Dialog needs to take place and involve all parties
As antigovernment demonstrators continued to demand reforms, Kurdish political powers are near to meeting to discuss current tensions, according to officials. Governing parties announced their readiness for dialogue while opposition groups reaffirmed their condition that the government must dissolve before talks begin.
"They will meet soon, but it is not known yet when and where it will happen," said Sadi Ahmed Pira, a politburo member of Patriotic Union in Kurdistan (PUK). Pira, speakingto local media, urged the political parties to focus on common points to reach a solution on the Kurdistan Region's situation.
Both governing parties, PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), released a statement on April 12 declaring they ready for "dialogue without any preconditions." The joint declaration comes as a response to the Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani's call to the governing and opposition parties to meet on the current situation, says the statement.
"Both KDP and PUK...have always believed in dialogue and compromise, which is the only way to solve any problem the political process faces," reads the statement.
Demands for reforms in the political process in Kurdistan Region started when protesters took to the streets in Suleimaniya on Feb. 17. Demonstrations in Suleimaniya and other cities still continue, putting pressure on the authorities to implement reforms and prosecute those accused of firing on demonstrators. Nine people have been killed and hundreds have been wounded since the beginning of the demonstrations.
Kurdistan Region opposition parties say any dialogue must be based on their 22-item statement, which involves a demand for dissolving the current government.
Opposition parties, Gorran Movement, Kurdistan Islamic Union and Islamic Group, make up 35 of Kurdistan Parliament's 111 seats.
"There must be a framework for the talks-- the only condition of the three parties is the talks must be on the 22 items sent to the presidency, parliament and government," said Abdulsattar Majeed, member of the Islamic Group politburo. He explained their conditions are only to find a way to come out of the current crisis and not "necessarily for the government to implement all the items."
President Barzani, in a statement on April 10, called on both governing and opposition parties to meet on the basis of involving the opposition in the process of reform and in the wide-based government, as well as to prepare for an early election.
© The Kurdish Globe 2011
