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Shafaq News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Golden Jubilee: PUK's 50-year legacy faces a test of relevance
Shafaq News/ The 50th anniversary of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), once a defining moment in the Kurdish national movement, arrived this week not with a triumphant celebration, but with quiet introspection and visible fractures. The golden jubilee, marked in al-Sulaymaniyah under the leadership of Bafel Talabani, son of the party's iconic founder Jalal Talabani, underscored both generational transition and growing uncertainty. Rather than a grand spectacle evoking past struggles and victories, the anniversary gathering took a more subdued form. Founding slogans were absent. Veteran leaders, long symbolic of the party's revolutionary legacy, were not present. And what remained was a younger leadership grappling with internal divisions, shifting alliances, and the formidable challenge of political relevance in a rapidly evolving Kurdistan Region. From Unity to Fragmentation Since its founding in 1975, the PUK has played a central role in shaping Kurdish and Iraqi politics, particularly after 2003. But that influence has waned since the death of Jalal Talabani in 2017. The transition to Bafel Talabani's leadership has been accompanied by sweeping changes in the party's internal structure—some described by allies as necessary modernization, and others by critics as centralization and exclusion. Prominent figures like Lahur Sheikh Jangi, once co-chair with Bafel, have been ousted amid internal disputes. Other influential veterans such as Mala Bakhtiyar, Mahmoud Sangawi, and Barham Salih have seen their roles curtailed. For many observers, this signals a fundamental shift in how the PUK defines leadership and legitimacy. Karzan Murad, an academic speaking to Shafaq News, argued that these developments reveal a deeper structural change. 'The party was once a collective leadership with strong personalities balancing each other out. Now, decision-making appears increasingly centered around a narrow circle.' Murad also noted that Bafel's recent visit to the US failed to secure meetings with senior officials—unlike his political rival PM Masrour Barzani of the KDP, who was received at the highest levels. "That contrast is telling," he added. PUK's traditionally close ties with Iran have also weakened. While Tehran once prioritized relations with Al-Sulaymaniyah-based leaders, it now engages more directly with the KDP, as seen in Nechirvan Barzani's prominent receptions in the Iranian capital, Murad said. Generational Change or Institutional Drift? Not everyone views the changes as negative. Delshad Namq, a political commentator, believes what the PUK is undergoing is an inevitable generational handover. 'No political party can be frozen in time,' he said. 'At some point, legacy has to make room for evolution.' But others, like longtime party member Hasan Rawi, warn that the current approach risks alienating both the base and international partners. 'Excluding historical figures removes a key source of institutional memory. International actors now view the party as adrift,' Rawi noted, citing a perceived lack of strategic vision and clarity. Researcher Badr Ismail Sherwaki echoed that concern, highlighting what he described as a growing disconnect between the party leadership and its traditional support base. 'Kurdish politics is personal. It's about loyalty to individuals, not just institutions. Without charismatic figures who command trust, it's unclear what fills the vacuum,' he said. Eroding Ground in Al-Sulaymaniyah Nowhere is the impact of these internal struggles more visible than in the party's heartland: Al-Sulaymaniyah. Once a stronghold, the city is increasingly fragmented. Lahur Sheikh Jangi has launched a new political movement—Berey Gel (People's Front)—which is gaining traction, especially among younger voters disillusioned with both the PUK's recent performance and its leadership disputes. This is reminiscent of the rise of the Gorran (Change) Movement in the early 2000s, which also tapped into frustration over stagnation and exclusion. Meanwhile, the PUK has lost political initiative in key regional matters. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) now leads most negotiations with Baghdad and has a firmer grip on sensitive files like energy and budget policy. With Kurdistan's political weight shifting westward to Erbil, the PUK risks becoming a reactive rather than proactive actor. The Leadership's Defense Bafel Talabani and his team argue that the changes should be seen as a necessary transformation rather than a betrayal of legacy. Senior PUK official Burhan Sheikh Rauf told Shafaq News that veteran voices are still respected and consulted through the party's High Council of Interests and that the reorganization is aimed at future-proofing the party. At a rally in al-Sulaymaniyah Stadium, Bafel Talabani struck a conciliatory tone. While honoring the party's history through visual tributes to figures like Jalal Talabani, his speech emphasized present-day challenges and the need for pragmatism. He reiterated that the PUK is still respected in Baghdad and remains a balancing force in Kurdistan's delicate political ecosystem, pointing to the party's continued support for regional Kurdish rights and its role in peace efforts with Ankara. Yet, some analysts believe this rhetorical balancing act may not be enough. Without delivering on core issues—public sector salaries, governance reforms, and tangible influence in Baghdad—the PUK's claim to relevance may ring hollow. Between Legacy and Uncertainty Established with a leftist identity that fused Kurdish nationalism with socialism, the PUK now finds itself navigating a complex terrain. Rather than a moment of glory, the 50th anniversary became a mirror held up to the party itself. It reflected nostalgia, fractures, and above all, a test: Can the PUK reinvent itself without losing its soul? Or will it become yet another legacy movement weighed down by the very history it once proudly authored?
