09-26-2017, 11:18 PM
*** 27-Sep-17 World View -- Israel may be the only country recognizing the Iraq Kurdistan referendum
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum appears headed for big approval
****
![[Image: g170926b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170926b.jpg)
Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani © sits during his meeting with clerics and elders in Erbil last month (Reuters)
Thousands of ethnic Kurds in Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan
Region in Iraq, were dancing in the streets and setting off fireworks
on Tuesday, celebrating what is apparently an overwhelming YES vote on
the non-binding referendum for Kurdistan independence.
Voters were asked to answer either YES or NO on the ballot asking them
just one question in Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Assyrian: "Do you
want the Kurdistan Region and Kurdistani areas outside the (Kurdistan)
Region to become an independent country?"
An estimated 78% of the more than five million eligible voters cast a
ballot. The ballots are still being counted, though some reports
indicate a YES vote around 90%.
The reasons that they were celebrating is that they were hoping,
probably delusionally, that the successful referendum may be the
first step in the creation of an independent nation of Kurdistan,
something that's been a frustrated hope for at least a century.
Although the referendum took place in Iraq, there are large
populations of Kurds in several countries in the Mideast and the South
Caucasus. There are 20 million Kurds living Turkey, Syria, Iraq,
Iran, Armenia, and other countries, making it an anomaly that they're
one of the largest ethnic groups that didn't get their own state after
two world wars in the last century.
The reason that the this particular time was chosen for the referendum
is because the Kurds believe that they have leverage for their role in
fighting the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh),
which began occupying Iraq with the the catastrophic fall of Mosul to ISIS
in June, 2014.
Since then it's been the Kurds that have been the main fighting force
against ISIS. The Kurds protected Iraqi refugees, including Yazidi
refugees, from ISIS, and played an important part in expelling ISIS
from Mosul earlier this year. The Iraqi Kurdish leader, Massoud
Barzani, was emboldened by the Kurds' success in fighting ISIS, and
felt that it was necessary to move quickly before the international
good will dissipated. Reuters and AP and Atlantic (24-Sep)
****
**** Israel may be the only country recognizing the Iraq Kurdistan referendum
****
Iraqi leader Massoud Barzani may have been hoping for some gratitude
from the international community, especially the United States, for
the Kurds doing such a great job fighting ISIS in Iraq, and even for
the great job that the Kurds are doing fighting ISIS in Raqqa in
Syria. Unfortunately, those hopes are not being fulfilled.
Secretary-General António Guterres voiced concern over the referendum
in a statement:
<QUOTE>"The Secretary-General respects the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and unity of Iraq and considers that all
outstanding issues between the federal Government and the
Kurdistan Regional Government should be resolved through
structured dialogue and constructive compromise.
The Secretary-General expects that United Nations-mandated
activities across Iraq, including in the Kurdistan region, will be
allowed to continue unhindered."<END QUOTE>
There are many countries in the world today with ethnic
sub-populations that would like to form an independent region. Many
people in Scotland would like to leave the United Kingdom. The
Catalonia region of Spain would like independence. China has multiple
separatist problems, in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan.
So none of these countries is going to support an independence
referendum in Iraq, since doing so would energize the separatist
forces in their own countries.
Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi will not even negotiate with the
Kurds:
<QUOTE>"We are not ready to discuss or have a dialogue about
the results of the referendum because it is unconstitutional.
Most of the problems of the [Kurdish] region are internal ones,
not with Baghdad, and will be increased with the calls for
separation. The economic and financial problems the region is
suffering from are the result of corruption and
mis-administration."<END QUOTE>
The United States, the European Union, Turkey and Iran all fear that
the referendum could destabilize the region. Turkey, Iraq and Iran
are all sending troops for exercises near the Kurdistan border. Iraq
is threatening to cut off air travel. Turkey is threatening to close
the pipeline that goes through Turkey, and which the Kurds use to sell
oil to international markets. Closing the pipeline would cut
Kurdistan's major source of revenue. In fact, Turkey's president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Barzani of "treachery," while Iranian
officials have called the referendum "evil."
So with almost universal rejection of the referendum results, it may
be considered surprising the Israel supports the independent state of
Kurdistan. Several times in the last few years, Israel's prime
minister Benjamin Netanyahu has supported independence, saying that
the Kurds are a "brave, pro-Western people who share our values."
Many Israelis feel that they have a lot in common with the Kurds, in
that Jews also had to fight to create the state of Israel.
This has led Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei to
issue a statement calling the independence referendum a "Zionist plot"
meant to fuel violence in the Mideast.
With almost every nation in the world opposing an independent
Kurdistan, with only one major exception, Israel, it seems pretty
certain that there will not be an independent Kurdistan. United Nations and Al Jazeera and BBC and
Jerusalem Post (13-Sep) and Times of Israel
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iraq, Kurds, Erbil, Kurdistan Region,
Massoud Barzani, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
António Guterres, Haider al-Abadi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Seyed Ali Khamenei, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum appears headed for big approval
- Israel may be the only country recognizing the Iraq Kurdistan referendum
****
**** Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum appears headed for big approval
****
Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani © sits during his meeting with clerics and elders in Erbil last month (Reuters)
Thousands of ethnic Kurds in Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan
Region in Iraq, were dancing in the streets and setting off fireworks
on Tuesday, celebrating what is apparently an overwhelming YES vote on
the non-binding referendum for Kurdistan independence.
