KDP jeopardizes coexistence in Mosul too

Reports 10:38 AM - 2023-04-27

Bashiqa entrance gate.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), despite being a minority in Nineveh, dominates the administrative positions in the province through the governor of Nineveh, which has alarmed the Kurdish and Iraqi parties in the region that demand a solution. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) believes that entitlements earned through elections should determine who runs the posts in the Nineveh governorate.

The Shabak community is demanding the post of District Director

Iraqi parliament MP who is from the Shabak community, Waad Al-Qadro, told PUKMEDIA: "Bashiqa district is part of the Nineveh Governorate, and it is where most Shabakis reside." Unfortunately, the KDP is working extremely hard to dominate and fully control the Nineveh Governorate.

MP Qadro stated: "Six districts in the Nineveh Governorate are under the control of the KDP, and their district Directors were appointed by this party that does not stop at a certain limit but instead seeks to take over every square inch of the Nineveh Governorate and rule in its systematic dictatorial way that works to overshadow the others."

KDP's actions are rejected

"The governor of Nineveh's decision to appoint a senior KDP cadre as the director of the Bashiqa district and to impose it by force on the people of the region was the KDP's latest attempt," MP Qadro said.

He added: "This decision was rejected by the locals of the area and caused great media backlash. Calls to take to the streets and hold demonstrations were echoed among the people, but the Iraqi prime minister intervened and promised us that he would address this problem by legal means."
 
"We, the sons of the Shabak community, will not permit the KDP to interfere in the affairs of the Nineveh Plain because this region belongs to its people, and while we respect the Kurdish people, we also condemn the KDP's arbitrary practices that seek to control Nineveh Governorate," he continued.

We thank the PUK for its stance

MP Qadro said: "The PUK's stance is honorable and pro-minorities." "It believes in democracy, and this is what we know about the path of our spiritual father, President Mam Jalal."
 
"We thank Mr. Bafel Jalal Talabani, President of the PUK," he said, "for his positions in support of the communities, which confirms the national spirit he dreams of."

The post of Nineveh governor has been monopolized by the KDP

The KDP's individualism in decision-making has reached beyond the boundaries of the Kurdistan Region, as the party aims to put Mosul's peaceful coexistence in peril by controlling the governor of Nineveh.

Aras Mohammed Agha, a member of the PUK Leadership Council and head of the 7th Center of the PUK in Mosul, told PUKMEDIA: "Most of the administrative posts in Nineveh governorate, such as the districts' offices of Tala'afar, Hamdaniyah, Makhmur, Talkif, the center of Mosul, Sheikhan, and most of the districts of Mosul, have been taken over by the KDP."
 
"Only the District Director of the Bashiqa district is from the Shabak community, but as he is about to retire, the KDP also wants to take over that post," he continued. "The KDP's request to have that post and the decision to appoint a KDP cadre as the Director of Bashiqa district have caused protests among the Shabaks as they believe the position to be their right."
 
"We as the PUK believe this decision is wrong, and the KDP is distributing the posts according to party decisions without going back to other parties and communities," he added. "The Kurdish and Iraqi parties are against the KDP's individuality in Mosul." 
 
He continued: "The KDP has power over the governor of Nineveh... he is failing to carry out his responsibilities effectively; rather than taking a balanced approach, he is encouraging conflicts, widespread corruption, and financial mismanagement under the governor of Nineveh's control, all of which will undoubtedly have negative consequences."

The KDP is endangering coexistence in Mosul

"Because he is under the grip of a party, the governor of Nineveh is putting Mosul's peaceful coexistence in jeopardy," Agha said.
 
"Bashiqa's issue will spread to other districts in the future when the governors and district directors retire," he continued. "If the Iraqi Prime Minister does not find a solution to this situation through an agreement between the communities of Mosul, such as Christians, Kakais, Shabaks, Turkmen, Arabs, and Kurds, the situation will get worse."

KDP's individuality in decision-making has been extended to Nineveh governorate as well

Under the guise of patriotism, one party is engaging in partisanship and attempting to control the majority of positions in Mosul and the province with the few votes it has received in the Nineveh Plain.

The PUK Mosul Center remarked: "The KDP says it has won the majority of votes in the Nineveh Plain, but on the contrary, the KDP has won few votes and is a minority. The PUK won two seats in the Nineveh Plain, which has three governorates and nine district directors but has not received any posts. If, according to the KDP, the posts in the province were to be distributed based on the number of votes, then the PUK should have taken three district directors. As a result, it is clear that the KDP is engaging in partisanship rather than patriotism."

The parties are against individuality in decision-making

In response to the appointment of the governor of the Bashiqa district, several political parties in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq stated last night: "Such a decision should be made by returning to all the parties, not independently and randomly appointing someone from the KDP."
 
Additionally, they threatened to hold a statewide protest if the position wasn't filled by a Mosul native who was independent and unbiased.
 
Northeastern Mosul's Bashiqa district is home to 75 settlements. Shabak makes up the majority of the population, and the locals believe they have a right to the district director position.
 


PUKMEDIA