KDP and PUK Anti-Terrorism Forces: Enforcers of Party Interests

A recent statement by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Anti-Terrorism Unit confirms long-standing allegations of political violence, including killings, kidnappings, and assassinations, perpetrated by party-controlled forces in the Kurdistan Region.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Anti-Terrorism Unit has released a statement that inadvertently corroborates numerous reports and investigations by Kurdfile, highlighting the involvement of political parties in violent acts against dissenters. The statement acknowledges the troubling incidents in Sulaimani and surrounding areas, where citizens are routinely subjected to arrest, kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial killings under the guise of military and security operations.

“The unwanted incidents that have been occurring in Sulaimani and its surroundings are worrying and worthy of attention. Unfortunately, the incidents are carried out daily under the name of military and security agencies in which citizens are arrested, kidnapped, tortured and killed,” the KDP Anti-Terrorism statement reads.

This revelation underscores the disturbing reality that military and security agencies, ostensibly established to safeguard the citizens of Kurdistan, are being misused to serve the partisan interests of the region’s ruling parties. The KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have each amassed their own paramilitary forces, which are deployed to suppress any opposition and maintain their grip on power through fear and violence.

These acts of terror, conducted by party loyalists within the security apparatus, undermine the credibility and integrity of the military and security institutions. “These acts question the name and greatness of the military and security agencies whose main task is to protect the property of Kurdistan’s beloved citizens, tarnish them and spread fear, anxiety and intimidation,” the statement continues.

The KDP’s admission, although veiled as a condemnation of recent incidents, lays bare the systemic abuse of power where military and security forces are embroiled in political conflicts, targeting civilians to consolidate the parties’ dominance. “The duty of the military and security institutions is to protect the security and property of citizens, not to use them in political conflicts to kill civilians and spread fear and intimidation that is incompatible with the principles of military and security forces,” the statement emphasizes.

This critical situation highlights a fundamental problem in the Kurdistan Region: the militarization of political conflicts and the use of state resources for private, political, and unilateral interests. Despite the façade of condemning violence, the statement is a stark reminder that each ruling party in the Kurdistan Region, KDP and PUK alike, employs their respective forces to eliminate and silence any opposition, perpetuating a cycle of fear and repression.