October -16- 2017
In the name of Allah the Merciful
To the people of our beloved nation,
My duty is to work in accordance with the constitution to serve the citizens and protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition due to the insistence on holding the referendum organized by those in power in the Kurdistan region in a unilateral step, while we are fighting an existential war against terrorism.
We tried to dissuade those in the region from holding it and not violating the Constitution and to focus on the fight against Daesh but they did not listen to our appeals and so then we demanded them to cancel the results which also went unheeded. We showed them the magnitude of the danger that will be exposed to Iraq and its people, but they preferred their personal and partisan interests to those of Iraq, with its Arab and Kurdish people and the rest of its components. They violated the constitution and the national consensus and national partnership in addition to their disregard for the unanimous international rejection of the referendum and the division of Iraq and the establishment of a state on an ethnic and racial basis.
We assure our people in Kurdistan and in Kirkuk in particular that we are keen on their safety and best interest. We have only acted to fulfill our constitutional duty to extend the federal authority and impose security and protect the national wealth in this city, which we want to remain a city of peaceful coexistence for all Iraqis.
We call upon all citizens to cooperate with our heroic armed forces, which are committed to our strict directives to protect civilians in the first place, and to impose security and order, and to protect state installations and institutions. We call upon the Peshmerga forces to perform their duty under the federal leadership as part of the Iraqi armed forces. We call on all employees in Kirkuk to continue their work normally and not to disrupt the interests of citizens.
We also direct local police and intelligence agencies in Kirkuk to protect citizens and their property and to be highly vigilant and careful to prevent the promoters of sedition causing discord between the people of this nation.
We pledge to our people to continue to defend their rights, their gains and their national wealth from waste and corruption. It is the property of all Iraqis, and we must live in this nation without discrimination.
Long live Iraq and long live our heroic armed forces that protect the nation and its citizens.
All thanks to Allah the Almighty.
Dr. Haider Al-Abadi
Prime Minister
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
16 October 2017
For the original أكتوبر 16, 2017 piece from referenced in this summary, click here.