The Kurds bid for freedom. (autonomy movements by Kurds in Iraq) From: The Economist (US) | Date: March 30, 1991 | COPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

SADDAM HUSSEIN'S defeat has given Iraq's Kurds an unprecedented chance to win the autonomy-or independence-they have long sought. The Iraqi army is de, moralised; Iran is ready to be helpful; Turkey is less unfriendly than in the past.

In the first few days of the revolt the Kurds' peshmerga guerrillas ousted the army, secret police and Baath Party-the three pillars of Mr Hussein's regime-from most of Iraqi Kurdistan, including the oil city of Kirkuk. Thousands of member...