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President Barzani and President Obama reiterate joint commitment to defeat ISIS.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with US President Barack Obama and Vice Presid-ent Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, where they underscored their joint commitment to defeating ISIS.

President Barzani thanked President Obama, Vice President Biden, the Administration, Congress and people of America for standing by the people of Kurdistan by making a timely intervention when Kurdistan was attacked by ISIS terrorists. He also thanked them for the continued support to the Pesh-merga and the air strikes against ISIS.

'Thank you for the assistance and support you have provided which has enabled us to liberate territory and protect our people as well as the refugees and displaced people who fled to Kurdistan,' President Barzani said. He said Kurdistan needs further support to confront the military, economic and humanitarian challenges it faces.”

'I am pleased that the successful coordination between our forces on the ground and yours in the air has meant that no military targets have been missed and no civilians have been hit,' said President Barzani.

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He outlined the ongoing humanitarian crisis facing Kurdistan which is sheltering over 1.6million Arabs, Turkmen, Christians, Yezidis and Syrian refugees.

President Obama welcomed President Barzani and his delegation and expressed his appreciation for the courage and sacrifices of the Pesh-merga and offered his condolences for those who had lost their lives. He and Vice President Biden reiterated their commitment to continu-ing the fight against ISIS and to providing assistance to the Peshmer-ga. President Obama thanked President Barzani for the refuge Kurdi-stan has offered to the religious and ethnic minorities that have fled ISIS, saying that it is part of the reason why the international commu-nity has respect for the Kurdish people. He also said he had studied Kurdish history and knew the challenges the Kurdish people had faced. The two sides also discussed relations between Erbil and Baghdad and the landmark December agreement which is enacted in Iraq's Budget Law. President Barzani said the Kurdistan Regional Government is com-mitted to the agreement and expects Baghdad to honour its part also. They spoke about Mosul and the joint effort that would be needed, including by Sunni forces, to retake the city. President Barzani said Er-bil, Baghdad, the US and coalition countries were coordinating closely. The leaders also discussed wider regional issues and the future of the region after ISIS has been defeated.

President Barzani holds second meeting with Vice President Biden and addresses US senators.

President Masoud Barzani on Wednesday had a second meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden following their meeting at the White House on Tuesday with President Barack Obama.

President Barzani and Vice President Biden discussed in further detail the partnership between Kurdistan Region and the United States against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.

President Barzani :”'I am pleased that the

successful coordination between our forces on

the ground and yours in the air has meant that no

military targets have been missed and no

civilians have been hit.”

3

President Barzani and Vice President Biden discussed in further detail the partnership between Kurdistan Region and the United States against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham. They reiterated their commitment to defeating ISIS and helping the displaced.

President Barzani and his delegation met Tony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State, and separately General John Allen, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition Against ISIS, and other senior officials. In both meetings they discussed the current security, humanitarian, political and economic situation in Kurdistan and Iraq as well as the liberation of Mosul and the situation in the wider Middle East.

Mr Blinken, who hosted the President on behalf of Secretary of State John Kerry who is travelling, began his meet-ing by recognising the courage of the Peshmerga. 'I want to start by saying how much we appreciate and respect the extraordinary courage of the Peshmerga. We are honoured to be your partners,' Mr Blinken said. General Allen also praised the Peshmerga and said the United States honours their sacrifice.

In each meeting, President Barzani thanked the United States for its vital support in the fight against ISIS and underscored his commitment to the partnership with America.

During these meetings , the security coordination between Kurdish forces and the US and coalition partners was discussed as well as the need to plan in detail the liberation of Mosul and its aftermath.

The President and delegation also updated members of the US Senate on the fight against ISIS as well as relations between Erbil and Baghdad. They met the Senate Leadership - Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Harry Reid—as well as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Armed Services Committee. In all President Barzani and his delegation met about 25 Senators.

In a meeting with the Armed Services Committee, which is led by Senator John McCain, President Barzani was asked whether Kurdistan was receiving the weapons it needed. President Barzani thanked the United States and other Coalition partners for their assistance. He said the weapons and ammunition the Peshmerga had received had been essential in fighting ISIS but they were not enough and more was needed. He said the Peshmerg had used what weapons they did receive from the US and Coalition to good effect citing an incident in which ISIS launched an attack using 20 bomb-laden vehicles. Five were destroyed by airstikes and 15 by Peshmerga using Milan anti-tank rocket launchers. He said that if more such weapons were given to the Peshmerga the fighting would be more decisive.

