Kurdish officials congratulate Trump

[Anthea]

Kurdish officials congratulate Trump, hope for greater engagement with US

Officials in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump for winning the presidency and expressed hope that he will increase US support for the Kurdish people and Peshmerga fighters.

Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Security Council, congratulated Trump and reminded him that the Kurds have been America’s staunchest partners in the fight against terror.

“I congratulate Donald Trump on being elected the next U.S. President.” Barzani tweeted on Wednesday

“We hope the president-elect will increase support to the Peshmerga and the Kurdish people as the most reliable, effective and trusted ally in the war on terrorism,” he added.

I congratulate Donald Trump on being elected the next U.S. President- mb. pic.twitter.com/QyhMznwXdo
— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) November 9, 2016

The Peshmerga have been fighting alongside the Iraqi Army in the ongoing offensive to liberate Mosul from ISIS.

Safeen Dizayee, spokesman of the Kurdistan Regional Government, tweeted that he looked forward to continued partnership with the United States under Trump.

“Congratulations to Mr.Trump on running a successful election campaign, we look forward to our continued partnership with the United States,” he said on his twitter account.

Congratulations to Mr. Trump on running a successful election campaign, we look forward to our continued partnership with the United States
— Safeen Dizayee (@SafeenDizayee) November 9, 2016

Hemin Hawrami, head of President Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), expressed hope that the new US president would increase US engagement and support for the Peshmerga.

“Warmly congratulate Donald Trump for his election. We do hope US will be more engaged and directly arm, train and support Peshmerga,” Hawrami said.

Warmly congratulate @realDonaldTrump for his election .We do hope US will be more engaged & directly arm, train &support Peshmerge.
— Hemin Hawrami (@heminhawrami) November 9, 2016

Falah Mustafa, head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, also congratulated the man who will become America’s 45th president.

“I congratulate the people of the United States of America on a successful election and President-elect Donald Trump on his victory,” said Mustafa.

I congratulate the people of the #UnitedStatesOfAmerica on a successful election & President-elect @realDonaldTrump on his victory.
— Falah Mustafa (@FalahMustafa) November 9, 2016

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/091120161

[Anthea]

Kurdish leaders call on Trump to support rights, express hope for a visit soon

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US presidency, as he noted that the elections coincided with the ongoing battle for Mosul.

Meanwhile, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani also congratulated America’s next president, while calling on him to support Kurdish rights.

“We hope that your support and our alliance continue and grow even stronger,” the president said. “The Kurdistan nation is expecting full support from you to achieve its rightful rights," he added in a statement.

In his comments the Kurdish prime minister said that Iraq’s Kurds feel encouraged at the admiration expressed by Trump in the past, saying he hoped to soon see the president-elect in Kurdistan.

The elections coincided with “intense operations around Mosul,” where the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi forces have launched the largest operations since the 2003 Iraq war to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State, the prime minister noted.

“Our people are encouraged that the President-elect has previously expressed his admiration and support for our people and the Peshmerga,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

“We stand ready to work even more closely together, and look forward to welcoming the President-elect here in the future,” he added.

Trump has expressed his admiration for the Kurds on more than one occasion, and had openly supported arming the Kurds in their fight against ISIS.

In August 2015 when he visited Nashville, Tennessee where there is a large Kurdish population, he said the US should support the Kurds even more.

“We should be using the Kurdish, we should be arming the Kurdish, They have proven to be the best fighters,” Trump said in Tennessee. “They have really proven the most loyal to us. And as far as I am concerned I did not the Nashville has a large Kurdish population, but I will tell you we should be using and utilizing those people, they have great heart. They are great fighters, and we should be working with them much more so than we work (now),” he added.

But last year Trump also caused controversy in the Kurdistan Region when he praised the use of chemical weapon by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in 1988.

In comments in late December, he argued that while the ousted Iraqi dictator might have been a “bad guy,” he at least “killed terrorists.” He also lamented the fact that people “went crazy” when Hussein threw around “a little gas.”

That was a clear reference to Hussein’s use of poison gas during the closing weeks of the 1980-88 war with Iran and during his so-called Anfal campaign of the same decade.

That campaign killed at least 180,000 Kurds, including the infamous killing of 5,000 people with chemical bombs in the Kurdish town of Halabja.

In August, the government of Halabja wrote a letter to Trump, denouncing his “obnoxious statements.” The Halabja Governorate demanded an apology from the then presidential nominee.

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/091120163