…it appears, as those Kurds who had the temerity to stand up to one of the 20th century’s great mass killers apparently set up a one-party state:
“But while Kurdish officials say that democracy has flourished in their semi-autonomous region since splitting off from Saddam Hussein’s central government in 1992, there is only one way considered acceptable to vote here.”
Sounds just like more of the same, doesn’t it? However, look at the evidence:
”The TV channels and radio stations owned by the Kurdish political parties broadcast daily talk shows and interviews encouraging people to participate in the election.
Party officials describe those who do not plan to vote for the Kurdistan Alliance List as “traitors” and “non-patriots”.
The Kurdish parties warn voters of the challenges they will face if the Kurds do not obtain enough seats in the next Iraqi parliament…
But not all Kurds are loyal to their political parties. Many people criticise their performance and the local administrations.
“I will stay home on election day,” said Sadraddin Mohammed, a 65-year-old Kurdish man in Sulaimaniya. “The government and political party officials have been stealing our resources for years, so why should I go and vote for them?”
Some have even called for a boycott of the elections, particularly among the youth who make up more than 70% of the Kurdish community.
Kawa Aziz, a 23-year-old student at the University of Sulaimaniya, said that the regional government of Kurdistan had neglected the needs and demands of youth and believed corruption had spread throughout the administration…
Criticism has increased against the two main Kurdish parties ruling the autonomous region in northern Iraq: the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Recently, the moderate Kurdistan Islamic Union, which was a part of the Kurdistan Alliance list during January’s elections, decided to break away from the grouping for the forthcoming elections.’
Maybe it’s just me, but this sounds more like a modern western democracy (the UK or US perhaps) than a one party state.
The BBC is a one party Broadcaster.
All coerced collectivist, all the time.
No it is just you. Ever heard ANY government in Britain say on tv or radio or in the press that anyone who doesn’t vote for them is a traitor?
You know as well as I do that the answer is no.
It is “party officials’ who said this, not the government.
Anyway, it is not just me – have you heard the Democratic Underground crowd or the Kossacks lately (or the BNP for that matter)?
In all democracies you get kooky people and loons.