FM: Confederation for Iraq and Kurdistan Could Save Us All
Kurdistan Region’s Foreign Minister Falah Mustafa has reiterated that the political system implemented in Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein has “failed as a whole”, suggesting that “a well-structured system of confederation for Iraq and Kurdistan" could save them now.
“Rewinding back to 1991, followed by years of bloodshed in the Kurdish parts of Iraq, it was only through the efforts of the international community that the people of Kurdistan established a government and system of their own after the uprising against the former dictator,” Mustafa said in an op-ed on The Hill.
“Against all the odds, this marked a new era for the nascent Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the eyes of the international community,” he stated.
The Kurdish minister reminds that the KRG, though facing difficulties at the beginning, but has succeeded in developing a democracy, market economy, as well as establishing bridges with the international community. He believes that the success of Kurds “shined too brightly” in the eyes of the Iraqi central government.
“The people of Kurdistan hold their own culture and identity, content with values of pluralism, democracy and peaceful coexistence, and denial of this will only lead to unwanted outcomes. If we are expected to stay as part of Iraq, the status quo needs to shift. This limbo of not being allowed independence — and yet not being granted the legitimate rights to which we are entitled as Iraqis — is not sustainable.”
Mustafa also criticised the difficulties people of Kurdistan Region are currently facing at the hand of the Iraqi central government, saying that Baghdad is responsible for the current political, economic and security crisis.
“Kurds, Shias and Sunnis in Iraq need structural reorganization of the relations that bind them together. The current state of relations causes increased tensions between the groups. A modus operandi, in form of a confederation, is the most convenient escape for the different groups in aiming to resolve the pressing issues of today.”
Source: BasNews
