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The Kurdish Nationalist Movement and External Influences Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 1980-12 The Kurdish nationalist movement and external influences Disney, Donald Bruce, Jr. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/17624 '";. Vi , *V ^y NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS THE KURDISH NATIONALIST MOVEMENT AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCES by Donald Bruce Disney, Jr. December 1980 The sis Advisor: J. W. Amos, II Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited T19 «—,rob J Unclassified "wi.fy * N°* StCUHlTY CLASSIFICATION r>* THIS »>GI '•*>•« D«t Knlmrmd) READ INSTRUCTIONS REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE BEFORE COMPLETING FORM •f*OAT NUMlf* 2. OOVT ACCCUION MO. J MKCl»lCNT'S CATALOG NUMBER. 4 TiTlE ,«.*Ju »mH) s. TY*e of neponT * rewoo covcncd The Kurdish Nationalist Movement Master's Thesis; and External Influences December 1980 * »I»ro»l»INQ owe. «I»OKT NUMIIR 7. AuTmO*><*> • contract o« chant HumUtnf) Donald Bruce Disney, Jr., LCDR, USN * RfBFORMINO OWOANI2ATION NAME AND >QD*tii tO. *«OG*AM CLEMENT. RBOjECT. T as* AREA * «OMK UNIT NUDUM Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California 93940 M CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME ANO ADDRESS 12. MFOUT DATE Naval Postgraduate School December, 1980 Monterey, California 93940 II. MUMBER O' WAGES 238 TT MONITORING AGENCY NAME A AOORESSfll if>'M*ml Ifmm Controlling Ottlc*) It- SICURITY CLASS. <al Iftlm report) Naval Postgraduate School Unclassified Monterey, California 93940 Im DECLASSIFICATION/ DOWNGRADING SCHEDULE l«. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of Ihlt *•»•»!) Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 17 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT at (»• •*•„•«( rnrnfm** In #I»c* 20, // dittfmt rrmm Mf rt) IE. SUFFLCMCNTARY NOTES '» KEY *O*0l (Continue em remem »!<*• It r\eceeeiy em* itemttty m, ilect IHMHMMP Kurds, Kurdish Nationalism, Kurdish Revolts, Kurdish Political Parties, Mullah Mustafa Barzani, Sheikh Ezzedin, Abdul Rahman Qassemlu, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, UK, U.S., U.S.S.R., Israel, PLO, Armenians 20. ABSTRACT ,'CMilnu* em -•»•«•• •<<>• II n«c«*««ry «••) <«Rnt<fr »r »l«e« WBBBCl The Kurdish National Movement and External Influences is a historic examination of the Kurds, the Kurdish national movement, and the effects of external actors on the movement. It discusses who the Kurds are, where they are located and how many of them there are. The primary topics covered are Kurdish revolts, leaders, Kurdish political evolution, and the roles which local and non-Middle-Eastern countries have played in Kurdish national '*:*» COITION OF l MOV •• IS OBSOLETE DO , 1473 14- A«0 unclassified (Page 1) S/N 102-0 I SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS FAOt (trmmn Dmtm Snt—cl) f+cumr* ct,*Mi>'C*Tiow qw Twit m*Qifw*mm n»«« ««•»•« development. The primary countries discussed, as actors, are: Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Kurdish links to other groups, such as the Armenians, and the Palestine Liberation Organization are also described. Finally an assessment as to the effects of external actors on Kurdish Nationalism is made and a prognosis for further Kurdish prospects is included. DD ForrB 1473 Unclassified S/N oV&2-014-6601 Approved for public release; distribution unlimited, The Kurdish Nationalist Movement and External Influences by Donald Bruce Disney, Jr. Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy B.S., United States Naval Academy, 1971 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December, 1980 ABSTRACT The Kurdish National Movement and External Influences is a historic examination of the Kurds, the Kurdish national movement, and the effects of external actors on the movement. It discusses who the Kurds are, where they are located and how many of them there are. The primary topics covered are Kurdish revolts, leaders, Kurdish political evolution, and the roles which local and non-Middle-Eastern countries have played in Kurdish national development. The primary countries discussed, as actors, are: Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Kurdish links to other groups, such as the Armenians, and the Palestine Liberation Organization are also described. Finally an assessment as to the effects of external actors on Kurdish Nationalism is made and a prognosis for further Kurdish prospects is included. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 9 I. THE KURDS TO 1918 12 A. EARLY HISTORY 12 B. THE KURDS AND ISLAMIC EMPIRES TO 1880 13 C. THE RISE OF KURDISH NATIONALISM 17 D. CONCLUSIONS 24 FOOTNOTES FOR SECTION I 25 II. KURDISH REVOLTS: 1918-1944 28 A. TRIBAL-FEUDAL REVOLTS 29 1. Sheikh Mahmud of Barzinjah 29 2. Dilo Kurds in Iraq - 1920 30 3. Seyyid Abdullah, July 1925 • 31 4. Nisibin, Turkey - 1928 31 B. RELIGIO-POLITICAL REVOLTS 33 1. Sheikh Said of Palu (Genj) 33 2. Sheikh Ahmed of Barzan 36 C. TRIBAL-NATIONALIST REVOLTS 37 1. Simko in Persia 37 2. Sheikh Mahmud Revisited -- 38 3. Jelali and Haideranlu in Turkey 1927"' 40 4. Bazan of Zibar 41 D. NATIONALIST REVOLTS 42 1. Ishan Nuri in Turkey - 1930 42 2. Sayyid Riza in Turkey, 1937 44 5 3. Revolts in Iraq 1941-1943 45 4. Revolt in Iran 1941-1942 46 E. CONCLUSIONS 47 FOOTNOTES FOR SECTION II : 49 III. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 1918-1944 57 A. POLITICAL MANEUVERS PRECEDING THE TREATY OF SEVRES 57 B. THE TREATY OF SEVRES TO THE TREATY OF LAUSANNE 60 C. POST-LAUSANNE EUROPEAN ACTIONS TO 1944 66 1. The Mosul Question 67 2. The Tripartite Treaty: Iraq, Turkey, and United Kingdom - 5 June 1926 69 3. World War II Efforts 70 D. REGIONAL ACTORS: EFFORTS AT CONTROL 73 E. KURDISH POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 77 1. The Khoybun 77 2. The Pan-Iranian League 79 3. The Hewa Party 79 4. The Shursh Group 80 5. The Komala 81 F. CONCLUSIONS 82 FOOTNOTES FOR SECTION III 84 IV. THE KURDS FROM 1945-1958 92 A. THE MAHABAD REPUBLIC 92 1. Political Prelude 92 2. Mullah Mustafa's 1945 Revolt 96 3. Formation of the Republic 97 6 4. Demise of the Mahabad Republic 99 5. Assessment and Regional Shocks 103 B. COLD WAR PROPAGANDA EFFORTS 105 C. KURDISH POST-MAHABAD POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 107 1. Formation of the UDPK 107 2. Iranian and Turkish Kurds 108 3. Regional Power Actions 109 D. CONCLUSIONS 111 FOOTNOTES FOR SECTION IV 114 V. THE KURDS IN IRAQ 1958-1980 121 A. THE GATHERING STORM: 14 July 1958 - September 1961 122 1. Initial Cooperation 122 2. The Barzanis Return to the North 125 3. The Road to Revolt 127 B. THE KURDISH REVOLT September 1961 - April 1975 129 1. The First Phase - September 1961 - 29 June 1966 129 2. The Ceasefire 142 3. The Second Phase March 1969-March 1974 144 4. The Third Phase March 1974-April 1975 150 C. DEVELOPMENTS FROM APRIL 1975-1980 153 1. Kurdish Political Developments 153 2. Iraqi Ba'th Policies 156 D. CONCLUSIONS 159 FOOTNOTES FOR SECTION V 163 VI. CONCLUSION AND PROGNOSIS 181 A. CONCLUSIONS 181 1. Kurdish Nationalism 181 2. The Impact of External Influences 186 3. The Hypothesis 193 B. PROGNOSIS 194 FOOTNOTES FOR SECTION VI 199 APPENDIX A MAP OF KURDISTAN 205 APPENDIX B PERTINENT TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS 206 APPENDIX C TABLE OF REVOLTS 223 APPENDIX D POLITICAL PARTY EVOLUTION 2 27 BIBLIOGRAPHY 23 2 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST 238 INTRODUCTION The Kurds, as a tribally organized nation, have existed in the Middle East since ancient times. Centered predominantly in the area of modern Iraq, Iran, and Turkey, with smaller groups in Syria and the USSR, they have interacted with the various migratory flows and imperial regimes throughout the region's history. With the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century, the first Kurdish modern revolt occurred under the leadership of Sheikh Ubeidullah. This was followed by the development of early Kurdish political groups and other expressions of nationalism in the early 20th century. After World War I, Kurdish nationalist aspirations were encouraged by the Treaty of Sevres but were to be deflated by the actions of Turkey, Iraq, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The 1920' s and 1930' s saw a multiplicity of Kurdish revolts and the growth of an urbanized political intelligentsia as the Kurds interacted with the new assertive nation-states among which they were divided. At the end of World War II, the Soviet-sponsored Mahabad Republic came into being. It was ended after the Soviet withdrawal from, and Iranian occupation of the area in 1946. During the post-World War II period the Kurds were fairly quiescent due to efforts of regional powers to control them. They were subjected, however, to a propaganda campaign between the United States and the Soviet Union through most of the period. In 1961 Mulla Mustafa Barzani rose in revolt in Iraq and was not fully defeated until 1975. The period from 1975 to 1980 saw a splintering of Kurdish political parties, suppression of Kurds in Iraq and Turkey, and a renewed Kurdish revolt in Iran after the fall of the Shah. Throughout most of Kurdish modern history, external influ- ences ranged from overt aid to the Kurds in revolt, to use of the Kurds against a neighboring country, to cooperative regional efforts to control Kurdish movements. While the Kurdish tribal element has remained strong and has provided most of the insurgents in the field, an extensive political organization has also developed to represent the movement. It has consisted of parties within each country which maintained links with each other and which also maintained links to Kurdish political groups abroad. These overseas groups also have established ties to extraregional actors to obtain support for the Kurdish movement The hypothesis examined in this thesis was: The importance of Kurdish nationalism and its vitality are dependent upon the greater conflict of which it is a part; to wit: the status of governments in, and disputes between the regional actors as well as the power roles of external actors in the 10 Northern Tier and Persian Gulf region.
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