Dr. Bayad Jamal Ali
Kurds have been appearing regularly in the international news due to their significant role and being the leading boots on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS). During the past two years Kurds have suffered many casualties but have also been successful in liberating several towns as well as pushing back the frontlines of ISIS with the support of the U.S.-led coalition.
Yet, the Kurdish citizens are wondering if the long awaited dream of achieving independence will come true, especially with the call for a referendum for independence by the Kurdistan Region’s President, Massoud Barzani.
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has made many achievements, from gaining its autonomy from Iraq, to establishing a functioning government, obtaining stability and security through its Peshmerga forces (the Kurdish army), and witnessing noticeable economic growth after the Iraq war until the drop of oil prices.
In the matter of international politics, it seems like the main global players insist on the unity of Iraq as a country and do not support the idea of an independent Kurdish state.
The G7 meeting decided to give a loan to Iraq with the condition of providing the Kurdistan Region with its share, and reassured its support for the unity of Iraq.
Moreover, during his last visit to Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States supports a united Iraq in its fight against terrorism.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Barham Salih, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a visit to Moscow. Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s support for the unity of Iraq. This may be one of the rare occasions that the United States and Russia see eye to eye on an issue.
On the other hand there are many internal issues that Kurdish leadership has not yet been able to overcome.
The Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) has been reliant on its 17 percent share of the Iraqi government’s budget. With its endeavor to achieve economic independence from Iraq, the Kurdistan Region began exporting its own oil and granting exploration rights to major global oil companies.
A brief period of a flourishing business environment was achieved, but this all went down with the drop of oil prices. The complete reliance on oil led to the neglect of developing all other economic sectors and this has led to the economy becoming infected with Dutch disease
The weakness of the private sector, the result of a massive number of public servants hired by the government to guarantee votes and party loyalty, has become a burden today.
Public employees have gone months without receiving their salaries and as a result the market demand and economic cycle broke down.
Another issue is that the Peshmerga forces as well as security and defense institutions, do not have a united leadership. They are divided between the major ruling parties with a different political allegiance.
Many failed attempts have been made to unite the forces. Many accusations during the fight against ISIS and many have tried to place blame on others, especially between the two leaders of the Kurdish Intelligence and Counter Terrorism Group.
This issue has created a lack of accountability in the army as every commander is protected by their affiliated parties. This in turn has negatively impacted the process of building the military force through merit instead of political allegiance.
In addition, another issue that created internal tensions and international criticism is the rule of law in Kurdistan. Because of the debated over the presidency term, the Kurdistan Region’s Parliament has been paralyzed and has not met for almost a year through the use of force. The different interpretations have led to an escalated position from the different political sides that has affected not only the freeze of parliament but also the functionality of the government.
Kurds have been struggling to gain independence since the end of World War One when they missed their chance. Since then, they became a minority in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. In each country they were treated with violence, persecution, and even chemical attacks as happened in Halabja under the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Despite the fact that there are many challenges and obstacles to overcome, the Kurds of Iraq have been successful in maintaining their entity and creating peaceful relationships with neighboring countries as well as hosting more than a million refugees from Syria and Iraq. All Kurds are wondering, despite being in a very difficult geopolitical location, and despite fighting terrorism coming out of a bloody history, can they be free to govern themselves as an independent country?
