Ethnic Conflict: the Forgotten Kurds

Question 0

Introduction (2)

Answer 0

• 14~19mill Kurds in Turkey (17-25% of the population)
• 4.5~7mill Kurds in Iraq (15-23% of the population)
• 5~8mill Kurds in Iran (7-10% of the population)

Question 1

Introduction (1)

Answer 1

• Around 26mil Kurds
• Fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. (Arabs 260mil, Turks 55mil, Persians 46mil)
• 90% of kurds live in Iraq, Iran and Turkey. 1 mill lives in Syria, half a mill in the former USSR, and 700k elsewhere in the diaspora, mostly in the EU.

Question 2

Introduction (3)

Answer 2

• Kurds are decendents of Indo-European tribes (Turkic, Armenian and Assyrians) who settled in the Zagros Mountains during the second millennium B.C. The name Kurdistan was used to describe this area as early as the 13th century A.D.
• In the 16th Century, after Kurdish tribes started migrating to the Anatolian plateau, the word Kurdistan was used to describe a system of Kurdish cheifdoms and minor principalities, and their shared culture and traditions.

Question 3

Conflicts

Answer 3

• Horizontal and vertical conflicts: between different Kurdish chiefs and notables and between the Kurds and their host states.
• Oppression took the form of population transwer and even ethnic cleansing.

Question 4

Divisions among Kurds

Answer 4

• Inhibited the formation of a united Kurdish movement in support of self determination and independence.
• Lack a single spoken and written language
• Religious divisions: most Kurds are Sunnis, but more than three million Kurds living in Turkey are Alevis, an unorthodox form of Islam, and some Kurds in Iran are Shiites. Other smaller fragments of the Kurdish nation include the Yazidis and Christians.

Question 5

Divisions among the Kurds

Answer 5

• Tribal division and remoteness of many of the communities go hand in hand with the colliding ambitions of local leaders (aghas)
• Fear of the aghas that in a more centralized Kurdish structure they would lose their power and influence.

Question 6

National Awakening?

Answer 6

• In 1908 the Young Turks’ revolution and their ideas of representation for the people through constitution and nationalism influenced urbanized and educated Kurds.
• However, urban Kurdish intellectual societies were not united and were not supported by the rural areas and especially the aghas that saw any change as a threat to their position.

Question 7

National awakening? (2)

Answer 7

• Moreover, between 1894 and 1896, Kurds and Turks massacred 100k christian armenians, who sought autonomy from the Ottoman Empire.
• Between 1915 and 1918, Kurds participated in the Turkish massacre of more than a million Christian Armenians.

Question 8

Post Ottoman era

Answer 8

• Jan 18, 1918 President Wilson presents his 14points for new world order and peace.
• Point 12 dealth with former Ottoman Empire
• “other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development.”

Question 9

After WW1

Answer 9

• However, tribal rather than national sentiments continued to guide the Kurds. Especially their leaders ‘agahs’ did not trust each other.
• Division of territories that belonged to the ottoman empire according to British and French interests.
• Rising Arab Nationalism

Question 10

A missed opportunity

Answer 10

-Aug 1920 ‘Treaty of Sevres’ - a peace treaty between the Ottoman empire and the allies-provided for a Kurdish autonomy and later an independen state in the predominatly Kurdish areas of turkey and British controlled Mosul (in Iraq)

Question 11

A missed opportunity (2)

Answer 11

• Inner division within the Kurdish people prevented the creation of a national Kurdish leadership to pursue the idea.
• Kurds supported Kemal Ataturk’s war agaisnt the Christian Greek who invaded Turkey from the west (Ataturk deafeted the Greeks in Sept 1922)
• Ataturk and his movement did not accept the Svres treaty signed by the Ottoman Empire and evntually the treay was nullifed.

Question 12

A missed Opportunity (3)

Answer 12

-Sevres treaty was replaced by the (July 1923 Lausanne peace treaty) in which the idea of recognizing the Kurds as a national minority was rejected by the Turks.

