To the Editor:

Re “Kurds’ Risky Dream of Independence” (editorial, Aug. 22): Kurdistan’s independence referendum on Sept. 25 is binding on its government. As is true for Brexit and would have been true for Scotland, if it had voted for independence, there will be negotiations with Baghdad over the terms of the separation.

You are right to say that Kurdistan’s independence has risks, but you don’t consider the risks of staying in Iraq. From its foundation, Iraq has treated Kurds as second-class citizens, culminating in a 1980s genocide that entailed the destruction of 4,500 villages, the murder or disappearance of an estimated 182,000 Kurds and extensive use of chemical weapons.

The sectarian government that emerged after the 2003 American liberation has violated 55 out of 144 articles in an Iraqi Constitution that the people of Kurdistan endorsed overwhelmingly. Ten years after the constitutionally mandated deadline, Iraq has not held a referendum to determine the status of Kirkuk and other territory disputed between Kurdistan and Iraq.

Leaving Iraq will enhance our prospects of democratic self-rule, better government and the protection of the minorities who largely prefer to live with us rather than under Baghdad. Staying in Iraq offers only a never-ending vista of civil war and uncertainty.