As Iraqi Kurds are slated to vote in a referendum for independence, world and regional leaders have warned against the dangerous repercussions of such a move.
The disintegration of Iraq or Syria, Turkey warned, could spark a global conflict. The United States, a chief ally of the Kurds, has also encouraged them to postpone the vote, fearing that a region already embroiled in such instability and chaos will fall over the edge. After three years of fighting Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in Syria and Iraq, the international coalition has been able to drive the terrorists back to only minuscule stretches of territory. The blood, sweat and tears that have been given to the war on Daesh threaten to multiply and a region that has already seen mass killings and displacements due to conflicts will be thrust again into the same abyss.
Already tensions are rising as Turkey has sent tanks on its border with Iraq and has warned it could take joint military action, along with Iran, against the Kurds. Recently, clashes broke out in Kirkuk after a Kurdish convoy celebrating the referendum drove by a Turkmen political party’s office. This followed a week of escalating rhetoric between the Kurdish leadership and Baghdad, where parliament voted to reject the referendum and oust Kirkuk’s Kurdish governor, Najmaddin Kareem. Perhaps the determination of Iraq’s Kurds is justified in their view due to the injustices they have suffered over the course of history and more specifically under the brutal autocracy of the late Saddam Hussain. They feel, that the only way to guarantee their rights is through independence.
However, more negotiations with the Iraqi central government are needed to resolve this prickly issue. The government should be more fair in its dealings with the Kurdish population and atone for past atrocities, not only done to the Kurds, but to Shiites, Sunnis and other minority religious groups and ethnicities. In order to move forward, it should deal righteously with its past and confront unresolved issues head-on. However arbitrary the borders were, drawn by the French and British 100 years ago, people have nonetheless lived in these nation-states for the past century — together. While it hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies, the struggles and sufferings are in no way unique to Kurds alone. Therefore, the focus should be on unity rather than disintegration — but the rights of minorities and historically oppressed people should become a top priority for governments to rebuild a nation torn apart by war, sectarianism and foreign meddling.
