Kurds will feel secure, protected with independent state: KRG Deputy Minister
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurds will feel more secure in the Middle East with an independent state said a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official on Sunday.
Dindar Zebari, the Deputy Minister of the KRG, was a guest on Al Jazeera’s “Inside Story” where he discussed the Region’s upcoming referendum.
Senior officials in the Kurdistan Region have agreed to hold an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.
Asked why the event was important for the Kurds, Zebari said the people of Kurdistan would feel safe in the region after they are separated from Iraq.
The KRG Deputy Minister explained the Kurds would “feel secure [and] protected” in a new internationally recognized nation.
“Security will have to be a main objective,” Zebari said. “[Independence] is an aspiration of the people of Kurdistan throughout the revolution and history of resistance.”
Zebari also highlighted the “peaceful coexistence” in the Kurdistan Region compared to the rest of Iraq.
The KRG official said Iraq was a failed state and the Kurds no longer wanted to be a part of the uncertainty in the country.
“I believe the unity of the Kurds for independence is valid, and I believe the KRG has been very much firm on that,” he explained.
Zebari underlined Baghdad’s failure to implement over 50 articles of the Iraqi Constitution since the former dictatorship government was removed in 2003.
He pointed out Iraq’s negligence of the “welfare of the people of Kurdistan” by cutting the KRG’s 17 percent budget share among other injustices.
“Iraq has failed throughout 2003 until now,” the KRG official said.
While Turkey and Iran expressed opposition to the Kurdish referendum, Zebari said the KRG had established good economic and political relationships with its neighboring countries.
“Turkey has become a great, and significant partner. Both capitals—Tehran and Ankara—have recognized the KRG,” he added.
The KRG has proven to neighboring countries that it has been a factor of stability in the region, Zebari concluded.
Editing by Ava Homa