Two Kurdish delegations will visit Baghdad, discuss Kurdistan independence
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Two delegations from the Kurdistan Region will visit Baghdad to discuss Kurdish independence with the Iraqi government and political parties.
A delegation from the Shia National Alliance, led by leader Ammar al-Hakim, visited the Kurdistan Region on Saturday to meet with the Region’s senior officials and political parties.
Following the meetings, a press conference was held where the representatives of both sides talked about the agenda of the visit as well as the topics discussed in the meetings.
According to a Kurdistan24 reporter who attended the conference, two delegations from the Kurdistan Region revealed plans to visit Baghdad and discuss Kurdish independence.
In August 2016, Hakim announced a project for “national resettlement in Iraq” aimed at unity in the country and coexistence of its components.
The purpose of Hakim’s visit to the Region was to discuss the project with the Kurdish leaders and political parties.
Additionally, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Political Bureau Secretary Fazil Mirani said they had discussed Kurdish independence with the Shia delegation.
During the meeting with the Shia delegation, the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani said since 2003 the rights of the people of Kurdistan were violated by Iraq including salary cuts in 2014.
Ali al-Alaq, an Iraqi MP from the State of Law bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told reporters the Shia delegation encouraged dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad.
“We suggested to the Kurdistan Region President and other leaders to form joint committees and start dialogues on the disputes between Erbil and Baghdad,” Alaq explained.
Moreover, Saadi Pira, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Political Bureau, who also attended the meeting stated Kurds would determine their future with Iraq through a referendum.
However, Pira reminded a referendum did not mean “immediate partition from Iraq.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany