Those dreams now appear shattered after iraqi troops rolled. In syria, the government has sought to arabize some of the. Krg kurdistan regional government iraq governmental body of the autonomous region of iraqi kurdistan, established in 1992. They cite as a prime example the closing last year of akri aqra prison, an unacknowledged detention center operated by krg security forces, which reporters had. It provides a brief exploration of the pasts effect on the present, and of how both the kurds and the international community may avoid repeating previous mistakes, laying the foundations for an internationally recognised autonomous. The kurdish areas of syria are fragmented into three principal parts, which form territorial outgrowths of the larger kurdish territory in the neighbouring countries. Kurds are the second largest ethnic group in iraq and turkey and the third largest group after the azeris in iran. The kurds in a volatile middle east beginsadat center. Iran has also seen several kurdish revolts 1946, 1979. More than twenty years after kurdish forces captured mass quantities of iraqi secret police files chronicling the anfal genocide and other events in their march 1991 uprising, a digital copy of these documents has been repatriated to iraqi kurdistan. Kurds live in a mountainous area of eastern turkey, northern iraq, northwestern iran, and small parts of northern syria and armenia.
The united states has repeatedly come to the aid of iraqi kurds at critical times. General elections in the kurdish region in may 1992 saw barzanis kdp and jalal talabanis puk win an almostequal share of the kurdish vote,3 with no other parties winning seats. Israel and iraqi kurds in a transforming middle east 22804331 9788893680141 israel and iraqi kurds in a transforming middle east by aldo liga introduction the regional transformations resulting from the outbreak of the arab upheaval, the onslaught of the islamic state of iraq and alsham isis, and the coming apart. Israel and iraqi kurds in a transforming middle east 22804331 9788893680141 after world war i and the dissolution of the ottoman empire, the united kingdom obtained a mandate from the league of nations over palestine, and the role of guarantor of kurdish peoples freedom. Comprising some thirty to forty million people, the kurds constitute the fourth largest ethnicity in western asia. The peshmerga forces of iraqi kurdistan are a complex and. Turkeys future role in the middle east 23 conference participants 27 about the author 28 about the institute 29. The remaining 10% consist of turkoman, assyrian, yazidi, and other minorities. Since 2014, is controls a large portion of land between syria and iraq, including the capital of the selfproclaimed caliphate, raqqa syria, and the city of mosul in iraq. Finally, the report provides a brief insight into the situation of syrian kurds in the kurdistan region of iraq, which is attached in annex 5 of the report. The deadly clashes pitted two crucial american allies against each other, with government forces seizing kirkuk from kurds who had intended to build a separate nation in the northern third of iraq. Major kurdish political parties and organizations in turkey, syria, iraq and iran are covered by dr. Turkeys future political stability, iraqs unity, and u. Krg is also likely to face opposition from the peshmergas rankandfile, whose.
Barzanis longtime rival and current ally, jalal talabani, the leader of the patriotic union of kurdistan puk, was elected in 2005 as iraqs first postwar president. Is islamic state jihadist group led by abu bakr albaghdadi. The kurds have long struggled to control their own destiny. Human rights issues concerning kurds in syria report from a joint fact finding mission by the danish immigration service dis and accordaustrian red cross to damascus, syria, beirut, lebanon, and erbil and dohuk, kurdistan region of iraq kri 21 january to 8 february 2010 may 2010. Only after the second gulf war 2003 have the kurds received some autonomy in iraq. About half the kurds 8 12 million live in turkey, where they make up more than 20% of the turkish population. The kurds as parties to and victims of conflicts in iraq.
Includes bibliographical references and index the kurdish question. Ed 404 433 author robson, barbara title fact sheet series no. Kurds independence dreams shattered by iraqi tanks in. Kurdistan which is not a recognized country but divided amount the countries listed above is an area of 230,000 square miles, an area about as big as texas. The kurds will be an invaluable source of reference for students and specialists in middle east studies, and those. Many of these areas are ethnically mixed, and reliable data are hard to obtain. Kurds are estimated to be about 95 percent muslim, especially sunni muslim 75% and belong to the shafi and hanafi schools of islam. Turkeykurdish regional government relations after the u. The kurds of syria have historically lived in the northern part of the country along the borders with turkey and iraq. The future of the iraqi kurds david pollock press exposure, these and other journalists maintain, has in a few instances resulted in positive change. Kurds were persecuted by saddam husseins regime in iraq and are just beginning to. This report documents the situation of stateless syrianborn kurds. There are also small populations of kurds in armenia, georgia, azerbaijan, turkmenistan, and.
Eastern states, mainly turkey, iran, iraq and syria. Restitution of the iraq secret police files from saddam. This backgrounder examines the pyd within the context of regional kurdish politics in order to forecast their likely course as the syrian civil war unfolds. Turkeys future role in the middle east 23 conference participants 27 about the author 28 about the institute 29 contents. Since then, the kurds have suffered persecution and oppression in the countries where they reside. There are also shia muslims 20% who primarily live in the kermanshah and ilam provinces of iran and central iraq alfayliah kurds. Kreyenbroek humanitarian legal order and the kurdish question jane connors political aspects of the kurdish problem in contemporary turkey hamit. Mohammad reza pahlavi, shah of iran, 19191980 created date. Walter posch, senior researcher at the national defense academy of the austrian ministry of defense, as well as walter fend, sabina catar, sebastian bauer and simone langanger, country analysts at the. Kurds form almost 20% of the population of turkey and iraq. They are the largest ethnic group in the world without a country of their own.
Amidst the chaos of the syrian civil war and the iraqi crisis, the avowedly secular, democratic, and. Now with their return to the kurds in iraq, these important original sources would be critically important in informing the kurdish people of their history under the saddam hussein regime. She graduated in cultural anthropology and ottoman history and has done extensive research in the kurdish region. The kurds in postsaddam iraq kenneth katzman specialist in middle eastern affairs october 1, 2010 congressional research service 75700. Turkeys role in the middle east united states institute of. Iran increases clandestine support of kurds in iraq developments in laos, october 7, 1963 author. The kurds in a volatile middle east ofra bengio executive summary this study examines the role of the kurds in a rapidly changing middle east. The highstakes hydrocarbons gambit crisis group middle east report n120, 19 april 2012 page ii over 40 contracts with foreign oil companies without baghdads input or approval, they lack the means to export their oil without baghdads help and therefore its permission. The kurds as parties to and victims of conflicts in iraq icrc. The first chapter will discuss the iraqi kurds, centred on the referendum as well as its bitter aftermath.
The kurds joined the fight against isis and became an essential partner in the u. Turkeys role in the middle east united states institute. This backgrounder examines the pyd within the context of regional kurdish politics in order to. Summary v preface viii 1 introduction 1 2 background 2 3 historical and geostrategic context 5 4 turkey, the kurds, and relations with iraq 8 5 turkey and iran 12 6 turkey, syria, and the water crisis 16 7 turkey and the middle east peace process 20 8 conclusion. When the ottoman empire was carved into its successor states, ethnic kurds were deeply disappointed. Many kurds hope to have a nation of their own some day. But a later agreement instead divided them among turkey, iraq, syria and iran. Their growing regional weight, as well as direct us and german military support have. In syria, the government has sought to arabize some of the kurds similar to the turkification efforts in turkey. Alevi shia muslims make up another 10% and are mainly found in turkey. Much of the geographical and cultural region of iraqi kurdistan is governed by the. Many kurds live in an area of northern iraq called kurdistan not a separate country. The kurdish question has dogged iraq and its neighbors since they were created at the end of the first world war.
Brief political history of the kurdish region of iraq. While in the twentieth century, they were generally portrayed as a troublesome and victimized minority, by the turn of the twentyfirst they had assumed the role of a national movement with a political. When the ottoman empire fell, kurds were not given their own state. Today, there are about 30 million kurds living across the region, with about half of them in turkey. Israel and iraqi kurds in a transforming middle east. He is the founder and director of the damascus center for human rights studies and has published widely on human rights and democratization in syria and the region. The kurds will be an invaluable source of reference for students and specialists in. Cooperating with iran, iraq and syria, the turkish state did whatever it could to ensure that the kurds of syria and iraq were not given any cultural and political rights and did not have any contact with the kurds of turkey. Factbook, the kurds have often resided along the margins of history. Since the fall of saddam hussein in 2003, the kurds have enjoyed a broad autonomy.
