From One Dictator to Dozens, Kurdistan’s Rotten Core of Power

Mohammed Karwan – Activist

This is the land where one dictator fell, only to be replaced by a dictator in every city. Welcome to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, a region hijacked by two ruling families who have turned hope into despair, resistance into fear, and leadership into monarchy. The Barzani and Talabani dynasties have become the source of every crisis, every injustice, every tear shed by this nation.

They control every decision. They command their own militias. They own the television channels. They have the power to exile, to smear, to erase.

While they and their loyalists live in gold-lined palaces, the people of Kurdistan struggle to survive in poverty. This is a land where nothing is functioning, a region for sale to the highest bidder, with foreign hands in every corner of governance.

People are killed in cities and neighborhoods, and no justice follows.

And what does the government say?
Don’t ask for your salary. Don’t ask for jobs. Don’t expect public services. Don’t expect clean water, nutritious food, or access to healthcare.

There is no rule of law, only the rule of the party. There is no freedom, speak out, and they will abduct you. There is no safety, demand your rights, and you might not return home.

Smuggling is a business for the authorities. Roads still bear the scars of Saddam’s era. Villages lie in ruins, never rebuilt. The regime devours even its own loyalists those who once served are now filled with regret, wishing to erase their past.

Under the flags of the PUK and KDP, tyranny has evolved into a political machine more dangerous than anything Saddam left behind.

This isn’t democracy. This is organized corruption with a flag and anthem. And one day, if there is justice, the perpetrators of this suffering must face trial for their crimes against the Kurdish people. Let the world understand: Kurdistan is ruled not by its people, but by its oppressors.