Kurdistan calls HRW report on Duhok protest arrests 'generic and unrealistic'
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has spoken out against claims made in a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) regarding arrests made in relation to planned protests in the city of Duhok by teachers who have not received government salaries as a result of the far-reaching economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The human rights watchdog published a report on Tuesday entitled “Kurdish Authorities Clampdown Ahead of Protests” in which it claims that KRG made arbitrary pre-emptive arrests of those planning to take part in the protest on May 16.
“It is obvious from the title and the lead that the report is generic and unrealistic,” said Dindar Zebari, the KRG’s Coordinator for International Advocacy.
“HRW did not request any details or inquiries from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding the protest, and the report is based on three unreliable sources, furthermore you cannot accuse a government based on anonymous sources.”
The report states, “On May 19, Dr. Dindar Zebari... acknowledged that the arrests were for 'organizing unauthorized demonstrations' and justified the arrests by stating that the protests had violated Covid-19 prevention measures, even though local authorities had lifted almost all movement restrictions and did not mention any gathering restrictions at the time.”
Zebari countered by saying, “In the past few days there have been dozens of new confirmed cases of COVID-19, furthermore during the past two months dozens of people have been arrested in accordance to the law for failing to abide by the preventive and safety measures against the coronavirus,” pointed out that “the aim of the KRG is to serve its citizens and its employees, however, the situation brought upon by the spread of coronavirus has created an international financial crisis that is felt all over the world.”
HRW continued, “Both Zebari and the Dohuk governor in a video stated that political groups were behind the demonstrations. If this accusation were true, so what? Since when was it illegal for protesters to have political leanings? These statements are dangerous in suggesting that in the [Kurdistan Region], you are not allowed to publicly represent your political views if they are different to those of the authorities in the area.”
“KRG’s strategy has always been implementing the policy of coordination and cooperation in exchanging data and information; in this regard, we have always facilitated the work of HRW in Kurdistan Region, and continuously replied their comment and observations,” added Zebari.
Zebari claimed that HRW reports are not independent and are politically oriented, but did not specify which political party or movement he was accusing the international organization of being affiliated to.
“The report compares Kurdistan Region to certain places that not only they do not cooperate with HRW but doesn’t allow them to work there as well,” he concluded.
On Saturday, the United Nations published a report on the abduction of ongoing anti-government demonstrators in central and southern Iraq that have raged since late October.
Read More: UN urges Iraq to investigate abduction, torture of protesters, name groups responsible
The UN report detailed the experiences of protesters, including the circumstances in which they were taken and their subsequent interrogation and torture, and called for a thorough investigation into the abductions.
Editing by John J. Catherine