Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman says Iranian-backed Shia militias undermine Kurdish region

The top Iraqi-Kurdish representative to the U.S. said Iranian-backed Shia militias could undermine the security and stability of the Kurdish region once the Islamic State threat to the country is defeated.

The Iranian-backed Hajd Al-Shaabi militias have been an integral fighting force in operation to liberate Mosul — a battle largely seen as winding down since the offensive was launched in February — and other areas under the control of the Islamic State, yet Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the U.S. Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman said it’s not guaranteed that the militia forces would work under the Iraqi forces and would more likely support their own interests in the region.

Baghdad federalized the Iranian-backed militias, also known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or PMU, in November, but they are largely seen as a future foe of the Kurdish people, having fought in the past with the Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Kurdish areas. They are also accused of human rights abuses in areas they’ve liberated and charged with expanding Iranian influence in the region.

Speaking to a roundtable group of journalists in Washington, D.C., Monday, Ms. Abdul Rahman hesitated to condemn all PMU forces, but said there were deep concerns that the group answers to a different power.

“There are some that we are concerned about because we’re not sure that they would necessarily obey the orders of the commander in chief or Prime Minister [Haider Al-Abadi],” Ms. Abdul Rahman said. “Those are the elements we’re concerned about.”

Ms. Abdul Rahman said the PMU’s integration into the Iraqi forces does little to assure the KRG that they would be held accountable for any actions against the people of Iraq.

She also addressed the KRG’s proposed Sept. 25 referendum on independence, announced by KRG President Masoud Barzani less than two weeks ago.

Global reactions to the announcement have been mixed, with European leaders stressing a unified Iraq but acknowledging the right to national aspirations by the Kurdish people. At the time, U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said all parties in Iraq should be focused on fighting Islamic State and resolving internal issues.

Ms. Abdul Rahman dismissed the charge that the referendum serves as a unilateral step or that it distracts from the issues plaguing the country.

“If we don’t do it now, when should we do it?” she asked, adding that a sense of optimism after the 2003 passing of the Iraqi constitution brought a sense of optimism to the Kurdish people for a federal and democratic Iraq that would put cooperation between Kurds and Arabs over majority rules. “After a reasonable start, unfortunately, all of that began to unravel,” she said.

“If we delay, when should we delay to? When things get worse? So this is as good — or as bad — a time as any, and whenever we hold it, there will be problems,” she concluded.

Explaining that the KRG is not planning on declaring independence after the results of the vote, instead, she said, the quantitative support would be used to better position the KRG in negotiations with Baghdad.

“Our ultimate aim is to have a a negotiated settlement with the government of Iraq, and so the referendum gives our leadership the mandate to go and negotiate with Baghdad,” she said.

While world bodies have urged that the Iraqi Kurds first hold regional elections and wait until Iraqi elections in 2018 before pursuing talks on independence, Ms. Abdul Rahman said Iraq’s unstable national politics — and the Kurds’ often tragic history as a stateless people — are not encouraging the Kurdish people to delay.

“We don’t want the next generation to face another genocide,” she said. “We want protection for our people and we believe that sovereignty is the biggest protection.”