The chances of an independent state for Kurds

Maria Giedz

WSB University in Gdańsk

Abstract

The Kurds, there is one of the oldest nations in the world, with rich culture, living on the crossroads of the Middle East, in the „cradle” of the western civilization, within three major monotheistic religions. The Kurds are estimated at about 50 million people, does not have its own statehood. Besides the 11-month incident of the Republic of Mahabad, founded in 1946, in the territory of north-eastern Iran, They have never received sovereignty. The exodus of Kurds from northern Iraq and the genocide perpetrated by the army of Saddam Hussein, what happened in the spring of 1991 led, in the fall of that year, to the creation of a security zone, by act of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, which turned into an informal Kurdish autonomy in the north Iraq. Building structures of statehood, slow, interrupted by civil war, began from that time. The American invasion in 2003 and overthrow of the rule of the Baath party, under the Constitution of 2005, the Iraqi Kurds obtained legally sanctioned autonomy. The creation of an Islamic state, that use violence against the Christian population and Yazidis, as well as the Muslims Kurds, and the arrival of more than 2 million refugees into the Kurdistan Region, it has become a threat for their autonomy. For the Kurds, it became apparent that the Iraqi Arabs is impossible to create a democratic state. They began to not only think but also talk more and more about sovereignty. In addition, there is a principle in international law for respect for territorial integrity. Neighbouring countries like Iran, Turkey, and Syria are not interested in the creation of a Kurdish state in Iraq, because their territories are quite a group of the Kurdish minority, who are also thinking about independence. USA - the largest power opts for the indissolubility of Iraq, however, the bulk of US congressmen has a different opinion on this issue from the president.

Keywords:

Kurds, Kurdistan, sovereignity, nation, national minority