EU Parliament discusses Kurdish Genocide & calls to open EU Representative in Iraqi Kurdistan

ERBIL-Hewlêr, shafaaq – net – 8.2.2014 –  Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— Presidency of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Saturday, that the European Parliament discussed the issue of the genocide of the Kurdish people, and called on the European Union (EU ) to open a representation of it in Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan, referring that this step came in response to what was called by the region’s president, Massoud Barzani in his speech in Brussels recently.

“After two weeks of Barzani’s visit to the European Parliament and delivering a speech at the meeting of the Parliament in Brussels on the basis of his call for the definition and the internationalization of the (genocide) issue of the Kurdish people, as well as calling the European Union to open of a representative office in Kurdistan region, EU discussed during its meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, two of these issues in the context of a special meeting of Middle East issues,” The statement by the prime minister.

The statement said that the MP, Struan Stephenson pointed to the call of President of the region, noting to his role and the masses of Kurdistan people.Stephenson said, according to the government statement, that despite what Kurdistan people has suffered of tragedies and genocide, it has received thousands of Syrian refugees, in addition to the displaced Christians and other minorities, who have been forced to leave their homes due to the deteriorating security situation and fears they have suffered by “terrorists” and went to Kurdistan Region. Stephenson noted that he called on behalf of the European Parliament to the Supreme official for foreign policy, Catherine Ashton to support this value this constructive role played by the region of Kurdistan, calling on the EU to open a representative in Erbil.

The head of Kurdistan Region had left Erbil in mid of last month, heading to a number of European countries to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos, and delivered a speech in the European Union called on the international community to recognize the genocide suffered by the Kurdish people in Anfal operations and the bombing of Halabja with chemical weapons as well as displacement, murder and sabotage their economic structures.