Iraqis should treat each other as partners: President Barzani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Saturday said that all Iraqis should support one another in hard times, adding that they should also work together with the spirit of partner rather than rivals. 

Attending a ceremony in Baghdad, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Iraqi religious leader Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, President Barzani said that the Saturday event was a “suitable” one “for all of us to work for coexistence and resolving issues.”

“We should not work together as rivals but partners,” he added in the speech he delivered during the event.

“Iraq’s areas, regions and provinces as well as ethnic, religious and sectarian groups are not each other’s enemies. Having multiple ethnic groups, religions and sects is not a weak point for Iraq but a strong one. We all complete and support one another in a democratic, civic and federal system,” said Barzani, noting that over 40 ethnic and religious groups live in the Kurdistan Region. “Together they have established a prosperous and multi-cultural community.”

Hakim, also known as Shaheed al-Mehraab, was a Shiite cleric and political leader who returned to Iraq in May 2003 following the invasion of the country by the US. He lived in the neighbouring country of Iran for years due to his opposition to Iraq’s Baath regime. There, he headed the Supreme Council of the Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) which was considered the largest opposition group in Iraq. 

After finishing a sermon at the Imam Ali shrine in the holy city of Najaf on August 29 same year, a car-bomb explosion targeted the shrine, killing the religious leader and dozens of other people. 
 
The commemoration of his assassination is annually held as per the Islamic calendar, meaning the date changes every year.

President Barzani said at the ceremony on Saturday that the deceased leader was “highly-respected” by the Kurdish freedom movement in Iraq decades ago due to his role in the Iraqi resistance movement against Saddam Hussein’s regime. 

The Shiite cleric’s “strong ties” with Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and late Jalal Talabani “was rejoiced by the people of Iraq because it strengthened the Iraqi opposition and brought international support for Iraqi people and opposition against dictatorship,” said President Barzani.

The Saturday event was also attended by dozens of Iraqi and Kurdish politicians and officials.

Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement political bloc, Ammar al-Hakim, nephew of the deceased leader and organiser of the event, said “if we do not unite in facing challenges, our political system will not last long.”

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani also delivered a speech, highlighting the country’s pressing issues, especially the recent devaluation of Iraqi currency and his cabinet’s “priority” in combating corruption.

He said that the political parties should stay away from “disputes and tensions that are no longer appropriate methods to correct the political situation in Iraq.”

Mohammed al-Halbousi, speaker of Iraqi parliament, said in a speech that "Those who gave their lives for this country were hoping for a strong and capable Iraq that would follow prosperity and development.”

President Barzani and Sudani met after the event, discussing bilateral relations.