VIDEO: ‘Kurdistan a desirable destination for democracy’

A United States diplomat recently said he supported Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani’s call for an independence referendum from the start.
kurdistan24.net

WASHINGTON, United States (Kurdistan24) – A United States diplomat recently said he supported Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani’s call for an independence referendum from the start.

Sasha Toperich is a human rights advocate and currently a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Mediterranean Basin Initiative at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

“I have been supporting President Barzani’s call for referendum on independence of Kurdistan from the beginning,” he stated.

“I think [a referendum] is a rightful choice of the Kurdish people to guard their own destiny and ensure stability, safety, and prosperity of its own citizens,” he continued.

Toperich also agreed it was the “right time” to hold an independence referendum in the coming months before the end of the year.

The diplomat pointed to the unity of Kurds inside the Kurdistan Region as a crucial step towards achieving independence.

“I do believe that [Kurds] are coming to a boiling point where soon enough a referendum should be held, and I would only hope that the political parties [in the Kurdistan Regional Government] would come together,” he told Kurdistan24.

Moreover, Toperich discussed the upcoming Mosul offensive against the Islamic State (IS) and said it would bring a wave of change in the region.

“The focus now is of defeating [IS], and that’s a legitimate focus that will reshape the currents in Iraq,” he stated. “To what extent and in which direction, I think we all are engaged in the dialogue.

The Senior Fellow added that long-term support is necessary for the Kurdistan Region with over 500,000 displaced people expected to arrive from Mosul.

Toperich explained Kurdistan’s housing of over 1.8 million refugees and displaced people had proven they are a “desirable destination for democracy.”

 

 

(Kurdistan24 team in Washington conducted the interview)