The end of the pretence of Kurdish democracy
By Kamal Chomani:
The Kurdish leadership has often talked about a ‘thriving democracy’ in Iraqi Kurdistan, and through this they secured increased Western support. We saw hundreds of articles about ‘The Other Iraq’, but now such claims are being disproved.
Many Kurdish journalists, intellectuals, scholars and opposition leaders have declared – hundreds of times – that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) ‘democracy’ is a mask – like that worn by many dictatorial regimes. However, because of the instability in the rest of Iraq, neither the international media nor western diplomats would accept this.
Democracies do not use violence against civilians who are protesting against corruption and calling for better public services, equality and an expansion of democracy and freedom of expression. But the Kurdish authorities brutally suppressed the protests that grew after 17th February.
--read the whole article from Kurdistan Tribune--
