“The nation should bring us all together. Forces and political parties come and go, but a nation will always stay,” Barzani said in his keynote address at the eighth edition of the Sulaimani Forum at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS).
“A strong Iraq needs the existence of a strong Kurdistan Region,” he stated, adding that the same applies vice-versa. Over the past two years, relations between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been hindered over several top rulings by Iraq’s top court which have threatened the Region’s autonomy, as well as over budget issues and the payment of civil servant salaries.
“For the success of Iraq, it is important that a federal system is thoroughly implemented,” Barzani said.
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court in February ordered the KRG to submit a breakdown of the monthly budget for its payroll to the finance ministry so Baghdad could start paying the Region’s share from the federal budget.
“The Iraqi people have felt the changes” implemented by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, Barzani said, expressing his support for the Iraqi government’s efforts to enact positive change.
Barzani and Sudani discussed relations between Erbil and Baghdad, the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants, and Kurdish oil exports in a meeting in the Iraqi capital earlier this month.
With regards to the Kurdistan Region, President Barzani also expressed his hopes in seeing it prosper further. “Some people ask me why I am hopeful, honestly I am hopeful because of the abilities of Kurdistan’s people,” he said.
“Whoever visited Kurdistan thirty years ago, if they visit Kurdistan now they will not recognize it,” Barzani said, expressing pride in the development of the Region.
Barzani also touched on the importance of democracy and peace, reminding the audience that the interests of the Region must be put above all else.
“The Kurdistan parliament is an excellent example in the region. We must protect it,” Barzani affirmed, praising the Kurdistan Region’s institutions as well as the Peshmerga forces.
The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are long-time rivals that have a tenuous power-sharing agreement. Tensions between them have been high for nearly two years over a variety of issues, including distribution of funds to provinces and the transparency of revenue in their areas of control.
Their disagreements have been a hindrance to the functioning of the government and parliament. They were close to a reconciliation in May, before sparring in the parliament. The subsequent dissolution of the legislature put any settlement between them on hold.
“Kurdistan is bigger than all of us,” Barzani stated.
The Kurdistan Region is set to hold parliamentary elections on June 10 after several delays. Holding the elections on its scheduled date could be jeopardized by the KDP’s decision not to partake in the upcoming elections, citing rulings from the Iraqi top court that the party deemed as detrimental to the Region’s political entity.
