Site icon Turkish Minute

Critics slam Barzani for ‘submission’ to Erdoğan for decorating Kurdish capital with Turkish flags

Turkish Minute

Critics accuse the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and its leader, Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Nechirvan Barzani, of pandering to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by draping key landmarks, including the historic Erbil Citadel, with Turkish flags for Erdoğan’s visit.

Turkey is a major economic partner for northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, which has long exported oil through a pipeline that runs through Turkey and has trade ties worth billions.

Coming on the occasion of Erdoğan’s historic visit to Iraq after a 12-year absence, the act has sparked accusations by critics, mainly Kurds and pro-Kurdish activists, of the subjugation and betrayal of Kurdish interests in favor of Turkey, which has a contentious relationship with Kurdish groups both within its borders and in Iraq.

The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, making up around 18 percent of the population. The Kurds also have a sizable presence in Iran, Iraq and Syria.

They are one of the largest ethnic groups without a state and have a long history of suffering discrimination and violence in Turkey and other countries.

Journalist Frederike Geerdink expressed her dismay on X that the Turkish flag was projected onto the city’s most important architectural heritage on the eve of Erdoğan’s visit. Geerdink criticized the regional government for “pleasing the head of state of the occupying power,” implying that the Kurdish leadership puts diplomatic relations above the welfare of its people.

Fighting between the Turkish army and outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants from Turkey has for decades spilled over into Iraqi Kurdistan, a rugged mountain region where both sides operate military bases — with civilians often caught in the crossfire.

President Erdoğan, having governed Turkey for over 20 years, has fostered key strategic links with Barzani, who has been in his position since 2019 after holding senior government positions for decades.

Raman Nasirizadeh, a Kurdish activist, accused Barzani of “selling Kurdistan to Turkey” and described the warm welcome for Erdoğan as a transaction and not a real policy. The display of Turkish flags, Nasirizadeh said, was more of a commercial act than a diplomatic gesture.

Activist İbrahim Halil Baran criticized the local leadership for what he sees as empty diplomacy and warned that Turkish recognition and better treatment of Kurds would not follow from such displays of submission.

Journalist Fehim Işık echoed this sentiment, condemning the decoration of Kurdistan with Turkish flags as going beyond diplomatic niceties and degenerating into subservience. Işık’s remarks reflect a broader sentiment that Barzani’s government is compromising Kurdish identity and sovereignty in exchange for maintaining favorable relations with Turkey.

Rojîn Mûkrîyan, a political expert on Kurdish studies, expressed on X that she sees the situation as complete “submission to your coloniser.” She accused Barzani of betraying the Kurdish people by supporting Erdoğan’s policies, which she described as genocide against the Kurds.

Journalist Kamal Chomani compared Erdoğan’s influence on the Kurds to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukrainians and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Palestinians and demanded answers from pro-Barzani Kurds.

Exit mobile version