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The Kurdish people are a population of Indo-Iranian origin inhabiting a mountainous area of Southwest Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Turkey, and Iran as well as smaller sections of Syria, Armenia and lebanon. Kurds speak Kurdish, an Indo-Iranian language. They are, together with the people of Western and northwestern Iran, widely thought to be descended from the Medes. The ancient Greek historian Xenophon referred to the Kurds in the Anabasis as "Khardukhi" a fierce and protective mountain dwelling people who attacked his armies in 400 BC. Although many Kurds live in modern-day Middle-Eastern countries, it is worthy to note that they differ in ethnicity from Arabs, Assyrians, and Armenians.

Ranging anywhere from 20-40 million people, the Kurds comprise the world's largest stateless ethnic group. For over a century, many Kurds have campaigned and fought for the right to self-determination in an autonomous homeland known as "Kurdistan". The governments of those countries with sizable Kurdish populations are actively opposed to the possibility of a Kurdish state, believing such a development would require them to give up parts of their own national territories.

Demographics

The exact number of Kurdish people living in the Middle East, is unknown due to both an absence of a recent census on this issue and the reluctance of the various governments in Kurdish inhabited regions to give accurate figures. The fact that some Kurds have mixed with other local ethnic groups, has also contributed to the uncertainty.

If accurate, comprising between 25 and 27 million people, the Kurds are, as Carole A. O’Leary a professor at the American University commented, the largest ethnic group without a state in the world.

Religion

Kurds are estimated to be about 95 percent Muslim. the obvious majority of kurds are Sunni Muslim (75%) Most which belong to the Shafi and Hanafi Schools of Islam. Sunni kurds dominate all parts of kurdistan. About 20 percent of kurds are Shyias which belong to the common twelver sect. Most of these Shyia kurds live in Central Iraq, and are called "Al-Fayliah" kurds. There is also a signifcant amount of Shyia kurds in Northwest Iran.

Language

The Kurdish languages belong to the northwestern group of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. Even though kurdish is a Iranian language, Kurds have been greatly influenced by languages around them, mostly Arabic. You will find this common all over Kurdistan.

The Kurdish languages form a dialect continuum, with comprehensibility diminishing as the distance from one's native dialect increases. The principal Kurdish languages are:

• Northern Kurdish or Bahdinan
• Central Kurdish or Sorani
• The Southern Kurdish dialects
• Hewrami or Auramani
• Laki

Kurdish people in the past and today

In Iraq

Under the former Iraqi Ba'athist regime, which ruled Iraq from 1968 until 2003, Kurds were initially granted limited autonomy (1970), and after the Barzani revolt in 1961, given some high-level political representation in Baghdad. However, for various reasons, including the pro-Iranian sympathies of some Kurds during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the regime implemented anti-Kurdish policies and de facto civil war broke out. Iraq was widely condemned by the international community but never seriously punished for oppressive measures including the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, which resulted in thousands of deaths. (See Halabja poison gas attack.)

During the 1990s Kurdish regions had de facto independence, with fully functioning civil administrations, and were protected by the US-enforced Iraqi no-fly zone which prevented air attacks by government forces. During the period of self-governance there were armed clashes between the three main political/military groups in the area (including the Kurdistan Democratic Party), each claiming the title of Kurdistan's government, which served to undermine the effectiveness of the Kurds.

Following the unseating of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, little is known as to how the 'Kurdistan' issue will be dealt with in the future. The American-sponsored idea of an Iraqi federal republic, which would feature a relatively autonomous Kurdish region, currently appears to be the most popular among Kurds, though faces substantial opposition from other Iraqis. One popular constitutional arrangement advanced by some Kurds would allow for a period of eight years within a federal Iraq, followed by an option of independence. Steps towards greater autonomy were encouraged with the 2005 election of Jalal Talabani as Iraq's first post-Saddam president. Dr. Talabani, a Kurd and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is one of the longest serving Kurdish Iraqi politicians but has currently distanced himself from the movement for Kurdish independence, pledging to support Iraqi federalism at least for the time being.

In Turkey

The Kurds are a large and distinct ethnic minority in the Middle East, numbering some 25-30 million people. The area that they have inhabited--referred to on maps for centuries as "Kurdistan"--spans modern day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Half of the Kurds reside in Turkey, where they comprise over 20 percent of the Turkish population.

Modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal (better known as Atatürk--"father of the Turks"), enacted a constitution 70 years ago which denied the existence of distinct cultural sub-groups in Turkey. As a result, any expression by the Kurds (as well as other minorities in Turkey) of unique ethnic identity has been harshly repressed. For example, until 1991, the use of the Kurdish language--although widespread--was illegal. To this day, any talk that hints of Kurdish nationalism is deemed separatism, and grounds for imprisonment.

The Turkish government has consistently thwarted attempts by the Kurds to organize politically. Kurdish political parties are shut down one after another, and party members are harassed and imprisoned for "crimes of opinion." Most famously, in 1994 Leyla Zana--who, three years prior, had been the first Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish parliament--was sentenced to 15 years for "separatist speech." Her party was banned. More recently, in June the leaders of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) were sentenced to several-year prison terms for allegedly having ties with the outlawed PKK guerillas. The state prosecutors' evidence consisted largely of press releases found in the HADEP offices from a news agency close to the PKK.

Adding to the grievances of Turkey's Kurds is the economic underdevelopment of the southeast. The Ankara government has systematically withheld resources from the Kurdish region. As a result, there are two distinct Turkeys: the northern and western regions are highly developed and cosmopolitan, part of the "first world," while the south and east are truly of the "third world."

The disparity and repression led to the formation of an armed separatist movement, the PKK, in 1984. While the majority of Turkey's Kurds do not openly support separatism from the Turkish state, many do support the PKK, as the only force fighting for broader Kurdish cultural, economic and political rights.

The state immediately responded to this threat with increased force, deploying some 300,000 troops in the southeast at an annual cost of $8 billion. In addition, the Turkish armed forces instituted a system of "village guards," paying and arming Kurds to keep the PKK guerillas out of their villages. Villages that refuse to participate in the guard system face demolition by the Turkish military, while those that go along suffer under harsh reprisals by the PKK.

The war escalated dramatically in the early 1990s. Between 1984-91, an estimated 2,500 people had been killed. Over the next four years, that figure shot up to 20,000. Some 3,000 villages have been destroyed by the military in an effort to rout out PKK sympathizers, creating more than 2 million refugees.

In Iran (Persia)

Although intense fighting occurred between Kurds and the Iranian state between 1979 and 1982, since 1983 the Iranian government has had control over the area which the Kurds inhabit. This area encompasses West Azarbaijan, Kordestan, Bakhtaran, Ilam Province and parts of Lorestan.

In Iran, Kurds, like other minorities can express their cultural identity freely, they are however denied the right of self-government or administration. Membership of any Kurdish nationalist party was, in the Shah's era, an offense punishable by death. The Kurdish language was also banned from being taught in schools and there are restrictions today on publishing Kurdish literature.

Kurdish human rights activists in Iran have been threatened by Iranian authorities in connection with their work.

In Syria

Kurds often speak Kurdish in public unless all those present do not. It is claimed that Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated. No political parties are allowed. Population is over 3.8 million out of the total Kurdish population.

In Armenia

In the Soviet Union, from the 1930s to 1980s, the Kurds were a protected minority under Soviet Law. They had their own state sponsored newspaper, radio broadcast and cultural events.

During the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, many Kurds were forced to leave their homes.

Timeline of modern Kurdish history

1920: Treaty of Sèvres determines the borders for the territory of Kurdistan.

1921: Boundaries of the modern Iraq overlaps the territory of Kurdistan, which had been determined by the Treaty of Sèvres.

1923: Boundaries of the modern Turkey determined by the Treaty of Lausanne overlaps the territory of Kurdistan, which had been determined by the Treaty of Sèvres.

1922 to 1958: The Iraqi Kurds live under the Iraqi Kingdom.

1925: The first Kurdish revolt in Turkey, supported by British powers from Iraq, by Sheikh Sayid, is overcame.

1930: Tunceli demonstrations were stopped.

1937: Agri demonstrations were suppressed.

1946: A defacto Kurdish republic is set up with Soviet assistance in Iranian Kurdistan. After Soviet and Allied forces leave Iran, the Shah destroyed the republic, hanging their leaders.

1958: Abdel Kareem Qasem becomes President of Iraq; Iraq's new constitution declares 2 major ethnic groups in Iraq: Arabs and Kurds. The President invites Mustafa Barzani from the Soviet Union to Iraq for discussions about Kurds.

1961: Failed negotiations between the government and Kurds ignites the September 11 revolt of Barzani. Fighting continues until 1970.

1970: The March 11 autonomy agreement reached by both sides (the Baath party is now in power).

1974: Relations break up again about economic issues. Fighting erupts again. Governments bombs Kurdish towns such as Qela Dize where over 250 people die, half of which are children.

1975: The Algiers agreement declares an end to the Kurdish revolt and Iran discontinues its support of Iraqi Kurds. Kurdish uprising disbanded. Barzani flees to the United States.

1975 to 1980: The son of Mustafa, Masoud Barzani, encourages a new uprising against the government.

1979:

• The Islamic Revolution in Iran gives the Kurds an opportunity to receive some autonomy. They failed.
• The PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) is created.

1980:

• PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan flees to Syria and trains his armed supporters in several places including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and possibly Iran.
• The Iran-Iraq war affects Kurds in both countries. Support to either government by Kurds could cause repercussions for Kurds in the other country. Both governments send Kurds to the frontlines. More than 1 million die on both sides.

1984: PKK guerillas launch their first attacks on Turkish targets in Turkey and abroad.

1988: The genocidal Anfal-campaign is being carried out by the Iraqi government to "decrease" the Kurds. Some 4500 villages are completely destroyed and 182,000 Kurds are relocated to unknown destinations in this year alone.

1988: The Halabja-disaster on the 16th of March with intensive aerial chemical bombing (by Saddam's regime) such as Nerve gas, VX and Mustard gas kills more than 5000 Kurds and wounds an estimated 12,000.

