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ERBIL, Iraq, Sept. 24-- Iraq's Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani on Sunday reconfirmed holding the referendum on the independence of the Kurdish semi-autonomous region as scheduled on Sept. 25. "We have decided to hold referendum and we are going ahead whatever the price would be. We are not going to wait for unknown fate, and will not be subject to pressure and threats," Barzani said during a press conference in Erbil. "We have reached the conclusion that independence will allow us not to repeat past tragedies," Barzani said in his speech. He said "the partnership with Baghdad has failed and we will not return to it," said Barzani, who pushed his region toward the referendum on independence despite pressure from Baghdad government, neighbouring countries and Washington to call off the referendum and to negotiate a new deal. Barzani also said "Iraq was supposed to be a democratic civil state (after 2003), not like what we see a theoretic, sectarian state." "I urge the people of Kurdistan to go to the ballot boxes to express their views without any problems and to maintain security and order during this democratic experiment," Barzani said. As for possible military actions against the Kurdish, Barzani confirmed "we don't expect any kind of military conflict with Iraq," he said, adding that such kind of thought "doesn't even cross our mind, but we are ready for everything. We have all the love for the Iraqi army and we are brothers." | 
