Before the US, PUK President cautioned the KRG

P.U.K 03:11 PM - 2023-03-26

PUK President Bafel Jalal Talabani.

Bafel Jalal Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), previously warned the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurdish political parties against the deterioration of the Kurdistan Region's conditions and the backslide in human rights while he was in Erbil.

"The Americans have made it very obvious to us that they are unable to assist the Kurdistan Region any longer due to their 30-year effort that has yielded no fruit," President Bafel said. "Contrarily, we continue to go backward."

President Bafel warned about the human rights situation and the frustration of the international community at the second Erbil Forum On March 1, 2023, saying: "The Kurdistan Region's image in the eyes of the world is not favorable. The foreigners have been quite open in their communication with us about their concerns over the violations of minority issues, human rights, women's rights, and freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region. Of course, the PUK is worried about these problems as well. We have made numerous attempts to overcome these obstacles."

"We do not want anyone to be detained or imprisoned for exercising their right to free expression," he said.

President Bafel alerted international consuls, ambassadors, and other diplomats of the dire circumstances and poor governance in the Kurdistan Region during his diplomatic talks with them.

"Diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, and all European envoys have told us that the Kurdistan Region is moving backward in all areas and sectors," he remarked out loud during the Erbil Forum.

President Bafel has already warned against the Kurdistan Region's retreat in all fields, discussed it in interviews with both local and global media, and advocated for a solution. The situation, however, remained the same. The US State Department thereupon released a report on the state of human rights in the world in the wake of the Kurdish New Year, in which the Kurdistan Region was found to have experienced the greatest amount of abuses, corruption, and restrictions on freedom.

In addition to the US State Department's report, the renowned US Foreign Policy Magazine also published an article on threats to the Kurdistan Region, violations, growing corruption, senior officials' interference in the courts, as well as discrimination against regions.

When Turkey lost the Paris case and the suspension of oil exports through the port of Ceyhan, it dealt another blow to the Kurdistan Region's oil-dependent economy. Iraq's Ministry of Natural Resources and Oil hailed the decision, and Turkish, American, Iraqi, and Kurdish media promptly broke the news.

PUKMEDIA