A message from the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq KRP.org | | 17/07/2013 In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, Dear people of Kurdistan, Political entities and civil society organizations, It was the happiest decision of my life at the age of 16 to become a Peshmerga for the cause of liberty and the national and democratic rights of the people of Kurdistan. Being a Peshmerga has been the greatest source of pride in my life. I have held different responsibilities throughout my life, and I have struggled and served my people’s interests with the values and the soul of a Peshmerga. I am also proud that I asked the Kurdistan Front at the beginning of our people’s great uprising in the spring of 1991 to hold free elections. The aim of that call was to enable the people of Kurdistan to determine their own fate. All of this was a result of my commitment to our goals during my struggle as a Peshmerga, in the times of the revolution in the mountains. It was also a national responsibility to implement the principles of democracy and to establish a democratic, political and administrative system. Since then, the people of Kurdistan, together with all loyal sides here in the Region, have started the democratic process. Today, with the help of God, the support of loyalists and the struggle and endurance of our people, we are witnessing significant improvements in different aspects of the lives of the people of Kurdistan. This is why today Kurdistan has a good reputation in terms of politics, security and coexistence. The Kurdistan Region has had extensive deliberations about the nature and concept of the political system, as well as the draft constitution. In order to introduce another example of adherence to the democratic process and law, I wrote a letter to the Independent High Electoral Commission asking them to conduct the Parliament and the Presidential elections in September this year. This was a clear fulfilment of my obligations. The date for the elections was set for September 21, 2013. Nevertheless, before and even after this, there were different opinions regarding the mechanism for presidential elections in Kurdistan. These differences implied the question of whether the president should be elected directly by the people following the amended Kurdistan Region Presidency Law No. 1 issued in 2005 and the draft constitution, or whether the president should be elected by the parliament, according to what several political parties think. This, and later the draft constitution question, generated differences between political sides, which unfortunately resulted in some sides acting aggressively within the political process, and eventually leading to a crisis. Moreover, I wrote a second letter on May 25, 2013 calling upon all political parties in Kurdistan to submit their observations about the draft constitution. After receiving their responses, I asked the parliament to meet with all political sides and representatives of society to reach a conclusion. By this, my intention was to provide a better platform for working together, and to demonstrate to our people and to the people outside Kurdistan another example of the political process here. In addition, I was looking forward to facilitating a consensus among political sides and other components of Kurdistan’s society, in order to enable them to put forward their remarks and arguments. The aim of sending remarks from different sides to the parliament was to have a consensus among all sides, inside and outside parliament. The views of all sides would provide a better roadmap and a more suitable platform for the draft constitution and for the elections. Furthermore, I wanted to inform the people of Kurdistan very frankly that I personally have no intention of nominating myself again, and that I respect all laws and will hand over the trust of the presidency of the Kurdistan Region to whoever will be elected afterwards. Unfortunately, the opposition failed to support the process, to the extent that they rejected other sides participating in the meetings held by the presidency of the parliament - after all the opposition failed the efforts and the process. Here, I would like to clearly signal that consensus does not mean reaching an agreement between merely the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the three opposition sides. Consensus needs all of these plus all other sides and different components of Kurdistan. Earlier, the draft constitution was a product of deliberations by 36 political parties and ethnic groups, so today we should not marginalize them - Kurdistan does not include merely those five sides. Here again, I call upon all sides to take steps towards achieving consensus on the question of the constitution, and I offer them my full support. Let us prevent a political crisis, so that we do not disturb the peace that our people are enjoying. Let us use all our strengths and abilities to seize the opportunities in the region that have become available to our people and nation. I will put all my efforts into developing a new platform to reach consensus. The people of Kurdistan and the political parties have seen that I made tremendous efforts to achieve a consensus on the draft constitution at the early beginnings of its approval in 2009, and to gain the agreement of all sides in Kurdistan. I insisted that the views of all ethnic and religious groups should be placed in this constitution, and this was what happened. Afterwards, the parliament