KRG closes HDP's Erbil office and sends representatives to Sulaymaniyah
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has closed the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office in Erbil and sent its representatives to Sulaymaniyah. Hikmet Hatip, the HDP spokesperson in Erbil, stated that they were told to "go to Sulaymaniyah" but that no reason was provided. While KRG authorities have not issued a statement on the matter, criticisms directed at the PKK have drawn attention.
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It has been reported that the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office in the city of Erbil, under the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has been closed. It was learned that security forces placed HDP's KRG Representative Hikmet Hatip and party members Aydın Yalvaç, Sıdkı Vakkar, and Nasır Yağız into vehicles and transported them to the provincial borders of Sulaymaniyah.
HDP's Erbil spokesperson, Hikmet Hatip, held a press conference at Azadi Park in Sulaymaniyah to speak about the incident. Spokesperson Hikmet Hatip said, "They told us, 'Go to Sulaymaniyah, you have no business left here, continue your lives there.' When I asked for the reason, they did not give us an answer."
No statement has been made by KRG authorities regarding the matter.
'THE ROOT CAUSE CREATING THE PROBLEM IS THE PKK,' HE HAD SAID
KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, who has also been meeting with Turkish officials recently, had noted that the agreement signed between the Iraqi government and the KRG on October 9, 2020, which envisions ending the PKK presence in Sinjar, could not be implemented due to the PKK.
Regarding Turkey's anti-PKK operations in Iraq, Barzani said, "The main reason for the operations is the PKK, and this is a headache for the Kurdistan Region. At the same time, (the PKK) cannot carry out any actions in Turkey. However, it brings this chaos to Kurdistan territory. In other words, the root cause creating these problems is the PKK."
Stating, "If the PKK did not create these problems, we could very easily and loudly say to Turkey, 'It is not your right to do this,'" Barzani added that the PKK does not respect the decisions and institutions of the KRG government.