Kurdistan independence requires dialogue with Iraq, not others: Former PM
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Self-determination is Kurds’ legal right, but needs to be negotiated and agreed upon with Baghdad, not other nations, said the former Kurdistan Region Prime Minister on Saturday.
Many senior officials were present during a conference held in Baghdad including the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi, President Fuad Masum, and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri among other executives.
The former Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Barham Salih, who is also a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said Kurds were seeking to gain more rights.
“Kurds participated in writing the Iraqi constitution from the beginning and gained many achievements, but some Kurds believe the rights were not as inclusive as they expected, calling for more,” Salih said.
He mentioned some Arabs believed Kurds had gained more than they deserve. “This is a true problem between the leadership of Kurds and Baghdad,” he stated.
In the past years, the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani pushed the campaign of a Kurdish self-determination referendum forward.
President Barzani often stated it is a natural right of the Kurdistan Region people to decide on their future.
Moreover, Salih noted if Kurds wanted to reach an agreement about the independence referendum, they needed “to come to Baghdad to make a deal, not in Ankara, Tehran, or Washington, DC.”
He added the current situation in the country had created significant problems for the Region such as a financial crisis and delay of government employees’ salaries, calling for a resolution of the issues.
The former Kurdish PM highlighted the Mosul military operation aimed at liberating the city from the Islamic State (IS).
He urged the need to investigate the root causes that led to the current situation as well as finding a solution on how to end violence and political turmoil in the country.
Salih was the PM of the KRG from 2009 until 2012 after his post as the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 until 2009.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany