Kurds - A People Without a State Essay -- Culture Kurds History Essays

Kurds - A People Without a StateIntroductionOf all the ethnic groups in the world, the Kurds be one of the largest that has no conjure up to call their own. According to historian William Westermann, The Kurds can present a better claim to race purity...than any people which now inhabits Europe. (Bonner, p. 63, 1992) Over the former(prenominal) hundred years, the desire for an independent Kurdish state has created conflicts mainly with the Turkish and Iraqi populations in the areas where most of the Kurds live. This conflict has important geographical implications as well. The explanation of the Kurdish nation, the causes for these conflicts, and an analysis of the situation will be discussed in this paper.History of the KurdsThe Kurds are a Sunni Muslim people living primarily in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. The 25 million Kurds have a distinct culture that is not at all like their Turkish, Persian, and Arabic neighbors (Hitchens, p. 36, 1992). It is this cultural difference between the groups that automatically creates the authority for conflict. Of the 25 million Kurds, approximately 10 million live in Turkey, four million in Iraq, five million in Iran, and a million in Syria, with the rest scattered throughout the rest of the world (Bonner, p. 46, 1992). The Kurds also have had a long history of conflict with these other ethnic groups in the Middle East, which we will now look at.The history of Kurds in the area actually began during ancient times. However, the desire for a Kurdish homeland did not set about until the early 1900s, around the time of World War I. In his Fourteen Points,President Woodrow Wilson promised the Kurds a sovereign state (Hitchens, p. 54, 1992). The formation of a Kurdish state was supposed to have been accomplished through the Treaty of Sevres in 1920 which said that the Kurds could have an independent state if they wanted one (Bonner, p. 46, 1992). With the formation of Turkey in 1923, Kemal Ataturk, the new Turkish President, t hrew out the treaty and denied the Kurds their own state. This was the beginning of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. At about this same time, the Kurds attempted to establish a semi-independent state, and actually succeeded in forming the earth of Kurdistan, which lasted from 1922-1924 later, in 1946, some of the Kurds established the Mahabad Republic... ... seem very willing to give up their territory to the Kurds. The plan of the PUK has a small chance to work, assuming that insurgent tactics would scare the Iraqi government. By simply holding out, the Kurds would gain nothing, because the Iraqis are not threatened by the Kurds per se. However, by attacking the Iraqis, the Kurds run the seek of a counterattack which they probably could not effectively deal with. Basically, that would make the situation for the Kurds even worse than before.ConclusionWithout the support of a large right on nation such as the U.S., the Kurds will probably never establish an independent Kurdish stat e. The Kurds do not have enough military author to fight off the Turks andIraqis without help. The Iraqis and Turks would not be willing to giveup their economically important territory to people which they perceive a threat to their mood of life and will most likely continue to fight the Kurds. The Kurds have no choice but to continue fighting until either they or the Turks and Iraqis are defeated, as both groups are unwilling to allow them to remain in their countries. The futuredefinitely looks bleak for the Kurds.