The PYD says it is not seeking independence, but insists that any political settlement to end the conflict in Syria must include legal guarantees for Kurdish rights and recognition of Kurdish autonomy.
President Assad has vowed to retake "every inch" of Syrian territory, whether by negotiations or military force. His government has also rejected Kurdish demands for autonomy, saying that "nobody in Syria accepts talk about independent entities or federalism".
They have historically enjoyed more national rights than Kurds living in neighbouring states, but also faced brutal repression. But it was not until that he launched a full armed struggle. In the late s, the government began settling Arabs in areas with Kurdish majorities, particularly around the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, and forcibly relocating Kurds.
The policy was accelerated in the s during the Iran-Iraq War, in which the Kurds backed the Islamic republic. In , Saddam Hussein unleashed a campaign of vengeance on the Kurds that included the chemical attack on Halabja. Its violent suppression prompted the US and its allies to impose a no-fly zone in the north that allowed Kurds to enjoy self-rule. The parties co-operated with the US-led invasion in that toppled Saddam and governed in coalition in the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG , created two years later to administer Dohuk, Irbil and Sulaimaniya provinces.
Massoud Barzani was appointed the region's president, while Jalal Talabani became Iraq's first non-Arab head of state. In September , a referendum on independence was held in both the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas seized by the Peshmerga in , including Kirkuk.
The vote was opposed by the Iraqi central government, which insisted it was illegal. KRG officials said the result gave them a mandate to start negotiations with Baghdad, but then Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded that it be annulled. The following month Iraqi pro-government forces retook the disputed territory held by the Kurds. The loss of Kirkuk and its oil revenue was a major blow to Kurdish aspirations for their own state.
After his gamble backfired, Mr Barzani stepped down as the Kurdistan Region's president. But disagreements between the main parties meant the post remained vacant until June , when he was succeeded by his nephew Nechirvan.
Iraqi Kurdistan: State-in-the-making? Iraqi Kurdistan profile. Image source, AFP. Where do they come from? Why don't they have a state? Image source, Reuters. Despite their long history, the Kurds have never achieved a permanent nation state. Why were Kurds at the forefront of the fight against IS? Turkish military personnel did not intervene in the battle for Kobane.
Kurds accused Turkish authorities of complicity after a suicide bombing in Suruc. Why does Turkey see Kurds as a threat?
More than 40, people have been killed since the PKK launched an armed struggle in Since World War I, Kurds in Turkey have been the victims of persistent assaults on their ethnic, cultural, religious identity and economic and political status by successive Turkish governments. And while the Treaty of Sevres provided for an independent Kurdistan, it was never ratified.
In the treaty of Lausanne created the modern states of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, but Kurdistan was ignored. During Turkey's war for independence, Turkish leaders, promised Kurds a Turkish-Kurdish federated state in return for their assistance in the war. After independence was achieved, however, they ignored the bargain they had made.
Months after the declaration of a Turkish republic, Ankara, under the pretext of creating an "indivisible nation," adopted an ideology aimed at eliminating, both physically and culturally, non-Turkish elements within the Republic. These "elements" were primarily Kurdish and Armenian. A mandate forbade Kurdish schools, organizations and publications.
Even the words "Kurd" and "Kurdistan" were outlawed, making any written or spoken acknowledgement of their existence illegal. According to Association France-Kurdistan, between and , 1. In the Turkish Minister of Justice declared, I won't hide my feelings.
The Turk is the only lord, the only master of this country. Those who are not of pure Turkish origin will have only one right in Turkey: the right to be servants and slaves.
While Kurdish persecution became more selective during World War II, largely restricted to Kurdish intellectuals, the overall policy in Turkey has remained consistent. This stranglehold is reflected in Kurdish literature. In this century only about a dozen works have been produced in Kurdish. The authors have usually received prison sentences.
Evidence indicates that Kurdish provinces in Turkey are deliberately and consistently underdeveloped. From to , This represents 2. National per capita investment was lira in , but only provinces. Under Turkey's present military regime, Kurds are hard hit by the policies of a junta fearful of political opposition. Since the Eastern and Southeastern provinces have reportedly been subjected to at least five military maneuvers aimed at terrorizing Kurds.
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