Question 13

Kurds in Iran

Answer 13

• 5~8mill Kurds in Iran (7-10% of the population)
• Kurds are closer to Iranians than to Turks or Arabs in terms of language and culture.
• Kurds in Iran were allowed to keep their culture and practice their language but were not allowed to pursue separatist goals.
• Until the second decade of the 20th century the Kurds enjoyed relative freedom, even a certain degree of local autonomy, under a system of tribal chieftans.

Question 14

The Kurds in Iran (2)

Answer 14

• The Aghas served as a regional authroity that represented the central authroity in the more remote areas of the Persian Empire.
• 1925 Reza Shah overthrew the Qajar dynast and established the Pahlavi dynasty.
• Reza Shah pursued centralization and aimed at subjugating all tribes. IN this regard, he forced nomads to settle down.
• By the 1930s tribal chiefs became landowners. They still had influence over their tribe, but no official position was bestowed upon them by the central goverment.

Question 15

The Kurds in Iran: Ephemeral independence

Answer 15

• In 1941 Britain occupied Western Iran to make sure that REza Shah would not join Nazi Germany.
• The soviets invaded Iran in the North West.
• Reza Shah was toppled and his son was crowned as Shah.
• The Soviets encouraged the Kurds under the leadership of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Iran (KDPI) to pursue self determination.

Question 16

The Republic of Mahabad: Ephemeral independence.

Answer 16

• January1946 the Republic of Mahabad(Kurdistan)was established.
• The small size republic (37,437 square km)did not manage to attract Kurds and inter-tribal support.

Question 17

The Republic of Mahabad: Ephemeral independence (2)

Answer 17

• March 1946 Soviets yielded down to international and Iranian pressure and withdrew from Northwestern Iran in return for promises of oil concessions that were never fulfilled.
• December 1946 Iranian forces reestablished control over the Republic of Mahabad. The Iranian troops included Kurds.

Question 18

Under Muhammad Reze Pahlavi

Answer 18

• Kurdish areas were put under martial-law
• Suppression of any attempt of self determination
• KDPI activists went underground
• In the late 1960 they moved to Iraq and led an armed resistance agaisnt the Iranian goverment.
• Ironically, Iraqi Kurds led by Mustafa Barzani, who fought in the past for the Mahabad republic, operated agaisnt the KDPI.

Question 19

Under Muhammad REza Pahlavi (2)

Answer 19

• Barazani perceived the KDPI activity as sabotaging his Iranian supported Kurdish rebellion in Iraq.
• Inability to agree upon cross-border united Kurdish policy and to achieve inter-tribal cooperation. Instead, different tribes focus on achieving autonomy within the boundaries of their hosting states.
• The Shah’s 1962 agrarian reform (purchasing land from the big landlords and sitributing it to peasants)enervated the power of the aghas.
• The Kurdish part of Iran remained underdevleoped and far from the central government’s economic attention.

Question 20

The throes of the Iranian Revolution

Answer 20

• A movement led by tribal cheifs attempted to break away from Iran
• This move was not supported by the Urban KDPI which feared from a return to the ancient tribal rule of the aghas
• Shiite Kurds supported Ayatollah Khomeini rather than their fellow Sunni Kurds.
• The ayatollahs’ regime opposed any Kurdish aspiration for autonomy, fearing that it would lead to the disintegration of the country.

Question 21

Kurds: under the Ayatollahs

Answer 21

• Ambitions of secession seem weak in present day Iran. The Kurds are represented in the Iranian parliament
• Still, small groups such as the PJAK(Kurdish Free Life Party) carry out attacks agaisnt the Iranian gov’t in pursuit of Kurdish independence.
• The PJAK are allied with the Turkish PKK and are the target of combined Iranian-Turkish military operations.

