ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A former Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament acknowledged the right of the Kurds for independence and stressed that they will not oppose such steps, but warned that an independent Kurdish state will face difficulties with neighboring and other world countries. He also urged dialogue and perseverance in efforts to resolve outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad.
“If the referendum is held, and the Kurdish leadership can declare and build an independent Kurdish state, then we don’t have a problem. The Kurds will, however, have problems with other countries in the world, with international politics and neighboring countries, rather than with the brothers with whom they are currently together in Iraq,” Mahmoud al-Mashhadani told Rudaw on Saturday.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) relations with the federal government became strained after Baghdad froze Erbil’s budget in 2014.
There have been numerous meetings between the two since then to address their concerns to no avail. Renewed efforts are currently underway to break the impasse. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has recently visited Erbil meeting with President Barzani and other Kurdish officials, and later paid a visit to Sulaimani from where he called for a path forward towards resolving the current outstanding problems between the two sides, in particular on the issue of the so-called disputed areas.
Mashhadani urged a constitutional settlement through direct and continued talks.
“I think the only way to resolve the problems between the [Kurdistan] Region and Baghdad is face-to-face dialogue through expert committees,” he said. “And the meetings shouldn’t cease until a solution is found in accordance with the constitution and laws.”
Mashhadani also talked about the ancient struggle of the Kurdish nation to establish an independent Kurdish state, acknowledging the legitimate cause which he said was pursued since the time of the legendary sixteenth-century Kurdish politician and historian Sharaf Khan Bidlisi.
“The Kurds have had the dream of having an independent state since the era of Sharaf Khan. And this is a legitimate right of every nation,” he said. “The collapse of the Ottoman state and the creation of a number of Arab states, only the Kurdish nation has not realized this dream.”
Erbil and Baghdad have been coordinating in military operations since they launched a joint offensive in October 2016 to force the Islamic State group from Iraq. However, key problems over budget, oil and territory still remain unresolved, leading the Kurdish leadership to believe that an amicable divorce from Baghdad is the only solution.
The former Iraqi Parliament Speaker, a member of Iraqi Accord Front party, said that Iraq is not an impediment to the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, which he thinks is related to international factors.
“It is not us who have become an obstacle for this dream. Rather, this dream is relevant to international politics combined with the particular situations of the region,” the MP said. “Hence, it is incumbent on the Kurdish leadership to remove these barriers, and hold a referendum on the question of independence in accordance with the constitution.”
