Kurdish Identity: Human Rights and Political Status Charles G. MacDonald, Carole A. O’Leary University Press of Florida
The Kurdish identity in what was once termed the “arc of crises" is a key piece of an ever-evolving puzzle of domestic stability, regional conflict, and global power projection. The Kurdish-populated lands of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and parts of Armenia and Azerbaijan are known historically as Greater Kurdistan. The Kurdish lands have been caught in the throes of conflict between empires, between states, and between ethnic groups for about five centuries, and today they remain at the nexus of conflict and political change. On the one hand, the world’s move toward democratization has made the Kurdish populations of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran important political players in states trying to address such issues as personal identity, minority rights, human rights, democracy, federalism, and civil society. On the other hand, the excesses ...
Contents
List of Tables / vii List of Acronyms / ix Preface / xi
Part I. Introduction 1. Kurdish Identity: An Introduction / 3 3 Charles G. MacDonald
Part II. Perspectives on the Kurdish Identity 2. Perspective of Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister, Kurdistan Regional Government / 15 3. Perspective of Michael Van Dusen, Deputy Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars / 21 4. Perspective of Shafiq Qazzaz, Minister of Humanitarian Assistance and Cooperation, Kurdistan Regional Government / 24 5. Perspective of Abdul Aziz Said, Director, Center for Global Peace, American University / 30
Part III. The State, Kurds, and the Pursuit of Democratic Values in Turkey 6. Ocalan’s Capture as a Catalyst for Democracy and Turkey’s Candidacy for Accession to the European Union / 35 Michael M. Gunter 7. Five Stages of the Construction of Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey / 56 M. Hakan Yavuz 8. Perspectives on Conflict Prevention and Reconciliation / 77 Gulistan Gurbey 9. Turkey-Iran Relations and the Kurdish Question, 1997-2000 / 87 Robert W. Olson
Part IV. Sanctions, Humanitarian Concerns, and the Emergence of Kurdish Democracy in Northern Iraq 10. The United States Policy and the Iraqi Kurds / 117 David L. Mack 11. The Iraqi State, the Opposition, and the Road to Reconciliation / 119 Hanna Y. Freij 12. Political Impact of Sanctions in Iraqi Kurdistan / 137 Rend Rahim Francke 13. Ethnic Cleansing in Iraqi Kurdistan / 145 Nouri Talabani 14. Iraqi Kurdistan: The Humanitarian Program / 149 Stafford Clarry 15. Ottoman Lessons for a Federal Iraq / 155 Ernest Tucker 16. Federalism as a Model for Democracy 161 Ali Babakhan 17. Communalism and the Future of Iraq 168 Carole A. O’Leary
Part V. Kurdish Nationalism, Human Rights, and Economic Change in an Islamic Iran 18. Kurdish Nationalism in Iran 181 Charles G. MacDonald 19. Competing National Identities: The Kurdish Conundrum in Iran 188 Nader Entessar 20. The Human Rights of Kurds in the Islamic Republic of Iran 201 Elahe Sharifpour Hicks and Neil Hicks 21. Economic Transition of Kurdish Nationalism in Iran 213 Farideh Koohi-Kamali
Part VI. Perceptions of the Kurds in the Global Arena 22. The Arab World and the Kurds / 231 Michael Collins Dunn 23. The European Perspective / 237 Kendal Nezan 24. An American Diplomat’s Perspective / 246 Francis J. Ricciardone
Part VII. Conclusion 25. The Kurdish Identity: Kurds in a Democratic Iraq and Beyond / 255 Carole A. O’Leary and Charles G. MacDonald
Appendix 1: A Draft Constitution for the Iraqi Kurdistan Region / 263 Nouri Talabani Appendix 2: Valuing the Identity of Others / 287 Abdul Aziz Said
Notes / 289
Bibliography / 315
Contributors / 325
Index / 329
Tables
21.1 Migration Preferences of Rural Kurds / 217 21.2 Percentages of Rural Kurdish Population in Migration / 218 21.3 Households with Property after Land Reform Program / 219 21.4 Percentage of Landownership by Peasant Families / 220 21.5 Household Size and Income / 221 21.6 Average Food Share of Provinces / 224 21.7 Illiteracy in the Urban Population / 226
PREFACE
This book seeks to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the significance of the concept of Kurdish identity as it exists in the Middle East and elsewhere. It is about how the Kurds see themselves and about how others see them. The Kurdish identity is also a function of how the Kurds interact. It goes beyond cultural awareness to human rights issues and political status. The Kurds are crucial to questions of peace and stability in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. They are at the nexus of such Middle East issues as genocide, ethnic and religious conflict, the war against terrorism, and the search for democracy. The book project grew out of an international conference on the Kurdish identity held in April 2000 at American University in Washington, D.C., and sponsored by American University’s Center for Global Peace in conjunction with the Mustafa Barzani Scholar of Global Kurdish Studies. This conference brought together statesmen, scholars, and international relations practitioners who have dealt with Kurdish issues. The book seeks to weigh and consider the Kurdish experience from multiple perspectives with a view to having the reader better understand the complex and dynamic nature of the Kurdish identity in its various national settings.
The book is aimed at government officials, scholars, students, and all those other individuals who would like to understand the nature of ethnic conflict and replace it with the building of civil society. A special thanks is due to Jane MacDonald for reading the various drafts of the book and for her gracious and helpful copyediting. The support of the American University’s Center for Global Studies and the Mustafa Barzani Scholar of Global Kurdish Studies has been invaluable. To the many Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Iranians, and others who have contributed to this project with their struggle for freedom, democracy, and human dignity, thank you.
Part I Introduction
1
Kurdish Identity
An Introduction
Charles G. Macdonald
The Kurdish identity in what was once termed the “arc of crises" is a key piece of an ever-evolving puzzle of domestic stability, regional conflict, and global power projection. The Kurdish-populated lands of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and parts of Armenia and Azerbaijan are known historically as Greater Kurdistan. The Kurdish lands have been caught in the throes of conflict between empires, between states, and between ethnic groups for about five centuries, and today they remain at the nexus of conflict and political change. On the one hand, the world’s move toward democratization has made the Kurdish populations of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran important political players in states trying to address such issues as personal identity, minority rights, human rights, democracy, federalism, and civil society. On the other hand, the excesses of ideological, religious, national, and ethnic passions in the Middle East have made the Kurds pawns on a chessboard of power politics and resource competition. They represent an ethnic irredenta who could threaten regional stability. The rise and fall of communism, the pursuit of oil and water as vital Middle East resources, and the expansion of political Islam have significantly impacted Kurdish areas and have frustrated the Kurdish pursuit of national selfdetermination as well as Middle Eastern moves toward democratization in general. It is within this complex mix of power and passion that the Kurdish identity became central to the changing and unsettled political landscape in the Middle East today.
The Kurdish identity warrants an objective scholarly investigation, not only as it impacts crucial political developments within states, but also as Kurds interact with regional and global players moving to reconstruct the political boundaries of the Middle East. This study, facing a timeless continuity of a dynamic mosaic of peoples and religions, seeks to understand the nature of the Kurdish identity amid the dramatic changes taking place in the Middle East. Principally conceived before the second Gulf war—before the removal of Saddam Hussein—it brings together the ideas of statesmen and scholars who explore the significance of the Kurdish identity in today’s troubled Middle East. …
Charles G. MacDonald Carole A. O’Leary
Kurdish Identity Human Rights and Political Status
University Press of Florida
University Press of Florida Kurdish Identity: Human Rights and Political Status Edited by Charles G. MacDonald and Carole A. O’Leary
Kurdish Identity
University Press of Florida Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft Myers Florida International University, Miami Florida State University, Tallahassee New College of Florida, Sarasota University of Central Florida, Orlando University of Florida, Gainesville University of North Florida, Jacksonville University of South Florida, Tampa University of West Florida, Pensacola
University Press of Florida Gainesville/Tallahassee/Tampa/Boca Raton/Pensacola Orlando/Miami/Jacksonville/Ft. Myers/Sarasota
Copyright 2007 by Charles G. MacDonald and Carole A. O’Leary Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper All rights reserved
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kurdish identity: human rights and political status / edited by Charles G. MacDonald and Carole A. O’Leary. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3084-5 (alk. paper) 1. Kurds—Ethnic identity. 2. Kurds—Politics and government. I. MacDonald, Charles G. II. O'Leary, Carole. DS59.K86K854342 2007 323.1191’597—dc22 2007013473
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
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