Kurds, like Palestinians, have right to self-determination: Iraqi Kurdistan PM

The Kurdish people, like the Palestinians, have a legitimate right to self-determination, the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan said on Monday.

Addressing the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Masrour Barzani said the roots of the injustices experienced by Palestinians since the establishment of Israel in 1948 “remain unaddressed.”

He added: “Had the foundational rights of the Palestinians been dealt with 80 years ago, or in the decades since, there would’ve been far less chance of the tragedy we’re seeing now.”

Barzani said the Kurds have similar rights to self-determination, which he called a “driving force of human nature,” and these rights “had been acknowledged by our friends and allies, who at the same time tell us that political imperatives impede their help in delivering a historical justice.”

He added that decades-old issues that have been allowed to “fester” in the Middle East have fueled the instability and turmoil that the region is currently experiencing.

“War, insurrection, hardship and economic instability have unfortunately become part of our hardwiring. There’s no denying the toll this has taken on social and economic development,” he said.

Barzani urged the international community not to ignore the origins of threats to the region’s stability.

In the case of the Kurds, “we’ve been unjustifiably targeted,” he said. “We’re a factor of peace and stability.”

He added that the Kurdish people believe in the value of “mutual respect and interests” with regional neighbors.

Barzani also said Kurdistan stood by its allies during “the plague of ISIS (Daesh),” and is owed some goodwill for stopping the terrorist group from spreading further.

“It was the right thing to do, and had we not done so, the region would now be a very different place, plagued by global terrorists who had consolidated a foothold in the heartland of the Middle East, sowing chaos among us at will,” he added.

Barzani also said Kurdistan would help play a role in combating the effects of climate change, especially considering it is directly impacted by those effects.

“We’re fully aware of the risks of ignoring a catastrophic reality,” he added. “Together, we can summon the will to confront the issues that hold us back. It isn’t always easy as leaders to look to the horizon, but we must. We owe it to those who put their faith in us.”