The Kurdish People in the Struggle for Independence (Second Half of the ХХ – Beginning of the ХХI Century) and the Genocide in Iraqi Kurdistan

The article delves into the struggle of the people of Southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan for self-determination and the repression of the ruling regime in Iraq, which brought the Kurdish population to the brink of extermination. The issue of Southern Kurdistan in Iraq has been on the agenda for many decades. The Iraqi Kurds achieved self-government at the cost of incredible efforts. It is emphasized that the recognition of the right to territorial autonomy by the Iraqi government in 1974 was a success of the Kurdish national movement. However, the infringement of the rights of the Kurds continued. The apogee of the repressions were the events of the Iran-Iraq War of 1980–1988 and the use of chemical weapons against the population of the autonomy. In 2005, Iraq promulgated a new draft Constitution, which reflected the opinion of all ethno-confessional groups of the country – Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds: the country was declared a Federal Republic, and the Kurdish language was declared the state language on the territory of Kurdistan. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that the centuries-long struggle of the Kurds of Iraq ended with the proclamation of autonomy and the granting of democratic rights and freedoms to the population of the Kurdish Autonomous Region. And the facts reflected in the documents of international organizations on the deliberate destruction of the Kurdish minority in Iraq, especially during the years of Saddam Hussein’s rule, are obvious. An important condition for the success of the Kurdish national movement at any stage of its development is the unity of its ranks. The methodological basis of the article is the principles of historicism and objectivity. Documentary materials, personal sources, and media news data serve as the empirical basis of the study and are introduced into scientific discourse.