Dr. Yusuf Mihemed, President of the South Kurdistan Parliament from the Gorran List spoke to ANF about the general elections scheduled for 12 May and the political crisis facing South Kurdistan and Iraq.

National Unity needed urgently

Dr. Yusuf Mihemed said: “The Kurdish people paid a heavy price going from Khanaqin to Afrin. At the same time, when we look at what is going on during this process, we see that establishing a Kurdish National Unity as soon as possible is more than a necessity”.

The referendum was a mistake

Dr. Mihemed, talking about the independence referendum held last year, said: “Together with this referendum we lost Kirkuk, and at the same time many gains of the Kurdish people were lost. This was a historical mistake in Kurdistan. The Kurdish people achieved many gains between the years 2014-2016. But with the referendum, the gains achieved at a heavy price, were lost. Not only in South Kurdistan, we lost our conquests from Khanaqin to Afrin”.

Talking about the National Congress and the National Unity, Dr. Mihemed pointed out that “when we look at what happened during this process and in the past, we see that the Kurds have no other friends but the Kurds. The positive and negative situation of a part of Kurdistan also influences other parts. The referendum results also had an impact in Afrin. Which is why - he concluded - we need to held a National Congress and establish a National Unity as soon as possible”.