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Barzani: Kurdistan has 'Right to
Independence' says president
28.2.2007 |
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February 28, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), February 27,
-- The president of Iraq's Kurdistan Massoud Barzani
has said Kurds have a right to an independent state,
irrespective of what their Arab, Iranian and Turkish
neighbours think.
"The creation of a Kurdish state is a right of the
people of Kurdistan and it is not a Utopia, like
Turkish authorities think," Barzani said in an
interview with Turkey's NTV television broadcaster.
"Turks, Persians (Iranians) and Arabs must not
regard the independence of Kurdistan as an
aberration or as a threat to their interests," he
added.
The Kurdistan president also issued a warning to
Ankara which has repeatedly accused his region of
allowing the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) of using
its territory to launch attacks against Turkey. |
Massoud Barzani, the President of the Regional
Government of Kurdistan |
"The Kurdish people will not remain silent in the
event of a Turkish attack, but will defend their
land in the same way as the Turks would defend their
territory," he told NTV.
However, Barzani said it was in the interest of both
Turkey and Kurdistan to resolve their differences
through dialogue.
Barzani challenged Ankara to "furnish the evidence"
that Kurdistan has been aiding the PKK, which he
said was not the case.
Another sticking point between Ankara and Erbil is
the status of the Kurdish-majority oil-rich northern
Iraqi province of Kirkuk which Kurdistan wants to
incorporate into its territory - a move Turkey
opposes along with the province's ethnic Turkmen and
Arab minorities.
"We don't have to send Kurds into the province to
increase the size of the Kurdish community, which is
what Turkey alleges.
Kirkuk in fact lies in the heart of Kurdistan,"
Barzani said.
He rejected what he said was the view of the
province's Turkmen - that in the event of a a
referendum in favour of Kirkuk's oncorporation into
Kurdistan, a civil war would ensue.
"The reality is totally different", said Barzani,
adding that in terms of Iraq's constitution, a
referendum must be held by the end of the year.
adnki com
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