Kifah Mahmoud in an important dialogue with .. We will not ask permission of anyone in the referendum



2017-06-09 By sotaliraq

The dialogue was held in Erbil: Mr. Abdel Fattah

>> We will not ask anyone in the referendum will be with the participation of the United Nations .. We will dialogue with Baghdad

>> Egypt is the vanguard of the Arab nation and has a special place in the hearts of the Kurds .. We expect a lot of them despite the "foggy" official position of the Kurdish issue

>> The Kurdish people have provided thousands of martyrs in support of Arab causes and is a "secretariat" in the necks of the Arab countries
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"The Kurdish people are a trust in the necks of the Arab people," said Kifah Mahmood, media advisor in the office of Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan region. He said that he offered a lot of support, support and defense on Arab issues and is expected to be supported by the Arab people.

Mahmoud stressed the great status that Egypt occupies in the hearts of the Kurdish people and its pivotal role in the Middle East, surprising the foggy image of the Egyptian position towards the Kurdish issue. He called on Egypt, which was the biggest supporter of national liberation movements, to stand next to it. The Kurdish people and their rights.

In its dialogue with the Voice of the Nation in the city of Erbil, Kifah addressed a number of hot issues related to Kurdish movements towards independence and the declaration of the Kurdish state.

• What do Kurds want from the referendum on self-determination?

First, let us know what the people of Kurdistan intend to do, a referendum on self-determination, which is a legitimate right of any people or group of people anywhere in the world.

The referendum, which is expected to be held by the people of Kurdistan at the end of this year, will determine the nature of the relationship between it and Baghdad, especially since after 2003 we expected that the situation would change much more than it was before. Unfortunately, what happened in recent years, In Baghdad proved that there may be differences between the regimes that ruled Baghdad, and the nature of the political system after 2003, but in essence, with regard to the Kurdish issue was very close, in evidence that in 2014, Baghdad decided to cut the share of the province of the budget, Nearly 6 million people, in addition to the suspension of disbursement This means that the economic siege imposed on the region since 2014 until today, these accumulations, which formed a very harsh background to the memory of the people, especially as that said after 2003 there was a hope of parents to make a change in the nature of dealing with Kurdistan and its people.

These leaders went to Baghdad, perhaps before all those who now rule in Baghdad, they went to establish a new political system that believes in the real partnership between the components and the democracy of the new political system, and the voluntary union between the components, but what happened during the past years, he stressed that there is an exclusionary trend reached This is the decision of most of the political activities in the Kurdistan region, will empower the people of Kurdistan, political and constitutional leaders to take or make the necessary decision on the future relationship between the region and Baghdad.

• What about the dialogues with Baghdad, and the positions of other forces in the region?

"We will not discuss the issue of the right of referendum or independence, but we will discuss with our partners in Baghdad, because the only ones that concern them are the issue of independence of Kurdistan and the referendum of the people of Kurdistan, Baghdad, not Tehran or Ankara, as some think. That is why delegations went to Baghdad last year and raised the issue of independence or development of relations, and if we fail, as President Barzani says to be real partners, we will be good neighbors for some.

The negotiations are still ongoing and there are intensive meetings between the political parties here in the region to reach the formula of an assembly of all the parties. I think a seven-member committee has been formed or is being formed comprising most of the main parties in the region, five addition to the Turkomans and the Christians. The subject of the referendum and independence, or go to the formula convince the homeland in Kurdistan and the federal government in Baghdad be better than the previous experience full of frustration and failure.

• What are the objectives of your diplomatic activity recently and your meetings with the Consuls, European envoys and senior Western officials?

All parties are looking for a peaceful option, all of which realized that Kurdistan is secured by the peaceful option, which was along the line a victim of the violent option or the option of war. And meet with President Massoud Barzani representatives of friendly and sister countries here in the region before the issue of the subject of the referendum and we go to negotiate and civilizational dialogue with our partners in Baghdad, and do not think at all non-peaceful and civilized option, even on the subject of independence, I mentioned one day that we are not looking for an independent dip With blood, in the sense that we want a smooth independence, as in a civilized Czechoslovakia, with the consent of the two parties to be real neighbors and allies. I remember here a very good word for the prime minister in Kurdistan when he said, "Baghdad will remain our strategic depth even if we declare our state, and Kurdistan will remain the strategic depth of Baghdad." In other words, we will not distance ourselves from the Arabs in Iraq and from the Arab nation in the rest of the countries. We are brothers. We have a common history that extends for hundreds of years, common goals and common enemies, and brings together at least one religion. . But this is the year of life. This people aspires to achieve its national and national identity as it is the national identity of the Egyptian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish nationalities. It is the right of this people to decide their fate.

• There are reports of lack of welcome from some regional and international powers on the issue of the referendum and the subsequent independence and declaration of a Kurdish state?

Iraq is a member of the United Nations, a country that has agreements with most of the world. Today, Iraq is fighting one of the most powerful terrorist forces in the world, and the Kurdistan region has proved its worth in recent years in its war against the dashing and broke the legend and has received about two million An Iraqi displaced person and a half million from Syria. Despite this, neither the Baghdad government nor the international organization, except for some relief organizations, assisted him, but he did his duty to those displaced.

Some believe that time is not palatable now, they are with the right of self-determination for the people of Kurdistan, and their right to independence, but they say this is what we heard from some that now you are at war and Iraq is at war.

The Kurdish discourse is not very different from this. We did not decide to go to independence tomorrow, or after a week or a month. This is related to the political and security situation in Iraq and in Kurdistan. The Kurdish leadership proved its worth during the past years in which statesmen imposed their respect in the world and certainly will not venture to the cause of independence with emotional issues. On the contrary, there are in-depth studies carried out by specialized committees, and even with regard to the High Electoral Commission, which was formed here in Kurdistan, President Barzani spoke with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and asked him to contribute the United Nations with the Electoral Commission to oversee the referendum and approved the Secretary-General. But as I said Iraq has relations with the countries of the world, and to this moment those countries respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq, but also will not stand in front of the aspirations of a population of more than 6 million people.

• Will we see the coming period movements from the region and visits to Arab capitals to clarify the picture more?

As I told you, the only ones to be consulted are in Baghdad, and that does not mean that the rest of the doors have not been touched. We certainly have brothers and friends in Arab countries and the West.

• With regard to the value and status of Egypt and its special status, do you think that it has full knowledge of the image in the Kurdistan region and the aspirations of the Kurdish people?

I will not be a diplomat, I do not see anything that you mentioned except for some of the illuminations that you and a few others do. The Egyptian political and media class is very far away and the picture is very "speculative", but I can hardly say that they are completely ignorant of what is happening in the region. The image of the region of the Egyptian political leadership.

Egypt, for the people of Kurdistan, has a very credible and beloved country. There are many participants in our history. Egypt has penetrated all the houses of the Kurds through the screen, film, song, book and culture in general, here the majority speaks only the Kurdish language. This is proof that Egypt has a special status in the psychology of the Kurdish people, but I regret that it has not benefited from the Egyptian political administration.

We had hoped that Egypt would have stood with us since 1991, when we were independent of the Baghdad regime, yet they were not as positive as we had hoped. The same is true after 2003, when we hoped that Egypt would take its economic weight to Kurdistan and that it would be the winner. In Kurdistan, the wealth of nature is great and the Egyptians are acceptable here. It would also benefit and benefit. Unfortunately, as I told you, the picture seems unclear or uncertain to the Egyptian political leadership .

• President Sisi is trying to restore Egypt to its regional role and status, and to be a key player in the region. Do you call on Egypt to play a bigger role towards the Kurdish people?

Egypt was supportive of all liberation movements, and I hope that it will return to support one of the oldest movements of liberation, the Kurdish liberation movement which will come to Egypt one day that it did not fulfill its duties towards this movement. The Kurdish people are faithful in the necks of the Arabs, the Kurdish people sacrificed for Arab causes and hundreds of thousands of martyrs for Arab causes. Today is the time when the Arabs, especially Egypt, stand by the realization of the right to decide the fate of Kurdistan. This country will rise tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the achievement of the outcome will be announced, they registered a position at first towards this country to be your ally in the future.

Egypt is the vanguard of the Arab nation, which is not knocking on the door of the Middle East except through its big door. Today, it has begun to recover and take its natural position not in the region but in the East in general.

• There are those who believe that the region is closer to Turkish politics, and this may impede convergence to some extent?

Quite the opposite. If you watched Erdogan's statements after raising the flag of Kurdistan in Kirkuk, to realize the shape of the relationship between Ankara and Erbil. But we are realistic in our relations with neighboring countries. We also have good relations with Tehran. Turkey is our outlet to the sea and our oil is exported through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, and we have economic agreements for decades to come. There are tens of billions of dollars in Turkish investments in Kurdistan, and I do not deny the existence of Iranian investments. We do not count on Turkey. Hostility to another state. Or the implementation of agendas in favor of a particular State.

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