Tabnak – After months of hot debates and in spite of widespread domestic and international opposition, Iraqi Kurdish leaders held a referendum, seeking independence from Baghdad. However, due to the heavy concerns of the neighboring countries as well as Iraq’s central government, it could lead to a new round of chaos in the country.
Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region is today holding an independence referendum in the face of strong objections from the central government in Baghdad and in defiance of urgent calls from the international community to scrap the vote.
A total of 12,072 polling stations have opened at 8:00 local time (0500 GMT) Monday where more than 5.3 million are eligible to vote. Polls will remain open for 12 hours.
The stations are dotted across the three provinces of Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk that form the Iraqi Kurdistan Region as well as in disputed bordering zones such as the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. Initial results are expected to be announced 24 hours after the vote.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s neighbors are voicing their concern over the Kurdish referendum more than ever. As voting started, Turkey said it does not recognize the referendum and will view its results as null and void.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it would take "all measures" if the plebiscite generated threats to Turkey's national security.
"We stress again that we will take all measures arising from international law and the Turkish parliament's authority in the face of every kind of threat to our national security in Iraq generally," it said.
At the same time, Iran has reasserted its support for the Arab country’s sovereignty and integrity. In a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi a day before the plebiscite, President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran was against any move that would undermine Iraq’s territorial integrity and national unity.
In another related development, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held a telephone conversation on Monday, in which they reiterated their support for territorial integrity of Iraq.
"[Improving] regional security and safeguarding Iraq’s territorial integrity and national unity are very important and vital for the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Rouhani said, adding that coordination and cooperation among regional countries could play a prominent role in this regard.
The Russian president, for his part, reiterated his country’s support for the central government in Baghdad and Iraq’s territorial integrity, IRNA reported.
At the domestic level, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday that Baghdad will not allow the creation of an "ethnic government” in the Arab country. Abadi also vowed that the Iraqi leaders would not allow the Arab country to return to "dark times” of the past, promising that he would also take the "necessary measures” to protect the unity of Iraq.
Iraq's central government has also called on the world countries not to purchase oil from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. According to a statement released by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office on Sunday, the government also asked the Kurdish region to hand over control of international border posts and its international airports.
Also on Monday, Iraqi lawmakers demanded deployment of government troops to areas disputed with Kurds. Hakim Abbas Mousa Abbas al-Zamili, a legislator from the Sadrist Movement, said that the parliament had approved several tough measures in response to the contentious Kurdish independence vote.
Furthermore, as the voting got underway in Kurdish-populated regions, Iraqis elsewhere took to the streets in protest, saying the referendum aimed to divide their country. Hundreds of people protested in Al Khalis city of Diyala province, urging the central government to immediately intervene to stop the referendum.
The independence vote was announced earlier in the year much to the consternation of the international community - regional countries in particular - with major parties warning that it could most likely throw the already violence-weary country into more trouble.
Many observers view the vote in line with a long-pursued Israeli-US agenda to partition regional states. The Israeli regime has openly come out in support of the referendum, saying it endorses an independent Kurdish state.
