As Iraq and Syria dissolve after years of war, massacres, and horrible atrocities, the world is ready to listen to the voice of the people and reconsider the lines on the map, Bernard Kouchner told attendees at a conference in Duhok. In Europe there is a real attention to what is going on in Kurdistan, he said. “This is certainly the right moment to express the voice of Kurdistan. Not only because you are part of a troubled area, but because you are the allies of democracy. You are the people fighting against ISIS. You are the people fighting for gender balance. You are the people with all the respect for religion. You are the people able to separate the religion and the government. This is the key asset for you.” Kouchner, former foreign minister for France, former UN representative to Kosovo, and co-founder of the medical aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has been a lifelong friend of the Kurds. Reminiscing of meeting with Mustafa Barzani, father of the current president, in 1975, Kouchner said “I am waiting for this moment for 50 years… independence for Kurdistan.” But, he warned, “It will be difficult.” He spoke on Thursday at a conference titled 'Future Independence of Kurdistan' held at the American University of Kurdistan-Duhok.
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