Dr. Suzan Amêdî
Since the fall of the former regime in 2003, the Kurds have not experienced real stability with the successive governments in Baghdad. Instead of turning the page on the past and moving toward a just national partnership, the approach of exclusion and marginalization toward the Kurdistan Region has continued—despite the clarity of the Iraqi Constitution, which affirms partnership, pluralism, and federalism.
Hardly a month passes without Kurds being shocked by actions or statements that violate their constitutional rights and blatantly encroach upon the Region’s powers. Worse still, these policies are justified by flimsy arguments that only convince the ignorant or the chauvinistic, and are promoted through media platforms that have persistently distorted the image of the Region—especially among Arab audiences, and particularly within Shiite circles—until Kurds have come to be viewed as “foreigners” in Iraq, as if history does not attest to their deep-rooted presence in this land.
History is distorted, facts are falsified, and the result is a public opinion—shaped by media incitement and misinformation—that accepts and even justifies any unjust decision against the Region, treating it as a “legitimate right” of the central state.
Today, the Kurdish citizen faces a direct threat to both livelihood and dignity. Salaries are weaponized politically, Kurdish products are barred from entering other provinces, oil exports are prohibited, and military threats are constantly made to restore the Region to what is referred to as the “previous status.” All these practices take place while the Region is expected—under regional and international pressure—to “reach an understanding” with Baghdad, as if the problem lies in Erbil, not in the entrenched centralism of Baghdad’s decision-making.
Since 2003, the Kurdistan Region has adhered to a policy of dialogue and mutual understanding, never violating the constitution, while successive central governments have failed to honor their promises or constitutional obligations. The constitution itself has lost its place in the political reality, reduced to a document that is invoked when convenient and ignored when it clashes with prevailing political interests.
Baghdad’s hostility toward the Region is not limited to economic dimensions—it extends to moral and political levels as well. Foreign companies operating in Kurdistan have begun to hold the Region solely responsible for losses resulting from the disputes, undermining investment and destabilizing the environment. Despite the fact that Baghdad, too, incurs losses from this unjust approach, the determination to humiliate the Region appears stronger than any rational political or economic consideration.
What the Kurds endure today is not merely a political or economic crisis; it is a continuation of historical injustice, entrenched by a ruling authority unwilling to acknowledge true partnership or commit to a constitution that was meant to safeguard all components of Iraq.
