ŞÎNYAR BAYÎZ

Sulaymaniyah- Iraq has suffered from a political crisis. Since the 2021 elections, a government has not been established in the country and this causes people to protest. The protests began on July 25 after the Coordination Framework nominated Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for the prime minister position.

On August 29, Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced he would resign from Iraqi politics, prompting his followers to storm government palaces.  The demand of Muqtada al-Sadr and his supporters is early elections to be held; however, the Coordination Framework does not want early elections to be held. Political parties and the Kurdistan Region government support different parties due to their personal and parties’ interests. Although early elections are expected to be useless in order to solve the political crisis in the country, some parties insist on early elections. NuJINHA spoke to Evîn Heme Emîn, the head of the Baghdad Aws Foundation for Development and Human Rights, about the Iraqi political crisis.

“Iraq is ruled by many dictators”

Indicating that the problems and conflicts have been worsening in Iraq since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, she said, “After the fall of the Baathist regime, it was claimed that the country would be a democratic country; however, one dictator began to rule the country. In the past there was one dictator, but today, Iraq is ruled by many dictators.”

“The Sadrist Movement implements its policies under the influence of the Turkish state”

“In 2021, Muqtada al-Sadr's coalition won 73 seats, becoming the largest bloc in Iraqi parliament,” Evîn Heme Emîn said, “The Sadrist Movement is not an Iraqi movement but an Iranian movement so they oppose the nominated candidate of the Coordination Framework. The Turkish state has had an influence on the region for many years and we can say that the Sadrist Movement implements its policies under the influence of the Turkish state. However, the movement denies this and describes itself as an Iraqi movement.”

“Early elections will not solve the problems in Iraq”

“Early elections will not solve the problems in Iraq,” Evîn Heme Emîn said, “Political parties and politicians must follow a different policy that addresses the situation in the country. The Kurds always suffer from every crisis because they do not have a country. Since politicians oppose the presence of the Kurdish areas, the Kurdish people will always suffer. In the past, the Arab dictator oppressed the Kurds and today the Kurds have been oppressed because of the silence of the Kurdistan Regional government.”

“The people must unite for the next elections”

Highlighting the unity of the Kurdish parties, she said, “If the politicians stop acting according to their personal interests, the Kurds will have an opportunity to solve the Kurdish issue. The people must unite for the next elections.”