Barzani: Gone are the days when Iraqis could use threatening language

 

Barzani issued a written statement on Wednesday responding to Iraqi politicians and officials who have called the referendum “unconstitutional.”

 

“That era is over for them to oppose the just right of the nation of Kurdistan and we would not like them make use of this language,” Barzani said. “The nation of Kurdistan wants peace and brotherhood, but it does not accept threatening language or denial from anyone.”

 

The statement did not name any Iraqis Barzani was referring to, but Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reiterated in a speech on Tuesday that the referendum is not constitutional.  

 

He also suggested that any change to the official borders of the Middle East, that mainly came to existence after the First World War denying the Kurds their own state, will result in “blood and casualties.”

 

Barzani said that those who question the legitimacy of the referendum should first read the charter. He said that the Iraqi constitution clearly stipulates that adherence to the constitution is the guarantor of the unity of Iraq.

 

The preface of the Iraqi constitution reads: The adherence to this constitution preserves for Iraq its free union, its people, its land and its sovereignty.

 

Barzani then listed a number of constitutional articles that the he said remained unimplemented or were violated. Chief among them was Article 140 that concerns the disputed, or Kurdistani, areas claimed both by Erbil and Baghdad. The article should have been implemented by 2007.

 

He also mentioned the budget cut by the Iraqi government since early 2014, lack of payments of the defence budget to the Kurdish Peshmerga since the foundation of the new Iraq in 2003, attempts to isolate the Kurdish government on a diplomatic level, and failure to form the Federal Council whose mission should have been to regulate between Baghdad and the regional government. 

 

Barzani said that the Kurdish government did not see any Iraqi party or religious authority condemn the violations committed against the Kurds by the Iraqi government contrary to the constitution.

 

“On the other hand, for the sake of partnership between the components, Iraq needed consensus, but they also dissolved that consensus and now they are calling for a political majority, and we know very well what they mean by the political majority. It is in fact to diminish partnership and marginalize other main components,” his statement explained, making reference to an initiative championed by the ruling Shiite National Alliance that calls for ruling Iraq on the basis of a majority vote.

 

The Shiites are the majority in Iraq and every prime minister since the US-led invasion of Iraq about 14 years ago has been a Shiite politician. 

 

“We are bound to the blood of our martyrs, the public opinion, and the just rights of our nation. That is why we do not step back from this right of ours. The nation of Kurdistan would practice its natural right through peace and away from violence,” Barzani said.

 

He added that they do not want to repeat bitter experiences Kurds shared with the rest of Iraq for about 100 years since the foundation of the country, including genocide committed against the Kurdish nation.

 

He repeated the official line that Erbil wants to be a good neighbour with Iraq.

 

PM Abadi on Tuesday called the referendum unconstitutional.

 

“A few months ago, I stressed on two or three occasions that this referendum is not constitutional. If you look at the Iraqi constitution, it is clear that we live in one homeland and are partners in this homeland. No unilateral action should be taken,” Abadi said.

 

While he admitted that the Kurds had faced suffering at the hands of the former Iraqi government led by Saddam Hussein, Abadi said that the new Iraq is different today and Kurds are now first-class citizens.