Earlier in the day, President Barzani spoke at a public event jointly hosted by two leading think tanks, the Atlantic Council and US Institute of Peace. The event was attended by officials, policy researchers, advisors and the media, as well as Iraqi Ambassador Lukman Faily. At this meeting the President was asked about a wide range of current and longer term issues including independence for Kurdistan. He replied that it wasn't a matter of if but when and that it is the right of the people of Kurdistan to determine their own future.

On Wednesday President Barzani also met with representatives of the Caldean, Assyrian, Syriac Christian communities who now live in the United States. They expressed their appreciation for the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kurdish people for providing a safe haven to the Christians and other minorities that were targeted by ISIS.

Mr Tony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of

State:” I want to start by saying how much we appreciate and respect

the extraordinary courage of the

Peshmerga. We are honoured to be your

partners.”

4

President Barzani and US Defence Secretary Carter discuss future cooperation as Peshmerga continue to advance against ISIS

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani on Thursday met US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss the advancthe Peshmerga against ISIS and the cooperation between US and Kurdish forces.

President Barzani thanked the United States for the critical aerial support and weapons and equipment that the US and Coalition partners have provided. He said that this backing was appreciated by the people of Kurdistan. Both Secretary Carter and General Dempsey complimented the President on the courage and performance of the Peshmerga on the battlefield and reiterated their continued friendship and support for the Kurdistan Region in the fight against ISIS.

President Barzani and his delegation of Kurdistan Regional Government officials discussed with the Defence Secretary, General Dempsey and other Defence Department officials the current military situation, the weapons and training that have already been delivered and what is still needed.

The same day, the President delivered a speech at the Centre for a New Security in America (CNAS), a defence oriented think tank, and separately met the Editorial Board of the Washington Post. In the evening, he was the guest of Iraqi Ambassador Lukman Faily who hosted the President and the delegation to dinner.

US Secretary of Defence, Ashton Carter, and Chairman

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey

complimented the President on the courage and performance of the Peshmerga on the battlefield

and reiterated their continued friendship and support for the Kurdistan Region in the fight

against ISIS.

5

President Barzani addresses US media, think tank and Kurdish-American community.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani on Friday spoke to several Kurdish and American media organisations about his successful visit to Washington DC and the strong bond between Kurdistan and the United States which are together fighting against ISIS.

He also addressed the Council on Foreign Relations, a leading think tank and publisher, and on Saturday, he concluded his visit to Washington by holding a meeting with the American-Kurdish community.

President Barzani, speaking at a media roundtable that included publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, AP and Reuters, was asked about a range of issues. These included what types of weapons the Peshmerga needed, what President Barack Obama had offered the Kurds, whether the weapons should be delivered direct to Kurdistan or go via Baghdad, Kurdistan's relations with its neighbours and whether a referendum on independence would go ahead.

In response, President Barzani reiterated his and the Kurdish people's gratitute to the US Administration, Congress and people for the timely and continuous support and assistance America has provided to the Peshmerga. He said the Peshmerga needed all types of weapons that are used in war and that the weapons should go direct to the Peshmerga's hands, not be staged in Baghdad first. However, what is more important than the route by which the weapons arrive is to have the weapons in the first place.

He said that both President Obama and Vice President Biden had offered support and assistance and that he had come away from these and other meetings with US officials assured of the United States' support in the war against ISIS.

President Barzani said that Kurdistan's policy is to have good relations with all its neighbours and that he welcomed the peace process in Turkey. He said that a referendum on self-determination would go ahead at some point but the current priority was to fight and defeat ISIS.

The President was also intereviewed by several Kurdish media outlets, including Kurdistan TV, Rudaw, NRT and the Kurdish Section of Voice of America Television.

On the same day the President addressed an invited audience at the Council on Foreign Relations where he spoke about the current security, humanitarian and economic situation in Kurdistan and about his meetings in Washington.

