Al-Monitor: What of the PKK presence in the Qandil Mountains?
Barzani: This is Iraqi territory and they must leave. And this is one of the reasons why we are so eager to see the Kurdish peace process inside Turkey succeed. We hope this problem will be resolved peacefully.
Al-Monitor: How concerned are you about growing Iranian influence and the Popular Mobilization Units?
Barzani: We respect the achievements of the Popular Mobilization Units but their status needs to be clarified. They need to come under legal supervision and be fully answerable to the Iraqi authorities, and rather than compete they ought to complement each other.
In any case, under the Iraqi Constitution our territory is protected and controlled by our own forces so there is no need for others to come in. And as I said, we would like to have friendly relations with all of our neighbors including Iran, and that our relationship is based on mutual respect.
They cannot look down on us as subordinate or inferior.
Al-Monitor: Do they?
Barzani: In some areas they do, but definitely not in Kurdistan. Kurdistan is different.
Al-Monitor: But Iran has intervened in the internal matters of Iraqi Kurdistan before, as it did in the 1990s when it helped the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan recapture Sulaimaniyah from the KDP.
Barzani: There are definitely differences between parties. There are dependencies on third parties. Our goal and the goal of our president was to create a prosperous, democratic Kurdistan region that would respect its neighbors. We understand there are pressures on Kurdistan from its neighbors, but in the end it's up to the Kurds to realize that unity is really the guarantee to their success.
Al-Monitor: The president’s term is due to expire in August and there are differences between the KDP and the opposition over whether his term ought to be extended for a third time. Moreover, the opposition insists that the powers of the president [Massoud Barzani] be curbed. This is surely a test of your unity.
Barzani: I think the president has become a symbol of the Kurdish national movement, whether some accept it or not. Under normal circumstance we would have had elections on Aug. 20 and the president has asked the parliament and the electoral commission to prepare for elections. It’s now up to the commission to arrange for elections to be held on time, and if not to avert a legal vacuum.
Before this issue arose all the political parties agreed that all matters pertaining to the national interest must be solved through consensus. If these parties understand the threat posed by [IS] and the economic problems we are having because of revenue-sharing with Baghdad, they would realize that the last thing Kurdistan needs is another crisis. Consensus is the best way forward.
When the KDP had the majority of seats and the power to make decisions, they always encouraged a consensus and national unity. Sadly, when the KDP’s rivals feel there is a single opportunity to bring down the KDP, they forget the national interest and they immediately jump on what is in it for them as a political gain. It’s a cheap game.
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