Kurds form the predominant ethnic group the kurdish institute of paris estimates that there are 20 million kurds living in turkey, the majority of them in kurdistan. Amidst changing notions of religion and identity in the modern middle east, this book uncovers the hidden story of ahmad moftizadeh, the nonviolent religious leader of. As iraqi forces take on more security functions and u. It is located in the west of iran, in region 3 and bound by iraqi kurdistan on the west, the province of west azerbaijan to its north, zanjan to the northeast, hamedan to the east and kermanshah to the south.
How washington gave iraqi kurds up to baghdad and lost to. It includes the west azerbaijan province, kurdistan province, kermanshah province, ilam province and hamadan province. By late 2016 iranian kurdish fighters had smuggled themselves across irans porous borders and joined the kurdish peshmerga in. The kurdish question association of the united states army. I hope you can visit southern kurdistan so called iraki kurdistan, especially erbilhewler in kurdish which is thoughts to be the first city in the whole world with his 8000 years old citadels.
It includes the kurdistan province, kermanshah province, west azerbaijan province, ilam province, lorestan province and west azerbaijan province. Hrok human rights organization of kurdistan irgc islamic revolutionary guard corps sepahe pasdarane enqelabe eslami irgcqf islamic revolutionary guard corps qods force kdpi kurdistan democratic party of iran lef law enforcement forces of the islamic republic of iran aka naja. Kurdistan would serve as buffer against iran washington times. Any attempt to study or describe the history of the kurdish kd. The kurdish populations are recognized in both iraq and iran, as the kurds in northern iraq have successfully established their own autonomous government the kurdistan regional government, and the kurds in iran primarily inhabit the iranian province of kordestan. Sep 26, 2017 there, thousands of iranian kurds, jubilant for their iraqi kin, staged demonstrations in support of the vote. The iraqi kurdish civil war was a military conflict that took place between rival kurdish factions in iraqi kurdistan during the mid1990s, mostly between the patriotic union of kurdistan and the kurdistan democratic party. Iranian kurdistan is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern iran inhabited by kurds. Map depicting various territorial claims of kurdistan.
By late 2016 iranian kurdish fighters had smuggled themselves across irans porous borders and joined the kurdish peshmerga in iraq, or fought alongside them in their own units. Why iran fears iraqs kurds the iraq crisis while obama and other countries rush to defend the kurds, iran is worried that if they gain their independence, and iraq breaks up, iran might be next. They helped lots of other iranianbacked kurds in northern iraq. The political, cultural, and military reawakening of the kurdish. Jul 29, 2016 the democratic party of iranian kurdistan kdpi was founded more than 70 years ago to defend kurdish independence in the shortlived republic of mahabad. Inside the zagros mountains, the forgotten region of iranian. Iranian kurdistan, a rugged mountainous region that. There, thousands of iranian kurds, jubilant for their iraqi kin, staged demonstrations in support of the vote. Kurdistan is a geocultural region wherein the kurds have historically formed a prominent majority population, and kurdish culture, language, and national identity have historically been based.
The heart of the persian empire of antiquity, iran has long played an important role in the region as an imperial power and as a factor in superpower rivalries. Mitanni and kurdistan heritage institute, manassas. Iranian kurdistan and party of free life for kurdistan pjak partiya. Activities carried out by iranian kurdish political parties in iran. Iranian women hold firm stance on their demands practical steps towards convergence of political forces in east kurdistan the road map of kodar is. With an independent kurdistan, and a wellarmed peshmerga, just over the border, the seven to eight million kurds living in western iran might well be inspired to rise up against their persian masters in order to join that kurdish state.
It borders iran to the east, turkey to the north and syria to the west. Kurdistan kurdistan province or kordistan province, is one of the 31 provinces of iran. Rojhilate kurdistane, is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern iran inhabited by kurds which borders iraq and turkey. Meanwhile, irans supreme national security councilthe entity in charge of crafting and communicating the countrys security. In iran, kurds have twice had their own autonomous regions independent of central government control. Unidentified iranian forces engaged in crossborder shelling targeting the juman district of arbil province in kurdistan region of iraq. Both iranian and turkish music can be traced back to kurdish tribes and musical traditions from around kermanshah, and there are many established and upcoming kurdish musicians based in the region. Modern iranian culture owes itself in part to a renaissance in the 8th century. The democratic party of iranian kurdistan kdpi was founded more than 70 years ago to defend kurdish independence in the shortlived republic of mahabad. Iranian kurdistan or eastern kurdistan, is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern iran inhabited by kurds which borders iraq and turkey. It includes the west azerbaijan province, kurdistan province, kermanshah province, ilam province and parts of lorestan province. During the cold war, the soviet unions tentacles extended into iranian kurdistan. Its capital is the city of arbil, known in kurdish as hewler.
Separatist tendencies, led by some groups such as the kurdish democratic party of iran and komalah in iranian kurdistan, for example, had led to frequent unrest and occasional military crackdown throughout the 1990s and even to the present. Iraqs kurdistan democratic party kdp, the ruling party in iraqi kurdistan, sprang from the kdpi in 1946, and the two parties have remained close over the years, exchanging ideology and. A separate group of nonkurdish northwestern iranian languages, the zazagorani languages, are also spoken. The democratic party of iranian kurdistan pdki released a report detailing the populations socioeconomic conditions and violations against human rights committed by the regime in teheran. On the eve of mondays referendum on the future of iraqi kurdistan, iranian armed forces conducted a significant military drill on the border between iran and iraq as tehran warned the kurds not to move forward with the plebiscite. Iranian kurds 6 abbreviations dis danish immigration service drc danish refugee council kdp kurdish democratic party partiya demokrata kurdistan kdpi kurdistan democratic party of iran zhezbe demokirate kurdistane iran kdpiran kurdistan democratic party iran, hezbe demokrate kurdistan kmmk kurdish human rights committee in europe. Map originally appeared in amir hassanpour, nationalism and. Pdf the political geography of kurdistan researchgate. Sorani is a written standard of central kurdish developed in the 1920s named after the historical soran emirate and was later adopted as the standard orthography of kurdish as an official language of iraq. As the main supporter of ethnic communist enclaves such as the republic of mahabad, and later on as the main arms supplier of saddam hussein, both the soviet union and its predecessor the russian empire, made many attempts to divide iran along ethnic lines. On 7 may 2015, ethnic kurds rioted in mahabad, iran, following the unexplained death on 4 may 2015 of farinaz khosravani, a 25yearold kurdish. Kaya a thesis submitted to the department of international relations of the london school of economics for the degree of doctor of philosophy, london, june 2012. Central kurdish sorani is spoken by an estimated 6 to 7 million kurds in much of iraqi kurdistan and the iranian kurdistan province. Kurdistan, illustrated with maps, including historical maps of.
Apr 07, 2014 i hope you can visit southern kurdistan so called iraki kurdistan, especially erbilhewler in kurdish which is thoughts to be the first city in the whole world with his 8000 years old citadels. I hope you enjoy your trip and please dont forget to visit amedi in south and amed in the north of kurdistan so called tukish kurdistan as well, if. Though the kurds have long been one of the largest ethnic groups in the region and command some level of autonomy, they have never had a nationstate of their own. The most important political party in iranian kurdistan is the democratic party of kurdistan in iran kdpi, founded in 1945, which advocates for the cultural rights of kurds and the formation of an autonomous region within the islamic republic. The situation in kurdistan was a classic version of the usiranian proxy war, mirzayan wrote. Irans leaders opposed kurdish independence vote in iraq. See more ideas about kurdistan, capital city and city. Iranian government to respect its international obligations, as well as irans constitution, in granting and respecting the social, cultural, and religious rights of the countrys kurdish. Rojhilate kurdistane, is an unofficial name for the parts of western iran inhabited by kurds which borders iraq and turkey. The kurdish question from ausas institute of land warfare iraq is once again in a period of transition. Religion does not form the basis of kurdish national identity. It includes the west azerbaijan province, kurdistan province and kermanshah province. Kurdistan would serve as buffer against iran washington. This is the case in spite of the iranian states persistent policy to divide sunnis and shia in kurdistan.
It roughly includes zagros and eastern taurus mountain ranges. The iranian regime since the 1980s supported the talabani faction, karimi stressed. Apr 14, 2017 why iran fears iraqs kurds the iraq crisis while obama and other countries rush to defend the kurds, iran is worried that if they gain their independence, and iraq breaks up, iran might be next. Kurd, member of an ethnic group concentrated in a contiguous area including southeastern turkey, northeastern syria, northern iraq, and northwestern iran. Kurdish region of iran map, history and news the kurdish. Kurdistan kurdistan kurdistan is an extensive plateau and mountainous area in middle east, inhabited mainly by kurds.
