By: Hawar Abdulrazaq
Somalilandsun – The European Union Parliament has changed its stance on the Iraqi resolution and has blamed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the recent insatiability in the country. On Wednesday, the European Parliament held a special session on the current Iraqi crisis. After discussions spanning the last few weeks, EU members of Parliament changed their position regarding the Kurdistan Region and the referendum issue.
“The EU takes note of the announcement by the Kurdistan Regional Government of a referendum for independence” read the resolution’s change of heart, with a reminder that it would be the job of Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani to uphold an inclusive process in respect of the rights of the non-Kurdish minorities living in the province.
“The rapid surge of the IS has revealed the fragility of the Iraqi army and institutions which are plagued by corruption, sectarianism and the exclusivist policies of the government of the Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, which has led to substantial alienation of the Sunni and other minorities in Iraq,” said the new EU parliament resolution.
The EU’s previous stance upheld support for Iraq’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, but no mention of support for Kurdish independence had been made.
“KRG representatives in Brussels have had an active role in changing the EU’s perspective regarding the situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,’ Delavar Ajgeiy, a KRG representative in the EU told BasNews.
The meeting, which was named EU Parliament’s Iraqi resolution, acknowledged that after the recent Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) attacks in northern Iraq and particularly in Mosul, Iraqi PM Maliki was at fault for neglecting Sunni and Kurdish rights.
“Military units of the Kurdish Regional Government took over the control of the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk in the middle of June 2014, thus integrating decade-long disputed oil-rich territory into the Kurdish province, and whereas the Kurdish Government announced plans for a referendum among the Kurdish population to obtain independence from Iraq,” the resolution explained.
A Kurdistan Regional Representative in Europe revealed to BasNews that they have been making great efforts to meet EU Members and political Groups of European Parliament to sway their views regarding the referendum that could determine Kurdistan’s future.
The EU also acknowledged the burden placed on the Kurdistan Region in its position as host to a large and ever-growing number of IDPs.
Basnews
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