Kurds in Russia mark anniversary of Kurdistan referendum

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurds in Moscow held an event on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the Kurdistan Region’s Sep. 25 referendum on independence, with Kurdish and Russian intellectuals in attendance.

During the event, Kurdish participants highlighted the significance of the independence vote, which was held last year, and called it an “achievement” for the people of the Kurdistan Region.

“It is an honor for us to hold the first anniversary of this remarkable day in the history of the Kurdish people,” Sahen Mufti, the organizer of the event, told Kurdistan 24.

“Any Kurds, who once thought of independence, should mark Sep. 25 as a national day.”

Despite pressure by regional states, Baghdad, the US, the UK, and the UN to postpone the vote as the date neared, the President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, decided to proceed.

At the time, Barzani argued they had received no alternative offer to express the Kurdistani people’s voice and no guarantees Baghdad would address grievances that encouraged the Kurdish leader to push for the referendum.

The ‘Yes’ vote won by a landslide, with 92.73 percent favoring secession from Iraq.

The vote also included the disputed territories, which were under the control of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces after they drove Islamic State (IS) militants out of the areas.

“The case of Kurdistan’s independence is a historical one. The referendum was necessary, and it was the will of the Kurdish people,” Shadumani Salim, a Kurdish activist from Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) in attendance, told Kurdistan 24.

Before the vote was held, the Kurdistan Region’s leadership repeatedly emphasized a ‘Yes’ vote victory would not lead to an automatic and immediate declaration of the Kurdistan Region’s independence. Rather, it would provide the Kurdish leadership a mandate to engage in serious dialogue and peaceful negotiations with Baghdad for an amicable divorce.

According to the referendum’s commission, 4,581,255 people were eligible to vote. Of these, 3,305,925 people cast their vote, amounting to 72.16 percent, the Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC) stated.

An independent state of Kurdistan has been the long-awaited aspiration of over 40 million stateless Kurds around the world.

“Nowadays, the political equations in the Middle East are often evolving, and the situation in Iraq is also experiencing changes. Therefore, the Kurdistan Region should be ready as it has a strong card and the support of the people to achieve independence,” Kurdish politician, Iqbal Durra, told Kurdistan 24 in the event.

Zine Amarovna, a Russian activist, believes the referendum was only for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, but that the vote was important for all parts of Greater Kurdistan. 

Russia, a key player in the Middle East that has also invested in the Kurdistan Region’s oil sector, did not express strong opposition to the referendum, but rather viewed the poll as an internal matter to be handled by Erbil and Baghdad.

Editing by Nadia Riva

(Additional reporting by Khoshawi Mohammed)