During a press conference, Muhamamd Usman, the head of PUK (Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan) Kirkuk branch, said that the issue of KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) not returning to Kirkuk is tied to Turkey.
The press conference was held after a meeting of 14 Kurdish parties in Kirkuk yesterday (20 September 2020). The KDP did not attend the meeting, even though they were invited to.
We can proudly say that we haven’t allowed one inch of Kurdish lands to be taken
Usman further said during the press conference: “We can proudly say that we haven’t allowed one inch of Kurdish lands to be taken.”
“We don’t have a conflict with the KDP; KDP chooses not to return to Kirkuk, and that is tied to KDP’s relation with Turkey.”
According to Usman, the Kurdish parties stressed during the meeting that the Kirdish neighbourhoods are being discriminated against in terms of services.
“During the meeting we also discussed how we, Kurds, can build friendships and alliances with Arabs and Turkmens.”
Adnan Kirkuki, a leadership member of KDP’s Kirkuk-garmiyan branch, said in a reaction to Usman’s statements that they will not go back to Kirkuk “in humiliation.”
In an interview with Rudaw (a news outlet affiliated with KDP’s deputy head, Nechirvan Barzani) Adnan Kirkuki said: “After the betrayal of 16 October, we have told everyone that Kirkuk is occupied: there is no civil authority, military authority rules. When a military authority rules, we can’t work freely and defend Kurds, that's why we will not return.
We have demanded the normalization of Kirkuk’s situations from the start. This is the instructions and course of action from the KDP leadership regarding Kirkuk.”
