Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Iraqi PM discourages Kurdish independence referendum
Source: Reuters
Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:07am EST
Iraqi PM discourages Kurdish independence referendum
BERLIN
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi urged the country's autonomous Kurdistan region not to go ahead with a proposed referendum on independence, saying it would be neither in its own interest nor Iraq's.
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said last week the time had come for the region to hold a non-binding referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq, despite being in the throes of political, economic and security crises.
"I urge them not to go ahead with the referendum," Abadi said at a news conference in Berlin on Thursday. "If as they say they are not going to abide by its outcome, then why hold a referendum?"
The chaos created by Islamic State's occupation of swathes of Iraq and Syria since in 2014 has given Iraq's Kurds a chance to further their long-held dream of independence.
The region's peshmerga forces have driven back the hardline Sunni Muslim militants in northern Iraq, earning them international recognition. But the Kurds are currently struggling to avert an economic collapse brought on by a global slump in oil prices.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Iraqi PM discourages Kurdish independence referendum
BERLIN
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi urged the country's autonomous Kurdistan region not to go ahead with a proposed referendum on independence, saying it would be neither in its own interest nor Iraq's.
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said last week the time had come for the region to hold a non-binding referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq, despite being in the throes of political, economic and security crises.
"I urge them not to go ahead with the referendum," Abadi said at a news conference in Berlin on Thursday. "If as they say they are not going to abide by its outcome, then why hold a referendum?"
The chaos created by Islamic State's occupation of swathes of Iraq and Syria since in 2014 has given Iraq's Kurds a chance to further their long-held dream of independence.
The region's peshmerga forces have driven back the hardline Sunni Muslim militants in northern Iraq, earning them international recognition. But the Kurds are currently struggling to avert an economic collapse brought on by a global slump in oil prices.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds-idUSKCN0VK1SC
