Kurdistan Region’s differences must be resolved in ‘unified, united manner:’ President Barzani

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - Unresolved differences in the Kurdistan Region should be approached in a “unified and united manner”, the Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani said on Wednesday.
 
President Barzani delivered a keynote speech at the seventh annual Sulaimani Forum, a regional policy event highlighting contemporary challenges facing Iraq and the wider region.
 
"In the Kurdistan Region, we should solve all problems in a unified and united manner," the President said amid ongoing intra-Kurdish disputes between the main political parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Despite working together in the KRG, the two parties have established control over different parts of the Region, often being referred to as the “Yellow Zone” and “Green Zone“. The KDP is dominant in Erbil and Duhok provinces, while the PUK rules Sulaimani and Halabja.
 
Tensions between the two parties have been heightened over the transparency of the income from the provinces under their influence, and the assassination of a former PUK colonel in Erbil in October.
 
Meetings between the two parties have recently resumed, aimed at resolving the issues, with both sides expressing their desire for dialogue. The PUK has boycotted the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers as a form of protest expressing the party’s concerns with the government.
 
However, the current issues extend beyond the Region’s borders as differences between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Iraqi government in Baghdad persist.
 
"Iraq, including all its components, should work together with a shared national agenda to defend the country's interests,” Barzani said while shedding light on how far along the country has come as it the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq approaches.
 
The Kurdistan Region has over the past year been rocked by two waves of major Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruling against its finances, with the top court first ruling last February against the Region’s ability to administer its oil and gas sector and almost a year later in January ruling against the payment of the Region’s financial entitlements to Baghdad, claiming it violates the 2021 Iraqi Budget Law.
 
Kurdish government delegations have traveled to Baghdad on several occasions to reach a common ground with the Iraqi government, however, none of the visits have had a solid outcome.
 
Barzani also touched upon the issues regarding the non-implementation of the constitution. "Unfortunately, the constitution has not been implemented. In 2017, a committee in the Kurdistan Region revealed 57 articles in the constitution ... that have not been implemented," the Kurdistan Region President lamented.

The regional and federal governments have had rocky ties over the years, frequently sparring on issues like the budget and oil sales. Articles in the 2005 Iraqi constitution meant to address historical grievances of Kurds have never been fully implemented.
 
"Many people blame the Kurdistan Region for the non-implementation of the constitution. After 20 years, I will not say that we, in the Kurdistan Region, are without faults," Barzani added while mentioning the Region's efforts to implement the constitution.
 
"If the laws of Iraq were truly implemented ... we would have a very progressed nation," he noted.

The Iraqi government finally approved a budget for this year and the next two years, after the last one was passed in March 2021. It is yet to be voted by parliament. A particularly contentious point typically when it comes to budget is Erbil’s share and requirements for the KRG to hand over oil.

The Kurdistan Region receiving its share of the budget is dependent on Erbil fulfilling its commitments, which include handing over 250,000 barrels of oil per day, paying back money previously borrowed from the Iraqi Trade Bank, sending non-oil revenues, and prioritizing paying the salaries of its civil servants and Peshmerga before any other spending.
 
President Barzani also welcomed  the approval of Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province by the Iraqi government, though the decision needs to be ratified by parliament.
 
"We have made great efforts to make Halabja into a province, in order for its victims to be compensated," President Barzani said, thanking Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani for approving Halabja's ascension in status.
 
The remarks come a day before the 35th anniversary of the chemical attack on Halabja, killing at least 5,000 people, mostly women and children, and injuring thousands of others. The event, which was recognized as an act of genocide by Iraq's High Court in 2010, has left a permanent scar in the historical memory of the Kurdish people.
 
"This is a completely constitutional and lawful act for the people of Halabja," Barzani said, referring to compensation for the victims of Halabja's chemical attack and its elevation to a province by the Iraqi government.