A Cry to the world: People of the world, have your say; what the Kurdish nation can do?

Kurdistan is a vast land with a big nation without state and with longest fighting between 5 countries; Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Armenia. This land was historically and gradually divided between these countries without regarding the opinion of its origin landlord; Kurds.

Division of Kurdistan included 3 stages. The first stage was due to wars between two empires Iran and Ottoman, Kurdistan during the Chaldoran war (1514) and other war (1555) was divided between these two powers. During the second stage, with the joining of some territories to Russia, the small part of this land, also, joined to Russia that happens to be a part of Armenia today.[1] At the third stage, after war I and with terminating the ‘sever’ contract (10 august 1920) by ‘Lausanne’ contract (24 July 1923) between the international power for support the Turkey in which Kurd’s rights to form state had been identified, the part of Kurdistan under Ottoman divided between three new countries; Turkey, Iraq and Syria. But Kurds in Armenia and Iraq after long fighting and with the help of interference of international powers after Saddam they gained some rights in Iraq, while in the other countries they did not have any rights.

Apart from the government of Median (about 711-550 BC) in ancient Kurdistan and also some governments in Islamic age and Iran by the Kurdish leaders such as Salah Al Din Ayubi in Egypt and Karim Khan Zand in Iran, during history include Islamic empire, Ottoman and Iran till about the beginning of last century Kurds had some regional government on his land ‘Kurdistan’. But with the modern form of state in these countries, the central governments tried to destroy these regional and local governments by force. And also with misunderstanding of modern state, they tried to assimilate other nations but dominant nation; Persian (Fars) in Iran, Turkish in turkey, Arab in Iraq and Syria.

In this last century Kurds had several national movements to freedom of their homeland, but they were suppressed by the central governments. In Turkey and Iraq there were some movements in the first half of 20th century. There were some movements in north of Kurdistan in Turkey such as movement of Shekh Saeed Piran that suppressed in 1925 and after that the movements of Dersim (the movements of Shekh Raza) and Ararat between 1925-1937. In south of Kurdistan, In Iraq during the third stage of Kurdistan division in the first decades of this century was the independent government of Shekh Mahmood who was called ‘king of kurdistan’ and had long fighting in Kurdistan, it collapsed due to Britain’s attack to Kurdistan in support of the Iraqi government and Kurdistan occupied again. After world war II, in 1945 they formed the first democratic republic in Middle East  known as the‘republic of Kurdistan’ in the east of Kurdistan in Iran and Mahabad was the capital city. They had independent government for about 11 months, but Iranian government occupied Kurdistan again. Kurdish movement in Iraq, once again, gained the autonomy in 1970 .But, the Iraqi government after the Algiers Agreement (1975) between Iran and Iraq with support United States of America, attacked Kurdistan and occupied it once again. After Iranian revolution of nations in 1979, Kurds had a vast movement but the central government did not accept democracy and the Kurds’ wills, so in the name of religion it attacked Kurdistan and drove out all of Kurdish political parties.

Till now, in all parts of Kurdistan, we have seen the endeavor of this nation for gaining fundamental rights. Kurdish movement has been continuing. There are fighting in Kurdistan with central governments for freedom of a nation. And they have slaughtered and committed genocide killings of various kinds; physical and non-physical. But why? And what is the solution? Killing or accepting democracy in which the people of Kurdistan decide about their fate! If equality is defined as an important aspect of democracy and if like other nations and all the people in the worlds, Kurds can enjoy their human rights, why others (elites of other nation in central governments) should decide instead of them?! And how these Elites, most of whom have democratic claims, allow themselves to decide instead of them!

While it is seen that there are some countries with less of 1 million populations, this is very strange that a nation with about 40 millions population in Middle East don’t have any rights! And for more than a century they are fighting for their rights. While most of Kurdish people are Muslim, but they are oppressed by their Muslim brothers. That Muslim who have claim to equality for all Muslim, they don’t accept the same rights to Kurds. For instance, the Arab people, they have several countries which some of them have less than 1 million population, but don’t accept Kurdish people in south of Kurdistan (in Iraq) have a country, even regional government! And in other Islamic countries also, this problem is much worse as they have no primary rights. Palestinians with very less population than Kurdish people, they have all rights in their region and they are Arab who has several countries, despite all the Islamic country and most of other countries support them. Why do they have many friends but for Kurdistan there is no friends! Is Humanity important in some lands or just for some people?

In Quran, it is insisted that Allah create all the beings in varieties, but the government in Islamic countries, in contrary, wants the same people, just the dominant nation! They claim that they follow Ali who told ‘whatever you want for yourself, want it for others’ but in this Islamic countries, they want every rights especially political rights for themselves (the dominant nation in this multi-national countries), but they don’t want these rights for Kurdish people. Yes in Kurdish words, we see ‘a roof with two airs’!

Kurds is one of the largest nations without state in world. They don’t have their rights such as what we call human rights, and they want them. On the other hand, they have been faced to some nondemocratic and unitary government in these countries that surround the Kurdistan. And there is no any space to civil and peaceful activities. They don’t accept the Kurdish nation has a government and country for themselves. And they don’t regard their rights in these countries too. This nation has over a century fighting for gaining their rights, and they are killed and assassinated by them. Kurds want peace and they want war and assimilation. Kurds want talks and negotiations, but they killed their leaders behind negotiation desk such as assassination of Semko, Ghazi Mohammad, Ghasemlo, Sharafkandi….

Kurds try all the way, but their enemies know just one way; war to elimination of this nation! Hence, what should this nation do? Fighting by war, political fighting, negotiation, civil activities…? Which one actually? Kurds tried all of these ways but they didn’t get any other responses but of the war, killing, oppression and exploitation. Although, they have continued their permissive and legitimate fighting to survival. So, people of the world, can you please suggest; what this nation can do?

[1] It is needed to be mentioned, also, that during Lenin age representatives of Kurds gained some successes and Soviet promised them to form autonomy government as one of the nations in that country under name of ‘Red Kurdistan’ (1923-1930) that was between Armenia and Azerbaijan with capital city ‘Lachin’ in that time. But after Lenin this design was faced to the problems and was dissolved.