Approximately
30 million Kurds live worldwide; more than half live in Turkey, with
many in Iran and Iraq and a significant diaspora community. The
Kurds are the most numerous people without an independent homeland,
but the portion of Kurdistan in Iraq is autonomous.
Since
its foundation, Turkey has banned the expression of Kurdish culture.
Consequently, Abdullah Ocalan founded the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) in 1978 to agitate for freedom and autonomy; the insurrection
has claimed the lives of thousands of Turks and Kurds.
Iraqi
Kurds suffered under Saddam Hussein. His Anfal campaign targeted
Kurdish civilians, perpetrating the massacre at Halabja in 1988.
Since the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, Kurdistan is relatively
peaceful, and commerce flourishes.
Iranian
Kurds have had a fractious relationship with both the Islamic
Republic and the precedent Shah. As the Islamic Republic began, the
constitutional panel excluded most minorities; subsequent Kurdish
protests were repressed as un-Islamic.
Click here for the website of Iraqi Kurdistan's government.
No comments:
Post a Comment