The Kurdish Nationalist Movement and External Influences
Donald Bruce Disney
Monterey
The Kurdish National Movement and External Influences is a historic examination of the Kurds, the Kurdish national movement, and the effects of external actors on the movement. It discusses who the Kurds are, where they are located and how many of them there are. The primary topics covered are Kurdish revolts, leaders, Kurdish political evolution, and the roles which local and non-Middle-Eastern countries have played in Kurdish national development. The primary countries discussed, as actors, are: Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Kurdish links to other groups, such as the Armenians, and the Palestine Liberation Organization are also described. Finally an assessment as to the effects of external actors on Kurdish Nationalism is made and a prognosis for further Kurdish prospects is included.
Table of contents
Introduction / 9
I. The Kurds to 1918 / 12 A. Early history / 12 B. The Kurds and Islamic empires to 1880 / 13 C. The rise of Kurdish nationalism / 17 D. Conclusions / 24 Footnotes for section I / 25
II. Kurdish revolts: 1918-1944 / 28 A. Tribal-feudal revolts / 29 1. Sheikh Mahmud of Barzinjah / 29 2. Dilo Kurds in Iraq - 1920 / 30 3. Seyyid Abdullah, july 1925 / 31 4. Nisibin, Turkey - 1928 / 31 B. Religio-political revolts / 33 1. Sheikh said of palu (genj) / 33 2. Sheikh Ahmed of Barzan / 36 C. Tribal-nationalist revolts / 37 1. Simko in Persia / 37 2. Sheikh Mahmud revisited / 38 3. Jelali and Haideranlu in Turkey 1927 / 40 4. Bazan of Zibar / 41 D. Nationalist revolts / 42 1. Ihsan Nuri in Turkey - 1930 / 42 2. Sayyid Riza in turkey, 1937 / 44 3. Revolts in Iraq 1941-1943 / 45 4. Revo1t in Iran 1941-1942 / 46 E. Conclusions / 47 Footnotes for section ii / 49
III. Political developments 1918-1944 / 57 A. Political maneuvers preceding the treaty of Sèvres / 57 B. The treaty of Sèvres to the treaty of Lausanne / 60 C. Post-Lausanne European actions to 1944 / 66 1. The Mosul question / 67 2. The tripartite treaty: Iraq, Turkey, and United Kingdom - 5 June 1926 / 69 3. World war ii efforts / 70 D. Regional actors: efforts at control / 73 E. Kurdish political developments / 77 1. The Khoybun / 77 2. The pan-Iranian league / 79 3. The Hewa party / 79 4. The Shursh group / 80 5. The Komala / 81 F. Conclusions / 82 Footnotes for section III / 84
IV. The Kurds from 1945-1958 / 92 A. The Mahabad republic / 92 1. Political prelude / 92 2. Mullah Mustafa's 1945 revolt / 96 3. Formation of the republic / 97 4. Demise of the Mahabad Republic / 99 5. Assessment and regional shocks / 103 B. Cold war propaganda efforts / 105 C. Kurdish post-Mahabad political developments / 107 1. Formation of the UDPK / 107 2. Iranian and Turkish Kurds / 108 3. Regional power actions / 109 D. Conclusions / 111 Footnotes for section IV / 114
V. The Kurds in Iraq 1958-1980 / 121 A. The gathering storm: 14 July 1958 - September 1961 / 122 1. Initial cooperation / 122 2. The Barzanis return to the north / 125 3. The road to revolt / 127 B. The Kurdish revolt September 1961 - Apri1 1975 / 129 1. The first phase - September 1961 - 29 June 1966 / 129 2. The ceasefire / 142 3. The second phase march 1969-march 1974 / 144 4. The third phase march 1974-apri1 1975 / 150 C. Developments from April 1975-1980 / 153 1. Kurdish po1itica1 deve10pments / 153 2. Iraqi Ba'th policies / 156 D. Conclusions / 159 Footnotes for section V / 163
VI. Conclusion and prognosis / 181 A. Conclusions / 181 1. Kurdish nationalism / 181 2. The impact of external influences / 186 3. The hypothesis / 193 B. Prognosis / 194 Footnotes for section VI / 199
Appendix A Map of Kurdistan / 205 B Pertinent treaties and agreements / 206 C table of revolts / 223 D political party evolution / 227
Bibliography / 232 Initial distribution list / 238
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Security classification of this page (anon date Entered) Report documentation page / read instructions before completing form 1. Report number 2. Gout accession no 3. Recipient's catalog number 4. Title (and subtitle) The Kurdish Nationalist Movement and External Influences 5. Type of report a period covered Master's Thesis; December 1980 6. Performing org. Report number 7. Author (s) Donald Bruce Disney, Jr. , LCDR, USN 8 Contract or grant number (4) 9. Performing organization name and address Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California 93940 10. Program element, project, task area a work unit numbers
11. Controlling office name and address Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California 93940 12. Report date December, 1980 13. Number of pages 238 14.Monitoring agency name a address (...) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California 93940 15. Security class. (Of this report) Unclassified 15 a. Declassification / Downgrading Schedule 16. Distribution statement (of this report) Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 17. Distribution statement (...) 18. Supplementary notes 19. Key words (...) Kurds, Kurdish Nationalism, Kurdish Revolts, Kurdish Political Parties, Mullah Mustafa Barzani, Sheikh Ezzedin, Abdul Rahman Qassemlu, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, UK, U.S., U.S.S.R., Israel, PLO, Armenians
20. Abstract (...) The Kurdish National Movement and External Influences is a historic examination of the Kurds, the Kurdish national movement, and the effects of external actors on the movement. It discusses who the Kurds are, where they are located and how many of them there are. The primary topics covered are Kurdish revolts, leaders, Kurdish political evolution, and the roles which local and non-Middle-Eastern countries have played in Kurdish national development. The primary countries discussed, as actors, are: Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Kurdish links to other groups, such as the Armenians, and the Palestine Liberation Organization are also described. Finally an assessment as to the effects of external actors on Kurdish Nationalism is made and a prognosis for further Kurdish prospects is included.
INTRODUCTION
The Kurds, as a tribally organized nation, have existed in the Middle East since ancient times. Centered predominantly in the area of modern Iraq, Iran, and Turkey, with smaller groups in Syria and the USSR, they have interacted with the various migratory flows and imperial regimes throughout the region's history.
With the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century, the first Kurdish modern revolt occurred under the leadership of Sheikh Ubeidullah. This was followed by the development of early Kurdish political groups and other expressions of nationalism in the early 20th century. After World War I, Kurdish nationalist aspirations were, encouraged by the Treaty of Sevres but were to be deflated by the actions of Turkey, Iraq, Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
The 1920's and 1930's saw a multiplicity of Kurdish revolts and the growth of an urbanized political intelligentsia as the Kurds interacted with the new assertive nation-states among which they were divided. At the end of World War II, the Soviet-sponsored Mahabad Republic came into being.
It was ended after the Soviet withdrawal from, and Iranian occupation of the area in 1946.
During the post-World War II period the Kurds were fairly quiescent due to efforts of regional powers to control them. They were subjected, however, to a propaganda campaign between the United States and the Soviet Union through most of the period. In 1961 Mulla Mustafa Barzani rose in revolt in Iraq and was not fully defeated until 1975. The period from 1975 to 1980 saw a splintering of Kurdish political parties, suppression of Kurds in Iraq and Turkey, and a renewed Kurdish revolt in Iran af ter the fall of the Shah.
Throughout most of Kurdish modern history, external influences ranged from overt aid to the Kurds in revolt, to use of the Kurds against a neighboring country, to cooperative regional efforts to control Kurdish movements. While the Kurdish tribal element has remained strong and has provided most of the insurgents in the field, an extensive political organization has also developed to represent the movement. It has consisted of parties within each country which maintained links with each other and which also maintained links to Kurdish political groups abroad. These overseas groups also have established ties to extra regional actors to obtain support for the Kurdish movement.
The hypothesis examined in this thesis was: The importance of Kurdish nationalism and its vitality are dependent upon the greater conflict of which it is a part; to wit: the status of governments in, and disputes between the regional actors as well as the power roles of external actors in the Northern Tier and Persian Gulf region. The methodology employed was a historic examination of Kurdish national revolts coupled with a study of the systemic interactions between Kurdish tribalism, Kurdish political parties, aspects of modernization, and the roles of external actors. Primary external actors considered were Turkey, Iran, Iraq, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Israel.
Donald Bruce Disney
The Kurdish Nationalist Movement and External Influences
Monterey
Publisher Monterey Naval Postgraduate School The Kurdish Nationalist Movement And External Influences Donald Bruce Disney, Jr.
December 1980
The sis Advisor: J. W. Amos, II
Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited
Publisher Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
1980
http://hdl.handle.net/10945/17624
This document was downloaded on February 07, 2013 at 05:29:28
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.
The Kurdish Nationalist Movement and External Influences
By Donald Bruce Disney, Jr. Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy B.S., United States Naval Academy, 1971
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
