Kurdistan: We will not participate in a government formed by Maliki

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Shafaq News / President of the Department of Foreign Affairs in government of the Kurdistan Region , Falah Mustafa announced that the Kurdish regional president , Massoud Barzani, stressed during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the need for change in the political process, pointing out that if the situation remained as it is, then there is a need for the participation of the Kurds in the next government

Mustafa said in a statement reported for "Shafaq News", that” Kerry asserted that Iraq faces great and real challenges, and stressed the need to form a government in which everyone participate effectively in it, pointing out that he had asked Barzani to participate effectively in the political process.

Mustafa added that Barzani stressed the importance and the need for change, and if the conditions remained as it is then there is no need to participate in the next government, adding that this means changing ,Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister for a third term, "being the cause of the political crisis in Iraq”.

He said that Kerry and Barzani spoken clearly about the reasons for what happened and the root of the problem, "namely mismanagement in Baghdad and the government's failure to manage the country, especially the exclusion of Sunnis and the absence of real participation of the Kurds and the rest of the components of the Iraqi people in the political process and decision-making", stressing on the necessity of the development of the real deal for these problems.

Mustafa added that it was agreed during the talks (between Barzani and Kerry) that there should be first a political solution to the crisis and then a military solution to face the militants who threaten the security of Iraq as a whole, noting that the two sides stressed that the root of the problem is political, not military.

He pointed out that the fight against "terrorism" that the government talked about involves "sectarian settling of accounts operations," asserting that the Kurds will not participate in such "sectarian battles."

Mustafa explained that U.S. Secretary of State stressed more than once the importance of everyone's participation in the next government, especially the Kurds, and asked Barzani for a Kurdish effective participation and the cabinet to be formed within the constitutional period in the first of next (July) to be the first step to resolve the crisis in Iraq .

He said that this subject needs a "tremendous effort, especially because it is in the distrust atmosphere."

About what the leak of reports that Barzani talked about the possibility of independence for the region from Iraq during his interview with Kerry, Mustafa said that Barzani explained to U.S. Secretary of State that the Kurdish people made ​​a lot of sacrifices and has built a safe and balanced territory in its external relations, successful in its economic development, we ask Baghdad to cooperate together to rise up in Iraq, pointing out that they want to live as "real" partners within a federal constitutional Iraq.

However, the government in Baghdad did not listen to the Kurdish opinions and viewpoints, indicating that it wanted to deal with people in the Kurdistan Region to " be regarded as second-class citizens."

He added that Barzani told Kerry that the people of Kurdistan and the leadership reject any marginalization, or to deal with the Kurds as second-class citizens, declaring that they cannot live under "dictatorship system ".
 
He added that there should be complete clarity in this matter, and that the Kurds are partners in a federal constitutional and democratic Iraq and should not be a part of the " sectarian conflict and chaos," stressing that “   counter-terrorism subject should not be used as a subject for sectarian purposes with an emphasis that our people do not want to lose its successful experience

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