Reading President Barzani Part 11
The president and the party
Kurdishaspect.com - By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli
The main point I expressed in the first part of this article about Masud Barzani is his failure to act as a legitimate elected president and continuing to convey the image of a tribal chief and party official. To further illustrate this theme through his own words and conduct, I will translate and analyse his speech on the occasion of the graduation of what he has described as the 16th course [of KDP cadres]. The full text of his speech was published in his party's daily paper Khabat on 17 February 2008. I have literally translated the words to ensure accuracy. The text of Barzani's speech put between inverted commas "_____________". My analytical comments follow the texts.
1) Party and women [heading added]
"I am delighted that I am with you today on the occasion of the graduation of the students of the 16th course [of KDP cadres]. I am really happy to see that we are meeting 72 future leaders to congratulate you. What is more reason for happiness is that a large number of sisters [female students] are participating in this course. This is a pleasing indicator. This shows the progress of our party organisation because while the task of men is important the task of women if not more important, it is not less. I have always said that September Revolution [1961-1975, led by his father Mustafa Barzani] was dependent mostly on Kurdish women. They were mothers, teachers, farmers, supporters for peshmarga. Sometimes one single woman could give morale and strength to peshmarga. Once the reverent Barzani restored his [lost?] morale and strength because of a woman. Therefore I am very happy that a considerable number of sisters are participating in this course. I hope many of them can play their roles properly and occupy a place in the leadership of KDP and other agencies I thank the Institute of Cadres and the head of the Institute and all members [.......]. You know more than anyone else how much you benefited from the course. As I have heard many of you are university graduates. ]
Comment and analysis
Obsession with party
- Of course I understand that Masu'd Barzani has a dual role as president of KDP and President of Kurdistan Region (or of Kurdistan as he calls himself) and it is not unusual for a president to give a speech to his party.
- But my idea is that if Mas'ud Barzani had really understood his new role and position as President of Kurdistan Region, he would have tried to present a new role model as national leader acting according to the standards of accountability, legality, equality and civil society. Hence he would never have accepted to go and use the occasion of the graduation of a number of his cadres as a platform to make a speech. If the speech were only focused on party issues, then he should have left it to the party secretary or any other senior or junior party official to sponsor the occasion and make the speech, because now his image as President of the Region is bigger and carries more weight and responsibility in the eyes of his people and the world. But if the speech, as it is, deals with a wider internal Kurdish issues , then he should have raised these issues via other platforms available to him such as 'parliament' and Council of Kurdish political parties or any non-partisan venue that would not have involve conflict of identity and interest between his two positions.
Break with the past?
- But the problem, as we notice, is not just a one-off wrong choice or conduct. Unfortunately the thinking is also dangerously traditional, tribal and out-of-date. Now as elected recognised president, Mas'ud Barzani no longer needs the authority and justification of his father. He does not need to make his father the authoritative reference point for all aspects of life and organisation in Kurdish society. His view that the women have an important role because they played a role in his father's 'revolution' or because once a woman gave strength to his father, indicates a residual structure of thinking that is stubbornly fixed in the past; a glorious past in his eyes which for many people was very disastrous and tragic.
- It is strange that in almost all occasions Barzani does not refer to his position, responsibility and people's expectation as president of the region, but always expresses his pride in His party! He envisages a role for university graduates in his party's leadership and organisations; but what about the government, the de facto state, he represents? What equal opportunities for education, employment, housing and health, science, art and innovation, etc do government institutions give to young men and women, to citizens within and without political parties? Is Barzani unaware of the daily massacre and abuse of women in HIS region? What are his plans for future to give justice, equality, freedom and role to women? What is the position of women in the so-called government ministries, directorate and institutions? There are hundreds cases of sexual and physical abuse of women in the Region, how many laws he has issues through his parliament to improve the situation of women? Is it enough to say women have been useful for his father and his 'revolution'?
- From the moment of his election as President Barzani should have had a clean break with the past. The tradition and role of his father in Kurdish history should be left to historians and academics to deal with and asses scientifically and present it to the real image and lessons to the new generations. To continue to use Barzani as his legitimate authority and promote ideology of a sort of Barzanism and base not only his party ideology and conduct but his interpretation of Kurdish society and future on this thinking, is a too narrow-minded way of thinking that contradicts realities and directions of this age. And certainly does not add to his stature.
2. Lessons of life [heading added]
"Of course, the more human beings see in life, the more they learn. This does not mean they learn everything because many things will be left to be learnt. Sometimes life teaches human beings a lot. Experience is richer than anything else. Believe [me], once we had a very big operation. Something small that no one had thought of led to the failure of that operation. We lost a big opportunity and missed a big gain (target, hunt) because they have forgotten to bring ropes to lift up missiles. Until they went back to bring ropes and mount them on the back of mules, the target disappeared. If I were not there myself I might have punished the person in charge of the operation. Some ropes made us fail in our operation. Indeed life is the greatest school. [..]"
Comment and analysis:
No comment!
2. "The necessity of the foundation of the party"
"Comrades, brothers, sisters
I have often said, but on such occasions I am obliged to repeat, that the foundation of the party (KDP) was a historical necessity. The Party was established at a time when the Kurds faced despair. Kurdish enemies though there was no issue left called Kurdish question in the Middle East. After the defeat and failure of the revolutions and uprisings in all Kurdistan parts, then the greatest victory and most scared aim achieved which was the Republic of Mahabad. This gave some hope, but after one year this too collapsed and world darkened in the eyes of Kurdish people. Everyone thought that is it, and in fact the indicators showed it was all gone and there was no issue called Kurds and Kurdistan. KDP was formed then. When it was established the greatest thing that it did for that stage was to keep hope. It made people conscious that this cause would not die. It would face a setback but as long as there were a people owning it, this cause would not die.
