Kurds in Iraq
are the second largest ethnic group of Iraq. They traditionally speak the Kurdish languages of Sorani, Kurmanji, Feyli and also Gorani.
Historically, Kurds in Iraq have experienced varying degrees of autonomy and marginalization. While the Treaty of Sèvres proposed Kurdish independence, this was never implemented, and Iraqi Kurds were incorporated into the modern state of Iraq. Following the withdrawal of the Iraqi Army from the Kurdistan Region in 1991, the Kurdistan Regional Government was established, and ultimately recognized by the Iraqi government in 2005, granting the region a degree of self-governance. Iraqi Kurdistan remains a significant political and cultural entity within Iraq.
History
The Kurdish people are an ethnic group whose origins are in the Middle East. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in the world that do not have a state of their own. This geo-cultural region means "Land of the Kurds". Kurdistan Region is a semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq has a population of approximately 6 million people. Kurdish populations occupy the territory in and around the Zagros mountains. These arid unwelcoming mountains have been a geographic buffer to cultural and political dominance from neighboring empires. Persians, Arabs, and Ottomans were kept away, and a space was carved out to develop Kurdish culture, language, and identity. Arabs applied the name "Kurds" to the people of the mountains after they had conquered and Islamicized the region.Classical period
Several Kurdish dynasties such as Annazids and Hasanwayhids ruled in northern Iraq. The Kurdish Marwanid dynasty temporarily ruled over Mosul. The Ayyubid dynasty, was a powerful Islamic dynasty of Kurdish origin and also ruled northern Iraq.Ottoman Conquest and Aftermath
In the 1500s, most Kurds came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, where they were governed as part of the empire's administrative structure. Iraqi Kurds began to emerge as a distinct subgroup of the Kurdish population following the creation of the modern state of Iraq by Great Britain under the terms of the Sykes–Picot Agreement during World War I.The Kurdish expectation of independence, promised in the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, was short-lived. In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne established the Republic of Turkey, redefining borders and negating provisions for a Kurdish state. Similarly, the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922, which laid the groundwork for Iraqi independence, did not include any guarantees for Kurdish autonomy.
Kurdish nationalist movement
In 1946 the Kurdish Democratic Party was founded by Mulla Mustafa Barzani which pushed for Kurdish autonomy under the Iraqi government. In the year 1958, Abdul Karim Qasim made a coup against the British and the Republic of Iraq was established. The Kurds had hoped that now they would receive their promised rights, but the political environment was not favorable. So the KDP began an insurgency against the Government in Baghdad in 1961. Their insurgency was in part successful as in 1966 official Kurdish groups gained some rights with the Bazzaz Declaration and with the 1970 Peace Accord a principle of Kurdish autonomy was reached. In the 1970 Peace Accord, Kurdish cultural, social and political rights were recognized within fifteen points. These rights were never implemented, not due to unwillingness on the part of the Arabs, but rather because of political developments. Nevertheless, the Kurds had a period of greater liberty from 1970 to 1974. But in March 1975 the Iraq and Iran reached an agreement and within a few hours after the agreement, Iran stopped all support to the KDP, whose members and their families had the choice between go to exile to Iran or surrender to the Iraqi authority. Most KDP members chose to live in exile and the KDP declared the end of their insurgency. Therefore, in 1975, another political party emerged in Iraqi Kurdistan, led by Jalal Talabani—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Since the PUK was established, it lacked cooperation and engaged in violent conflict with the KDP over differing philosophies, demographics, and goals. From March 1987 until 1989 the Anfal campaign lasted, with which the Kurds were supposed to be Arabized. During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988.After the Gulf War and an unsuccessful Kurdish uprising in 1991, Kurds fled back to the mountains to seek refuge from the government forces. The United States established a no fly zone initiative in Iraqi Kurdistan for the Kurds as an asylum away from the Iraqi government. United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 in 1991 condemned and forbade "the repression of the Iraqi civilian population... in Kurdish populated areas." After many bloody encounters, an uneasy balance of power was reached between the Iraqi forces and Kurdish troops, ultimately allowing Iraqi Kurdistan to function independently. The region continued to be ruled by the KDP and PUK and began to establish a stable economy and national identity. Iraqi Kurdistan built a socioeconomic infrastructure from scratch, completely independent from the centralized framework of Ba'athist Iraq. Though civil war broke out in the north between Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party and Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan from 1994 to 1998, Kurds were still able to maintain a democratic and prosperous foundation for their region.
