THE KURDS OF IRAQ: RECENT HISTORY, FUTURE PROSPECTS By Carole A. O’Leary* This article briefly recounts the developing situation of Iraqi Kurds over the last decade and discusses what the future of this group might be like in a post-Saddam Iraq. It explores the option of a federal system in which a division of powers between the central government and north would provide a way for effective regional government will ensuring the state's unity. A workable, acceptable solution to the Kurdish problem would be absolutely necessary for the future stability of Iraq. The article also looks at how the decade-long experience of Kurdish self-rule in a democratic framework affects the debate over Iraq's future. The article concludes with a chronology of modern Kurdish history. The Kurds, an Iranian ethno-linguistic Turkomans, Arabs, and Armenians are also group--like Persians, Lurs, Baluch and found in Iraqi Kurdistan. In Iraq there are Bakhtiari,--inhabit the mostly mountainous approximately 3.7 million Kurds in the area where the borders of Turkey, Iran, predominantly Kurdish northern safe haven Iraq, and Syria converge. Following World area, and between 1 and 2 million in the War I and the breakup of the Ottoman rest of Iraq, particularly Baghdad, Mosul Empire, the Kurds were promised their and that part of Iraqi Kurdistan still under own country under the terms of the 1920 the control of the Baghdad regime.(1) Treaty of Sevres only to find the offer The majority of Kurds are Sunni rescinded under the 1923 Treaty of Muslims. There are also Shi’a and Yezidi Lausanne. Numbering at least 25 million Kurds, as well as Christians who identify people, Kurds are mostly divided among themselves as Kurds. Yezidis are Kurds Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. The main area who follow a religion that combines they inhabit is about 230,000 square miles, indigenous pre-Islamic and Islamic equal to German and Britain combined. traditions. The once thriving Jewish The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in Kurdish community in Iraq now consists of the world without a state. The term a few families in the Kurdish safe haven. "Kurdistan" is widely used in Iraq to refer Since the creation of the modern state of to the Kurdish area of northern Iraq and in Iraq, the history of Iraqi Kurdistan has been Iran to refer to the Kurdish area of one of underdevelopment, political and northwest Iran. Turkey and Syria, cultural repression, destruction, ethnic however, avoid this term for political cleansing and genocide.(2) Al-Anfal (The reasons, although under the Ottomans it Spoils) was the codename given to an was widely used. aggressive, planned, military operation The area of northern Iraq where Kurds against Iraqi Kurds. It was part of an predominate, is a region of about 83,000 ongoing, larger campaign against Kurds square kilometers. This is roughly the same because of their struggle to gain autonomy size as Austria. Smaller ethno-linguistic within the Republic of Iraq. Anfal took communities of Assyrian-Chaldeans, place during 1988 under the direction of Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 6, No. 4 (December 2002) 17 Carole A. O'Leary Ali Hasan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's 1963 and culminated in the Anfal cousin. He became known as "Chemical operation, it is estimated that more than Ali" because of his use of chemical and 4,000 villages in rural Kurdistan were biological weapons on Kurdish towns and destroyed and perhaps 300,000 people villages. perished. The broad purpose of the campaign was The best-known chemical attack to eliminate resistance by the Kurds by any occurred at Halabja in March 1988. This means necessary. Its specific aim was to town is located in the mountains near cleanse the region of "saboteurs"--who Sulaimaniya, about 11 kilometers from the included all males between the ages of 15 Iranian border. Between 40,000 and and 70. Mass executions were carried out 50,000 people were living there at the time. in the targeted villages and surrounding The Iranian army had previously pushed areas. The operation was carefully planned Iraqi forces out of the area. During three and included identifying villages in rebel days, the town and surrounding district held areas, declaring these villages and were attacked with conventional bombs, surrounding areas "prohibited" and artillery fire, and chemicals--including authorizing the killing of any person or mustard gas and nerve agents (Sarin, animal found in these areas. Tabun, and VX). At least 5,000 people died Economic blockades were put onto immediately as a result of the chemical these villages to cut them off from all attack and it is estimated that up to 12,000 support. The army also planned for the people died during those three days. evacuation of them and the inhabitants' Almost fifteen years later, there is still relocation to reservation-like collective not