O Kurdish people, if you still remember, and you who have long been deceived by slogans, and those of you who still follow parties that claim to speak in your name: Do you remember what I have been saying since 2001?

Since that time, I warned that many of those who present themselves as Kurdish leaders and political parties do not possess a clear national political project for the Kurdish cause, and that some of them use the name of the Kurdish cause to pursue partisan or personal interests, or become involved in agendas and alliances that, in many cases, go beyond the Kurdish national interest.

When the war in Syria began and the conflict between the Ba’athist regime and armed Islamist forces escalated, I repeated the same warning clearly: Do not become fuel for the conflicts of others, and do not allow the Kurdish cause to be turned into a bargaining chip in regional and international conflicts and projects. I said this at the time, and my reward was insults, accusations of treason, and denunciations, rather than a political debate addressing the questions and positions I had raised.

They did not debate the idea; they attacked the person who raised it.

Today, more than two decades later, do those warnings really seem strange?

Where is the independent Kurdish political project? Where is the strategy? Where is the clear vision? And where is the ability to make political decisions in accordance with the interests of the Kurdish people? What remains of all those slogans, promises, statements, and conferences?

Experience has proven that raising the Kurdish name does not necessarily mean defending Kurdish interests, and that speaking in the name of the Kurdish cause does not automatically grant anyone the right to represent it. There is a profound difference between someone who carries the cause as a national and historical responsibility and someone who treats it as a means of attaining power, influence, personal interests, or consolidating their position within different alliances and political axes.

The Kurdish cause is not a party, nor a leader, nor a family, nor a position or political seat. It is not a bargaining chip to be used when necessary and then discarded when interests change. The cause is greater than individuals and organizations, and greater than any leadership or party, because it concerns the rights of a people and their destiny and political future.

Yet responsibility does not rest solely with parties and leaders. A society that does not review the performance of its representatives, hold them politically accountable, or compare their slogans with their results gives them the opportunity to continue following the same path. Political democracy is not built upon blind loyalty; it is built upon accountability, criticism, review, and the rotation of responsibility.

Therefore, the time has come to ask, without fear and without accusations of treason:

Who truly represents the Kurds?

Who works for their interests?

Who uses the Kurdish cause for personal or partisan interests?

And who speaks in the name of the Kurds while allowing their positions to be driven by calculations that do not necessarily correspond to Kurdish interests?

These questions are not acts of betrayal; they are at the very heart of political responsibility. The real danger begins when asking questions becomes an act of treason, criticism becomes a crime, and leadership places itself above accountability.

I am not saying today: Look at me because I was right. Rather, I am saying: Go back to the past. Read the positions and statements made years ago, and compare words with practice, slogans with results, and promises with what has actually been achieved on the ground. Only then can every individual judge for themselves: Who was warning? Who was making excuses? Who was counting on the political awareness of the people? And who was counting on keeping them deceived?

The Kurds no longer need more slogans, nor the glorification of leaders, nor parties competing to claim that they represent the people without offering a clear political project for their future.

We need a new political consciousness; a consciousness that places the party at the service of society, regards leadership as a responsibility rather than a privilege, recognizes criticism as a political right rather than an act of treason, treats accountability as a national practice, and places the Kurdish cause above individuals, parties, and political axes.

If you want to be a free people, then first free yourselves from the mentality of dependency and blind following, and from the fear of criticizing those who claim to speak in your name.

Ask yourselves the question that must be the starting point for every Kurdish political project:

What do we want?

Not:

What do others want from us?

10 August 2026

Dr. Adnan Bouzan