Kurdish National Congress Seeks Unity Amid Divisions
The Kurdish National Congress, to be held in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on Aug. 24, will seek a common agenda for Kurds divided over the war in Syria.
Though the Kurdish National Congress may dream to unite the Kurds and have a common Kurdish strategy in their struggle in the new Middle East, intra-Kurdish politics and conflicts in each part of Kurdistan may make this impossible.
For the first time in modern Kurdish history, on July 22, representatives of Kurdish political parties from four parts of Kurdistan met in Erbil to negotiate the foundation of the Kurdish National Congress, which has been the dream of Kurdish people for the past three decades. The organizing committee has decided that a three-day conference for the congress will take place Aug. 24 in Erbil, with the participation of 500-600 members.
The congress is coming into existence amid tense political and ideological conflicts among Kurdish political parties, in addition to the political conflicts between Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)'s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan over the quest for hegemony over Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan).
Division over seats
