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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement on Sunday that the time has come for a “serious” and “frank” dialogue between different groups in Iraq to settle differences and place the country on a path to prosperity.
“We need to sit down and have a frank discussion,” President Barzani said in Erbil on the occasion of commemorating the death of Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, a moderate senior Shiite cleric who was renowned for his reconciliatory approach towards the Kurds and Sunnis.
“The main issue in Iraq since its establishment has been the absence of partnership and cooperation between different groups in governing the country. Both Arab components of Iraq, the Sunnis and Shiites know that on their own and without the Kurds they won’t be able to create equilibrium, thus the participation of all the components of Iraq is the sole path in successfully governing Iraq.”
Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni politicians came together in Erbil on Sunday to commemorate Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim who worked closely with Kurdish leaders throughout the second half of the 20th century, until his death in Najaf on 29 August 2003. He died in a blast in which at least 75 others were killed.
The event is a rare opportunity to celebrate the mutual efforts and sacrifices of all Iraqis in fighting dictatorships and extremism.
“Our blood was shed together in the war against dictatorship and Daesh in the pursuit of the same objective, and today on the day of commemorating our martyrs, we must show our allegiance to the history of our brotherhood and mutual struggle by strengthening our mutual understanding and cooperation and re-establish our partnership.”
“Without a doubt this partnership must be with the inclusion of our Sunni brothers because any partnership would be incomplete without the participation of Sunni Arabs,” President Barzani said.
The Shiite Marja has had cordial relations with the Kurdish population of the country since the mid-20th century. The grandfather of politician Ammar al-Hakim, the leading Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsin al-Tabatabaei al-Hakim, in 1965 issued a fatwa that barred Iraqi soldiers from conducting warfare against the Kurdish peshmerga during the September Rebellion in the north of the country. The Kurds, during the rebellion, took up arms against the oppressive rule of the central government for 14 years. Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim repeated the Fatwa in 1974.
The comments from President Barzani come at a time when the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and federal government in Baghdad have been at odds over the sharing of the budget and oil.
Baghdad and Erbil have most recently clashed over the terms of the 2021 federal budget.
A number of Shiite politicians and parties have repeatedly stated that they will not agree to the KRG receiving its share of the budget if the regional authority does not hand the entirety of its oil and revenue from borders crossing with Iran and Turkey.
Kurds have accused Shiite parties of unilateralism in their dealings with the Region.
“The stability, progress and the prosperity of the Kurdistan Region should please all the Iraqi sides because we are part of Iraq, the prosperity of the Kurdistan Region is … for all Iraqis, the same way that the prosperity of Najaf, Karbala, Basra and Anbar is progress for the Kurdistan Region too,” President Barzani said. “The people of Kurdistan wish to see the whole of Iraq prosper and stable … because that would mean more job opportunities and economic and scientific progress for the whole of Iraq.”
“Following the conclusion of war against Daesh, a new unwanted situation has developed, the reality of our relations are not to our satisfaction and we are certain that the situation is not to the satisfaction of many of our Shiite brothers, in particular for those who struggled alongside us against Saddam regime or those who are aware of that period in history,” Barzani said of recent tensions.
Iraq is currently facing a deepening economic crisis partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the drop in oil prices and lack of consensus between different components of the country in how to run the affairs of the state. Protests have erupted throughout the country, including in the Kurdistan Region, over a lack of services and rampant corruption.
Many Iraqis believe that the political system is broken and not responsive to the needs of the average citizen.
“We are ready today to start a frank and serious dialogue in order to fix the political process and govern Iraq, and on this sacred commemoration, I call on all the Iraqi sides to begin, our success is achieved through cooperation and being together, isolation and marginalization destroyed Iraq in the past, without a doubt this path would also destroy our future, that is why we must start today and should not wait any longer,” Barzani urged.
President Barzani highlighted and honored the sacrifices of all the Iraqis in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) group, including thousands of soldiers, fighters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) and 1,810 peshmerga who paid the ultimate price to retake areas under the militants control.
“To eradicate the environment for the growth of extremism in Iraq, and to avoid another occupation like Daesh, and to meet the demands of the people, we must return to the Iraqi constitution and all the regions must have the right to rule themselves,” Barzani said. “Once again, we must create consensus and cooperation to govern Iraq.”
