Will Kurds finally vote for an independent Kurdistan?

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — When Molla Mustafa Barzani, father of the current president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), established the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1946, his real objective was autonomy for the Kurds. He relinquished his post to his son Massoud in 1979. Massoud followed in his father’s footsteps and refrained from advocating independence until the 2000s. That is when the status of the Kurdish region was given constitutional recognition and the Kurds began standing on their own feet; it's also when their relations with the central government soured.

The fundamental cause of their deteriorating relations was economic. As tensions mounted, Kurds began to play the "independence" card while repeatedly warning that if nothing else could be done they were ready to declare independence after holding a referendum.

But global and regional developments did not allow for a referendum to be held or for independence to be declared. The bitter, endless arguments were eventually forgotten when the Islamic State (IS) attacked the Kurdish region. Inevitably the major issue then became how to expel IS from the region. Kurds were the only force that could take on IS on the ground, and Kurdish operations indeed forced IS to halt its attacks and retreat. This, in turn, boosted the popularity of the Kurds worldwide. Independence debates resumed parallel to growing confidence in the Kurds.

Suddenly the Kurdish independence issue put on the backburner by the Kurdish administration was again on the agenda. The first move was the decision of the Kirkuk Municipal Council to fly the Kurdish flag.