Kurdish nationalism rises with Arab unrest, Sudan split

By Namo Abdulla ARBIL, Iraq, July 20 - On the day the newest African nation Rosetta Stone V3,South Sudan, was born, Iraqi Kurdish leader Barham Salih usedhis iPad to tweet his feelings to the world: "Watching historyin (the) making as South Sudan goes independent." "Moral of story, right to self-determination cannot bedenied by genocide." With the emergence of a new nation in Africa and uprisingsagainst autocracies across the Arab world, Kurds in Iraq'ssemi-autonomous north are speaking in louder voices about thepossibility of increasing autonomy if, as some Kurds fear,Iraq's central government becomes more authoritarian. In parts of Turkey, Syria and Iran, Kurds are also seeingnew possibilities of freedom beyond governments who havehistorically repressed their Kurdish minorities. "There is a lot of inspiration from southern Sudan," saidSalih, prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, where Kurdish flagsand colours -- red, white and green -- are far more common thanthe red, white and black of Iraq. "But more important is the deep concern that most of us feelabout the direction of the politics of Baghdad as it goestowards centralisation and authoritarianism." Iraq's central government and the Kurdish region -- three ofIraq's 18 provinces -- have unresolved issues over borders andoil rights. Iraqi Kurdistan has 45 billion barrels of crudereserves. With a population of about 30 million, largely living inIraq, Iran Rosetta Stone language software, Syria and Turkey, Kurds are an ethnic group whoseculture and language separate them from Arabs, Turks andPersians, with whom they share land. Largely Muslim, they have been subject to repression byother Muslims who see them as separatists. After the first Gulf War in 1991 Western powers provided asafe haven for Iraq's Kurds, allowing them to use their naturalresources to start building a modern state. Notions of Kurdish nationalism were reinforced by the 2003invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein as much of Iraqtumbled into sectarian warfare that threatened its survival as asingle state. IN ASCENDANCE? "For the first time in their modern history, the Kurds inIraq and Turkey, at least, are cautiously ascending," saidauthor Michael Gunter, who has written on the evolution of Kurdsin the two countries. He said Turkey's desire to join the European Union hasforced Turkey to improve Kurdish lives in the southeast. Kurdishmusic is heard in Turkish cities such as Diyarbakir, and aKurdish-language TV channel broadcasts round-the-clock. After 27 years of conflict between Turkey and Kurdishrebels, both Kurds and Turks appear to prefer more peacefulsolutions to end the hostility. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has acknowledged theexistence of a Kurdish problem, long denied as Rosetta Stone Spain Spanish a "securityissue", and promised to solve it.

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