

The agreement between Goran and PUK is comprised of 25 articles under 11 headings. Highlights from the agreement include acting in unison in the Iraqi and the Southern Kurdistani parliaments, the administration in Southern Kurdistan and reactivating the parliament.

In another section of the agreement, the parliamentary regime in Southern Kurdistan is stated to be the most suitable one under current conditions and that the two parties should be entering all elections in the future with joint lists. The agreement also underlines the election of the region’s president by the parliament and the prime minister’s direct authority over the executive power in the Kurdistan region.

The agreement also stresses that in order to achieve the rule of law, work on a draft for a democratic and pluralist constitution by neutral and independent academics should pick up where it left off as soon as possible. It was also stressed that the new constitution should ensure that the women and the youth should partake in politics, execution, judiciary and party authorities in an active and equal manner. The agreement also states that the constitution should make the work of unions and NGOs easier, should develop a decentralized execution and all authority over execution, economic and technical matters should lie with the provincial assemblies and governors.

“FOR A DEMOCRATIC KURDISTAN”

PUK and Goran Movement officials attending the signing ceremony spoke to the ANF and said this agreement was not against any party. The officials said that “This agreement aims for a democratic Kurdistan under the rule of law.”

ALA TALABANİ: IT IS IMPORTANT TO IMPLEMENT THE ARTICLES

PUK Iraqi Parliament Floor Leader Ala Talabani said it was important that the articles be implemented in order to move past the crises in Kurdistan and continued:

“I believe Southern Kurdistan was in dire need of this agreement. The Kurdistan region needs normalisation. My hope is that PUK and Goran factions implement one of the most important articles of the agreement, reactivating the Southern Kurdistan Parliament as soon as possible. The disbanding of the parliament is a great tragedy for Kurdistan, for Iraq and for the region. In this light, what’s important is not the agreement but the implementation of the articles in the agreement. We can say that the will to implement the articles is present. There are also articles regarding the most dynamic forces of society, namely the women and the youth, which is a good development.”

FAİK: THE PEOPLE AND OUR BASE ARE SATISFIED

Goran MP Bestun Faik said: “This agreement was in the works since 2012. Especially this last year saw an intense traffic on the articles. PUK and Goran movements are two forces that are politically similar and come from the same tradition. This similarity initiated the development of such an agreement. The people and the bases of the two parties are satisfied with the agreement so far. No political party has expressed discomfort over the agreement yet. We haven’t received any news of disgruntlement from any political parties. KDP announced they would declare their views on this agreement after it was signed. No expressions of discomfort reached us or the public. All political parties should feel at ease, because this alliance does not target any parties.”

ABDULLAH: KDP‘S ABSENCE CREATES QUESTIONS

PUK Iraqi Parliament MP Rengin Abdullah said “It is an important start to overcome the arduous process that Middle Eastern countries, Iraq and Southern Kurdistan are experiencing,” and continued:

“KDP officials not attending the ceremony even though they were invited creates many questions. The question of why they didn’t attend should be addressed to them. But no power should think this agreement is against them. This agreement is only goal is to overcome the present problems.

As female politicians in the PUK, we stated that the role of women in the political alliance should not be forgotten and women should actively partake in it. There are some articles regarding this issue in the agreement as well. We will be working on spreading this over to all of Kurdistan. In this sense, it is clear that this alliance will not result in gains for just the two parties, but for all of Kurdistan.”