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The Harvard Crimson
By: Mark A. Adomanis
KurdistanObserver.com Pity the Kurds
Oct 4, 2004
Largely ignored in the current coverage of the crisis in Iraq is the
continuing plight of the Kurdish people. The slaughter of Saddam's gas
attacks in the late 1980's stands out in the public consciousness, yet
few have a historical perspective broad enough to truly understand the
duration and severity of the oppression that has been foisted upon the
Kurds.
It's no exaggeration to say that the Kurds are victims of one of
history's greatest ongoing tragedies; they've been consistently
tortured, killed, oppressed and forcibly unsettled for well over a
century. And while there are certain similarities between the
mistreatments of the Kurds and the repression of other minorities-the
Armenians and the Jews come immediately to mind-the Kurds are unique
in that they have no state of their own. They were promised a state in
the Treaty of Sevres in the aftermath of the First World War, but
Kemal Ataturk's ascension to power in Turkey prevented this from
happening.
A sizeable presence in the Middle East, the Kurds number roughly 20
million and reside in a broad swathe from Southeastern Turkey, to
Northern Iraq and Western Iran. The largest concentration of Kurds in
the region-around 10 million- resides in Turkey and comprises upwards
of 20 percent of the country's population.
For being such a substantial minority in Turkey, the Kurds enjoy
little in the way of representation or freedom. The Turkish government
severely repressed Kurdish culture to such an extent that children
couldn't even be given Kurdish names until as little as a decade
ago. But because of its desire to join the European Union, the Turkish
government has begun publicly imploring the acceptance of the Kurds
residing within its borders. These efforts though, for the most part,
disguise the ongoing draconian regulation of the Kurds. Just this past
July, several Kurdish activists were charged by Turkish police for
speaking in their native tongue at a political rally. While the
trumped-up charges were later dropped because of massive international
outcry, the fact that they were levied at all demonstrates clearly
that Kurds still have a long road to full equality.
The terrible suffering of the Kurds continues apace in the cauldron of
postwar Iraq, as the recent massive car bombing in the unofficial
Kurdish capital of Kirkuk and the beheading of three Kurds by
insurgents have gruesomely illustrated. These two vile acts are merely
small additions to the long list of outrages suffered since the
removal of Saddam Hussein. Kurds stand out as targets not only because
of their ethnicity and language, but also because of their staunchly
pro-American actions. The Kurds are deeply grateful for America's
creation of the `no fly zone,' which enabled them to enjoy at least
some sense of autonomy after the First Gulf War ended. The Kurd's
famed peshmergamilitias played a significant part in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and continue to battle against the terrorists waging a
guerilla campaign.
While our policing of the no-fly zone allowed the creation of a
nominally independent Kurdish nation, we owe the Kurds a far greater
historical debt.This is primarily because they are one of the few
reliable allies we have in the region; the proto self-government
centered on Kirkuk has been resolutely and nearly unflinchingly
pro-American over the past decade. However, our reasons for further
helping the Kurds are not limited to their current assistance to our
cause. Twice in the past century the Kurdish people have responded to
the calls of American presidents to overthrow their oppressors, only
to rise up and be slaughtered by the thousands. While the Kurds heeded
Woodrow Wilson and George H.W. Bush, if the only outcome of following
American desires is mass slaughter they would be wary of aiding us in
the future; and the Kurds occupy too strategically important an area
to risk loosing as allies.
Virtually every other people that have suffered as greatly as the
Kurds have come out of the experience possessing a nation of their
own, but the Kurds remain stateless. No country that lies within the
traditional Kurdish homeland grants full freedom or protection-as of
today there is still no nation where the Kurds can truly be
Kurdish. If we can salvage little from our invasion of Iraq, a true
Kurdish homeland where the Kurds can live in peace and with dignity
should be at the top of the list.
Mark A. Adomanis '07, a Crimson editorial editor, is a government
concentrator living in Eliot House.
By: Mark A. Adomanis
KurdistanObserver.com Pity the Kurds
Oct 4, 2004
Largely ignored in the current coverage of the crisis in Iraq is the
continuing plight of the Kurdish people. The slaughter of Saddam's gas
attacks in the late 1980's stands out in the public consciousness, yet
few have a historical perspective broad enough to truly understand the
duration and severity of the oppression that has been foisted upon the
Kurds.
It's no exaggeration to say that the Kurds are victims of one of
history's greatest ongoing tragedies; they've been consistently
tortured, killed, oppressed and forcibly unsettled for well over a
century. And while there are certain similarities between the
mistreatments of the Kurds and the repression of other minorities-the
Armenians and the Jews come immediately to mind-the Kurds are unique
in that they have no state of their own. They were promised a state in
the Treaty of Sevres in the aftermath of the First World War, but
Kemal Ataturk's ascension to power in Turkey prevented this from
happening.
A sizeable presence in the Middle East, the Kurds number roughly 20
million and reside in a broad swathe from Southeastern Turkey, to
Northern Iraq and Western Iran. The largest concentration of Kurds in
the region-around 10 million- resides in Turkey and comprises upwards
of 20 percent of the country's population.
For being such a substantial minority in Turkey, the Kurds enjoy
little in the way of representation or freedom. The Turkish government
severely repressed Kurdish culture to such an extent that children
couldn't even be given Kurdish names until as little as a decade
ago. But because of its desire to join the European Union, the Turkish
government has begun publicly imploring the acceptance of the Kurds
residing within its borders. These efforts though, for the most part,
disguise the ongoing draconian regulation of the Kurds. Just this past
July, several Kurdish activists were charged by Turkish police for
speaking in their native tongue at a political rally. While the
trumped-up charges were later dropped because of massive international
outcry, the fact that they were levied at all demonstrates clearly
that Kurds still have a long road to full equality.
The terrible suffering of the Kurds continues apace in the cauldron of
postwar Iraq, as the recent massive car bombing in the unofficial
Kurdish capital of Kirkuk and the beheading of three Kurds by
insurgents have gruesomely illustrated. These two vile acts are merely
small additions to the long list of outrages suffered since the
removal of Saddam Hussein. Kurds stand out as targets not only because
of their ethnicity and language, but also because of their staunchly
pro-American actions. The Kurds are deeply grateful for America's
creation of the `no fly zone,' which enabled them to enjoy at least
some sense of autonomy after the First Gulf War ended. The Kurd's
famed peshmergamilitias played a significant part in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and continue to battle against the terrorists waging a
guerilla campaign.
While our policing of the no-fly zone allowed the creation of a
nominally independent Kurdish nation, we owe the Kurds a far greater
historical debt.This is primarily because they are one of the few
reliable allies we have in the region; the proto self-government
centered on Kirkuk has been resolutely and nearly unflinchingly
pro-American over the past decade. However, our reasons for further
helping the Kurds are not limited to their current assistance to our
cause. Twice in the past century the Kurdish people have responded to
the calls of American presidents to overthrow their oppressors, only
to rise up and be slaughtered by the thousands. While the Kurds heeded
Woodrow Wilson and George H.W. Bush, if the only outcome of following
American desires is mass slaughter they would be wary of aiding us in
the future; and the Kurds occupy too strategically important an area
to risk loosing as allies.
Virtually every other people that have suffered as greatly as the
Kurds have come out of the experience possessing a nation of their
own, but the Kurds remain stateless. No country that lies within the
traditional Kurdish homeland grants full freedom or protection-as of
today there is still no nation where the Kurds can truly be
Kurdish. If we can salvage little from our invasion of Iraq, a true
Kurdish homeland where the Kurds can live in peace and with dignity
should be at the top of the list.
Mark A. Adomanis '07, a Crimson editorial editor, is a government
concentrator living in Eliot House.