Irbil asks Baghdad to annul retaliatory measures after federal court ruling

IRBIL Nov 23 (KUNA) -- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday demanded the Iraqi Federal Government to abolish all punitive measures taken against the Region following the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ruling's annulling the independence referendum. In a statement issued today, KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee said that following the FSC ruling against the Kurdistan Region's referendum, Baghdad is asked to end all measures against the people and the Region of Kurdistan.
In accordance with the FSC's ruling on November 20, all measures taken against the Region by the Iraqi government and parliament should be annulled, Dizayee stated.
He called for cancelling the reduction of the Kurdistan Region budget share, the punishment of Region's representatives in the Iraqi parliament, the closure of airports and all other decisions taken against the Region's people.
Concerning paying salaries of civil servants in the Region by Baghdad, he said that the Iraqi government is not willing to give the salaries to servants, adding that although the KRG has expressed readiness for facilitation and cooperation, Baghdad has refused to accept KRG's biometric system.
Dizayee stressed that Kurdistan's people, including all components, agree to protect the constitutional entity of the Kurdistan Region and can never compromise on that regard.
On September 25, the Region held a referendum on separating Irbil, Sulaimaniya and other disputed areas from Baghdad.
The federal government of Iraq rejected all results of the referendum and took some military and administrative measures to enhance its federal powers, mainly in the disputed areas. The Federal Court annulled the referendum's results, affirming that it was unconstitutional.
As a result, Europe, the United States and the European Union have repeatedly called on both Irbil and Baghdad to sit at the negotiating table so as to settle the dispute in line with the Iraqi constitution. (end) km.hm