President Nechirvan Barzani participated in the Martyr of Nation Day ceremony in Baghdad today, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the martyrdom of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Hakim. Iraq’s President, Mr. Latif Rashid, the Speaker of the Council of Representatives of Iraq, Mr. Muhammad Al-Halbousi, Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Muhammad Shia’ Al-Sudani and a large number of government and party officials along with representatives of foreign countries attended the ceremony.

The following is a readout of the speech delivered by President Nechirvan Barzani at the commemoration:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Greetings, and welcome to the ceremony of the “Martyr of the Nation’s Day”, and the 20th anniversary of the martyrdom of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Hakim (may God sanctify his soul).

On behalf of the people of Kurdistan, I salute the soul of the “Martyr of Mihrab” and all the martyrs of freedom in Iraq.

With the commemoration of the Martyr of the Mihrab, Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, all the memories of solidarity and struggle together against oppression and dictatorship come alive for all of us. Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim was greatly respected by the Kurdistan Liberation Movement. Because he, as one of the main founders of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Iraq, believed in uniting all forces throughout his years of struggle.

At the Iraqi Congress in Tehran in 1986, together with my father Idris Barzani, they strengthened the solidarity of Kurds, Shiites and all Iraqi communities. Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim’s strong relationship with President Massoud Barzani and President Mam Jalal brought joy to the Iraqi people celebrating the unity of the Iraqi opposition and led the international community to support the people and opposition against the dictatorship in the country.

This strong relationship between the parties led the Iraqi opposition at the London Congress in 2002 and the Saleh al-Din Congress in February 2003 to set a unified discourse and program for the post dictatorship period, based on ensuring the rights of all communities. Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the great Iraqi Mujahid and Martyr of the Mihrab, was one of the Iraqi scholars in the fields of Sharia, philosophy and economics, and therefore, he was open to all nations and religions. The wisdom of leaders always hinders ethnic and religious conflicts and strengthens bridges of communication and coexistence.

The relationship between the Leader of Kurdistan’s Revolution, the late Mulla Mustafa Barzani, and the Najaf Marja’a, led Imam Sayyid Mohsen al-Hakim to fully support the oppressed Kurdish people, and in 1965 he issued a fatwa prohibiting the war against the Peshmerga and the Kurds. In 1974, the great Iraqi martyr Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr clearly repeated the same fatwa prohibiting war against the Kurdish people.

Similarly, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani (may God protect him) supported the Iraqi constitution because it gave rights to all Iraqi communities. The Iraqi constitution recognized the coexistence of all Iraqis on the basis of consensus among the Iraqi communities according to federalism.

Dear Attendees,

As a result of the building of trust and the joint struggle of all parties to overcome dictatorship and oppression, solidarity was created among all nations and communities of Iraq. Because of this cooperation, we have written a constitution that creates unity among all communities in Iraq on the basis of ensuring the rights of all communities equally.

This constitution is a political and social contract between all communities in Iraq, it should not be sidelined, as it is now, but must be fully implemented, so that people do not see themselves away from the political process in Iraq. The rights of all communities must be guaranteed in accordance with the constitution and the system of governance in Iraq must be federal, which is the main basis of the constitution and the political and administrative system of Iraq.

We in the Kurdistan Region support Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani in terms of implementing the constitution and on the basis of the agreement to form the Iraqi Federal Government. We hope that the provisions of the government formation agreement will be implemented soon. We also support His Excellency in his efforts to restore civil and local authority to all provinces. The Prime Minister tries to create a basis for negotiation and agreement on the outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government, and to provide services. He seeks to restore balance to the participation of all Iraqi communities in all state institutions, including the Iraqi army.

Ladies and Gentleman,

We deemed it necessary to come to Baghdad today to participate in this special occasion. In fact, Baghdad is a cherished city for us. Baghdad will be very strong if the rights of all regions and provinces are respected in Baghdad; the state institutions become a true reflection of a federal system, and the rights and services are provided to all Iraqi citizens at a high level. Baghdad will then become the protector of all Iraqi regions and provinces. Together, we can be strong and fully reinforce Iraq’s position.

In the most difficult periods of Iraq, all Iraqis were proud of the peace and progress of the Kurdistan Region because it was the hope for the return of peace and progress to the whole country, as part of Iraq.

In his speeches in the 1991 uprising, President Massoud Barzani always took pride in the fact that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers were sent home safely, during the previous regime. We are now proud of the fact that after the war against ISIS, 2.8 million refugees from different cities in northern and central Iraq came to Kurdistan, but until their return, not a single incident of violence occurred against them. This is a source of pride and a sign of affection and respect among the Iraqi people. So the ground for implementing the constitution in Iraq is very strong and the people are in favor of eliminating the problems.

Dear Attendees,

As we can see, we need to support each other in times of trouble, as all our progress has been the result of our working together. Therefore, now is the right time for each of us to decide to work towards coexistence and solving all problems. We must not work with each other as competitors, we must work together in a spirit of partnership. Iraq has the opportunity to return to its strong and worthy position in the region by resolving the issues, which will further open the doors of the world to Iraq.

Iraqi regions, governorates and provinces, Iraq’s ethnic communities, religions and faiths are not enemies of each other. This is not a sign of weakness for Iraq, but this multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-faith county is a source of strength for Iraq. In a democratic, civil and federal system, they will all complement and support each other. Today’s world is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious world. There is no homogenic country or city in the world, and the world’s current progress is therefore faster than ever because of this diversity.

Currently, in addition to Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syrians and Armenians, people of more than 40 ethnic groups live in the Kurdistan Region. Together they have created prosperity and multiculturalism, and together they are happy in the Kurdistan Region. That’s a great honor for all of us.

We have witnessed that the largest dictatorial regime, the strictest security and military system which rejected pluralism in Iraq, could not survive because Iraqis want to enjoy peace and diversity and live together. This was the goal of the Martyr of the Mihrab, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim (may God sanctify his soul) and all the martyrs of Iraq’s freedom. We in Iraq have many common causes that unite us. There are common principles for coexistence, mutual acceptance and cooperation. The true aspiration of all Iraqis is coexistence and equality, and this desire must be put into practice. In the end, we are all proud of prosperity and progress, and not prolonging and deepening conflicts and problems.

I hope all issues will be resolved soon and Iraqis will live in joy, and are provided good services.

Once again, we extend our greetings, and salute the soul of the late Martyr of the Nation, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim (may God sanctify his soul).

Thank you.