Turkish military kills 21 Kurds

[Charlie Brown]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/14/turkey.kurds/index.html

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey's semi-official Anatolia News Agency reported that 21 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels and three Turkish soldiers died in clashes in Turkey's southeast region Thursday.

It is believed to be the highest number of PKK rebels killed since the end of a five-year-old cease-fire between the group and Turkey last June.

Turkish military forces have been carrying out a multi-day operation in Turkey's southeast region. The activity is thought to be the Turkish military's annual "spring operations" designed to identify and flush out suspected PKK rebels.

[Carolab]

1. Didn't I read that Israel has been training the Turks? n/t

[whistle]

2. What is it about the Kurds that so pisses everyone off in.....

...that region? It can't be only racism.

<snip>
I think brief but I know importance
I suppose some of you may have noticed that I have probably revealed my true identity via my last blog post. I wrote an article the same day of the last blog regarding my thoughts on Mam Jalal's presidency. If you don't know what I am referring to, I will just let you eventually figure it out, if you do.

I just want to make a brief but important post today regarding something, which of course received no international attention like it should have... and I am not at the least bit surprised because that is the life of Kurds. I am very concerned about our long and forgotten Kurdish brothers and sisters living in Syria. Few people may be aware (or most Kurds may be) that over 200 Kurds were arrested last year in Syria (and some are being tortured until death in prison). Let's start by mentioning what it means to be a Kurd in Syria. The ideology of these Syrian Arab Ba'athists dates back to the published 1963 twelve-step plan to oppressing Kurds. Kurds aren't even granted citizenship in Syria because Kurdish is an absolutely forbidden identity.. The most ugliest forms of racism exist... Some who do not know much about Kurds may be quite shocked to hear that there even are Kurds in Syria. And hopefully those same people are shocked that the Syrian Government has a Hitlerist mentality on how to treat and get rid of Kurds.

Click here to see a picture of a Kurd recently released by Syria who was tortured while in prison. Be aware the picture is a little graphic.

If you are among those, please acknowledge my thoughts and understand that there are still the most brutal and ugly things taking place in this world. And if you ever looked at pictures of the holocaust or read about the american Indians, or anything else... know that the Kurds are and have been facing these treatments decade after decade... and wonder why no nation in the world seems to object to it. Saddam is gone but the Kurds are still suffering. Genocide is happening, is anyone willing to speak up?

<more>
<link> http://hevalo.blogspot.com/

[daleo]

6. No nation state wants its territory carved up.

If Mexican-Americans wanted a separate nation carved out of parts of Northern Mexico and parts of the American Southwest, they wouldn't be very popular with governments on either side of the border. Most governments in the rest of the world would be reluctant to endorse the idea either, regardless of its actual merits, for fear of instability in a globally strategic area. And also the fear that centrifugal forces might be unleashed in their own lands.

I imagine that it is the same with the idea of Kurdistan, regardless of its intrinsic merits.

[Erika]

3. What a mess Bush has brought us

I thought we liked the Kurds and they liked us? Hussein hated the Kurds and supposedly used our chemicals we supplied him against them in a genocide tactic. So now they are in Turkey and the Turks are killing them?

Bring our troops home and let that part of the world take care of itself. This is insanity.

[Warren Stupidity]

4. kurd bashing is an international sport

Various regional powers take turns giving sanctuary to, or committing atrocities against, their and their neighbor's kurdish populations, all with the usual malicious interference from assorted great powers. But the bottom line is always that the kurds are expendible. Been going on all of my life, and I expect it will be going on long after I'm gone.

[Orangeone]

5. Iraqi Kurds

It doesn't help that the Kurdish leadership never seems to know which side to be on. The Iraqi President Talebani was making deals with CIA, Iran, and even Saddam Hussein. With leadership like that they'll end up getting screwed by the US.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. The kurds are aware of their situation

and are determined to do whatever has to be done and pay whatever price has to be paid to keep their dream of kurdistan alive. They will deal with the devil himself if it furthers their goals. They have no illusions about who their friends are: they have none. They have no illusions about any commitments made to them: they are worthless. I have nothing but admiration for the courage of the kurdish people. Oh, and they are the only important secular force in the looming Iraqi civil war .

[MADem]

7. Uh oh, let the games begin

The tension in Turkey is gonna get real ugly.

The fractured nation of Kurdistan is getting ready to bust out. Ever since they have been divided by force, they have made the tactical decision to fight whatever government constrains them within that given border. Sure, they help each other out and coordinate, but they are not above playing the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap, and doing deals to advance themselves and keep their own end going. It's rank survival.

