Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum will destabilize region: Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s upcoming referendum on independence from Iraq will cause instability in the Middle East, a Turkish government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Senior Kurdish officials in the Region have agreed to hold an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.

The decision has received criticism from neighboring countries Iran, Turkey, as well as the United States who asked the Kurds to postpone the event.

Turkey, who has a sizeable Kurdish population, fears Kurds in its southeast will be inspired to follow suit and make similar demands, if not seek outright independence.

Speaking at a news conference following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said the vote would further destabilize the region.

“The referendum would contribute to instability in the region,” he said, adding the decision to hold a referendum “violated the constitution of Iraq.”

Ankara’s fears of a Kurdish uprising within its borders stems from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has been waging a decades-long fight against the Turkish government for broader rights.

The group was strongly condemned earlier this week by the ruling party, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as they celebrated the 16th anniversary of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The Turkish leader also evoked his army's incursion last year into a strip of land in northern Syria to deny the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which is spearheading the war on the Islamic State (IS) group in Raqqa, further territorial gains.

Syrian Kurds, who are in control of territory along the border with Turkey, have been told by Damascus their plans to hold local elections next month are a “joke.”

Meanwhile, the US State Department highlighted their concern regarding the Region’s decision to proceed with a referendum, stating it would distract from “more urgent priorities.”

Kurdish officials, however, have asserted they will not further postpone their bid for independence, and a Kurdistan Region Referendum delegation traveled to Baghdad this week to negotiate a peaceful divorce.  

Editing by G.H. Renaud