“Today at 5pm, a unit from Commando forces raided the headquarters of… Mala Bakhtiar, Chawder enlightenment foundation and Galawej cultural center,” read a Facebook statement from the Chawder Enlightenment Centre, adding that all its equipment was confiscated and its guards were removed.
The centre condemned the raid on its facility and labeled it a “dangerous development.”
Chawder was established in 2007 in Sulaimani and run by Mala Bakhtiar, a long time member of the PUK. He blamed the current leader of the party, with whom he has fallen out.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani and “those who support him, military and non-military ones, have decided to confiscate my house in Khanaqin… They also want to take away Chawder from me. Chawder is my headquarters,” Bakhtiar said in a video message late on Thursday.
He said that the office is also home to many other cultural institutions linked to him.
The PUK financial foundation, which is responsible for the party’s financial affairs, confirmed the takeover of Chawder’s headquarters, claiming that the building belongs to the party.
“Chawder foundation is the property of the PUK and all its equipment has been provided by the financial foundation. Since its head is no longer affiliated with the PUK, it has been taken back and will be used for operating organizational activities. The place will be dedicated to another institution that will serve the public interest and develop Sulaimani and its people,” PUK media quoted the financial foundation as saying.
Bakhtiar said what happened on Thursday was a “violation” of his freedom and the “peak of disloyalty in the history of Kurdish politics.”
The politician, who served for decades as a key figure in the PUK alongside its late leader and founder Jalal Talabani, claimed that the Talabani family is “indebted” to him because of his service to the party. He accused Talabani’s sons, Bafel Talabani, who is his former son-in-law, and Qubad Talabani, who is deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Region, of orchestrating a coup during the party’s congress last year.
At the congress, Bafel Talabani was officially promoted to leader of the party. Bakhtiar did not attend the congress and later told Rudaw that reconciliation talks between him and the PUK leader had failed.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights condemned the raid on Chawder, saying it was a “violation of principles of expression and cultural freedom.”