May 21, 2017 the iranian regime since the 1980s supported the talabani faction, karimi stressed. Iranian kurds on conditions for iranian kurdish parties in iran and kri, activities in the kurdish area of iran, conditions in border area and situation of returnees from kri to iran 30 may to 9 june 20 copenhagen, september 20 danish immigration service ryesgade 53 2100 copenhagen o phone. Kurds make up 21% of the population in west azerbaijan province. As of 2015, the party for free life in kurdistan pjak is an active political and militant organization, based on the iraqiran border, that is pushing for kurdish autonomy in the iranian provinces of kordestan, kermanshah and west azerbaijan. Turkey, iran, and iraq issued a joint statement condemning the iraqi kurdistan independence referendum. A road trip through iranian kurdistan heart my backpack.
The most important political party in iranian kurdistan is the democratic party of kurdistan in iran kdpi, founded in 1945, which advocates for the cultural rights of kurds and the formation of an autonomous region within the islamic. See the articles on turkey, western iran and syria for information regarding the other regions of kurdistan. Kermanshah is widely recognized to be a cultural center for kurdish music. The situation in kurdistan was a classic version of the us iranian proxy war, mirzayan wrote. To this day, the relationship between the kurds of western iran and the iranian government remains tense. It covers large parts of eastern turkey, northern iraq, northwestern iran and smaller parts of northern syria and armenia. Several thousand years of separate history in modern times, for example, iran was not part of the ottoman empire. Iranian kurdistan has a mixed population of shia and sunni, as well as followers of the preislamic kurdish religion of yarsan. Iraqi kurdistan iraqi kurdistan region the kurdistan region is an autonomous, federally recognized political entity located in northern iraq. In may 2015, a suspected iranian attack allegedly disguised as pkk fighters on pjak force on iranianiraqi kurdistan border resulted in 6 killed2 kdpi and 4 pkk or allegedly iranian agents. There is also a significant kurdish population in the north.
For a map of these areas see archived 20160203 at the wayback machine. As of 2015, the party for free life in kurdistan pjak is an active political and militant organization, based on the iraq iran border, that is pushing for kurdish autonomy in the iranian provinces of kordestan, kermanshah and west azerbaijan. Kurdistan also includes parts of northern syria rojava, or western kurdistan, northern iraq southern kurdistan and northwestern iran eastern kurdistan. Persian gulf t i g r i s l s h a t t a ahvaz qaryat al gharab judayyidat arar g r r a f. The kurds, constituting one of the oldest nations of the middle east. The mitanni capital was wassukanni washukanni and its location has been determined by archaeologists to be on the headwaters of the river habur, a tributary of the euphrates. Another militant group, the irankurdistan free life party pjak, waged a lowlevel insurgency against the iranian central government from iraqi kurdistan that culminated in a 2011 ceasefire, although pjak fighters continued to occasionally. A last attempt to put a kurdish state on the map is made in 1946. Oct 22, 2017 the iranian kurds will be a much more formidable foe than ever before, in numbers and in the experience of their fighters, in amount and sophistication of their weaponry, in the fact that next door in kurdistan they would now have available a place where their soldiers could regroup, plan, and attack anew. Oct 29, 2015 inside the zagros mountains, the forgotten region of iranian kurdistan set in the craggy zagros range, separating the islamic republic from iraq, kirsten oregan travels to the part of the. Amidst changing notions of religion and identity in the modern middle east, this book uncovers the hidden story of ahmad moftizadeh, the nonviolent religious leader of irans kurds during the iranian. I hope you enjoy your trip and please dont forget to visit amedi in south and amed in the north of kurdistanso called tukish kurdistan as well, if. Iran, a mountainous, arid, and ethnically diverse country of southwestern asia.
Mitannis northwestern border with the hattian kingdom of the hittites was fluid and constantly subject to aggression except when the two rivals concluded a peace treaty one that invoked the indo iranian pantheon of mitra, varuna, indra and the nasatyas but also one that marked the decline of the mitanni kingdom and a decrease in size. Freedom of expression and association in the kurdish. Inside the zagros mountains, the forgotten region of. Achaemenid persian empire in the time of the cyrus the great. Kurdistan, kurdish nationalism and international society by zeynep n. With the soviet aid, an ephemeral kurdish republic is established in iran, in the region of mahabad. Iranian proxy militias kurdistan regional government krg religious figures isis possible israeli airstrikes iraqi prime minister and cabinet iraqi council of representatives 19, 1214, 16,17 10 11 15.
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