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Ocalan… A Farewell to Arms
This headline alludes to works of literature to illustrate political realities, beginning with Ernest Hemingway's 'A Farewell to Arms' and up to the Kurdish author Ronak Murad's famous novel about the history of the Kurdish struggle 'The Granddaughter of Ishtar.' The two novels' plots tie the themes of love, war, and their aftermath together- stretching from the Italian frontlines and the horrors of World War I to Rojava, the Qandil Mountains, Kunduz, and the vast Kurdish territories that have witnessed many setbacks and few moments of joy, as well as a struggle for lofty aspirations that inevitably collide with stronger geopolitical realities. Abdullah Ocalan is the last of the great Kurdish dreamers. He has shown extraordinary courage in his long struggle, which he began as a guerrilla fighter operating in the mountains and trying to obtain everything for his people through armed resistance. Now Türkiye's most famous political prisoner, his time in jail has left a mark on his views, leading him to make pragmatic reassessments that eventually compelled him to call for ending the armed struggle, and ultimately, to advocate reconciliation. Instead, he is now urging the Kurds to come to terms with the geography they inhabit, as he now believes that this is a more viable means to survive and safeguard their identity. The leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is replicating in Türkiye what Jalal Talabani and Masoud Barzani had done in Iraq, insisting on integration despite his community's bitter history with the central government or the repercussions of the independence referendum. Indeed, they nonetheless succeeded in realizing some of the Kurdish peoples' aspirations, cooperating with the Iraqi state on a national framework that allows for partnership and equal rights and responsibilities. This is what Ocalan wants to do in Türkiye- a pursuit that Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou had paid with his life in Iran. From Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and before them, the pair who broke the taboo, the late Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the late Turkish President Turgut Ozal, the Kurdish question in Türkiye, Iraq, and Syria has been reassessed. It is now being seen through a different, more pragmatic lens. This shift was not precipitated by the weakening or confusion of the central authorities in Ankara, Baghdad, or Damascus, nor was it the result of the unbearable costs of conflict for the Kurdish people. Rather, political consciousness has matured, albeit gradually or belatedly. The Kurds now recognize that waging a political struggle, preserving their identity and heritage, and imposition of recognition are just as vital as armed resistance, which has become increasingly ineffective. Maintaining arms for their own sake brings nothing but bloodshed, and it is neither valuable nor tenable to equate the Kurdish cause with armed struggle. Political taboos are broken in watershed moments. The first was on Friday, June 14, 1991, when Turkish Ozal welcomed an armed Kurdish leader into the presidential palace for the first time in his country's history. The journalist and renowned Turkish writer Cengiz Candar, who organized the meeting, shares an anecdote of a conservation he had had with Ozal at the time, in his Mesopotamian Express. 'It will change. The situation of the Kurds in Türkiye will not be the same. It will change. But they must be realistic. This shift will take time. It will be achieved step by step, but it is worth it. They must see it as a matter of time; it will be resolved gradually.' The second defining moment came on February 27 of this year, when Ocalan called on Kurdish militants in Türkiye to lay down their arms, dissolve the party, and pursue their objectives through political means. His stance was solidified by a historic agreement between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on March 10. The SDF will integrate into Syria's military and security institutions, while the Kurdish community has been recognized as an integral component of Syria. Kurdish leaders managed to break the link between their cause and armed struggle, leveraging their history of resistance to secure their rights and defend their identity. They have demonstrated a determination to end their captivity to arms and their consequences, refusing to let their arsenal become a source of internal or regional conflict. This approach is a lesson that other groups in the region must learn. They all need to disentangle arms from ideology, relinquish the monopoly of arms, and stop prioritizing it over all other forms of resistance- from the mountains of Kurdistan to Jabal Amel, passing through occupied Palestine.
