Kurdistan delegation to discuss referendum with Baghdad on Monday

The Referendum High Council, headed by the Kurdistan Region's President Masoud Barzani, met in Erbil on Saturday and agreed to send a delegation of Kurdish and minorities parties to Baghdad to negotiate details of the independence referendum.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Referendum Council will send a delegation to Baghdad on Monday to discuss the referendum with Iraqi officials and political parties.

The Referendum High Council, headed by the Kurdistan Region's President Masoud Barzani, met in Erbil on Saturday and agreed to send a delegation of Kurdish and minorities parties to Baghdad to negotiate details of the independence referendum.

Majid Osman, a representative for Turkmen in the Kurdistan Region and member of the delegation visiting Baghdad, told Kurdistan 24 that the group would discuss the upcoming referendum with Iraqi political parties and government officials.

“In our meetings, we will speak frankly with Baghdad and explain that the Kurdistan Region has decided to hold the referendum on independence and there is no turning back on that,” he noted.

Vian Dakhil, the delegation's representative for Ezidis, stated the aim of the visit is to stress the point with Baghdad that self-determination is an undeniable right to all, including the people of the Kurdistan Region.

“We have been waiting 14 years for Baghdad to fully recognize our rights as part of Iraq,” she told Kurdistan 24, stating “we are convinced Kurdistan cannot rely on Baghdad’s promises and deals.”

“We want to reach an understanding with Baghdad, recognizing the partnership between Kurdistan and Iraq has not been successful, and that it would be best to simply become good neighbors,” Dakhil said.

According to a Kurdistan 24 correspondent in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region's delegation would not only address concerns regarding the referendum but also discuss the violations of the Constitution and the signed agreements between Erbil and Baghdad committed by the latter.

The Kurdistan Region Presidency's spokesperson previously said that the non-adherence to the Iraqi Constitution by the federal government had encouraged the Kurdistan Region to seek independence via a referendum, adding that the federal government had violated 55 Articles.

 

Editing by G.H. Renaud