Protests in Iraq's Kurdish region have rattled a regime that has long been trumpeted as a 'beacon of democracy' in the country, writes Salah Hemeid Security forces in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region have arrested two Muslim clerics and a female journalist amid a crackdown on protesters as thousands of young Kurds continued demonstrations this week calling for reforms and an end to the country's endemic corruption. The arrests of clerics Mohammed Nasrallah and Kamran Ali and journalist Nihad Abdellah are a new indication that the Kurdish authorities are taking a hard-line approach against demonstrators who accuse the government of failing to provide democracy and justice. For nearly two months the Kurdish region has seen continuous protests against Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the two main political parties that have dominated Kurdistan for two decades. The protesters, from all walks of life and including writers, artists and intellectuals, have been expressing their frustration at the tight control exercised by the two ruling parties over the economy and politics in the self-ruled Kurdish region. At least seven protesters have been killed in clashes with police and dozens of others wounded since the protests started on 17 February. In one incident, masked attackers, believed to be members of the Kurdish security forces, burned the tents of protesters gathered overnight to protest against the Kurdish regional government. Scores of protesters have been arrested, according to human rights groups. Meanwhile, Kurdish security officials have accused the two arrested clerics of encouraging the protests while leading prayers during the anti-government demonstrations. The clerics had demanded that the Kurdish government not use violence against the protesters and that it listen to their demands. Iraq's Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, an independent media group, said that Abdellah was arrested on Monday while she was covering the protests in Arbil. In Sulaimaniya, under the control of Talabani's party, demonstrators have been camping out for more than a month in a square in the heart of the region's second-largest city. They have also formed an "Interim Council of Liberation Square," to press their demands. In a statement on Monday, the protestors called on Barzani, the Kurdish president, and Kurdish prime minister Barham Saleh to resign, as well as for the resignation of the Kurdish government and the dissolution of parliament. "Because of the social injustice, the waste of the region's resources and the lack of law enforcement, we have decided that we can no longer accept living under a system of governance that is unjust and undemocratic," the protestors said in the statement. On Monday, protests were held for the first time in the Kurdish capital of Arbil to call for political reform and improvements in public services and living conditions, while also condemning governmental corruption. Barzani's government has dismissed the protestors' claims, fending off demands for democracy with promises to shake up the regional government and enact reforms. However, nothing has been done to reduce the tensions or address many of the grievances of the protesters. In an attempt to muzzle the opposition, the Kurdish government introduced two parliamentary bills on Monday that would impose further restrictions on the activities of political parties and non-governmental organisations. Barzani also indicated that he might call for new elections in the region, in an apparent attempt to weaken the opposition groups in parliament. Yet, thus far neither the government's promises nor the current crackdown seems to be deterring the protesters from continuing their actions. Organisers of the protests say that more rallies are planned over the coming days and weeks to press their demands. The popular protests sweeping the Arab world might have inspired the current protests in Iraqi Kurdistan, where an angry public seems to be coming to political life and is increasingly critical of authoritarian leaders once seen as the heroes of national liberation. Civil-society activists, reeling under the impact of the ruling coalition's security forces, may also have played a part in triggering Kurdish demands for human rights, reforms and better public services. An emerging opposition movement that has been challenging the ruling parties for nearly two years has also fueled the disenchantment. Goran, a rising Kurdish party, has long been complaining about the monopolising of economic and political life by the two main parties in Kurdistan. In recent months, the party, whose name means "change," has repeatedly called for the resignation of the government and the dissolution of parliament, with a view to early and transparent elections. However, the protests are probably best understood as the result of growing frustration with the Kurdish regional government and its two ruling parties, whose struggles against the Baghdad regime have dominated Kurdish culture as much as their patronage has dominated politics. Many Kurds are tired of the status quo, and reports of discontent are legion. Analysts believe that the protests represent a radical change in the Kurdish political landscape, traditionally centred around national aspirations in the face of the Baath Party repression from Baghdad. The present frustration is largely due to the failure of Barzani's KDP party and Talabani's PUK coalition to end the corruption and mismanagement that has undermined the region's stability after it succeeded in securing de facto independence after the 1991 Gulf War against the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Now the Kurds are blaming their own government for the region's rampant corruption, especially in government departments and in the families of the leaders of the two ruling parties. The sons, wives, cousins and other family members and cronies of both Barzani and Talabani have been tightening their grip over the region's economy in recent years. Baghdad currently awards the Kurdish regional government 17 percent of Iraq's oil revenues, an annual budget of about US$11 billion for a region of some 4.5 million people. In addition, the administration generates millions of dollars annually from customs, taxes and the cross-border smuggling of oil and goods. But many Kurds complain that they have seen little of that enormous wealth. Ordinary people do not know how the government budget is spent, as there is little transparency to differentiate between public, political party and private expenditures. Observers accuse the region's ruling families of amassing fortunes from business activities, or by acting as silent partners in telecommunications, construction and import-export activities, the profits of which are then sent to bank accounts in Europe, the Gulf and the United States. In addition to the nepotism and mismanagement in the Kurdish region, abuse of power by the bureaucracy, judiciary and police is also widespread in Kurdistan, undermining the area's democratic credentials and even its stability. For many Kurds, the current protests have opened a window of opportunity to bring about a free and democratic Kurdistan to replace the present authoritarian system that has long hid behind the fig leaf of Kurdish nationalism and parliamentary politics.
