Kurdish independence ?

[robert99]

(Will Iraqi Kurds get some form of independence?)
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/080920165
French President François Hollande has expressed support for Kurdish independence in a meeting with Kurdish President Masoud Barzani in Paris on Thursday.

“With France, we discussed all the crises that face Kurdistan now, military support for the Peshmerga, and the independence of Kurdistan,” Barzani told Rudaw’s Ala Shali in an interview after his meeting with Hollande.

Barzani said that he had raised the referendum and Kurdish independence in all his meetings abroad. “If I was not certain that it’s time for an independent Kurdistan, I would not take that step.”

“No European countries are against independence, but some of them say the time is not right, and some others say that we should carefully and sensitively deal with the situation. But we will take that step and the referendum is in the hands of the Kurdish people.”

According to Rudaw’s correspondent, Hollande told Barzani that France will support Kurdish independence, “but you choose the time for it.”
(Can not see the Turks, Iranians and Assad being so glad about it)

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/130920165
The Peshmerga have asked Finland to remain in the Kurdistan Region after the war on the Islamic State (ISIS) during the visit of a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to the northern European nation that is a member of the global anti-ISIS coalition.

“On Tuesday, we met with deputy Finnish parliament speaker Mauri Pekkarinen, and defense and foreign committees at the Finnish parliament. We discussed the Peshmerga, the war on ISIS, and collaboration” between the two nations, Brigadier General Hazhar, a member of the Peshmerga delegation, told Rudaw.

Finland has 100 specialist military personnel in the Kurdistan Region, training Peshmerga in its fight against ISIS.

The Finnish trainers in Kurdistan and Iraq are a member of the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center (KTCC), along with Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Hungary.

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/160920162
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a Rudaw correspondent in Moscow that, “Russia wants the content of the ceasefire agreement to be released to the public, but the US does not want us to.”

“The package includes all the mechanisms for solving issues in Syria,” she added.

Russian experts and observers believe that both Moscow and Washington are in agreement on the future of Syria, namely that its future should be one of a federal state with a constitution.

A Russian observer told Rudaw that both powers agree on giving local authority to different groups in different regions. Then, the observer claimed, the US and Russia will oversee the drafting of a constitution “for the future of Syria, as a federal country with Kobani, Jazira and Afrin Cantons under the control of the Syrian Kurds inside a federal Syrian state.”

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/230920161
The leader of an influential Shiite militia in Iraq warns against the country's disintegration and sees a "bloody outcome" in separation efforts by the Sunnis and Kurdish factions.

Speaking on Friday Hadi Ameri, a former minister and commander of the Shiite Hashad al-Shaabi militia, warned that conditions in Iraq would not allow for what he called "the three-state solution" to take place and reiterated strong support for a "united country."

"Many sides are working to divide Iraq into three states, Shiite, Sunni and a Kurdish state which we reject categorically since Iraq's partition will inevitably be followed by a bloody outcome,” Ameri said.

Amiri also said similar efforts are underway in neighboring Syria, where diverse ethnic groups are trying to partition the country.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are financially supporting opposing militia groups in the country, recently Turkey is opening funding a Sunni militia in northern Iraq (see http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/291220151 ), which it says are trained against ISIS militants in Mosul.

Allawi said in the interview that if the conditions remain “as grave as they currently are”, the different components of the country will inevitably choose their own path.

 

[robert99]

Why calls for independence are in decline in Iraqi Kurdistan
The salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has led to further economic, political and social interdependence with Baghdad, which began to melt the Kurdish dream of independence. The economic situation has affected even the most hard-line nationalist politicians in the Kurdistan Region. Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, visited Baghdad on Sept. 29 as the head of a major political delegation representing most of the Kurdish forces in a bid to solve outstanding economic and political issues with the Baghdad-based Iraqi government.

Barzani said that he demanded autonomy for the Kurdistan Region and not secession from Iraq. Similarly, Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Region, said June 2 that he sees Baghdad as Iraqi Kurdistan’s strategic depth.

Such statements were inconceivable before the economic crisis and the growing popular discontent in the region; the president and prime minister of the Kurdistan Region used to seize upon every opportunity to promote the declaration of the Kurdish state.

The president’s visit to Baghdad coincided with and was preceded by a series of protests in the region. Thousands of state employees — namely teachers and university professors — took to the streets Sept. 30 to protest a cut in salaries by the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG).