On March 5, 1991, residents in Ryana stormed and occupied government buildings in the city, which is located 55 miles northwest of Sulaimani. Inspired by the actions of their compatriots, the uprising quickly spread to other cities.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement that the Kurdistan Region needs unity, stability, and coexistence now more than ever.

“Just like how all Kurdistanis including all the components of different nationalities and religions rebelled together and succeeded, we can also now face the difficulties and challenges together and achieve and secure our constitutional rights,” he said

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said that the anniversary would encourage officials and people to support the KRG in its efforts to implement its reform agenda, in order to better serve the people of the Region and move it into a more developed stage.

Iraqi President Barham Salih congratulated the people on the anniversary and said that the uprising became a gate for true change, ending the dictatorial regime and enforcing democracy.

Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament Rewaz Fayaq said that the great achievements of the uprising are about to enter a phase of despair.

“Kurdistan is currently going through difficult political, economic, and social crisis,” she said, urging the constitutional institutions to cooperate to strengthen trust between people and the institutions.

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Co-President Lahur Sheikh Jangi said the Region’s people want to be ensured that rule of law, freedoms, jobs security, salaries, and livelihoods are protected from a “parasitic minority,” an apparent reference to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

“On the anniversary of the uprising, I frankly say that the Iraqi Kurdistan Region has fundamental problems,” he said, adding that the years after the uprising the Region has taken wrong and opposite direction of the national expectations.

He argued that people want governance not to be mixed with the wishes of family and personal interests.

Reporter's code: 50101