MESOP Opinion : THE DECISIVE MOMENT IN KURDISH HISTORY – THE WILL OF THE KURDISH PEOPLE !

“Will Kurdish political parties bend themselves to the collective will of the Kurdish people? This question is central both to the success of independence and the continuation of a civil and democratic society.” (AMIR SHARIFI)

Kurdish independence: United We Stand… /  – Dr. Amir Sharifi is President of the Kurdish American Education Society-Los Angeles

Just at the moment when the world is starting to lend an ear to long-running the demands of Kurds for recognition of their national rights, political divisions among Kurdish leaders are prompting questions about their ability to mobilize local and global forces to secure independence.The latest Iraqi crisis has created a historic opportunity, one that requires a unified voice as opposed to the traditional rivalries and political fissures among Kurdish parties. Ironically, the call for independence has created disunity.

The Kurds are at last making headlines as the situation in the rest of Iraq deteriorates. The Kurdistan  Regional Government (KRG), despite its paradoxes, has created an island of stability and secular democracy in the midst of chaos and bloodshed. And the world has taken note. Increasingly, Western analysts are exploring the possibility or even inevitability of partitioning Iraq, something that in practice has already happened.In an attempt to bring about a belated compromise, different plans are being floated ranging from preserving the status, to reshuffling the power structure in Baghdad, to the federation idea put forward  by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and Gelb in  2006.

Moves towards Kurdish independence have changed all this. The call for a popular referendum goes beyond the other strategies currently on offer.

Kurds are right to fear both Nouri al-Maliki, for his authoritarianism, and the forces of the Islamic State, who broke into the arsenals of Mosul and seized heavy weaponry of all kinds with which they are threatening some Kurdish areas both in Southern and Western Kurdistan. The seizure of Kirkuk for Kurds has great symbolic and historical significance as it has destroyed the archaic and unnatural colonial divisions of the land. Kurds have no interest in maintaining the status quo, nor will they gain more by maintaining the semi-autonomy that was captive to Maliki’s autocracy.

Kurds may understand the resentment and resistance of Sunnis against their exclusion, but they would be jeopardizing their gains if they allowed themselves to be used as cannon fodder against the Islamic State. The Sunnis would obviously seek to regain their once dominant status and entrenched privileges vis-a-vis Kurdish civil and secular society. The KRG has rightfully refused to join the fight against the Sunni insurgency and the Islamic State. Kurdish interests lie outside those of the Shiite and Sunni power blocks or those of neighboring states and their local apologists. A unified Iraq, if it ever existed, has brought Kurds nothing but genocidal wars and the pillage of their resources.

The Kurdish initially appeared united a strategy for independence, but increasingly each major force is taking a different path. Independence can be achieved if all sides actively seek the same end, otherwise the old saying “Kurds never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity” will once again haunt us. The growing political polarization will lead to the gradual paralysis of the push for independence.

Kurdish political parties, which initially showed a fervent passion in support of independence, soon realigned themselves with regional centers of power that want to continue their contested control of the Kurds and their resources. Instead of politicians working to create a more favorable international and regional response in favour of recognition of the Kurdish right to self-determination, political divisions are seriously threatening this historic opportunity.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, the archenemy of Kurds, has compelled the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to raise its opposition to independence in favour of reconstituting and reinforcing the discredited Shiite authority represented by Maliki. The PUK accuses the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and other parties of serving the economic and political cause of Turkey and Israel. Elsewhere, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and KDP have resumed a propaganda war, accusing each other of spreading rumors and serving the other’s enemies. In the process, they are losing sight of the higher stakes.  Most Kurdish political parties and organizations have begun to create greater divisions as rival parties play off against one another, thus undermining the Kurdish nationalist aspiration for the right to self-determination.

Will Kurdish political parties bend themselves to the collective will of the Kurdish people? This question is central both to the success of independence and the continuation of a civil and democratic society. Kurdish people have borne the brunt of the national movement for independence and have played a vital role in creating significant changes. Now that the world is becoming convinced that our struggle is just and appears to recognize our nation’s right to self-determination, we should be more committed to using the force of diplomacy and internal solidarity to forge unity through a spirit of independence and constructive dialogue, sensitive to the lessons of history. Divided we could not hope to triumph over unified forces and power politics that are threatening us or tricking us into a war. National unity is the most promising path to independence and the incarnation of the Kurds’ dream for a state of their own.

Dr. Amir Sharifi is President of the Kurdish American Education Society-Los Angeles