Mufid Abdulla
With regards to the leaders of Gorran; as predicted, the struggle has been ferocious and as we have seen, this initially began with the civil struggle which Nawshirwan Mustafa took away from the PUK. We all knew what the consequences would be. Nawshirwan Mustafa knew it would be very challenging when the vicious internecine warfare was facing the Gorran movement. He knew very well that Talabani would do everything to eliminate him, disrepute him, and slander him for the sake of his party politics.
As we should expect, there have been rumours emanating from various sources, such as that the Talabani inner circle has been trying very hard to bring Nawshirwan Mustafa to the negotiation table to square a deal with the PUK. After the heavy defeat of the PUK in the Iraqi parliamentary election it seems to me that the days of the Talabani leadership are over and that the control of his family on party politics will be reduced to a level of which even his followers do not know what the exact size will be. Reliable sources have confirmed to the Kurdish media that figures currently placed in the top first and second positions inside the PUK are trying hard to open the channel of negotiation with the leaders of the Gorran movement because they think due to this election the PUK has lost heavy ground and that the KDP is victorious in this election.
From the above I would like to deliver this message on behalf of the mass of people both inside and outside who have voted for Gorran and their leadership:
1. It was clear from the outset that the Gorran leadership was different in its work and political beliefs and that the movement was a powerful one in its attempts to take the democratic process further into the election of the national executive committee and new leadership. In addition, that the Gorran leadership would apply a robust organisational structure for the movement.
2. Despite the fact that the Gorran Movement gained 25 seats in the Kurdistan Parliament on the 25th July last year, leaving the PUK looking absolutely exhausted, after seven months of this history still Talabani has insisted on this bad and fratricidal conflict. Surely, therefore, we should not allow them to be rewarded, but instead to condemn their actions against the entire Gorran movement.
3. Finally, the Gorran leadership should not bow to any compromise to the expense of their principles and should finish the task which they have started, by bringing about an integral modern political movement which would be an example not only for the south of Kurdistan but for the whole of the Middle East.
