Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum

Iraq's parliament voted on Sept. 12 to reject an Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum planned for Sept. 25, authorising the prime minister to take all measures to preserve Iraq's unity, a lawmaker said.

"Kurdish lawmakers walked out of the session but the decision to reject the referendum was passed by a majority," said Mohammed al-Karbouli. 

Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government's (KRG) President Masoud Barzani has once again said the referendum on independence scheduled to be held on Sept. 25 will not be delayed if no better alternative emerges, as the Turkish, Iraqi and regional authorities, as well as the United States and Britain, vocally oppose the vote. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has reiterated Turkey's strong opposition against the Iraqi Kurdish autonomous government's bid to hold an independence referendum late September, describing the move as a "grave mistake." 

Turkey's opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has criticized Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım over replying to his comments regarding the planned independence referendum in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq. 

Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the National Movement Party (MHP), recently criticized the Kurdish Regional Government's (KRG) plan to hold an independence referendum and said "this should be considered 'casus belli' [cause for war]."

Some might have realized that Bahçeli's statements in the recent past on foreign policy issues have turned out to be Turkey's official foreign policy.

The planned independence referendum in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq is not a reason to start a war, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, after Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli claimed that the vote could be a "casus belli."

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated on Aug. 23 in Baghdad that he will tell the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that its planned independence referendum is wrong and Ankara expects it to cancel the vote.

Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani has said that a planned Sept. 25 referendum on independence is already being held late and cannot be postponed under "pretexts" from Iraq because "trust no longer exists between Arbil and Baghdad."

An independence referendum set to take place on Sept. 25 in northern Iraq, which has been suffering from an economic crisis for three years, preoccupies the agendas of businessmen who are associated with the area.

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) planned referendum on independence in northern Iraq on Sept. 25 risks leading the country to "civil war," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.