Apparently putting an end to the independence push which began with September’s referendum, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has issued a statement today promising to respect a Supreme Court ruling that precludes independence, and emphasizes the “united Iraq.”
The Iraqi courts insisted that there is no constitutional method through which any part of Iraq could ever secede. Iraqi Kurdistan was in the process of such a secession before October offensives by the Iraqi military quickly got them to back off the plan.
This new statement appears to be an attempt to placate Iraq’s central government, which has been talking further punishment for the Kurdish regions, and has suggested the military operation could be restarted at any time.
Independence has been a long-standing goal for Kurds in Iraq and elsewhere in the region, but so far none had come as close as the KRG to effecting a formal declaration. At this point, it looks less likely than ever they’ll manage to achieve independence, or even retain previous autonomy.
That turned out to be a rather short lived independence movement.
It ain’t over yet. The KRG are only one faction. Hopefully, now that they’ve revealed themselves to be the self-serving, belly-crawling, scum that they’ve always been, the Kurdish people will turn to the Bookchinite section of the independence movement which calls for stateless permanent autonomous zones within the borders of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. Iraq shouldn’t get too cocky. If population that big wants freedom, they’ll get it, come hell or high water.
Cowards. Your move Abdullah Ocalan.