P & B: Kurdistan (Sovereignty) Flashcards
What countries would primarily have sovereignty challenged if Kurdistan became a state?
Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.
Why would it be difficult for Kurdistan to become a state?
It is difficult to define its borders, with various claims over extent of land, it has never been an independent state before, its ethnic group is not well defined and no modern party has explicitly demanded for formation of a state.
Outline the challenge of sovereignty in Turkey?
=> If it were to become independent, Turkey would lose 20% of land as well as 15 million people from its population.
=> Previously, Kurds in Turkey had many cultural restrictions, such as being banned from speaking Kurdish, or the language could not be taught in schools.
=> This led to the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) who are pro-independence, to challenge the government, using violent means (terrorism) to do so, leading to thousands being killed.
Outline the peace process in Turkey and later action?
=> 2013: PKK-Turkey peace agreement, ending 3 decades of violence, as the PKK announced that it would remove troops from Turkey.
=> However, the ceasefire would break down in 2015 and both Turkey and PKK have accused the other side of engaging in acts of violence against citizens and terrorism.
Outline the Arab Spring in Syria?
=> The Arab Spring is an anti-government movement, involving protests, rebellions and uprisings, calling for greater democracy, and is involved in various Arab countries.
=> This led the country to collapse into civil war.
=> Russia has been supporting President Assad with direct military involvement even to this day.
=> Extreme action has been taken, Assad bombing his own people, leading to a weakened state.
ISIS and Kurdistan involvement in Syria?
=>ISIS desires to turn Syria into a strict Islamic state, and has attempted to take advantage of the conflict.
=> To counter, the USA has countered ISIS by arming Kurds (the Pesh Merga) to help fight, this has lead them to have great military and administrative control over the area during this time, and they were able to control 30% of Syria.
=> But after the USA withdrawal of support in 2018, this has made the area vulnerable and Turkey was able to claim the land from weakened Kurds.
Threat of Kurdistan and Kurds to Iran sovereignty?
=> Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, has very strict religious ideas, whereas the Kurds are multi-religious and thus threatens the Islamic State ideal.
Threat of sovereignty by Kurdistan to Iraq?
=> The Kurdistan area in Iraq holds wealthy oil wells, and if it became autonomous, a valuable resource would be depleted, as well as a loss of power. (Oil is constantly growing in value and is a vital resource).
=> Previously, the area had been autonomous as it was able to earn $30 million a day. This was no longer possible when it was took to international court and Iraq won the case.
=> Kurdistan also held a referendum, where 97% voted for independence. However, this was invalid as it had not been permitted by Iraq.
=> Kurdistan had sided with Iran in the Iran/Iraq war, but Iran had lost. Thus as a consequence, Iraq bombed the area with untested chemical weapons. They had to seek out Turkey for medical support.
