Washington Kurdish Institute
November 17, 2020
The passing of an emergency bill shows that certain Iraqi parties, and Iran, want to punish the Kurdistan region. Reasons are clear; including Kurdish friendship with the US and ultra-nationalism orchestrated by both Shiite and Sunni parties.
On Wednesday, the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed an emergency spending bill to overcome the economic crisis facing the country, caused mainly by low oil prices, the pandemic, and rampant corruption. The bill conspicuously excluded the Kurdistan region from receiving its federal share of the budget, which critically includes employees’ salaries. Both Shiite and Sunni blocs agreed to pass the bill, which effectively boycotts the Kurds. Kurdish lawmakers, parties, and leaders denounced the passing of the bill as lacking “the principle of compatibility” which Iraqi parties claim to follow when they pass legislation. The bill will provide the Iraqi government with funds from domestic and international loans to fulfill its financial obligation to the public sector and other state operations. Furthermore, the bill obligates the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hand over the revenues of its oil production and domestic income to Baghdad in order to receive the salaries of Kurdish employees.
The bill is blatantly aimed at the Kurdistan region and its welfare, supported mainly by Iranian-backed Shiite blocs in addition to Sunni Islamists and Arab ultra-nationalists.
The story of Iraq’s animosity toward the Kurds begins in the early 1920s with the country’s formation, when Kurds were forced within its borders. Subsequently, the Kurds faced ethnic cleansing, chemical attacks, genocide, and mass displacement. After 2003 when the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussien fell, the Kurds became an essential component in building the new Iraq, including the 2005 Iraqi constitution. However, shortly thereafter, the Kurds were subjected to the same old experience with the central government of Baghdad.
Since 2005, Iraqi parties have failed to implement the constitution on many fronts, especially toward the Kurds, particularly in relation to solving territorial disputes. On oil revenues and production, article 112 of the constitution officially grants the Kurdistan region the rights to explore and produce oil, something that Iraqi parties have resisted, stating the oil is a “matter of sovereignty.” Ironically, it has been the same political parties that have refused to discuss and vote on the oil and gas law since 2005, which could have potentially solved the outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil. The KRG’s semi-economic dependence started in early 2014 when then Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki abruptly cut Kurdistan’s federal budget, all while attempting to establish an authoritarian regime. Even when ISIS (Da’esh) invaded, Maliki continued his authoritarian policies toward the Kurds which were followed through by his successor Haider al Abadi.
All Kurdish lawmakers, even those who are vocal against the KRG government, walked away during the vote since it was clearly targeting the Kurds. The new bill is a reminder of the electoral bill passed last December under the claims of reform which mainly targeted Iraq’s ethnic minorities including the Kurds. Anti-Kurdish sentiment has dramatically risen in Iraq across the political spectrum since 2014, as no political leader from either the Shiite or Sunni communities denounced the cut of Kurdistan’s federal budget, despite it being a constitutional obligation. Shortly after June of 2014, Da’esh emerged, and the KRG saw itself caught between the war and the economic crisis, which led the Kurds to sell their own oil, including in the disputed territory of Kirkuk. As a result, Iraqi parties have been quick to accuse the Kurds of selling oil without Baghdad’s permission while failing to acknowledge that Baghdad often hesitates to fulfill its constitutional duties toward the Kurds. Many other discriminatory policies from Baghdad have resulted in more feelings of alienation from Iraq. For example, Iranian-backed militias were paid by the Federal government by cutting 3% of public employees’ salaries – while Kurdish Peshmerga forces were battling Da’esh without any salaries provided to them by Baghdad since 2005.
These policies eventually led the Kurds to decide to hold an independence referendum in September of 2017, which was widely opposed by Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and the international community. The aftermath of the referendum resulted in more loss of Kurdish lands to Baghdad, while the US under the current administration allied with the central government and remained silent in the light of the atrocities committed against the Kurds.
While the Kurds suffered from fascism and racist policies across greater Kurdistan for decades, the post-2003 policies of Baghdad are a near repeat of those implemented by the former regime. Furthermore, due to Iran’s domination in Iraq’s politics, the Kurds are also paying a heavy price for their alliances and friendship with the US. Since 1991, Kurdistan has been one of the few American-friendly regions in the Middle East. Iran’s tensions with the US in Iraq led to a non-binding legislation by the Council of Representatives which the Kurds boycotted alongside some Sunnis. At the same time, the Iranian regime has been pressuring the Kurds on many fronts after engineering the military attacks on October 16, 2017, following the Independence Referendum. The Iranian regime often bombs the Kurdish region under the pretext of fighting Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. Furthermore, Iran and its militias have bombarded US bases inside the capital of the Kurdistan region, including Erbil twice twice this year, sending a clear message to both the US and the Kurdish community. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime has orchestrated military movements and coordinations with Turkey alongside Kurdistan’s borders.
The recent emergency bill was also supported mainly by the Iranian backed blocs simply to target the Kurds and also to undermine the current Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, who enjoys good relations with the Kurds and is aiming to reach agreements with the Kurdistan region. Iran has been cynically trying to ride the wave of anti-corruption sentiment despite being a major part of the Iraqi governments’ makeup until May of 2020.
The recent bill is yet another step against the entity of the Kurdistan region, and the US can play a role in between Baghdad and Erbil as they have successfully played in the past, especially in selecting the current Prime Minister. Nonetheless, the Kurds may soon enter a dark era if these policies continue while both regional and international communities remain against Kurdish aspiration for an independent state.