Self-determination is an inalienable right

Scotland joined the UK in 1707 under the pretenses of economic prosperity. Minor and major rebellions dotted the period from the union, but did not receive much traction until legislative movements for "home rule" began in the 1880s. Over the years, the movement turned into one for independence, which has been met most recently with a failed referendum for independence in 2014. Another vote is likely to occur once the terms of Brexit are formalized, demonstrating that even after 300 years, national aspirations are still alive and well.

Quebec's independence from Canada has been debated seriously since the late 1960s on account of linguistic and cultural differences. There were referendums in 1980 and 1995, and the Clarity Act (recognizing a vote by any province to leave Canada) was passed in 2000. Although recently the sovereignty movement has splintered, the sentiment for independence continues to resonate.

There are other groups who aspire to be independent, including in Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bavaria, Venice, Flanders, Basque Country, Transnistria, and the Malay Muslims of Southern Thailand, among many others. To be sure, the movement for independence will not stop with the Iraqi Kurds or Catalonia, and soon the Iraqi Sunnis' aspiration for independence will gain greater momentum, along with the Syrian Kurds and potentially President Assad's Alawite sect, as Syria's division along sectarian lines appears to be all but inevitable.

Nearly every new state that was created after the second World War was not established voluntarily by the colonial powers under which they had been governed. They all had to struggle for decades, often resorting to violence and war to finally realize their political independence.

The philosopher Judith Butler put it succinctly when she stated that "Popular sovereignty has to be given by a people to itself, [emphasis added] and this is the important meaning of self-determination."

Indeed, by what right can the US or the EU dictate the Iraqi Kurds' destiny and prevent them from establishing a state of their own presumably to safeguard Iraq's unity and prevent violent conflict, when in fact only the opposite will happen. The same can be said about Catalonia and many other separatist groups. Now is the time for the former colonial powers to rectify their historic blunders, and facilitate rather than foil many groups' drive to realize their natural right.

The hypocrisy, particularly of the US and the EU - who promote human rights, freedom, and democracy - is now on full display, as they were the first to reject the results of the Kurdish referendum and refuse to recognize Catalonia's declared independence.

It is time for the international community, led by the major powers, to realize that they cannot stop the powerful movement of many ethnic groups that seek independence, only because it does not fit their scheme in any given region.

Self-determination is not a gift to be awarded by the graces of any governing authority; it is an inherent right that every ethnic, religious, and cultural group is entitled to exercise.