After five years of established presence, the office of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Erbil (Hewlêr) was forcibly closed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Friday, compelling HDP representatives to relocate to Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî). This move coincided with Turkey’s imposition of trustees in Kurdish-majority municipalities in Turkey’s southeast, suggesting coordinated regional dynamics with significant implications for Kurdish political alliances.
Media reports from Iraqi Kurdistan indicate that the KDP’s intelligence service (Asayish) has ordered officials of the HDP in Erbil to close their office and forcibly relocate to Sulaymaniyah. At a press conference in Sulaymaniyah, HDP representative Hikmat Khatib reported that they were transported in vehicles and dropped off at the Smaquali and Degele checkpoints – borders that mark the influence of the KDP and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – without any explanation for their expulsion.
Khatib recalled being told: “There is no place for you in Erbil; go to Sulaymaniyah.” Despite their repeated inquiries, no further explanation was given. The HDP team expressed surprise that this expulsion took place during protests in southeastern Turkey, where demonstrators were opposing the removal of Kurdish mayors.
Firat News confirmed this account, reporting that Erbil’s security forces pressured HDP representatives to relocate to Sulaymaniyah. Similarly, Roj News stated that HDP members Hikmat Khatib, Aydin Yalfach, Sedki Waqar, and Naser Yaghz were summoned to the Asayish office and instructed to leave Erbil immediately.
The Rudaw News Network, aligned with the KDP, reported that members of the HDP delegation were not given any reasons for their expulsion. However, media outlets based in Iraqi Kurdistan suggest that the decision may have been influenced by a dominant faction within the KDP, possibly under the directive of Masrour Barzani.
Meanwhile, although the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has remained silent on the decision, the co-chair of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), Cemil Bayik, has called on the regional authorities to reconsider their cooperation with external entities, including the Turkish state, that undermine Kurdish interests.
The expulsion of HDP representatives from Erbil, coupled with recent trustee appointments in Kurdish-majority areas of Turkey, has intensified concerns about the alignment between regional Kurdish authorities and the Turkish state.