voted for the draft constitution. Again, I wanted to provide a platform for consensus beyond any disputes within the political process. Unfortunately, the behaviour of the opposition during the past four years has made a large segment of people conclude that the opposition cannot be satisfied with anything, and consensus from their perspective is to impose their views on others, an act that contradicts political norms and democracy. The three opposition sides ought to know that other than the KDP and PUK, there are other parties in Kurdistan that have faced hardship and have made sacrifices to defend the existence of our people and the name of Kurdistan. Furthermore, today we can find many other licensed political parties which have a say in how to develop Kurdistan. The three opposition sides can neither allow themselves to block other sides from expressing their views in Kurdistan’s high level institutions, nor humiliate these sides in a certain way throughout their discourses; this is wholly undemocratic. I thereby ask all colleagues in the opposition to act on the basis of acceptance of others. Dear enduring people of Kurdistan, On June 30, 2013, the Kurdistan Parliament, by issuing two laws, extended the term of office for both the parliament and the presidency. This implied a delay in electing the President of the Kurdistan Region. I would like to restate the fact that I was never interested in assuming any post. Today, I do not intend to exchange my history of struggling for the freedom of Kurdistan with anything else. One is better known for his struggle and sacrifices for the sake of his people, nation and humanity, than for his rank and position or job title. I have signed the law to extend the parliament’s term to prevent any legal and constitutional gap that might happen in the Kurdistan Region. The presidential term was extended by the Kurdistan Parliament. The Kurdistan bloc (KDP and PUK) along with other party blocs, ethnic groups and independents all voted for the law, except for the opposition. Now, I find myself shouldering the responsibility that has resulted from the alliance between the KDP and PUK which, together with a number of parties and ethnic groups in the Kurdistan Parliament, have decided to extend the presidential term for two more years - a decision without any direct involvement by me. In addition, I find myself morally obliged to fulfil responsibilities and duties resulting from my long term cooperation with my dear brother Mam Jalal Talabani, and that is the continuation and strengthening of our alliance. I sincerely wish Mam Jalal a speedy recovery, and I hope that he will quickly return home where everything will be stable. I am well aware of the obligations arising from the alliance between the KDP and PUK. This alliance has truly led to tremendous stability and development in Kurdistan. At the same time, this alliance has made the Kurds more active in the changes taking place in Iraq and the Region. As Mam Jalal is not present in Kurdistan with us today because of his health, I feel that I also have to fulfil his responsibility in terms of maintaining and enforcing our alliance, as a symbol of our loyalty after years of working together and struggling for our people and country. Moreover, considering that Kurdistan’s ethnic and religious groups fear the political crisis becoming worse, and that Kurdistan’s stability should be preserved, considering the calls from those who have struggled for Iraqi Kurdistan and the calls coming from other parts of Kurdistan, and after consultation with most political powers and sides in Kurdistan regarding the extension of the presidential term, I have decided not to reject this law. However, this does not imply that I agree with the legal form and content of extending the presidential term, thus I have not signed it either. In order to respect the parliamentary majority’s vote and to avoid the parliamentary majority’s dissatisfaction, I announce to the beloved people of Kurdistan that I will remain in office temporarily and perform my duties faithfully until the fourth parliamentary session in Kurdistan begins and reaches a consensus. Now, I ask the presidency of the fourth parliamentary session, in the light of my letter sent to the current parliament presidency on June 12, 2013, to pursue and put in place the mechanisms for amending the draft constitution and the presidential elections immediately after the elections on September 21, 2013. The new President of the Kurdistan Region will be elected, and by then we will all put in faith in whoever gains the trust of the people of Kurdistan. I and the Vice President Kosrat Rasul and the Kurdistan presidential office will provide all the support to the forthcoming parliament presidency to achieve this. We all together should provide a great example of democracy. No one should remain in power forever and we should never contemplate the notion of an eternal president. I firmly believe that when someone leaves office, people should inquire why he or she is leaving, rather than making them ask why they are not leaving. Dear people of Kurdistan, I assure you that you and only you can decide your fate, no one can take this right away from you. Long live Kurdistan. Honor and glory to the fallen who have sacrificed their lives for Kurdistan’s freedom. Masoud Barzani President of the Kurdistan Region July 16, 2013
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:45:53 +0000
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