Barzani: Independence will come, and peacefully

WASHINGTON DC--Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani said on Wednesday the Kurdish quest for independence is an ongoing but inevitable process slowed only by the current war against the Islamic State, or ISIS.

“I don't know whether it happens next year or when, but independence is certainly coming,” said Barzani during a Q&A at the Washington-based think-tank Atlantic Council.

Barzani answered questions from policy analysts, journalists and Middle East experts just a day after he met with US President Barack Obama at the White House

“I want to reassert that [Kurdistan independence] is an ongoing process, but we want it through peace, understanding and dialogue not violence,” he said.

Barzani said that at the moment the Kurdistan Region is focused on removing the ISIS threat from its borders.

“Now our country is at war and the war has not been finished, that’s why it [referendum] is delayed,” he said.

The Kurdish president said that the establishment of an “electoral and referendum committee” was the first step towards holding a referendum on independence and he called on the international community to assist Kurds in this process. 

 “As soon as the war ends, a referendum will be held and the people of Kurdistan must have the opportunity to decide their own future,” he added.

On the question of the Kurdish region staying as part of Iraq, Barzani said that it depends on people’s will and also on how democratic Iraq can be.

“The unity of Iraq depends on the people of Iraq, how democratic they want it to be and it has to be a voluntary union with peaceful coexistence.”

Barzani said Obama and Vice President Biden are behind arming the Kurdish forces, adding that as the commander in chief of the Peshmerga forces he does not mind by what mechanism the Kurds might receive the arms.

“Both the vice president and the president want the Peshmerga to get the right weapons and ammunition,” Barzani told his audience at the Atlantic Council. “The important point here is that the Peshmerga get weapons. How they will come, in which way, that’s not as important as the fact that Peshmerga need weapons to be in their hands.”

He said that the ISIS war has driven out millions of people from their homes in Iraq and Syria and that 1.5 million refugees have taken shelter in the Kurdistan Region which has created a severe financial burden to the local authorities.

“The economic cost of hosting refugees has been huge and I call on the US and international community to assist us,” said Barzani.