PM Barzani hails Kurdish referendum anniversary as symbol of will and hope

Shafaq News – Erbil

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday said the anniversary of the 2017 independence referendum reflects the will of the Kurdish people and the “victory of their nation.”

In a statement marking the occasion, Barzani congratulated Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, families of “martyrs,” Peshmerga forces, and the people of Kurdistan, describing it as a day of “hope and aspiration.”

The Kurdistan Region held the referendum on September 25, 2017, with 92% voting in favor of independence on a 72% turnout.

Baghdad rejected the referendum as unconstitutional and responded with punitive measures. Turkiye and Iran also opposed it, fearing it would encourage separatist movements among their Kurdish populations.

The Kurdistan Regional Government maintains that the referendum, whose results were later frozen, was a “democratic exercise to express the voice of a people subjected to decades of persecution.”