Monthly Archives: October 2017

MPs’ cross-party Commons motion rejects ‘punitive peace’

APPG Chairman Jack Lopresti and other APPG officers, Mary Glindon and Robert Halfon have tabled a Commons motion outlining an analysis of the current situation. It reads in full: ‘That this House regrets Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi’s decision, for electoral … Continue reading

Urgent statement by Jack Lopresti MP and Chairman of the APPG on the Kurdistan Region in Iraq

The Iraqi Army and Iranian backed Shia militia using American tanks to advance towards Erbil could spark civil war across Iraq. We can argue about the merits or otherwise of the referendum but it does not deserve this response. I … Continue reading

British MPs raise Kurdistani Concerns in Commons debates

MPs in the APPG on the Kurdistan Region in Iraq have been assiduous after the fall of Kirkuk this week in raising key issues in the Commons and we also organised a briefing in Parliament with Karwan Jamal Tahir, the … Continue reading

MPs raised Kurdistani issues in FCO Questions on 17 October.

• Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con) I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Will the Foreign Secretary join me in thanking Ambassador Frank Baker for all his tireless work in Iraq? He has worked … Continue reading

Why Baghdad’s ‘control and punish’ mentality will harm fight against Daesh

Sectarianism and centralisation by Baghdad leaders against the spirit and letter of the 2005 federal constitution was a major recruiting sergeant for Sunnis to the belief that Daesh was less dangerous to their own interests than Baghdad. That the previous … Continue reading

The terrible events overnight in Kirkuk are mainly made in Iran. Statement by Jack Lopresti MP, APPG Kurdistan Chairman

The terrible events overnight in Kirkuk are mainly made in Iran. The physical presence of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in the Kirkuk area proves that in spades and even the Iraqi government acknowledges that he is an adviser to the … Continue reading

Urgent statement by APPG Chairman Jack Lopresti MP

The West cannot stand idly by as the Shia militia and Iran exploit differences within Iraq for their own selfish ends. Statement by Jack Lopresti MP, Chairman All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The unwarranted aggression of … Continue reading

Jack Lopresti MP. Helping our Kurdistani friends a moral priority

Our friends in the north need our help. I mean the valiant and brave Peshmerga and the people of the Kurdistan Region, north of Iraq. Our friends stood alone against our common enemy, ISIS, when Iraq lost a third of … Continue reading

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave. Mary Glindon MP in the Newcastle Journal

Last week’s under-reported and often misunderstood referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan has caused ructions in the Middle East but also deeply affects our security and trade interests. The Kurds voted 93-7% for their leaders negotiating eventual independence with Baghdad. Observers from … Continue reading