A Kurd once told the media, “If anyone cares about Kirkuk, it’s about the oil. For Kurds, it’s about justice”.

The biggest concern is not the control of Kirkuk’s oil fields because oil revenues are to be evenly distributed across Iraq based on the population. Thus, no single group stands to benefit over another in terms of so-called “control of oil fields”.

The biggest concern is the Iraqi government’s failure to implement Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution. Imagine what is supposed to be a democratic country refusing to uphold or carry out the laws in its own constitution. Article 140 outlines how to solve the issue of the disputed areas, including Kirkuk, and that is to end the occupation of Kirkuk and other areas by sending Saddam’s settlers back home and give the properties back to their rightful owners.

So far, Kurds have been patient in allowing the Iraqi government to postpone and delay the implementation of this article (even though it says a referendum on the status of the areas was supposed to take place in 2007). It’s about time the Iraqi government do what’s right and implement what Iraqis agreed upon several years ago in a democratic and peaceful way. No one wants to see a conflict between the Kurdish regional forces and the Iraqi army and the ball has been in Baghdad’s court for too long now. It’s about time they follow their own constitution and do peacefully what should have already been done years ago.

What you see is the classical mess of juvenile democracy. If it survives, it will stabilize, but also petrify a bit. In this young phase, there is a lot of uncertainty, but also opportunity to do big things. Later, when the main parties and powers crystallize, it will be harder to overcome the bureaucratic inertia.