UK: 'They must help us' - protesters call on UK govt. to support Kurdish independence vote

Pro-Kurdish independence protesters gathered outside 10 Downing Street, in London, on Sunday, to show their support for an upcoming referendum that seeks to form an independent Kurdistan state separate from Iraq.
The majority of protesters expressed opposition to the UK government’s recent decision to decline support for any referendum that would see Kurdistan become an independent nation.
"We tell the UK government that you yourself have given this right [self-determination] to the Scottish people to decide their future, where Scottish people are living in a country that is the mother of democracy in the world. Why are you preventing Kurds from practicing that right?" wondered one of the protesters.
Another protester said that, due to the support that Kurdish forces have given western governments in their fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), they should be given a right to self-determination. "They must help us. They must show their beliefs in terms of humanity, in terms of human rights," he said.
The referendum on Kurdish independence is set to take place on September 25, however the Iraqi parliament has rejected the plans and has authorised a resolution that allows Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take measures to preserve the country's existing borders.
The Kurdish population have been pushing for independence in a historical process dating back to the aftermath of World War Two, during which time Kurdish-populated regions were split between different countries as Middle Eastern borders were redrawn.