ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A British observer group headed by members of the parliament has arrived in Kurdistan to observe Monday’s independence referendum.
Nadhim Zahawi, the first Kurdish member of the British parliament, told Rudaw English on Saturday that their delegation, which includes academics, will monitor the process in different cities, including Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok, and Kirkuk.
He said that there are also other internationals observers with them including former US Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith. Galbraith was posted to Zagreb in the 1990s when he co-mediated an agreement to help end the Croatian War of Independence.
The British MPs are going to report their observation to their parliament that will help with the process of securing “legitimacy” for the vote, Zahawi said, adding that the international community will not abandon Kurdistan because it has fought against the ISIS group on behalf of the entire world.
Their mission, Zahawi said, is to make sure that the process in conducted in a “correct” and “transparent” way.
Asked about holding the referendum in the oil-rich and diverse province of Kirkuk, Zahawi said that it is important to point out the fact that the Provincial Council itself debated and voted to join the referendum.
Kirkuk is part of the disputed or Kurdistani areas which are claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Nadhim Zahawi, the first Kurdish member of the British parliament, told Rudaw English on Saturday that their delegation, which includes academics, will monitor the process in different cities, including Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok, and Kirkuk.
He said that there are also other internationals observers with them including former US Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith. Galbraith was posted to Zagreb in the 1990s when he co-mediated an agreement to help end the Croatian War of Independence.
The British MPs are going to report their observation to their parliament that will help with the process of securing “legitimacy” for the vote, Zahawi said, adding that the international community will not abandon Kurdistan because it has fought against the ISIS group on behalf of the entire world.
Their mission, Zahawi said, is to make sure that the process in conducted in a “correct” and “transparent” way.
Asked about holding the referendum in the oil-rich and diverse province of Kirkuk, Zahawi said that it is important to point out the fact that the Provincial Council itself debated and voted to join the referendum.
Kirkuk is part of the disputed or Kurdistani areas which are claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
Zahawi attended the largest pro-independence rally in Erbil where an estimated 40,000 people gathered to listen to the final campaign speech by President Masoud Barzani on Friday. The event was also attended by senior members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as well as Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), among others.
He said it was wonderful to see all the Kurdish people rallying behind the Kurdistan flag.
“I also want to pay tribute to the coalition government in here, the PUK and the KDP, who have come together and left party politics behind. It is wonderful to see in all rallies and carnivals… there are no party political flags. There is only the Kurdish flag,” Zahawi said.
“If they remain united, they are unbreakable,” Zahawi noted. He is accompanied by another five parliamentarians, including a member of the House of Lords.
The United Kingdom has expressed its opposition to the vote, mainly citing fears that it may negatively affect the war against ISIS in which the Peshmerga have played a central role.
Zahawi, who is a backbencher from the ruling Conservative party, said that while his view is different from the Westminster government, he acknowledged the fact the British minister for Middle East has at no stage denied the Kurdish right to self-determination.
Zahawi said it is a basic and universal right, asking “Why should the Kurds be any different?”
He also said that the UK’s Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who has previously visited Erbil, has “great affection for the Kurdish people.”
He said that Kurdistan has been a source for “stability, security, and prosperity” — prosperity because it has good trade exchange with Turkey and has recently secured an oil and gas deal with the majority state-owned Russian energy company, Rosneft.
Kurdistan’s electoral commission stated Saturday that 136 international observing teams, 142 international media outlets, and 35 international individual observers have registered.
He said it was wonderful to see all the Kurdish people rallying behind the Kurdistan flag.
“I also want to pay tribute to the coalition government in here, the PUK and the KDP, who have come together and left party politics behind. It is wonderful to see in all rallies and carnivals… there are no party political flags. There is only the Kurdish flag,” Zahawi said.
“If they remain united, they are unbreakable,” Zahawi noted. He is accompanied by another five parliamentarians, including a member of the House of Lords.
The United Kingdom has expressed its opposition to the vote, mainly citing fears that it may negatively affect the war against ISIS in which the Peshmerga have played a central role.
Zahawi, who is a backbencher from the ruling Conservative party, said that while his view is different from the Westminster government, he acknowledged the fact the British minister for Middle East has at no stage denied the Kurdish right to self-determination.
Zahawi said it is a basic and universal right, asking “Why should the Kurds be any different?”
He also said that the UK’s Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who has previously visited Erbil, has “great affection for the Kurdish people.”
He said that Kurdistan has been a source for “stability, security, and prosperity” — prosperity because it has good trade exchange with Turkey and has recently secured an oil and gas deal with the majority state-owned Russian energy company, Rosneft.
Kurdistan’s electoral commission stated Saturday that 136 international observing teams, 142 international media outlets, and 35 international individual observers have registered.
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