President Barzani : “referendum on self-

determination would go ahead at some point but the current priority is to fight and defeat ISIS. ”

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Hungary greets Barzani, supports independence ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Prime Minis-ter Victor Orban said the government of Hungary supports nations striving for in-dependence, including the Kurdistan re-gion of Iraq, which he said can play a sta-ble role in the Middle East. “The Kurdistan region has all the qualities and basic criteria to declare independence and can become an effective world coun-try," Orban said on Monday in a joint press conference with the Kurdistan Re-gion's President Masoud Barzani. Orban added; "Even though they are not a country, they are fighting on behalf of the world."

Barzani arrived in Hungary's capital Budapest from Washington, where he met with President Barack Obama and held talks with senior US officials. In Hungary, Ordan was quick to point out the longstanding ties between Budapest and Erbil. “The Kurds have always been thankful for our military assistance and the Hungarians reiterate their love and respect for the Kurdish [region's] efforts for independence,” said Orban in response to a question from a Rudaw reporter.

Kurdish leader says his people will one day declare independence. Guy Taylor - The Washington Times The president of Kurdistan’s regional government told an audience in Washington on Wednesday that the Kurds will hold a referendum on independence from Iraq when hostilities surrounding the war against Islamic State ex-tremists in the nation are resolved. “I cannot say if it will be in the next year, or when, but certainly the independent Kurdistan is coming,” Presi-dent Masoud Barzani said Wednesday morning during an appearance at the Atlantic Council after meeting with officials from the Obama administration.

“We want it to be not through violence, not through killing,” said Mr. Barzani, who is on his first visit to Washington since 2012. “We want it to be through peace and dialogue.” He added that the reason Kurds have “delayed” holding a referendum on independence is because the Kur-distan Regional Government (KRG) is on the front lines of the U.S.-backed war against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. “It will take place when the security situation is resolved,” Mr. Barzani said.

PM Victor Orban: ”The Kurdistan region has all the qualities and basic criteria to declare independence and can become an effective

world country.”

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Lower-level KRG officials have made similar comments over the past year. But Mr. Barzani’s voice carries the most weight among Kurds in terms of their relationship to wider political landscape in Iraq and the nation’s feder-al government in Baghdad. The topic of Kurdish independence has been a sensitive one for decades and speculation about it has only grown since Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have taken a lead role in ground combat against Islamic State fighters over the past year.

KRG President: Baghdad Must Adhere to Oil Export Agreement Otherwise the KRG will export its oil unilaterally.

Kurdistan-Erbil, (Basnews), The

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Gov-

ernment (KRG) President Mas-

soud Barzani has warned that if

the Iraqi government fails to

abide by the oil export agree-

ment, the KRG may consider

selling its own oil independent-

ly.

KRG President told a joint

press conference with Hungari-

an Prime Minister Victor Orbán

in Budapest on Monday, May

11th, “The KRG is fully commit-

ted to the Oil Export Agreement

but Baghdad has not adhered to

it so far.”

“We hope Baghdad will abide by the convention and send the 17% of the Iraqi national budget to the

KRG so we can pay back our accumulated loans.”

President Barzani expressed the KRG’s displeasure at the Iraqi central government’s failure to honor the

agreement, “Baghdad should understand the agreement as it is, not as they want to, otherwise the KRG

will export its oil unilaterally”.

In addition, Barzani explained the security situation in Iraq, “The security threats posed by Islamic State

(IS) militants have not gone away yet.

“We recognize the support of the people, government and parliament of Hungry for us in fighting IS,”

the KRG President concluded.

Hungarian PM Victor Orbán, in return praised the efforts and sacrifices made by the people of the Kur-

distan Region to fight terrorism on behalf of the world.

He also reaffirmed their support for the KRG, and expressed a desire to forge stronger diplomatic and

economic ties.

President Masoud Barzani :”I can’t say if

it will be in the next year, or when, but

certainly the independent Kurdistan

is coming.”

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PM Barzani’s speech at the first European Union Film Festival in Kurdistan Region.

Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) - The City of Sulay-maniyah yesterday hosted the first Euro-pean Union Film Festival in Kurdistan Region, held by Hiwa Organisation, the Ministry of Culture and Youth of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Sulaymaniyah Governorate, with the support of the European Union Envoy to Iraq.

In a speech he made, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, said that holding such festival, “organised and attended by our friends from Europe is yet another clear message to terrorists, and all those who want to halt Kurdi-stan’s march of progress by their dark ideology. The message is that in Kurdi-stan, the will for living and protecting

life’s beauty is much more powerful than the death and threats that terrorists propagate.”

