Red winter again for the Kurds?
- The Good Kurds, the Bad Kurds” gave an excellent title to the work of documentary filmmaker Kevin McKiernan on the largest nation without a state. From the US perspective, the Kurds of the PKK who have rebelled against Turkey are “terrorists”, while the Peshmergas who confronted Saddam Hussein are freedom fighters.
Urtzi Urrutikoetxea kazetariaIñigo Azkona
Thus, the support of the Kurds for the Americans during the war in Iraq and the position of Turkey, which prohibited the United States from using Turkish territory and airspace, suggested to some experts a definitive change of position. The wind seemed to be on the side of the Kurds: friend of the world leader, also at a warm moment with Israel, Turkey mutated with the US, and the other two oppressors of the Kurds (Iran and Syria) on Washington’s “worst” list. It was a unique opportunity to form a proxy gringo in these turbulent corners of the world, despite the fact that no state of its own had been proclaimed for the time being.
The sweet spring might be about to end once again, for that reason. The U.S. has been forced to choose between new and old allies and support Turkey in its attack on the guerrillas that were kept in South Kurdistan. By the way, they have sent a clear message to the Kurdistan authorities: accept the autonomy you have and do not disturb them. Behind Turkey’s attack there is basically another bet: its disdain for Kurdish autonomy. And the risk that the oil city of Kirkuk would enter the autonomous Kurdistan because of the wealth it would provide economically.
The referendum on the Iraqi Constitution, which was due to take place at the end of 2007, has been postponed, as was already clear by law. The census, which was to be completed by July, has not yet been completed. It is officially postponed to six months, but there are many doubts that it will also be possible to do so by June. The U.S.’s latest plea to help the Kurds – which was sure not to trigger another conflict in the only environment – also seems to have changed: Not in the autonomous Kurdistan, but in the last few months they have multiplied a lot in the region around Kirkuk, while in the south of the Shiites and in Baghdad itself they have decreased considerably. Some have accused al-Qaeda, but the black hand of the Turkish secret services has also been mentioned.
As a result, more and more Kurds have said that, unless a referendum is held in June, Kirkuk should automatically enter their autonomy. It’s a tough bet, but when external help doesn’t come, you have to know how to take the steps yourself. They learned a long time ago that only the mountains are with them.
The sweet spring might be about to end once again, for that reason. The U.S. has been forced to choose between new and old allies and support Turkey in its attack on the guerrillas that were kept in South Kurdistan. By the way, they have sent a clear message to the Kurdistan authorities: accept the autonomy you have and do not disturb them. Behind Turkey’s attack there is basically another bet: its disdain for Kurdish autonomy. And the risk that the oil city of Kirkuk would enter the autonomous Kurdistan because of the wealth it would provide economically.
The referendum on the Iraqi Constitution, which was due to take place at the end of 2007, has been postponed, as was already clear by law. The census, which was to be completed by July, has not yet been completed. It is officially postponed to six months, but there are many doubts that it will also be possible to do so by June. The U.S.’s latest plea to help the Kurds – which was sure not to trigger another conflict in the only environment – also seems to have changed: Not in the autonomous Kurdistan, but in the last few months they have multiplied a lot in the region around Kirkuk, while in the south of the Shiites and in Baghdad itself they have decreased considerably. Some have accused al-Qaeda, but the black hand of the Turkish secret services has also been mentioned.
As a result, more and more Kurds have said that, unless a referendum is held in June, Kirkuk should automatically enter their autonomy. It’s a tough bet, but when external help doesn’t come, you have to know how to take the steps yourself. They learned a long time ago that only the mountains are with them.