Kurdistan

   

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For the Iranian province of Kurdistan, please see Kurdistan (province).

Kurdistan is an area in the Middle East, inhabited mainly by the Kurds, covering parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Georgia and Syria. Its borders are hard to define, as none of the states in question acknowledge Kurdistan as a demographic or geographical region. There is a province of Kurdistan in Iran.

According to the conservative World and I magazine:

Kurdistan is an unofficial nation-state encompassing at least 25 million people in the 74,000 square mile (190,000 km²) mountainous region encompassing chunks of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. It is the world's largest ethnic group without a country of its own. Kurds were promised a country in the August 10, 1920, Treaty of Sevres that divided the former Ottoman Empire among Britain, Turkey, and others, and gave independence to Armenia. [1] (http://www.worldandi.com/subscribers/feature_detail.asp?num=24063)

History

Before World War I, most Kurds lived within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Allies created several countries within its former boundaries. Originally Kurdistan, along with Armenia was to be one of them, according to the Treaty of Sèvres. However, the reconquest of these areas by Kemal Atatürk and other pressing issues caused the Allies to accept the renegotiated Treaty of Lausanne, giving this territory to Turkey and leaving the Kurds without a self-ruled region. Other Kurdish areas were assigned to the new states of Iraq and Syria under both treaties. These boundaries were drawn with more concern for the division of oil resources and influence between different colonial powers and for rewarding pro-Allied Arab leaders than for ethnic distributions.

Since then, Kurds have been divided between several states, in each of which they are minorities. Many Kurds have campaigned for independence or autonomy since then, but there has been no support by any of the regional governments or by outside powers for changes in regional boundaries. A sizeable Kurdish diaspora exists in Western Europe that participates in agitation for Kurdish issues, but most of the governments in the Middle East have historically banned open Kurdish activism.

In Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, Kurdish guerilla groups, known in the Kurdish culture as Peshmerga, fight against the government and have some control over Kurdish areas.

Flag

The flag regarded as the national flag is the flag of the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad, proclaimed in 1946 and sacked later the same year. The flag resembles the Iranian Flag. It is said to be created in the 1920's by the organization of Xoybûn (Khoyboon). The flag is now widely used by Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan, be they separatist or not.

Iran

In 1946, a shortlived Soviet-created and Soviet-backed "Kurdish" entity in Iran was crushed by government forces when Soviet protective forces were withdrawn.

In the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all language minorities including Kurdish speakers have the right to teach the language in schools and have publications. There are various Kurdish books and newspapers published in Iran.

Turkey

After the Treaty of Sèvres, there happened to be no claims of Kurdish independence. Mustafa Kemal, a keen pragmatist, often talked of a "Turco-Kurdish cooperation" during the years of Millî Mücadele ("National Struggle"). This was in accord with acts of Ankara government such as sending a team of instructors to train the Kurdish rebels who were then fighting against British troops under the banner of "Kingdom of Kurdistan". Then things began to change when Kemal and his cadres became the sole rulers of Turkey. None of their claims, not even linguistic and cultural ones, were met and Kurds began to be harshly oppressed by the Turkish State especially after the failed rebellion of Sheikh Seid in 1925. Turkish State propagandised that the rebels were "reactionary bandits financed by the British", without a slight reference to Kurdish rights or even Kurdish existence.

In 1930s, with the introduction of Türk Tarih Tezi ("Turkish Thesis of History") and other pseudo-scientific theories, which were products of the pro-Nazi leanings of current régime, oppression attained a more racist tone. Minister of Justice, Mahmut Esat Bozkurt thus spoke: "The ones living in Turkey but of no pure Turkish blood have merely one right: to serve the Turks as slaves!" Crushing of Dersim Rebellion of 1938 much characterised with atrocities and massacres of Turkish Army against civilian Kurdish population reflected this sort of ideological approach. Bombing of women and children who took refuge in the valley of Geliyê Zilan led to tragic incidents; a "Kurdish Guernica". Sabiha Gökçen, adopted daughter of Atatürk attended the bombings gaining the title of "first female combat pilot of the world", much exploited for a pompous propaganda of the "primary successes of the Republic". The irony was that Gökçen herself was an orphan of 1915 of concealed Armenian origin, now killing Kurds in the name of "Great Turkish Race".