But with the new President of Iraq a Kurd, on the world stage, they are starting to figure that now is the time to push. Eventually, they'll make the strategic decision to work even closer together to achieve cross border goals on a much larger scale than we've seen previously, and then the gloves will really come off. They are pushing for a united, independent Kurdistan, and they just might get it.

They are very cool people, by the way, and quite good looking.

[whistle]

9. Kurdish history timeline summary.....

<snip>
History of the Kurds: The Timeline
Kurdish American Youth - by Goran Sadjadi | 02/10/05

The beginning of the Kurdish people and their history is one that is difficult to define but much research provides us with details that the Kurds are descendants of the Median Empire.

| 6300 BC - AD 224 -to - AD 650 - 1923 - to - 1946 - 1975 - to - 1978 - 1994 - to - 1998 - 2005 |

6300 BC:
Evidence dating back to 6300 BC shows that the Hurrian people inhabited the mountains of Kurdistan.
(Today, the Hurrian name is survived by the present Kurdish region of Hawraman.)

2500 BC:
Indo-European tribes begin migrating in small numbers and settle across the Zagros mountains of Mesopotamia.

1500 BC:
Hurrians expand and establish the Kingdom of Mitanni in Kurdistan.

1200 BC:
Indo-European tribes begin migrating in very large numbers. The tribes are comprised of Medes, Persians, Scythians, Sagarthians and Sarmathians.

900 BC:
Hurrian Kurdistan is dominated by the Indo-European tribes. Although a significant amount of the Hurrian culture remains, the Indo-European language is adopted by the people. Many ancient civilizations, such as the Assyrians, refer to all the people of Kurdistan as Kardu or Kordu.

728 BC:
Revolts by the Medes (Kurds) and Babylonians leads to the fall of the Assyrian Empire.
The Median Empire is established in 728 BC. Zoroastrianism is founded as the religion of the Median Empire. The Medes celebrate the new year (Newroz) at the beginning of Spring after Medya is liberated.
Under the rule of Cyaxares in 626 BC, the Median Empire expands.

550 BC:
A revolt is initiated by a former Median General, which leads to the fall of the Median Empire.
The General and the Median people give support to the leader of the revolt, Cyrus the Great, in overthrowing the King.
In 550 BC, Cyrus establishes the Persian Empire. The tribes are given rights to self-rule under Cyrus.

AD 224:
The Sasanian Dynasty is established and rules Persia until AD 642. The Kurds take part in ruling the dynasty, and due to their ancient warlike traditions, are able to provide significant military assistance against the Greeks and Romans.

650:
In the 7th Century, Islam is established and spreads throughout the Middle East.
Arabia expands and conquers parts of Kurdistan.

1168:
Kurdish warrior, Saladin, becomes the Sultan of Egypt and Syria and unites the Islamic world.
Saladin defeats the Crusaders and reclaims Jerusalem. He establishes Peace Treaties with the West and rules till his death in 1193.


1453:
The Roman Empire (Constantinople) falls, and shortly after, the Ottoman Empire is established.
The Ottoman Empire begins the invasions of tribal Kurdish kingdoms in Kurdistan.

1880:
After the last Kurdish kingdom falls, a united Kurdish nationalistic revolt against the Ottoman rule begins under the Xoybun leadership of Sheikh Said.

1920:
At the end of World War I, the European Powers draw the Treaty of Sevres in a Paris Peace Conference, which guarantees Kurds the right to independence.

1923:
The Turkish Republic is founded from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sevres is abandoned and the Treaty of Laussanes is drawn, which does not include Kurdish rights to independence. The Kurdish revolts are suppressed by Turkey.

In the following decades, Turkey destroys thousands of Kurdish villages and begins a long campaign to eliminate Kurdish identity.

1946:
(Persia becomes Iran in 1935 and is occupied by the Soviet Union some time after.)
The Kurds take advantage of the occupation and declare an Independent Kurdish State. The Kurdistan Republic of Mahabad is established under the leadership of Qazi Mohammad. Mustafa Barzani establishes the Kurdistan Democratic Party with goals to establish a larger independent Kurdistan.

1946:
Syria is established and a Ba'ath Regime assumes power. The Regime denies citizenship to the Kurdish minority.

1947:
The Soviets drop their support for the Kurds in Iran and the Shah invades the Kurdistan Republic. The Shah orders members of the Kurdistan government, including Qazi Mohammad, to be arrested and executed.

1960:
(Iraq is declared a kingdom in 1932, and then a republic in 1958.)
Mustafa Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) begin one of several revolts against the oppressive Iraqi government.

