Tweet
LAND MATTERS: EMERGENCE OF KURDISTAN LIKELY TO HAVE BEARINGS ON HISTORICAL ARMENIAN TERRITORIES
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/44587/western_armenia_kurdistan_turkey_genocide
ANALYSIS | 20.03.13 | 15:20
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The establishment of an independent Kurdish state, or perhaps an
ethnic supranational entity, is apparently becoming a reality.
Notably, this entity is likely to be established also on some of
the historical Armenian lands in what is known as Western Armenia
(part of modern-day Turkey) today. In that case, the descendants of
Armenians massacred and dispossessed during the years of the genocide
back in 1915 may face another fact by 2015 - their historical homeland
will be officially proclaimed Kurdistan.
After the establishment of Iraqi Kurdistan, which has gained nearly a
state status, Kurdish movements are also expected to prevail in Syria
and Turkey. A few days ago United States Secretary of State John Kerry
spoke to the president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) in Iraq, Massoud Barzani, about the ongoing crisis.
At the same time, the national coalition of opposition and
revolutionary forces of Syria elected ethnic Kurd Ghassan Hitto head
of the provisional government in the territory of the country which
is now controlled by the opposition, reports Anadolu news agency.
Hitto is the second Kurdish oppositionist after the head of the Syrian
National Council Abdulbasid Seid to have taken a top position in the
ranks of the Syrian opposition. And if the fight against the Assad
regime in Syria ends in favor of the opposition, the Kurds may insist
on a division of the state or at least a confederation.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, the government is trying to reroute a growing
Kurdish movement into the channel of so-called 'constructivism'. Kurds
are building up resistance, and statements are already being made
about a confederation and changes in the Turkish Constitution,
repealing Article 66, which says that all citizens of Turkey are Turks.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apparently worried over
such developments, has established ties with leader of the Kurdish
national liberation movement Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a
life sentence in a Turkish jail. Mixed reports have been made about
agreements reached between the two parties. While Turkish media say
Ocalan has urged his supporters to leave the territory of Turkey and
go to Iraq or Syria, the Kurds deny the existence of any agreements.
The Kurds themselves are demanding the release of arrested compatriots,
including Ocalan. A Kurdistan Workers Party leader has called for a
push for Ocalan's release during the current celebration of Nowruz
(Persian New Year), as well as a campaign for a constitutional status
for Kurds in Turkey.
(There is a small Kurdish community in Armenia that also regularly
stages peaceful protests in Yerevan against oppression of ethnic kin
in Turkey or elsewhere in the Middle East).
Still a few years ago several American think tanks published a
map, according to which an independent state of Kurdistan will be
established on parts of the territories that belong to modern Iraq,
Syria and Turkey. Remarkably, in accordance with the same map a
part of Western Armenia is joined to the Republic of Armenia. And
now there is some expert opinion that soon the heirs of the victims
of the Armenian Genocide will have to negotiate on restitution and
financial compensation for the genocide and demarcation of the border
not with Turks, but rather with Kurds.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/44587/western_armenia_kurdistan_turkey_genocide
ANALYSIS | 20.03.13 | 15:20
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The establishment of an independent Kurdish state, or perhaps an
ethnic supranational entity, is apparently becoming a reality.
Notably, this entity is likely to be established also on some of
the historical Armenian lands in what is known as Western Armenia
(part of modern-day Turkey) today. In that case, the descendants of
Armenians massacred and dispossessed during the years of the genocide
back in 1915 may face another fact by 2015 - their historical homeland
will be officially proclaimed Kurdistan.
After the establishment of Iraqi Kurdistan, which has gained nearly a
state status, Kurdish movements are also expected to prevail in Syria
and Turkey. A few days ago United States Secretary of State John Kerry
spoke to the president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) in Iraq, Massoud Barzani, about the ongoing crisis.
At the same time, the national coalition of opposition and
revolutionary forces of Syria elected ethnic Kurd Ghassan Hitto head
of the provisional government in the territory of the country which
is now controlled by the opposition, reports Anadolu news agency.
Hitto is the second Kurdish oppositionist after the head of the Syrian
National Council Abdulbasid Seid to have taken a top position in the
ranks of the Syrian opposition. And if the fight against the Assad
regime in Syria ends in favor of the opposition, the Kurds may insist
on a division of the state or at least a confederation.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, the government is trying to reroute a growing
Kurdish movement into the channel of so-called 'constructivism'. Kurds
are building up resistance, and statements are already being made
about a confederation and changes in the Turkish Constitution,
repealing Article 66, which says that all citizens of Turkey are Turks.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apparently worried over
such developments, has established ties with leader of the Kurdish
national liberation movement Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a
life sentence in a Turkish jail. Mixed reports have been made about
agreements reached between the two parties. While Turkish media say
Ocalan has urged his supporters to leave the territory of Turkey and
go to Iraq or Syria, the Kurds deny the existence of any agreements.
The Kurds themselves are demanding the release of arrested compatriots,
including Ocalan. A Kurdistan Workers Party leader has called for a
push for Ocalan's release during the current celebration of Nowruz
(Persian New Year), as well as a campaign for a constitutional status
for Kurds in Turkey.
(There is a small Kurdish community in Armenia that also regularly
stages peaceful protests in Yerevan against oppression of ethnic kin
in Turkey or elsewhere in the Middle East).
Still a few years ago several American think tanks published a
map, according to which an independent state of Kurdistan will be
established on parts of the territories that belong to modern Iraq,
Syria and Turkey. Remarkably, in accordance with the same map a
part of Western Armenia is joined to the Republic of Armenia. And
now there is some expert opinion that soon the heirs of the victims
of the Armenian Genocide will have to negotiate on restitution and
financial compensation for the genocide and demarcation of the border
not with Turks, but rather with Kurds.