Iraqi Kurdish business tycoon takes on leaders over independence vote

sulaimaniya (Iraq) — On the eve of an independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, one man is campaigning against a “Yes” vote which he fears could stoke tension in the Middle East.

With the 5 million Kurds in Iraq who are eligible to vote united by dreams of statehood, the outcome of the September 25 referendum in the autonomous region in northern Iraq is in no doubt.

But with Baghdad making clear it opposes independence for a region that has abundant oil reserves, some voters fear now is not the time to start moves to break away from Iraq — and rich businessman Shaswar Abdulwahid Qadir has taken up their cause.

Despite being branded a traitor by political enemies, he has taken on the establishment by launching a “No for now” campaign to

A ‘No’ vote is better for our people, better for Kurdistan’s future Shaswar Abdulwahid Qadir, an Iraqi Kurdish businessman

explain the economic and political risks of a “Yes” vote. “A ‘No’ vote is better for our people, better for Kurdistan’s future,” the 39-yearold businessman told Reuters after a rally on Saturday in a soccer stadium in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan’s second largest city.

Warning against the consequences of an independence declaration, he said: “It will bring to our people an unstable situation after the referendum.” —

Reuters People take part in a demonstration in support of the referendum for independence of Kurdish Iraq in Geneva. —