Peshmerga ‘will lose’ international support if unification fails: Dutch consul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The unification process of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces is “not moving in the right direction” and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will lose international support if change does not occur, the Dutch consul to Erbil told Rudaw. 

Turmoil in the Peshmerga ministry between fronts affiliated to rivals Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have jeopardized a Western-backed effort to reform the ministry with the hope of bringing all units under its umbrella, as some units are still affiliated to the ruling parties. 

“There is a huge amount of distrust between the two sides… I sincerely think that both sides and the government as a whole will lose the connection with some of the international partners” if the reform process does not gather pace, Jaco Beerends, the Consul General of the Netherlands in Erbil, told Rudaw’s Shahyan Tahseen. 

The condition is exacerbated by the lacking role that the KRG plays in the process, according to Beerends, who stressed that “the political level is at a deadlock” and differences at the political level ensures very limited mechanisms to get the military to cooperate. 

“In 2024, we will have to review if we will remain committed with some senior officials in this process, and it is not at all certain that it will happen under the current circumstances,” the consul said. “Over the last few weeks, the situation has deteriorated.” 

“The infighting has become worse. There have been all kinds of accusations from both sides,” he said, adding that authorities tend to blame the other party, saying that they are at fault and their hands are tied whenever the international community brings the issue up with them. 

Peshmerga Minister Shoresh Ismail from the PUK, submitted his resignation from the position late last year citing constant meddling of political parties in the ministry’s affairs. He is no longer filling the role even though his resignation has not yet been officially accepted by the Council of Ministers.

The failure to appoint a new minister is believed to be related to tensions between the KDP and PUK, after the latter appointed Rebaz Birkoti as a replacement of Ismail but the KDP-controlled Council of Ministers and the parliament refused to greenlight the move. 

A late May ruling by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court against the self-extension of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament as “unconstitutional” brings additional difficulties to appointing a new minister.

“The big project of the unification is really not doing well,” Beerends stressed. “I myself, as a representative of the Dutch government, cannot tell my headquarters that there is something to win in this situation.”

International partners, particularly the US, have long warned Kurdish authorities that they risk seeing support and funds for the Peshmerga withdrawn if they fail to bring party-affiliated Units 70 and 80 forces under the umbrella of the Peshmerga ministry. Washington’s alarms have intensified in recent months. 

Unit 70 forces are affiliated with the PUK and Unit 80 forces are controlled by the KDP, they make up the majority of the Peshmerga forces, numbering over 100,000 troops.

Last month, the US State Department said Washington is concerned about intra-Kurdish tensions in the Kurdistan Region and the major impact they have on the pace of Peshmerga reforms, and that such concerns have been communicated with senior Kurdish officials.

“It is as it is because we cannot make it any better. I also hear that they want to do better, but they cannot find a way to make it better,” the consul said.