Worlds Apart: The Roots of Regional Conflicts

Timeline

For much of this century, the story of the Kurds has been that of war, poverty, and oppression. Since the dismantling of the Ottomon Empire and the end of World War I, the Kurds have fought to create an independent Kurdistan and have suffered discriminiation and military attack by the governments of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey.

1920-23: Treaties of Sevres and Lausanne

Following World War I European allies propose an independent Kurdistan in the Treaty of Sevres. The treaty is never ratified but is replaced by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which never mentions a separate Kurdish state and in fact divides the existing Kurdish-inhabited lands among Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.

1920s-1940s: Turkish Kurds denied identity

In an effort to build national unity, Turkey's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, designates Kurds "Mountain Turks" and denies their claims to special status. Kurdish language, schools, publications, associations, names, and music are banned.

1925 Turkish Kurds rebel

Reacting to efforts to erase their cultural identity and secularize Turkey, which many devout Muslim Kurds find offensive, Kurds revolt against the Turkish Republic. The government reacts harshly and crushes the rebels. Other large revolts follow in 1930 and 1937, all of which are defeated.

1945: Kurdish Republic of Mahabad formed

After World War II the Kurds enjoy a brief period of independence with the creation of the Republic of Mahabad in Iran. After the Soviet Union withdraws its support, the Kurdish Republic is overtaken in less than a year by Iranian troops.

1946: Iraqi, Iranian Kurdish parties formed

Iraqi Kurd Mustafa Barzani leads the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and a worldwide movement for a free Kurdistan until his death in 1979. The KDP remains one of the dominant players in the Kurdish resistance movement in Iraq.

1962: 120,000 Syrian Kurds stripped of citizenship

Kurds are required to prove they have lived in Syria since at least 1945 or lose their citizenship. An arbitrary census is taken and, as a result, 120,000 Syrian Kurds--about 20 percent of the country's Kurdish population--lose their citizenship. These Kurds still do not have the right to vote, to own property, or to have their marriages legally recognized.

1970 Iraq recognizes Kurdish political and cultural autonomy

Baghdad recognizes Kurdish rights to language and self-rule in some areas. The recognition is short-lived, as the agreement breaks down over the extent of Kurdish autonomy and control of oil revenues, among other issues.

March 1974: Kurdish war in Iraq

KDP leader Barzani goes to battle with Iraq when the government excludes the oil-rich Kirkuk province from Kurdish lands. The battle grows into an all-out war when the Ba'th government responds with a massive attack, forcing some 130,000 Kurds into Iran. One year later, Iran halts aid to Kurdish refugees in exchange for Iraqi border concessions.

1975: PUK formed in Iraq

Jalal Talabani, a rival of KDP leader Mustafa Barzani, forms the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). More radical than the KDP, the PUK takes root among the urban intellectual Kurdish population.

1978: PKK formed in Turkey

Turkish Kurd Abdullah Ocalan forms the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Marxist resistance group whose goal is to create an independent homeland for the Kurdish people.

1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and the Kurds

With the Iran-Iraq War comes military campaigns against the Kurds in both countries. Early on, Iranian forces engage Iraqi Kurds in battle over the northeastern Iraqi areas from Kirkuk to the Turkish border. Later, the Iraqi military carries out systematic attacks on Kurdish military groups and the Kurdish population. In 1983, some 5,000-8,000 members of the KDP are reported to have been abducted by Iraqi troops.

August 1984 Turkey's PKK takes up arms

Under Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) begins an armed campaign against the Turkish government. Over the next 15 years, 20,000-30,000 people are killed. Amnesty International reports that the PKK have attacked and killed civilians, including "village guards" (locals recruited to aid the Turkish army) and teachers. The Turkish military is also implicated in attacks on civilians.

1987-88 Iraq launches major offensive against Kurds

Iraq launches brutal attacks against the Kurds in an effort to regain control of areas taken over by the KDP. An Iraqi chemical attack on the town of Halabja in March 1988 kills as many as 5,000 Kurds. Human Rights Watch later reports the total number of Kurds killed during the "Anfal" at between 50,000 and 100,000.

March 1991 Iraqi Kurds revolt

The Kurds launch a rebellion in Iraq that coincides with U.S. calls for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and a Shi'ite uprising in the south. The Iraqi government swiftly quashes the Shi'ite revolt and attacks the Kurds, forcing an estimated 450,000 Kurds to the Turkish border (where most are denied entry) and more than a million to Iran.

April 5, 1991 UN calls on Iraq to halt Kurd attacks

The United Nations adopts Resolution 688, which calls on Iraq to end attacks on the Kurds and allows the international community to establish "safe havens." Kurds in these areas are protected by a multinational force and provided food, shelter, and medical care by nongovernmental organizations.

1991 Ban on Kurdish language lifted in Turkey

The Turkish government lifts its ban on the use of the Kurdish language, although Kurdish still cannot be used in broadcast or political settings.

April 1991 Iraqi-Kurdish negotiations

Faced with worldwide economic sanctions, Iraq agrees to negotiate with Kurdish military groups. The two sides agree that Kurdish areas should be autonomous, though the status of oil-rich Kirkuk is still a point of contention. In October, talks stall and Kurdish fighters begin skirmishing with Iraqi troops.

May 19, 1992 Iraqi Kurdistan Front holds elections

The first elections between the rival PUK and KDP are held, resulting in a tie. While the United States, United Kingdom, and European Parliament support the elections, they never officially recognize the Kurdish administration.

March 17, 1993 Turkish PKK leader Ocalan offers cease-fire

PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan announces a cease-fire for 25 days if there are no attacks against members of his group during that time. The cease-fire ends on May 24, when the PKK kills 33 Turkish soldiers.

May 1994 Fighting between the KDP and PUK

The KDP and PUK clash in battles that kill 1,000 and force 25,000 to flee their homes. The renewed fighting again leaves Iraqi Kurdistan divided. The KDP dominates the north, along the Turkish border, and the PUK controls the south.

May 1995 First Kurdish cable channel launched

The first Kurdish satellite television channel, MED-TV, launches in Britain. The channel can be seen in West Asia (including Kurdistan), Europe, and North Africa. Turkey has since invoked the European Convention on Transfrontier Broadcasting to close down the Kurdish channel.

September 1998 KDP, PUK agree to share power in Iraq

Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reach a U.S.-brokered agreement to share power in northern Iraq.

February 15, 1999 PKK leader Ocalan arrested

Abdullah Ocalan is arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, by Turkish security forces. For months he had been searching for a country to grant him asylum, trying and failing in Russia and Italy, among others. He is brought to Turkey and imprisoned on the island of Imral, where he is the sole inmate in a high-security prison.

June 29, 1999 Ocalan sentenced to death

Ocalan is sentenced to death after a Turkish state security court finds him guilty of treason and separatism. Ocalan pledges to work toward a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish conflict if his sentence is commuted and promises more bloodshed if he is executed.

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