The Erbil-based Iraqi Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate excluded at least 30 members from its ranks, most of them Kurdish journalists from Kirkuk Province, after they joined the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate.
During the past few months, a large number of journalists, especially Kirkuk journalists from the Kurdish component, chose to belong to the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, because, as they say, it is a recognized and appreciated union in the governorate, “which helps them in performing their work,” in addition to the other privileges they enjoy. It involves union members, including obtaining residential plots of land.
Chia Nouri, correspondent for Payam satellite channel in Kirkuk, one of the journalists excluded from membership in the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, told KirkukNow, “My exclusion came after I joined the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate.”
“The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate in Kirkuk is not recognized and is not licensed. As a result, this union cannot do anything for its members even if they are exposed to violations, and since we work in Kirkuk we decided to belong to the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate.” Nouri said.
“Membership in the Iraqis Journalists Syndicate allows you to benefit from more privileges. As you can see, residential plots of land are scheduled to be distributed to Kirkuk journalists. We also deserve to obtain them, but we are required to be members of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate.”
The northern, oil-rich city of Kirkuk, located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, is an ethnically mixed province for 1,7 million Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Arabs, and Turkmen. It has long been at the center of disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil.
The Iraqi Journalists Syndicate is officially recognized and the government deals with it
The Kirkuk branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate said in a statement about the exclusion of 20 of its journalists in Kirkuk and the withdrawal of their membership from the union.
“According to our internal curriculum, a journalist cannot be a member of two similar professional unions, so we decided to withdraw the honor of membership from them and delete their names.”
The statement issued on May 19 stated that the decision was taken in accordance with Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate Law No. 4.
Nouri believes, “as long as we enjoy the right to obtain a piece of land, our right has not been lost. In fact, we were late in making the decision to join the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate... This union takes into account its membership badge and has weight. If you carry the badge of this syndicate, they treat you as a journalist at check points.”
At least 50 journalists in Kirkuk have joined the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate since the beginning of this year, and according to information obtained by (KirkukNow), the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate has decided to exclude them.
Aram Jamal, another journalist in Kirkuk and a member of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate for 18 years, said, “I am no longer a member of the Syndicate. They mentioned my name in the statement among the names of those excluded, because I have become a member of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate.”
“The Iraqi Journalists Syndicate is officially recognized and the government deals with it. It has defined the rights and duties of journalists and its members enjoy many privileges, so I chose its membership.”
After the events of October 16, 2017 and the redeployment of federal government forces in Kirkuk, the governorate administration decided to suspend the work of all unions and organizations not licensed by the Iraqi government, including the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate.
“I was not surprised that I was excluded from membership in the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, as its laws and bylaws require this,” according to Aram.
Mehdi Ziryan, head of the Kirkuk branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, said, “Our laws do not allow our members to belong to a similar union. They must make up their minds,” adding, “In the first stage, we excluded 13 journalists, and in the second stage, 20 journalists.”
We follow the names of the new members published by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate.
Regarding how they learned that these journalists had become members of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, and whether they had data and information, Ziryan said, “We follow the names of the new members published by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate. We learned that they were among the third group of journalists who were interviewed and accepted for membership. We are waiting for their names to be published in a photo.”
“Officially, we deal with them in accordance with the law and internal regulations.”
The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate is an official professional organization recognized by the Kurdistan Regional Government and dealt with by the government as the only professional union representing journalists.
However, the union itself is violating its bylaws, as it has not held its electoral conference since 2011, while its bylaws stipulate that the conference must be held and a new administrative body must be elected every four years.
Ziryan says that their relationship with the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate has been cut off since 2017 after the closure of the Kirkuk branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate.
The Kirkuk branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate includes 750 members, out of a total of 8,000 members throughout the Iraqi Kurdistan Region IKR.
According to statistics from the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, the period from (early 2017 until the end of 2020) witnessed 12 percent of the violations recorded against journalists were against Kirkuk journalists.
“We worked as much as possible to protect our members and provided them with assistance. We asked for the allocation of plots of land to members of our union, but they said that it did not include them,” according to Ziryan.
