Armenian Assembly salutes Iraqi Kurdish referendum and resultsSeptember 28, 2017 - 11:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) salutes Iraqi Kurdistan's referendum on independence and its results, where the people voted for three provinces of northern Iraq to become part of the sovereign Iraqi Kurdistan, the Assembly said in a statement on Wednesday, September 27. On September 25, CNN and other new services are reporting that: "The first results should be known within 72 hours. Kurdish election officials said 72% of eligible voters had cast their votes in the referendum. The Kurdistan Regional Government, which administers a semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq, says the referendum will give it a mandate to achieve independence from Iraq." The Kurdish people have treated Armenians who reside within its territory in Iraq well throughout the years, the Assembly said. "There are just a few of us in Kurdistan. But thanks to God, we have been given most of our rights," Ishkhan Milko, an Armenian member of the Duhok Provincial Council, told Rudaw, "We have a seat in the Kurdistan parliament as well as a seat in the Duhok Provincial Council." Many Armenians ended up in northern Iraq as a result of deportations during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Even though some Kurdish communities were exploited and encouraged by the Turkish Ottoman regime to attack the caravans of Armenians, many Kurds refused and instead rescued them from death, the statement said. Kurdish officials have also issued statements expressing their condolences for the Armenian Genocide. According to journalist Christopher Hitchens' article in Slate, he wrote that: "In 1991, in northern Iraq, where you could still see and smell the gassed and poisoned towns and villages of Kurdistan, I heard Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan say that Kurds ought to apologize to the Armenians for the role they had played as enforcers for the Ottomans during the time of the Genocide. Talabani, who has often repeated that statement, is now [2007] president of Iraq." Hitchens went on to note: "I would regard his unforced statement as evidence in itself, by the way, in that proud peoples do not generally offer to apologize for revolting crimes that they did not, in fact, commit." In 2007, Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani published his father's memoirs about the Armenian Genocide and mass deportation of Armenians. In his writings, his father described how his brigade aided the Armenians and accompanied them to the border of Syria while they were confronted by Turkish forces, and ultimately suffered casualties. Today, the Assembly said, Kurds in Turkey recognize the Armenian Genocide, commemorate the victims, and often call on the Turkish government to apologize to Armenian people. In addition to being strong advocates for human rights and standing up against Genocide, the Kurdish people in the region have been a bulwark against ISIS and have pledged to protect minorities. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |