KURDISTAN
NEWSLINE
October
22, 2002
Powell
and Straw Support Reconvening of Kurdistan Legislature
The Kurdistan National Assembly members and the leaders of the
two major political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party received many messages
of support for their recent initiative to proceed with the implementation
process of the Washington Agreement (1998) . The reconvening of
the regional parliament, the Kurdistan National Assembly on October
4 was a decisive step toward normalization of the body politic
of the region. Following are texts of two letters of support from
the United States Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and the United
Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw:
"October
4, 2002
Congratulations
on this historic Joint meeting of your Assembly. You have traveled
a long and sometimes difficult road to get to this point. Now
that you again will share the same assembly room, I know that
you will also share a commitment to the security, prosperity and
freedom of all Iraqis, both in the home areas you represent and
in Iraq as a whole.
Representative
government is not easy. It requires sacrifice and compromise.
This historic session of the Assembly proves that you understand
that fundamental truth. You have made sacrifices; you have compromised,
you have worked through past grievances to sit today as one deliberative
body.
The
road ahead will be difficult as you ponder the way to achieve
a better future for your region and for Iraq. I encourage you
to go about this important work with the same spirit of unity
and compromise that brought you here today. I am proud that you
are among the United States' partners in the fight against tyranny
and terror, and that you share our vision of Iraq’s future:
a democratic, pluralistic, and united Iraq, its territorial integrity
intact, with a government that respects the rule of law and the
rights of all Iraqi citizens. May your example spread, so that
one day all Iraqi people, united and free, can finally have the
liberty and prosperity they so richly deserve.
Colin
L. Powell "
"Congratulations on reconvening the Kurdistan National Assembly.
It is a significant achievement and a very welcome step forward
in relations between all parties and communities in northern Iraq.
The
UK has always supported the aims of the Ankara process and the
Washington Agreement. We know from our own discussions with you
how hard both the KDP and PUK have worked to reach this stage,
to secure peace and stability for all the communities of northern
Iraq. We welcome this move towards democratic change in Iraq and
look forward to an Iraqi government which preserves the country’s
territorial integrity while representing and respecting the rights
of all Iraqi people whatever their race or religion.
Rt
Hon Jack Straw MP
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs "
