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Kurdish Unity – How Important is it Today?
9.6.2012
By Hiwa Osman
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Ekurd.net |
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Hiwa Osman, IWPR Iraq’s country director, previously
served as Iraqi president Jalal Talabani’s media
adviser. •
Read more by the Author
June 9, 2012
The Kurds today are going through a dilemma.
On one hand, some of them are gathering signatures
to topple Maliki. On the other, they are talking
about the unity of the Kurdish house. The message
they are sending is quite contradictory, and is
linked to what they want for the future. If the aim
is a federal, democratic and pluralistic Iraq, then
it should not matter whether the Kurdish house is
united or not.
A vision for the future of Iraq and the way it is
ruled should be the decisive factor for who is for
or against removing the PM.
Soon, the Kurds may decide that recent developments
in the Iraqi crisis mean they do not have to place
importance on whether they are united or not. The
current crisis over the leader of Iraq may allow
them to appear at least like Iraqi players who care
about where the country is heading.
Although signatures are being collected for a vote
of no confidence against Maliki, it is still not
clear what the final number will be or how things
will play out once the process reaches parliament.
Hence some in the pro-Maliki camp welcome a general
referendum on whether he stays or goes, because to
them it still looks like a Kurdish attempt to
destabilize Iraq that others have joined.
It is clear today that in order to topple Maliki,
the Shia voice is needed in addition to Sunni and
Kurdish voices, and it may be necessary to sacrifice
Kurdish unity for the purpose of removing Maliki. As
things stand, the Shias are split; so are the Sunnis
over Maliki. The only group that is undecided is the
Kurdish one.
Often, Kurdish leaders talk about the unity of Kurds
everywhere, but the recent crisis may prove that
Kurds cannot be united in everything. If the
priority is to remove Maliki,www.ekurd.net
then it would be better if Kurds are split into
different fronts on the decision. This will make it
easier for other blocs to split — not along
sectarian or ethnic lines, but along political ones,
where the number of seats from every party is
decisive, not their identity.
The current crisis highlights how Kurds cannot
afford to be united on every issue. Starting with
the formation of the government in Baghdad, to
Barzani’s veto over Gorran’s participation in the
government, to the recent discussion over removing
Maliki — all these events demonstrate the difficulty
of staying united if you do not have a clear sense
of direction.
In the past, the question was whether the Kurds were
spectators or players in the new Iraq. Later, the
question became whether they were negotiators or
partners. In both cases, the Kurds were asked to be
active players in Baghdad and partners in its rule,
and in both cases the Kurds could not practically be
united on all of the issues.
In any event, the emphasis on the unity of the
Kurdish house comes from a time when the Kurds were
under the threat of genocide and extinction. With
all the negatives of the new Iraq, these threats at
least are not there today.
Hiwa Osman is IWPR’s country director in Iraq, previously
served as Iraqi president Jalal Talabani’s media
adviser, a regular contributing writer and columnist for
Ekurd.net. Osman's
website is www.hiwaosman.com
Copyright © 2012 ekurd.net
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