Christians of Nineveh Plain call for own province

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Minorities in the Nineveh Province are calling for the establishment of their own province in the Nineveh Plain, according to a Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) statement.

On Saturday, the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with representatives and leaders of Cyrenaic, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Armenian parties.

President Barzani discussed the war on the Islamic State (IS), Mosul’s liberation, and the rights of ethnic and religious components.

According to a statement by the KRP, the meeting stressed the need for political agreement and participation between all sides before the Mosul liberation operation begins.

Cooperation would ensure all other components a safe future and previous catastrophes would be avoided, the statement said.

“The destiny and the future of this area [Nineveh Plain] should be determined by its people,” the KRP report added.

The statement also revealed that Barzani expressed his support for the rights and demands of Christians.

Additionally, the President said he would always work on protecting those rights to guarantee they live in stability and peace in their areas.

Yonadam Kanna, an Assyrian politician and a member of the Iraqi parliament, told Kurdistan24 that the Iraqi Council of Ministers initially endorsed the decision to establish a new province in Nineveh.

“These are peoples' rights, and they are the ones who should determine their future,” Kanna said.

Regarding whether the new province would be under the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) administration or ruled by the Iraqi government, Kanna stated that it “depends on the people’s decision; they will decide where their interests lie the most.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany