'No turning back' on independence referendum: Kurdish President's senior advisor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Region insists on holding an independence referendum regardless of the reaction from the international community and neighboring countries, a Kurdish official said on Friday.

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

Hoshyar Zebari, former Foreign and Finance Minister of Iraq and current senior advisor to the President of the Kurdistan Region, said the decision to hold a referendum on Sep. 25 is irreversible.

“We crossed the Rubicon with that decision, there is no going back,” Zebari told Reuters.

He noted the majority votes favoring secession from Iraq would not automatically lead to the separation of the Kurdistan Region from the rest of the country.

However, he mentioned the decision would strengthen the Kurds’ claim for independence in talks with Baghdad.

“You will hear people saying we are for Iraq’s unity, territorial integrity, we want a dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil, we understand all this,” Zebari added.

“A referendum is a democratic process, no democratic country can oppose having a referendum; we are not talking about independence, we are talking about the referendum,” he explained.

On Friday, Saad al-Hadithi, the spokesperson of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, stated legal requirements in the Iraqi constitution must be adhered to regarding an independence referendum.

“Any decision on the future of Iraq must take into account the constitutional provisions,” he said. “It is an Iraqi decision, and does not concern one party only.”

“Any decision on this matter must be made in consultation with other parties as well as taking into account national consensus,” Hadithi continued.

“All Iraqis must have their say about the future of their homeland, and no party can determine its fate in isolation from others,” he added.

In the past years, Kurdish Peshmerga has played a pivotal role in defeating the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish forces notably stopped and pushed IS back in 2014 when the Iraqi army retreated and failed to defend the country.

The Kurds have been waiting for the dream of an independent state for a long time, Zebari declared.

He added that 40 million Kurds deserve a homeland where they are protected, and their rights are secured within a sovereign country.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany