Iraqi Kurds See Chance to Press for Statehood

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kurds1feb01.story
Iraqi Kurds See Chance to Press for Statehood
Despite gains in Sunday's vote, those who want independence are less willing to settle.
By Jeffrey Fleishman
Times Staff Writer

February 1, 2005

CHAMCHAMAL, Iraq — A cane leans on the door and the old tribal leader sits in the sun below the citadel. With a whisper, he could summon 1,000 armed men. He chooses not to.

But make no mistake, he says, the time has come for the Kurds to grab the oil fields, seal the northern mountain passes and seize their independence.

Karim Agha is a proven ally of America, but he is also part of a growing number of Kurds whose push for an independent state could splinter Iraq and undermine U.S. policy in the region. Despite a strong showing in Sunday's election that would give them unprecedented influence in a new national government, Kurds are debating whether it's time for them to declare their own state.

"The war against Saddam Hussein is over and everyone has their freedom except the Kurds," Agha said, a gun resting against his wall, prayer beads lacing his fingers. "We are surrounded by enemies, and we can wait no longer for our own nation. It would be a great shame for the U.S. to abandon us."

Fearing that a bid for independence would draw the fury of neighboring Turkey and Iran, which have their own restive Kurdish populations, the main Kurdish political parties say they are committed to a unified Iraq. But many Kurds believe the chaos across the country creates a prime opportunity for them to claim the contested oil city of Kirkuk and break away. More than 1.7 million Kurds, or about 45% of their population, signed a petition for independence that was recently delivered to the United Nations.

The struggle is between pragmatism and a centuries-old dream. It suggests that the influence held by Kurdish politicians and U.S. allies such as Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani may be diminishing. Men like Agha, chief of the Hamawand tribe, are more willing to fight than to equivocate in the face of international pressure, especially when it comes to independence and the fate of Kirkuk.<snip>

[yinkaafrica]

1. Turkey will never allow this

Good luck, Kurds. All your dreams will come to nothing.

[Jack Rabbit]

2. And Turkey has what to say about Iraqi affairs?

If an independent Kurdistan is carved out of old Iraqi Kurdistan, that's none of their business.

[rfkrfk]

3. Kurds were given three ballots, one more than other voters.

The 'extra' ballot, was for the Kurdish regional parliment.