Barzani: People’s will cannot be broken by Iraqi Parliament

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region President on Wednesday slammed the Iraqi Parliament’s decision to vote against the Region’s upcoming independence referendum.

Masoud Barzani, the Kurdistan Region President, addressed a crowd during a referendum campaign in Akre where he called on the Iraqi Parliament to review its decision against Kurdistan’s historic independence vote.

President Barzani emphasized the will of the people of the Kurdistan Region could not be broken.

“Yesterday was another example of Baghdad and the Iraqi Parliament refusing the will of the people of Kurdistan by majority vote,” the President said, criticizing the Iraqi Parliament’s vote.

On Tuesday, 173 of the 203 MPs present in the Iraqi Parliament voted to reject the Region’s decision to hold an independence referendum on Sep. 25.

According to the approved decision, the Iraqi Parliament requests the Federal Government of Iraq to take all necessary measures to prevent the Kurds from holding a referendum.

“We’ve been waiting 100 years for independence. How much longer should we have to wait to ‘deserve’ independence?” President Barzani asked.

“Those who are asking to delay the referendum can explain their position after the vote is held,” the President added.

President Barzani further expressed his readiness for dialogue with Baghdad and all sides regarding a peaceful divorce from Iraq.

“We will be open to further talks after the vote is held and the will of the people is known to all,” he concluded.

President Barzani has reassured the people of Kurdistan the referendum will be held on the scheduled date, despite objections from Iraq, neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, as well as the United States.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany