KURDISTAN : WHY IT IS NOT ON THE MAP.
WRITTEN BY : MOHAMMAD RASOUL KAILANI
Introduction
The Kurds are a Middle Eastern-Iranic ethnic group. They consider their homeland Kurdistan, a region compromising parts of Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Some hardcore nationalists expand this to parts of the South Caucasus states. They are one of the worlds biggest stateless peoples, numbering at about 40 million. Their struggle is a hard fought one, 100 years of being oppressed and rebellion. But thanks to national boundaries and political factors, the Kurds are not united enough and prepared enough to achieve the dream of a Kurdish state. I am interested in this specific part of middle eastern politics, so I decided to write about this issue. Here in this somewhat long article I will explain what they need to do to achieve this dream, and how they can do it. Enjoy my book.
~Mohammad Rasoul Kailani
To my two grandmothers
REASON 1 : LACK OF UNITY
In case it was not obvious before reading, the Kurds until recently have not been united in any way, and to some extent are still not. A major blow to the unity was the Sykes-Picot treaty and other agreements during and after World War 1. The Kurds were singled out because they were not Pro-West at all. First they sided with the Ottomans during the First World War, as they were the Caliphs subjects, along with everyone else living in Ottoman territory and historically loyal to him. Then, Kurdish rebellions occurred against the new Iraqi Kingdom, the latter being a mandate of Britain. This along with Oil, being landlocked and previous promises to Arabs and Turks singled the Kurds out, so they were left a discriminated people with no big roles in government. On
A website I usually write on someone asked. “Why were the Kurds given no state after the First World War ?” In my answer I stated that one of the reasons was because there was virtually no organized Separatist movement in Kurdistan until after World War 1. Had they done what the Arabs had done (Make secret telegrams for foreign assistance, prepare for years and launch a full out war of liberation) they may have gotten their way. Then again, it’s the West we are talking about here. No matter who it is, anyone who makes treaties with them somehow gets ripped off (as we learned from the Arabs during Sykes-Picot). Another major blow to Kurdish unity was the Iran-Iraq war. To put what happened to Kurdistan in short; to counter influence In the area of the Iraqi offensive (Part of this area being Kurdistan), Iraq began supporting the MEK in Iran, so Iran began supporting the KDP, PUK and other Kurdish factions. This was to have a massive effect on the Future of Kurdistan. Although it was thought that this would further the Kurdish cause thanks to the foreign support, this would not turn out well. For two reasons :
A : Because Iran had limited foreign support, and not a lot of arming due to sanctions.
B : The war ended in a stalemate and both sides returned to pre-war borders. Basically a waste of manpower, time and money for everyone, including the Kurds.
But this is only during the war, and we are not only talking about military capability and political effect here. The impact on the Kurdish civilians was brutal. Not during the war, but after it. Saddam Hussein was a man who was in love with vengeance, so once the war ended and everything was back to normal, Saddam launched the infamous Al-Anfal campaign, where he ordered his army to gas Kurdish villages and towns, most notably Halabcha. Halabcha was surrendered by the Peshmerga and the Iranian army. Because of this Halabcha was nearly destroyed by the Iraqi Forces. Also, during Saddam Hussein’s term in office (1979–2003), Saddam arabized a portion of Kurdistan, meaning the latter had less territory to claim. Fast forward to the next decade, Iraq, under international pressure, and after a rebellion by Iraqi Kurds and Shias, gives Iraqi Kurdistan autonomy. It did not go well. Let me sum things up quickly here.
A : The KDP and the PUK go into Civil War
B : Sanctions are enforced on Iraq for invading Kuwait in 1990.
C : KDP sides with Iraq, the same people who gassed out and bombed Kurdish villages just 6 years before.
D : PUK sides with Iran, who had made peace with Iraq.
E : Turkey sides with Iraq, making relations with the rest of NATO not too good.
F : The USA sides with Iran and the PUK, and the USA were against the former a few years before, showing that the USA only makes friends when it needs them, and that they do not care who they are siding with.
G : Then the PKK, Kurdish rebels in Turkey began supporting the PUK as a strategic move against Turkey.
H : Iraq’s opposition Shia parties began supporting the PUK against the Sunni dominated Iraq government as a strategic move.
I : Keep in mind, the Iranians backed Saddam, until Saddam began supporting the Kurdish opposition in Iran again, then Iran switched sides in the middle of the war.
J : The USA also tried to assassinate Saddam Hussein.
So basically, they were five Kurdish factions from three different countries fighting against each other, which really says something about the lack of unity. But recent help between the YPG and the Peshmerga shows that this is improving a plan for helping unity among different factions. However Iraqi Kurdistan needs to expand its influence among other Kurds to help the separatist cause. If Iraqi Kurdistan and maybe even Rojava gained independence after the fight against ISIS, maybe a United Kurdistan will be created because of support and more power, but we should not keep our hopes up too high, but we can hope.
Areas of Northern Iraq controlled by main Kurdish groups (1991), this was the area given to Iraqi Kurdistan by an autonomy request from Separatists, granted by Saddam Hussein’s government after international pressure and Kurdish victories in the 1991 rebellion. This was only a portion of what is considered South Kurdistan, and conflict over which group should control the small area erupted, causing a disastrous, unity-breaking war.
REASON 2 : CORRUPTION
In Iraqi Kurdistan, corruption is very prominent, especially among the Northern Elite. An article from the newspaper the nation, shows that both of the “big two” parties, the PUK and the KDP, often use bribery to gain votes for elections. Oil power also helps many foreign companies come to the Region, according to employees who work for these huge companies. In fact, while doing research, I came across the results from recent elections for the Kurdish parliament. And they showed that more and more people are voting for parties that are not the PUK and the KDP, mostly voting for Muslim Brotherhood aligned parties and most importantly, the Movement for Change. The main goal of the latter mentioned party is to end the two party controlled government. And in the most recent elections, the party even beat the PUK, but succumbed to the KDP. More and more people are joining anti-corruption protests, to the point where it is getting violent, especially in Suleymaniah, a traditional PUK stronghold. As much support as Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Barazani has from Kurds, the amount of protests and criticism against his government is alarming. And I am having doubts that if the movement for change does win the next elections and put a new Prime minister in power, that they can continue, let alone improve all the hard work the previous government has done to give the Kurds a good government, and giving rights to minorities. But the next elections are in 2017, meaning by this time and at this rate the fight against ISIS would be over if the Peshmerga, along with Airstrikes and help from local Arab Shia factions and Arab Sunni tribes (on the Iraqi side of the border, I don’t know how well the Syrian front is doing) keep gaining victories on the battlefield. In this case a victory would give Barazani and the PUK a huge amount of votes. If ISIS is still prominent, their may be suspicions about what really goes on in the current government and the current voting pattern will continue. To sum it up, the current government needs to stop their corruption, as this is what is keeping the Movement for Change alive.
Massoud Barazani meeting with George Bush in 2005. Iraqi Kurdistan and America have forged a close friendship due to joined combat operations together, and Barazani’s government has let many American companies operate in Iraqi Kurdistan.
REASON 3 : THE DOMINO EFFECT
Okay, so you are probably at this point wondering why Iraq won’t give up Iraqi Kurdistan and let it become independent. Most would respond with “because that part of Iraq has a lot of oil” and then you would say “well why does Iraq need that oil, don’t they already have a lot of oil?” The real reason is what I like to call “The domino effect”. Iraq is an extremely diverse nation. This factor has always let Iraq erupt into conflict. So let’s say the Kurds get their independence, this will set an example for Iraq’s third largest ethnic group, the Assyrians (or was the third largest ethnic group, their population is severely declining) who have the exact same reasons for independence as the Kurds.
*They both have a historic homeland.
*They both have been there longer then the Arabs.
*They both have been persecuted.
And then the Iraq’s fourth (or third) largest ethnic group, the Turks will want one, (some ethnic groups like the fifth largest ethnic group in Iraq, Afro-Iraqis, do not necessarily want to split from Iraq) even the Mandeans, who only number at 70,000 worldwide would get some kind of autonomous entity, point is, half of Iraq would be gone, and changing borders is difficult, and conflict could arrive. And in a country like Iraq where conflict is already present, that won’t be a good thing. And I am just using Iraq as an example here. Iran not only has Kurds, but many Baluchis, Arabs, Turkmens and Azeris wanting to establish separate states, and in Iran it would be a worse case then with Iraq, because more then half of Iranian oil reserves are in the area which Arab separatists claim to be the Arab homeland. Kurdish, Baluchi, Turkmen and Azeri areas also are important to the Iranian economy.
Iraqi Turkomans at a rally in 2010. Ever since the Fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s Turkic minority, which predominantly resides in the northern part of the country, has been campaigning for more recognition and autonomy.
REASON 4 : WHERE IS KURDISTAN?
Yes, you read this section's title correctly. Since Kurdistan is such a tough and confusing concept, we all have different definitions if where it is. From that hardcore Baathist who defines it as a small region which you could drive across in an hour, to the hardcore Kurdish nationalist who defines it as a place taking up a third of the Middle East, here are the many, many definitions of the Kurdish homeland.
Some people define using ethnic lines…
Others like to use ancient terms to define Kurdistan’s boundaries …
Those who oppose Kurdish separatism like to use smaller defenitions…
Now here is a more nationalistic definition…
I only chose four maps, I could put in more if I wanted to, but that would take up too much space. Back to the topic, so many people have so many different definitions of where Kurdistan is, and if it will become a state, where would it be, would it be like the Baathist definition, the old one, the demographic one or the nationalistic one? With so many definitions, who knows which one will become a Kurdish state?! Need I mention border disputes between Arabs and Turks, such as Kirkuk? This is honestly really confusing the more you research about it.
BONUS SECTION : Q & A ABOUT KURDISTAN
Q1 : DO YOU THINK KURDISTAN SHOULD BECOME AN INDEPENDENT STATE?
A1 : IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE KURDISH PEOPLE WANT. WHAT THEY WANT IS WHAT I WANT.
Q2 : DO YOU THINK KURDISTAN WILL EVENTUALLY GAIN ITS INDEPENDENCE?
A2 : PROBABLY NOT ON THE TURKISH AND IRANIAN SIDES ON THE BORDER. MAYBE ON THE SYRIAN SIDE. BUT IN IRAQI KURDISTAN THERE IS A GOOD POSSIBILITY. HOWEVER, DAESH MUST BE ELIMINATED FIRST.
Q3: WHAT KURDISH POLITICAL PARTY DO YOU SUPPORT?
A3 : I SUPPORT THE KURDISTAN ISLAMIC UNION, A MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AFFILIATED PARTY WHICH BELIEVES IN ISLAMIC DEMOCRACY AND KURDISH NATIONALISM.
Q4 : WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ARMED KURDISH GROUPS, SUCH AS THE PESHMERGA AND THE PKK?
A4 : I AM FINE WITH THE PESHMERGA. I DO NOT LIKE THE PKK. THEY ARE UNORGANIZED AND GENERALLY KNOWN FOR BOTTLING THINGS (E.G ENDING UP ASSISTING ASSAD IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT BUT THE GOAL IN THE FIRST PLACE WAS TO FIGHT HIM FOR KURDISH RIGHTS) AND INTERFERING IN RANDOM THINGS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM
Q5 : WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THE CURRENT SITUATION IN IRAQ?
A5 : I DISLIKE THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT BECAUSE OF THEIR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ARAB SUNNI MUSLIMS AND ITS OVERALL INEFFECTIVENESS, AMONG OTHER REASONS. ISIS ARE THE WORST OF THE WORST. FOREIGN POWERS SHOULD STOP PLAYING THE PROXY GAME. A FINAL DECISION TO THE CONFLICT SHOULD BE DECIDED BY ALL THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ (EXCLUDING EXTREMISTS).
Q6 : WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THE SITUATION IN SYRIA?
A6 : I SUPPORT THE FSA. I STRONGLY DISLIKE ASAAD FOR HIS GOVERNMENTS BRUTALITY, AND I DON’T LIKE ISIS FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. I DO SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE OF THE KURDS, BUT I THINK THE YPG SHOULD DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THE PKK.
*In conclusion, this is what I think is wrong in Kurdistan, and what I think the KRG, and other groups can do to fix it, I also mentioned problems I don’t think we can come up with a solution to solve yet.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Mohammad Rasoul Kailani (more commonly known to friends and peers as Rasoul Kailani) is an Arab-Canadian writer who is aged 12. He mainly writes about the Middle East.
**Follow his medium blog** : mrkailani.com
(Above : Zoomed in photo of Mohammad Rasoul Kailani)
Some Credentials : Quora – Most viewed writer in Turkish history
Quora – Most viewed writer in history of the Middle East
Quora – Most viewed writer in Kurdistan
Quora – Most viewed writer in Kurdish ethnicity and people
Quora – Up and coming writer in politics of the Middle East
Wrote article for Norman Finkelstein – http://normanfinkelstein.com/2016/04/05/checkpoints/
SOURCES
Where I got the images : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_rebellion_of_1983
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Kurdistan
http://www.saradistribution.com/kurdishmaps.htm
https://merryabla64.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/iraqs-turkomans-feel-new-political-strength/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoud_Barzani#/media/File%3APresidentBushAndBarzani.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurdistan4all/533049910
Information (For chapter two, chapter three and introduction only, the other chapters did not need information sourcing) :
“How the War With ISIS Has Exposed Kurdistan’s Internal Divisions.” The Nation. 6 Apr. 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://www.thenation.com/article/celebrated-its-stability-iraqi-kurdistan-actually-plagued-corruption-nepotism-and-int/>.
“Kurds Rail against Government Corruption as Protests Turn Violent in Iraqi Kurdistan.” Yahoo News UK. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
“Iraq: Towards an Independent Kurdistan?” European Parliamentary Research Service. 10 July 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
“Iraqi Minority Group Needs U.S. Attention.” Yale Daily News Iraqi Minority Group Needs US Attention Comments. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iran_Oil_and_Gas_Fields.png
*IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CHAPTER 3 : THE NUMBERS AND STATISTICS FOR VARIOUS ETHNIC GROUPS IN CHAPTER 3 ARE NOT VERY ACCURATE BECAUSE THERE IS NO OFFICIAL NUMBER FOR THE AMOUNT OR PERCENTAGE OF ETHNIC GROUPS IN IRAQ. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT NO RELIABLE CENSUS HAS BEEN TAKEN FOR NEARLY 60 YEARS. THE AMOUNTS AND PLACINGS I HAVE GIVEN HAVE INPUT FROM MANY SOURCES FROM ALL SIDES OF THE CONFLICT, I ALSO USED HISTORICAL STATISTICS FOR DATA.
