Kurdish Political Leaders Call 2017 Independence Referendum a National Decision
On the anniversary of the Kurdistan independence referendum, political leaders and representatives of the region’s communities describe the Sept. 25 vote as a collective national decision and call for an end to the current political deadlock.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - On the anniversary of the Kurdistan independence referendum, former members of the Supreme Council for the Referendum and leaders of political forces are reaffirming that the Sept. 25, 2017 decision was the result of broad national consensus, with representatives of political parties and communities describing the vote as a collective expression of the people of Kurdistan.
The leaders also called for an end to the current political deadlock in the Kurdistan Region, warning that continued internal divisions could undermine broader interests and urging political forces to preserve the spirit of unity that surrounded the referendum.
Bapir Kamala, secretary of the Kurdistan Workers and Toilers Party and a member of the Supreme Council for the Referendum, told Kurdistan24 that political parties had broadly gathered to make the decision to hold the referendum.
He said those who were not present at the meetings nevertheless participated on voting day and cast their ballots in front of cameras.
“Therefore, it was a comprehensive and national decision made by the people of Kurdistan, not by only one political party,” Kamala said.
Representatives of the Kurdistan Region’s religious and ethnic communities also participated in the decision and voted in favor of independence.
Janan Jabbar, head of the Christian Coalition, said the community continues to take pride in the historic decision.
“The referendum was the message of all the people of Kurdistan, with Kurds and all its communities, to become the owners of their own independent state, because they had continuously felt betrayal and injustice from the Iraqi government,” Jabbar said.
Political leaders also pointed to what they described as repeated violations of the constitution and laws by Baghdad toward the Kurdistan Region as a main reason behind the referendum.
Balen Abdullah, secretary of the Kurdistan Toilers Party, said the referendum and the aspiration for independence and statehood were not merely the will of political parties.
He described the referendum as a genuine expression of the will of the people of Kurdistan to secure their legitimate rights like other peoples around the world.
Officials warned that the current political deadlock in the Kurdistan Region could harm broader interests and called on political forces to preserve the internal unity that characterized the period surrounding the referendum.
They urged political parties to resolve their differences and maintain the same spirit of consensus that brought them together around the Sept. 25 decision.
As the anniversary of the referendum is marked, Kurdish political leaders and representatives of the region’s communities continue to describe the 2017 vote as a collective national decision, while urging renewed internal unity to protect its historical significance and broader interests.