Erbil not to cancel independence referendum

By  Trend

Iraq’s Kurdish Autonomous Region isn’t going to cancel the independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25, 2017, said Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, the country’s media reported on August 31.

Barzani noted that there is no mutual understanding between the central government of Iraq and the Kurdish autonomy.

“The government of Iraq conducts unilateral policy, the principles of democracy don’t work in the country,” Barzani said.

Earlier, Masoud Barzani had warned that opposition to the referendum would be met with “a bloody war”.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the Kurdish administration of Iraq will regret if it holds an independence referendum.

“Iraq’s integrity is a priority for Turkey,” noted Erdogan, adding that a referendum on independence of the Kurdish autonomy means the beginning of Iraq’s disintegration.