‘We want the result of the Iraqi elections to be respected by all’: PM Masrour Barzani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Friday affirmed that he wants the results of the Iraqi election to be respected.

The statement came during the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue 2021 in the Bahrain capital of Manama.

Erbil – Baghdad relations

“We want the result of the Iraqi elections to be respected by all,” the prime minister said. “We certainly would like to negotiate on the implementation of the [Iraqi] constitution, which is our main concern for the formation of the next government.”

Kurdish officials have long called for the implementation of key articles in the Iraqi constitution, most notably Article 140, which was stipulated to go into effect by 2007 to establish a mechanism to determine the control of territories disputed between the Erbil and Baghdad governments.

“The individuals are not the focus, but the agendas,” Barzani argued. “Iraq is made of different components, and they all need to be treated fairly and their rights given to them.”

“The key is that we accept each other the way we are, not the way someone wants us to be,” he said. Pointing to ongoing discord between different communities in Iraq, the premier stated that “we need to trust each other not to look at each other suspiciously.”

‘Abuse of Power’

“We are not talking about a good [Iraqi prime minister], we are talking about the system, a system that cannot allow the abuse of power by anyone; what if tomorrow we don’t have a good [prime minister], and we had someone who wants to sort out political problems with using force as... they did in the past,” Barzani argued.

“Our goal is to reach a mechanism that doesn’t allow anyone to operate outside law or the constitution.”

“Right now, we are caught with the differences and forgot that we have common points too; we have more in common than we have” differences, the prime minister said. “If we focus on what we have in common and build on it, we can build the trust again.”

He noted that succeeding governments in Baghdad have been “very selective” in looking at the Iraqi constitution. “That was and still is a problem; let’s call first for implementing all articles of the constitution, and then if it didn’t work, let’s call for changing it.”

Over the past three years, Barzani explained, the Iraqi government has withheld 3.1 billion dollars from the KRG’s fair share of the national budget.

“We need to have a system that guarantees the relationship between Erbil and Baghdad, and not only the rights of Kurdistan Region, but the rest of Iraq as well.”

Middle East Peace and Security

“Kurdistan is a safe place, and it has become an oasis of security and stability for many in the region,” Barzani said, highlighting challenges different parts of the Middle East continue to witness.

“Many people have left different parts of Iraq and came to Kurdistan because of its security and stability, but that wasn’t without cost. It was difficult for us to maintain such security in the region.”

It became especially arduous after ISIS took over a third of Iraq in 2014, as Kurdish forces held a 1,000-kilometer frontier against the terrorist organization, the premier noted

“Of course, we had help from our friends, the coalition forces led by the United States, and they were very essential in the military defeat of ISIS and the collapse of the caliphate, but this doesn’t mean the threat of ISIS is over,” Barzani said. “ISIS is still there, and it’s still a problem and a challenge.”

“However, ISIS is not the only security challenge that we are facing there.” Terrorism, the prime minister explained, emerges “as a consequence of poverty, injustice, and inequality.”

“Whenever we have these factors present, terrorism will appear,” he said. “al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations come to Iraq because these reasons are present.”

Barzani stressed that terrorist organizations offer alternatives to the status quo to members of communities in desperate situations.

Terrible living conditions “give a reason to the poor people to come collaborate with these terrorist organizations without knowing what is the nature of these terrorist organizations, hoping for a better future,” he said.

“ISIS invaded Nineveh province with less than 1000 fighters, and the province that has 3 million of people, and well-armed Iraqi army divisions and federal police.”

“The province collapsed. And that doesn’t mean that ISIS was superior, but because the people have collaborated with ISIS because those people were feeling that they were not treated well.”  

Barzani added that ISIS still exists today because the root causes that led to its rise remain.

“When we provide security, we need to look beyond military operations; we need to connectively work together and provide a better condition to the people, including to provide more services to the people, to give them reasons for a better future, and to give them hope.”

“Usually, when people have better lives, they are less likely to conduct violence or to join terrorist organizations.”

Regional Response to Security Challenges

Prime Minister Barzani highlighted that regional cooperation on security challenges facing the Middle East is lacking.

“Unfortunately, I don’t see that effort happening to such an extent that bring sustainable stability and security to the region,” Barzani added. “We all need to look at how we can provide better services and better economy, which eventually lead to better security and political stability.”  

He also argued that ISIS and other terrorist organizations are not the only security challenge.

Some “regional countries,” the premier explained, “try to push for their agendas” onto others. A clash between “these different agendas sometimes cause security challenges,” he said, emphasizing the need to establish a robust collective security structure in the region.

“We need to have everyone in this collective security, and if we leave anyone outside of this structure, then we will obviously be missing something, and that will be problematic at some point.”

Responding to a question about the key to the Kurdistan Region’s stability, Barzani highlighted the acceptance, tolerance, and moderation of the region’s people.

“The people living in Kurdistan are not extremists; they reject extremism, but they are religious,” He said. “There are exceptions, but the great majority of the people in Kurdistan are moderates and believe in respecting all different religions.”

“The cooperation of the people with the security system in Kurdistan has helped to have the security and stability we are enjoying today in Kurdistan.”

Kurdish Migrants on Poland-Belarus Border

Regarding the Kurdish migrants who left the Kurdistan Region for Europe, Barzani said that nobody left the region because of “security or economic” issues.

