{"id":36235,"date":"2011-06-21T20:43:34","date_gmt":"2011-06-21T17:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=36235"},"modified":"2011-06-21T20:43:34","modified_gmt":"2011-06-21T17:43:34","slug":"kurds-could-guide-arab-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2011\/06\/21\/kurds-could-guide-arab-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurds could guide Arab Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Meghan L. O&#8217;Sullivan<\/strong> writes: The US and its allies should favour their empowerment in the region because it would be good for their own interests<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>By Meghan L. O&#8217;Sullivan<\/li>\n<li>Published: 00:01 June 21, 2011<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<p>As  change sweeps the Middle East, euphoria has slowly given way to anxiety  that the tumult will benefit extremist groups with anti-Western or  anti-modernisation agendas. Optimists rightly point to several dynamics  that may curb the influence of such groups, such as the secular nature  of many of the forces that have dislodged old regimes and the relative  lack of public support that extremists have thus far garnered.<\/p>\n<p>Yet few have focused on another development that could help promote  moderation in the region: the tentative, but growing, role of the  region&#8217;s Kurdish population. Policy makers in the US and Europe need to  set aside their traditional way of viewing the world exclusively as a  collection of nation-states; recognise the possibilities and risks  behind Kurdish empowerment; and craft a strategy to encourage this  pro-Western population to gain more influence in the region without  provoking a backlash.<\/p>\n<p>The history of the Kurds in the Middle East is a seemingly endless  tale of oppression, thwarted ambitions and tragedy. Totalling more than  30 million, the Kurds of the Middle East \u2014 who are overwhelmingly Muslim  \u2014 have long fought for autonomy from hostile governments or even  outright independence.<\/p>\n<p>The hardships of the Kurds of Iraq are perhaps the most infamous,  involving genocidal chemical attacks by Saddam Hussain in the 1980s.  Next door in Syria, about 2 million Kurds have struggled to preserve  their ethnic identity against laws banning their language, and other  government acts to force assimilation. Turkey&#8217;s approximately 15 million  Kurds, a small minority of which have waged a terrorist campaign  against the government, claim a history of rebellion, open war and  forced relocation by the Turkish military. Iran&#8217;s more than 5 million  Kurds enjoy more linguistic rights than in other countries, but also  have clashed violently with the state.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Promising moment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Kurds in Iraq, who gained effective autonomy after the Gulf War  of 1991, have reaped tremendous benefits from Saddam Hussain&#8217;s fall in  2003 and the subsequent efforts to build a new political system. Kurdish  parties now wield significant power in Baghdad, having been a key  coalition partner of every government. A Kurd, Jalal Talabani, has been  president of Iraq since 2005. The Kurds maintain a high degree of  political and cultural autonomy under the Kurdistan Regional Government  in the north of Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>In Turkey, Kurds may be on the cusp of the most promising moment in  decades to address their grievances. Last week&#8217;s election brought a  solid victory for the ruling pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party,  or AKP. Even so, the AKP will need to find parliamentary partners to  reach a two-thirds majority necessary to enact the sort of  constitutional reforms it seeks. Turkey&#8217;s main Kurdish party, the BDP,  and Kurdish independents are most likely to serve this role. Kurds of  the Middle East may decide to take advantage of the changes in the  region to push for a separate state, the Kurdistan that has long been  the focal point of so much Kurdish song and poetry. A push in this  direction wouldn&#8217;t be surprising, given the hardships endured by the  Kurds and their desire to be free of the vagaries of Baghdad, Damascus  and Ankara.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, political sophistication may come with this new power,  as has been the case among Iraq&#8217;s Kurds. Many of them appreciate the  gains that can be realised in the context of a democratic Iraq and have  weighed them favourably against the potential costs of provoking  regional powers that will oppose a separate Kurdish state.<\/p>\n<p>Working towards a \u2018virtual&#8217; Kurdistan, the Kurds of a transformed  Middle East might realise many of their aspirations without incurring  the ire of the region&#8217;s larger powers. The US and its allies should  favour this outcome, not simply because it would be good for the Kurds,  but because it would be good for their own interests. Kurds, perhaps  because of their dark history at the hands of extremists, tend to be  moderates. While many are devout Muslims, they are more likely to favour  secular government.<\/p>\n<p>They are among the most pro-American populations in the Middle East,  having either watched or benefited from the American-led no-fly zone  over northern Iraq for more than a decade. And, if the Kurds of Iraq are  any indication, they are also entrepreneurial and welcoming of US and  western investment. All this argues for President Barack Obama&#8217;s  administration to incorporate a Kurdish angle into its new Middle East  strategy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Complex relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First, the US should continue to encourage the resolution of  outstanding issues between Baghdad and the Kurds of Iraq. In particular,  a formalised law on sharing oil revenue will help cement the Kurds in  the framework of Iraq by ensuring them of a portion of the country&#8217;s  vast resources.<\/p>\n<p>Second, the US can be an advocate for a post- Al Assad political  arrangement in Syria that gives some political power to each of the  country&#8217;s many communities; this will be good for all Syrians, not only  the Kurdish ones.<\/p>\n<p>Third, the US should quietly encourage the new government in Turkey  to treat its Kurdish minority generously, making such treatment a focal  point in the rich and complex bilateral relationship. Turkish Prime  Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in the past recognised the need to  address the Kurdish \u2018problem.&#8217; The US should support rejuvenated efforts  to find an acceptable solution on an amnesty for Kurdish militants, to  establish the right of Kurds to be educated in their own language, and  to provide greater autonomy for the Kurdish region of Turkey.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Washington Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meghan L. O&#8217;Sullivan is a professor at Harvard&#8217;s Kennedy School of Government.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meghan L. O&#8217;Sullivan writes: The US and its allies should favour their empowerment in the region because it would be good for their own interests By Meghan L. O&#8217;Sullivan Published: 00:01 June 21, 2011 As change sweeps the Middle East, euphoria has slowly given way to anxiety that the tumult will benefit extremist groups with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":32532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2938],"tags":[5341],"class_list":["post-36235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-middle-east-regions","tag-kurds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}