Prime Minister Barzani pointed out that supporting culture, has been among his government’s priorities, despite the current financial difficulties, which Kurdistan passes through.

Following is the text of the speech:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Evening, It is my pleasure to be with you here in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of culture, the beloved city of Sulaymaniyah, marking Europe Day and attending the ceremony of the first European Union Film Festi-val.

I would like to thank the Hiwa Organisation, the Ministry of Culture and Youth of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Sulaymaniyah Governorate that together with the support of the European Union Repre-sentative to Iraq they have organised this festival. I also appreciate and thank the European Union for its initiative to hold this festival in the Kurdistan Region.

The government and people of Kurdistan value and appreciate the friendly stance of the European Union towards our Region and its assistance to our Peshmerga forces in their fight against terrorism.

However, the Kurdistan Regional Government and people are still not certain whether the international community, including the United States, Europe, and other countries sufficiently realise and recognise the significance of the fact that Kurdistan is at the forefront of the war against terrorism, confronting a dark and fierce terrorist force. This force is not only a threat to the Kurdistan Region and the larger Middle East, it is also a serious threat to the international community and all humanity.

The Kurdistan Region is passing through a daunting financial and economic period. The Region has pro-vided shelter and assistance to more than one and half million refugees and internally displaced people of all religious and ethnic backgrounds. The people and the Kurdistan Regional Government would like to see more assistance from the international community in order to be able to confront terrorism the way it should be confronted. Unfortunately, the assistance so far received is not at a level to adequately respond to the threat posed against Kurdistan, the larger region, and the international community as a whole.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

It is obvious that culture and art are the most sincere languages of expressing identity and the civilisation of nations. Relation established through these languages will open the gate towards friendship, progress, and protection and promotion of human values. The seventh art, the art of cinema, like other cultural and artistic activities, is one of those living languages of the human community that embraces all the diversity in identity, ethnicity, religion, language, colour, and race, together in the framework of the message of friendly coexistence, a message to humanity and life for the values of beauty.

Cultural cooperation with the developed world is not less important than economic, diplomatic, military and scientific cooperation with friendly nations. Without cultural development, the development of socie-ties remains inadequate.

The Kurdistan Regional Government considers supporting de-velopment of cultural and artistic activities as one of its priori-ties. The Ministry of Culture and Youth has served this im-portant field and continuously supported cultural centres. Nomi-nating the city of Sulaymaniyah as our capital of culture and al-locating a special budget to implement cultural projects are an-other demonstration of the importance that the KRG and Kurdi-stan Parliament attach to cultural development.

In the past years, KRG has continuously and generously helped filmmakers and artists, encouraging them in their work. Some films produced in our Kurdistan Region were presented at inter-national festivals, and have won valuable awards.

The Islamic State terrorist organisation imposed war on us. We have been facing financial crises, including financial issues with the Iraqi Federal Government. Though these have had negative repercussions on the capacity of the government to support all sectors, art and its message of humanity remain in our pro-gramme and among our priorities. I am confident we will overcome these difficult, unavoidable situations, and will continue on our path of development, progress, and reconstruction in all fields. I always say, ahead of the will of our people to progress there is no final destination, and no road for retreat.

On the other hand, holding this festival in Sulaymaniyah, organised and attended by our friends from Eu-rope is yet another clear message to terrorists, and all those who want to halt Kurdistan’s march of progress by their dark ideology. The message is that in Kurdistan, the will for living and protecting life’s beauty is much more powerful than the death and threats that terrorists propagate. Terror and threats will not stop life in Kurdistan. Kurdistan is dynamic and will continue to progress, reconstruct, and develop all aspects of life.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When in the trenches during the time of revolution we used to love books, theatre, music, painting, sculp-ture, and words. Today, also, with the help of our friends from the free and developed world, in the fight for protecting our well-being and human values against terrorists, the cinema screen and the beauty of this art has great value for us. We are a living people who are deeply attached to the beautiful dreams of hu-manity.

Again, I thank the organisers of this festival. To the Ambassador of Latvia to Iraq, as the envoy of the Eu-ropean Union to Iraq, I express my gratitude to the countries of the European Union for their friendly initi-ative. Greetings to the artists wherever they are in the world. Greetings to the seventh art.

I wish you success in your festival.

Thank you.

