Kurdish President Barzani: The Unity of Iraq Has Failed; The Kurdish People Should Decide about Statehood in Referendum

President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Al-Barzani said, in an interview with the Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia TV, that the decision whether to declare an independent Kurdish state lies with the Kurdish people and should be determined in a referendum. President Barzani added that the Kurds have labored to preserved the unity of Iraq but that the efforts have failed. Baghdad refuses to accept the Kurds as partners, and the Kurds refuse to be its subordinates, he said. The interview aired on March 16, 2016.

Following are excerpts:

Massoud Barzani: We call upon the international community to recognize the Kurdish state.

Interviewer: Are you going to declare a Kurdish state?

Massoud Barzani: This depends on the opinion of the Kurdish people. If the Kurds decide so in a referendum, we will definitely implement their will.

[..]

Interviewer: Are you totally convinced now that the united Iraq has failed?

Massoud Barzani: Absolutely. In its initial period, from 1922 to 2003, Iraq was a failed and destructive enterprise, and it has proven to be a failure after 2003 as well. I have become convinced that we cannot possibly agree to be subordinate to Baghdad after all these sacrifices. The exceptional nature of Kurdistan must be respected. This is something that we do not see right now.

Baghdad does not respect Kurdistan's exceptional nature, whereas we refuse to be subordinate to Baghdad. So they rejected partnership and we rejected subordination. So either we keep on fighting or else we search for a new formula, which will enable us to reach understanding and coexistence.

Interviewer: What kind of formula are you proposing?

Massoud Barzani: I cannot specify right now, but it may crystallize when we embark on serious talks with the brothers in Baghdad.

Interviewer: You must have presented the idea of declaring a [Kurdish] state to the international community. In all sincerity, who supports this idea and who opposes it?

Massoud Barzani: Forgive me, but I cannot name the specific countries, but there are many countries that understand and support this right of ours, even if they do not do so overtly. Other countries have reservations regarding the timing, but not regarding the principle. And there are countries that are against.

[…]

Everybody is saying that they support the unity of Iraq. We, too, have labored for the unity of Iraq. But it is not we who are responsible for the fragmentation of Iraq. Iraq is partitioned de facto, and we are not responsible for that. There is another issue. At the end of the day, the decision lies with the Kurdish people.

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