PM Barzani: Shiite Militias should be Regulated

Al-Monitor:  Ordinary Kurds seem to be fed up with the squabbles between their leaders.

Barzani:  What we have been asking of the Kurds of Syria is to work together to unify their ranks, for all the parties to work together. And there have been new initiatives by President Barzani to bring the parties together. But unfortunately none of the agreements have been implemented. They [The PKK] have this idea of imposing themselves in Turkey, in Syria, in Iran. It’s either them or nobody else. This looks bad.

Al-Monitor:  So there is no hope for convening the planned Kurdish national congress?

Barzani:  One can easily convene a congress but what about results? I do not believe that the conditions exist at this time for any positive results.

Al-Monitor:  Finally, under the terms of your constitution, President Barzani’s term will be expiring in August. What comes next?

Barzani:  For me as a Kurd, and not as his nephew and son-in-law, he needs to stay on through this period of crisis.

Al-Monitor: But the opposition may disagree, saying his term was already extended once, and that it’s their turn to lead?

Barzani: Sure, there is a lot of noise in the parliament in the media. When its decision time', though, people will set aside their differences and agree on what is right for the country. Sadly, Mam Jalal [the ailing leader of the main opposition Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)] is not in a position to intervene. The only other leader with the kind of skills and moral authority to steer our country through these stormy seas is Kak [“brother”] Massoud. The politicians, be they from Gorran [the Movement for Change party], the PUK, the Islamic Party, they all know that and the people know that. For the stability of Kurdistan, Kak Massoud needs to stay.