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| Iraq |
| KRG PM says federal court’s decision to cancel referendum results ‘unilateral’ |
| 2017-11-21 |
| [NRTTV] Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said a decision by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court to cancel the results of the Kurdistan independence referendum was "unilateral". KRG Premier said during a presser on Monday (November 20) that the federal supreme court reached verdict without attendance of representatives from the Kurdistan Region. A statement by Iraqi federal court said on Monday the court "rendered a decision declaring unconstitutional the referendum held on September 25, 2017 in Iraqi Kurdistan... and cancelling all the consequences and results that resulted". Regarding talks with Baghdad, KRG premier said the KRG continues efforts to launch dialogue with the government of Iraq to resolve the issues on the basis of Iraqi constitution. "We are committed to the Constitution ... all the articles of the Iraqi Constitution must be implemented, not one article is implemented and another is ignored," Barzani added. Barzani further said a third party should be present during talks between the KRG and Iraqi government to ensure the Iraqi constitution is implemented. The feud between Erbil and Baghdad stems from Baghdad’s economic and military measures in retaliation for the Kurdistan referendum on Sept. 25, which saw 92.7 percent of the population vote in favor of independence. KRG continuously expresses readiness to hold talks with Baghdad to resolve the issues between both sides according to the Iraqi Constitution. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... the Iraqi government appears reluctant to participate in large-scale formal discussions. Last month, the U.N. Security Council urged the Iraqi government and regional leaders in the Kurdistan Region to set a timetable for talks to end the crisis. The world body's appeal came after Baghdad dismissed an offer from the region’s leaders to freeze the outcome of the referendum and hold talks. Rejecting the freeze offer, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi instead demanded the annulment of the independence vote. |
| Posted by:Fred |