Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council Member Rıza Altun stressed that it was not possible to secure the freedom of Kurds in any of its parts unless national unity is achieved.

Altun evaluated the Syria-wide Middle East crisis in the first part of the special program published on Medya Haber. In the second part of the program, Altun evaluated the situation of the Middle East crisis which has its centre in Iraq and South Kurdistan. Noting that the Iraq problem would not be solved in the short term, Altun pointed out the political and economic crisis experienced by both the central and regional government.

Rıza Altun made the following comments:

Problems in Iraq

The Iraq problem is a very deeply rooted problem of the Middle East. In a short period of time, stability and solution should not be expected in Iraq.

Iraq holds a central position when considering the presence of world and regional forces struggling to impose thier balance in the Middle East, and this increase the problems of Iraq even further. Even if a government is finally established in Iraq, problems will not be solved.

Given this situation it will also be difficult for Iraq to find a solution that will correspond to its ethnic, religious and social situation. Iraq is under serious intervention.

No solution in sight

There was an election process. But which kind of election; who, which policy; who received how many votes; what was the participation rate: all this is difficult to understand.

The election was announced, the results were announced, but the political mechanisms established according to the results have been affected by other forces. This is the case. Iraq is now in a very difficult position. It has its own internal problems; ethnic, religious problems. There is a federal constitution in Iraq. But this is not a guarantee. The expression of religious and sectarian situations in the constitution and the structures in the society in parallel are serious problems and are not solved. When the regional and foreign powers intervene from above, the contradictions are getting deeper. As the contradictions deepen, the solution becomes more difficult to achieve.

US and Iran

Iraq is under the influence of Iran, on the one hand, and the United States since Saddam was destroyed, on the other.

America wants to shape the Middle East and use it against Iran. Iran, on the other hand, wants to preserve its ideological and political hegemony, while at the same time spreading this hegemony. Therefore Iraq is the battlefield of the two forces.

The solution of the Iraq problem is connected to the solution of the Middle East crisis.

Low participation

People in Iraq in fact are seeking to get rid of all the misery they have experienced. Why is participation so low? Half of society did not participate in the elections. Their political expectations have disappeared. People do not expect a solution. Those who wish to maintain the status quo are constantly creating social divisions by encouraging and organizing ethnic and religious identities.

Should the contradictions related to ethnic and religious identities be eliminated, the real social problem will be exposed. And this has to do with the demands for equality and freedom. Now this problem is covered with ethnic, religious and sectarian identities.

Turkey's attitude

Turkey and Erdoğan’s message to Kurds has been clear: they are the enemies. However, South Kurdistan Kurds, especially the KDP, are not learning the lesson from this message nor from history.

* It was clear the opposition stance of Turkey towards the referendum.

* Turkey was clear in its opposition to the federal government created by Iraq.

* And finally in Kirkuk it is clear how Turkey is not only present but organising forces there.

National Unity

National unity is related to the existence of the Kurds.

At the moment, an increasingly narrow political situation can be mentioned. It is not only the situation of Kirkuk, but what political developments in Iraq will lead to. Once again is hard to understand how a policy such as the Turkish one, which identifies Kurds as the enemy, can be tolerated and not condemned by the KDP, for example.

The issue of national unity is the reason for the existence of the Kurds. Our Leader has been voicing this for a long time, but nowadays, when the problems turned into chaos, crises and conflict, this is of vital importance.

The main problem of the Kurds is the question of national unity. As long as the Kurds do not constitute a national unity among themselves, it will not be possible to secure the freedom of Kurds.

National unity is essential. If you create a national unity, you can become an entity in the international and regional balances with the national power you create, but if you cannot do it, then you become an object which everyone plays with.