Iraq warns Kurds as they claim victory in independence vote
IRBIL, Iraq — Iraq’s prime minister on Tuesday ordered the Kurdish region to hand over control of its airports to federal authorities or face a flight ban, as the Kurds claimed victory for the “yes” vote in an independence referendum rejected by Baghdad and Iraq’s neighbours.
The Iraqi Kurdish leadership billed Monday’s vote as an exercise in self-determination, but the Iraqi government is strongly opposed to any redrawing of its borders, and Turkey and Iran fear the move will embolden their own Kurdish populations.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued his ultimatum a day after the landmark vote, which he said was a “historic and strategic mistake by the Kurdish leadership.”
“I will not give up on the unity of Iraq, that is my national and constitutional duty,” he said, adding that any ban would still allow for humanitarian and other “urgent” flights.
Masoud Barzani, the Kurdish regional president who spearheaded the referendum, called for “dialogue” with Baghdad. “Negotiations are the right path to solve the problems, not threats or the language of force,” he said in a televised address.
Regional authorities in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish north put the turnout at over 70 per cent, but many voters reported irregularities, including cases of individuals voting multiple times and without proper registration. Official results are expected Wednesday.
For decades, Kurdish politics have hinged on dreams of an independent Kurdish state. When colonial powers drew the map of the Middle East after the First World War, the Kurds, who now number around 30 million, were divided among Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq.
After polls closed in Iraq’s Kurdish region Monday night, the skies above Irbil filled with fireworks and families flocked to the centre of town to celebrate. Across the border thousands of Iranian Kurds held rallies in support.
The non-binding vote is unlikely to lead to formal independence, to which virtually the entire international community is opposed, but could spark unrest at a time when Iraqi and Kurdish forces — both U.S. allies — are still battling the Islamic State group.
Iraqi troops are carrying out joint military exercises with Turkey along the border. Fearing the vote could be used to redraw Iraq’s borders, taking a sizeable part of the country’s oil wealth with it, alAbadi has called the referendum an act of “sedition” that “escalated the ethnic and sectarian tension” across the country.
In Iran, thousands of Kurds poured into the streets in the cities of Baneh, Saghez and Sanandaj on Monday night. Footage shared online by Iranian Kurds showed demonstrators waving lit mobile phones in the air and chanting their support into the night. Some footage also showed Iranian police officers assembling nearby or watching the demonstrators.
Iranian state television on Tuesday acknowledged the rallies, a rarity in the Islamic Republic. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its regular army have been running military exercises near the border with Iraq’s Kurdish region in a sign of Tehran’s displeasure at the Kurdish referendum.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Tuesday that his country is considering all options, ranging from military intervention to economic sanctions against Iraq’s Kurdish region.