“We are hosting one million Iraqi [internally displaced persons] in the Kurdistan Region, and all of these people have come... because they feel safer here,” he explained. “We also have 200,000 refugees coming from Syria, and they live in Kurdistan.”

The Kurdistan Region is also host to 100,000 foreign workers from Southeast Asia, Africa, other Middle Eastern countries, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, and other parts of Iraq.

“There are job offers here.”

“The situation in Kurdistan Region is not perfect,” the prime minister said, adding that “not having perfect conditions” has given reason to some people to look for different opportunities.

“Some of them believe that living in Europe is much better or think that there will be much more opportunities available if they migrate.”

“These people didn’t leave Kurdistan illegally; they all had visas and legally traveled through airports all the way to Belarus,” Barzani said. “These people are going to Belarus hoping that they can reach Europe.”

“Most of these people have been tricked by traffickers and smugglers, and then they were directed to Poland’s border to use them [as part of] political disputes that exist between Belarus and EU,” he explained.

“Most of these people have spent thousands of dollars,” he said. “No poor person possesses all that money.”

“There are mafia groups trying to use these people for different purposes, and there is no record that people have left Kurdistan because they were starving,” Barzani said. “Maybe some of them are poor, and of course, we still have problems here, and we need to improve our situation.”

“Those migrants are from everywhere, including Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Africa, but there is a lot of focus on the Kurdish people.”

“The Kurds who left Kurdistan are those who are in the conflict zones where the PKK is located,” Barzani said. “The PKK give these people instructions and motivation to go migrate and speak against the image of KRG, and that’s in their interest. So there is a political opposition exploiting this as well.

“We have spoken with European leaders and the federal government of Iraq over this issue, and I’m asking the European countries to provide assistance to these people because they don’t have enough to eat,” Barzani said. “I’m concerned about the innocent children who got caught in cold and frozen to death.

“The EU needs to collectively work to go after these human traffickers, and [the migrants] should not be used as weapons,” the premier affirmed. “I call on the EU to tackle this issue and extend immediate aid to the innocent children.”

KRG Reforms, Economic Development

“We inherited the government when it was in debt with millions of dollars for some problems that have been accumulated over the years, including unpaid budgets to Kurdistan Region by the federal government, the war against ISIS that created 2 million IDPs and refugees,” Barzani said.

“We tried to start a new phase of economic prosperity, then we were caught by COVID-19, and with that, trade stopped, and revenues declined.”

“So, it was a very difficult time for us, but we started doing reforms, tackling corruption, cutting government expenditures, collecting revenues, and turning to the private sector instead of running everything by the government.”

“We have introduced new laws for investment to become more attractive for foreign” investors, the prime minister added. “We are ambitious, and we want to further develop Kurdistan.”

“There is great potential in Kurdistan as it has a lot of good natural resources, and if they are very well used, we can contribute to the security and development of the entire region.”

Barzani said the economic development the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has achieved since 2003 has been with five percent of the Iraqi budget.

“So, the question is, what happened with the rest of the 95 percent of the budget?” Barzani argued. “The management is the key; you really have to have good management and know how to use your resources wisely.”

He pointed out that KRG is not in total control of its economy.

“We don’t have our own currency or economic policy. We always have to depend or rely on the economic decision made in Baghdad,” the prime minister said. “Sometimes, we have been victims of the mistakes made in the federal government.”

“If we had full control of our economy, I’m sure the economic situation in Kurdistan would have been better than it is now,” he added.

“When I started this cabinet, I realized that we can not only rely on oil and gas. This is why I decided that we should diversify our sources of revenues, diversify our economy and invest in agriculture, look at tourism, education, and health sectors that can produce more revenues for the KRG.”

Barzani then highlighted the increase in Kurdistan’s agricultural output and facilities for processing and marketing foods.

“It was a problem before when our farmers were producing wheat, and they were unable to sell it,” he said. The government has taken care of that, Barzani added, and growers can now sell their wheat, which then gets processed and then returned to the market.

“We were extremely successful in that regard, and in a very few years, we will be sufficient in terms of food security for Kurdistan Region,” the premier stated.

“My goal is to have Kurdistan become a food basket for Iraq and beyond.”

The Kurdish Issue in Northeast Syria

The KRG hopes Kurds in northeast Syria can “come together and have some sort of elections and have a legitimate representation,” Barzani said. “Then they can decide for themselves what they want to negotiate on with the regime in Damascus or how they want to engage with the world.”

This has yet to happen, the prime minister said. “The current administration that is ruling in that area is very closely affiliated with PKK,” which is “not allowing” intra-Kurdish dialogue, he added.

Erbil is trying “to encourage the Kurds to talk to each other and to have a Kurdish view of what they want to have,” Barzani explained.

He expressed his belief that “the majority of the Kurds in northeast Syria” do not support an administration closely affiliated with the PKK.

“In my belief, the majority of the Kurds don’t support the current system in the Kurdish areas in Syria,” Barzani said. “If we can play any role in, it will be to bring them together to have a united Kurdish voice that can decide their fate.”

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces

The PMF “is not one organization, there are many different elements, and some of these elements are really feeling like they need to defend the country and fight ISIS, and we appreciate their role,” the premier said.

“But there are those elements who had their own agendas besides fighting ISIS,” Barzani stated. “My point is that all these armed forces must be brought under the control of the legal system of the federal government.” 

“Any organization outside the law should not be acceptable.”