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Iraqi Kurds say they want their politicians to
stop brokering a national unity government should
civil conflict persist.
Many Iraqi Kurds believe Kurdish territories should
secede from Iraq if sectarian violence continues to
escalate.
As Kurdish leaders in Baghdad, led by Iraqi
president Jalal Talabani, urged national unity and
brokered political talks between Sunni and Shia
leaders, Kurds in the northeastern city of
Sulaimaniyah said their leaders should stop
negotiating and go it alone if the situation does
not calm in Baghdad.
Iraq's Kurdish territories, widely considered the
safest area in Iraq following the fall of Saddam
Hussein's regime, have remained largely immune to
the sectarian violence that wreaked havoc in Baghdad
and other southern and central provinces,
particularly in the last week.
For many in Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous
region of Iraq since 1991, the violence raging
elsewhere serves to reinforce their strong desire
for independence.
"Sectarian sentiments are stronger than nationalist
[ones] in Iraq, so the Kurds need to split [from
Iraq] if a sectarian war explodes," said Azad Rostam,
a 23-year-old university student, reflecting a
commonly held view.
As Baghdad shut down for a three-day curfew, life
remained pretty much the same in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraqi news stations carried virtually non-stop
coverage and analysis of the crisis, but the main
Kurdish station, Kurdsat, focused on issues that
affect the Kurds, such as the bird flu outbreak in
Sulaimaniyah that has panicked citizens here.
Kurdish leaders are currently trying to negotiate a
national unity government in Baghdad, but the
Kurdistan Regional Government president Masood
Barzani has warned that if a civil war broke out,
the Kurds would declare independence.
But one Kurdish Iraqi analyst, Behman Tahir,
suggested that this was not a serious threat, rather
"a pressure card" aimed at drawing together Iraqi
political factions that are now battling over the
new cabinet.
Although Tahir did admit that if civil war engulfed
the country, it would provide the Kurds with a rare
opportunity to "liberate other parts of Kurdistan
that are still under Iraqi government, such as
Kirkuk".
Kirkuk is one of several predominantly Kurdish
cities outside of Iraqi Kurdistan that were
ethnically cleansed under Saddam Hussein's regime.
Many Kurds carry a deep mistrust of Arabs because of
the campaigns, and are particularly frustrated with
central government’s failure to address their
grievances over Kirkuk.
Leaders of the two ruling parties in Iraqi
Kurdistan, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the
Kurdistan Democratic Party, refused numerous
requests for interviews for this story.
Commenting on how Iraqi Kurdistan should respond to
the escalating violence, Muhsin Bayyz, deputy
minister for Peshmarga (Kurdish forces), said that
the trend was worrying and that efforts would be
made to prevent the insurgency spilling across into
the region.
"We don't want this conflict to ignite in Iraq, and
we'll do our best to maintain the stability of our
region," he said.
Bayyz said the Kurdish authorities were prepared to
welcome families from other parts of Iraq who were
trying to escape the troubles, as they did when the
United States invaded Iraq in 2003.
While many Kurds believe the violence could hasten
their independence, there are some who caution
against such a move because of the strong economic
ties that have emerged between Iraqi Kurdistan and
Baghdad.
Halkawt Ramazan, a 34-year-old businessman, traded
goods between Baghdad and Sulaimaniyah until last
week when violence broke out.
"The start of a sectarian war in Iraq would not work
in favour of the Kurds," he said. "We might lose all
of the political and economic achievements we have
gained in the last few years."
Frman Abdulrahman is an IWPR trainee journalist in
Sulaimanyah.
www.iwpr.net
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