ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The High Referendum Council that lobbied for the independence vote concluded its work following a meeting headed by President Masoud Barzani on Sunday and was replaced by the Political Leadership of Kurdistan - Iraq.
“In the meeting it was decided to set up the Political Leadership of Kurdistan - Iraq for post-referendum work,” said Khalil Ibrahim, an attendant of the meeting.
The Kurdistan Region Presidency issued a seven-point statement following its meeting on Sunday, stressing that, no threat or pressure, could force the people of the Kurdistan Region to withdraw from the decision they made on September 25.
The statement also stressed the dialogue path with Baghdad in the post-referendum phase.
First: In the meeting, gratitude was expressed to all the citizens of Kurdistan, national and religious components as well as the political parties for participating in the referendum process with unity, unanimity, in a peaceful and civil manner. The attendants of the meeting also congratulated the Kurdistani nation for this historic victory.
Second: The meeting also expressed gratitude to the High Referendum Council for its hard work, which concluded its work after the referendum was held.
Third: The meeting stressed the continuation of dialogue with Baghdad, the peaceful message and stance of the Kurdistani nation to Iraq and the neighbors. They also welcomed the call made by Ayatollah Saed Sistani for dialogue and will be responding to his call officially.
Forth: The meeting stressed preserving the stability of the Kurdistan Region and rejected any kind of threats and collective punishment of the people of Kurdistan and reiterated its support for the Kurdistan parliament and government responses to the quick measures Baghdad took against the people of Kurdistan.
Sixth: The meeting, in addition to thanking the media for playing a good role during the referendum, stressed that the role of the local media outlets should be to serve patriotic interests and that the meetings’ attendants all agreed that within the framework of the law a limit should be put on any media that is directed to work against the interests of the country and its people.
Seventh: The meeting considered the unanimity and single discourse of the political parties and forces as the key for protecting the victories of the Kurdistan nation and stressed Kurdistan nation’s decision was right and urged preserving the achievements. The meeting emphasized that the Kurdistan nation durably is determined on dialogue. Depending on peaceful mechanisms, no threat or pressure could force the Kurdistan nation to withdraw from the decision they made on September 25, 2017.
The Political Leadership also, in a separate announcement also welcomed an “initiative” from Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who called on Iraqi authorities to respect Kurdistan’s rights and urged officials in the Kurdistan Region to resolve the two sides outstanding problems.
“The call is an important step towards preserving our principles which are the source of protecting peace and social stability and eradicating violence and threats,” it added.
Last updated at 7:15 p.m.
