The Kurds: The Issue and Existence – Between the Dream of a State and the Reality of Oppression

1. The Dream of a State: Historical Roots and Shattered Milestones
The Kurds, the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, possess a distinctive cultural and linguistic identity. They are spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, with smaller communities in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Historically, their roots trace back to Aryan peoples who founded empires such as the Median and Mitanni, yet they have never had an independent state in the modern era. Following World War I, "Kurdistan" was included in the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), but hopes were shattered by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which divided their lands among newly-formed nation-states.
To this day, the Kurdish issue remains the most complex in the region, intertwined with the interests of multiple countries and marked by the lack of genuine international will to support it.

2. The Bitter Reality: Multifaceted Oppression
In Turkey, where Kurds make up over 20% of the population, they have faced decades of cultural and political denial. Since the establishment of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 1978, an armed conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives. Despite intermittent peace initiatives (such as the 2013-2015 negotiations), Ankara continually resorts to repression, such as arresting Kurdish mayors, stripping them of their powers, and imprisoning them.
In Syria, approximately half a million Kurds have been deprived of citizenship since the 1960s. After the Syrian revolution, the Democratic -union- Party (PYD) took control of self-administered areas, but Turkey regards it as an extension of the PKK, launching military operations like "Operation Peace Spring" (2019), with international opposition to any Kurdish autonomous entity.
In Iraq and Iran, while the Kurdistan Region in Iraq achieved autonomy in 1991, it faces tensions with Baghdad over oil and borders. In Iran, Kurds continue to endure relentless security crackdowns, especially as cultural demands intensify.

3. Turkey’s "Peace Initiatives": Political Maneuvering vs. Security Realities
In October 2024, Turkey launched a "reconciliation" initiative with the Kurds, which included a development plan for their regions and a call for Abdullah Ö-;-calan (the imprisoned PKK leader) to lay down arms. However, the initiative faces fundamental challenges:
Conflicting Demands: While Kurds seek autonomy and the right to Kurdish language education, Ankara rejects any form of separation and insists on disbanding the PKK as a precondition for any agreement.
Internal Divisions: PKK leaders are divided between those who support dialogue and those who favor armed resistance, especially in their bases in Syria and Iraq.

4. Existential Challenges: Internal Divisions and External Pressures
Political Divisions: Kurdish parties are fragmented into nationalist, leftist, and Islamic factions, weakening the unity of their demands. In Iraq, the two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic -union- of Kurdistan (PUK), have been vying for power for decades.
Fragile Economy: Kurdish regions lack sufficient services from ruling authorities, despite being rich in resources, making them vulnerable to dependency on ruling regimes´-or-international powers.
Geopolitical Exploitation: The Kurdish issue has been used as a bargaining chip by countries like the United States (to support the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS) and Russia (to weaken Turkish influence), without any genuine commitment to a Kurdish state.

5. Towards the Future: Is the Kurdish State a Possible Dream?
Despite the challenges, opportunities persist that could breathe life into the Kurdish dream:
Cultural Identity: Language and customs (like the celebration of Nowruz) serve as pillars for Kurdish unity, even across borders.
Limited International Support: While the Kurds gained sympathy after their fight against ISIS, they need to turn this into tangible political pressure.
Regional Changes: Crises in Syria and Iraq might provide opportunities for redrawing borders, especially with the weakening of central authorities.
However, success requires the unification of Kurdish ranks and the building of a clear political strategy based on smart alliances, rather than one-sided negotiations with oppressive regimes. Additionally, developing independent economic and educational institutions could strengthen demands for autonomy and pave the way for independence.

Conclusion: Between Bloodshed and Memory
The Kurdish sacrifices are not just numbers: over 40,000 dead in Turkey, the Halabja and Anfal massacres, hundreds of thousands of deaths during Saddam s dictatorship in Iraq, the demographic changes in Kurdish regions in 1974, the Qamishli uprising in 2004, and the displacement of millions of Kurds in Syria from Afrin and other Kurdish cities after Turkey s takeover. This memory forms a collective consciousness that rejects surrender. However, the struggle must move beyond slogans to institutional action that unites the Kurds across borders and turns the dream from a "mirage" into reality. The Kurdish state is not a political luxury-;- it is an existential necessity for a people who have struggled for a century to gain recognition.

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