Special Interview with Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdish Region President
Nechirvan Barzani, born in 1966, was eight years old in 1974 when he had to leave Iraq along with his family and his grandfather, Mulla Mustafa Barzani, and tens of thousands of Kurds living under Iraqi rule. They were forced into exile into Iran to seek safety from Iraq's Ba'ath regime which committed tremendous brutalities. He had his education in Iran, joined Kurdistan Democratic Party (Party) which Mulla Mustafa had founded and became a member of the political office of the party. He lost his father in 1987 in Uremia to a heart attack. In 1991, Saddam occupied Kuwait which led to the weakness of the central government and empowerment of Kurdish groups north of this country. Therefore, Barzani returned to Erbil to try to establish an independent Kurdish government alongside others. He was first appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and then appointed as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in 1999. He is now the President of the Kurdistan Region. He became President after the failure of the independence referendum orchestrated by Masoud Barzani (that led to his resignation).
Nechirvan Barzani speaks Persian eloquently and frankly comments on the regional transformations. He believes that holding the independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdish regions was a wrong approach which couldn't contribute to the Kurdish ideals. In Nechirvan Barzani's view, the stability and security of West Asia region depends on the attempts and cooperation of regional countries and no other power can bring security to this region. He first analyzes and then criticizes the foreign powers' interference in regional equations and is of the opinion that presence of foreign forces in the region not only doesn’t solve the problems, but complicates them. He thinks that America's plans in Syria failed and the US lacks a strategic plan and initiative in Syria which has led to its failure against Iran and Russia.
He emphasizes that the ISIS helped all Iraqi tribes unite to stand against this big threat. In his view, during the last year, the US has regarded the Kurdish people as a security company and has never regarded them an ally. Thus, he advises Syrian Kurds not to set their hopes on the US and find a way to negotiate with Bashar Asad to reach a solution. The President of the Kurdistan Region expresses hopes that after the American troops leave Syria movements can find an opportunity to talk and negotiate and solve their problems. He considers Israel's military action against Hash al-Shaabi an offensive act against Iraqi people and thinks that the US is mainly responsible for this hostility. He lays stress on the role that the Kurdish region can play in the frame of regional stability.
Tehran Foreign Policy Studies Quarterly had an interview with Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil and asked questions on diverse subject matters.
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