Speech by Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq on second anniversary of Kurdistan Independence Referendum

At the Kurdistan Parliament sitting of MPs on 25 September 2019, Speaker Dr. Rewaz Faiq Hussein made the following speech. 

“Today marks the second anniversary of the Kurdistan Independence referendum, which was launched in special and difficult circumstances following the end of the war against ISIS. The referendum was held at a difficult time for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and for the Kurdish leadership and Kurdistan’s constitutional institutions it was not easy for to win the support of regional and other states, and to convince them of our legitimate right to self-determination.

The assessment of some factors and of how much the referendum’s results would be accepted may not have been in the interests of the people. That is why we found that the international community and some of our friends turned their backs on us in the face of domestic and international reaction.

Dear representatives of the people of Kurdistan,

We believed and still believe in nations’ rights to self-determination, and that it is a natural and eternal right of every people and is tied to their aspirations. The right of self-determination is one of the key principles in force, as defined by international and human rights treaties, as well as the economic, social and cultural rights of nations.

The legitimacy of self-determination is recognized; the referendum is one of the rights for which all the political forces in Kurdistan have fought for many years, and thousands of young Kurds have sacrificed their lives to achieve the rights of the people of Kurdistan. This is why the people established the Kurdistan Parliament, which brings all the parties and ethnic and religious components together. Due to Kurdistan Parliament’s firm belief in the rights of all peoples, including the right of our people to self-determination, and after losing hope in the implementation of many articles of the Iraqi Constitution, on 15 September 2017 Parliament showed that it was in favour of conducting the referendum.

Both before and after the referendum, we believe in dialogue with Baghdad which is the choice made by our people and by the Kurdistan Parliament.  

Today, after many painful events, the people of Kurdistan still want to resolve all the issues in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution, to prevent a repeat of constitutional violations against the legitimate rights and financial dues of the Kurdistan Region. To achieve this, the Kurdistan Region needs more than ever to work in the spirit of national unity, to serve the people and to face all the challenges and obstacles that the region is facing.

Finally, I wish to say that the siege and the political, military, economic consequences of holding the referendum and were difficult for Kurdistan. The effects of the referendum continue, through the attempts to decrease the constitutional powers of Kurdistan Region’s institutions. But in the end, the right to self-determination remains one of the legitimate rights of peoples. International treaties have affirmed this legitimate right of all peoples. We ask God to protect the Kurdistan Region and our people, and to preserve our institutions so that we may continue to serve all the people of Kurdistan.”