Kurdistan independence from Iraq illegal: Analyst

The new scenario orchestrated by Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan officials to seek independence from the country totally runs counter to the Iraqi Constitution, a Middle East expert tells Press TV.

“What they have done simply defies and flies in the face of the spirit and also the letter of the constitution. It is highly illegal and highly illegitimate and basically is a major flagrant violation of the constitution,” Zayd al-Isa said in a Friday interview.

“The Kurdish regional government headed by Masoud Barzani is simply trying to tighten his grip on power in the region and consolidate and monopolize power in the Kurdish region and on top of that take advantage of the situation to actually annex and to push his forces into Kirkuk,” he pointed out.
The analyst noted that Barzani’s government has been collaborating with Turkey in assisting the Takfiri terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in a bid to cash in on the subsequent crisis in Iraq.

On Tuesday, Barzani told the state-run BBC that arrangements are being made for a referendum on Kurdistan’s future within months.

His remarks came only two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported the creation of an independent Kurdistan state.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday rejected the attempt by the Kurdistan Regional Government to hold the independence referendum, saying the move is unconstitutional and will “damage them a lot.”

The Iraqi premier further emphasized that the Kurdistan region is part of Iraq and must act within the boundaries of the country’s constitution.

The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL militants took control of Mosul on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.