Time for an ‘Amicable Divorce’ between Erbil and Baghdad: KRG Spokesperson
KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee.
Erbil (BasNews) It is time for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad to begin serious discussions over an “amicable divorce,” KRG spokesperson told Daily Hürriyet.
“We should enter a serious dialogue with Baghdad to reach an amicable solution – an amicable solution for a divorce,” KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee recently told Daily Hürriyet.
“We can be two good neighbors. This is something we want as the only way,” he added.
“The principle of consensus was something all sides agreed on [in 2003], but now that principle is no longer there. It is a majority-minority vote. So even if Kurds have 65 seats in Baghdad, we will always be the minority,” Dizayee argued.
Dizayee stated that Erbil and Baghdad cannot work together, arguing that “we are always at the mercy of Baghdad and this is why we are looking to find another formula. Our budget has been cut; there is no assistance for the military.”
Kurds have to seek a solution for stability, he said adding that “the only way forward is to go for an independent entity in Iraqi Kurdistan.”
Dizayee believes that dialogue is the only way to achieve the target, stressing that “we need to engage in serious conversations first with Baghdad before anybody else.”
The KRG official expects the referendum to be held on April 16 this year.
“The referendum is only a couple of weeks away,” he said.
Dizayee said the possible independence of Kurdistan Region would not set an example for Kurds in Turkey, Syria and Iran, especially for Syrian Kurds as “they are totally different,” he said
Kurdish officials say an independence referendum will be held this year, the outcome of which will show what the people of Kurdistan want.