Question 22

Kurds in Iraq

Answer 22

• 1918 British forces occupied present day Iraq and established the British mandate of Mesopotamia.
• What to do with the Kurds in the Nort and East mountains?
• Kurds were divided between themselves politicaly.
• Some wanted to join King Faisal(from 1932 Iraq)
• The aghas were content perseving their local autonomy and influence as in the Ottoman Empire.

Question 23

Kurds in Iraq (2)

Answer 23

• Other Kurds wanted to united with their brothers in Turkey.
• And there were Kurds, led by Sheikh Mahmud Barzinji, who strove to create and independent Kurdish entity.

Question 24

Kurds in Iraq (3)

Answer 24

• Turkey and King Faisal pressured the British not allow the creation of a Kurdish autonomy or independt entity.
• The Turks feared that any autonomy given to the Kurds in Iraq would encourage the Kurds of Turkey to demand a similar status.
• King Faisal I needed the Kurds to ensure a Sunni majority in Iraq whose southern part was predominatly Shiite and hostile to the Sunnis, who ruled from Baghdad.

Question 25

Kurds in Iraq 4

Answer 25

• Kurdish Kirkuk:an area rich in oil, was vital for the economy of the new Hashemite Kingdom.
• Mosul (in the north) with a large Kurd population was included for similar reasons in the new Hashemite Kingdom
• The 1930 Anglo-Iraqi Treaty which conferred full independence on the on the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq did not include any caveat allowing for a Kurdish separate indentiy. This was a violation of a British promise to the League of Nations.

Question 26

Kurds in Iraq 5

Answer 26

• The aghas preferred to cooperate with Faisal’s regime in Baghdad rather than confront it.
• Opposition to the Hashemite rule was led by ustafa Barzani
• After the fall of Mahabad Barzani escaped to the Soviet Union and returned to Irq only after the demise of the Hashemite Kingdom in 1958.
• In 1964 he reached an agreement with the Iraqi president Arif, who was close to him.

Question 27

Kurds in Iraq (6)

Answer 27

• Arif supplied Barazani and his followers in the KDP(Kurdish Democratic Party) with armas and ammunition and Barzani gave up his aspirations for autonomy. The aghas supported Barzani.
• This led to a split in the KDP and (later in 1975) to the formation of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan)led by Jalal Talabani
• In 1968 when the Ba’ath party regained power in Iraq the Kurds led by Barzani renewed their armed opposition.

Question 28

Kurds in Iraq 7

Answer 28

-1974~1975 war with the regime with the support of Iran.
0After the March 1975 Algiers Agreement that settled the issue of Shatt al-Arab, the Iranians withdrew their support.
-The Ba’ath regime razed 500 Kurdish villages and resettled 600k villagers.
-During the Iran-Iraq war Saddam performed various atrocities agaisnt the Kurds. Anfal operation and the use of chemical weapons agaisnt Kurds, ex: Halbaja (200k Kurds killed)

Question 29

Kurds in Iraq 8

Answer 29

• After Saddam’s defeat in 1991, a Kurdish uprising in the North and Shiite revolt in the South were suppressed by force but with great difficulty.
• The Americans, British and French imposed a no fly zone (north of 36th paralell) to prevent Saddam from using air power to attack the Kurds.
• UN troops were positioned in Kurdish areas
• Since 1992 the Kurds have enjoyed a de facto autonomy in northern Iraq with their own National Assembly.

Question 30

Kurds in Iraq 9

Answer 30

• Kurds assisted the Americans in their March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• Kurd forces with American aerial support played an important role in capturing Kirkuk and Mosul (April 2003)
• Turkish pressure led to Kurdish withdrawal from these towns. The Turks threatened to interven if the Kurds remained in those towns.
• From the late 1990’s onward, American efforts to reconile the KDP with the PUK.

