Araz Barwari | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Law is not applied equally to everyone in Iraqi Kurdistan
Most of the problems in tyrannical societies are based on the fact that law really doesn’t exist except as a way to impose sanctions by the powerful on the weak. This has been the case in Kurdistan of Iraq as thousands of people have been suffering for many years in a society that is ruled by two corrupted Kurdish families named Barzani and Talabani. These two families rule Kurdistan directly and through puppet members of their own political parties who dominate all agencies of Iraqi Kurdistan regional government, KRG.
These two lawless families along their puppet government administration officials are above law and no one can hold them accountable when they break law because they control, Judges, police, and courts in Kurdistan of Iraq.
Many people in Kurdistan of Iraq been suffering for not having jobs, incomes and good services such as healthcare, electricity, water, shelter and for being subjected to discrimination of employment, violation to the right of freedom of speech and peaceful assemblies, while The Barzani and Talabani families are setting at the top of the pyramid, above every law and court and are enjoying the best life, best services, eating the best food, living in the best houses, and driving the best cars.
In fact, Barzani and Talabani families are the richest families in Kurdistan of Iraq. They have not suffered of economic recessions and ISIS war implications because first, they didn’t fight in the front line of war and second, they have stolen enough money from the public that no economic recession or war could ever affect their lives and make them suffer like rest of Kurdish people do.
These two corrupt and lawless families sleep on money and they are protected by thousands of armed men who are on public servant payroll list. They are the richest people in Kurdistan of Iraq. They own assets and cash money worth billions of dollars not only in Kurdistan but also in USA, Europe, Turkey, Jordan, Iran, and United Arab of Emirates.
They own private business, such as airline companies, TV stations, newspaper agencies, internet and phone telecoms, luxurious hotels, restaurants, gold and money marts, banks, shopping malls, complex of rent apartments, car dealers, private universities, merchandising companies.
Many of these assets are owned by the Kurdistan Democratic Party members particularly by Barzani family in the province of Duhok and Erbil. So if you are looking for a job at private sector but happened not to be loyal to Barzani family chances of getting a job in the province of Erbil and Duhok is zero. This means these two corrupted families have dominated both the economy and the government institutions of Kurdistan through the power of oil money that they have stolen from public purse.
In addition to that, you will be risking your life if you say Barzani family is a involved in corruption and have misused public money of Kurdistan people for their own personal gains, because the loyalist of Barzani family who Barzani have put them on payroll and have provided them with brand new cars, houses, jobs, land plots, and cash gifts, are everywhere around you and they won’t hesitate to either strike you down or report you to the secret agent of Asayish [Kurdish security forces] to get you arrested and take you down into a dark basement and torture you to death
Whenever you question as where do these two families -Barzani and Talabani -have obtained all this wealth, the softest answer they give to you is that they (Barzani and Talabani families) have worked very hard for it by fighting for Kurdish cause on mountains for years, by giving away many lives and by losing family members for the Kurdish cause. They add that these families are symbol of patriotism and sacrifices for Kurdish people and that gives them the right to have whatever they want to have even if they have obtained it through illegal means.
Some of the loyalists of these two corrupt families say that the Barzani and Talabani families work harder than anyone else in the Kurdish government and they deserve to get high salaries and this is how they became rich by saving and investing their monthly salaries on businesses. However, a normal person with the right set of mind would never believe that you can become a billionaire man by saving your monthly salary even if you are getting over 10 thousand dollars a month. And by the way, does fighting on the mountains as Peshmerga or giving away some lives in a fight for Kurdistan, means they have the right to steal public funds, or become a dictator or go above law or kill journalists or practice polygamy or have more rights and privileges over the rest of people in Kurdistan of Iraq?
As far as law, logic, justice, and ethics concern people fight and give away their lives for justice, freedom, equality, and human rights not for a purpose like corruption and dictatorship. So no matter how many years they have served as Peshmerga or how many lives they have lost in the course of fighting on the mountain, it does not give them the right to go above law, steal public money or become dictators or deny people, who happened not be their loyalists, the equal opportunity of work, freedom of speech, and all basic human rights.
Furthermore, there are thousands of armed and unarmed men and women in the province of Duhok who would stand behind Barzani family and fight for them in case Barzani family is criticized or threatened by anyone. This Barzani family has taken their roots deep down in the ground in the province of Duhok and Erbil. They control everything, government departments including police, judges, secret services, Peshmerga and private businesses.
As for the public sector, again its members of Barzani political party KDP who control everything in key government institutions. They decide who gets a job and who doesn’t. They have the top level of government posts. They hire whoever is their loyalist and they fire whoever is not their loyalist. They hire children of their own political party martyrs and not necessarily the children of a genuine martyr who have sacrificed their lives in a war for justice, freedom and human rights. You have people who have died naturally or because of sickness yet have been registered as martyred because they had been affiliated to KDP political party of Barzani. There are also people who have been registered as martyrs who have been killed in the clashes between Kurdistan democratic party of Barzani family and PKK or PUK or Iranian Kurdish democratic party in the past.
