Organisational Relations of Kurdish Political Parties and Their Evolution
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ORGANISATIONAL RELATIONS OF KURDISH POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR EVOLUTION Scott Patton Orchid ID: 0000-0001-6646-480X Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Philosophy August 2019 Asia Institute The University of Melbourne, Australia i Abstract Since the separation of the Middle East after World War One, the Kurds have found themselves to be minorities spread over four states. Within each of these states – Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria – the Kurds have organically organised themselves into political groups and organisations. To differentiate themselves, the organisations’ have generally followed one of two ideologies: Socialists, who are Marxist in orientation, and nationalists, who are more conservative. Both ideologies have, in time, gained traction in each state and although the specific rhetoric of the individual groups is regionally focused, they still all loosely follow the two main ideological figurehead groups: the socialist PKK from Turkey or the more traditional KDP from Iraq. The Kurd’s ideological divisions have left a legacy of violence and mistrust. When this mistrust is combined with the pressure from their parent states to conform to the government’s sanctioned status quos, the Kurds have had their rights diminished then fought over the issue. Recently, the rise of the Kurdish autonomous areas in Iraq and Syria have challenged this ideological stalemate. The ability to express their ethnicity has given the groups the room to operate in a more democratic fashion that idealises discussion over violence. The opinions Kurds have of their own groups is also important in determining how indentured the biases are throughout their society. By utilising ethnographic research, it becomes clear that the ideological contention between the groups has become part of the ‘norm’ for Kurds and even though they have come a long way towards reconciliation, there is still much to do. ii Declaration This is to certify that (i) The thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD, (ii) Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) The thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, bibliographies, and appendices. Scott Patton iii Acknowledgement The creation of a body of work this size is no easy feat and the journey I have undertaken to create this volume is long and winding. While I initially had grand plans on what I was going to achieve, like fieldwork in Iraq, reality found a way to tame my expectations and bring me back to earth. Fortunately, I had people to help me through the process in either guidance in a physical sense or guidance in a supportive sense. First, I would like to thank my family; my partner Jema and children Zack, Leigh, and Evie. They are the group that really grounded me and made me realise that this body of work was more than just a piece of writing I had to finish. Jema enabled me to do the work and kept me on track, her “we will manage” attitude gave me the space and support I often needed. They were the emotional support and the distraction when things got tough. They were also the support crew back home during the fieldwork phase that kept me on track. It was their constant support that enabled me to continue during my times of doubt in order to finally finish this work. I am so happy I could share this experience with you and I thank you for everything. Next, I would like to thank my extended family; my parents and in-laws. While in the background, they reaffirmed what I was doing and what I was attempting to achieve. While often they may not have understood exactly what I was doing, they always tried to understand and listened to my ramblings about whatever I was up to at the time. Until you are in the process of creating a piece of work like this, you don’t truly understand the village of people you need as support. They helped to build that community and were integral to its operations. My supervisors were an indispensable component of the process that made the unreal prospect of finishing this dissertation into a very real and tangible piece of literature. Dr. Muhammad Kamal and Dr. Lewis Mayo are both exceptional people that made me feel like I could do this. Through all our talks, meetings, and general discussions they made this project iv achievable and gently prodded me in the right direction when I went off on my continual tangents. The Supervisor/Candidate relationship is critical to the completion of a project like this and they proved invaluable. Finally, I would like to thank the Kurds themselves. When I first began to research the Kurds, I was in awe at their ability to ‘keep on keeping on’ in the face of everything that has been thrown at them. When I started meeting with them, I realised what a warm, welcoming, and hospitable group of people they are. Irrespective of their political ideology, which country they came from, or the experiences they have gone through, they are always welcome to have a talk and offer you a cup of tea. I truly hope you all get the resolution to the Kurdish question soon because you all deserve it. v Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Declaration......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................. iv Contents ............................................................................................................................ vi Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 9 1.1 – Background: ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 – Definition of Key Terms .................................................................................................. 13 1.3 – Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 17 1.4 – Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 19 1.5 – Significance of Research ................................................................................................. 20 1.6 – Scope of Research .......................................................................................................... 21 1.7 – Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 22 1.8 – Methodology .................................................................................................................. 23 1.9 – Thesis Outline ................................................................................................................. 30 Chapter 2: Literature review – The Kurds in Words ............................................................. 35 2.1 – Academic and Journalistic Sources: ............................................................................... 35 2.2 – Online Sources: ............................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 3: The Ottoman Era to the Post World War Two Period – The Changing of the Political Guard ................................................................................................................... 59 3.1 - Ottoman Empire to World War One ............................................................................... 60 3.2 - The treaties and their ramifications ................................................................................ 63 3.3 - From Lausanne to the end of World War Two ............................................................... 72 3.3.1 - Iraq ........................................................................................................................... 72 3.3.2 - Turkey ....................................................................................................................... 79 3.3.3 - Syria .......................................................................................................................... 83 3.3.4 - Iran ........................................................................................................................... 87 Chapter 4: Iran – From Political Freedom to Oppression ..................................................... 95 4.1 - The Road to Mahabad ..................................................................................................... 96 4.2 - The Mahabad Republic ................................................................................................. 101 4.3 - The Fall of Mahabad ...................................................................................................... 105 4.4 - The Next Pahlavi ............................................................................................................ 108 4.5 - The Iranian Revolution .................................................................................................. 116 4.6 - The Iran-Iraq War .......................................................................................................... 123 vi 4.7 – After the War and into the New Millennium ............................................................... 128