By Fazil Mirani
At a time when we are being subjected to shelling from various sides, the landmines of the former regime continue to explode among our citizens.
In the past, the regime bombed us exclusively using state weaponry, the purchase of which was funded by revenues and reserves that were supposed to be for the care of the people—for building roads instead of merely military routes; for building schools and recruiting an advanced teaching staff with modern programs, instead of establishing detention centers and training elements in torture; and for uplifting the lives of various generations instead of uprooting them and offering compensation for the death of family members in battles and wars driven by the rhythm of delusional, nationalistic anthems.
We spent our early lives—and before us, those older than us—witnessing the authorities fulfill their duties in a manner that did not even adhere to a constitution they themselves had drafted. Their performance revealed fangs that showed the true nature of those in power; furthermore, their actions never matched the privileges they enjoyed in exchange for the duties they were required to perform.
We have walked, marched, hurried, and run over seas of blood and expanses of loss far greater than what they spent on the weapons used in the crimes they committed under the protection of legal interpretations that served the authority. They acted with immunity derived from a legitimacy that ended up inflicting every form of defeat upon the peoples of Iraq. The first and most persistent of those defeats is the defeat of the authorities before themselves, because they adopted lies as their motto.
No region in Iraq was spared from calamity, and no Iraqi, across the diversity of their affiliations, was spared from the bitterness of injustice.
Despite all of this, we and those like us chose to act on the grave responsibility of repairing humanity and building a better stage. However, the old disease has not been eliminated by either treatments or preventive measures.
We used to face a single regime; now we face groups whose one hand receives official funds from the state while the other hand pulls the trigger to shell us. More astonishingly, these groups openly declare their actions, and even more astonishing is the silence of an authority that presents itself as the official decision-maker. Is it a willing partner in the crime? If so, this is a betrayal of trust and a crime for which there is no immunity. If it does not know, then that is a calamity; but if it is afraid, the calamity is even greater—yet this is the reality.
This is what we warned against, but they did not listen. They saw leading factions as more preferable than being equal to citizens who enjoy a homeland that protects its people. Thus, they presented themselves as subordinates to powers that themselves turn away from them when the situation becomes critical.
Do you know why we are subjected to shelling, blockades, and fire? Why we are targeted internally and from the neighborhood?
It is because we represent a “contagion” to others—a contagion of stability in construction and work for a better life. It is because we view freedom as a commitment in work, action, and thought. This is an inherent trait in the revolutionaries of a clear cause, such as the cause of our rights—the people of Kurdistan and all the peoples of Iraq.
We are subjected to shelling because the power of decision-making has been shared with those who carry state weapons but whose loyalty belongs to those who pull their strings, and there is no one to deter them.
Now we ask those who stuff their words into every statement and answer: Where did the money go that was said to be for protecting the land we stand on and the sky that shades us?
Who holds accountable those whose duty is to plan and execute official acts to preserve our lives?
Where are those who roll up their sleeves and use their pens to sign off on our blockade and our striking? Where are they now regarding what is happening?
The answer: No answer.
* The author is the Head of the Executive Committee of the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party