Question 31

Kurds in Iraq

Answer 31

• In 2004 the KDP and PUK created DEMOCRATIC PATRIOTIC ALLIACE OF KURDISTAN. Which rules the Kurdistan Regional Government and its National Assembly.
• The Turks ear a strong Kurdistan that would include Kirkuk and Mosul.
• The pro-independence Kurdish movement in Turkey (the PKK) has bases in Kurdistan. Only American pressure prevents the Turks from attacking these bases and thus violating the sovereignty of Iraq and Kurdistan.

Question 32

Kurds in Iraq 11

Answer 32

In Nov 2006 Turkish minister of foreign affairs Abdullah Gul, warned the Kurdish Regional Gov’t agaisnt further self-determination. Turkey will remain in the region forever.

Question 33

Kurds in Turkey

Answer 33

• Kamel Ataturk promoted secularism and the idea of one Turkish nation and identity.
• All claims for Kurdish autonomy or cultural expression were denied.
• Public expressions of Kurdish identity were banned (schools, associations and publications)
• The Kurdish revolts of 1925 and 1928 were brutally suppressed and resulted in a death toll of thousands.

Question 34

The Kurds in Turkey

Answer 34

• The Kurds were deported from their lands and resettled elsewhere in an effort to assimilate them into the Turkish population.
• The kurdish language was made illeagal.
• The Kurds were called mountain Turks and treated like 2nd class citizens.
• 1960s the Kurds deprived of the right to form political party, joined Turkish Leftish Groups. Resulted in brutal clamp down on the Kurds.

Question 35

The Kurds in Turkey 2

Answer 35

• Eventually, the brutual repression lasted for decades let to creation of (1978) of the PKK(Kurdistan Workers Party) under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan.
• From 1984 the PKK, which combines ideas od Kurdish nationalism and socialism, escalated its armed struggle agaisnt the Turkish authorities. Its goal is the creatoin of a Marxist Kurdish Country that will include Kurds from Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Question 36

The Kurds in Turkey 3

Answer 36

• PKK activities included guerrilla attacks, suicide bombs, kidnapping, assassinations, airplace hijacking, drug trafficking, etc.
• The attacks not only targeted Turks and Turks gov’t but also Kurds who supported the Turks (ex: landowners). In 1980 changed view and only attacked the Turks targets. Showed more tolerance toward Islam in order to attrack more supporters.
• PKK operated in Syria and Iraq (Kurdistan)

Question 37

The Kurds in Turkey 4

Answer 37

• Tension between Turkey and Syria increased.
• Turkey prepared for a war agaisnt Syria that could have evolved into a regional conflict including Iran, which also supported the PKK.
• 1996 Turkey signed military agreements of cooperation with Israel.
• 1999 Syria yielded down to pressure and deported Ocalan. Ocalan finally arrived in Kenya (Greek Embassy) and was captured there by the Turkish intelligence service.

Question 38

The Kurds in Turkey 5

Answer 38

• The success of the Kurds in Iraq in conducting an autonomous way of life encourages also Turkish Kurds (some 5000PKK fighters are based in Iraqi Kurdistan)
• Still the Turkish gov’t does not recognize Kurdish Identity.
• However, Kurdish language can now be used (also publication) but not for education and broadcasting.
• Kurdish political activities are still banned.

Question 39

The Kurds in Turkey 6

Answer 39

• PKK activities cultivated strong anti Kurdish sentiments among the Turkish people who celebrated Ocalan’s capture and called for his execution (he is still in prison)
• Turkey, the EU and the Kurdish question
• Since 1999 Turkey is a candidate for EU membership
• Issues of Northern Cyprus and Turkish immigration.

Question 40

The Kurds in Turkey 7

Answer 40

• A Turkish notion in the EU is not interested in Turkey as a member
• Israel/Turkey relations become tense after Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elceted as Turkey’s PM in 2003. Concomtantly, Turkey’s relations with Iran and Syria improved.
• Human rights for Kurds (EU demand) vs. repressing Kurdish self-determination aspirations (Turish-Syrian-Iranian joint interest)