PM, Nechirvan Barzani,:” holding such festival, organised and attended by our friends from

Europe is yet another clear message to terrorists, and all those

who want to halt Kurdistan’s march of progress by their dark ideology. The message is that in Kurdistan, the will for living and protecting life’s beauty is much

more powerful than the death and threats that terrorists propagate.”

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Vatican calls for further assistance to the Kurdistan Region

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) - Kurdistan Re-gion Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday received Car-dinal Leonardo Sandri, the Pre-fect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and his ac-companying delegation. Cardinal Leonardo conveyed the greetings and gratitude of His Holiness Pope Francis to Prime Minister Barzani, to the people and the government of Kurdistan Region for having sheltered and assisted all those refugees and internally displaced people in general and the Christians in par-ticular, who fled the violent re-pression of the Islamic State ter-rorist organisation, ISIS, and sought safety in the Kurdistan Region.

Cardinal Leonardo shed light on his visit to the Christian refugee camps and churches in Kurdistan Region, saying that he has closely observed the conditions of the refugees. He said that they live in good conditions, despite the burden that this large number of refugees and displaced people has created for the Kurdistan Region. He thanked the people and the institutions of the Kurdistan Region for their assistance. He said that amid his visit to Christian refugee camps, he has encouraged the refugees to be resilient and stay in their country. Meantime, he called on the international community, international organisations and United Nation agencies to further assist the IDPs and Kurdistan Region. Prime Minister Barzani expressed his gratitude for the letter of His Holiness Pop Francis, and discussed his recent visit to Vatican and his meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis. Prime Minister Barzani pointed out that the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, will continue provid-ing assistance to refugees and IDPs, despite the fact that its resources are limited. He highlighted the peaceful coexistence among all the religious and ethnic communities in the Kurdistan Region. The two sides also discussed the current situation in Iraq in general, and in Mosul in particular, as well as the social and economic situations in the Region. Prime Minister Barzani expressed the gratitude of Kurdistan Region President and the people of Kurdistan to his Holiness Pope Francis, expressing his hope that Pope Francis will visit Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in future.

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PM Barzani calls for new Baghdad-Erbil oil deal. SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Kur-distan Regional Government is considering altering its oil and budget agreement with Baghdad, KRG Prime Minister Nechir-van Barzani has told reporters. Speaking to the press during a visit to Sulai-mani’s Farouk hospital Sun-day,Barzani avoided specifics but said changes must be made to the deal. “The Kurdistan Region was fully attached, but Baghdad did not stick to the deal… We want to sign a new deal with Baghdad as some of the articles need to be changed,” he said.

“We agreed with Baghdad for 2015 that the Kurdistan Region will deliver 550,000 oil barrels per day and Baghdad would send Kurdistan its revenue share, estimated at 1.2 trillion dinars ($1 billion), but unfortu-nately they didn’t stick to the deal,” Barzani added.

Hawrami: Iraq is now a country, which is divided in three regions of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, so you have to find a new formula that we can live in a democratic and peaceful coexistence.

Transcript of Hemin Hawrami’s speech delivered at the 9th al-Jazeera forum in Doha from 4-6 May 2015. “Thank you very much for the invita-tion and I hope after a great lunch we have all the appetite for talking and for you all to listen. As you correctly mentioned, I am from the Halabja area, so, I still remember the smell of the chemical bombardment and we will always, as the Kurds, have been asking why? What have we done? Why should we be treated like that? What’s the source of conflict? And, what are the causes of it? How it’s man-ifested and what are the repercussions as you correctly the title the session? If you look at the micro level of the situation in the Middle East, we do believe that part of the causes is related to the political map of the Middle East which is not reflecting the reality of the Middle East. After the Sykes-Picot [agreement] the borders, the external interventions and the dynamics in the Middle East has not been reflecting the realities of the people in the Middle East. The second cause as though we look at this from the Kurdistan’s perspective is the lack of democracy and co-existence. When we talk about democracy we talk about the culture of democracy and also the mecha-nisms of democracy and co-existence for example, in Iraq, we as the Kurds, we have representation but can

