What is the conflict between the Kurds and Turkey?
The Kurdish–Turkish conflict is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups, which have demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or to have autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey.
What is the history of Kurdish rights in Turkey?
In 1977, a small group under Öcalan’s leadership released a declaration on Kurdish identity in Turkey. The group, which called itself the Revolutionaries of Kurdistan also included Ali Haydar Kaytan, Cemil Bayik, Haki Karer and Kemal Pir. The group decided in 1974 to start a campaign for Kurdish rights.
What are the main rebel groups in the Turkish Civil War?
The main rebel group is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK ( Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan ). Although insurgents have carried out attacks in many regions of Turkey, the insurgency is mainly in southeastern Turkey. The PKK’s presence in Iraq ‘s Kurdistan Region, from which it has also launched attacks,…
What is the history of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party?
The founding Congress of the PKK was held on 27 November 1978 in Fis, a village near the city of Lice. During this congress the 25 people present decided to found the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. The Turkish state, Turkish rightist groups, and some Kurdish landowners continued their attacks on the group.
What do Kurds and Arabs have in common?
On the surface it would seem that the commonalities between Arab and Kurd would predict a more harmonious relationship. Both are originally tribal and primarily Sunni Muslim. Both are family-based cultures. Customs are similar, and in urban settings, there is a great deal of intermarriage.
Why is intermarriage between Kurds and Arabs on the rise in Iraq?
The increase of Kurdish-Arab intermarriage, ironically, can be explained by the mass exodus of both Kurds and Arabs fleeing the violence of Baghdad to the relative safety of Kurdistan, ending up as refugees living in close proximity to another. Both Shi’a and Sunni militias and criminals targeted the close to half-million Kurds living in Baghdad.
How did Iraq get rid of the Kurdish problem?
In particular, the Iraqis, especially under Saddam Hussein, went to great lengths to forcibly relocate Kurds, bringing Iraqi Arabs into Kurdish lands. That, or they used the crushing power of the Ba’ath State to “reeducate” them, basically erasing the Kurdish problem by means of cultural genocide.