Alwaght- Masrour Barzani, the son of the President of Iraq’s Kurdistan region Masoud Barzani, who is the president of the region's Security Council, in an interview with Reuters on June 16, has talked about the need to partition Iraq, and said that after defeat of ISIS, to avoid more bloodshed, Iraq must be broken into three Kurdish, Shia and Sunni regions because the mistrust hit a level that made it impossible to live on together in a unified country. He added that federal system was left without conclusion, so the country should move towards confederalism or Iraq be divided into three independent regions to have three centers.

In past few years, Kurdistan Democratic Party with its leader Masoud Barzani who also has the top post of presidency of the Kurdish region, repeatedly maintained that independence was a legal right of the Kurdistan, asking for holding referendum to finally decide on the issue. According to the recent remarks of Barzani, the decision to hold the independence referendum was made seriously, and it is set to be held this year.

Masrour Barzani who is also preparing to take his father's post and is the head of Intelligence and Security Service of the Kurdish region, in different times has reiterated his father's stances on the autonomy of the region. He, however, this time in his interview went beyond positions of his father, prescribing not only for Kurdistan region but also for the whole of the country including the Sunnis and Shiites. This comes while independence of Kurdistan itself is seen as facing an array of serious challenges at home and abroad.

Shiite, Sunni and even Kurdish lawmakers oppose Barzani's remarks

So far, no groups from the Shiite, Sunnis or Iraq’s Kurds made any comments to confirm or reject Barzani's words and stances on independence, but many figures from across the country have expressed opposition to the standing of the Kurdish politician.

Sunni reaction

Hassan Shweird, a Sunni member of Iraq’s parliament and the head of the parliament’s Commission for Foreign Affairs has argued that split of Iraq would result in more bloodshed and displacement.

Ahmed Al-Jubouri, also a Sunni lawmaker in the Council of Representatives of Iraq — or the national parliament— from the ISIS-held Mosul, has expressed objection to what Masrour Barzani said on independence and split of the country.

The different Sunni groups and figures who are part of the country’s political process despite essential differences with the government and the Shiites about their political objectives and their beyond-the-law demands, and future relations of the Sunni regions with the central government at the end of the road seek implementation of federal system and adoption of Sunni education in would-be all-Sunni regions— this was recently expressed by Abdulrahman Salman, a member of Council of Nineveh Province. So, Barzani's remarks about independence of majorly Sunni inhabited areas go beyond the Sunnis’ demands for their future.

Shia positions

Qaim al-Araji, the member of Iraq’s parliament Security and Defense Commission and also head of Badr Organization's faction in the parliament has denounced Barzani's remarks, calling them as “serving the enemies of Iraq.”

Along with emerging conflicting news on positions of different groups on unity or split of Iraq some Iraqi news agencies have reported that Firdous al-Awadi, the member of parliament of Iraq from State of Law Coalition which is led by former Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has backed the idea of partition of Iraq into three parts after defeat of the terrorist group ISIS. BasNews.com, which belongs to Kurdistan Democratic Party, has welcomed al-Awadi’s support for the idea of split and reflected the news as “backing by Islamic Dawa Party for independence of Kurdistan.” Firdous al-Awadi, in an interview, however, has denied the news, saying that the news published in his name was fake. He asserted that “unity of Iraq is a red line.”

Awatef Nemeh, also a member of parliament from State of Law Coalition said that such remarks would bring “ the fire of hell for the Iraqis”, adding that Kurdistan didn't concern about current crisis in Iraq and the only significant matter for the Kurdish region’s politicians was realization of their interests and usurping additional privileges from Iraq's central government. She said that Kurdistan region could not turn a blind eye to the fate of Iraq and the Iraqis.

What the Kurds say

Representatives of two major Kurdish groups Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Gorran Movement, excluding the Democratic Party, have come against Barzani's remarks. Showan Davoudi, a member of Iraq’s parliament from Patriotic Union, noted that remarks made by Masrour Barzani were just stances of a specific party in the Kurdish region. He added that the region was not fully united now and the decision making process of it was impaired due to inactivity of the legal institutions.

The member of parliament of Iraq from Gorran Movement Sarwa Abdelwahed also refuted what was said about independence by Barzani.

US reiterates backing for unity of Iraq

John Kirby, the spokesman for US Department of State, in a briefing has reacted to Barzani's idea of the necessity of splitting Iraq into three parts following ISIS defeat and said that the US policy did not change on Iraq's political situation, continuing that the White House would continue supporting a federal, democratic, diversified, and at the same time united Iraq. He asserted that no change in US stance happened on this issue.

A general view

The massive conflicts and fundamental gaps between different Iraq's political community sides as well as political and security crises are boosting serious dangers of split of the country. But, in return, there are strong volitions advocating unity between people and the political forces. This makes the division-backing parties stand opposite to unity-advocating sides.

Unceasing anti-ISIS attacks by the Iraqi security forces in different cities, especially the recent breakthrough of liberation of Fallujah, have managed to restore national morale and pride to the Iraqis. Continuation of these advances and finally recapturing Mosul could largely rebuild strength and ruling power of the central government and nullify the separatist parties.

In Kurdistan region, Kurdistan Democratic Party is the only side striving after independence. On the opposite side, the rival parties which hold Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk and Halabja— three of five cities of Kurdistan region— have decided not to side with the Democratic Party on independence argument.

By Alwaght