KRG PM: Baghdad must respect Federal Court ruling, lift punitive measures against Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Monday urged Baghdad to comply with a recent court ruling on the Kurdistan referendum and to lift punitive measures taken against the Region.

In a press conference following a cabinet meeting, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani expressed his government’s readiness to accept observers from the Federal Government of Iraq at airports and border crossings.

“Based on the Federal Court ruling, Baghdad should cancel all punitive measures it imposed on the Kurdistan Region,” Barzani said.

After a unanimous vote by its members on Nov. 20, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled that the Sep. 25 independence referendum held in the Kurdistan Region was “unconstitutional.”

The court’s ruling stated that the plebiscite held in Kurdistan and areas outside of the Region “conflicts with and opposes Article 1 of the Iraqi Constitution,” adding that the Constitution does not allow “secession of any part of the federal entity.”

The KRG Prime Minister, however, highlighted that the Federal Court was silent on the actions and collective punishment by Baghdad against the people of the Kurdistan Region since the historic vote.

Regarding Iraq’s demands that Kurdistan handover border crossings and airports as pre-conditions before the start of dialogue with Erbil, Barzani said the KRG had not met with the Iraqi government yet to clarify what they mean by “handover.”

The Prime Minister explained that those currently administrating airports and border crossings are not foreigners but Kurds who hold Iraqi citizenships.  

Barzani reiterated the KRG’s willingness for dialogue to resolve all issues between Erbil and Baghdad on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution, stating Baghdad has only been “communicating with [Kurdistan] through the media.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany