iraqs barzani isolated by his drive for kurdish independence
Sunday 29 June 2025
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

with a resounding "yes" at the polls.

Iraq's Barzani isolated by his drive for Kurdish independence

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleIraq's Barzani isolated by his drive for Kurdish independence

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani
Baghdad - Muslimchronicle

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani, the driving force behind last month's independence vote, finds himself isolated at home and abroad weeks after he scored a major victory with a resounding "yes" at the polls.

He organised the September 25 referendum in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq with much fanfare, despite domestic and international objections.

 

But analysts say he miscalculated.

Weeks after the vote, central government forces launched a sweeping operation, reclaiming territory and oil fields in and around the disputed province of Kirkuk from Kurdish peshmerga forces.

The loss of the oil fields, which provided income that would have been critical to an independent Kurdish state, sparked recriminations among Kurds.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum, a Kurdish member of a party long at odds with Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who supported a UN-backed push for dialogue, said the independence referendum triggered the assault on Kirkuk.

Iraqi Kurdistan's main opposition party, Goran, has called for talks with Baghdad and demanded that Barzani and his deputy Kosrat Rasul resign, saying they "no longer have any legitimacy".

"The KDP is isolated within Kurdistan itself, in Iraq, regionally and increasingly internationally," said Kirk Sowell, analyst and publisher of Inside Iraqi Politics.

Sowell said that faced with staunch opposition both from Goran and from longtime rival the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the KDP's "only hope is that Baghdad overreaches and loses international support".

But he warned that the KDP "doesn't have much leverage left" in negotiations.

The United States, a key ally of both Baghdad and Kurdish forces in the battle against the Islamic State group, opposed the non-binding referendum, as did several nations including Iraq's neighbours Iran and Turkey.

Iraq's supreme court ruled that the vote was unconstitutional.

- 'Reopen channels of negotiations' -

Barzani, who saw a "yes" vote as a step closer towards the cherished dream of Kurdish statehood, campaigned relentlessly prior to the referendum but has since slipped out of view.

On September 26, a day after the vote, he urged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to begin talks on the issues dividing them, but the two sides remain wide apart.

Abadi has vowed to keep Iraqi unity intact and world powers appear to support his view.

"Barzani will now have to reconsider his maximalist attitude and reopen channels of negotiation," Karim Bitar of the Paris-based Institute of International and Strategic Affairs told AFP.

"The United States and the entire international community, with the notable exception of Israel, remains committed and attached to Iraq's unity and territorial integrity," he said.

The son of iconic Kurdish nationalist leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani and head of the KDP since 1979, Barzani has long been the face of demands for Kurdish self-determination.

Born on August 16, 1946 in Mahabad, capital of a Kurdish republic declared by his father amid unrest in Iran following World War II, Barzani joined the fight for an independent Kurdistan as a teenager.

To this day he wears the garb of a peshmerga fighter: baggy khaki pants and shirt, a traditional sash and a chequered white-and-red scarf rolled around his head as a turban.

"Barzani has made strategic decisions for years based on a narrow circle of advisors, not through a democratic process," Sowell said.

"It appears... that Barzani is surrounded by people who just tell him what he wants to hear."

Many Kurds believe that two men -- former Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari and Kirkuk governor Najm Eddine Karim -- were behind Barzani's decision to hold the referendum.

- 'Misinterpreted the messages' -

Kurdish affairs analyst Mutlu Civiroglu said the independence vote backfired and isolated Barzani because the Kurdish leader "misinterpreted" messages from Washington and Ankara.

Barzani believed both allies would support his march towards independence and failed to read between the lines, Civiroglu said.

The United States was "very clear in supporting a united Iraq in which Kurds play a balancing role," he said.

Turkey, home to a large Kurdish minority, saw the vote as a threat to its own unity, he added.

"Barzani could not read the position of the US in regards to Iraq and misinterpreted the messages" as support for his move towards independence, he said.

"He heavily relied on good relations with Turkey."

Bitar said a "false vision of Iraq as a mere mosaic of ethnic and sectarian identities" had been reinforced since the US invasion of 2003.

"There has been a common and unfortunate tendency among many analysts and policy makers to underestimate the strength of Iraqi nationalism," he said.

"To paraphrase Mark Twain, we could say that events of the past few days indicate that reports of Iraq's death may have been greatly exaggerated."

source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iraqs barzani isolated by his drive for kurdish independence iraqs barzani isolated by his drive for kurdish independence

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 05:47 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Catalan MPs elect separatist speaker

GMT 07:39 2017 Wednesday ,22 November

Yemen’s army achieve advance in both Sanaa and Taiz

GMT 12:30 2012 Monday ,23 April

Birds can\'t crack them

GMT 13:22 2012 Monday ,30 July

Rihanna in leopard bikini

GMT 10:17 2017 Monday ,20 February

Actress Nabila Ebeid refuses unsuitable roles

GMT 11:39 2017 Tuesday ,10 October

Venus Williams heads back to Sydney after 20 years

GMT 15:26 2017 Tuesday ,08 August

DEWA renews invitation to organisations to partici

GMT 05:11 2016 Friday ,09 September

Minimum wage to be raised in Taiwan

GMT 16:29 2017 Wednesday ,05 April

Muslim Brotherhood could join Algerian government

GMT 20:58 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Dutch BMX Olympic medallist out of coma

GMT 08:42 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Russians challenge doping ban

GMT 11:56 2017 Monday ,25 September

Pandya half-century helps India claim ODI series

GMT 14:10 2016 Wednesday ,21 December

New zipline adventure offers loftier perspective

GMT 13:45 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

Kardashian heist suspects talk, but no sign of jewels

GMT 14:58 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Settlement law draws global condemnation

GMT 18:29 2016 Saturday ,25 June

UAE-Peruvian diplomatic relations celebrated

GMT 04:34 2011 Thursday ,24 November

La Belle Dame sans Merci

GMT 23:10 2017 Thursday ,16 February

Offers diet for short bowel syndrome

GMT 13:25 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Received offer to join Ahly
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle