KurdistanObserver.com

Kurds Dream Of Secession But Acknowledge Realities of Iraq
By Steve Negus, Iraq Correspondent
 Sep 8 2005  Financial Times

Hawbir Ibrahim, a 20 year-old accountancy student in the Kurdish town of Sulimaniya, has a positive view on Iraq's new constitution, which will be sent to the government printing house today. "It is astep towards independence," he says.

In this town in the foothills of Iraqi Kurdistan is a seemingly political contradiction - a deeply held longing for secession, matched with support for leaders who argue that, at least for the time being, the 14 year-old Kurdish autonomous zone must remain part of Iraq.

It is a contradiction that was expressed in January when Kurds lined up to vote overwhelmingly for the incumbent leaders at the same time as they voted overwhelmingly for secession in a non-binding referendum.

It is likely to surface again in October, when Kurds are expected to cast their ballots for the document which, although it confirms the powers of the self-rule zone, omits a key phrase calling for Kurdish "self-determination", the right to secede at a later date.

"This clearly shows that there is the dream of an independent Kurdistan, and there is the rational choice of remaining in Iraq," says Asos Hardi, editor-in-chief of the independent Hawlati weekly.

Iraqis will vote on the charter in an October 15 referendum, with the outcome not assured because of opposition from the country's Sunni minority, which governed under Saddam Hussein.

In the media, columnists argue about whether or not the constitution is a sell-out of Kurdish rights, or the best that negotiators from the two main Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic party, could achieve from a Shia-dominated parliament.

Others simply state that the wide-ranging disagreement between ethnic groups exposed by the constitutional debate means that Iraq is not a functional country, and the Kurds should get out.

For some Kurds, independence is non-negotiable after more than four decades of constant guerrilla warfare against governments in Baghdad.

However, others argue that Kurdish independence - opposed by Iraq's neighbours Turkey and Iran and viewed by Washington as destabilising - is not politically viable at this time.

The debate on the constitution and independence also reflects opinions on the two parties, each of which rules a different part of Kurdistan.

Many Kurds, particularly in the cities, say the parties have become inefficient and corrupt after 14 years of uncontested rule in their respective zones.

The parties, however, have little chance of losing their power, thanks to patronage based on tribal sheikhs and war heroes, as well as an unwillingness among Kurds to change leaders at a critical point in their history.

Meanwhile many Kurds are content to enjoy an autonomy that is independence in all but name. Mr Ibrahim is asked whether he believes that Kurdistan will still be part of Iraq in 10 years' time. He seems amused by the question. "We're not part of Iraq now," he says.