The road to the 'Great Kurdistan'

Iraqi Kurdistan can only be described as a ‘semi-independent state’, since its autonomy has never been officially announced. It has its own government, security forces, heavy weapons, independent defensive policy and independent foreign relations. It also agreed oil deals without consulting its central government, is involved in regional and international alliances and stands against the government’s political stance in Baghdad, particularly in the case of the Syrian crisis. If any of the world's autonomous regions enjoys the same privileges of Iraq's Kurdistan, such a region is closer to being considered an independent state rather than being an autonomous region within the Iraq state. The Syrian Kurds seem to be Walking the same way of their fellow Iraqis. While the ferocity of the conflict between the regime and the opposition is reaching its highest level, Syria's Kurds repeated the same attitude of Iraq's Kurds by distancing themselves from the nationwide issues and focusing on the Kurds' rights and demands only. They don't keep a firm commitment, neither to the regime nor the opposition, except their commitment to grab as many benefits as possible from whoever grants them what they want. There are Syrian Kurds who decided to side with the regime as they believed this would be for the favour of the Kurds' position in Syria. While other Kurds are serving as members in the Syrian National Council (SNC) and even chairing it hoping that their efforts will guarantee a favourable position to the Kurds in "Syria  post-Assad". The Kurds always looked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a model for their aimed independent entity, and we can see that similar organisations to the PKK are being established in Kameshli, Afrin and other towns and villages in Syria's north-east. There are reports coming from Syria about autonomous governance held by the Kurds in towns where they pose a majority, in addition to the formation of Kurdish militias which are provided help and training programmes by the neighbouring autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq. Other reports talked about early election for choosing the members of the so-called "Parliament of Western Kurdistan". The Syrian Kurds have  also been making international and regional communications to avoid hostile reactions from the powers which are likely to be worried about the possibility of establishing an independent Kurdish state in Syria, especially Turkey. The Kurdish efforts in Syria are being intensified on all fronts in order to replicate the Kurdish achievement in northern Iraq. The Sunni-Shia conflict in Iraq put the Iraqi Kurds in a position where they found in themselves a power that can decide the country's future, as everybody was seeking their support, in addition to the fact that they were the only party who retained a reasonable voice amid the deadly disputes between the Sunni and the Shias. The same scenario could be repeated in Syria, as the Sunni-Alawite conflict there is developing on the same track. We saw how the "nationalist" ruling regime in Syria which used to undermine the rights of the Kurdish minority has given Syrian nationality to more than 250,000 Kurds who were not registered as Syrian citizens before. What is more significant is that the Syrian regime has withdrawn its military forces and even its administrative institutions from the Kurdish regions. They were then turned by the Kurds into semi-independent regions, in preparation to announce an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria. Meanwhile, the "hypocritical" Syrian opposition has done nothing except facilitate the Kurdish efforts aimed at seceding from Syria. I call the Syrian opposition a "hypocritical" one because it speaks a double language in order to achieve its goals. Sometimes it seeks the Kurds' satisfaction, other times it tries to reassure the Turks who are worried about the Kurds. The core concept of the Syrian opposition is to keep all the regional and international powers satisfied. That includes the supportive powers, the donors and the sponsors. Turkey, which has always been worried about the "Kurdish threat", now finds itself  facing its worst nightmares. Being in a rush to eliminate Bashar al-Assad's regime forced it to endorse the "legitimisation" of the autonomous Kurdish region in north Iraq. It was a paradox to see Turkey supplying the Kurdish autonomous region with arms and helping it to work separately of the Shia-controlled Iraqi government, despite the fact that Turkey was the fiercest enemy of the prospect of establishing an independent Kurdish state. Turkey made this to guarantee that the Iraqi Kurds will be able to contribute to the efforts aimed at removing the Syrian regime, but the Turks have to remember that they will not be able to stop the Kurdish moves for full independence in the future. Sooner or later, Turkey will also find itself facing another independent Kurdish entity in Syria, and the Turks will not be able to do anything to stop this from happening. The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu admitted recently that the Syrian crisis has gone out of control, and it is supposed that one of the "uncontrolled" results of this crisis will be the emergence of an independent Kurdish entity. The Arabs are required to reconsider their stances towards the "Kurdish cause", they had previously avoided to tackle this issue as they feared the possibility of a separation to take place within their states. However, and after the recent developments, the Arabs have to fear the possibility of the emergence of the "Great Kurdistan". The Kurds have permanently stepped aside from the Arab World, and that is the price the Arabs had to pay for their weakness and their violations of the Kurds' rights. But the Arabs will not be the only side to pay, as the Turks and Iranians have scores to settle with the Kurds too. The region is now witnessing the birth of a nation which has finally found its opportunity to establish its independent and unified state. This state will not be established at the expense of only the Arabs, but the Turks and Iranians as well as each of the three nations has its share in the compensation the Kurds should get for their previous sufferings. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.