Multi-cultural political life in Turkey was slightly different for Kurds. They were represented in the parliament and even in the cabinet as "parliamentarians from the East (an official substitute for the strictly banned word of "Kurdistan")" without the least mention of Kurdish origin and a single word in Kurdish. The attitude of the State was one of denial and oppression. Racist theories were always in vogue; a Beyaz Kitap (White Book, i.e. papers issued by the Army) sounded that Kurds were solely Turks, unfortunate enough to walk on the thickened layers of snow on the high mountains, an action, which produced a "kart-kurt" sound that gave them the euphemism "Kürt",albeit they are "pure Mountain Turks". Left and Right, two main political currents of Turkish politics, which became two hostile camps in 1970s were both content with the official policy of forced assimilation. Turkish right saw Kurds as "alien stock not to be deprived from happiness of being Turks (i.e. being incorporated into Turkish market)", Turkish left as "people under a feudal yoke so harsh that they can't even learn how to speak properly".

The theories on “Turkish origin of Kurds” were supported by both civilian and military authorities. Foreword of the book serving such a cause, Doğu İlleri ve Varto Tarihi (A History of Eastern Provinces and Varto) of M. Şerif Fırat, a local Kurdish agha, was written by General Cemal Gürsel, then the president of the Republic and the book was distributed by the Army. Academicians were encouraged to write treatises and promoted for improving these theses. One of this sort, Dr. Abdülhaluk Çay, held post as a cabinet minister. Research people Dr. İsmail Beşikçi, Dr. Fikret Başkaya who opposed official approaches were imprisoned allegedly for “pursuing separatist actions”.

The accents in Turkish usage by Kurds had always been a source of entertainment for the Turkish public. Another element to present a comic effect was their "backwardness" a formal label of comparing Kurds to "bears" (a symbol of rudeness). "Kurd" (Harputlu / Haso) was a main comic character in the Ottoman puppet theatre Karagöz and improvised spectacle Ortaoyunu. However, so were many personalities of different ethnic origin and social strata in the Empire. By the foundation of the Republic, the "Kurd" happened to be an incarnation of ignorance, rudeness, and backwardness, qualities any right-minded Turkish citizen should not bear. The all-time popular comic flicks, such as Kibar Feyzo and Davaro, often written and directed by leftist protagonists, ridiculed the Kurdish culture in the name of a so-called "anti-feudal criticism".

Iraq

A Kurdish autonomous area was established in 1970. In practice, this meant very little. Since 1991, the Kurds did have de-facto independence from the central government, because of the Gulf War and the no-fly zones over much of the Kurdish-dominated areas. The two groups Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party control most of the Iraqi-Kurdish areas. In 1992, an election for a Kurdish parliament was held, although the parliament has not met since 1995. The current situation in Iraq, following the Anglo-American invasion in 2003, has allowed the Kurds to maintain their de-facto independence due to the weakness of the American-dominated Provisional Iraqi Government. (During the 2003 Iraq War, there were considerable tensions when Turkey repeatedly gave the impression that it was going to invade Kurdish-held territory in the north to "protect the Turkoman minority" ). Currently, there are no official plans which have been made public for what is actually going to happen with regard to Kurdish autonomy or how Kurdish-controlled territories might be incorporated back under an Iraqi central government.

Before the Second Gulf War, the Kurdish-controlled areas included most of the provinces of Arbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah. During and after the war, Kurdish militias entered the cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. Although it appears likely that the future of Iraq involves some kind of Kurdish autonomy within a federal system, the future status of Mosul and Kirkuk remains unclear due to the presence of Turcoman and Arab minorities in those cities. Because the policies of the Hussein government pushed Kurds out of these cities and encouraged the settlement of other groups, it is difficult to determine who the inhabitants of the regions are for purposes of self-determination.

Officials

Prime Minister: Nechervan Idris Barzani

See also

External links


ar:كردستان de:Kurdistan fr:Kurdistan ia:Kurdistan ku:Kurdistan ja:クルディスタン pl:Kurdystan sv:Kurdistan nl:Koerdistan


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