Kurd chief open to ‘alternate arrangement’ with Baghdad

By Idris Okuducu

ERBIL, Iraq

Next week’s referendum on Kurdish regional independence will not be postponed unless Baghdad can offer an "alternative arrangement" that would also guarantee the rights of the region's Kurds, Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani said Tuesday.

Speaking at a campaign rally in the city of Soran in northern Iraq’s Erbil province, Barzani said the poll’s primary goal was to "show the world that we want independence".

"We are open to hearing alternatives [to the referendum]," he said. "But in the absence of any such alternatives, the planned [Sept. 25] referendum is set to go forward."

Stressing that the KRG’s problem was not with the international community but with Baghdad, Barzani said that next week's poll would only be postponed if the Iraqi government could table a viable alternative.

However, he said, any such alternative arrangement "would have to be guaranteed by the international community, including the U.S. and the EU".

He went on to give Baghdad "two or three days" in which to propose an alternative scenario.

"Otherwise," he added, "we will head to the polls on Sept. 25."

"Erbil wants independence,” Barzani declared, "not ministerial portfolios or budget allocations".

Slated to be held next Monday, the non-binding referendum will see Iraqis in KRG-controlled areas -- and in a handful of territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad -- vote on whether or not to declare independence.

Along with Baghdad, Turkey, the U.S., Iran and the UN have all spoken out against the referendum, saying it would distract from the ongoing fight against Daesh and further destabilize the region.

Iraq’s central government has even threatened to intervene militarily if the vote leads to violence.

Barzani, for his part, has said that a victory for the Yes vote would not initiate an automatic declaration of independence but would simply lead to further negotiations with Baghdad.