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we say that we have the power sharing in Iraq? The same for the Sunni brothers in Iraq it’s the same. So, there is representation but there is no power sharing in the situation there. Another issue is the counter of revenge and retaliation. I will give you just a small example that the chemi-cal bombardment in Halabja happened in 1988, we made the uprising in 1991 and we liberated our areas. We have fifty thousand Iraqi soldiers. We did not retaliate against any Iraqi soldier, who fell in our hands after 2003 and revenge is what prevails in Iraq, and fear also runs these dynamics. Also, there is no Iraqi identity, where honestly it is now an identity Shiite and Sunni, and in Kurdistan we have Kurdish identity. Another mystery to target our areas is linked to structural crisis if we consider that the state of Iraq failed, had bad governance and the absence of insti-tutions and dependence on oil is the main source of in-come, and this all led to what we are saying now, in ad-dition to how historical crisis embodies this. What we are going through now is a messy transfor-mation of the Middle East, changes on borders and across the border; it adjusts the case of failure. There are areas under the control of ISIS in Iraq also in Syria, and the demographics changed and the monopoly that the use of force is no longer the preserve of the State alone. Look at militias in Baghdad, there are 48 different militias, and then who controls the use of power? The government does not, of course, also for the advancement of members of this state which is not reflected in the current conflict against terrorism, and capabilities in various formats that ISIS are terrorists and a unique phenomenon, but they have weapons from Syria and the Iraqi army. It is true, we lost 1200 of Kur-distan’s Peshmerga forces who had sacrificed their lives for the restoration of areas occupied by ISIS and they are a terrorist organisation that occupies areas in Syria and Iraq more than the size of Jordan, also has a lot of money, and they opened a five-star hotel in Nineveh, this is a terrorist organisation of a unique type. What we are seeing now is attracting geopolitics in the Middle East and our internal events no longer re-main outside, and for this reason that embodies this conflict I'll tell you this, but through what we see and feel and what we contemplate that in Iraq and Kurdistan is terrorism and extremism, sectarian violence and it is incited plotting. What are the implications of that? And yes I think based on these grounds and embodiments, it will inevita-bly result in chaotic revenge and also the following address is an era of uncertainty. What is certainly not known, therefore there is a state of uncertainty which prevails in the midst of all these events, and what is next will need to defeat state regulation and otherwise the situation in Syria and Iraq without defeating the State. And destroy them, there will be no stability and development, but how we win and destroy them by militias or through the national army and the question will run after ISIS of these areas? This is a big question to our brothers the Sunnis, or they’ll ask us how we managed the situation there. Therefor is part of the solu-tion to recognize and acknowledge reality and find a solution as my colleague Lina said to find a new for-mula of peaceful coexistence in Iraq that fits us. Iraq is now a country, which is divided in three regions of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, so you have to find a new formula that we can live in a democratic and peaceful coexistence. With that said, in fact the Middle East in the process of re-form, the old Middle East has gone, we do not know when it’ll be reborn but we will generate a new kind of border, and a new type of players and dynam-ics, states were not the only player in the Middle East, there are individuals and groups of organizations and civil society players, and I would say the Kurds and the Iraqi Kurdistan we have a role in the re-formation of this region, and if we consider the Kurdish relations with Syria and Iraq and our influence in Turkey and our relationship with both these countries, Kurdistan is the effective player and always we will be the solution and not the problem of a penalty. Thank you

Hawrami: “ The Middle East is in the process of re-form, the old Middle East has gone, we do not know when it’ll be reborn but we will generate a new kind of border, and a new type of players and

dynamics, states were not the only player in the Middle East, there are

individuals and groups of organizations and civil society players, and I would say the Kurds and the Iraqi Kurdistan we have a role in the re-formation of

this region.”

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Hawrami expresses congratulations to British government after election win.

Hemin Hawrami received the British Consul-

General to Erbil, Angus McKee, for talks on

the political climate in the Kurdistan Region,

the Peshmerga's success in the ongoing war

against Islamic State and bilateral ties with the

United Kingdom.

The Head of Kurdistan Democratic Party's

Foreign Relations Office, Mr Hawrami con-

gratulated the newly elected British Conserva-

tive Party and the general public on their suc-

cessful general election campaign, hoping the

new phase will enhance relations between the

two sides before moving on to discussing the

developments in the region.

Mr McKee conveyed the appreciation of the UK government for the valiant effort and sacrifices made by Peshmerga forces in battling ISIS terrorists and reiterated the support for the Kurdistan Region providing military and humanitarian aid, adding that both sides are, "facing the common enemy and we need to work together to defeat the [ISIS] terrorist group."

