15th of May is
celebrated as 'Kurdish Language Day' among Kurdish people in Turkey (North
Kurdistan) since 2006 and also in the 'North-affiliated' Rojava. The day refers
to the publishing of the Hawar
journal in the Latin alphabet by the Kurdish linguist Celadet Bedirkhan in
1932.
While that day is
celabrated by some Kurds, mainly Kurds who are using the Latin alphabet, the
next day 16th of May concerns all Kurds regardless in which part they are
living. Because their social, cultural and political situation somehow depend
on this day which it is the hundredth anniversary of the 'famous' Sykes-Picot
agreement which had been signed 100 years ago by the British Mark Sykes and his
counterpart George Picot.
The confidential
Sykes-Picot agreement has turned 100 years today, but its effects can still be
seen in the region, even though it had never applied legally. The idea behind
the agreement was the partition of Ottoman lands in the Middle East between two super powers of that time, France
and the British Kingdom, and also to create areas of power for themselves. The
lands that were discussed to be divided up were legally Ottoman's but in
reality it was Kurdish inhabited area, and the ones who would be affected were
also Kurds.
The agreement had
not been applied because the third partner, Russia revealed the agreement after
the October Revolution and withdrew from the agreement. It had not been applied
but it would not be wrong to say that the later agreements were constructed on
its idea.
It is, as
mentioned above, obvious that the most affected people by the Sykes-Picot
agreement were and are still Kurds. After the Ist World War the 3 new
'nation-states' emerged and Kurdish inhabited Ottoman lands were divided up
between those states which left Kurdish people stateless and 'divided'. If one
reason was the super-powers' self-interests, the next one was that Kurdish
politics were not united and they also were not sure what they wanted, and in
the ground, the 'nationalistic' ideas were not spread out among Kurdish people.
It can be said that their main motivation was their 'religious identity' rather
than their 'national' identity, and in Anderson's aspect they were not an
'imagined community' in the Kurdish people's mind. Kurds were in the battle
fronts in the War, but they could not make to be at the table after that.
As a result of
the agreements based upon 'Sykes-Picot' ideas, Kurds were not only divided up
geographically, but also, socially, culturally, and politically. The latter
ones are more important because what problems they have been facing now are
emerging from those 'partitions'. Using different alphabets and also the
celebration of 'Kurdish National Day' in the 'North' (and north-affiliated
areas) is just one of them.
Coming back from
Kurdistan Region a friend told me that he felt more closer to 'Turks'
culturally than 'Kurds' in KRG or another part. He is not the only one and it
is a cultural result of 100 years dividing up which makes him feel like this.
Still defining himself as a Kurd in the broader 'Kurdish nationality' including
all Kurds from all parts is another aspect of Kurdish nationalism developing in
recent years.
After 100 hundred
years, today Kurds are again in the battle fronts against IS(IS), with the
allies of super powers and this time differently they are also protecting their
own lands while the Middle East is undergoing a re-shaping process.
Super powers,
namely USA and Russia, acting according to their interests seem that they want to
keep the 'official' borders- at least for now- drawn a hundred years ago and
try to solve the problems between those 'drawn' borders because of their
'nation-state' allies in the region, which creates another handicap. They seem
to be in the searching process for a solution that does not injure both their
and their allies' interests.
The main point
for Kurds in this situation is themselves and their acting with each other. It
is also important for them to look at their history and take lessons from it.
In this point,
the conference held at the University of Sulaimani on 3-4th of May on the
subject of "The Kurdish Case and Sykes-Picot Agreement: From 1916 to
2016" was very important. It is a good point that Kurds are discussing the
history and Kurdish case in the academic sense in the international conference
even though there were not too many academics from other parts.
Behind all the
political interests of every political group or party such conferences will contribute
other perspectives on solving the Kurdish case to Kurdish politicians and
people, and also their allies in the re-shaping process of the region.
16.05.2016
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