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Turkey's threats against Kurdish referendum vague but deliberate

Turkey’s National Security Council convened Sept. 22 to decide what measures to take against the Kurdistan Regional Government if it holds its independence referendum.
A Turkish soldier points as he stands on a tank during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1DFB08C2A0

Three days prior to the Kurdish independence referendum, Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani — who remains committed to holding that fateful referendum — spoke with The Guardian, expressing his despair at the lack on international support for Kurdistan's aspirations. “Is it a crime to ask our people to express themselves over what they want for the future?” he asked.

For him, the simple question to be found on the referendum — “Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistani areas outside the region’s administration to become an independent state?” — should not have triggered such hostile reactions on the international stage.

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