Official: Kurdish Yezidis used as child soldiers by ISIS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Yezidi children from the Kurdistan region are being forced to take up arms and fight for the Islamic State, a Kurdish Yezidi member of Iraqi parliament said on Monday. “ISIS has established military training camps for the Yezidi children held by the group in the Syrian city of Raqqa and Tal Afar in Mosul [province],” said Sheikh Shamo, who estimat-ed that 600 to 700 Yezidi children are still missing. “Over the past months, many Yezidi women, children and elders managed to escapes in var-

ious ways and have arrived in the Kurdistan region, but we still beleive more than 3,000 Yezidis remain in the hands of ISIS," Shamo added. On August 3, ISIS launched a massive assault on the town of Shingal. Thousands of Kurdish Yezidi fami-lies fled to Mount Shingal fearing the group’s militants, and hundreds of men were massacred inside the town. During the attack, some 4,500 Yezidi Kurds were captured. Nine hundred Yezidis have managed to escape with the remainder still missing.

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The plight of Christians in Iraq

By Gary Kent.

The influx into Kurdistan of over 100,000 Christians from Mosul as

part of a wider exodus last August sparked immediate action by

Christians in the capital, Erbil, and internationally. The head of Brit-

ain’s Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, recently

visited Erbil to show solidarity. The Cardinal said: ‘Just imagine if

125,000 internally displaced people turned up one morning. Imagine

the family who lost everything except the clothes on their backs in

two hours or the Archbishop of Mosul who lost his cathedral, many

8th-, 9th- and 10th-century manuscripts and is now being sent pic-

tures of Isis desecrating the cathedral.’

The cardinal praised Archbishop of Erbil Bashar Wardar who immediately turned his cathedral over to

what the Christians in Erbil call ‘our relatives’, saying that, rather than seeing them as helpless, the

‘effective generosity and industry’ of priests and nuns seeks to ‘help with dignity, discouraging dependen-

cy and helping get them back on their feet.’

The greatest loss is their individuality: literally, with the loss of identity papers as they had to up sticks at a

moment’s notice. In other camps, I have seen administrators treat displaced people as individuals and en-

sure all are involved in meeting needs which are very different for women, children and elderly people.

After the initial and chaotic effort to shelter people, the church in Erbil has now moved Christians, now

numbering about 65,000, out of tents into caravans – container-like portacabins – or rented accommoda-

tion paid by the church. The cardinal praised Wardar’s ‘tremendous foresight’ in establishing an interna-

tional baccalaureate school and plans to found a university. Last year in Ankawa, I met a 17-year-old

Christian from Mosul who was just two exams away from finishing his degree. Perhaps he can get his life

back in some order?

Nichols said that ‘the burning issue’ is exiles returning to where they belong but it is a long and hard road.

Isis forces leave devastated ruins seeded with booby traps which means they have to be cleansed too. ‘The

Christian community,’ he says, is essential, ‘not in a cultural, historical and archeological sense or because

they have been there for 2,000 years but because they can bring core beliefs of forgiveness and reconcilia-

tion to building the social fabric and law and order all can trust.’

But liberation seems distant and exiles will be in Kurdistan for some time. The KRG, despite the failure of

Baghdad to supply all its budget entitlements for over a year and falling oil revenues on which Iraq is total-

ly dependent, has been very generous. But the heavy strain of a 30 per cent increase in Kurdistan’s popula-

tion has helped cool its once dynamic economy. KRG Foreign Minister Falah Mustafa recently told a Cen-

tre for Kurdish Progress roundtable in London that the number of trucks to and from Turkey has fallen

from 3,000 to just 600 a day since last August, economic growth has halved, and poverty has soared. Isis

sleeper cells piggybacking the exodus also menace Kurdistan’s extraordinarily tight security. The Isis

death cult last week killed two Turkish civilians near St Joseph’s cathedral and by the American consulate.

Such attacks underline the urgency of political and military solutions in Iraq and Syria that allow people to

return home where a major international effort to rebuild shattered villages and towns will then be neces-

sary. In the meantime, Kurdistan deserves increased international solidarity as do churches whose efforts

have been clearly highlighted by Nichols.

Gary Kent is director of the all-party parliamentary group on the Kurdistan region. He writes in a personal capacity and tweets @GaryKent.