Sunday, November 8, 2015

Troubling reality of the effects of the war against ISIS on the Turkish's Kurds

The Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern or Turkish Kurdistan), western Iran (Eastern or Iranian Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern or Iraqi Kurdistan), and northern Syria (Western Kurdistan or Rojova). The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. Kurdish nationalists claim that the Kurds are descended from the Hurrians and the Medes, (the latter being another Iranian people) and the claimed Median descent is reflected in the words of the Kurdish national anthem: "we are the children of the Medes and Kai Khosrow". The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages. The Kurds are estimated to number, worldwide, around 30–32 million, possibly as high as 37 million, with the majority living in West Asia; however there are significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in particular Istanbul. A recent Kurdish diaspora has also developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are the majority population in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Rojava, and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue greater autonomy and cultural rights.
However, the pursuit of more autonomy by the Kurds persist to face backslash and major repercussion as it fails to appeal to the other ethnic groups, religious groups, and in some cases other nations around the world. In fact, some factions of the Kurds are considered as terrorist group by the United States as well as the Turkish State. As a result, the Kurds are facing a major political, economic, and social strategic crisis, as they face a more aggressive and belligerent opponent, ISIS, who openly declares the extermination of their ethnic group. To make things worse, Turkey's ruling party Islamist Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P. , and the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shown a troubling penchant for benign neglect toward the jihadi Islamists — enough for them to establish a Turkish network.The situation has created a more entangled political crisis, as the US, and it allies pursue their intention to disrupt ISIS, Turkish and the Kurds unintentionally were faced with a common enemy, and an imminent decision to either cooperate to achieve the maximum outcome or defect. ( a classic prisoner's dillema ). To sum up, the issue of the Kurds and their intermittent and palatable desire to gain more autonomy have been an issue that the US have ignored during the past, and in some cases, resulting into oppression and brutality against the Kurds in several middle eastern countries. However, I would predict that the US is being forced to act and take a more radical stand on the issue as they continue alliance with the Kurds in battling ISIS.

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