ABOUT THE PUK

1. PUK seeks to establish a democratically elected Kurdistan National Assembly, which would be the highest power in Kurdistan. The Assembly will be elected in a free, direct, and secret election by universal suffrage of all inhabitants, 18 years and older, of Iraqi Kurdistan, with no racial, language or religious discrimination. The Executive authority of Kurdistan will be elected by the Kurdistan National Assembly, and will also be dissolved by the same authority.

2. The judiciary is independent and will not be subordinate to any other power except the law, and will not be interfered with by other powers.

3. The mayor and city council will be elected, by means of a direct and secret ballot, by the cities’ residents.

4. PUK’s major political objectives are: to assure a democratic system and freedom of thought, freedom of ideology, freedom of journalism and press, freedom of commuting and residency, freedom to establish political organizations, syndicates, professional associations, unions of farmers, women, teachers, youth, artists, writers and athletic clubs, and freedom of protest and strikes.

5. To assure the democratic national and cultural rights of minorities in Kurdistan such as Turkman, Assyrians and Arabs, and to secure their rights to maintain their language, culture, and ethnic traditions.

6. To facilitate the return of Kurdish deportees to their original areas.

The Solution for the Kurdistan National Problem

1. Ever since the division of the Kurdish homeland in the aftermath of the First World War, the Kurdish people have been denied their basic democratic and national rights. The brutal policies of national oppression and assimilation have inhibited the economic, social, and cultural progress of the people of Kurdistan.

2. In order to confront policies of oppression and assimilation imposed upon the Kurdish people, a democratic resistance movement has emerged from within Kurdish society. This movement has been struggling to realize Kurdish democratic and national aspirations. The Kurdish movement has evolved into a free, patriotic, and democratic movement of historic significance.

3. The issue of Kurdish national aspirations must be resolved in a manner consistent with a peoples’ inalienable right of self-determination.

4. A resolution based on the right of self-determination would strengthen the sense of brotherhood and unity between the Kurdish and Arab peoples and would consolidate the Kurd-Arab alliance, which can become a regional instrument for peace and security.

5. The national liberation movement of Kurdistan is a democratic and legitimate movement, struggling against terrorism, violence, and the suppression of basic human rights and democracy. The Kurdish movement is an important force in the region’s struggle for human rights and democracy.

6. The Kurdish struggle represents the people’s desire for freedom and democracy.

7. The Kurdish movement aims to strengthen its alliances with democratic and progressive Arab forces and other minorities, especially Assyrians and Turkmans, seeking to bring about democratic change, as well as to strengthen its relationship with the world’s liberal, democratic socialist forces striving for freedom, peace, and democracy.

Page 3