Kurdish independence good for Iraq: Iraqi politician

Hevidar Ahmed writes fro Rudaw:

Kurdish independence is inevitable and will be a good thing for Iraq, according to Sunni Arab Iraqi Parliamentarian Misha'n al-Juburi. In an interview with Rudaw, al-Juburi – a member of the newly-formed al-Arabiya Coalition – said the Islamic State (ISIS) threat convinced him of need of rapprochement with the Kurds. “After the resurgence of the Islamic State, I decided that it is time to resolve our differences,” he said. “Together we must protect Iraq and the Kurdistan Region from this group.” al-Juburi said he was a friend of the Kurds but also that his role in Baghdad was “to raise awareness of the Kurdish plan to divide Iraq and deepen sectarian divisions.” It is clear the Kurds are maneuvering towards independence, he said. “All their efforts are to make this happen.” “I understand why the Kurds have concerns about a strong united Iraq,” he said, blaming former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki for threatening the Kurds. “He was an autocratic leader just like the former regimes in Iraq,” he said. “We must no longer allow for another dictator to emerge in Iraq.”