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Barzani calls for a Federal Democratic Parliamentary State in Iraq.
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British Government
Supports Autonomy for the Iraqi Kurds.
KDP International Relations Bureau, London. July 3, 2002 (House of Lords, Monday 1st July, 3pm.) On Monday 1st July, a number of peers and members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Iraqi Kurdistan asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Baroness Amos, what assurances Her Majesty’s Government could give to the Kurdish people living in Iraqi Kurdistan, that their security will be protected in the event of the outbreak of military offensives in the region. The members of the House of Lords congratulated the Kurds in northern Iraq on the remarkable progress made in their region since 1991 and they expressed their concerns for the protection of the Iraqi Kurds as “the United States appears committed to an attack on Iraq”. Baroness Amos reasserted the British Government’s claim that no military action is planned, however she did repeatedly reaffirm the British Government’s commitment to the protection of the no-fly zone and prevention of “another grave humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq”. Baroness Cox, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Iraqi Kurdistan, also expressed the “widespread anxiety” that Turkey may take advantage of any military action to pursue its own agenda in Iraqi Kurdistan but Baroness Amos quoted Turkey’s respect for the territorial integrity of Iraq. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State declined to offer any guarantees about the future of northern Iraq’s 13% share of the UNSCR 986 programme, nor would she guarantee the availability of humanitarian supplies in the event of prolonged military action, citing that these arrangements were out of the control of the British Government. However, when Lord Ahmed questioned “whether the (British) Government will support a permanent solution for the Kurdish people within Iraq”, the Foreign and Commonwealth spokesperson replied: “We want to see autonomy, not independence, for the Iraqi Kurds and the Kurds have made it clear that that is what they want”. She also commended the Kurds for their political will to make the Oil for Food programme work for the people, despite obstacles to implementation caused by the Iraqi regime. Lord Howell of Guildford, Opposition Spokesperson for the House of Lords, spoke of the Conservatives support for the continuing commitment to the no-fly zones and the longer-term vision of a federal Iraqi democratic state.
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