1990's: The massive PKK uprising propels Turkey into a state of civil war. Attacking the KDP in Iraq in order to control another part of Kurdistan. Turkey repels PKK guerillas and pursues them in Iraq.

1991: A popular uprising by the Kurds ignites after the Iraqi defeat of the Persian Gulf war. The uprising is initially successful, but government forces crack down, causing more than 2 million Kurds to flee to Turkey and Iran. Thousands die of starvation, cold and hunger.

1991: The Kurdish language is no more prohibited in Turkey after more than 70 years of discrimination.

1992: After the setup of the no-fly zones in the North and South to protect the civil Iraqi population, the Allied forces make a security zone in the north of Iraq so that the refugees could return back. After that, the Kurds seize their area, set up an own government, start their own elections and draw autonomy borders.

1992 to 2003: The Kurds enjoy self-rule but heavy fighting erupts between the two main Kurdish factions. The KDP and the PUK almost commit political suicide in fighting in 1994, 1996 and 1997. In 1999 the two parties agree to a cease-fire.

1998: PKK leader flees from Syria to Russia after threats from Turkey against Syria.

1999: After spending months in Russia, Italy, and Kenya, Abdullah Öcalan is arrested by Turkish special forces in the Greek embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and is brought to Turkey for trial.

2002: PKK changes its name to KADEK in an effort to remove the terrorist connotations of the name PKK.

2003:

• The 2003 Invasion of Iraq removes the Baath-regime from power. Kurds celebrate.
• March 12: The European Court of Human Rights rules that the Turkish trial of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the terrorist organisation PKK, was not fair.
• January 4: Invasion of Iraq commences.
• February 25: Both major parties of Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Northern Iraq, vow to fight Turkish troops if they enter Kurdistan to capture Mosul or interfere in Kurdish self-rule. Between them the two parties can mobilize up to 80,000 guerillas - most likely no match for the modern Turkish army, but complicate relations between U.S. allies on the Northern front expected in the U.S. plan to invade Iraq.
• March 21: The arrest of alleged Ansar al-Islam leader Mullah Krekar is ordered by Økokrim, a Norwegian law enforcement agency, to ensure he does not leave Norway while accusations that he had threatened terrorist attacks were investigated.
• April 6: In a friendly fire incident, U.S. warplanes struck a convoy of allied Kurdish fighters and U.S. Special Forces during a battle in northern Iraq. At least 18 people are killed and more than 45 wounded, including senior Kurdish commanders.
• April 10: U.S. Green Berets and Kurdish fighters enter the city of Kirkuk in Iraq with little resistance. Turkey and U.S., in separate statements, say they will not allow the Kurds to occupy the city. ,
• June 12: In Dokan, Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leaders set up a six-member committee to map out a plan for unification.

2004: In Syrian-Kurdistan, violence broke out between Arab supporters and Kurds at a soccer match. Syria accused of killing as much as 40 Kurds causing the Kurdish population in Syria to rise up in the days of aftermath. Thousands are arrested and some are beaten to death in prisons.

2004: KADEK changes its name to KONGRA-GEL.

2005:

• Iraqi transitional assembly and Kurdistan national assembly elections held. Jalal Talabani, secretary-general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is elected as President of Iraq. Kurds receive more than a quarter of the votes.

Declaration by Abdullah Öcalan of Democratic Confederalism.

• KONGRA-GEL changes its name to the historic PKK.

• See also: History of the Kurds
• See also: History of the Kurdistan Workers Party

Culture

• Kurdish music

Renowned Kurdish individuals

• Saladin, the great Muslim conqueror and founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty.
• Jalal Talabani, contemporary president of Iraq.

See also

• Kurdish language
• Criticism of Atatürk
• Demographics of Iran
• Demographics of Iraq
• Demographics of Syria
• Demographics of Turkey
• Foreign relations of Turkey
• Accession of Turkey to the European Union

External links

• The Kurdish Institut of Paris Kurdish language, history, books and latest news articles.
• Kurdish 1000 Kurdish sites, Kurdish people and Internet organisations.
• History Lost in Dust
• Reconstruction of Iraq
• Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan's Website

Kurdish organisations

• Demokratik Toplum Hareketi (DTH, Demokratic People's Movement)
• Hak ve Özgürlükler Partisi (HAK-PAR, Rights and Freedoms Party) (Operates primarily in South-Eastern Turkey)
• Halkin Demokrasi Partisi (HADEP, Peoples' Democracy Party) (Operates primarily in South-Eastern Turkey)
• Demokratik Halk Partisi (DEHAP, Democratic People's Party)
• Kurdistan Democratic Party (runs an elected government in Northern Iraq)
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (runs an elected government in Northern Iraq)

Militant and has been involved in armed warfare actions

• Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) a.k.a Congress for Freedom and Democracy Kurdistan (KADEK) a.k.a People's Congress of Kurdistan (Kongra-Gel)

The Kurdish Issue in Turkey

• A report on the Kurdish IDP's - 2005
• A German newspaper's take on the Kurdish issue - 2005
• The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' take - 1999

• Ethnic groups of the Middle East
• Kurds
• Iranian peoples
• U.S.-Iraqi relations