Kurdish Minister: 'Democracy is a practice, not a package you hand over.'

[DRoshani]

August 7, 2009 - The Media Line Staff – KURDISTAN ERBIL

The Media Line: Given the July elections, what is your feeling about
the health of Kurdistan's democracy?

Minister Bakir: Although we have been trying our best to establish a
democratic system in this region, I believe we have a long way to go.
Democracy is not a package that you can distribute and hand over to
people so they can change from another system to a democratic system.
As Prime Minister Barzani has stated, it is a practice of daily life,
it takes time and it's a process but for sure the KRG is determined to
go to the end of that road.

The Media Line: The government has made efforts to be open in
acknowledging its deficiencies. How are these deficiencies being
actively resolved? Minister Bakir: I believe one of the key successes
of Prime Minister Barzani is the fact that he has been open and honest
with himself, his cabinet and his people. He has always tried to come
forward, tell the people what we have, where we stand, what are our
problems and what we should do.

It is important when mistakes have been made for a leader to say we
have made mistakes and when we have problems to say we have problems.
He tries to consult with others in order to find the right way to go.

It was the Prime Minister, in terms of human rights, women's issues
and other issues who was the first to come on the stage and state that
we can not hide our problems anymore, we have to expose our problems
in order to tackle them and find proper solutions for them.

I believe we are witnessing a transitional phase in our history, in
the region and also in all of Iraq. We may not get what we desire or
wish for, but the most important thing is to have the political will
and the determination to overcome the difficulties, try to fill in the
gaps and make sure that the future is better than the past.

The Media Line: How do you see the role of international observers in
the elections?

Minister Bakir: KRG welcomes international observers to come in and
monitor elections, to make sure that we have free and fair elections
in this region. It is very important for us since we want to prove to
the outside world, to those inside Iraq and of course to our own
people, that we welcome elections? Therefore, the more international
observers we have, the better and more credible the results.

The Media Line: Relations between Kurdistan and Turkey have seen a
gradual warming. How do you foresee future relations shaping up?
Minister Bakir: As you know, there has recently been direct dialogue
between the KRG and Turkish officials and we welcome that, and we will
make sure that we continue this kind of cooperation.

Turkey is an important country and we look forward to the expansion of
relations in terms of economic activities, business, commercial,
cultural and educational activities. Overall the Kurdistan Region as
part of Iraq can also play an important bridge to the rest of Iraq,
and we are looking forward to an expansion of ties, increasing the
volume and scale of economic exchange between the region and all of
Iraq with Turkey,

The Media Line: Is there support for a future confederation between
Turkey and the KRG?

Minister Bakir: Well, the Kurdistan Region is a part Iraq, and the
parliament of the Kurdistan Region adopted a federal solution. We are
committed to the Iraqi constitution and we want to make sure that we
will have a free, federal, democratic and pluralistic Iraq, an Iraq
that treats its citizens with respect and dignity, and lives in peace
with itself, within its communities and with its neighboring
countries.

At the same time we welcome increasing our relations and widening our
relations with neighboring countries and Turkey is an important
country that we can have very good relations with. Turkey has helped
us in the past and it will continue to cooperate with Iraq and the
Kurdistan Region.

The Media Line: Does the KRG's commitment to the Iraqi constitution
come with preconditions?

Minister Bakir: The commitment must be reciprocal and based on an Iraq
that is peaceful, stable and has a future for all sides.

The Media Line: Why have the KRG been unable to create a more powerful
lobby in the US or the EU?

Minister Bakir: Well, the KRG is trying its best to broaden its ties
and work closely with foreign governments, including the U.S., British
and EU governments. We have been trying to encourage them to open
business offices, consulates and embassies in the region.

We have also been trying to encourage Kurdish communities in the
diaspora to also play a positive role.

As far as we are concerned we have done everything that we can? But it
needs continued efforts. The Media Line: Will a future Kurdistan, have
a base of support from abroad, perhaps somewhat akin to Israel?

Minister Bakir: The situation in Kurdistan is different. The Kurdistan
Region is here today, we were here before the liberation of Iraq, and
we remained after the liberation. We had our own government and
parliament and we continued to work with the coalition forces as well
as with other Iraqi forces, in order to make sure that there will be a
better future for all Iraqis.

Therefore I believe this is a transitional phase. It needs patience,
it needs effort and it needs international support. The international
support that we need today is political support for Iraq, for the
political process and to send the right message to Iraq that we
support democracy, commitment to the constitution and we will not
support dictatorship.

I believe that the best support the international community can give
to Iraq is to stay committed to the constitution, which lays down
principles of federalism, democracy, and also making sure the future
of Iraq is better than the past.

The Media Line: How supportive has the U.S. been to the idea of
Kurdish self-rule?

Minister Bakir: Well, this has to be an Iraqi decision.

We were almost independent from 1991 to the time of the fall of the
former regime in 2003. We had our own international relations,
international business dealings; even the currency which was in
circulation here was different from that of the rest of the country.
The economy, education and health systems here were doing better at
that time and there was no control whatsoever from the Iraqi regime.

But with the fall of the regime, based on the principles of federalism
and democracy, pluralism and partnership, we decided to go back and
work for a better Iraq. Therefore it is an Iraqi issue. The Kurdistan
Region has been recognized in the Iraq constitution as a legitimate
entity, and I believe it has to be respected because the Kurdistan
Region has its own characteristics.

The region has been run professionally since 1991, we are doing much
better than some other parts of the country, and we believe we are
ahead. Had it not been for the problems created every now and then by
the federal government such as problems related to the national
budget, the movement of troops, and other issues, there would have
been even more progress.

Also the security situation in the rest of the country has affected us
negatively, in discouraging people to come and invest in this region.
The KRG has started a very powerful campaign to start attracting
investment to this part of Iraq, using Kurdistan as a gateway to start
business establishments in this part of Iraq, and then moving towards
the rest of Iraq when the situation stabilizes.

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