"PKK existed long before the Kurdistan autonomous region"

Soran Omer, member of the party Komela Islamî in the South Kurdistan regional parliament, criticises the ruling party KDP for its attitude towards the PKK and says: "The PKK was already here before the autonomous region of Kurdistan even existed.

A signature campaign against the Turkish presence in Northern Iraq is being conducted in Southern Kurdistan. The campaign is supported by many organisations. One of them is the Komela Islamî party. Soran Omer, the party's deputy in the Kurdish regional parliament, spoke to ANF about the Turkish invasion in Southern Kurdistan.

"The Turkish occupying forces have crossed the borders of the Kurdistan region. The Turkish state openly says that it has 36 military and secret service facilities in Hewler, Soran and Duhok. This is an occupation. Unfortunately, the Turkish state has been establishing its bases here for a long time," explains the deputy of Komela Islamî.

The Turkish state has no right to bomb our country

Omer sharply criticises the South Kurdistan government: "The Southern Kurdistan government shows no serious criticism of the occupation. It even transmits the locations of the PKK, which are then bombed by Turkey. Nechirvan Barzani claims that Turkey is a strong country and doesn't need its secret service. But it is not a question of whether Turkey is strong or where the PKK is located. It is not possible to justify the invasion of Turkey in this way. The Turkish state has no right to occupy and bomb areas in Southern Kurdistan."

There is a war in Southern Kurdistan

Omer continues: "There is war in Southern Kurdistan. The silence of the ruling forces and the KDP is due to the oil agreement that is set for 50 years. This agreement is the reason why the KDP allows the deployment of Turkish soldiers in the region. In the agreement, there are a few points concerning the PKK. That is also interesting. It shows that it is about economic issues as well as the deployment of troops."

Turkey and the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan have agreed to export oil from Southern Kurdistan to Turkey for the next 50 years. The agreement was signed in 2014 between Turkey and the then Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzanî (KDP), Minister of Energy Aştî Hewramî (KDP) and the former Governor of Kirkuk, Necmedîn Kerîm.

The PKK is part of Kurdistan and here is Kurdistan

Omer concludes with the words: "Let's not forget that the PKK existed long before the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan, and it was already here at that time. The PKK is a part of Kurdistan and here is Kurdistan.”