SULAIMANIYA, Iraq - The pro-democracy protests sweeping the Arab world arrived in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of Iraq nearly three months ago, inspired by the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt. But the protests here ended up more like those in Bahrain and Oman, crushed by an authoritarian government.
“We are ashamed of what they have done,” said Bayan Barwai, a member of the Islamic Union Party, an opposition party that supported the protests. “Sixty days and nothing.”
The crackdown in the region known as Iraqi Kurdistan, in which at least 10 people were killed, has exposed questions about the kind of government the American war has left in Iraq’s most stable region, as well as accusations that the Americans condoned the response.
While America’s invasion toppled Saddam Hussein , it has emboldened the Kurdish regional government, long dominated by two parties with an entrenched patronage system, to tighten its grip on power.
“The parties today behave just like how the Baathists behaved before,” said Chnor Muhammed, a 33-year-old journalist , referring to Mr. Hussein’s party.
The protests that began here in February took the region by surprise. Located in northern Iraq, it has been relatively free of the violence that tore the rest of the country apart.
Nearly every day, hundreds and, at times, thousands of people turned out to demand an end to what they called a corrupt and repressive system. The protesters demanded resignations and elections.
“People here are as frustrated as the rest of the Middle East,” said Muhammed Tawfeek, the spokesman of Gorran, an opposition party .
After more than two months of daily protests, the demonstrations were quashed in April when the government ordered the security forces to occupy the central square. The security forces opened fire and detained protesters, actions that registered sharp rebukes from human rights groups.
The crackdown has presented a challenge to American diplomats who have relied on the region to be a stable counterpoint to the continued violence and political dysfunction that roils the rest of Iraq.
“Kurdistan is the only place in Iraq that the United States can be proud of,” said Airy Hirseen, a leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which governs the region along with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
A number of witnesses said that an American military officer was seen at the central square during the protests, and the perception grew among the demonstrators that the Americans condoned the harsh response. “They gave the green light for the P.U.K. to do whatever they want to the protesters,” said Adnan Osman, a member of the regional Parliament from the Gorran party.
An American Embassy spokesman said the Americans urged the security forces to show restraint.
The Kurdish government has not undertaken any significant reforms since the unrest began, illustrating what many see as waning American influence as the United States approaches the deadline to withdraw all of its troops.
“The Kurds are an important American ally and the domestic situation in Iraq is very fragile, and Washington is wary of weighing in heavily in a way that could rock an already unstable boat,” said Kenneth Pollack, an expert on national security issues at the Brookings Institution, a public policy group based in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Hirseen said the protests and his government’s response reflected a generational divide between the democratic aspirations of Kurdish youth and the traumas of dictatorship, civil war and genocide that still haunted the old guard.
For now, the protest movement here has stalled, but the anger is only growing. “I don’t think it’s over,” said Mr. Osman, of Gorran. “The boiling will continue ”
