Iraq’s President should make part of his UN address in Kurdish, some Kurds say

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — With Iraqi President Barham Salih set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, some Kurds believe he should use the platform to address world leaders in the Kurdish language.

"The most important thing is how to convey your message to the leaders. But of course, if he says a few words or a sentence in Kurdish, it will make Kurds happy," Parez Omer, a civil activist in Erbil, told Rudaw on Tuesday.  

Late PUK founder and first ever Kurdish president of Iraq Jalal Talabani set the precedent for the use of Kurdish at the General Assembly in 2005, saying in Kurdish: "it is a source of our pride that Iraqi Kurdistan has become a model for democratic experience, economic and cultural and social development."

In post-2003 Iraq, it has been informally agreed by political blocs that the position of president of Iraq is allocated to a Kurd. 

Salih, widely seen as a pupil of Talabani, was inaugurated president in October 2018.

Adham Jumaa a Kurd from Kirkuk, says "it is very important to tell the word that there is a Kurdish president in Iraq," while Sulaimani teacher Shahen Karim agrees that "his speech should be in Kurdish so other nations will learn about our language."

"He should speak in Kurdish, at least dedicate a segment as Mam Jalal did so he can convey a message that Kurds do exist and have a language of their own," Khunaw Jamal, a college student in Halabja says.

While Iraq is home to other minority languages, including Turkmen, Assyrian and Armenian, Kurdish is recognized alongside Arabic as an official language of Iraq by the 2005 constitution.

"Speaking in Kurdish will be a positive thing for us as Kurds," Kara Rasul in Duhok says. "It will act as direct recognition that there is another official language in Iraq, in addition to Arabic."

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