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Kurds Threatened With Starvation For Independence Vote

REUTERS/Murad Sezer

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to seal his border with Iraqi Kurdistan Tuesday after the regional government held an independence referendum.

Iraqi Kurds rely on an oil pipeline running through Turkey to reap profits and gets much of its food supplies from its neighbor, but have long sought an independent state. Kurds turned out in large numbers Monday in a likely vote to separate from the Iraqi government, threatening to vault much of the region into chaos.

Erdogan’s threat comes as the country conducts military exercises along the Kurdish border in another signal of its disapproval with the decision to hold the referendum.

“This referendum decision, which has been taken without any consultation, is treachery,” he blustered. Turkey has long battled a Kurdish insurgency within its own country and likely fears that the independence vote may spark increased tensions within its own country.

Turkey and Iran issued a joint statement before the referendum foreshadowing his Monday threat of “counter-measures” if the country took any move at independence too quickly. Iran also has a large Kurdish population.

The U.S. strongly opposed the referendum.

“The costs of proceeding with the referendum are high for all Iraqis, including Kurds. Already the referendum has negatively affected Defeat-ISIS coordination to dislodge ISIS from its remaining areas of control in Iraq,” the State Department said in a statement before the vote. “The referendum may jeopardize Iraqi Kurdistan’s regional trade relations, and international assistance of all kinds, even though none of Iraq’s partners wish this to be the case.”

The vote is not likely to be binding, however. Kurdish leaders indicated before the vote that separation from Iraq would not happen immediately but would be used as a benchmark for future policy.

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Tags : kurds
Saagar Enjeti