The Kurdish people have the right to self-determination. Why the world hasn’t recognised this right is beyond comprehension especially when they are so quick to acknowledge the rights of an ex-nihilo people who have no historical ties to the land, no national language, culture or identity (i.e. the ‘Palestinian’ people). The time has come to start working towards the re-establishment of the Kurdish State – the 194th country to be represented at the UN.
Kurdistan, composed by several Emirates, was first divided in the 16th century (in 1555 exactly) when the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires divided it between themselves. Then it was divided again by the Allies, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, to create a smaller Kurdistan. And finally, the idea of a smaller Kurdistan was obliterated by the Allies and the modern state of Turkey in 1923. Since then, no one – absolutely no one – has done anything to repair this territorial and historical injustice and, thus, condemned a whole People to submission, while the whole international community contrived a New People for whose rights it would fight for 54 years.
The Treaties that Betrayed the Kurdish People
So, the world is very good at drawing treaties; as they always fall for that diplomatic entrapment of “a bad deal is better than no deal”. A bad deal, usually signed to appease one party, is always a bad one and it should never be reached because it always bears devastating consequences as history has shown us time and time again (e.g. the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Munich Agreement, the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, the Oslo Accords, the Iranian Deal etc).
The Treaty of Zuhab
It was signed on the 17th of May 1639 to cement the accord first signed in 1555. The Ottoman empire and the Safavid empire signed this agreement in order to put an end to a 150 year old conflict between them; and therefore, Kurdistan was divided between the two kingdoms – this agreement laid the foundations for future fracture of Kurdistan.
The Treaty of Sèvres
It was signed on the 10th of August 1920. This treaty was intended to dismember the Ottoman empire and the division of the spoils among the allied forces (British Empire, France, the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Greece, the Empire of Japan and others). This accord foresaw the creation of a small Kurdish State (on what is today the Turkish-Kurdistan), however, the Kurdish people couldn’t reach an agreement regarding the future borders of their state (that excluded the Syrian, Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan) and therefore while the lack of Kurdish Unity proceeded the Treaty of Sèvres was dropped and nothing was done.
The Kurds didn’t learn from History: Et Pluribus Unum is a very powerful statement. Whenever the People of Israel stood divided other Peoples conquered and subjugated them; when they stood United, they were invincible and even managed to get their State in 1948.
The Treaty of Lausanne
It was signed on the 24th of July 1923 to finally reach peace after the Sèvres agreement failed. This treaty established the modern State of Turkey, meaning that the territory that was supposed to be allotted to Kurdistan was absorbed into the new Turkish state. The remaining Kurdish territories were granted to the French and British Mandates. And this marked the beginning of the Kurdish 100 year old struggle for self-determination.
The New Battle for Independence
It has been reported that, in 2010, The American National Intelligence Council wrote a report in which they predicted the establishment of a Kurdish State by 2030 if Iraq and Syria would suffer a severe fragmentation. Apparently, they were right when we think that the Iraqi Kurdistan enjoys great autonomy and the Syrian Kurdistan is on its way to enjoy the same after it reached an agreement with Al-Assad to fight ISIS (though now we don’t know how that will play out when Assad is deeper under the Iranian thumb, that has no interest in giving up its Kurdish territory).
If Kurdistan is to be an independent state by 2030, then Turkey must be included in the plans. Turkey must also suffer a severe fragmentation, and having Erdogan in power makes it the perfect moment to begin bringing that plan about. The US National Intelligence Council also predicted Turkey would have a major influence in Global Affairs: they were right again. Indeed, Turkey is par tout (as the French say) meaning they are biting more than they can chew and that creates the perfect opportunity to strike one of their most vulnerable flanks.
The time has come to do justice. The Kurdish people, who have a distinctive language, culture and identity, deserve to have their country back. Will it cause turmoil in the region? Of course, that comes with the territory (literally) but the turmoil can occur in different and smarter ways. We help.
(Image: The Greater Kurdistan - Google Images)
