We celebrate today the 52nd anniversary of the March 11 Agreement, a historic achievement for the people of Kurdistan, signed between the then Iraqi government and the leadership of Kurdistan, on March 11, 1970, following the great September Revolution led by the late Mustafa Barzani.

The March 11 Agreement is the most important achievement of the people of Kurdistan in recent history after decades long resistance and struggle. This agreement was the first legal document recognizing the lawful rights of the people of Kurdistan. Although the Iraqi leadership of the time breached the agreement later, but this accord effectively introduced the Kurdish question to the outside world. It also laid the grounds for later achievements including the Uprising of 1991, and the foundation of the Kurdistan Region as a constitutional and federal entity.

If the then Iraqi authorities had chosen to respect the agreement, they would have protected Iraq from numerous wars and miseries, and the country would have now been stable, prosperous and advanced. All of us in Iraq need to draw lessons from this history and help create a better future for the generations to come by preserving federalism and the constitutional rights of all Iraqi communities.

As we celebrate this day, we salute the fallen heroes of Kurdistan and pay tribute to their memories. It should also encourage us to strengthen our unity, common understanding and togetherness of the people of Kurdistan, which in the past led to the March 11 Agreement, and which now can help us preserve the rights and the constitutional entity of the Kurdistan Region.

Nechirvan Barzani
The President of the Kurdistan Region