MESOP NEWS : Barzani Criticizes International Community on London Conference / The absent of Kurdish representative in anti-IS coalition talks angers Kurds
Basnews | Hawar Abdulrazaq – ERBIL – 23 Jan 2015 – The Iraqi Kurdistan region President Massoud Barzani has criticized the International community for not inviting Kurdish representative to anti-Islamic State summit in London and says the Kurds are the only force fighting the extremist group. More than twenty countries met in London on Thursday to discuss the fight against IS militants and the threat posed by foreign terrorists returning to their home country.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond co-hosted talks involving 21 of the 60-odd countries that are working together to tackle IS based in Syria and Iraq.The countries who attended Thursday's conference were; Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, UK and US.
The Iraqi delegation headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, but there wasn't any Kurdish represented in the conference, even though Kurds have been the only force that have fought the extremist group on the group in both Iraq and Syria.In a released Statement on Thursday, Barzani said the London Conference was held without Kurdish representative, while Kurdish Peshmerga forces engaged in a bloody fight with terrorist group and on daily basis through Peshmerga bravery and blood defeat IS militants.
"We are disappointed that concern that Kurdish people sacrifice its lives and other people claim its achievements and Kurdish people deserves to have its own representative in these kinds of meetings and let the world hear Kurdish voice and views", Kurdish leader said in the statement. "Peshmerga forces has protected thousands of refugees, without given any consideration to religious or ethnic backgrounds of those people," added Barzani. "We were expecting the International community to acknowledge and respect Peshmerga sacrifices and invite Kurds to those international conferences",He also added that there is no questions currently only Peshmerga force actively fighting the IS insurgents on the ground. According to European police agency Europol, up to 5,000 EU citizens have gone to join the ranks of Jihadi group in Syria and Iraq.