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ARBIL,
Iraq: When Mula Rebaz says he wants independence
because he “can no longer live with the Arabs,” he
voices a feeling shared by many in Kurdistan: that
Sunday’s polls are nothing more than a step in the
right direction.
Rebaz works at Sulaimaniyah’s former prison, which
the Kurds have converted into a memorial to the
brutalities suffered under the regime of ousted
President Saddam Hussein.
“Ninety-nine percent of Kurds think like me,” he
says.
But their two main political parties, the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK), have put independence claims to one
side, given the fierce opposition of Iraq’s
neighbors with sizable Kurdish minorities.
Today the parties’ respective leaders, Massud
Barzani and Jalal Talabani, say they want a
democratic and federal Iraq, with Kurdistan as one
of its regions.
But many see such declarations in the run-up to the
general elections as mere pragmatism.
Since a 1991 uprising and under a Western security
umbrella, Kurdistan turned into a relatively
flourishing autonomous province while Iraqis to the
south suffered international sanctions imposed in
the wake of Saddam’s 1990 invasion of Iraq.
Almost two years after the US-led invasion of Iraq,
public buildings still balk at having to hoist the
Iraqi flag, preferring to see the yellow Kurdish
banner flutter in the sunshine.
They may have adopted the Iraqi dinar, but Kurdish
provinces still have their own language, their own
government and parliament and their own television
stations. An international airport is nearing
completion in their main city of Arbil.
Kurdish militias are also concerned about their
privileges when they see what is happening elsewhere
in the country.
However, Barzani addressed a meeting of Shiite and
Sunni tribal leaders on Wednesday, saying “those who
say that what is happening elsewhere doesn’t concern
us are wrong and when someone dies in Mosul, Ramadi
or Baghdad, it’s as if someone here has died.”
He spoke of “the unity of Iraq.”
But a rival, the “independent” Ihsan Fwad, a
university professor, says “everyone agrees on
federalism, but everyone also agrees that Kurdistan
must be independent one day. A nation of 40 million
people [in the region] has the right to a state.”
Asos Hardi, editor of the weekly Hawlati (Citizen),
does not believe that Barzani and Talabani have a
hidden agenda.
“If a large part of public opinion is for
independence, that feeling has not manifested itself
politically, and independence hasn’t taken a
prominent place in the campaign.”
“In fact Kurdistan is already an independent state,
and that independence risks being less after the
elections,” he said.
“A petition for independence has just gathered more
than a million signatures,” according to a fellow
resident of Arbil, Abdulhamid Hariri, who said that
some Kurds felt that independence was a must.
Turnout for the polls is expected to be high, with
few fears of violence at polling stations and no
boycott calls. The Kurds will also be voting for a
111-member parliament of their own.
Kurdish leaders want to win as many seats as they
can in Iraq’s National Assembly. Some of Iraq’s
other communities are concerned that as a result
Kurdish representation will be higher than their
estimated number of 15 percent to 20 percent.
While Shiite parties should win an overall majority,
government decisions must be approved by two-thirds
of parliament. Kurds will also be able to block the
future constitution by mobilizing voters in their
three provinces.
“We will be closer to our objectives after the
vote,” says PUK number two Noshirwan Mustafa, while
also denying he wants independence.
AFP
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