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Organisers of poll fear Iraqi Kurdistan will lose
its autonomy if local leaders become too deeply
embroiled in Baghdad politics.
A small orange tent and a simple box covered with a
Kurdish flag was set up 100 metres from a polling
station in Sulaimaniyah on election day. Outside the
tent, young volunteers were asking voters to take
part in an unofficial referendum.
Each voter was given a card with two sentences: Do
you want Kurdistan be part of Iraq? Or do you want
an independent Kurdistan?
The tent was one of dozens set up by the Referendum
Committee movement outside polling stations in
cities with large Kurdish populations such as
Sulaimaniyah, Erbil, Kirkuk and Dahuk.
The Referendum Committee was established by a group
of Kurdish intellectuals and independent politicians
last year, in response to the main Kurdish parties
joining the Iraqi government.
Ethnic Kurds, who make up 20 per cent of Iraq's
population, have governed themselves since Saddam
Hussein lost control of northern Iraq after the 1991
Gulf War. The region is administered by a joint
government formed by the two main Kurdish parties,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan
Democratic Party.
Members of the Referendum Committee worry that the
Kurds will lose their autonomy, and hopes of an
independent Kurdistan, if they become too deeply
embroiled in Iraqi politics.
Kner Abdullah, a senior member of the Referendum
Committee, said the referendum voting cards will be
scanned and sent to the United Nations and the
European Union.
"This is a preliminary step for Kurds'
self-determination, so that the UN can come in the
future and hold an official and legal referendum, as
has been held for many oppressed peoples in the
world," she said.
Last year, the movement collected almost two-million
signatures in support of a referendum on Kurdish
self-determination. Copies of those signatures also
were sent to the UN and the EU.
Voters in Sulaimaniyah voiced support for the
referendum effort.
"So far we cling to the Arabs and they oppressed us,
it is now the time to tell them we no longer want
you," said driver Ibrahim Qadir.
Some voters said they thought the referendum could
turn out to be more important than voting for the
Iraqi National Assembly.
"If the result of the referendum shows that the
majority of the people want independence for
Kurdistan, it will be more important than the
current elections," said policeman Najmaddin Omer.
Others thought it simply was not the right time to
push the issue of Kurdish independence.
"As we take part in the Iraqi national elections, it
means that we want to stay part of Iraq," said civil
servant Hussein Muhammed. "This referendum is a
demand of our long-term future."
This story has not been bylined because of concerns
for the security of IWPR reporters.
http://www.iwpr.net
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