The leader of Iraq’s Kurdish region defended an independence
referendum planned for later this month during a visit Tuesday to the
oil-rich Kirkuk province, the epicenter of a long-running dispute with
the central government.
Iraq’s parliament meanwhile rejected the referendum in a non-binding
resolution, calling it “unconstitutional” and a threat to the country’s
unity.
Iraq’s Kurds plan to hold the referendum on Sept. 25 in three
governorates that make up their self-ruled region as well as disputed
areas that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad,
including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s Kurdish region, insisted that holding the referendum in Kirkuk is “entirely legal.”
“Kirkuk will remain as safe and secure as it is now, kept safe by the
peshmerga,” Barzani said, referring to the Kurdish forces that control
the city. “We will not compromise Kirkuk’s identity. We would rather
give up our own rights than to compromise the rights of the ethnic
minorities that live here.”
Kirkuk is home to Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians. Kurdish
forces took control of the province and other disputed areas in the
summer of 2014, when the Islamic State group swept across northern and
central Iraq and the Iraqi armed forces crumbled.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have driven IS from most of the country over
the past two years, but now appear to be girding for a new conflict
over the spoils.
The parliament resolution states that the referendum is a “threat to
Iraq’s integrity, which is guaranteed by the constitution... in addition
to the civil peace and the regional security.” It called on the central
government to “shoulder its responsibly to protect the unity of Iraq
and to take all necessary measures to preserve that unity.”
All Kurdish lawmakers boycotted Tuesday’s session, while Arab
lawmakers voted in favor, said lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who
attended the session. A breakdown for the vote was not immediately
available.
Turkey and Iran, concerned about separatist leanings among their own
Kurdish populations, are also opposed to the referendum, and the U.N.
mission to Iraq has said it will not be “engaged in any way or form” in
the vote.
In Kirkuk, Barzani addressed growing fears that the independence vote
could lead to violence between forces aligned with Baghdad and those
loyal to the Kurdish region.
“We have no intention to start a fight,” he said. “But we have the
right to defend ourselves. Those who launch a war have to expect a
response.”
AP