'Development Projects Did Not Stop': PM Barzani Touts KRG Resilience, Demands Baghdad Implement Sinjar Agreement

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a speech blending the celebration of a promise fulfilled with a powerful reaffirmation of the Kurdistan Region's core principles, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday declared that development projects have not stopped despite a series of profound crises, crediting the resilience of the Kurdish people and the confidence of the private sector for the continued progress.

While inaugurating the strategic Sheikhan-Lalish dual carriageway, the Prime Minister delivered a pointed message of solidarity with the Yazidi community, recalled the historic liberation of Sinjar under the command of President Masrour Barzani, and made a direct and urgent demand for the federal government in Baghdad to implement the Sinjar Agreement and remove the "outlaw forces" preventing the dignified return of displaced Yazidi to their ancestral homeland.

The Prime Minister's remarks were delivered at a special ceremony attended by a host of high-level dignitaries, including Mir Hazim Tahsin Beg, the Prince of the Yazidis, and Sheikh Ali Sheikh Ilyas Baba Sheikh of the Yazidi Spiritual Council, underscoring the deep significance of the new road for the community. 

The project, a modern dual carriageway connecting the town of Sheikhan to the holy Yazidi temple of Lalish, was a pledge Prime Minister Barzani made to the region exactly one year prior.

"A year ago, we were here and we promised to turn the Sheikhan to holy Lalish road into a dual carriageway," the Prime Minister began. "Thanks to God, after a year, we have returned, and today we are here to open this road."

He framed the achievement not as a favor, but as a fundamental responsibility of his government. "Of course, any work we do to serve our citizens is our duty," he stated, acknowledging the area's vital importance for its "history, religion, coexistence, and its revolutionary role in the history of our people."

Prime Minister Barzani reserved a significant portion of his speech to address the Yazidi community directly, emphasizing their integral and foundational role within the Kurdish nation. "Yazidi sisters and brothers are an authentic part of Kurdistan," he declared, invoking the words of President Masoud Barzani: "The original Kurds are the Yazidis. Therefore, we can never be separated." 

He recognized the road's practical importance for the thousands of pilgrims from across the world who visit the sacred site of Lalish, expressing his hope that the new infrastructure would facilitate their travel, especially with another pilgrimage expected in the coming days.

He situated the project within a broader strategic vision for regional infrastructure, explaining that such developments are designed to be interconnected to ease transportation, improve citizen safety, and crucially, reduce the number of "unfortunate traffic accidents."

He also took the moment to urge citizens to adhere to traffic safety guidelines for their own protection and that of others.

The Prime Minister then pivoted to the immense challenges the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has faced, delivering a core message of resilience and self-reliance. 

"We wished for more support from the federal government for the Kurdistan Region, but despite all the crises we have faced, development projects here did not stop," he asserted.

He gave significant credit to the private sector, whose "great confidence in the regional government" was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition. "This is commendable," he said, extending a special thanks to the implementing company for completing the road "in a very short time and to a global and international standard."

In one of the most powerful segments of his address, the Prime Minister turned his focus to the plight and perseverance of the Yazidis, particularly in the context of the genocidal attack by ISIS on Sinjar.

He offered a personal account from his time serving with President Barzani during the crisis. "I am one of those who witnessed, while in the service of His Excellency the President, when the brutal terrorists of ISIS attacked Sinjar," he recounted. "His Excellency the President ordered at that time, 'Either we liberate Sinjar, or we must all lay down our lives for it.'"

He continued, describing the fulfillment of that solemn vow: "With God's support, His Excellency the President led the army of Kurdistan to liberate Sinjar, and after one hundred days, his promise was fulfilled. It is true we gave hundreds of martyrs, but we did not let our will be broken." For President Barzani, he stressed, "the dignity of our Yazidi sisters and brothers was more important than anything else."

This historical victory, however, has given way to a frustrating and unresolved political stalemate.

The Prime Minister squarely addressed the failure to implement the 2020 Sinjar Agreement, which was designed to normalize the security and administrative situation in the district to allow for the return of its displaced population.

"We made a serious effort to implement the Sinjar Agreement with the federal government, but to this day, this agreement has not been implemented due to some outlaw forces who have imposed themselves there," he stated, making a direct and public appeal to Baghdad. "Our demand from the federal government is to take serious steps and facilitate the dignified return of our Yazidi sisters and brothers to Sinjar."

He affirmed the KRG's unwavering commitment to this goal, stating, "no political plot can separate us from our land and water."

Concluding his speech, Prime Minister Barzani provided an update on the critical and ongoing negotiations with the federal government over the budget and salary entitlements for the Kurdistan Region's public servants. He reiterated that the KRG has consistently worked to remove any pretext for delays from Baghdad.

He then revealed a potentially significant breakthrough in the long-standing dispute over oil exports. "In our last discussion with Baghdad, I have now been informed that an understanding and agreement have apparently been reached between the oil production companies in the Kurdistan Region and the federal government," he announced.

He described this development as "a very good start to eliminating the challenges and obstacles that still remain."

With a tone of cautious optimism, the Prime Minister expressed his hope that this agreement would be finalized and accepted by all parties in the coming days, finally allowing the Iraqi government to fulfill its constitutional obligations and bringing an end to the recurring salary crisis. "I hope we reach a positive outcome in the near future," he concluded.