For many decades in Iraq’s recent history, extreme forms of oppression, discrimination and deprivation of basic rights have been practiced and imposed by the Iraqi state against the people in Kurdistan who have been treated as second class citizens. This treatment, discrimination and oppression were practiced on the basis of nationality as a direct outcome of defining the state in Iraq as an Arab nationalistic state. Under these circumstances the right and the option of the people in Kurdistan to determine their political destiny have been deprived.

After the 1991 war which resulted in imposing safe zone in the North and practically separated Kurdistan from Iraq, a political chaos prevailed in Kurdistan. This region was not part of any country anymore neither was an independent state. Amid that chaos, the ruling authority was a tribal-militia authority imposed by the Kurdish ethno-nationalist parties.  Therefore the people of Kurdistan were deprived of their citizenship status.

The developments which followed the 2003 war and the overthrow of the Ba’ath regime maintained the same conditions in a different way. The failure of the US and its allies in rebuilding the state of Iraq and returning Kurdistan back to Iraq which is lost in a political chaos maintained the same previous circumstances in Kurdistan.

Despite the endeavor of the US and its allies, including the ruling parties in Kurdistan and other reactionary forces, to rebuild the state on the basis of accord among the sectarian and ethno-nationalist forces, this project has yet to see any success. Therefore the sectarian and ethnic conflicts and tensions have deepened and created a dark scenario. Keeping Kurdistan as part of Iraq under these circumstances means risking drawing Kurdistan into the furnace of this dark scenario.

However, even if this endeavor succeeds, like its failure, it will not provide a solution for Kurdistan, it offers no answer to the issue about the deprivation of the masses of Kurdistan of their citizenship right and political and civil freedoms. The success of this endeavor means that the federal state in Iraq would be formed on the basis of accordance and sharing the power amongst sectarian, Islamists and ethno-nationalist groups and gangs.

Under this political regime, imposed, fabricated and false rights of ethnicities and religions will dominated and prevail over the civil, social and political rights of the citizens of Iraq. Instead of treating citizens as individuals with individual rights and liberties, they are divided according to ethnic, religious and sectarian identities; representatives on this basis will be determined for them and put against each other. Dividing the power on the scale of Iraq among ethno-nationalist, religious, sectarian and tribal forces and groups is the other concealed face for the lack of rights, marginalization and actual violation of individual freedom under the local authority of these forces.

Under ethnocentric federation, the authority of militia-parties, which have been ruling so far, will continue and the masses of Kurdistan will be effectively deprived of the right to participate in decision making processes. Keeping Kurdistan in the frame of Iraq, where its habitants are put against the rest of the Iraqi population on basis of a false and different identity to the one of the rest of the people of Iraq, will hand the fate of the masses in Kurdistan to the militia authority of the ethno-nationalist parties. This will hinder the process of establishing legal and civil institutions to run the society of Kurdistan and thus will maintain the political chaos which has began since 1991.

The main conditions to enable the people in Kurdistan to live within Iraq at peace with the rest of the population as equal citizens with full rights are: to foil and thwart the current political process, establish a secular and non-ethnocentric state in Iraq, separate the state and institutions from religious and ethnic identities and regard the religious and ethnic identities as a private affair of the individuals.

However, amid the current circumstances, amid the dark scenario and under the relentless endeavor to establish a religious-ethnic federal system whether this endeavor fails, as was the case so far, or if it succeeds in the future with absence of the prospect of establishing a secular and non-ethnocentric state in Iraq, keeping Kurdistan a part of Iraq means denying the masses in Kurdistan of the basic citizenship right. It maintains the ground for ethnic conflicts and tensions in the region and will effectively form an obstacle before the social, economic and political developments and before achieving freedom and prosperity for the population of Kurdistan. In the foreseen future, the only way to end these circumstances is with the independence of and establishing a state in this region.

Therefore, by this statement, the Worker-communist party of Kurdistan announces the declaration of the independence of Kurdistan and puts the struggle for separating Kurdistan and establishing a secular and non-ethnocentric state as one of the main policies on its agenda. The Worker-communist Party of Kurdistan will do everything in its power to achieve this goal. Holding a referendum and going back to the opinion of the masses is the best way to implement this statement.

• The state of Kurdistan is a non-ethnic state and it is not the state of any specific nationality or ethnicity. There are no privileges for any nationality or ethnicity on the expense of any other nationality or ethnicities. The compulsory official language of Kurdistan is prohibited. The state can choose one or more languages used within Kurdistan as its main language or languages. The state has to provide the necessary facilities to study and use all the languages spoken in Kurdistan. References to the citizens’ nationality and ethnicity in Kurdistan must be prohibited. Belonging to any nationality, ethnicity or culture is a private affair of the individuals.
• The state of Kurdistan is a secular state. In Kurdistan religion is separated from the state and institutions, from law and resolutions and from education. Religion is a private affair of the individual in Kurdistan. Individuals are free to believe in any religion or to be atheists. There are no privileges for any religion and no public facilities or revenue are to be put at the disposal of any religion. Referring to individuals’ religion in official papers is prohibited.

Under the state of Kurdistan:

• Women and men are equal in all rights and freedoms. Any law and regulation which violates this principle is prohibited in Kurdistan
• All residents of Kurdistan are equal in all rights regardless of the belief, sex, race, religion, language, ethnicity and nationality.
• Full and unconditional political freedoms, freedom of belief, expression, press, organizations, formation of political parties, assembly and demonstrations are guaranteed. 
• Capital punishment and life in prison are abolished and prohibited.
• Adequate unemployment benefit for every unemployed person over 16 who is ready to work is guaranteed. Adequate unemployment benefits and other necessary allowances for all those who for physical or psychological reasons are unable to work are guaranteed.

The Worker-communist Party of Kurdistan struggles for an introduction of this statement and calls on the masses of people in Kurdistan and freedom loving forces to rise to implement the content of this statement.

March 15, 2008

www.hkkurdistan.org