21.03.2012
President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani criticized Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday and accused him of dragging the country to “dictatorship” and into the “abyss.”
“There is an attempt to establish a one-million strong army whose loyalty is only to a single person”“ Barzani said” referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki.
In a speech marking the traditional Persian new year holiday, Barzani repeated a litany of Kurdish complaints, some of them specifically directed against Maliki for consolidating his hold on power in Baghdad.
“There is an attempt to establish a one-million strong army whose loyalty is only to a single person”“ Barzani said” referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki.
In a speech marking the traditional Persian new year holiday, Barzani repeated a litany of Kurdish complaints, some of them specifically directed against Maliki for consolidating his hold on power in Baghdad.
“Where in the world can the same person be the prime minister, the chief of staff of the armed forces, the minister of defense, the minister of interior, the chief of intelligence and the head of the national security council?” he said, referring to powerful posts that Maliki has yet to allocate under a power-sharing agreement.
Barzani appeared to raise the stakes, with language suggesting he could seek a referendum of some kind on the Kurdish region's relations with Baghdad - although he stopped far short of breaking a taboo by making explicit reference to independence.
“It is time to say enough is enough,” Barzani said in an official translation of his remarks on his website.
“The current status of affairs in unacceptable to us and I call on all Iraqi political leaders to urgently try and find a solution - otherwise we will return to our people and will decide on whatever course of action that our people deem appropriate.”
The comments could be seen as a veiled code for seeking independence, since most Kurds say they would vote to secede from Iraq if given a chance.
Barzani appeared to raise the stakes, with language suggesting he could seek a referendum of some kind on the Kurdish region's relations with Baghdad - although he stopped far short of breaking a taboo by making explicit reference to independence.
“It is time to say enough is enough,” Barzani said in an official translation of his remarks on his website.
“The current status of affairs in unacceptable to us and I call on all Iraqi political leaders to urgently try and find a solution - otherwise we will return to our people and will decide on whatever course of action that our people deem appropriate.”
The comments could be seen as a veiled code for seeking independence, since most Kurds say they would vote to secede from Iraq if given a chance.
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