ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan independence referendum is over, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has declared.
“The referendum is over and belongs in the past. It happened at a period of time in the past and its results are over,” Abadi said in a press conference on Tuesday.
He also said that he will impose federal authority in every part of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.
His statement comes as Iraqi forces and the mainly Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi have taken control of several Kurdistani or disputed areas such as oil-rich Kirkuk on Monday and Tuesday after a military incursion.
A few hours earlier, Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani, who championed the call for the vote, said that one day the Kurdistan nation will achieve its goal of independence.
The blood of the martyrs, “the loud voices you raised for the independence of Kurdistan that you sent to all nations and world countries will not be wasted now or ever,” Barzani stated in a published statement, indicating that the vote will not be nullified despite demands from the Iraqi government.
The people of the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas voted for independence on September 25 with 92.7 choosing to leave Iraq.
While saying that he will keep his word to “not enter a civil war,” Abadi issued a warning.
“I warn, and I repeat my warning, any aggression against our citizens in Kirkuk, be it Kurds, Turkmen, Arab, or Christian, is an aggression against us... We will not allow this aggression.”
He said federal authorities should be in every part of Iraq and the security forces, including the Peshmerga, should be “under Iraqi federal leadership.”
Regarding events in Kirkuk where advancing Iraqi forces briefly clashed with the Peshmerga and civilians who took up arms, the Iraqi PM claimed that, “Not even a single incident... except in Tuz [Khurmatu],” happened and it “did not lead to a confrontation.”
Kurdish officials have said that dozens of Peshmerga were killed and many more injured.
Addressing the Kurdish leadership, Abadi said “The Peshmerga are from the people. They disobeyed your orders and did not fight the federal forces” but withdrew from much of Kirkuk.
He said that many people were happy that Iraqi forces are now back in control of the areas they took from the Peshmerga as they wanted Baghdad to free them from Kurdish “dictatorship.”
He said they still believe that dialogue is a solution for resolving outstanding issues between the two sides in light of the Iraqi constitution and invited Kurds to begin a “new relationship.”
Not everything is up for negotiation, however. He stood firm on exerting federal control over the border, saying Kurdistan Region’s borders with Iran and Turkey must be under Baghdad’s.
He said they had warned “the Kurds they will lose all their previous achievements,” they had made in Iraq following the 2003 invasion if they held the vote. We asked them to cancel the vote, even “to the point of begging,” but the Kurdish leadership did not listen, Abadi said.
Regarding incidents of people seen disrespecting the Kurdistan flag, he said, “We are not in the business of burning of flags.”
He added that the Iraqi flag will be the only one to fly in Kirkuk and all disputed areas, but that Baghdad will recognize Kurdistan’s right to have its own flag in Kurdish areas.
last updated at 10:52 p.m.
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