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ARBIL,
Iraq - Kurdish self-rule is inevitable if not
imminent, a Kurdish leader said on Wednesday after
Kurds in northern Iraq voted almost unanimously for
independence in an informal referendum held last
weekend.
“When the right time comes it will become a
reality,” said Masoud Barzani, head of one of the
two main Kurdish factions which control Iraq’s
northern Kurdish zone.
“Self-determination is the natural right of our
people, and they have the right to express their
desires.”
Barzani was speaking three days after more than 1.9
million Iraqi Kurds — some 95 percent of those asked
— voted for independence in an informal survey
conducted by volunteers.
Iraqi Kurds, who were persecuted under Saddam
Hussein, have long pushed for independence, but
Turkey, Iran and Syria — all with substantial
Kurdish minorities — oppose the establishment of
Kurdish state on their borders.
Survey runs parallel to vote
The referendum was held on the day of Iraq’s
historic elections on Sunday. Its organizers
surveyed Kurds as they emerged from polling stations
across northern Iraq.
The volunteers handed out postcard-sized cards with
two boxes printed on them next to two flags — one
Kurdish and one Iraqi. The question 'What do you
want?’ was written at the top of the card and those
polled were asked to tick one box.
By Wednesday, more than 2.1 million Kurdish votes
had been counted, according to organizers who are
still awaiting results from the ethnically mixed
city of Kirkuk.
Witnesses said some children filled them in and
there was often no restriction on people taking more
than one form.
Push for referendum
Although the survey was unofficial and not monitored
by any independent body, many Kurds said its results
were proof of a groundswell of support for the
eventual creation of an independent Kurdish state.
“We want to make sure that the Kurdish people do not
suffer any more, and to show that Kurdish people
have the will and ability to live in freedom,” said
Shamal Hawizy, a senior member of the Kurdistan
Referendum Movement.
The movement, founded in October 2003, is funded
through donations and assisted by Kurdish
authorities, who paid for the referendum’s cost of
around $150,000.
Last year, the movement collected 1.7 million
signatures calling for a petition demanding a
similar referendum.
Paul Bremer, who was in charge of Iraq’s provisional
authority at the time, declined to meet Kurdish
leaders to accept their petition and the referendum
never took place.
Kurds make up around 15 percent of Iraq’s population
of 27 million. They are expected to emerge as a
leading force when results are announced from
Sunday’s national vote.
Diplomat: Kurdish state 'not possible'
Most Iraqis oppose Kurdish secession. The
international community says it is committed to
establishing a unified but federal Iraq in which
Kurds have a degree of autonomy.
“The referendum is just a statement that a very
large proportion of the Kurdish population up there
wants independence,” one western diplomat in Baghdad
said.
“That feeling exists, and it would be silly to deny
it, but Kurdish national leaders and Kurdish
regional leaders understand that an independent
Kurdish state now is not possible.”
Others said the creation of such a state was only a
matter of time.
“When you have a democracy it’s almost impossible to
hold people in a country that they hate,” said Peter
Galbraith, a visiting former U.S. diplomat familiar
with the region.
“If you asked me whether in 10 years there will be
an independent Kurdistan, I’d say yes.”
Copyright 2005 Reuters
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