CAIRO – 24 September 2017: Both Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani have taken part in a press conference in the final day before the Kurdish independence referendum, scheduled for Monday.
A war of words has continued since the Kurdish independence referendum was set, however in the past few weeks the rhetoric has intensified as it became increasingly likely that the referendum would take place.
With only hours to go both leaders have made their points clear and clarified their positions. Tomorrow the people of Iraqi Kurdistan will decide.
Iraqi Prime Minister, Haidar al-Abadi
Abadi has been adamantly against the Kurdish independence referendum since the notion was first raised. His rhetoric sharply intensified in the past week and he joined both Iran and Turkey in stressing that violent reprisals may occur if the vote takes place.
Everything points towards the possibility of Turkish and Iranian action if the referendum does go ahead. Turkish and Iranian military games are taking place on the border of Kurdistan, and the Turkish Parliament has extended a mandate authorizing the deployment of the country's military forces in Iraq and Syria.
In the final day of campaigning before the Iraqi Kurdish population goes to the polls, three themes are emphasized by Abadi.
Abadi’s principal defense in opposition to the independence referendum, and which was restated today, has been to uphold the word of the 2005 Iraqi constitution.
Abadi has reiterated that the referendum is “unconstitutional”, and that Baghdad “will not recognize its outcome”.
He stated that the leadership had the duty of “protecting civilians from surrounding dangers rather than endangering them,” in a clear repetition of his previous warnings that the vote could spark a civil war.
"To take a unilateral decision affecting the unity of Iraq and its security, and the security of the region, with a referendum on separation, is unconstitutional and against civil peace. We will take the necessary measures to preserve the unity of the country," Abadi said in the televised address.
Abadi has also condemned the principle of creating a state based on a particular ethnic community.
"Iraq will remain for all Iraqis. We will not allow it to become a possession of one or the other, and we will not permit anyone to play with Iraq and not pay the consequences," Abadi said.
"We will not abandon the Kurdish citizens. We have rejected the sectarian state and we reject a racial state," Abadi added, referring to both the Islamic State and Kurdistan.
Prime Minister Abadi also stirred tensions Sunday by accusing the Kurdish government of not declaring its oil rents, and possibly directing undeclared finances for other means.
“Where has the oil money has been going? …they have been seizing some 900,000 barrels of oil per day," Abadi said. "Ask the officials in the (Kurdish) region why the oil proceeds are not included in a transparent account."
“Why not be transparent regarding the mass oil exports in Kurdistan in a clear account to the citizens? Most of Kurdistan’s internal problems are not with Baghdad and will worsen after the referendum,” Abadi said.
With this, the Iraqi PM challenged the hierarchy in a clear attempt to weaken trust and diminish support for the Kurdish governing elite.
Abadi stated that most of the issues of the Kurdistan region are internal and not with Baghdad. “The economic and financial issues in the region are due to corruption and mismanagement,” he added.
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President, Masoud Barzani
While Abadi has continually highlighted the stipulations of the 2005 Iraqi constitution, which outlaws the separation of Iraq, Barzani challenged such claims by referring to an arguably higher authority, the 1945 Charter of the United Nations, which emphasizes the principle of self-determination.
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Kurdish Regional Government President Masoud Barzani speaks to the media during his visits in the town of Bashiqa, after it was recaptured from the ISIS, east of Mosul, Iraq, November 16, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Azad Lashkari
"The referendum is the first step that the people of Kurdistan decide what they want in future and how they want to live," Barzani told reporters Sunday. "After that, we start a very long process.”
"Only independence
and families of martyrs," President Barzani said, referencing the arduous existence of the Kurds under Saddam Hussein, and the atrocities committed against them.
Barzani has never hidden that he, and the Kurdish people, blame Baghdad for allowing the independence referendum to take place.
“It was Baghdad that had declined to accept us,” Barzani said, arguing that the Iraqi Kurdish government had sought to resolve such issues with Baghdad. However, now the “partnership with Iraq is over”.
"We tried our best to find a solution to these problems in Iraq with Baghdad, with the international community and, indeed, Baghdad didn't accept us and they obliged us to take this step that we've taken already," Barzani added.
Barzani has disputed the rhetoric of Iraq, Iran and Turkey, saying “we will not allow a war to break out among Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.”
"We look forward to having excellent cooperation with neighboring countries. We proved we are friends, factors of stability," President Barzani said.
The Kurds have been a major ally of the international community, and Iraq, in the fight against the Islamic State. The Kurds helped to provide the vital stability in 2014 when the Islamic State swept through the country and threatened genocide over the Yazidis.
However, the international community at large ahs opposed the referendum, citing the threat to regional peace it may bring.
“We don't expect any kind of military conflict with Iraq," Barzani told reporters. "That kind of thought doesn't even cross our mind."
In other news
In retaliation to the referendum,
that the Kurdish region hands over the international border posts in addition to its international airports.
It also asked for foreign countries to halt oil trading with the Kurdish region and to deal only with the Baghdad government in regards to airports and borders, in a statement published by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office
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