ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A media rights organization on Friday condemned the seizure of the Chawder Enlightenment Foundation’s headquarters in Sulaimani by security forces linked to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). “We consider it our duty to stand against all attempts to silence, close down, and end civil, media, and intellectual institutions,” the Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy said in a statement. The headquarters of Chawder, a media and cultural organization established in 2007 and run by long-time PUK member Mala Bakhtiar, was seized by forces linked to the PUK on Thursday. Bakhtiar blamed the party's leader, Bafel Talabani, with whom he has had a falling out, for the raid. “This action will impact the reputation of the capital of culture,” Metro Center said. Sulaimani is known as the Kurdistan Region’s culture capital. The PUK’s financial foundation said in a statement late on Thursday that the building and equipment used by Chawder were the property of the party and they were “taken back” to be repurposed for “organizational activities” and to be given to other institutions. The Independent Commission for Human Rights also condemned the raid on Chawder, saying it was a “violation of principles of expression and cultural freedom.” Bakhtiar, who has been a key figure in the PUK for decades, accused Bafel Talabani, his former son-in-law, and his brother Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Region’s deputy prime minister, of orchestrating a coup during the party’s congress last year. He claimed the Talabani family is “indebted” to him for his service to the party. 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.
