Iraq TV airs news in Kurdish for the first time

Iraqi state television channel Al Iraqiya yesterday broadcast its first Kurdish news bulletin one week after Kurds voted for independence from Baghdad.

“The first time we broadcast Kurdish news on the television channel and on Al Iraqiya radio,” said Kareem Hammadi, director of the government channel.

The bulletin began in Kurdish at 19:00 (16:00 GMT) and lasted about ten minutes. It dealt with local and international affairs.

On 25 September nearly 93 per cent of Iraqi Kurds voted for independence in a non-binding referendum that challenged the central government. Iraq said the vote was unconstitutional and its results would not be accepted.

As a result of the vote, Baghdad halted international flights to and from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports in the Kurdish region.

Read: Kurds vote ‘yes’ to independence

The Iraqi government yesterday refused to enter into a dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government until the latter reverses the results of the referendum.