According to the official calendar of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, has been designated as a public holiday for all government institutions in the Kurdistan Region, in commemoration of the anniversary of the 1970 Kurdistan Autonomy Agreement.
Normal working hours will resume on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.
The 1970 Kurdistan Autonomy Agreement was a political agreement between the Iraqi government, led by President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani. It was intended to grant autonomy to Iraqi Kurdistan and end the ongoing conflict between the Kurdish rebels (Peshmerga) and the Iraqi government.
Key Points of the Agreement:
- Recognized Kurdish autonomy within four northern Iraqi provinces (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk, and parts of Kirkuk).
- Guaranteed cultural and linguistic rights for Kurds, including Kurdish as an official language alongside Arabic.
- Promised government representation for Kurds and participation in national governance.
- Committed to economic development in Kurdish regions.
Why It Failed:
- The Iraqi government delayed implementation and sought to limit the extent of autonomy.
- Disagreements arose over Kirkuk, a key oil-rich region that the Kurds wanted included in their autonomous area.
- The Ba'ath Party feared that granting too much autonomy would weaken central control.
- By 1974, the Iraqi government unilaterally introduced a weaker autonomy law, which the Kurds rejected.
- This led to the Second Iraqi-Kurdish War (1974–1975), ending with Iraq defeating the Kurdish forces after Iran withdrew its support under the Algiers Agreement (1975).
Ultimately, the 1970 agreement failed, but it laid the groundwork for future Kurdish autonomy efforts in Iraq, including the eventual establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the 1990s.
