ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A senior Shiite leader who attended the meeting between the visiting high profile Shiite delegation headed by Ammar al-Hakim and the Kurdish President Masoud Barzani said that the two sides have discussed the issue of Kurdistan independence, adding that it is premature to focus on this possibility, as he claimed the Kurds have recently proved that they are “within the frame of the united Iraq”.
Hamid Mueala, the spokesperson for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, headed by Hakim, and one of the components of the Shiite National Alliance, told Rudaw TV on Sunday that the issue did not feature high in the talks Saturday evening in Erbil.
“It was not discussed in great length,” Mueala said, “It was rather one of the topics, which states that ‘if we did not reach satisfactory solutions [with Baghdad] which would reflect the dreams of the people of Kurdistan, then the issue of independence is one of the options that we may seek.’”
Hakim, who is also the head of the National Alliance, is in the region promoting the national reconciliation initiative, a document that he has worked on and discussed it with Iraqi parties as well as regional countries for more than a year. Developed by the Shiite National Alliance, It is a plan to rebuild and reunite Iraq after ISIS.
Importantly Hakim's document says that Iraqis, including the Kurds, should not “divide” Iraq under any circumstances, perhaps in reference to the long-held Kurdish aspiration for independence.
“Faith and commitment in word and deed of the unity of Iraq's land and people and preserve the sovereignty and independence of the decision and its identity and its parliamentary democratic system and reject dividing it under any circumstance,” the document reads.
Moueala maintained that the document “is open for discussion” within certain principles including the current Iraqi constitution, and the common history of Iraq.
“I think discussing the issue of independence is premature,” Mouala said, “Still, [our] brothers in Kurdistan have voted for the constitution, and they are real and essential partners [in Iraq].”
He said that the ongoing war against ISIS militants in Iraq, in particular Mosul where Iraqi security forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga and the mainly-Shiite Hashd al Shaabi paramilitary, supported by the US-led international coalition is one example that shows the Kurds are committed to the unity of Iraq.
“These are great proofs and clear signals that the Kurdish brothers are within the frame of the united Iraq,” he said, making it clear the future relations should guarantee the rights of all the components of Iraq, including the Kurds.
The Shiite delegation, which met with President Barzani, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, and major Kurdish parties on Saturday except for Gorran, with whom they are scheduled to meet on Monday, called on the Kurds to form joint political and governmental committees to discuss the national reconciliation document, future relations between Erbil and Baghdad, and Iraq after the defeat of ISIS.
The Kurdish side promised to discuss the formation of such committees, to be “cooperative” with the current situation in Baghdad, and to provide support for the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Mouala said.
He explained that the Kurdish parties considered the document “good", though they made it known to the visiting delegation that they have reservations on some parts of the document, while called for new provisions to be added.
Fazil Mirani, secretary of the Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) politburo, said in a joint press conference on Saturday with the Shiite delegation that they had concerns about Hakim’s national reconciliation plan and clearly stated them in the meeting.
“Unlike before, we did not shamefully talk about independence as we all have the right to talk about our right to self-determination,” said Mirani.
Ali Allaq, a leader within the Shiite Alliance, also said at the press conference, “We need new perceptions and we listened to the feedback with an open heart."
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