‘Will of people triumphed’, says PM Barzani on Kurdish referendum anniversary
An overwhelming majority voted in favor of independence. The turnout was 72 percent, according to Kurdish election body figures.
The polls came as the three-year-long fight against ISIS was waning.
The Peshmerga forces, under the leadership of former President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and international support from Coalition forces, were able to defeat the terror group and recaptured much of the territories lost to the extremists when Iraqi soldiers withdrew in 2014.
The Kurdish leadership has publicly declared that the referendum was not intended to lead to an immediate succession from Iraq, rather, it was a democratic means to express the nation’s will.
The assurances did not stop the Iraqi authorities from launching a widespread military offensive on the areas contested by both governments in mid-October 2017, as a result of which a significant number of Kurdish people were displaced in those areas. Some of the civilian properties belonging to Kurdish people were set ablaze by the forces, including Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.
Kurdish people rally for yes-vote in Kurdistan Region independence referendum, Sept. 16, 2017. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum held in 2017, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the will of the people succeeded.
“On this day the will of the people triumphed,” Barzani tweeted along with a 21-second-long video showing one of the referendum’s rallies, in which people were celebrating.
A voice-over of President Masoud Barzani, the champion of the referendum, is heard on the video, saying: the bravery of Peshmerga forces and resistance of the Kurdistan Region people outweigh any power.
An overwhelming majority voted in favor of independence. The turnout was 72 percent, according to Kurdish election body figures. Four hundred international electoral observers monitored the process.
In addition to the Kurdish-majority population, a considerable number of Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other ethnic and religious components took part in the referendum both in Kurdistan Region as well as in the disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum held in 2017, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the will of the people succeeded.
“On this day the will of the people triumphed,” Barzani tweeted along with a 21-second-long video showing one of the referendum’s rallies, in which people were celebrating.
A voice-over of President Masoud Barzani, the champion of the referendum, is heard on the video, saying: the bravery of Peshmerga forces and resistance of the Kurdistan Region people outweigh any power.
An overwhelming majority voted in favor of independence. The turnout was 72 percent, according to Kurdish election body figures. Four hundred international electoral observers monitored the process.
In addition to the Kurdish-majority population, a considerable number of Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other ethnic and religious components took part in the referendum both in Kurdistan Region as well as in the disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil.
The Peshmerga forces, under the leadership of former President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and international support from Coalition forces, were able to defeat the terror group and recaptured much of the territories lost to the extremists when Iraqi soldiers withdrew in 2014.
The Kurdish leadership has publicly declared that the referendum was not intended to lead to an immediate succession from Iraq, rather, it was a democratic means to express the nation’s will.
The assurances did not stop the Iraqi authorities from launching a widespread military offensive on the areas contested by both governments in mid-October 2017, as a result of which a significant number of Kurdish people were displaced in those areas. Some of the civilian properties belonging to Kurdish people were set ablaze by the forces, including Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.
‘We chose to climb the mountain’, KDP President says on fifth referendum commemoration
He extended his appreciation to those “who never bowed down”.
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani
attending the fifth Duhok Cultural Festival, Sept. 25, 2022.
(Photo: Islam Hero/Kurdistan 24)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani said on Sunday that the Kurdish people chose to “climb the mountain” when they decided to hold the referendum, preferring the hard choice of being independent rather than accepting the status quo.
Barzani said the remarks during his attendance at the Duhok Cultural Festival, where he commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum. It was held on September 25, 2017.
He extended his appreciation to those “who never bowed down”.
Earlier Sunday, Barzani shared a couplet of the legendary Tunisian poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi, titled The Will to Life:
If, one day, the people wills to live
Then fate must obey
Darkness must dissipate
And must the chain give way
He who doesn’t like to climb mountains
Will forever live among the hollows
“And we chose to climb the mountain,” Barzani said in his speech after he had recited the poem in front of the Kurdish and Arab intellectuals, coming from various Middle Eastern countries, including the Kurdistan parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.
Barzani championed the Kurdish referendum for independence in 2017. An overwhelming majority of the Kurdish population as well as Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other ethnic and religious components voted in favor of independence.
“On this day the will of the people triumphed,” Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the referendum on Sunday.
The polls came as the three-year-long fight against ISIS was waning.
The Peshmerga forces, under the leadership of former President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and international support from Coalition forces, were able to defeat the terror group and recaptured much of the territories lost to the extremists when Iraqi soldiers withdrew in 2014.
The Kurdish leadership has publicly declared that the referendum was not intended to lead to an immediate succession from Iraq, rather, it was a democratic means to express the nation’s will.
The assurances did not stop the Iraqi authorities from launching a widespread military offensive on the areas contested by both governments in mid-October 2017, as a result of which a significant number of Kurdish people were displaced in those areas. Some of the civilian properties belonging to Kurdish people were set ablaze by the forces, including Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani said on Sunday that the Kurdish people chose to “climb the mountain” when they decided to hold the referendum, preferring the hard choice of being independent rather than accepting the status quo.
Barzani said the remarks during his attendance at the Duhok Cultural Festival, where he commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum. It was held on September 25, 2017.
He extended his appreciation to those “who never bowed down”.
Earlier Sunday, Barzani shared a couplet of the legendary Tunisian poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi, titled The Will to Life:
If, one day, the people wills to live
Then fate must obey
Darkness must dissipate
And must the chain give way
He who doesn’t like to climb mountains
Will forever live among the hollows
“And we chose to climb the mountain,” Barzani said in his speech after he had recited the poem in front of the Kurdish and Arab intellectuals, coming from various Middle Eastern countries, including the Kurdistan parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.
Barzani championed the Kurdish referendum for independence in 2017. An overwhelming majority of the Kurdish population as well as Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other ethnic and religious components voted in favor of independence.
“On this day the will of the people triumphed,” Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the referendum on Sunday.
The polls came as the three-year-long fight against ISIS was waning.
The Peshmerga forces, under the leadership of former President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and international support from Coalition forces, were able to defeat the terror group and recaptured much of the territories lost to the extremists when Iraqi soldiers withdrew in 2014.
The Kurdish leadership has publicly declared that the referendum was not intended to lead to an immediate succession from Iraq, rather, it was a democratic means to express the nation’s will.
The assurances did not stop the Iraqi authorities from launching a widespread military offensive on the areas contested by both governments in mid-October 2017, as a result of which a significant number of Kurdish people were displaced in those areas. Some of the civilian properties belonging to Kurdish people were set ablaze by the forces, including Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.
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