ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan--After its main office was closed down by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) six years ago, the Turkmen Front has re-opened its office in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.
Ayden Maruf, a senior official of the Turkmen Front and head of the Erbil office, told Rudaw, “We visited the officials of both ruling parties--Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)--and they have positive attitude toward us.”
Maruf opened his office two months ago and he said his Front has plans to open more branches in the Kurdistan region.
“Our office aims to organize youth and student activities,” said Maruf. “Also we try to build relations with (foreign) consulates, Kurdish political parties, and the Assyrians.”
The Turkmen Front was founded in 1995 and it embraced several Turkmen political parties. The Front ran its own health and education institutions in Erbil. It acted independently and didn’t recognize the authority of the KRG and the Kurdistan Parliament.
Some of its policies eventually divided the Front and following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, the leaders of the Front transferred their main office to Kirkuk.
According to Maruf, Turkmen political parties that withdrew from the Front did not succeed in representing the Turkmen community in the Kurdistan Region.
“The absence of the Turkmen Front in Erbil created a vacuum,” Maruf said. “The Turkmen parties also did not win enough votes in the elections to assert themselves as official parties.”
Maruf told Rudaw that many Turkmen leaders have visited his office in Erbil since its reopening.
“We expect some Turkmen political parties to dissolve themselves and join our Front,” he said. “We have already discussed this issue.”
But Karkhy Najmadin, the head of the Turkmen Democratic Movement in Kurdistan, dismissed Maruf’s claim that other parties may dissolve.
“That is his personal opinion and he might be right, but the results of the elections will decide.” Najmadin said.
Najmadin, who is a former leader of the Turkmen Front, said, “We were able to gain 20,000 votes in the last Kurdistan Regional’s election and received three seats in the Kurdistan parliament. We also secured one seat in the Kurdistan Teachers Union election.”
Najmadin said his movement may rejoin the Turkmen Front.
“If they meet our conditions, which caused us to leave the Front in the first place it is possible to join them again. As one nation, we can all work together.”
Kurdistan’s Turkmen community currently holds three seats in the Kurdistan Parliament. But Maruf said that is not enough and his Front will try to gain wider representation for the Turkmen in future elections.
“We are not satisfied with only three seats,” he said. “We demand eight seats, seven in Erbil and one in Sulaimani. We are nearly 300,000 people and we are the second nation in the Kurdistan Region.”
According to Maruf the Turkmen Front has remained neutral between the KRG and the opposition parties of Kurdistan.
Ahmad Kani, the head of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)’s public relation office, said the Turkmen Front does not have a clear position toward the Kurds.
“But everyone can enjoy their freedom in the Kurdistan Region and exercise their rights,” Kani said. “Besides, the Turkmen Front has discussed this matter with the Kurdish government. That’s why they are allowed to open their office in Kurdistan again.”
Kani said that Kurdistan authorities have changed their position toward the Turkmen Front.
“The Turkmen Front has had negative attitude toward the Kurds in the past, but democracy and freedom in Kurdistan has obliged us to have a positive approach toward everyone.”
The Turkmen Front refused to use the word Kurdistan in the past and their satellite TV channel still refers to Kurdistan as Northern Iraq.
However, the Front opened its office under the name Turkmen Front Office in the Kurdistan Region.
“The attitude of the Turkmen Front has changed toward the Kurdistan Region,” Maruf said.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4234.html
well of they get them trough elections they can have them. It always amuses me that the sons of fascist Regimes which do not even recognize the basic rights for Kurds are so in our democracy.
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
