Ankara asked Kurdistan’s second largest party to shut office, leave country

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish authorities reportedly asked the representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Ankara, Behruz Galali, to exit the country over “political differences” in the PUK’s stronghold of Sulaimani.

Galali left Turkey early Thursday after Ankara asked him to close his party’s representative office “within three days.”

“The reason for the closure is due to the strong link between the [PUK] and the Democratic People’s Party (HDP) against the Turkish government,” Galali told reporters after arriving in Sulaimani.

“We were informed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry about an incident that happened in the PUK-ruled Sulaimani,” he added.

A close source to Galali said the main reason he was expelled was because Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members reportedly abducted some Turkish citizens in Sulaimani Province, suggesting this might be the incident Behruz mentioned. Kurdistan 24 could not independently confirm.

Galali also expressed his concerns over the policies of the security agencies in the governorate that led to the closure of the PUK office.

Turkey accuses the HDP of having links with the PKK, which Turkey, the European Union, and the United States labels a “terrorist organization.”

Meanwhile, the HDP, one of Turkey’s largest opposition parties, strongly denies those claims.

“Turkish authorities have indicated the office will not be reopened unless these differences are resolved,” the PUK representative said.

He was forced to leave Turkey along with his family.

He also called on the PKK to be more responsible in their struggle against the Turkish state and take into account the interests of the Kurdistan Region.

“The presence and movement of the PKK in Sulaimani areas have negatively affected Turkey-PUK relations,” Galali noted.

The PKK has been waging a decades-long guerrilla warfare for broader Kurdish rights in Turkey.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany