When the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was established by the deceased political Jalal Talabani in June 1975, the political scene in Iraqi Kurdistan was free of any Kurdish political organization due to the collapse of the Kurdish revolution, which was led by Kurdistan Democratic Party under the leadership of deceased Mulla Mustafa Barzani.
Months after its establishment, PUK announced the Kurdish revolution against the Iraqi ruling regime as if it wanted to present itself as a substitute for the Kurdistan Democratic Party on the political scene. Throughout a decade and a half, PUK underwent a bitter military battle in the mountains of Kurdistan not only against the ruling regime in Baghdad but only against the majority of leftist Kurdish political organizations and blocs.
It seems that Talabani political cunning and vision have changed the political equations and brought down the balances of power in the Kurdish interior.
PUK attracted Kurdish leftist forces in which the approaches, belongings and political visions met. The internal condition in the union remained this way until 2008 when the second man and one of its founders Nawshirwan Mustafa decided to secede from it and form the Movement for Change. Subsequently, internal problems and political conflicts aggravated.
The scene was repeated with the second man Barham Salih dissociation.
Despite all this, Saadi Ahmad Pira, spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that the union is still strong and united because it is a mass party that has been struggling since around five decades and has deep roots in the Kurdish community not to mention the wide mass foundation that wouldn’t abandon it no matter what.
Pira added that there is an anonymity on the conference to be held this year since the committees entrusted with organizing the conference are done with most of the required arrangements.
Council member Asos Ali declared to Asharq Al-Awsat that the party will move towards more solidarity after the conference, and will rearrange its papers in preparation for its future tasks.
“The new leadership to be concluded from the conference will be capable of putting an end to internal conflicts and moving the party into a new stage,” he added.
