Kurdish Activists in Manchester Protest Salary Withholding and Political Corruption
Manchester, UK – June 4, 2025
Today, members of the Dakok Organization held a powerful protest outside the Iraqi Consulate in Manchester, raising their voices against the continued withholding of public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region. The demonstration was a strong condemnation of both the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), particularly the ruling parties the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
“Today, we have gathered in front of the Iraqi Consulate to protest the unjust withholding of the rightful financial entitlements of the people of Kurdistan,” said one of the lead activists. “The citizens of Kurdistan, especially salary earners, have been turned into victims of political corruption and failed governance.”
Since taking power, the PUK and KDP have been accused of widespread theft, corruption, and the creation of armed militias to suppress opposition. Protesters claim that the current economic crisis is the direct result of collusion between these two parties and Baghdad, rather than any genuine effort to secure the rights of the Kurdish people.
Specific criticism was also directed at Iraq’s Finance Minister, Taif Sami, whose recent decisions have led to further delays in salary payments for civil servants in the Kurdistan Region.
“The withholding of salaries is being used as a tool to humiliate and control the people of Kurdistan. Discrimination against Kurds within the Iraqi state is unacceptable, and this must end immediately.”
The Dakok Organization emphasized that the Kurdistan Regional Government itself has become a repressive regime, where dissent is met with threats, enforced disappearances, or death. Activists described a political atmosphere in which speaking out against corruption is dangerous, and the regime’s version of “freedom” is simply institutionalized oppression.
“This regime no longer protects or represents its people. Instead, it protects the privileges of a corrupt elite. We raise our voices from abroad because people inside the Region cannot.”
The protest also served as a broader call to the international community to recognize the systematic injustice suffered by the Kurdish people due to corrupt political leadership. Activists demanded an end to the discriminatory policies of the Iraqi central government and an overhaul of the Kurdish parties’ mismanagement and collusion.
“As Dakok, we stood today in solidarity with the salary earners of Kurdistan. The injustice surrounding wages is rooted in dirty political deals between Barzani’s KDP and the PUK two parties that have failed to secure even the most basic rights for the people of Kurdistan.”
The demonstration concluded with renewed vows to continue mobilizing abroad, raising awareness, and supporting citizens in the Kurdistan Region who continue to suffer under the combined weight of repression, discrimination, and economic despair.