Main political parties in the Kurdistan Region announced on Tuesday their full support for the demands of Iraqi protesters and the reforms announced by the Baghdad government following demonstrations that have intensified in the past two weeks in the capital and the southern provinces.
The announcement was made during the closing session of an emergency meeting of Kurdish political parties, which convened Tuesday at the invitation of President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, and in the presence of Iraqi President Barham Salih.
Salih had arrived in Erbil Monday to meet with Kurdish leaders and discuss prospective amendments to Iraq’s constitution amid ongoing demonstrations across many of the country’s central and southern cities.
During their meeting, the leaders of Kurdish parties and forces expressed their readiness to ease tension in Iraq.
A statement, the participants said the Kurdish parties and forces took a joint position regarding the latest developments in Iraq and decided to support the legitimate demands of the protesters, who are calling for better services, transparency and fighting corruption.
"We also said that Kurdistan Region must have a united position. By this, we mean supporting all other Iraqi [political] forces as we all have a responsibility in the issues Iraq is today suffering from," said Barzani, who read out the statement.
The Kurdish forces agreed to offer the needed support for the Iraqi parties and forces in their efforts to save Iraq from the current tense situation.
“We fully support the reform steps taken by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and the need to quickly implement them on the ground,” Barzani announced.
The Kurdish parties also said they were ready to contribute in the drafting of the Iraqi constitution as a step to move Iraq to a better phase of stability and harmony.
“The Kurdistan Region supports any constitutional amendment on condition that it serves the interests of the Iraqi people and move Iraq to a better phase,” the statement said.
