His Eminence Sayyid Ahmad al-Safi
My brothers, my sisters,
I bring to your attention the following matter regarding the recent situation of the country…
Just as the patient, wise nation of Iraq was on the brink of overcoming the terror of ISIS all due to the noble sacrifices of the heroic men of the Armed Forces and forces supporting them in their fight against terrorism, another unfortunate crisis faced the country drawn by attempts of dividing the country by isolating the north and creating a new independent state. In the early days of these attempts, obvious efforts were present despite all attempts and efforts exerted to discourage our brothers in the Kurdish Region from continuing this course.
The Supreme Religious Authority, which has always stressed the need to preserve and defend the unity of Iraq and its nation, acting in all its capacity to renounce sectarianism and racism and achieve equality between all Iraqis in all its components, calls on all parties to abide by the Iraqi constitution literally and spiritually and take wisdom in dealing with any potential disputes between the Federal Government and the Kurdish Government which may not be immediately solved politically through the Federal Supreme Court and as determined by the Constitution, and to bind by its decisions and verdicts. It warns of taking steps that lead to division and separation and attempting to make it reality will inevitably lead to internal and external reactions and toward consequences primarily affecting the lives of our dear Kurdish citizens. Furthermore, this may lead to what is far more dangerous, God forbid, in addition to paving the way for the intervention of regional and international parties to be involved in Iraqi affairs implementing their own individual agendas and interests at the cost our own interests and that of our peoples.
Stemming from our love and concern for the interests of our people, we call on our brothers in the Kurdish Region to return to the constitutional path in resolving contentious matters between the Federal Government and the Regional Government. We also call on the Iraqi government and the political forces represented in Parliament to take into account the preservation of Constitutional rights of our Kurdish brothers without any prejudice in all the steps it may take. We reaffirm to our dear citizens that the recent political developments should not negatively affect the firm relationship between sons of this homeland of Kurds and Arabs and Turkmens and others, rather this should be a reason for further cementing the relationship and call for more communication between them and motive to bar all that can cause harm to the national cohesion among all the Iraqi components.
We ask Allah The Almighty to assist us all toward benevolence and righteousness.
