Kurdistan: A Lost Nation To Be Regained

Global Politics, Current Events |

By MAJOR TOM | October 28, 2007

As we speak, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has made pronouncement on how his country would take further actions into Iraq in the coming days as nearly 100,000 Turkish troops have already been deployed near the border it shares with Iraq---reinforced by attack helicopters and warplanes.

Just about a week after the Turkish parliament had authorized military incursion into northern Iraq, PM Erdogan has not been satisfied by merely bombarding Kurdish rebel positions from within its own field down south and now plans to actually march its troops into another country’s territory, breaking sovereignty in the process. Some 3,000 Kurdish militants are suspected to be holed-up in the northern Iraq and are mainly blamed for a spate of deadly attacks in several locations in Turkey; the most recent and bloodiest of which was the death of 13 Turkish soldiers in one of the southeast regions there.

Prime Minister Erdogan wants to crush the Kurdish insurrection once and for all and wants to decimate the entire PKK (or the Kurdish Workers’ Party) by intruding into Iraq and sending its troops across the border.

This is purported to be the military solution.

However, the Kurdish problem is far from just being a military-conflict problem; it is in fact a very circuitous political and social issue that had been contented to and rooted to through decades and even through the centuries---a problem more in-depth than what is viewed from initial observations. Therefore, the military solution being presented by Turkey would not be the mightiest solution after all and it could merely be futile and could prove to be too costly, searing up relations with the United States and provoking a nascent government in Iraq.

Turkey is not the only one trying to resolve Kurdish rebellion but also Iran, and most prominently Iraq, where Saddam Hussein was convicted and meted the death sentence through the charge (among others) of vicious persecution of the Kurds minority in the northern Iraq, highlighted by the incident of mustard gassing of an entire community of Kurds in 1988, where pictures of that harrowing episode had appeared so memorably in the pages of widely popular publications such as Time and Newsweek.

In 1982, the Kurds was granted a form of autonomy through the Kurdish Regional Government, in an agreement with the Iraqi government then. After the end First Gulf War in 1992, the United Nations had instituted a safe haven in the northern region in order to protect the Kurds from increasing persecution from Baghdad.

Despite that it is not considered as a state or sovereignty, the place called “Kurdistan” had been in known not only in most recent times but also in the past. Without a fixed territory to show, Kurdistan is theoretically seen as encompassing a contiguous land area that spans through southeastern part of Turkey, a northern portion of Iraq, and some areas in Iran and Syria (see the map images). Meaning to say, a certain unseen nation is hiding somewhere in this region (south of Turkey and north of Iraq) that time and history had forgotten. There is in fact a people so distinct and unique from the rest that is not having its own nation. The might of the Ottoman Empire in the past had ceded part of Kurdistan to Turkey. The British Mandates after World War I had encumbered the rest of it in favor of Iraq, Iran and Syria that now it had become a lost nation without it’s own territory. The Jews were more fortunate to have declared their own state and reclaimed Israel after the British Mandate had abandoned control on the old Palestine in favor of United Nations control. One could infer from this very unique situation (where the Kurds had been left out entirely) as a result of the haphazard partitions made by colonial powers (particularly Great Britain and France) after they had decided to let go of their full control over territories in the Middle East---partitioning and dividing without knowing fully the social and racial make-up of the population involved, leading to the disenfranchisement of the Kurdish people. In fact, Iraq is in such a situation now where it’s northern part and southern part is so distinct and separate from the Sunni controlled Baghdad in the middle; a nation mandated by powerful western forces while in reality, it is a cornucopia of different peoples. Many now in fact fears that in the event that the United States pull out of Iraq, a civil war might ensue among the Sunnis, the Shiites in the south and the Kurds up north.

Perhaps, the Kurdistan issue should be resolved now, in parallel to resolving the Iraqi problem. The Iraqi solution should be held in consonance with the Kurdistan solution. Otherwise, if the situation would be left as it is, Iraq would become or remain a state of at least two nations forced to bond together, when in fact, they could not and do not intend to. In this setup, a fragile bond holds and would always threaten to untie any time

Turkey may have to be involved in the compromise, upon realizing that holding a region populated by a different people may not in any manner inure to its best interest. Why would a nation like Turkey hold on to a nearly barren region with no Turkish identity to it whatsoever?

The answer lies in the rich oil fields located in the area populated by the Kurds. Most of Iraq’s oil revenues are coming from oil fields in Kirkuk and Mosul, two areas within the theoretical Kurdistan territory. Turkey had even pronounced in recent years about its sentiment on Kirkuk and Mosul, claiming them to be within Turkish territory historically, citing the Ottoman Empire’s grasp of Kurd’s areas in the past.

The Kurdistan issue had now complicated the Iraq Situation with this recent move by Turkey to traverse border in order to resolve Kurdish rebellion in the south.

That now, the Kurdistan issue had to be resolved together with the present U.S. campaign in Iraq. To be clear, I do not confrom to the violence exhibited by the Kurdish rebels against Turkey---it is not a solution by any means. Diplomacy and compromises should be the best (and only) means of all.

Otherwise, the problem would go on and on as long as the Kurds remain a distinct people without a nation.

17 Comments »

1. snglguy says; October 29, 2007 @ 9:24 am

   Looks like Turkey is flexing its military muscle in the region.

2. bw says; October 29, 2007 @ 12:39 pm

   It does puzzle me that Turkey would put such aggression on the Kurds so seem to be quietly settled in Northern Iraq while the Sunnis and Shites are hammering each other all over the place.

   I tend to go with the notion that the guerrilla type attacks by Kurdish rebels on Turkish settlements have irked the Turkish government so bad that they want to wage an all out war with the Kurds if they don't hand over the rebel leaders

3. Major Tom says; October 29, 2007 @ 3:08 pm

   To sngl: Knowing that the United States would not be so inclined to go against it, being host to substantial American military installations, Turkey indeed flexes it's military might, which is in my view a very powerful one.

4. Major Tom says; October 29, 2007 @ 3:13 pm

   To BW: It is mainly the cause BW, the recent spate of guerilla attacks on Turkey by suspected PKK rebels that has a stronghold on northern Iraq.

   This reminds me of the Israel actions into Gaza Strip and West Bank, in aim of eliminating constant attacks and bombardments into Israeli settlement.

5. Mon says; October 30, 2007 @ 9:51 am

   So ano yun, parang yung Muslim insurrection sa Mindanao?

6. Major Tom says; October 30, 2007 @ 12:29 pm

   To Mon: Buti naitanong mo yan Mon;medyo na pagkahawig nga. However, I see that the Kurds has a very clear long-standing distinct race, language, culture and even territory, where in the ancient past, they were known as the Kingdom of Gutium.

   In the case of the Mindanao insurrection, I think and believe that one major weakness of the movement was the lack of distinctiveness since despite teh differences in religion, the peoples there are similarly of the Malay race and the language are so well connected to the entire Philippine Archipelago. One could say that by the time that the Muslim uprising happened in 1972, there was already great assimilation into teh whole Philippine nation that distinctiveness had become the major weakness of the separatists movement.

   In the case of the Kurds, they remain so distinct and unique even in the way they look and does inhabit a semi-fixed territory, almost fixed pa nga. There is that legal definition of the state wherein it would suffice for a nation to stand as long as it has a fixed territory, a population enough to perpetuate themselves, and a civil government from which to control such territory.

7. ipanema says; October 30, 2007 @ 6:35 pm

   This incursion is one reason given by some why oil shoot to near $93.

   I doubt if this incursion will help them obtain their goal whatever it is. It will just be more bloodshed.

8. Major Tom says; October 30, 2007 @ 7:31 pm

   To ipanema: It's a coincidence that could not be disregarded in any sense; I should have thought about that but hadn't.

9. rhodora says; October 30, 2007 @ 7:46 pm

   I share the same observation with Ipanema. Every time there is unrest in that part of the globe - as sure as the sun setting in the west - oil price hike ensues.

10. Mon says; October 31, 2007 @ 2:22 pm

    hmhmmmm

11. Schumey says; October 31, 2007 @ 6:11 pm

    Will the US take this sitting down? Its another ethnic thing. Turkey should start respecting the Kurds instead of alienating them. This will only make things worse.

    So the crimes of Turkey's past has to be covered up. To divert the issue, go to war!

12. Major Tom says; October 31, 2007 @ 8:15 pm

    To Rhodora: Oil prices had reached an all-time level of 93 dollars, just as predicted---if the tensions remain high in the MidEast region, the whole scenario may become worse. I hope it won't.

13. Major Tom says; October 31, 2007 @ 8:19 pm

    To Mon: Ganun nga Mon, medyo itong mga Kurds ay mahina lang, di tulad ng mga Jews and Arabs--especially where Jordan had been secured as a nation-state following the dissolution of the British Mandate after WWII in favor of U.N. control and of course, Israel. Wala silnag boses noon kaya na disregard ang kanilang aspiration for a nation for Kurds.

14. Major Tom says; October 31, 2007 @ 8:23 pm

    To Schumey: Perhaps you have noticed this, the seeming double-standard being exhibited by U.S.. Apparently, Turkey is harboring a sizable American military installations there where most of them are in fact very relevant to the Iraq campaign, as launching pads for their warplanes, channel for supplies and so on and so forth. If they go against Turkey's action so abruptly, they might lose special considerations there.

15. annamanila says; November 2, 2007 @ 2:36 am

    Are the people of Kurdistan more or less in same boat as the Israelites?

16. Major Tom says; November 2, 2007 @ 9:08 pm

    To annamanila: They probably had the same sentiment anna except that now, the Isrealites had finally declared their own state, just after WWII. But the kurds---lacking in voice nad influence--had been virtually left out.

    In my own observation, as a people, the Kurds seem to be introspective and not as assertive, a silent people they seem to be, that this had became their own disadvantage.

17. intsik says; November 8, 2007 @ 9:03 pm

    naku ang turkey eh makikisama rin dito... ang middle east, nang dahil sa oil... hahay naku po... di naman sana primer ito ng mga malalaking wars...

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