Basra "Moving Towards Independence"

The idea of a Basra region became more an issue after the recent deterioration in security that resulted in the fall of Mosul to Islamic State forces. Some of Basra province’s council members suggested the idea at a meeting Dec. 11 along with making it a legal demand at a later date based on the Iraqi constitution. Some activists designed a flag for the Basra region that is supposed to fly above the state buildings, the airport and seaports of the province.

On the other hand, there are calls for division for sectarian reasons, based on the ethnic and religious distribution of the population. Some are demanding the establishment of three main regions: a Kurdish area (the Kurdistan Regional Government), a Shiite region (which would include the nine provinces in the center and the south) and a Sunni region (in the north and the west). This suggestion is consistent with the so-called Biden plan for federal Iraq.

The majority of the political parties, which objected to the federal plans for Iraq on the pretext that they would lead to division, are now supporting the option of dividing the country along sectarian and ethnic lines. The Islamic Dawa Party, especially the wing that supported former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, was one of the main parties opposing the idea of separate regions when Maliki was prime minister.

Today, however, they support the idea of a Shiite region consisting of the central and southern provinces. Meanwhile, Sunnis are demanding the establishment of their own region comprised of four or five provinces in the north and west.

The main problem with these plans is that establishing separate regions should be based on economic and administrative strategies instead of a sectarian baseline. Such a division does not necessarily serve the interests of the people in the provinces. Instead, it would likely multiply sectarian conflict between the regions and lead to displacement and forced migrations, creating strict sectarian disassociation among the regions.

It has become obvious that Iraq will not return to the centralization of the past, but move toward further division. It remains unclear whether the divisions will be based on economic strategies that benefit the people or whether they will cause further sectarian alienation.

(Photo Credit: Ahmad Abuljobain)