ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - President Masoud Barzani received on Saturday a young Kurdish man who was attacked by Iraqi security officers for carrying the Kurdistan flag on election day.
“No person or party has the right, under any statement or pretext, to insult the Kurdistan flag or to prevent it from being raised,” Barzani, who is the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said in the meeting, according to a statement from his office.
“Great amounts of blood and sacrifice have been given for the flag of Kurdistan. The Kurdistan flag is the flag of every Kurd and every Kurd has the constitutional and legal right to take pride in the flag and the achievements of their people,” he said.
The young man was reportedly beaten by Iraqi security forces for carrying the Kurdistan flag on Tuesday, election day, in the disputed Tuz Khurmatu region, south of Kirkuk. A video of the incident circulating online generated a huge backlash and demands that those responsible be punished.
One local resident, Mohammed Hussein, dressed in traditional Kurdish clothing, told Rudaw, “Why would they beat him? Aren’t we human beings? Kurds are a dignified community, and there should be no discrimination.