Kurdish Official Says Iraqi Forces Pushing Kurds To Revolt, Carry Arms

June 12, 2005

In the welter of the political tug-of-war regarding the drafting of the constitution and the nature of the new Iraqi state, the Kurds feel that Iraqi forces are trying to obstruct the political process and push the Kurds to "revolt and carry arms once again", even though the Kurds have no desire to do so.

Kamal Muhyi-al-Din, National Assembly member and member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK], which is led by President Jalal Talabani, has emphasized that we will not carry arms once again and will refute their pretext.

Speaking to the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat on Friday, Muhyi-al-Din noted that some Iraqi forces wished to control Kurdistan by armed force and restore the dictatorship under the excuse of confronting revolt and the carrying of arms. He pointed out that these forces, which he referred to as enemies of the Iraqi people without naming them, were trying to push us in this direction. He explained that the Kurdish forces, which are well aware of the ongoing political ploys, would never give them such opportunity and would rely on the sincere national forces to expose the various pitfalls on the road of the political process and uncover those who did not wish to assist in the continuation of the new democratic march.

Muhyi-al-Din held the executive authority responsible for failing to implement the laws regarding the normalization of the situation in the Kurdish region, which has been the scene of displacement and seizure of property. He added: They are pushing the Kurds to feel agitated by taking certain arbitrary measures against them. He referred to Interior Minister Bayan Jabr's recent decision to discharge 2,400 police officers and personnel. He described such measures as unacceptable politically and religiously. He affirmed that the Kurds adhered to the establishment of a political and ethnic federation in Kurdistan that would be part of the country's central federation, even though such Kurdish federation angered the Arabs, who view it as a step towards secession.