“We need to sit down and have a frank discussion,” President Barzani said in Erbil on the occasion of commemorating the death of Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, a moderate senior Shiite cleric who was renowned for his reconciliatory approach towards the Kurds and Sunnis.
“The main issue in Iraq since its establishment has been the absence of partnership and cooperation between different groups in governing the country. Both Arab components of Iraq, the Sunnis and Shiites know that on their own and without the Kurds they won’t be able to create equilibrium, thus the participation of all the components of Iraq is the sole path in successfully governing Iraq.”
Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni politicians came together in Erbil on Sunday to commemorate Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim who worked closely with Kurdish leaders throughout the second half of the 20th century, until his death in Najaf on 29 August 2003. He died in a blast in which at least 75 others were killed.
The event is a rare opportunity to celebrate the mutual efforts and sacrifices of all Iraqis in fighting dictatorships and extremism.
“Our blood was shed together in the war against dictatorship and Daesh in the pursuit of the same objective, and today on the day of commemorating our martyrs, we must show our allegiance to the history of our brotherhood and mutual struggle by strengthening our mutual understanding and cooperation and re-establish our partnership.”
“Without a doubt this partnership must be with the inclusion of our Sunni brothers because any partnership would be incomplete without the participation of Sunni Arabs,” President Barzani said.
The Shiite Marja has had cordial relations with the Kurdish population of the country since the mid-20th century. The grandfather of politician Ammar al-Hakim, the leading Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsin al-Tabatabaei al-Hakim, in 1965 issued a fatwa that barred Iraqi soldiers from conducting warfare against the Kurdish peshmerga during the September Rebellion in the north of the country. The Kurds, during the rebellion, took up arms against the oppressive rule of the central government for 14 years. Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim repeated the Fatwa in 1974.
The comments from President Barzani come at a time when the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and federal government in Baghdad have been at odds over the sharing of the budget and oil.
Baghdad and Erbil have most recently clashed over the terms of the 2021 federal budget.
A number of Shiite politicians and parties have repeatedly stated that they will not agree to the KRG receiving its share of the budget if the regional authority does not hand the entirety of its oil and revenue from borders crossing with Iran and Turkey.
Kurds have accused Shiite parties of unilateralism in their dealings with the Region.
“The stability, progress and the prosperity of the Kurdistan Region should please all the Iraqi sides because we are part of Iraq, the prosperity of the Kurdistan Region is … for all Iraqis, the same way that the prosperity of Najaf, Karbala, Basra and Anbar is progress for the Kurdistan Region too,” President Barzani said. “The people of Kurdistan wish to see the whole of Iraq prosper and stable … because that would mean more job opportunities and economic and scientific progress for the whole of Iraq.”
“Following the conclusion of war against Daesh, a new unwanted situation has developed, the reality of our relations are not to our satisfaction and we are certain that the situation is not to the satisfaction of many of our Shiite brothers, in particular for those who struggled alongside us against Saddam regime or those who are aware of that period in history,” Barzani said of recent tensions.
Iraq is currently facing a deepening economic crisis partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the drop in oil prices and lack of consensus between different components of the country in how to run the affairs of the state. Protests have erupted throughout the country, including in the Kurdistan Region, over a lack of services and rampant corruption.
Many Iraqis believe that the political system is broken and not responsive to the needs of the average citizen.
“We are ready today to start a frank and serious dialogue in order to fix the political process and govern Iraq, and on this sacred commemoration, I call on all the Iraqi sides to begin, our success is achieved through cooperation and being together, isolation and marginalization destroyed Iraq in the past, without a doubt this path would also destroy our future, that is why we must start today and should not wait any longer,” Barzani urged.
President Barzani highlighted and honored the sacrifices of all the Iraqis in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) group, including thousands of soldiers, fighters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) and 1,810 peshmerga who paid the ultimate price to retake areas under the militants control.
“To eradicate the environment for the growth of extremism in Iraq, and to avoid another occupation like Daesh, and to meet the demands of the people, we must return to the Iraqi constitution and all the regions must have the right to rule themselves,” Barzani said. “Once again, we must create consensus and cooperation to govern Iraq.”
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