KRG’s EU Mission asks EU parliament to support Kurdistan’s independence referendum

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the European Union called on the EU parliament to support the Kurdistan Region's upcoming independence referendum.

Delavar Ajgeiy, Head of the KRG Mission in the EU, on a panel last week, called on the EU Parliament and its member states to support the independence referendum by sending representatives to observe and oversee the process.

Ajgeiy, while addressing the EU parliament, said that an independent Kurdistan would be more committed to the values of coexistence and tolerance, reiterating the KRG’s continued assistance to displaced people who have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region despite suffering through a dire economic crisis.

“The people of Kurdistan, including all of its components, will make a decision regarding their destiny,” Ajgeiy said, stating that “we expect from our friends in Europe to stand with us in this free, democratic exercise of our fundamental right.” 

“We plead to the European Union and its parliament to support us in the referendum process and send an official observant mission during the referendum,” Ajgeiy stated

He added that the KRG has worked hard to protect the various ethnic and religious components of the Region compared to other areas in Iraq. He assured the government would respect the will and decision of the different elements which make up the Nineveh Plains.

In a mid-June statement, the European Union discouraged the Kurdistan Region from holding an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.

“Unilateral steps must be avoided [and] all open questions must be resolved through consensual positions” based on the constitution of Iraq, EU Foreign Ministers said in the statement.

Editing by G.H. Renaud