VersionsThe Kurds a Nation Denied [English, London , 1992]
A Modern History of the Kurds [English, London, 1996]
Kürtler [Türkçe, İstanbul, ]
The Kurds [English, London, 1996]
THE KURDS
With a population of 26 million, the Kurds are the Middle East’s largest ethnic community without a state of its own.
The persecution and state-sponsored violence endured by the Kurds is legion – exemplified by the razing of thousands of Kurdish villages in Turkey and the massacres resulting from chemical weaponry in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Kurds is a thoroughly revised and updated edition by the renowned writer David McDowall. The author focuses on Kurdish history, society and Kurds’ changing way of life in the heartlands of Kurdistan – in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. A further valuable insight is given into the situation of Kurds in Europe, Lebanon, the former Soviet Union and Syria.
The report ends with a series of recommendations which seek to provide a balance between the legitimate sovereign requirements of the governments concerned and the rights of the Kurdish people to free cultural expression and a genuine measure of control over their own affairs.
CONTENTS
Preface / 3
Introduction / 4
The land of the Kurds / 6
Kurdish society / 9
Historical background to 1920 / 12
The Kurds in Turkey / 15
The Kurds in Iran / 20
The Kurds in Iraq / 23
Road to genocide 1976–88 / 26
Uprising and self–rule 1990–6 / 28
Iraqi Kurdistan: an international cockpit / 30
The challenge of relief and rehabilitation / 32
The Kurds in Syria and elsewhere / 34
Recommendations / 38
Notes / 40
Bibliography / 43
Introduction
The Kurds today, numbering at least 26 million, struggle to obtain political recognition and rights as national communities within the state boundaries in which they find themselves. They form the largest ethnic community in the Middle East without a state of its own. Kurds have been far less fortunate than other ethnic communities in the region. It is worth considering briefly why this should be so.
Ethnic nationalism is a product of nineteenth century European thought and was quite alien to traditional Middle Eastern society; the latter was based upon religious identity and loyalty to the sultan (Ottoman Turkey) or shah (Iran). However, the political and economic might of Europe made the rapid spread of such ideas almost inevitable. The most responsive communities were the Christians and Jews, who already had religious connections that made European values attractive. Muslims took longer. The other responsive category was the body of city-based intellectuals who recognized the comparative weakness of Middle Eastern polities, and the lack of intellectual enquiry. This latter group already had a literature of its own, notably the Arabs (in Beirut, Cairo and Damascus) and Ottoman Turks in Istanbul. These intellectuals began to look at themselves in a new light, along the lines of ethnicity rather than religion.
By the time of the break-up of the Ottoman Empire many of these intellectuals had established nationalist movements able to take advantage of the creation of modern states, mainly under European tutelage. The Kurds were the most notable omission. Why did they fail? It is natural that Kurds should blame the Great Powers and oppressive states in the region for this failure, and certainly all of them must carry some blame that the Kurdish question remains outstanding. But it is also true that at this vital juncture, when the opportunity for state creation existed, Kurdish society was wholly unready to seize it. It was rural, highly decentralized, largely tribal and without the urban intellectual leadership enjoyed by the Arabs and the Turks. The creation of a coherent and cohesive ethnic movement was to be the task of at least a generation.
Coherent national movements with reasonably welldefined objectives have emerged in Iran, Iraq and Turkey, but their progress has been slow and painful. Rivalry between one tribe and another, between left and right, between rural and urban Kurds, between Sunni and non-Sunni, between one party and another, and between one region and another, have all militated against a successful outcome to the Kurdish struggle. Moreover, governments and neighbouring states have been adept at coopting one element against another, thus retarding national formation.
The purpose of this report is to explore the issues that affect the identity and political progress of Kurds, and to trace their experience since the break-up of the Ottoman and Qajar empires, to look at their position in the countries in which they live, and to pinpoint some of the factors which currently motivate and impede Kurdish nationalism. Finally, a tentative attempt is made to look at the prospects for the Kurdish people...
The Kurdish question has become increasingly prominent in recent years. This marks a significant change since MRG began publishing on the Kurds in 1975. In Turkey and Iraq, which together account for 18 million out of an estimated 26 million Kurds today, the Kurdish issue has become central to the integrity of both states. Significant Kurdish populations are also found in Iran, Syria, the former Soviet Union and Europe. As this report details, nowhere are Kurdish human rights fully respected.
The Kurds are now at a critical juncture in their history. It is for this reason that MRG has commissioned this new edition. We hope that this report will be a clear source of information which will raise the profile of Kurdish issues and act as a resource for those organizations and institutions working on Kurdistan. The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in the Middle East and their treatment by the governments of the region defies internationally-agreed human rights standards. The report has been written by David McDowall, who is a well-known authority on the Kurds. His previous reports for MRG on the Kurds have been extensively used by national and international courts considering Kurdish human rights and individual cases.
As this new report makes clear, Turkey continues to flout international laws in its treatment of the Kurds yet is gaining increasing influence in the region with support from the United States (US) government. Having been granted membership of the European Union’s (EU) customs unon in January 1996, Turkey is seeking full membership of the EU despite its appalling human rights record. Between 2,500 and 3,000 villages have been destroyed in south-east Turkey since 1985 and an estimated 2 million people have had to flee their homes and settle in the shanty towns in Diyarbakir, Istanbul and the western coast.
Since 1992 when MRG last published on the Kurdish question, there has been a wealth of fresh information published on the Kurds which is included in this new edition. Increasingly, human rights organizations have been granted easier access to Kurdish regions since the establishment of the ‘safe haven’ for the Kurds in northern Iraq. Within the former Soviet Union, new material on the Kurds has also been forthcoming .
With a population of approximately 26 million, it might be argued that the Kurdish people have the right to selfdetermination in a state of their own. In theory such a right can hardly be denied. On a pragmatic level, however, it is highly unlikely that the United Nations (UN), or the states in which the Kurds live, would consider this option. They would argue that the potential for continuing instability would be considerable, both for geographic and political reasons...
Alan Phillips
Director
November 1996
THE KURDS
© Minority Rights Group 1996
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 1 897693 46 X
ISSN 0305 6252
First report published June 1975
Revised sixth edition published September 1991
This revised and updated seventh edition Published December 1996
Typeset by Texture
Printed in the UK on bleach-free paper by MFP Design and Print
Acknowledgements
Minority Rights Group gratefully acknowledges the support
of NOVIB and all the organizations and individuals who gave
financial and other assistance for this report.
MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP
Minority Rights Group works to secure rights and justice for ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. It is dedicated to the cause of cooperation and understanding between communities. Founded in the 1960s, MRG is a small international non-governmental organization that informs and warns governments, the international community, non-governmental organizations and the wider public about the situation of minorities around the world. This work is based on the publication of well-researched reports, books and papers; direct advocacy on behalf of minority rights in international fora; the development of a global network of like-minded organizations and minority communities to collaborate on these issues; and the challenging of prejudice and promotion of public understanding through information and education projects.
MRG believes that the best hope for a peaceful world lies in identifying and monitoring conflict between communities, advocating preventive measures to avoid the escalation of conflict and encouraging positive action to build trust between majority and minority communities. MRG has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and has a worldwide network of partners. Its international headquarters are in London. Legally it is registered both as a charity and as a limited company under the United Kingdom Law with an International Governing Council.
THE PROCESS
As part of its methodology, MRG conducts regional research, identifies issues and commissions reports based on its findings. Each author is carefully chosen and all scripts are read by no less than eight independent experts who are knowledgeable about the subject matter. These experts are drawn from the minorities about whom the reports are written, and from journalists, academics, researchers and other human rights agencies. Authors are asked to incorporate
comments made by these parties. In this way, MRG aims to publish accurate, authoritative, well-balanced reports.
David McDowall is a freelance writer and specialist on the Middle East. He is the author of MRG’s reports Lebanon: A Conflict of Minorities and The Palestinians; Palestine and Israel: The Uprising and Beyond, Tauris, 1989 and The Kurds: A Nation Denied, Minority Rights Publications, 1991.
