In a Perfect World Catalan and Kurdish Independence should be embraced. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal situation and the world should make sure Pandoras Regional Box does not open.

Remember Eastern Europe in the 1990's and the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Remember the break up of the Soviet Union in the same time period. This did not go well and there are still reverberations in Georgia, the Ukraine, and Chechnya today. Only the breakup of Czechoslovakia went relatively well. Unfortunately, the situations in Catalonia and Kurdistan appear to be more like the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union than Czechoslovakia. In most liberal and progressive circles, giving independence to groups with distinct national identities is a given of what it is to be liberal and progressive and this writer is not opposed to these groups getting independence. However, the international community, through the United Nations, should help Spain and Iraq in this process so a Pandora's Box of Regionalism does not ooze out where you have nations like Turkey, Syria, and Iran willing to fight to prevent the new Kurdistan from taking the territory in their nations that have Kurds on them. The opening of this box could also infect groups like those in Northern Italy that want to separate from the rest of the country or more immediately for the Spanish, the remaining Basque areas of that country that may want to imitate what the Catalans have done and go for full independence. This is why gradualism is preferable to radicalism in these cases as long as all sides treat each other with civility and respect. Maybe independence is not the answer but federalism may be. Or a situation that did occur with the former Czechoslovakia. The important thing is that the solution is arrived at diplomatically and not where innocent lives are lost.

https://www.vox.com/2017/10/21/16513330/catalan-independence-catalonia-spain-rajoy-155

https://www.vox.com/world/2017/10/20/16495748/iraq-kirkuk-kurdistan-isis