Germany’s MP slams FM for standing against democratic Kurdish referendum

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A German parliamentary member criticized remarks made by the German Foreign Minister regarding the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum.

Mark Hauptmann, a member of parliament for the German conservative party of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), criticized German FM Sigmar Gabriel’s remarks over Kurdistan’s independence referendum as he warned that the move "could exacerbate tensions in Iraq."

Hauptmann, who is a member of Angela Merkel’s CDU party, expressed support for the Kurdish independence referendum, stating that "putting obstacles in the way of the region's few democratic powers is a wrong approach towards a solution."

He said that “Gabriel does not acknowledge the democratic aspirations to self-determination of the Kurds,” adding that Kurds in Iraq have suffered under the Iraqi state’s fragmentation and have now taken the initiative [towards independence].

Hauptmann pointed out that the Kurdistan Region is a reliable partner that has been actively participating in the war against the Islamic State (IS) and has been hosting nearly two million refugees and displaced people from the neighboring regions since the conflict began.

In a meeting on June 7, chaired by the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, the representatives of the political parties in Kurdistan’s parliament and the government agreed to hold an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.

In reaction to Kurdistan’s move, the German FM in a statement on June 9 said: “we can only warn against one-sided steps on this issue.”

Gabriel, who belongs to the Social Democratic Party, called on Kurdistan and Iraq “to find consensus for dealing with open questions, and not to reignite conflicts in the disputed areas of Erbil and Baghdad."

Editing by G.H. Renaud