1974:
The United States provides financial support to the PDK in an attempt to weaken the Iraqi government. After some limited autonomy is gained by the Kurds in Iraq, the PDK begins to attack Iraqi forces to take control of the Kurdish province of Kirkuk.The United States abandons the project, and the Kurdish revolts are suppressed by Iraq.
Mustafa Barzani dies in 1979.


1975:
Jalal Talabani, a former member of the PDK, establishes the second largest Kurdish party in Southern Kurdistan, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

1978:
Abdullah Ocalan establishes the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Northern Kurdistan demanding human rights for Kurds in Turkey.

1979:
The Islamic Revolution begins in Iran. Several Kurds in Iran are arrested and major cities in Eastern Kurdistan are bombed. Kurdish revolts begin but are quickly suppressed by the new Islamic Republic of Iran.

1984:
Under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK begins an armed struggle against the Turkish government.

1988:
Iraq's Ba'ath Regime launches a campaign called "Al-Anfal" (Spoils of War) in an attempt to alienate the Kurds. Thousands of Barzanis are executed and thousands civilian villages are destroyed. The campaign includes displacement of Kurds from their cities in the Kirkuk province. The Ba'ath orders several chemical bombings on Kurdish cities including the most infamous in Halabja, which kills 5000 civilians alone.

1989:
Dr. Qassimlou, leader of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), meets with Iranian officials in an attempt to finalize the PDKI movements for the rights of Kurds in Iran, but he is assassinated. The Islamic Republic of Iran is convicted in the German court for the assassination.

1991:
Following the United States' Persian Gulf War against Iraq, the U.S. and the United Kingdom establish a "no-fly zone" over most of Southern Kurdistan in Iraq. The PDK and PUK take control of the provinces lying within the no-fly zone.

1992:
Turkey continues large-scale operations against the PKK, which include moving over 30,000 troops into Iraqi territory.

1994:
The PDK and the PUK begin fighting one another after disputes erupt over the control of Southern Kurdistan in Iraq.
After four long years of war, a peace treaty is signed between the two parties.

1998:
PKK is declared a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States after pressure from Turkey..
Abdullah Ocalan is captured a year later, imprisoned and sentenced to death. Ocalan sends a message to the PKK to stop violence.

2003:
The United States begins Operation Iraqi Freedom and with the help of the PDK and PUK, overthrows the Ba'ath Regime in Iraq.

2004:
PKK ends their ceasefire and resumes their struggle against Turkey.

After nearly ten years of imprisonment for her work as a Kurdish Rights Activist in Turkey, Leyla Zana becomes the first Kurd to receive the Sakharov Human Rights Prize in Europe.

Kurds in Western Kurdistan celebrate new Iraqi Transitional Administration Constitution, and Syrian officials order the arrests of several Kurds. Human rights organizations declare unfair treatment.

Turkey begins one of the final stages of talks with the European Union for their EU entry. However, several obstacles remain from eligibility of EU membership, including Turkey's unfair treatment of Kurds.

2005:
Kurds participate in the new government of Iraq and the PDK and PUK, along with several other smaller Kurdish parties, unite under one Kurdistan Alliance list. However, polls show that the population in Southern Kurdistan still desires independence from Baghdad.


(1) Izady, Mehrdad R. The Kurds: A Concise Handbook. 1992
(2) Kiepert, Heinrich. A Manual of Ancient Geography. 1881

http://groups.msn.com/KURDITGROUP/historyofthekurdsthetimeline.msnw

[whistle]

10. More on the Kurds and their attempts to establish their own state

...in the region:

<snip>
About the Kurds & Kurdistan
by K.N.Jamili

The 40 million Kurds are the largest ethnicity in the world without a state of its own. Promised - but never granted- their own country after WWI, Kurds now live in parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan. They are almost universally despised for asserting their identity. The government of Turkey spends US$10 billion a year fighting its Kurdish separatists. Saddam Hussein's Iraq has tried to wipe out its four million Kurds altogether: Some 300,000 Kurdish civilians "disappeared" between 1983 and 1987. Then Iraq launched a religious war against them (complete with chemical weapons), razing 4,000 villages and killing another 100,000 Kurds. Many of those who survived are now starving, thanks to the UN's embargo against Iraq.

Language
In Iran Kurds are not allowed to use their Kurdish names. In Turkey, speaking Kurdish even in private was a crime until 1991. Turkey continues to deny that Kurds have a separate ethnic identity - the official storey is that Kurds are Turks who got lost in the mountains and forgot they were Turkish.

<more>
<link> http://www.knn.u-net.com/kurd4.htm