02/02/2010
Political tensions escalate sharply as parliament and police investigate series of attacks on opposition figures.
By Shorish Khalid in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 321, 28-Jan-10)
Attacks on members of Iraqi Kurdistan's main opposition group have raised fears in Sulaimaniyah that political tensions could spill over into further violence ahead of March elections.
The Change Movement claims that at least seven attacks on its members last month, including one fatal shooting and the torching of a lawmaker's office, were "organised political crimes”, according to a statement released by the party.
“The incidents were planned against our members and happened in the places where Change list gained many votes in the July 25 [2009] election," the Change statement continued.
However, its main rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, has denied any involvement in the crimes, countering that Change has exaggerated the attacks for political gain ahead of the elections.
"The Change movement has sought to show the incidents as the consequence of political conflicts. Change wants to make the situation bigger and shows Sulaimaniyah as an unstable city," said Arif Rushdi, a member of the PUK leadership committee.
“In fact, the incidents were not related to political conflict. They were all personal.”
According to Change, the first shooting occurred on December 4, when party activist Sardar Qadir was shot and wounded in his sister-in-law's living room in downtown Sulaimaniyah.
On December 12, Change member Rauf Zarayani was killed by gunmen in front of his home in the town of New Halabja.
That same day, bullets were fired into the home of Change member Bakhtyar Shekh Muhammad, who lives behind Sulaimaniyah's main police station.
Published under partnership agreement with IWPR. Normal copyrights applied. Visit the IWPR website at:The Institute for War & Peace Reporting
