Iraqi Kurds Demonstrate for Independence
Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds rallied in Kirkuk Saturday, October 2, 2004, waving their national flag, demanding independence for traditionally Kurdish districts. The protest was organized by the Referendum Movement in Kurdistan. The demonstrators demanded that Kirkuk be made the capital of their proposed state, despite the opposition of the city's large Turkmen and Sunni Arab communities. They demanded the return to Kirkuk of some 35,000 Kurdish families who were displaced under Saddam Hussein's regime. Scores of Kurds gathered to sign a petition demanding independence.