Then the situation came up to enter a new stage to prepare for a movement. The going of Barzani to the ex-Soviet Union, the continuation of KDP, all kept the hope alive and made people conscious until 14th July revolution happened in Iraq, then a great transformation in the history of the region and Kurds occurred.
"The Kurdish liberation movement made another step forward until September revolution [of 1961]. I believe that September revolution is the greatest event in Kurdish history. {....] it made Kurdish people have self-confidence, it kept the unity of Kurdish ranks, and it did not make difference between the regions of Kurdistan..This is Bahdinan, this is Soran, this is Hewler, this is Duhok...[....] it made the Kurdish question international and made the world know about it. Therefore I believe it was the greatest event in Kurdish history and the favour and ownership belongs to KDP. September revolution became a national revolution, a pan-national revolution and KDP played this role."
Comment and analysis:
Interpretation of history
- Recording history is done by professional independent-minded objective historians, studying history is done by specialist academic departments and institutions and interpretation of history is usually done by philosophers of history. Yet, Mr Barzani does the tasks of all these three at once. It is not the task and responsibility of the leader of a party to trivialise and distort not only the history of his party but of his people especially as he is talking to university graduates and, in his words, leaders of future.
- Barzani, now for 17 years, has had a government and in his region there are four 'universities'. Why doesn't he leave it to the students to study the past of their nation through scientific methods of research and study in the universities? Why didn't he encourage his young female and male cadres to be independent thinkers and learners and study history and life according to the modern means, methodologies and standards of 21st century?
- But unfortunately it is the other way round. Now political parties, guided by this kind of narrow partisan thinking of Barzani, are controlling even the universities which for all purposes have lost their status, role and standards as academic institutions. Instead of being vanguards and pillars of free thinking, scientific research in all areas of Kurdish life, and creating thousands of experts, professionals, managers and leaders , the universities have become hubs of party political control, surveillance, restriction of freedom of thought and control of the new generation. Their progressive impact on wider society is almost nil. It is the Institute of party Cadres that creates new leaders versed in the art of obedience and servility.
- Foucault's postmodern philosophy has demonstrated that the concept of continuity in history is an illusion. History is more characterised by its discontinuities, ruptures and gaps than by any illusive chain of continuity. To say that KDP represents the continuity of Kurdish struggle is far from the truth unless at the level of hollow ideology perpetuated by party propaganda. In fact the Kurdish society had remained in the periphery of the centres of occupying states denied opportunities for education, civilisation, economic and cultural development. Therefore there had never been opportunity, until the aftermath of July 1958 revolution in Iraq, for the Kurds to develop a political party that tries to be legitimately representative of people's interests and aspirations through the mechanisms of involvement, participation, education, organisation and election. Even to this day KDP and PUK do not have such legitimacy. Then how can anyone make these big claims about a party named and founded through external influence while Kurdish society was perhaps 90 per cent illiterate and only very small elite knew about the party or involved in it until 1958? However, any objective study would perhaps illustrate that Kurdistan would have been more socially and culturally developed and would have found more effective means of political struggle to achieve its national and civil rights if KDP did not exist at all, than with the existence of this party whose history is characterised more by compromising and co-operating with the occupiers of Kurdistan for controlling and killing Kurds than for achieving the legitimate right of self-determination for the Kurds as a nation and as individuals. However, this is a different subject that needs to be scientifically researched, studied and evaluated.
- It is strange that in this age of information and knowledge on the one hand, and of globalisation and exchange, on the other, Masud Barzani (and also Jalal Talabani) often forgets that their words and conduct is watched by the whole world. They allow themselves to insult not only the knowledge and intelligence of their own people but the whole world by omitting facts, truths and stages in their own history and the history of their party. PUK leader Jalal Talabani in all his interviews and speeches never talks about his biography from 1966 to 1974, he never talks about his role and responsibility in anfals, in the current spiral of corruption and deconstruction of Kurdish society, etc. And here is Kak Mas'ud treating a new generation of his cadres as children talking to them with pride about September revolution describing it as the most important event in Kurdish history while omitting what the result of this revolution was? If he were honest, and he should be as leader, he would have also said that the so-called September revolution was the greatest ever national disaster in Kurdish history. It was the ashbatal of this revolution by depending solely on the handouts and goodwill of the Shah of Iran that destroyed a generation of our people paving the way for anfal and genocide, internal fighting and tribalism.
- Of course after 17 years of Kurdish self-government we should have been able to put all this tragic past history behind us now, being used to looking into future depending on daily progress and achievements. And Kak Masu'd should have been the person leading the people in this direction even by giving up the post of the leader of his party to dedicate himself to his role as the president of the region working for its development as a modern democratic state based on the technology and ideas of global 21st century , not the distorted nostalgia of 1946 and 1961!
- The aim of Barzani from his dwelling on the past becomes clear when he insists that September was a nation-wide revolution overriding regions and dialects, and that this national revolution was achieved by KDP. What he says is that KDP and by extension his family and himself owns Kurdish nationalism and therefore he bases his claim to presidency or national role not so much on the consensus of Kurds and constitutional role, than on a sacred right inherited from the past. How this mindset negatively works will be clear from his further statements which I will translate and analyse in the next part.
___________________
 | ||||
MENU
June 24, 2008
NEWS
| ||||
| ||||
Sponsors
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
