PM Masrour Barzani marks third anniversary of Kurdistan’s independence referendum

In a tweet, Barzani commemorated, “with pride,” the referendum, in which “the Kurdistani peoples’ aspiration for liberty” was expressed, along with “their hopes to achieve their legitimate rights and aspirations in a peaceful and democratic manner.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, on Friday marked the third anniversary of Kurdistan’s independence referendum, which saw an overwhelming majority vote in favor of statehood.

In a tweet, Barzani commemorated, “with pride,” the referendum, in which “the Kurdistani peoples’ aspiration for liberty” was expressed, along with “their hopes to achieve their legitimate rights and aspirations in a peaceful and democratic manner.”

On September 25, 2017, the residents of the Kurdistan Region voted in their referendum. The result was over 92% in favor of an independent Kurdistan.

According to the committee that oversaw the referendum, 4,581,255 people were eligible to vote. “Out of this number, 3,305,925 people cast their vote, amounting to 72.16 percent,” the Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC) stated.

The vote was held as a result of the consensus of all major political parties in the Kurdistan Region.

Soon afterwards, however, in a military operation organized by Qasim Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, before his assassination by the US earlier this year, Baghdad attacked Kurdish forces in the disputed territories, including in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Baghdad also imposed an international flight ban on airports in the Kurdistan Region, a move that Kurdish officials charged was aimed to “isolate the region from the international community.”

As the clashes between Baghdad and Erbil occurred, the Trump administration took a neutral position, although it had just articulated a tough line on Iran. That neutrality prompted substantial criticism from Congress, including from Republican members.

Read More: Congressional criticism of US neutrality between Iraq and Kurds grows

In the three years since, however, there have been substantial changes in the US officials responsible for formulating policy toward Iraq, Iran, and the Kurds.

Above all, Mike Pompeo replaced Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State in 2018, while David Schenker became Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs the following year. The result has been a renewed coherence in US policy toward the region, including a tougher position on Iranian influence in Iraq and elsewhere, from which Kurds have benefitted.

Read More: The US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue: Good news for the Kurdistan Region

An independent state of Kurdistan has long been the hope of over 40 million stateless Kurds around the world. That includes Iraq, where the Kurds engaged in a decades-long struggle against oppressive regimes and only began to enjoy a genuine autonomy in the years after the 1991 Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein, suffering from international sanctions and ostracism, abandoned any serious attempt to control the Kurdistan Region.

However, only twelve years after that, when the US-led war against Saddam toppled the regime, did the Kurds of Iraq really begin to flourish. Yet as the independence referendum clearly demonstrated, they still aspire, overwhelmingly, to a state of their own.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie