The Kurds in Syria: The Forgotten People
The Kurdish question is one determining the rights of a group of more than 30 million people, a group that is predicted to become the third largest national group in the Middle East. Comprising the world’s largest stateless nation, the Kurds are a people whose population and lands form a contiguous geographical area divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria with smaller numbers in the former Soviet Union.
Kurdish issues are not widely discussed or written about and existing literature has focused mainly on the Kurds of Turkey and Iraq. The plight of the large Kurdish population in these countries is relatively well-known due to the extent of the atrocities committed against them, their resort to armed struggle, and their international involvement in determining the political future of Iraq and Turkey’s future status within the European Union. Whilst moderate attention has been given to the position of Kurds resident in Iran, there has been even less consideration for the Kurds in Syria. As must be acknowledged, this situation is somewhat explicable, not least because researchers face many diffi culties in trying to obtain information on the subject of Kurds in Syria. Another underlying cause is that in comparison to other countries with Kurdish populations, the Kurdish population in Syria is relatively small, making the issues faced by their population ostensibly less vital to studies of Kurdish issues.
Contents
Map of the area inhabited by Kurds / vii
Introduction / 1
Part One The Kurds
1 The Kurds / 5
2 Kurdish History / 12
Part Two Syria
Introduction / 23
3 Syrian History: 1918–2005 / 27
4 Syrian State Structure / 43
5 Regional Relations / 56
6 Water Resources and Conflict / 65
7 International Relations / 77
Part Three The Kurds in Syria
Introduction / 91
8 The Civil Rights of Kurds in Syria / 94
9 The Political Rights of Kurds in Syria / 106
10 Kurdish Cultural Rights / 116
Conclusion / 122
Appendix 1 Treaty of Sèvres (Articles 62–64) / 125
Appendix 2 Syria’s International Law Obligations / 127
Notes / 129
Bibliography / 149
Index / 155
Introduction
The Kurdish question is one determining the rights of a group of more than 30 million people, a group that is predicted to become the third largest national group in the Middle East. Comprising the world’s largest stateless nation, the Kurds are a people whose population and lands form a contiguous geographical area divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria with smaller numbers in the former Soviet Union.
Kurdish issues are not widely discussed or written about and existing literature has focused mainly on the Kurds of Turkey and Iraq. The plight of the large Kurdish population in these countries is relatively well-known due to the extent of the atrocities committed against them, their resort to armed struggle, and their international involvement in determining the political future of Iraq and Turkey’s future status within the European Union. Whilst moderate attention has been given to the position of Kurds resident in Iran, there has been even less consideration for the Kurds in Syria. As must be acknowledged, this situation is somewhat explicable, not least because researchers face many diffi culties in trying to obtain information on the subject of Kurds in Syria. Another underlying cause is that in comparison to other countries with Kurdish populations, the Kurdish population in Syria is relatively small, making the issues faced by their population ostensibly less vital to studies of Kurdish issues.
However, within Syria the Kurds compose almost 10 per cent of the population, a not-inconsiderable section of Syrian society with its own distinct language, culture and ethnic identity. Despite the size of this group, the Syrian state has not accorded the Kurds recognition as a native national or ethnic minority but instead perceives the Kurds as a threat to Syrian national security and unity. As a consequence, the Kurdish minority in Syria has been persecuted, suppressed and marginalized to the extent that even expressions of ethnic identity, such as language and cultural traditions, are illegal and given political meaning. In their attempts to control and contain the Kurdish identity and communities, the state’s policy towards the Kurds has involved coercive force, socio-economic and political marginalization, and complex forms of co-option and divide-and-rule policies. This study developed from the lack of available literature that provided both historical context and events together with the present day problems faced by Kurds in Syria. Incorporating Kurdish–Syrian relations, regional relations and international relations and issues, the book draws upon interviews with Kurds and other individuals both in Syria and in the diaspora. It draws together existing material on the subject and is intended to act as a platform from which further research and discussion can be launched.
The book seeks to highlight human rights issues pertaining to the Kurds of Syria, whilst contextualizing the Kurdish question in Syria and providing some explanation for its development. By placing the Kurdish predicament within its historical and regional context, the Syrian state’s treatment of its Kurdish population can be more easily understood and compared to minimum standards demanded by international law.
The book is divided into three parts, the fi rst of which provides an introduction to the Kurds. In the second part, Syrian history and both regional and international relations are analysed, explaining many of the infl uences on the Kurdish question in Syria. Finally, part three discusses the discrimination suffered by Kurds in Syria both in the past and present. Examples used within the book are intended to illustrate the forms of discrimination that the Kurds encounter in Syria and the nature of the abuses of their human rights, rather than to provide an exhaustive account of the history of the persecution of the Kurds. Although one of the aims of this book is to provide a more detailed and comprehensive account of the Kurdish predicament in Syria, the nature of the Syrian state prevents the full documentation of the extent and depth of this issue. It is hoped that this book will stimulate further research and debate of the issues involved in both the Kurdish issue as it is defi ned by the Syrian state and as a wider nationally defi ned question.
Pluto - Press
LONDON • ANN ARBOR, MI
in association with
KURDISH HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT
First published 2005 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Kerim Yildiz 2005
The right of Kerim Yildiz to be identifi ed as the author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 2499 1 hardback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
10 9
