President Barzani: Setting referendum date significant achievement

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Region President declared on Thursday that the independence referendum would allow people of Kurdistan to voice their opinion and determine their future.

Masoud Barzani, President of Kurdistan Region, released a hand-written letter on his Facebook account, thanking Kurdistan political parties for joining the efforts to allow Kurds make a historic decision.

In a meeting on Wednesday chaired by President Barzani, the representatives of the political parties in Kurdistan decided to hold an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.

“It is a big achievement for all the political parties that participated in the meeting to be part of a historic decision. The people of Kurdistan, through a referendum, will make their voice heard in the world,” President Barzani said in the letter.

He added that “The meeting was historically significant and it is a valuable way to honor the sacrifices of the martyrs.”

Barzani hopes that the decision to hold the independence referendum would inspire unity, stating that “People desire peaceful means, to achieve [independece] away from violence.”

“We want to have the best relations and understanding in this regard [independence referendum] with Baghdad, neighboring countries and regional countries,” Barzani said.

According to a statement released after the meeting, the political parties participating in the meeting agreed on holding an independence referendum in all the areas of the Kurdistan Region, including the "disputed territories" between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government.