President of Iraq stresses Peshmerga’s role

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The President of Iraq Jalal Talabani on Monday stressed the necessity and importance of developing the Peshmerga fighters (Kurdish security elements), and that his party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), is determined to reform its institutions. This came in a meeting today between President Talabani and his PUK’s Peshmerga comrades, according to a release issued by the Party. “I am optimistic that the Peshmerga forces will be unified,” the release quoted Talabani. The Peshmerga forces are divided according to political affiliation; the group that belongs to the PUK functions in Sulaimaniya, while the other group functions in Arbil and Duhuk and receives orders from the secretary general of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Masaod Barazani, who is also the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. “The unification will improve Peshmerga’s living circumstances and will bring them distinguished development on all levels,” he explained. “Women should join the Peshmerga to mirror how the society is developed,” he proceeded. President Talabani called on the Peshmerga to prepare for the upcoming election in Kurdistan and Iraq, in addition to the internal election that will take place within the PUK. The PUK and KDP are considered the two major active Kurdish parties within the Iraqi arena. MH (S)/SR 1