Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani speaking at the Peace Through Moderation conference in Erbil on May 30, 2022. Photo: President Barzani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday addressed the importance of moderation between the different political powers in Iraq as a means to relieve the country from the current political turmoil.
“What is happening in the political process in Iraq is the lack of peaceful moderation,” President Barzani said at the Peace Through Moderation conference in Erbil, organized by SPARK organization in cooperation with the Dutch consulate in Erbil.
“If the parties had shown a little moderation and dealt with the situation softly, the political process would have gone in a different direction,” he added.
The Peace Through Moderation conference was previously held in Erbil once in 2018. The conference hosts Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials, international and local experts, educators and media, in an attempt to exchange knowledge “and be at the forefront of creating positive alternative pathways for Kurdish youth,” according to SPARK’s website.
Iraq held elections in October following demands from nationwide protests, however, over five months after the election, a new government is yet to be formed in the country due to political tensions.
“To overcome this deadlock, all parties must return to moderation, dialogue, understanding, mutual acceptance, respect for the rights of all and the supreme interests of the country and the nation, which must be above all other interests,” Barzani said, adding that through moderation, the country could enter a period of peace and stability.
He further added in his speech that moderation is one of the key elements of fighting extremism in the country.
“Moderation is strength, wisdom, confidence and self-confidence, which brings peace, tranquility and stability. In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-sectarian country like Iraq, if there is no moderation...disasters will be born in this country,” he said, referring to ISIS and other terrorist groups.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
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