much known about the impact of these towns. People who refused to leave were agents on the people and environment. Dr. often shot. In some cases, people who Christine Gosden, a professor of Medical agreed to leave were gathered up and Genetics at the University of Liverpool, separated, with men from 15 to 70 in one working with the Washington Kurdish group; women, children, and elderly men Institute (WKI), helped establish the in another. Many of the men were Halabja Post-Graduate Medical Institute to executed while the others were removed to understand the impact of weapons of mass the collective towns or to camps in the destruction on civilian populations. It south of Iraq. offers both research and medical help for During the Anfal operation, some 1,200 thousands of survivors living in the area.(3) villages were destroyed. More than The Kurds' first-hand experience with such 180,000 persons are missing and presumed attacks has prompted their request to the dead. While the Iraqi government was international community for protection motivated partly by the fact that some from this type of weapons in the event of Kurdish groups cooperated with Iran U.S.-led military action against Iraq. during the Iran-Iraq war, documentation In April 1991, following the March recovered in the Kurdish safe haven in uprising of Kurds in the north and Shi’a 1991 reveals that this operation was part of Arabs in the south against the central a larger campaign undertaken by Saddam government, Iraqi Kurdistan was divided throughout his time in power. Many now into two parts. Relying on UN Security regard this operation as proof of genocide Council Resolution 688, military forces against Iraqi Kurds. In all phases of the from eleven countries, including the United ethnic cleansing program, which began States and Turkey, implemented Operation when the Baath Party first seized power in Provide Comfort to give security and 18 Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 6, No. 4 (December 2002) The Kurds of Iraq: Recent History, Future Prospects humanitarian assistance to refugees in in two separate parts, each by one of the camps along the Iraq-Turkey border. The two main parties (KDP and PUK). Efforts so-called Kurdish safe haven and northern have been on-going to find how to no-fly zone were established in this integrate the two administrations. context. Under considerable constraint and Despite this disappointment, there have against strong external and internal been some more positive developments. opposition, the Kurdish safe haven has Free and fair local elections, under been successfully governed for a decade by international observation, were conducted the Kurds themselves. This part of Iraqi in dozens of municipalities in 2000 and Kurdistan is roughly 40,000 square 2001 in the KDP and PUK areas. For the kilometers, or about half of Iraqi first time since 1994, the KNA convened in Kurdistan.(4) The rest continues to be its entirety in Erbil on October 4, 2002. directly governed by Baghdad. The reconvening of the KNA is a clear In October 1991, the Government of indication of the growing cooperation Iraq (GOI) voluntarily withdrew its civil between the KDP and PUK, particularly in administration and the citizens of the their dealings with the Bush administration Kurdish safe haven were left to govern and U.S. Congress, as well as with states in themselves. Elections were held in May the region and Europe. In particular, the 1992 and the Kurdistan National Assembly KDP and PUK are unified in asserting the (KNA) and the Kurdistan Regional Kurdish right to self-determination in a Government (KRG) were created. The future democratic Iraq in which they call Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the for Iraqi Kurdistan entering into a federal Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) relationship with the central government entered into an equal power-sharing under a new constitutional arrangement. arrangement, with 5 of the 105 KNA seats The Kurdish safe haven is now a allocated to members of the Assyrian- decade-old example of what can happen Chaldean Christian community. throughout the rest of Iraq. The liberated Turkomans boycotted the election, part of Iraqi Kurdistan has become a refuge although efforts were made to include for all Iraqis seeking freedom and representatives from all ethnic and democracy. Since 1991, thousands of Iraqi religious communities. refugees in Iran have returned. And since Participatory processes were instituted 1991, thousands more Iraqis from central to develop experience with the or southern Iraq have sought asylum. Even requirements, and systems and procedures more striking, some families who fled Iraq of democracy. These elections were over 20 years ago, and who became deemed to have been free and fair by citizens of the United States and European international observers.(5) Regional countries, elected to return since 1991.