Robert R. Reilly: As you know our speaker
tonight, Sarwah Abdulwahed Qadir, is going
to speak on the future of Iraqi Kurdistan,
women’s rights and what happened under ISIS
in Iraq.
However, I’m going to cede the privilege
of introducing Sarwah to an old friend of
mine, Entifadh Qanbar, who I’ve known for
many years, who is himself an Iraqi.
He’s an Iraqi Army veteran.
He was also a veteran of Saddam Hussein’s
prisons.
I first met Entifadh in his capacity as the
Washington director of the Iraqi National
Congress.
Now those of you who worked on this issue
will know that that was the group that had
pulled together so many sectors of Iraqi society,
planning for what we had all hoped then would
be a better future for Iraq.
So I will surrender the floor now to Entifadh
with the introduction.
He will also be helping with the translation
for Sarwah’s introduction.
I will say one thing about her of which I’m
very proud.
We both are veterans of the Voice of America
because Sarwah has a rich background as a
journalist.
Entifadh?
Entifadh Qanbar: Good evening.
Thank you, Bob.
I’ve known you now for a decade and a half.
And me and Bob were working on the liberation
of Iraq in 2003, the good old days.
Some of the things turned to be bad.
Some of [the] things turned to be good.
One of the goods we have a young woman who
is a member of Parliament of Iraq.
By the way the Iraqi Parliament 25% are women.
And she’s a voice of civil society Iraq
and a voice of a secular Iraq and she’s
a very active and rising star in the Iraqi
Parliament.
Sarwah – I have known when she was the-
she was the Voice of America and Al Hurra
correspondent in Kurdistan.
She was my colleague.
Every time I go to Erbil I- We are bringing
Sarwah through a foundation that I have started
recently.
My wife, Hiba, is also a member of this foundation
and we have people in Iraq also.
The foundation’s called Future Foundation.
We are trying to build bridges between Iraqi
seculars and Iraqi civil politicians, non-Islamist,
there’s underline to come to Washington,
meet and connect to the American people, to
the U.S. government, to the U.S. Congress
and to empower the seculars in Iraq versus
the Islamists who believe they have basically
destroyed the dream of democracy in Iraq,
not totally but for a big part of it.
Therefore- So my first client per se is Sarwah.
We invited her.
She came to Washington and we are honored
to have her and you are going to see flow
of Iraqi politicians coming.
We are [at] the same time, simultaneously
convening a conference in Iraq of more than
105 parties of seculars and civil parties,
non-Islamist, to again to empower parties,
including Dr. Iyad Allawi who Bob knows very
well.
He’s Prime Minister of Iraq and now he’s
the Vice President of Iraq.
And by the way my wife Hiba works as an advisor
to the Vice President of Iraq, Dr. Iyad Allawi.
So I’m honored to have Sarwah here and I
hope she will give you an important perspective.
You know you’re- Kurdistan now is going
through a very, very dangerous and critical
juncture.
There is supposed to be a on the 25th of this
month a referendum on the independence of
Kurdistan.
It’s not independence.
It’s a referendum on independence.
Sarwah belongs to a party which is Gorran,
which is basically established a few years
ago and it’s a rising party.
It has gained huge popularity among young
men and women in Kurdistan.
And she is won of those people who are opposing
this referendum.
So she is going to focus a good time of her
presentation on why she is opposing this referendum
and why she thinks this referendum is not
timed in a wise way.
And I would just like to also emphasize that
the opinions and the things that Sarwah is
going to mention tonight is- has nothing to
do with the opinions and political ideas of
the Future Foundation and her views represents
herself
and her party.
Welcome, Sarwah.