US invasion of Iraq
When the US invaded to oust the Iraqi government in 2003, the northern Kurdish border with Iraqi central state was moved considerably southward. This gave Kurds more access to water and oil resources, therefore increasing priorities within the region to establish steady relations with the Kurds. This new access also encouraged more investment within the region, softening political tensions and polarization. The US invaded Iraq in order to take down Saddam Hussein and dissolve any threats of weapons of mass destruction. After the invasion, however, no evidence of mass destruction weapons was found to prove the US claim. After the fall of the government, the United States government, with the help of ethnic leaders had to confront three issues: the nature of the future Iraqi government, how Shia representation was to be achieved in the government, and how Sunni re-enfranchisement was to be managed. Different opinions emerged on whether the Iraqi government should be centralized or not, how the US should respond to civil conflict between the Arabs and Kurds, and how previous promises to the Kurdish and Iraqi people would be achieved in a future state.Kurdish people have played an important role in Iraqi state-building since the United States invaded in 2003. Many Kurds seek to build an autonomous federal state in the post-Hussein era, however, a solution for Kurdish problems in Iraq was not even mentioned in the 2004 UN resolution that established Iraq's interim government.
Politics
Factors that play into their future include Kurdish diversity and factions, Kurdish relationships with the United States, Iraq's central government, and neighboring countries, previous political agreements, disputed territories, and Kurdish nationalism.Disputed internal boundaries have been a core concern for Arabs and Kurds, especially since US invasion and political restructuring in 2003. Kurds gained territory to the south of Iraqi Kurdistan after the US-led invasion in 2003 to regain what land they considered historically theirs.
One of the major problems in trying to implement Article 140 was a discrepancy in the definition of 'disputed area'. The article only refers to regions that would go through this normalization process as "Kirkuk and other disputed area". In 2003 Kurdish negotiator Mahmud Othman suggested that Kurdish majority areas below the Green line be attached to the KRG immediately, and 'mixed areas' should be questioned on a case-by-case basis. Sunnis felt as if Kurds should gain no additional land as a result of the US invasion. Reattaching Kirkuk districts to reflect the 1975 boundaries posed many problems to Iraqis and brought along unintended consequences.
2014 Northern Iraq offensive
During the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, Iraqi Kurdistan seized the city of Kirkuk and the surrounding area, as well as most of the disputed territories in Northern Iraq.Article 140
Article 140 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution vowed to place disputed areas under the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government by the end of 2007. The three phases that were going to aid this process were normalization, census, and referendum. The normalization phase was supposed to undo the 'Arabization' policies Kurds faced from 1968 to 2003 that were designed to alter the demographic in the city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas to favor the Arab population. These policies included deportation, displacement, house demolition, and property confiscation. Institutionalized boundaries as a result of past gerrymandering were also to be reversed. After this normalization process, a census would talk place and the populace would choose to be governed by either the KRG or Baghdad.Article 140 was not implemented by 2007. At this time the Presidency Council also recommended to reattach all previously detached districts of Kirkuk. The Chemchamal and Kalar districts that were allocated to Sulaymaniyah Governorate in 1976 were to be returned to Kirkuk. Kifri, annexed to the Diyala governorate in 1976 was to be reattached, although it had been under Kurdish control since 1991. Lastly, the Tuz district would be reattached from the Salah ad-Din district. In 2008, the 140 Committee announced inaction on these initiatives.
In 2008, the Iraqi, Kurdish and US governments came to the consensus that these types of reparations to the Kurdish people would not be able to be carried out without further negotiations and political agreements on boundaries. The US government faced many problems trying to implement Article 140. This was not an ideal form of reparation for many Kurds. After being displaced, many formerly Kurdish regions lacked in development and agricultural upkeep. Educational and economic opportunities were often greater for Kurds outside of these disputed territories, so many people did not want to be forced to return.