Voters were asked to answer either YES or NO on the ballot asking them
just one question in Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Assyrian: "Do you
want the Kurdistan Region and Kurdistani areas outside the (Kurdistan)
Region to become an independent country?"
An estimated 78% of the more than five million eligible voters cast a
ballot. The ballots are still being counted, though some reports
indicate a YES vote around 90%.
The reasons that they were celebrating is that they were hoping,
probably delusionally, that the successful referendum may be the
first step in the creation of an independent nation of Kurdistan,
something that's been a frustrated hope for at least a century.
Although the referendum took place in Iraq, there are large
populations of Kurds in several countries in the Mideast and the South
Caucasus. There are 20 million Kurds living Turkey, Syria, Iraq,
Iran, Armenia, and other countries, making it an anomaly that they're
one of the largest ethnic groups that didn't get their own state after
two world wars in the last century.
The reason that the this particular time was chosen for the referendum
is because the Kurds believe that they have leverage for their role in
fighting the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh),
which began occupying Iraq with the the catastrophic fall of Mosul to ISIS
in June, 2014.
Since then it's been the Kurds that have been the main fighting force
against ISIS. The Kurds protected Iraqi refugees, including Yazidi
refugees, from ISIS, and played an important part in expelling ISIS
from Mosul earlier this year. The Iraqi Kurdish leader, Massoud
Barzani, was emboldened by the Kurds' success in fighting ISIS, and
felt that it was necessary to move quickly before the international
good will dissipated. Reuters and AP and Atlantic (24-Sep)
****
**** Israel may be the only country recognizing the Iraq Kurdistan referendum
****
Iraqi leader Massoud Barzani may have been hoping for some gratitude
from the international community, especially the United States, for
the Kurds doing such a great job fighting ISIS in Iraq, and even for
the great job that the Kurds are doing fighting ISIS in Raqqa in
Syria. Unfortunately, those hopes are not being fulfilled.
Secretary-General António Guterres voiced concern over the referendum
in a statement:
<QUOTE>"The Secretary-General respects the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and unity of Iraq and considers that all
outstanding issues between the federal Government and the
Kurdistan Regional Government should be resolved through
structured dialogue and constructive compromise.
The Secretary-General expects that United Nations-mandated
activities across Iraq, including in the Kurdistan region, will be
allowed to continue unhindered."<END QUOTE>
There are many countries in the world today with ethnic
sub-populations that would like to form an independent region. Many
people in Scotland would like to leave the United Kingdom. The
Catalonia region of Spain would like independence. China has multiple
separatist problems, in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan.
So none of these countries is going to support an independence
referendum in Iraq, since doing so would energize the separatist
forces in their own countries.
Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi will not even negotiate with the
Kurds:
<QUOTE>"We are not ready to discuss or have a dialogue about
the results of the referendum because it is unconstitutional.
Most of the problems of the [Kurdish] region are internal ones,
not with Baghdad, and will be increased with the calls for
separation. The economic and financial problems the region is
suffering from are the result of corruption and
mis-administration."<END QUOTE>
The United States, the European Union, Turkey and Iran all fear that
the referendum could destabilize the region. Turkey, Iraq and Iran
are all sending troops for exercises near the Kurdistan border. Iraq
is threatening to cut off air travel. Turkey is threatening to close
the pipeline that goes through Turkey, and which the Kurds use to sell
oil to international markets. Closing the pipeline would cut
Kurdistan's major source of revenue. In fact, Turkey's president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Barzani of "treachery," while Iranian
officials have called the referendum "evil."
So with almost universal rejection of the referendum results, it may
be considered surprising the Israel supports the independent state of
Kurdistan. Several times in the last few years, Israel's prime
minister Benjamin Netanyahu has supported independence, saying that
the Kurds are a "brave, pro-Western people who share our values."
Many Israelis feel that they have a lot in common with the Kurds, in
that Jews also had to fight to create the state of Israel.
This has led Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei to
issue a statement calling the independence referendum a "Zionist plot"
meant to fuel violence in the Mideast.
With almost every nation in the world opposing an independent
Kurdistan, with only one major exception, Israel, it seems pretty
certain that there will not be an independent Kurdistan. United Nations and Al Jazeera and BBC and
Jerusalem Post (13-Sep) and Times of Israel
Related Articles
- Concerns grow over chaos in Iraq after ISIS is defeated in Mosul (22-Mar-2017)
- Confusion and chaos in Iraq mark the operation to free Mosul from ISIS (30-Oct-2016)
- Iraq in major crisis after catastrophic fall of Mosul to ISIS (11-Jun-2014)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iraq, Kurds, Erbil, Kurdistan Region,
Massoud Barzani, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
António Guterres, Haider al-Abadi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Seyed Ali Khamenei, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
