PLS 405: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Democracy END The Kurdish Conflict in the Republic of Turkey

Location of Turkey

3 / 27 Turkey: Geography Transcontinental State –Europe (Thrace) –Asia (Anatolia) Size: –71 million Land Use: –Arable Land: 30% –Permanent Crops: 3.4%

4 / 27 Turkey: Population Size: –71 million (17/222) Age Structure: –0 – 14:25% –15 – 65:68% –66+:7% Population Growth: –Total growth rate: 1.04% –Fertility Rate:1.89 –IMR:38.33/1000 Life Expectancy: –72.88 (103/222)

5 / 27 United States: Population Size: –301 million (3/222) Age Structure: –0 – 14:20% –15 – 65:67% –66+:13% Population Growth: –Total growth rate: 0.89% –Fertility Rate:2.09 –IMR:6.37/1000 Life Expectancy: –78.00 (45/222)

6 / 27 Turkey: Population Ethnicity: –Turkish (?) 80% –Kurdish (?) 20% Language: –Turkish Religion: –Muslim99.0% Sunni74.5% Shi’a Alevi19.8% Urban/Rural Split: –Urban66.7% –Rural33.3%

7 / 27 Turkey: Government Government: –Parliamentary democracy –Proportional representation Justice and Development Party –AKP46.7% Republican People’s Party –CHP20.9% Nationalist Movement Party –MHP14.3%71+71 Leaders: –PresidentAbdullah Gül –Prime MinisterRecep Erdoğan –Speaker of MeclisKöksal Toptan

8 / 27 The Kurds: Quick Facts Approximately half of all Kurds live in Turkey making up around 20% percent of the Turkish population, they number between 12 to 15 million The majority of Kurds reside in the southeastern corner of the country The government of Turkey spends $6 billion a year fighting its Kurdish separatists

9 / 27 A Map of Kurdistan

Kurdish Populations

11 / 27 The Kurds: Religions Islam –Sunni –Sufi –Shi’a Christianity Judaism

12 / 27 The Kurds: Society Language –Indo-European –Indo-Iranian –Iranian –Western Iranian –Northwestern Iranian Traditional Garb Music Tribal Structure

13 / 27 The Kurds: Ancient History Hurrain Empire –3000 BCE – 600 BCE Median Empire –6 th century BCE Achaemenid Empire –6 th century BCE – 3 rd century BCE

14 / 27 The Kurds: Classical History Greek Empire –3 rd century BCE – 1 st century BCE Roman Empire –1 st century BCE – 641 CE

15 / 27 The Kurds: Medieval History Arab Rule –641 CE – 12 th century CE –Rashidun Empire ( ) –Umayyad Empire ( ) –Abbasid Empire ( ) –Fatimid Empire ( ) Seljuk Turks –11th century – 14 th century CE Ayyubid Dynasty –1169 – 13 th century CE Principalities –13 th century – 1514 CE

16 / 27 The Kurds: Modern History Ottoman Empire –1514 – 1922 Republic of Turkey –1914 – present Iran –1921 – 1941, 1941 – present Republic of Iraq –1919 – 1932 – present Syrian Arab Republic –1946 – present

17 / 27 Relevant Turkish Treaties Treaty of Paris (1919) –Ended World War I National Self-Determination Treaty of Sèvres (1920) –Dissolved the Ottoman Empire –Created: Wilsonian Armenia Kingdom of Herjaz Iraq (British Mandate) Lebanon (French Mandate) Palestine (British Mandate) Syria (French Mandate)

18 / 27 Relevant Turkish Treaties Treaty of Ankara (1921) –Dropped French claims on Turkey –Dropped Turkish claims on Syria Treaty of Lausanne (1923) –Replaced the Treaty of Sèvres –Settled Anatolian issues –Settled borders of Turkey –Turkey was successor state to the Ottoman Empire

19 / 27 Kurdish Rebellions Koçkiri Rebellion (1920) Sheikh Said Piran’s Rebellion(1925 ) Shaikh Abdurrahman’s Rebellion (1927) The Agri (Ararat) Rebellion ( ) The Dersim Rebellions(1937)

20 / 27 Turkish Suppression Recognition –No official recognize of any minority ethnic groups –Kurds called “Mountain Turks” Turkification –Forced assimilation –Suppression of Kurds Suppression –Kurdish language –Kurdish culture

21 / 27 The Separatist Group The Kurdistan Workers Party –Kürdistan İşçi Partisi(KIP) –Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan(PKK) Created: –1974 Leader: –Abdullah Öcalan, captured Goal: –Independent Marxist Kurdish state in present-day Kurdistan Strength: –Regular fighters are estimated at 15,000 in and around Turkey

22 / 27 The Separatist Group Killings –Total37,000 –Civilians32,000 –Military personnel5,000 Annual Budget –Expenditures86 million USD –Sources: Human Trafficking Drug Trafficking Donations Extortion Ransom

23 / 27 PKK Timeline Formed: 1974 Major fighting began: 1984 Violence increased: –Marxist state no longer goal February 1999 –Abdullah Öcalan captured January 2004 –US declares it a terrorist group September 2006 –Another unilateral ceasefire

24 / 27 Turkey’s Political Response External Pressure –EU –UN Post-9/11 and US relations –Turkey steamrolled by US –US support of anti-terrorism July 2003 Reforms: –Adoption of “Reintegration Law” –Amended the Census Law –Reforms allowing the use of non- Turkish languages –Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law revoked

25 / 27 And Now Currently an estimated 1 to 3 millions IDPs Tens of thousands killed Hundreds of villages destroyed Human rights violations Terrorism by PKK

26 / 27 Conceivable Solutions Kurdish integration approach Total secession approach

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