In addition, there are people who have never served as Peshmerga yet have been put on Peshmarga retirement pension because they vote for Barzani party in time of election. In fact, all members of Barzanis political Party KDP who work at his party offices have been put on payroll and get paid monthly. Where in the world have you seen political party put its members on payroll?
These political members of KDP go to the offices of KDP early in the morning just like an employee goes to work every morning. They get together, sit, drink tea and give praise and credit to Barzani family. They also discuss how to cover up the dirty work and how to brainwash people to trust them and join their party in order to collect more votes for their party for the time of election. Their meetings are not about how to work and treat issues like poverty, high unemployment rate, overcoming issues like corruption or rule weak of law in Kurdistan, but rather about spreading propaganda against other Kurdish political parties in the public in order to break people away from other Kurdish political parties and recruit them into their own political party.
These KDP offices have become source of preaching hate against anyone who doesn’t belong to their political party. They usually put down other political parties by calling them traitors, thieves, mercenaries and corrupted. However, they tend to ignore the fact that the best way to gain the trust of people or recruit more people to join their political party is to work for solving their life problems such as poverty, diseases, unemployment, human right abuse, and weak rule of law in Kurdistan.
Obviously the idea of recruiting more people for their own political party is that they want to collect more votes for the time of elections so they can win election and enjoy the benefits and privileges that come with power of the government.
Talabani family and his Patriotic union party have been involved in corruption and misuse of public money just as the Barzani family have. They have used the same strategy in the province of Sulaimani.They have had full control over government agencies, most of business in the province of Sulaimani.They had the full control over everything until the new movement of change (Gorran) came to the field of politics and broke away many of its supporters and loyalists in the province of Sulaimani in Kurdistan of Iraq.
These two corrupt families spread deceptive and manipulative news around through their satellite TV channels and newspapers and say that they will make reforms, implement justice and law over all Kurdistan of Iraq and arrest all those who are involved in corruption, but they are big liars because people know that enforcing rule of law over Kurdistan will be in the interest of people but not in the interests of crooks like these two corrupt families of Barzani and Talabani and they will lose the special extra rights of stealing money, killing and arresting people who criticize them.
Many Kurdish people have given away the hope that the rule of law and justice might never be superior to the rule of these two powerful corrupt families in Kurdistan. However, Iraqi federal court do have the power to do so and it arrest both Barzani and Talabani under the charges of misusing public funds, corruption, and human right abuse, and disobedience of constitution of Iraq.
The Iraqi government, which is as corrupt as Barzani and Talabani families, turns a blind eye to the crimes of these two corrupted families. In fact, the Iraqi government work out their difference with these two families through secret deals on the bases of mutual interests and by also taking the interests of Iran and Turkey into consideration.
This means Baghdad wants these powerful corrupt Kurdish families of Barzani and Talabani to stay in power but to work towards Islamizing the Kurdish society, drop off the ambition and campaign of independence and cooperate with Turkey in fighting PKK. Baghdad government also wants these two families to cooperate with Iran in fighting Kurdish opposition parties of Iran, and of course the Iraqi government in return will stop using economic punishment against them and will also hold off any federal court orders of bring these two Barzani and Talabani families to the federal court of Iraq under the charges of corruption, civil war crimes, human right abuse,and rebellion against the Iraqi constitutions articles.
Many people know that there have been a conflict of interests going on between Baghdad and Barzani and Talabani political parties. However, in the past these conflicts have mostly been solved based on giving and taking concessions through secret agreements without letting people and the public know.
These two families work secretly and don’t always tell the truth to people of Kurdistan. There is not enough transparency and respect for law in the government institutions which is something that is a prerequisite for a successful democracy.
All in all, law is not applied equally to everyone, the powerful, the powerless, the rich and the poor in Kurdistan of Iraq. In fact, no judge or police officer or any anti-corruption agent or parliamentarian a minister of Kurdistan regional government have started opening an investigation regarding how and where the Barzani and Talabani family have obtained all this wealth from because Barzani and Talabani families block all efforts of opening such an investigation by using their influence through their puppet judges, police, secret serves agents, ministers and parliamentarians who control most of government agencies in Kurdistan.
Clearly it is not an easy work to bring these two corrupt Kurdish families, Barzani and Talabani down under the law especially when they have all this heavy political, economical and military weight in Kurdistan of Iraq. They are protected not only by their militias, puppet ministers, judges, police and parliamentarians, but also by dominated the region,the lives of most people of Kurdistan by using their economic power, their assets and cash that are worth of billions of dollars. And not to mention that they are supported by thousands of armed and unarmed men and women in Kurdistan so are supported by many more business partners and foreign diplomat friends from different countries. For these reasons it is very hard to bring these two corrupt families to the court of justice and try them for corruption, human right abuse and civil war crimes.
Araz Barwari is a law student at the University of Nawroz in Kurdistan of Iraq.
The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.
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