Oct 14, 2019 but a later agreement instead divided them among turkey, iraq, syria and iran. Following the 1991 mass uprising in iraq, the government forcibly expelled over 120,000 kurds, turkomans, and assyrians from their homes in the oilrich region of kirkuk and neighboring towns and. Kurds in iraq and syria as isis has declined since the recapture of mosul, as well as to hypothesise what lies ahead for the iraqi and syrian kurds. A month ago, iraqs kurds raised their hopes for independence after voting overwhelmingly to break away from iraq in a referendum. Divided between turkey, iran, iraq, and syria, kurdistan is located in. Israel and iraqi kurds in a transforming middle east 22804331 9788893680141 israel and iraqi kurds in a transforming middle east by aldo liga introduction the regional transformations resulting from the outbreak of the arab upheaval, the onslaught of the islamic state.
There are approximately 7 million in iran 10% of irans population, and 4 5 million in iraq 23% of iraqs population. However, because of a series of wars in the 20th and 21st centuries, the economy has been severely damaged. Ever since iraqi independence in 1932, kurds have demanded some form of autonomy in the north of iraq. The kurds now constitute the largest national group in the world without a state to call their own. A further 650,000 kurds are yezidis a synthesised religion who mainly reside west of mosul. Its contributors cover social and political issues, legal questions, religion, language, and the modern history of the kurds in turkey, iraq, iran, syria and the soviet union. Number 33 july 2014 a kurdish peshmerga soldier holds a kurdistan flag during a deployment in the. For kurds in iraq and syria, however, the picture looks different, as both groups independently from one another have been able to gain signi cant rights of autonomy. Kurds have under the federal system and their level of participation in decisionmaking in the centre are unprecedented in the modern history of iraq. If ignored or badly handled, kurdish aspirations have the potential to cause considerable instability and violence at a particularly delicate time for the region. The second chapter will detail the syrian kurds major successes, as well as the political. The kurdish areas of syria are fragmented into three principal parts, which form territorial outgrowths of.
It is currently ruled by a coalition comprising the two historic iraqi kurdish political parties, the kdp and the puk. For the united states, the kurdish issue touches on many vital concerns the future of iraq and the ability of u. The kurdish people within syria are not highly organization because of the mountainous region they live in and because kurdish political parties are banned in syria. The kurdish question association of the united states army. Ed 404 433 author robson, barbara title fact sheet series. The kurds are the largest ethnic minority in iraq, comprising between 15% and 20% of the countrys population according to the cia world factbook the kurdish people within iraq have grappled with various political statuses over their history. President woodrow wilson encouraged the kurds to seek self rule, but this did not happen. Following the military transport of the documents to the u. Kurd revolts in turkey in the 1920s and 1930s resulted in a mass genocide.
The trio of assimilation, repression, and containment. Who are the kurds, and why is turkey attacking them. In 197576, about 2,000 kurdish refugees from iraq were. As the kurds captured isisheld territory, suffering enormous casualties, they incorporated the area into their selfrule. The kurds as parties to and victims of conflicts in iraq inga rogg and hans rimscha inga rogg is iraq correspondent for the neue zu. Like kurds in iraq and turkey, there is also some support for an autonomous region polgr06 3. However, in the pre2003 iraq, the political situation and the politicians attitudes about ethnic autonomy arrangements was fundamentally negative. The region has seen heavy migration and multiple government e. Kurds are the largest nonarab ethnic minority in syria, comprising about 8. Iraqi kurds and iraqs future 1 based militias, which may eventually even though their interests may well align 1 function as a national guard, distinct from with the kurds in the strategic sense of i the iraqi military forces and police.
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