MESOP : CHARLES TANNOCK GIVE INDEPENDENT KURDISTAN TO THE KURDS

European Union MP: Its time to give back to the Kurds

19-7-2014 – Hawar Abdulrazaq – BasNews, Erbil – British member of European Parliament Charles Tannock has called on the international community to support Iraq’s Kurds.

In Wednesday’s parliament session on Iraq, the British Conservative party MEP recognized Kurdistan’s determinations for independence in his speech. “I understand Kurdish pleas for independence, because the thing the Kurds now want the West promised them in the Treaty of Sèvres. Now is the right time to implement that promise,” said Tannock, referring to the 1920 treaty in which Kurds were promised an independent state.

He also criticized Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his government’s policies, saying “the Al-Maliki sectarian approach” had driven the Sunni community into an allegiance with the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Following parliament discussion on Iraq’s situation, members of parliament appeared to take a new stance regarding the Kurdistan Region and the upcoming referendum. “Iraq is close to division so let’s support the Kurdish model, which has been a successful and democratic model,” added Tannock. Tannock also acknowledged the efforts of the Kurdish Peshmerga, calling them ”heroes”. Tannock is a long-time friend of the Kurds and according to him the Sykes-Picot accord was a historical mistake that can only be rectified though the establishment of a Kurdish state.